To Color Your Life

Some people, when they read books, imagine themselves as the heroes of these books. Girls dream of beautiful love and romantic deeds of valour that men perform for them. Correction: hot, charismatic, handsome men. Alpha males, in a word, and nothing else.

Emily always perceived such fantasies as nonsense of the overage teenage girls. Firstly, before that, her first and only love - Peter Miller - did not really look like an alpha male. And secondly. Well, secondly... ok, just check out the firstly section. What difference does it make to what a person looks like if you love him?

Such thing sometimes happens: the candles on a person's cake seem to increase in number, marking the years gone by, and the brains remain at the high school level. There are times when the brains begin to dry out immediately after graduation from college.

Unfortunately, wisdom does not come to everyone. For some, only Alzheimer's pays the visit. And it doesn't happen in a snap, because this 'guest' likes to "take his time".

So, if we return to the topic of delusional fantasies, Emily was completely indifferent to them whatsoever.

And now she was tormented by the question, what did she do in her past life, that now she was the heroine of such a fantasy?

She turned her head to the right. Hot Prince Alpha Male: Confirmed.

The girl looked straight. Castle adorned with roses: Сonfirmed.

Emily hesitated before entering the department. If for the first time this huge metal door was associated with the entrance to the underworld. Now, with all these balloons in the form of hearts, the associations were even more creepy.

Think yourself, would you like to go down to visit Hades if Mickey Mouse was the very creature meeting you on the doorstep? Emily didn't want to.

"Is this your surprise?" she glanced sideways at the abnormally happy boss, who was already ready to jump up, like a puppy around the master, if only the girl would open the door as soon as possible.

"This is just a hint. Come on in, please! Get in!" Evans pushed her forward.

Emily ran her keycard over the electronic lock and went inside. The corridor greeted her with familiar darkness.

She already knew that it was worth taking a couple of steps, and the light show would be activated. She wondered what is going to happen here this time?

She breathed in the scent. Hmm, it smells like something. Something familiar.

Soft warm light began to spread from her feet to the walls. It slipped into several small balls, and then gathered into one large one.

And now Emily saw the rising sun in front of her. And the higher it got, the better she saw the field of flowers that filled all the screens around.

Emily stood in the middle of an endless field of blooming lavender, swaying in the light breeze.

The spotlights reflected the picture under her feet, and it seemed that the flowers were alive, and she could touch them.

The scent that she thought was familiar earlier was the scent of lavender. That was how the bouquet that Justin gave her grandmother smelled like. And that was the color of Emily's dress he gave her.

That was the color of her hair when he first noticed her seven years ago.

Lavender colors that filled her life with colors.

"For me, you are like this flower, just as fragile and beautiful. And if you will let me, I want to inhale your scent as long as I can breathe."

Words appeared on the screen and Emily heard Justin's voice. No, not that living Justin who was standing next to her, but a recording that was made in advance.

"Emily Hayes, will you date me?"

The question hung in the air and on the screen.

"Did everyone who came to work today see that?" she asked the first thing that came to mind.

The boss pouted his lips, "Hayes, are you seriously asking this? Shouldn't you answer my question first? I have formally asked for permission to date you and have informed everyone. Of course, everyone who crossed the threshold of the Pharaoh Magazine saw this!"

Emily closed her eyes and mentally counted to five. Maybe she didn't notice, and she was transported into some kind of parallel reality? And what, stories about transmigration are quite in style now. Although usually it requires you to be hit by a truck (truck-san, as Kelly named it). Emily didn't seem to be hit by any truck.

But why are tears about to come to her eyes, the tears of either tenderness, or happiness?

And if everything was in order with her reality, then the wind had brought the boss clearly from some parallel one.

"God, how did this come to your mind?" Emily asked, the smile on her face growing wider and happier. "Everything could have been made easier."

"Come on! What do I need such a big staff for? I have consulted with your colleagues what can be done, "the boss replied in a businesslike manner, "You should have seen the excitement going on here yesterday!" the man whistled, "The girls almost got into a fight while deciding what feature and from which book we need to use. As a result, we came up with our own special thing."

Uh? Emily was taken aback. What did he just say? Has involved the entire department of the magazine to make a public intention for a serious relationship?!

The girl looked apprehensively at the door at the end of the corridor. The people on the other side didn't just know, they also had their hand and their twisted fantasy in the whole process!

And the boss obviously liked this fantasy!

"Well, come on, answer already!"

"Do I really have to answer right now? I think I need a little time to think."

"You can think as much as you want, but there's a voice control here. Both doors are locked, and if you don't answer, we'll be stuck in this hallway for a couple of hours. And maybe even until morning," Evans winked and already began to glance around, looking for where to sit.

What the....? What a shameless blackmailer!

"Okay," Emily chuckled. She took a deep breath in her lungs and said loudly, "Denied."

[Wrong answer. Think and answer again.] A stern computer voice sounded.

"What the hell?!" she gasped.

Now the boss chuckled, "You heard it. Think again." His contented face was begging for a kiss with her backpack.

"I have to date this shameless, over-confident-"

[Handsome, amazing, charismatic, funny, caring...] the computer continued the girl's speech.

"Stop!" shouted Emily and the program fell silent.

"There are only 150 points," the boss put in his comment.

150 points praising his highest excellence Mr. Shameless?! Will your self-esteem not crack or something?!

Evans pushed himself off the wall and walked around the girl in a circle, "Come on, Emily. Come on. What's the correct answer?"

"You know my answer, Justin Evans. So be it, I'll accept you as my boyfriend." Emily folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow in triumph.

Let him know that he has been given a great honor!

(Self-deception is sometimes useful. Yes, that's right.)

[Your answer is accepted. Happy memories.] The computer said solemnly and the lights in the corridor went out.

"Hey! What's happening? Justin, this thing is broken!"

A light chuckle came from behind Emily's ear, "No, my dear, it's absolutely fine." His hands slid along the girl's waist and in a second she was already pressed to the man.

"And now the fun begins."

"What are you doing?" whispered Emily, not daring to breath.

"I want to kiss you, isn't it obvious? We have a minute until the lights turn on and the doors are unlocked."

"Honey, you're so impatient," the girl murmured and ran her hand over Evans's stomach. But the boss's expectations and reality did not match.

"Ouch! You pinched me!"

"Serves you right," Emily giggled and headed for the second door. She was very good at navigating in the dark. When you have poor eyesight you start moving around more cautiously.

"Tsk, you ruined such a moment," the boss muttered with displeasure, "Where did you go? By the way, I'm afraid of the dark!"

"Seriously? Somehow I didn't notice it," It was clear from Emily's voice that she was smiling.

"It's because you were there and my brain was thinking about something else," the man continued to protest.

"And what is it about?" Hayes, what's that playful voice? Emily was shocked by herself.

She put out her hand and tried to feel for the door.

"Gotcha!" the boss grabbed her from behind and pulled her towards him. His response was a hot kiss that Emily could not dodge.

"Do you know what I was thinking? About fulfilling the promise that I made to your grandmother."

"What promise?" Emily restored her breath. It's good that the light was on, otherwise the second such kiss would make the evening plans start earlier.

Justin winked, "Give her a beautiful grandchild."