ERIC

The day Eric found out about Nina's family, he regretted his earlier words to her. Calling her a gold-digger was like calling an elephant tiny. It wasn't just an insult; it was a monumental misjudgment. Yet, so many things about her didn't add up.

She wore cheap, off-the-rack clothes on both the occasions they'd met, acted like someone who had never seen wealth—her wide-eyed reaction to his bid—and looked so uncomfortable around the privileged, as if she were somehow an outsider. It confused him, intrigued him, and he wanted to find out more about her. But Ivan, who was hell-bent on pairing him up with his own daughter, was certainly not the right person to ask.

Eric didn't believe in coincidences. He believed everything happened for a reason; one just had to find it to see the full picture. He had met Nina twice in two days, and he was certain that counted for something. If their paths crossed again, he thought, he might finally give in to this strange attraction—he wouldn't deny himself something just because it felt complicated. She was engaged, yes, but maybe that was part of the puzzle.

When Quincy informed him that Nina herself had visited, he had to admit, he was a little excited. He glanced around his office, checking to see if everything was in place. The afternoon light streamed through the tall windows, illuminating the minimalistic space. The polished oak desk was mostly tidy, though papers, markers, and a few open files cluttered one side. The soft hum of the air conditioner was the only sound until the knock came.

"Come in," he called out, his tone calm, even as a flicker of anticipation stirred within him.

Nina stepped inside, her cheeks slightly flushed. She wore a pair of well-worn jeans, a casual blue t-shirt, and combat boots that made a faint scuffing sound against the floor. Her brown hair was a mess of loose waves, tumbling over her shoulders in a way that seemed unintentional yet effortlessly stunning.

Her skin glowed with a warm caramel hue, catching the light perfectly as if the sun itself was conspiring to highlight her beauty. His gaze traveled, unbidden, from her flushed face to the curve of her hips. She was smaller than he remembered, yet her presence filled the room in a way that made the space seem suddenly smaller.

He stared for nearly a minute before realizing he was checking her out. But he didn't have to apologize—her gaze was fixed on him, her eyes scanning his form with equal intensity. Their eyes met, a mutual acknowledgment of the attraction sparking between them.

A grin tugged at the corners of his lips as he gestured to the chair opposite him. She remained standing but took a step closer, her scent trailing ahead of her. It hit him like a soft breeze—sweet but fresh, a mix of something floral and aquatic, like the crisp air after a summer rain.

He tried to focus, but the scent clung to him, making his pulse quicken. Frustrated, he decided to label it simply as "Nina's scent."

She placed the velvet box on his desk with a deliberate movement. "I didn't think I'd see you ever again," he said, his grin growing wider.

"Neither did I," she replied, her voice steady but carrying a trace of irritation. "But I had to return this to you."

He opened the box, the pink diamonds inside catching the light and sending a soft, rose-colored glow across the desk. He wasn't surprised—it was the only reason he could think of for her visit. Yet, he raised an eyebrow, feigning curiosity.

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Now before you go ahead with your whole, 'you're such a gold-digger' comment, it was sent to me only today because I hadn't claimed it after a we—"

"I'm not going to call you that today," he interrupted, his tone softer than she expected. He placed the box back on the desk, his movements slow and deliberate. "I'd actually like to apologize for that. I'm sorry. It was uncalled for, and I shouldn't have made a snap judgment about you."

Her eyes narrowed, suspicion flickering across her face before realization set in. She scoffed. "You found out."

"About your family? Yes," he admitted, leaning back slightly, his gaze steady on hers.

"So what, now that you know I come from wealth, you won't treat me like a criminal?" she asked, her voice a mixture of annoyance and challenge. She crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair. "I'd take your mean comments over your pretense any day."

"It's not pretense," he replied, his tone firm but unguarded. "I didn't like you before when I thought you were chasing that guy for money. But now that it's been proven false, I don't mind you."

"Which means you like the rich and despise the poor?" she asked, her brows arching incredulously.

"Actually, the number of wealthy people I like to be around is very few," he admitted, his voice dropping as he acknowledged the truth.

She let out a harsh laugh. "Why do you come pre-packed with so many exceptions? You like ordinary folks, but hate those working for their own advantage. You don't like rich people, but don't mind a few of them. You say you don't have pretense, yet that day you put up with that pedo when he was making a pass at me.

"You're sorry about your snap judgment but went ahead to make it anyway. I didn't have anything to prove to you that day, so I shut my mouth. But isn't it cheap of you to assume that any middle-class girl hanging out with a rich guy is after his money? Like that is all that defines a person?

"What if she were incredibly smart and accomplished? You judge everyone you see according to their wealth. For me, you are nothing more than a hypocrite. Which is why I hope you will understand why I refuse to take your charity. Have a great day, Mr. Lockwood."

