“You, raise your head up.” Calvin Smith ordered.
I slowly raised my head up.
Calvin Smith stared me for a moment,
I felt like my face was burning as a gasp escaped from my mouth.
He smirked and took off my hairpin.
“This hairpin doesn’t suit you.”
Then he walked towards the elevator with a group of well-suited assistants and guards around him.
“Geez, Alexia!” Andy Taylor excitedly pulled my arm back into the office.
“Do you know him?”
“Oh my God, how do you know each other?”
Surrounded by a crowd of nymphomaniac guys, I was forced to answer how I knew about this new boss.
“I don’t know him! I swear I don’t know!” I didn’t feel like telling the truth; I was still confused.
“Okay, okay, hurry up. It’s lunch time. Hurry up and finish the work at hand.” It was not until Tom Jackson who finally stepped in and the office resumed its silence.
“I can’t believe you don’t know him!” Gossiping Andy Taylor persisted to continue the topic.
“How could he take your hairpin?”
“Oh my God, my hairpin!” I just realized I’d lost my hairpin.
“But Manager Smith really has a good taste. I’ve long been displeased with your dark-colored hairpin, unworthy for the taste of school flower.” Andy stared closely at my face.
“Aw, what a pretty little girl.”
“Stop your bullshit, we are getting off work now.” I sat back very uneasily.
What was his purpose in taking my hairpin? Especially in front of all these people.
It was killing me.
I didn’t even have the mood to go to lunch and stayed at my seat, asking Andy to bring me a cup of coffee.
“Here, a cup of water.” Instead of Andy, Tom Jackson brings me a cup of water seeing me alone in my seat, but the water makes me even sadder. After three years in the department, this was the first time my superior showed his kindness toward me.
“Oh Alexia, I was so strict with you before. I didn’t know about your relationship with Smith. I just wish you could give him more kind words for me.” Tom Jackson leaned to my ears.
“Mr. Tom Jackson, I think you misunderstood me.” The more he showed his enthusiasm, the more uneasy I felt.
Tom Jackson then left with a fake smile.
But gossip soon spread around every corner of the office.
I suffered a long afternoon. An hour before my day off, I finally opened my WhatsApp.
Andy: Do you know you’ve become a popular topic in our company?
Alexia: what?
Andy: Just a lot of people saying you’re Mrs. Smith!
Alexia: ???
Andy: And they say Smith came to the company because of you!
Alexia: What kind of crap is that?! You shouldn’t believe it! It’s really the first time I’ve seen him!
Andy: Meh, the group of plastic surgery women are pissed off. You, come on!
After reading Andy’s message, I was feeling worse than before. I wanted to get my hairpins back quickly.
The president’s office.
I gathered the courage to get in the president’s exclusive elevator, feeling especially nervous.
I would ask him directly why he took my hairpins. But I was also afraid he would bring up yesterday’s incident.
“Alexia, hello.” A stranger walked up to me.
“Ah, hello, and who are you?” The moment I opened my mouth, I felt regretted. Needless to say, he was either the president’s assistant or the president.
Who else would be on this floor, stupid!
“I’m Warren Wilson, I’m Calvin Smith’s assistant” Warren smiled elegantly.
“Alexia, what are you doing here?”
He knew my name?
“How did you know my name?” I was so curious, even though I knew this was an inappropriate question to ask.
“Well, it’s not easy to answer. What are you doing here?” Warren smiled, not answering me directly.
“My hairpin was taken by President Smith, and I want to get it back.” I was still oddly embarrassed to give this reason, but he made me the topic gossip all around the company today. So he must have known that.
“Oh yeah, but Smith isn’t here right now, I’ll ask that for you later.” Warren sounded as if he knew something, which made me feel weirder.
“Okay, all right, thanks. I’ll leave then.” I fled away; I didn’t want to stay here another second.
“Wait!” Warren called me suddenly.
“Let’s have dinner together tonight!”
What did he want to do; we had only met for a few minutes. Why did he invite me to dinner?
Maybe he noticed my strikingly awkward look. He gently explained again. “I’m not a weird person. To be honest, I just feel that you look very much like one of my school friends. You give me a very familiar feeling, and it’s also my first day in the company. So it’s good to meet someone new.”
After hearing his explanation, I heaved a relieved sign. Yeah, it wasn’t a big deal to get together with a colleague with whom I only chatted for a few minutes.
“Okay, okay. I’ll see you after work then.” I swiped the non-existent sweat on my face, giving him a big smile and left.
“You don’t have any work?” Calvin Smith, who wasn’t supposed to be at office according to Warren, suddenly showed up and stared at Warren Wilson with a smirk.
“Yes, I’m working.” Warren, who was being stared at, quickly pretended to be very busy. He flipped through files and tapped on the keyboard.
17:00.
Warren packed up his belongings and was just about to leave his desk when the intercom phone on his desk rang. “Bro, what’s up?” Yes, Calvin Smith was Warren Wilson’s good bro.
