09

He almost chokes on his own saliva. "Oh my god!" he loudly slaps his forehead which makes me wince.

"Eyes on the road, please," I say, worried but my face was still distorted since I still feel the pain of his palm on his forehead.

"Sorry!" He was panicky, not knowing what to really do. "I— Uhm… about the email, I have to say something."

I raise my brow, folding my arms in front of me. "Yeah, I guess you do."

He squints his eyes. I guess he's somehow regretting not telling me about this. I mean he doesn't need to feel guilty about it, I just want to hear what he has to say.

It's obvious he's nervous from how his eyes are having trouble settling. If I were to exaggerate, they were trembling, not knowing how and where to start with his explanation.

He starts driving despite our current situation but I can clearly see that he's trying to formulate what he's going to say to me because he suddenly turned quiet.

"I— uh… The email, it wasn't really intentional. It was a slip of the tongue, I swear!"

And suddenly, it makes me burst into laughter. A laughter which also surprises Daniel as it was too sudden. One moment I was all serious about the email thing, then the next one I was laughing like I was losing my mind. I couldn't stop myself from letting it out.

"Are you okay? You're scaring me." He looks at me weirdly, like I'm someone insane.

I wave my hand in dismissal, still trying to calm myself down from laughing. "I'm perfectly fine. I just couldn't help but laugh at how jittery you became. Come on, Daniel. You can relax. I don't entirely bite."

He just scoffs as an answer and even rolls his eyes at me before yanking his head to look forward once again to drive.

I gape as a reaction. /The attitude of this man!/ I just shake my head while grinning. "But seriously, what did you do?" I cross my legs, tilt my head, and wait for his reply. The rearview mirror was the only way we could look at each other.

It doesn't take long before he cuts our eye contact and emits a loud sigh causing my brows to furrow, my forehead to crease. "Is it that bad? Come on, Dan!" Just a few more minutes of leaving me hanging like this and I will really pull my hair.

And as if he was teasing and reading my mind, he just answers with a sigh again! I distort my face, making myself look annoyed while glaring intensely at him. "Tell me or I will shave your brows. Stop sighing, you have bad breath! Tell me already, Dan. Please?" I almost pout.

I guess he got his fill from teasing because he suddenly laughs. I guess we're not that different from each other. Or maybe we're just both losing our minds. I copy his expression when he looked at me earlier. "Are you okay? You're scaring me."

And he laughs even more. At this point, I'm just scared for my life. I just hope he knows that we're still on the road. Kidding, though. I know he knows what he's doing. "You sure have a different way of threatening someone."

"That doesn't matter right now." I get impatient as I uncross my legs and move closer to the middle so I can hear him better. "Tell me, tell me!"

"Alright, alright. I'll tell you."

My eyes open more, ears ready to get information that I need. "I kinda, accidentally, told a friend of mine, who happens to be a publisher, about you. Long story short, he was interested in you." Silence.

I couldn't really bring myself to say something so I just sat there, mouth agape. And after filling the car with silence for so long, a thought comes to mind.

"Ah! I also told him that you haven't published anything yet on the internet or anything. Told him to just ask you for one, sent or printed. I guess you both talked about it through the emails. Just— tell me if you aren't comfortable enough yet, okay? Turn it down and I'll be the one to talk to him."

I smile inwardly because of how thoughtful he is. Dan never fails to warm my heart with the trivial things he does or says. "You should be my spokesperson, Dan. It'd be the perfect job for you, seriously," I joke.

I come back to my seat, back pressed on it, and looking at my hands. Neither of us say anything about it. He didn't even laugh. Okay, I was just trying to build my confidence and gave my decision a second thought. But to hell with doubting my decisions. This has been a dream of mine since then and now that I'm somehow close to it, I don't want to waste the opportunity anymore.

"I'm doing it."I look up, straight at his eyes, with conviction. "I told him I'll send him a draft." It was weird. Saying it out in the open because it's a first for me. Everything this year has been a first for me. And to be honest, I am a little shy and nervous about it. No one has ever read one of my writings except for myself.

The car suddenly took a stop which surprised me and caused me to jerk forward. I flick my head to look at him if anything has happened, if we crashed into a car. Fortunately, he just suddenly pressed on the breaks because there was traffic.

"Dan, please be careful next time, okay?" I say seriously.

He nods and continues to keep his head lowered as the cars weren't moving, once again. "I'm sorry. That was reckless of me. I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

I nod once, sighing. "It's okay, just don't do it again. I understand you were taken aback, but always be careful, yeah?"

He nods not only once. And I smile once again. "I'm not mad!" I try to defend myself. I just want him to be careful not because I'm with him but because… he needs to. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him.

"Yes. I know. I just, that was reckless. I shouldn't have done that." He sighs, looking totally disappointed in himself.

"Stop sighing, okay? Everything's alright and you've learned your lesson. That's enough. We were happy just a while ago, let's not be negative today. No negativity for today." I cross my arms in front of me and shake my head.

"Right." He suddenly stops talking again. And I couldn't find myself saying anything either which made it more… awkward? "Can I come with you? I mean if ever, you know, you meet with him. Can I come?" He steps on the foot brake to move now that the traffic has subsided.

I giggle. It was not very Daniel-like to get all shy like that. "Of course, you can come. Moral support and all that."

The car ride seemed to be longer today as a lot has happened. Or maybe that's just me? But anyway, it still felt like forever before we finally got to arrive at the parking lot of the building. We were practically speed walking to arrive there on time as part of my tasks today is to finally start the internship and I only have just exactly 3 minutes before that starts.

