FALLING FOR THE PLAYBOY'S GAME

　　Chapter 1

　　"Love is of all passions the strongest, for

　　it attacks simultaneously the head, the

　　heart, and the senses." - Lao Tzu

　　Kate's POV

　　I don't want to open my eyes, the sun is

　　too bright, glaring directly at me. But I

　　don't care at all, I can stay here forever.

　　A soft smile touched in the corner of my

　　lips.

　　I don't have to worry waking up early

　　today and catching the eight fifteen bus. I

　　can sleep till noon. Lying here in this

　　secluded beach is like living in paradise.

　　And what makes everything perfect is that,

　　I'm with Adam.

　　Adam Parker. The only loyal, faithful, one-

　　woman man I know living in this planet. A

　　one in a million from all the hungry lady

　　killer playboys in the world.

　　"Adam..." I turned to him but the sun was

　　too blinding that I could not see him.

　　"Adam?"

　　My phone rang so loudly, it felt like my

　　head was about to blow. I rolled at the

　　side and my sleepy hand reached for my

　　phone.

　　"E...llo..." I answered in my very sleepy

　　voice.

　　"Kate! You're still sleeping?"

　　Hearing my prince charming's voice made

　　me open my eyes wide. Reality

　　immediately sank in. I was lying on my

　　bed here in an apartment in Soundview

　　New York that I shared with my besties--

　　my cousin Jerry and recently my best

　　friend Julie.

　　"Adam?"

　　"Where are you? It's nine thirty and the

　　customers are coming."

　　"It's nine thirty?" I checked the time on

　　my alarm clock. "It's nine thirty! Oh my

　　God, my alarm failed!"

　　I heard him groaned. "I need you here

　　Kate, Mr. Doherty is looking for his suit, I

　　can't find it in the claim section."

　　Mr. Doherty? Our grumpiest and oldest

　　costumer in the tailoring shop.

　　I threw my blanket and pillows as I

　　scrambled out of bed. "Did you ask

　　Wendy?"

　　"She can't report today, her baby is sick."

　　"Oh... poor baby."

　　"What about Michael?" I asked him about

　　the other Sales Personnel.

　　"He asked yesterday to report after lunch,

　　remember? He has to fetch his mom in

　　the airport."

　　"Oh, yeah..."

　　Adam must be frantic. It's Friday, the

　　busiest day of the week in the shop and he

　　was alone. Many clients would pick up

　　their custom-made suits, shirts, pants and

　　other items of clothing today. Darn it, I

　　shouldn't have watched 'Bird Box' last

　　night.

　　"I need you here in the shop, I have to be

　　in the sewing area. We're rushing a dozen

　　suits for next week's wedding." He

　　drawled.

　　I always find Adam's drawling so damn

　　sexy. And every time he said that he needs

　　me was enough to make me feel so giddy

　　over him. He's so kind, so sweet, so nice

　　and so handsome that I could not leave

　　my job as his shop supervisor to a higher

　　paying job in New York.

　　My mom keeps on telling me that I

　　needed advancement in my career and

　　working in the tailoring shop made me

　　stagnant. It's even out of my league after

　　earning the Bachelor's Degree Programs in

　　Marketing.

　　I work for Adam for three years already.

　　It's my first and only job since I

　　graduated university. I just can't leave

　　Adam because he's too nice. I know he

　　would be very devastated, he relies on me

　　in running the shop.

　　Besides, it's true. My crush on him often

　　goes too far. I imagine that someday,

　　there could be something more between

　　us.

　　"Kate? Did you hear me?"

　　"Yeah.. yeah, of course. I'll be there as

　　quickly as I can."

　　The moment we hung up the phone, I

　　jumped out of bed and headed directly to

　　the shower. After five minutes, I was back

　　in my bedroom hurriedly choosing a dress

　　to wear. It was Friday, wash day for the

　　uniforms, so all employees could wear

　　whatever decent clothes they have.

　　Jerry, Julie and I were planning for a night

　　out after office hours, so I needed an

　　outfit that would take me from day-to-

　　night. We'd be going to a very high class

　　bar that only socialite members could

　　enter. Lucky that Jerry's new boyfriend

　　worked in there as a bouncer, he could

　　help us get inside.

　　My best friend, Julie Paige just broke up

　　with her boyfriend for five years. We

　　would paint the town red and help her get

　　over that jerk!

　　I told her that Ethan Conway was not an

　　exemption from all the playboys in the

　　universe but she would not listen. She

　　caught him countless times hooking up

　　with different girls, but she was so martyr

　　always forgiving and allowing him another

　　chance!

　　Too many times I wanted to bump her

　　head on the wall so she would wake up

　　and realize that Ethan was a certified

　　asshole playboy! But she would not let

　　him go, claiming that she could not live

　　without him in her life. He was her

　　strength, her happiness, her rainbow and

　　heaven... but she never acknowledged the

　　fact the he was also her weakness, her

　　sadness, her torturer and demon from

　　hell.

　　Julie was always the prettiest and the

　　smartest in class during university days

　　but when it came to love, sad to say, she

　　was the dumbest hanging on to that

　　playboy.

　　The recent one finally opened her eyes. It

　　was a big blow for her when she caught

　　Ethan having sex with their teenage

　　neighbour on their bed! Totally, it was

　　chaos. I never thought Julie could be so

　　violent. She burned all his clothes in the

　　fireplace and his important documents.

　　She also almost castrated Ethan!

　　It was another traumatic and phobic

　　experience for me. My hatred for

　　playboys escalated from a hundred to a

　　million percent. I swear, I would never

　　ever trust any guy.

　　In my opinion, ninety-nine percent of

　　single straight men beyond my age

excluding those who practice celibacy

　　are playboys. The 1% are gems and rare to

　　find. Not too lucky though that I found

　　one -- and that's Adam. Because he never

　　asked me for a date until now.

　　I grabbed the conservative-cut black dress

　　and put it on in a hurry before I'd change

　　my mind. I've bought the dress two

　　months ago but I've never worn it ever

　　before. It just stayed there hanging inside

　　my closet. It was my just-in-case dress.

　　Yeah, it sounded stupid. I reserved it for

　　my future date with Adam.

　　A date that never came.

　　It was quarter past ten when I entered the

　　shop. I was catching my breath after

　　running across the pavement when Adam

　　suddenly stood up behind the reception

　　counter.

　　I was caught off guard standing too close

　　on him. He was looking so sinfully

　　handsome as usual in his dark business

　　suit and satin gray tie. I was easily

　　drowned in his deep blue eyes,

　　mesmerised by his tantalising smile and

　　transported to another planet when I

　　smelled his wonderful fresh cologne scent.

　　"Hi." Adam greeted me after making a

　　brief glance of my appearance.

　　"Hi." I managed to answer after being

　　dumbstruck for a moment.

　　"Whew! Glad you're here. I'm going out in

　　a minute, I have to catch a business

　　meeting." He checked the time on his

　　watch before he looked at me again with

　　concern eyes. "Can you manage here

　　alone?"

　　"Yeah... yeah. I'll be fine, Michael will be

　　here soon." I've done it several times

　　though.

　　"Good. Um... I really have to go." He

　　strode passed me then paused at the

　　sensor glass door. "You're looking very

　　lovely in that dress, are you going out

　　tonight?"

　　My heart pounded so hard in an instant.

　　What does that mean? Is he going to ask

　　me out? Should I lie or tell the truth? My

　　mind was debating.

　　T. B. C