“Let’s eat together!” Calvin’s voice was so commanding that one couldn’t refuse him, but Warren has already made an appointment with me.
“But I have an appointment. Why not go with us?” He switched to another line before I opened my mouth.
Warren thought to himself, ‘Something was wrong with Calvin Smith. He was really into this little girl. He even took someone’s hairpin! Should I fix a date?’
While I got ready to leave work and went for my appointment, Andy Taylor followed me and persisted to go with me. She was thinking I am going on a blind date and wanted to see what type of man I would meet.
She was so fervent I just couldn’t resist her and allowed her to go with me.
If she saw me having dinner with Warren, she would know that I didn’t know Smith.
In front of the office building, Warren’s luminous car was waiting there.
“I’m here, I guess I’m not too late.” I greeted him enthusiastically and opened the pilot seat door, but the car didn’t open.
“Alexia you sit in the back.” It was Warren’s car, and I should do as he wanted.
“By the way, do you mind if I bring a friend with me?” Warren blurted out.
“Ah, it’s fine. I’ll bring one too.” I laugh awkwardly, but I was glad that it wouldn’t be as awkward as my blind date.
The next moment, I realized I was wrong.
I sat awkwardly at the back of the car with Calvin Smith. Knowing his identity time; I really was in a mess.
How could I explain this to Andy?
Sure, enough Andy was looking at me with a stunned look and a gossiping face.
I was screwed.
“Alexia, I thought you were going on a blind date!” Andy whispers in my ear, but It was still so loud and Calvin certainly could hear every word.
“Blind date?” Calvin had a weird grin on his face, and I felt so embarrassed.
Warren was also freaking out. He thought, ‘Oh my god, Calvin Smith heard I was on a dinner date with Alexia. I just hope he doesn’t mistake this for the blind date. This is a huge misunderstanding.’
All the people in the car were falling into the silence due to extreme awkwardness.
The car stopped at a grand steakhouse.
When I went out of the car, I leaned over to Warren and whispered, “The jacket Smith lent me. I’ll give them to you tomorrow. Please help to return it to him.”
Warren looked at me in surprise, after all. His brother had never been so gentle.
Not to mention lending the jacket to a girl.
“Okay, no problem.” Warren smiled and looked over at Smith who was showing a very unpleasant expression.
After asking about our favorite dishes, Warren ordered several classic dishes and then they had nothing else to say. The atmosphere fell into an awkward silence again.
“Do you mind if I smoke?” Smith finally uttered his first sentence, and I quickly waved my hand.
“Please, I don’t mind!”
Andy: Wow, he’s so handsome when he smokes! I’m drooling!
I get a thirsty message from Andy.
“He is so handsome! I can’t take my eyes off him!”
“Hahaha.” Warren laughed at us.
Hearing Warren’s laughter, I realize how obvious I was acting. I hurried up and lowered my head to take some sip of soup.
My phone suddenly rang. It was my mom.
“Excuse me; I’m answering a call.” I quickly picked up my phone and went toward the bathroom.
“Mom, what are you doing?” I knew that Mom must be calling to introduce me to a blind date again. It seemed calluses had grown in my ears.
“Mom, I’m not going on a blind date. I’ll find one on my own and bring a boyfriend home!” I was so angry at Mom’s words because she was getting more and more outrageous. I couldn’t control my volume. I finally exploded with anger, and hung up the phone.
When I turned around, I crashed into someone’s arms.
“I’m sorry.” I looked up, it was Calvin Smith again. Another embarrassing sight for him. Was I having a bone to pick with him?
“It’s okay. Let’s go. I will get you guys home.” Not allowing me to say no. He took Andy and me to that last intersection he sent me.
When I got out of the car, my mom called me again.
“You’ll find a good boyfriend and then you can live with your head high.” I’ve had enough and answered her in a perfunctory manner.
Andy, knowing my situation, stroked my back and told me she would accompany me tonight, which really warmed me up.
I was so exhausted when we got home, but it seemed that Andy had gone crazy. She was crazily bragging to me about how handsome Calvin Smith was and how perfect his body shape was, and even though I was exhausted, I gossiped with her.
This man, truly, was God’s pick.
“But, Alexia. I really think that Smith is really into you.” Andy started to gossip again; I really felt helpless.
“I told you this is the first time we met. Why are you still talking about this?”
“I really think he likes you, believe me. Can’t you trust a woman’s intuitions?” Andy patted her chest and promised.
“Trust you? No way! Go to sleep!” I needed to leave myself alone for a moment.
In the middle of the night there was a knock on the door of my room. I opened the door and it was Anni. She acted a bit strangely, and she asked me to give her some money. I didn’t hesitate to lend her some money, but she should be staying with her mother’s brother today. Then why did she stand here asking me to lend her some money? Out of trust, I wasn’t asking her anything. After all, everyone had their own stories to tell.