Coffee ran out and we forgot to buy more, so I asked Liam to stop at the cafe on his way here. Note to self: Buy coffee bags later. As soon as I got done buying my large cup of latte, someone who seemed to be in a rush, pushed past me causing my coffee to spill onto me and a woman waiting in line.

I didn't get the chance to be mad at the person because they were long gone, so I turned to face the woman. She stood there, appalled, looking at her now coffee stained clothing. Which looked expensive. Her head whipped up to glare at me.

"Are you okay? I am so sorry, ma'am. Let me pay for whatever you're buying, so you don't have to wait in line like this," I apologized.

"Don't. Just leave." She raised her hand, trying to dismiss me. It would've walked away to avoid being late too but I was grown up by a Hindi mom who would slap me silly. Besides, it was simple human decency

"I insist," I said, apologizing to the person at the front of the line. Thankfully, she cooperated and let me buy what her order was, along with mine. "I apologize again," I said and left.

Seeing my stained outfit, Liam looked at me confused, "What happened? Are you okay?"

I waved a hand, dismissing the matter, "Yeah, I'm okay. Whatever happened, happened."

Dropping the issue, he nodded and drove off. Another day, another ruined outfit. It's a lucky thing, I followed Blaire's advice and made sure to keep a spare suit at work. I went to get Mr. Pierce's morning coffee. I enter to see him looking between a file and his laptop.

"Good morning, Mr. Pierce," I greeted, placing the cup on his desk. He hummed in response, not looking up from his work. I had gotten used to his workaholic behavior by now, so this was not new.

My time with the R&D Department had come to an end, sadly but I promised I would always lend an ear or a helping hand when necessary. Today, I joined the Marketing Department.

They were responsible for showcasing what the company stands for. The R & D Department reports to them. Any product they come up with, they go to the Marketing Department, who decides whether it would be good sales for the company. They were especially responsible for the social media aspect, where they promote the business. You can say, they are the brains of the whole operation.

Working with them was not the highlight of my day, they were cocky, smug and arrogant. By lunch, my head pounded due to their conceited behavior. I couldn't stand being in a room with any of them any longer, worse for another day. Too bad, I had to stand them for the rest of the week.

I went to the bathroom to freshen up when I heard quiet moans and grunts coming from a stall. I was going to ignore it until the girl called the guy's name.

Noah.

To confirm whether it was him or not I opened the door and closed like I was leaving and quietly yet hurriedly went inside a stall and waited for them to leave. I knelt down on the toilet seat as quietly as I could and turned on my phone and started recording it. They got a bit louder, thinking I left. When they were finished, I could hear them fixing their clothes.

"How are you gonna leave without anyone seeing you?" the girl asked.

"The same way I've done the other times. With a bit of luck." My eyes widened because that definitely sounded like his voice.

The door to their stall opened and I saw them coming out. I don't recognize the girl but she looked in the mirror, fixing her hair and reapplying her makeup and lipstick. I switched the recording to video. He held her by the waist and kissed her cheek.

"What are you going to do about Blaire?"

In the mirror, his face changed from relaxed to tense. "I'll figure it out. I'm breaking up with her soon."

"Soon? You've been saying that for the past ten months, Noah. How much longer do we have to sneak around for?" She pressed with an annoyed expression.

"Babe, you know how complicated this is for me. Mr. Pierce trusts me and that didn't come easy. If he finds out about this, it would cost me my job," he tried to reason. It was shocking how he was only thinking that his job was at stake and not his relationship with Blaire. Not to mention, the fact that they're engaged.

"I can't wait forever, Noah. You have by the end of the week to make up your mind," she huffs and pushes past him. His hand slides down his face in exhaustion before he leaves but not before looking if it was safe to.

I look down at the evidence on my phone, not knowing what I should do with it. If I tell her then she probably wouldn't believe me and our friendship would be ruined. But if she does believe me then, I guess it's up to her what she would do. However, there is a thirty percent chance of her believing me. I sighed and left the bathroom with a heavy heart.