She rose abruptly, spun on her heel, and strode out without a backward glance.

Eric sat frozen, her words cutting deeper than he expected. She was hurtful but right. Her critique wasn't just scathing; it was a mirror, reflecting parts of himself he hadn't wanted to see.

When Noah walked in moments later, he whistled. "That girl has you all figured out after meeting you twice. Respect," he said before plopping into a chair and switching on the screen for the meeting.

Eric shook his head, still reeling from the encounter. Noah seemed to catch on and said, "Don't sweat it, Little Ricky. No one's perfect. Even you."

Eric nodded, distracted, as the screen lit up with all the Team Heads from various departments. Noah quickly realized something was off and proceeded to lead the meeting on his own. Eric, lost in thought, let the minutes slip by as his mind began to process Nina's words.

How had he never realized that before? He had always prided himself on being different from the hypocrites around him, yet here he was, guilty of the same exact things. She was spot-on about everything. He hated the rich while being one himself. He despised gold-diggers and opportunists, but had embraced every chance to rise above his beginnings. He hated pretense, yet wore a mask when dealing with people like Old Man Reeves. The truth of it hit him like a ton of bricks.

Wealth wasn't everything in relationships, and wealth wasn't what defined people. He had spent so many years building walls around his emotions, assuming he could keep everything under control, but Nina had shown him just how flawed his reasoning was. 

Speaking of which, he realized that the only people he was close to were those he knew from before he earned all his wealth. When had he become so distrustful of people? When did all these notions take root in his mind? He didn't even know.

The meeting dragged on for another hour before Noah ended it and switched off the screen. The once-busy air of the office now felt oddly quiet, except for the faint whir of the air conditioning.

"Okay, will you stop caring so much about what she said?" Noah leaned back in his chair, his voice cutting through Eric's thoughts. 

"You knew that I was being so stupid all this time?" Eric asked, baffled.

"Dude, I've known you for more than ten years now," Noah said, sifting through some files before tossing them onto the desk. "You think something so obvious to a girl you met a week ago wouldn't be to me?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Eric cried out, leaning forward in frustration.

"You know what?" Noah stood, stretching his arms lazily above his head before grabbing his jacket. "If you want to know that, you need to come to Ty's place with me. Seok's coming too. We're having dinner, and that is final. Now, my boy, let's leave because I'm tired of working overtime."

***

Tyler's apartment was a cozy mess of mismatched furniture and bookshelves crammed with everything from finance textbooks to unopened cookbooks. The living room smelled faintly of wood polish, mingled with the aroma of fried snacks and whiskey. The dim lighting added to the warmth of the place, despite the chaos of empty bottles and snack bowls on the table.

"You know, I have a crush," Seok declared dramatically, lifting his glass of whiskey like a toast. His cheeks were already flushed from the alcohol. "I tried getting over her by dating online, but—"

"It didn't work out, like I said the other day," Noah interrupted, smirking as he stretched out on the couch.

"Yeah, it didn't. Because no matter who I go on a date with, she's always in the back of my mind. She's incredible and smart and beautiful and amazing and—"

"Way out of your league. Claire won't just date any guy," Noah finished with a grin, earning a groan from Seok.

"No way! How do you know it's her?" Seok banged the table, his voice rising in disbelief.

"We've known for a while now," Eric chuckled, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. "You're terrible at hiding your emotions."

"And you still mentioned that Ivan wants you to marry her? You bastard!" Seok slurred, narrowing his eyes at Eric.

"He does want me to marry her. I wasn't lying," Eric shrugged, raising his glass to his lips.

"The point isn't whether you were lying. The point is... Why. Mention. It?" Seok nodded sagely, then sank deeper into the couch, looking defeated.

"Dude, you're wasted as hell," Noah muttered, chucking a rubber ball at Seok.

Seok tried to dodge, but his reflexes betrayed him, and he smacked his head against the table instead.

"I'm not the only one!" Seok groaned, hauling his head up and pointing dramatically at Tyler.

Tyler, who had been hugging a whiskey bottle like a security blanket, blinked at them slowly. "I'm so not drunk. If I were drunk, I'd talk about—"

"How lonely you feel and how you want to date but never find the right person," Eric sighed, finishing the sentence for him. 

"That's right! But I haven't yet spoken about how I'm lonely, and I really want to meet the right person, but I'm a shut-in and shy and super dumb for anyone," Tyler sobbed dramatically before wiping his nose on his sleeve. "Which means I'm not drunk."

Eric's gaze flickered to the screen hanging on the wall, where a small line of static danced briefly in the corner. For just a fraction of a second, the screen twitched, a deep mechanical hum filling the room.

