Awkward

They stayed in that position for what felt like hours. Veronica's torrent of emotions had startled Roland. He'd always seen her as a strong, stoic woman, and this was a side he hadn't seen of her. However, he didn't think much of it; she was human, too.

When they separated, they seemed to have forgotten how to act or speak. They stood there silently, each waiting for the other to say something. Moments passed, and the awkwardness didn't fade.

As childhood friends for years, this was very new territory for them, and neither was certain what they should do. The silence persisted.

Roland glanced at the food laid out on the floor. He'd felt full a second ago, but now he wanted something to nibble on, just to ease his restlessness.

"Well… this isn't awkward at all," Roland muttered.

Veronica chuckled lightly at his reaction.

Roland's expression suddenly turned serious as he asked, "So, where do we go from here?"

"Well," Veronica replied, "I guess you could ask me out on a date…

"After all, you did promise we'd reschedule dinner."

…

In her apartment, Anna was still upset about Roland's cold reply to her email. The progress she thought they'd made had apparently all been her imagination.

'I was certain there was something between us. Those few interactions we had, they had… something about them.'

As Anna sat there ruminating on the email debacle and her relationship with Roland, she suddenly thought of something and got out her phone to text Barov.

Because he had more experienced experience in the company that Anna, she'd often seek advice from him. From their interactions, a strange friendship had formed. Similar to Roland, Anna saw Barov as a friendly elder she could confide in. On the other hand, Barov had originally seen her as a rival, but he couldn't stop himself from coming to like her.

'Barov, does Veronica do any work in the company?'

His reply came through quite quickly.

'No, she has no real experience in programming or business. She just owns a large enough share in the company to be on the board. Why do you ask?'

The reply shocked Anna. Although Anna knew she was on the board due to her company shares, she was surprised Veronica had no part in the programming side of things. Veronica had admitted that she was Nightingale, the person who had framed her, when they were at the board meeting, so Anna had assumed she had helped with the software.

'If she's really Nightingale, why is she hiding it?' thought Anna.

She decided to ask Barov for more information, to which Barov sent a lengthy reply.

'Veronica is a childhood friend of Roland's. I don't know how they met, but I do know that they consider each other as siblings. Incidentally, it seems it was Veronica's family who financed Roland's first software launch, which is why they have shares in the company. However, I don't know much about her family itself, only that she is rich.

'Anyway, you shouldn't worry about her. They're like siblings; nothing will happen between them.'

As Anna read the last part of Barov's message, she thought, 'Was I seen though so easily? If it's so obvious, why hasn't Roland said anything?'

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Information About Release Schedule

I'm aware my releases are fairly sporadic so I thought I'd explain. I normally write chapters two at a time. I currently write them in the evening/night, edit one and release it, then edit the other the following morning. I do that every two days. So, for some of you, it might be that you get two chapters every two days, and for others it might feel like you're getting 1 a day.

Overall, the frequency is consistent, it's just that the timing is a bit messed up. I thought I ought to explain so people don't think I've missed posting that day. Incidentally, if I do miss a day, I will make it up to you. If it seems I haven't noticed or have forgotten, leave a comment. Alternatively you can send me a message on Facebook (if you're in the official group) or on Discord (DonaldTrump#4122).