On my way to my cubicle, Blaire stopped me and I looked at her as normal as I could.

"Hey, we've both been so busy, we haven't had time to catch up as much anymore. Come have lunch with me and Noah." My heart fell to the ground at her suggestion. I couldn't reject the offer because she was right. We haven't talked in a while and if we passed each other, the most we could say was 'hey'.

"Sure," I replied with a smile. "Let me just see if Mr. Pierce wants lunch."

I entered without knocking as usual, "Sir, would you like lunch?"

He looked up at me, seemingly happy. "Yes. Just order anything, Miss Bloom."

What had him in such a good mood. It couldn't have been me, right? No. Definitely not. Pushing the silly thought to the back of my mind, I called the diner we went to before. Silver Spoon Diner and ordered a Korean beef salad with spicy dressing and for it to arrive the quickest thirty minutes.

I made my way to the mini cafeteria, knowing that this will be the most awkward lunch break I'll have to sit through and Blaire doesn't even know it. I ordered a macaroni mince and a fruit punch juice.

"So, hey, what have I missed?" I tried to sound perky as I twirl my fork through my lunch box. It worked because Blaire started chatting away about all the things that's happened in her week and in the company that I haven't heard about.

To be honest, some things went in one ear and out the other because I was too busy trying not to glare harshly at Noah and cursing him to the sun for what he has been doing to Blaire. I expressed my emotions when necessary and laughed at the right moments.

"So that's me, what happened with you and the different departments? I don't remember any of the P.A's that have worked here being involved with them unless necessary. You're doing great, girl," she cheered which made me laugh.

"Yeah, it was just something that I thought I needed to do. If I was going to work here, I might as well do it properly. My favorite so far is the R&D Department, they are so friendly and fun. I barely know the people in the Marketing Department and I already hate them," I told her.

"I get you. I've met some of them and they are terrible. I try so hard not to exchange words until I ultimately need to and thank God, I rarely do." We laughed.

Our lunch break was over, thankfully because I couldn't stand breathing the same air as him. In the midst of discussing the different products and the company's sales cycle, I got a call from Mr. Pierce.

"I need you to bring a document of Iberostar Grand El Mirador in Spain, quickly," he instructed and hung up. Again, no please. I should've gotten used to this by now.

"Excuse me for a second, please," I requested and ran off to my cubicle to look for said document. Once I found it, I snatched it up immediately and brought it to him. As soon as I looked up to hand it to him, my eyes widened.

It's the lady from the cafe this morning.

"Hi, nice to see you again. Sorry about this morning," I apologized again and gave Mr. Pierce a confused look. He was probably wondering how I knew her.

"Miss Bloom, this is my mother, Eveline Pierce," he introduced. My eyes were now the size of saucers. I spilled coffee on Mr. Pierce's mother who was now looking at me with hatred in her eyes.

"Don't you think it's invasive and inappropriate for you to enter your boss's office without knocking first?" she scolded.

I opened my mouth to defend myself but Mr. Pierce beat me to it. "I ordered her not to knock. In cases where she needs to inform me of important things ASAP, she has every right to just rush in."

"Are you screwing her? Is that what's happening here?" she asks, disregarding everything he said and looked at me from head to toe in scorn.

"No, I'm not. She's saved this company on numerous occasions, mom.. She's done a better job than any of my previous P.As and not to mention, she's lending a hand in other departments which the employees appreciate. So, no mother, I'm not screwing my P.A. She's done more than any person that has worked here, so at least show her some respect. In the least, in front of me." I tried my hardest not to smile for the way he defended me to his mother.

"I, uh, I actually need to go back to the Marketing Department. It was lovely to meet you, Mrs. Pierce," I said and left as quickly as I could because I couldn't handle the death stare she was giving me. Looking at me in her expensive outfit like I was dirt under her shoe.

Work hours were over and I wasn't finished with work. I was going to go a few more hours but I decided to check on Mr. Pierce instead, taking my laptop with me. I knocked on his door and entered when he said I could. I peaked my head through and walked in cautiously.

