<
The memory hit me–she’d been asking about gifts and birthdays that day. She’d been testing me the whole time.
Aurora hesitated, and then added, “Did you not know that when someone transfers money through Facebook, the last character of their real name shows up?”
I was stunned.
So she’d known all along that I was lying? And she just… played along?
I sighed. “Fine. You win”
And once again, silence fell between us.
I was trying to think of something to say to ease the tension when I noticed a large teardrop hit the ground.
I looked up in shock. Aurora was crying.
Before I could react, the tears started falling faster. She was wiping her face furiously, her voice trembling as she asked, “Can we not break up? Please?”
Break up?
When did I say I wanted to break up?
But as the saying goes, a woman’s tears are a man’s kryptonite.
Looking at her red nose and tear–streaked face, I felt my defenses crumble. I sighed and said, “Okay, okay. We’re not breaking up.”
D
The moment I said it, Aurora froze. Then, as if snapping out of a trance, she grabbed my hand tightly. Still sniffling, she asked, “Do you still like me?”
Do I?
I hadn’t been sure before.
But now…
“Yes, I like you.”
The next day at work, I noticed my coworkers giving me strange looks.
When I sat down at my desk, Kenneth was already there, waiting for me. The moment he saw me, he grinned.
“Mason,” he said, pulling up a chair next to mine. “Hey, about last night. Sorry about that–I wasn’t thinking straight. You’re not mad, are you?”
1 forced a smile. “Of course not. No hard feelings.”
“Great, great. Glad to hear it.” Kenneth seemed relieved. Then, as if remembering something, he leaned in closer and asked casually, “By the way, what’s your relationship with Aurora? She seemed to know you pretty well!
My heart skipped a beat, but I kept my expression neutral. “Nothing. We didn’t know each other before this. No work overlap, so there’s no way
we’d know each other,”
Kenneth didn’t look convinced. “Really? Because last night, I could’ve sworn I saw..” He trailed off, clearly hesitant to say it out loud. Finally, he added, “Well, it wasn’t just me. A lot of people saw you two… you know… holding hands.
“Oh, that’s what really happened”
Time to put my acting chops to work again.
1:12 PM
<
1 lowered my head, desperately looking embarrassed and fustered. About that… im reany sorry, Last right, I accidentally tripped and re- right into Aurora. She was nice enough to catch me before I completely wiped out, but it was embarrassing as hell. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me want to curl up and die? I waved my hand dismissively, as if trying to brush off the memory,
“Ah, I see”
The coworkers who had been eavesdropping on the juicy gossip lost interest and turned back to their desks, Kenneth, though, narrowed his eyes slightly. I couldn’t tell if he believed me or not. Finally, he gave a nonchalant shrug. “Good, Office relationships can be tricky anyway”
Then, as if nothing had happened, he added, “By the way, I’ve got a contractor meeting about some inflated project pricing. I don’t have the time, so I’m throwing it your way, Mason”
Before I could protest, he was already walking off
The contractor was already waiting in the conference room when I arrived. The moment I walked in, I froze.
Sitting there with her overly confident smirk was Zoey, a college classmate I hadn’t seen in years–the same one who had confessed her feelings to me back then.
Of course, she recognized me too. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes as she extended her hand, “Mason, Long time no see,”
I forced a polite smile and shook her hand, “Zoey What a surprise?
Negotiating pricing on construction projects is basically professional haggling. Sure, this was a six–figure deal, but the dynamics were no different from trying to bargain over a used car
I cut straight to the point. “Zoey, the epoxy flooring price you submitted is a bit steep. The higher–ups aren’t happy with it?
She immediately launched into a sob story. “Mason, come on. You know how it is. We’re barely breaking even at this rate.”
We went back and forth like that for a while before she finally sighed, pretending to be reluctant. “Okay, fine. Give me your lowest price. If it works, rill take it?
Her tone was casual, but her words sent a red flag shooting up in my mind,
Technically, this project should’ve gone through a competitive bidding process. Kenneth, however, seemed to be steering it toward a direct award, with other companies submitting fake fads for appearances. It wasn’t uncommon in the industry, but it was risky.
Leaking the lowest acceptable price–of “reserve prvoel“-was also a common tactic. But here’s the thing: I wasn’t the one in charge of this project. I didn’t know Zoey well, and our past interactions had been less than friendly. Trusting her with sensitive information felt reckless.
And then there was the bigger question: who had even authorized this direct award? If it was a senior executive’s decision, it would’ve been expony documented. But there was no such record.
I thought back to the recent rumors floating around the office.
Kenneth was he trying to set me up?
I smiled at Zoey Hang tight ribe night back?
Once outside, 1 texted Aurora: is that investigation from the executive office tied to Kenneth?”
Her reply came almost immediately. “Yes. If he’s asking you to do something shady, stay out of it. Don’t let him drag you down with him.
1 rkly explained the situation, korony’s advice was clear: “Shift the responsibility back to him?
So, I walked over to Kenneth. He was chatting and lapang with a few contractors like everything was fine.
“Taroth, the 16 asking for the market price. Should I just share that with them?
Kenneth waved his hand dismissesty “Yeah, just give them a number
1:12 PM
