Chapter 2 Kissing A Handsome Man

Mandy was not one to surrender so easily, and she quickened her pace as she dashed to the staircase. The two men were catching up to her. She ran to the elevator banks and pressed the buttons, waiting until one of the doors opened. Even if she were to produce an invitation and prove that she was no event crasher, the media would still surely publish the whole debacle and expose her. It would be humiliating.

With that thought in mind, she pivoted and made a beeline for the emergency exit on the right. She opened the door and bounded up the stairs without hesitation.

The men saw her disappear on the steps and they got to the stairwell just in time to catch a glimpse of the white dress she wore flitting over their heads.

Mandy didn't go too far; she only went one story above and pushed back into the main hall. This was somewhere between the 58th and 89th floors of the building, and it housed hotel room from corridor to corridor. She was planning to find a vacant guest room, or just any room with its door unlocked really, and go into hiding until she shook her pursuers off her scent.

Since the establishment belonged to the Xus, only the high-end and most exquisite could be seen on every surface. The floors were polished to perfection, shining so much that Mandy even managed to stare at her reflection as she moved forward. Fleeting as the vision was, she knew that she looked wide-eyed and flushed, truly an embarrassing sight that stuck like a sore thumb in the midst of her elegant surroundings. Her heels clacked loudly on the marble floor, and were sure to draw attention. They were also making it hard for her to move past. At this rate, the guards would be upon her in no time.

She paused and took off her heels in one swift motion, clutching them to her chest as she sprinted stealthily to the end of the corridor.

"We can't be sure which direction that woman ran off. We'd better search separately." This came from one of the guards. She had barely tucked herself into a small alcove past the corner of the corridor when they had emerged from the emergency exit.

"Okay, copy that," the other man answered.

It was followed by the sound of footsteps, and Mandy instinctively shrank back into her hiding place. It was then that she realized she was actually nestled in the doorway of one of the hotel rooms. She turned back to the corner as the footfalls neared. The moment one of the men rounded that corner, she would be done for. She gritted her teeth and made a decision, then turned to the door and knocked. She didn't have any choice other than to seek refuge inside, so she hoped that the occupying guest would at least let her in.

The door opened just a crack, and she was faced by a broad, manly chest covered in a gray shirt. She didn't have the time to look up at his face, and without further ado, she pushed past him and into the room. She was about to shut the door behind her when the hotel guest put a foot forward and blocked the doorway.

One of the guards had already reached the corner, and she could hear as he approached the room she had just barged into. Desperate, she went with the first idea that popped into mind and threw her heels aside before jumping the man next to her, pressing him against the wall. She found that he was much taller than she had originally thought -- the top of her head didn't even reach his shoulders. She finally looked up, only to drown into his deep, cold eyes.

Mandy could honestly say that his was the most handsome face she had ever laid her eyes on. The irrational part of her brain even wondered briefly if he was a sculpture. He had thick, prominent brows and a high, regal nose. His thin lips were slightly curved upward, which, paired with his aloof gaze, made him sexy and alluring in some dark way.

Heart hammering furiously inside her chest, and the look in his eyes told her that he was well aware of the fact. The sound of footsteps outside suddenly seemed so far away.

"Who..." the man began, frowning at his unexpected caller.

His voice pulled Mandy back to her senses, and all at once she was certain that one, this man was about to interrogate her and two, the guard was already getting very close. If the guard somehow heard a guest questioning a stranger, it would immediately lead him to her. She couldn't let that happen.

And so, she took a deep breath, stood on her tiptoes, and put her arms around the man's neck. In the next instant, her lips were firmly covering his mouth, blocking out the rest of his question.

He froze and narrowed his dark eyes at this shameless woman who had just thrown herself at him. He reached out to push her away, but she also pulled her face back, then shot him a look of quiet plea. His hands paused mid-air.

At this point, the guard was right outside the room. He had noticed that the door had been left somewhat ajar, and he stopped to check. The scene that greeted him was a couple kissing against the wall. From where he stood, he couldn't clearly make out Mandy's clothes, and since she was small, the man's tall figure was effectively shielding her from sight.

The guard quickly brushed them off and carried on with his search, oblivious to the fact that his target had been right under his nose.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Mandy's nerves finally eased up. She slowly broke free from the kiss and turned her face away.

"I want an explanation." That quickly brought her gaze back to his face. His voice was low and cold, but was strangely magnetic, like short bass notes of a cello in the middle of an orchestral performance.

"Sorry, I..." She let go of her hold on his neck and took a step back. She was still arranging her thoughts inside her head to explain her situation, but then the footsteps came again. She recognized them, it was the same guard. And he was headed back to the room. All her anxiety resurfaced in a panic.

Once again, she pounced on the man, like a starving wolf would a helpless rabbit, and pushed him back to the wall. Her slender arms snaked around his shoulders in a familiar embrace as she put all her weight against him.

Interest was rapidly swirling inside the man's head. He might be the new president of Xu Group, but never in his life had he imagined that he would be jumped by some unknown woman twice in the span of a few minutes. And inside his own building, no less! Of course, she would have had no hope of accomplishing either deeds if he had not allowed it. It had been obvious to him, though, that she was being chased by those men outside, and he found to his surprise that he was rather glad to do her a favor.

The footsteps drew close again, but this time it didn't stop outside the door. Instead it carried on with its pace until it reached the other end of the corridor.

"I didn't find her. Maybe she went upstairs again. Let's go check the next floor." It seemed like her pursuers had reunited.

"I haven't found her either. Come on, let's go upstairs." Soon enough, the sound of footsteps faded entirely, and the whole floor returned to silence.

Mandy knew then that she was finally out of danger. She would have sighed her relief, but she realized that her mouth was still locked on that of the gorgeous man before her.

She had been too distracted by her escape that she had not paid any attention to the kiss on both times. Now that she let her fears go, however, everything else invaded her senses: the soft texture of his lips, the faint musk coming from his skin, his broad shoulders. The whole situation finally sank in, and she pulled back, her face red with embarrassment.