I heard him chuckle, "She left an hour after you did."

I sighed in relief. "She hates me. I spilled coffee on her this morning accidentally and I bought one more for her but she still hates me. Everything I've studied in Psychology at university was enough for me to know that that's not the reason she hates me."

"Leave it up to you to be able to see through people." That was all he said but I could read between the lines and knew he was confirming my theory.

"I'm not done with work and clearly you aren't either, so wanna get through some of the important ones before calling it a night?" I suggested.

"Actually, we're going back to my place. We can finish up there and this is not up for discussion." He gave me a pointed look, knowing I was going to argue the relevance of going to his house.

We made it back to his house or can I say mansion because this place was huge. It made me feel a little uncomfortable stepping inside and looking at everything that was above my pay grade. His lifestyle called me broke in so many languages.

"I'm ordering pizza, what flavor do you want?" he asked, taking off his jacket.

"Pepperoni."

"I'll order two boxes." He picks up the phone and starts ordering. "Feel free to make yourself comfortable.

I looked around, wrapping my arms around myself. There was no way I could make myself comfortable in a place as fancy as this. I sat on the couch feeling the softness of it engulf my butt. I almost shot back up to my feet.

"I'll be back," he said, going upstairs to what I'm presuming is his room. The pizza arrived before Mr. Pierce came back so I paid for it.

"You didn't have to do that. I could've paid for it," he said, coming down the stairs.

"I know and so could I," I replied, lowering myself to the ground. When I looked up at him, I noticed he was wearing a black sweatpants and a black shirt. He looked unbelievably handsome. Seeing his cocky smirk, I averted my gaze to the floor, placing my laptop in my lap and the files beside me.

Just like that, we drown ourselves in work. Five hours in and my eyes were winning against me. Mr. Pierce yawned and rubbed his eyes. He looked at his computer screen before shaking his head and closing it. He looks at the clock which reads 23 minutes after one in the morning.

"I can't look at this screen any longer and... you ate most of the pizza. Great," he joked, which made me laugh aloud, snorting a little. I covered my mouth in embarrassment but he only looked at me in surprise and laughed.

I shut my laptop as well and stretched, cracking the stiff nerves in my neck, shoulders and fingers.

"If you knew something that...uh...would hurt someone you care about, would you tell them?" I asked, needing an opinion on what I should do.

"Yes, I would because at least they'd know that I was a true friend to tell them instead of knowing and not telling them," he advised. I sat there silently, still having no idea what to do. It still wouldn't change the outcome if I still tell her.

"What's on your mind, Astrid?" He looked deeply into my eyes, almost hypnotizing. I thought about it a few times before deciding against it and shook my head.

"I don't know if I should tell you because this could ruin everything. And you're cl- I can't. I should but I can't. I'm not supposed to but I don't know who else I can talk about this with," I rambled, rubbing my finger along the floor.

"What's going on, darling? Is it that bad?" He came closer, taking my mind in his and caressing his thumb on the back of it. I bit my lip in apprehension, trying to find a way I can tell him—a family member—without having to worry about how bad this could turn out.

I looked at him a long while and sighed before answering, "I caught Noah cheating on Blaire. Apparently it's been going on for ten months and I have enough evidence to prove it to her in case she doesn't believe me but I don't know if I have the heart to give them to her. She loves him, she trusts him, she's getting married to him. You actually liked him, out of all the guys she's dated, for God sakes! I don't know what to do."

His jaw was clenched so hard I thought it might break. His eyes were glaring into the floor and he wasn't saying a thing. He was silent and I glanced around to gauge his response. I was going to say something but what he said instead shocked me to the core.

"I know. I've known for months but I couldn't tell her either because she's my cousin and she's going to think that this is just another attempt of me trying to ruin another one of her relationships. I know I said that you should tell her, which I still stand by, but be ready to lose your friendship," he says.

30/12/21 Happy birthday to Kim Taehyung. Our very own 'good boy' 😂 💜

Au revoir...

Vote | Comment | Share