Thankfully, Geleen was there to entertain them and discuss with them where they will respectively be. As they were familiarized by the building yesterday, by me of course, they knew where to go when they were given a signal to. We still have them this little pamphlet about the parts of the building if ever they do get lost.

I actually chose which department they will be in based on their strengths and where they need improvement. By the time I got there, I was left with a couple of students which will directly be under me as I handle most of the field which entertains customers. I actually handle all departments but this is where I am most experienced.

"Right, sorry." I clasp my hands in front of me as I catch my breath. "Uh…is this everyone? No one's late or didn't get to start today?"

"Nope!" Someone answered but I didn't catch who it was. I roamed my eyes and smiled inwardly when I saw him standing inches away from me. Though the person in front of him was Ms. Red ribbon.

It made me want to tease her more, though. "Right. Oh! Red ribbon, you're here," I say while trying to suppress my laughter when they started teasing her as well. "Okay, let's start shall we?"

First day of internship, I just wanted them to know what they should expect, what attitude they should have, and how to deal with customers. We also worked with the Planning department as we had to discuss the different products we have. It wasn't that hectic nor was it very tiring. I had to leave them during lunch, though. I asked Geleen to let the other manager take over as I had things to do after lunch.

I was just in my office, bowl of half eaten rice and an empty plate where the meat was previously placed and safely disregarded. I was long done eating my meal and placed it on the table I usually eat on. A glass of water just beside me, half drank, as I couldn't really find the time to finish it.

I come here everyday but why is it that this pile of paper on top of my desk never decreases. I was busy reading proposals when my phone rang and I instantly picked it up when I saw who it was coming from.

"Ms. Gem there has been a problem with one of the deliveries, should I send the driver back here? What about the truck he was driving?" I was greeted by a panicked voice from the management team.

My hands naturally came up to my lips to touch it, slowly rising to my temple to massage it. "Hmm… for now send a motorcycle to get to him. Whichever branch is near. Also, since the motorcycle will fetch him, send someone who will fix the truck alongside him. Tell them to move fast."

"Yes. Thank you very much!"

I place my phone down again beside me where the ring was full blast on, I cannot leave it on silent because someone calls me like every 5 minutes. Sighing, I continue with what I have to do. Sign papers, read proposals, read charts about this month's sales, about the recruits we've hired. And just as I was about to start another pile, a call once again.

"Ma'am, I'm very sorry," she starts, which makes me crease my forehead.

"I won't be able to do anything with an apology. What is wrong?"

She doesn't answer for a few seconds. "I forgot to order a special product which was supposed to be picked up by the courier at the factory today. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, ma'am."

I sigh and grit my teeth. "I don't have the time to lecture you. For now, Call the factory and rush the order. How many days did you promise the customer?"

I heard some shuffling. "Uh…3 days. She placed her order last Saturday."

"I'll try to rush it but I can't promise anything. The most certain day we can deliver it will be tomorrow morning. Talk to her about it for now and we'll talk later about this."

It was tiring. Constantly being needed, always hearing your phone ring, always thinking of solutions. But it's okay, I got used to it. But my back has been aching for days, as well as my nape, and I can't help but lean back and rest for a few minutes, head thrown up to ease the pain on my neck.

Minutes later, I hear a knock on my door which makes me sigh. Nevertheless, I keep my eyes closed. I don't really have the energy right now to look at someone and argue with them.

"Please come in."

Nobody answers so I just disregard it. I assumed I was just hallucinating or hearing things because I was tired. I take a deep breath with my eyes closed and huff it out.

/Why does it smell like coffee?/ I think when the familiar smell starts to engulf my nose. Slowly, I raise my head to look at the person who so quietly placed a cup on my table. Theo?

My eyes widen when I slowly realize that I'm probably not hallucinating and Theo really bought coffee for me. I was just staring at him, which was embarrassing, eyes wide and mouth open (though I can't really ignore how good the coffee smells). "What are you doing here?"

He points at the coffee with his mouth. "Needed to deliver your energizer. You slept late last night, I'm sure."

I chuckle in disbelief, reaching for the cup in front of me. "Right, I did. Had to finish some things. Thanks for the coffee." I raise it before I take a sip and stop when the flavor starts to get /really/ familiar. "How'd you know?"

He was wearing a very wide and adorable grin when he saw how shocked I was. He shrugs as an answer. "Took a guess."

"Huh… a very bold guess, I see." I chuckle.

I grimace at him when he suddenly turns quiet. "Hazel, you really need to take it slow, you know." He looked at me ever so softly but was still smiling.

I nod. "I know. But we both know that I can't, right?"

He puffs out discouraged air. "If you ever do need help with something, I'm here. I mean I probably won't be able to help much with the critical stuff, but I can guarantee you that I can keep you company for hours."

I smile at that. I know myself that I'm used to this kind of set-up, my body's used to this, I'm used to doing this alone. But it does feel good to have someone just, you know, keeping you entertained while reading a bunch of boring stuff. "I'll take note of that. You can't say no when I call you late at night, in the middle of you sleeping, to keep me awake."

He nods frantically. "I promise I won't say no!"

"Have you had lunch?"

He nods once, his gaze never leaving me.

"You should probably get back with your friends. I think you all should spend time together."

Instead of going to the door, back to where his friends are, he walks towards the seat in front of me and sits there facing me, chin on the palm of his hands. "Nah. I'll stay here until the break ends. I like it better here."