"Di won't marry me!" Noah groaned, suddenly slumping forward, his voice raw with frustration. "We've dated for almost seven years now. I'm going to be thirty this year. How many more years do we have to date before she realizes we're meant for each other?"

Eric leaned back, exhaling slowly. "Are we all telling our secrets now? Talking about our feelings and the deep shit?"

Noah nodded, his face buried in his hands.

Eric sighed. "I didn't know I was a hypocrite."

"Really?" Noah glared at him, grabbing the nearest object—a pillow—and chucking it at Eric's head.

Eric caught it mid-air and threw it back with a smirk, flipping Noah off.

"Here I am talking about actual relevant problems, and you're worried that you're a hypocrite?" Noah asked, his voice dripping with mockery.

"We're all hypocrites at the end of the day," Tyler chimed in, nodding solemnly, his words slurring. "As much as we want to not be. I mean, look at me. I want to be in a relationship so badly, but I say I don't. Sometimes I feel like... everything is unfair. Why give me social phobia if you're going to make me desire company as well, God?"

"He's drunk," Seok chuckled, straightening up to take another swig from his glass.

"Says you, Seok. The drunkest drunk of all of us," Noah hiccuped, his face still buried in his hands.

"I LOVE CLAIRE, DAMMIT!" Seok suddenly shouted, his voice echoing through the room.

"We know, man," Noah said, placing a hand on his chest in solidarity. "Your pain is felt. Right here."

Then, with a dramatic sigh, he added, "You know we've never had sex."

"Ew! I'm glad we haven't," Seok said, gagging exaggeratedly.

"I meant Di, you fucktard!" Noah yelled, hurling an empty water bottle at him.

"Nooooo," Tyler gasped, clutching his chest. "Truth only when drunk. Liars not allowed."

"I'm serious," Noah said with a shrug, pouring another drink. "She's Catholic, and she isn't okay with pre-marital sex. And I respect that, man."

"So what? You haven't fucked in seven years? Man, you've got to have some serious case of blue balls," Seok chuckled, earning a glare from Noah.

"Really?" Noah smirked, his eyes narrowing. "You're saying this in a room with"—he pointed at Eric—"Mr. Not-seen-a-woman's-panties-in-nine-years and"—he gestured to Tyler—"Mr. Lonely-as-fuck-but-won't-do-anything-about-it. Admit it, we're just a bunch of sad dudes getting no action."

Eric chuckled, raising his glass. "We're all thirty this year, and we spend the only free time we get with each other. What did you expect?"

"You know, this one time, about four years back, I had a one-night stand," Seok said suddenly, his tone conspiratorial.

Noah sighed, shaking his head. "That doesn't improve your image at all, dude."

"With..." Seok held up a hand, grinning mischievously. "With the-denser-Tiffany."

"No way! Tiffany, my ex from college?" Eric asked, sitting up straight.

"I'm sorry for breaking the bro code. I love you," Seok said, wincing.

Eric waved it off, chuckling. "She's crazy. I don't mind. She didn't chase you after that?"

"Thrice," Seok admitted. "So... it was more of a four-night stand."

The room erupted in laughter.

"You know this one time back in college," Noah giggled, tears forming in his eyes, "Remember we got super drunk after the celebration party? When we started the company..."

The guys nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, well, I peed in the fountain."

"Not THE fountain?" Tyler gasped, his jaw dropping.

"Yup," Noah said, laughing hysterically.

Eric broke out into uncontrollable laughter as Seok gagged in disgust.

Glancing at Seok, Eric said through his laughter, "Don't tell me you did that pen thing!"

Seok dry-heaved before throwing a pillow at Noah. "You fucking asshole! I'm going to murder you."

The two began a sloppy, drunken slap fight while Tyler suddenly stood up, swaying slightly.

"I... I'm gay!"

The room fell silent for a moment.

When Tyler looked at Eric, confused by the lack of reaction, Eric said, "We've known for a long time, Ty. We're all joined at the hip all the time. You think we wouldn't figure it out?"

"And you don't mind hanging out with me?" Tyler asked, his voice hesitant.

Eric kicked him playfully. "What do you think?"

Eric's focus drifted again, noticing the subtle way the lights flickered once more. The faintest buzz of static hummed in the background, like an invisible observer lingering at the edges of the room. The presence a little more evident every time Tyler spoke.  A faint idea lingered at the back of his mind but Eric was too drunk to care, just smirking playfully.

Once the other two had released their pent-up frustration, they collapsed back onto the couch, picking up their drinks.

"I have a secret too," Eric said, exhaling deeply. "I think I like a girl who's engaged to someone else."

The guys looked at him, pausing dramatically before Noah scoffed. "Yeah, we knew that as well."