The Writer's Assistant (ManxMan)

Chapter 22: A Red Flag

A/N: March 1, 2023

Last chapter had some smut 👀🔥 ahaha the way Daniel re-evaluted his entire life after doing you-know-what 😭🤣

Enjoy this chapter!!!

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I didn't go to work the next day. Oliver stopped calling, and I was mentally preparing myself to get fired. No matter how nice he was, even he probably wouldn't tolerate this type of attitude. I worked from home, took care of the business calls and interview requests, and let Camilia assist him if he needed anything in person. I went through my phone to look for music to play while finishing my work, but a video popped up in my recommendations. It was Oliver's interview. Now that I think about it, I never got to listen to the end. I played it and watched it from the beginning even though I had been there.

"Do you have someone you like?" Tina asked, and I sat at the edge of my seat, wondering what he had said. He looked at her and smiled, almost looking nervous. During the first twenty minutes of the interview, Oliver didn't look anxious at all. He didn't even panic when Tina accidentally cut her finger. He calmly asked for a first aid kit and continued the show as if nothing had happened.

But when Tina asked the question, Oliver smiled the way people smiled whenever they were nervous or shy. He looked somewhere over the camera but not directly at it, and my stomach dropped. I knew he was looking for me. The disappointment in his eyes was clear as day, and I could see his jaw tighten. I wasn't standing there like he had hoped, but he quickly concealed his feelings.

"I do," he admitted finally, almost sounding hurt. "And I don't know what to do or how to act. Despite my age, liking someone makes me feel like I'm in high school again," he chuckled. "And just like when I was a teenager, I'm lost and confused."

Tina stared at him with wide eyes.

"Why don't you follow your heart and do what you want?"

"Do what I want?" He chuckled darkly. He met her gaze and raised his brows. "Sweetheart, you shouldn't say those words so lightly. If I did what I wanted, things would escalate quicker than you think."

Tina blushed and my lips parted in shock.

"Feelings are messy," he let out a quiet sigh. "To be completely honest, I've been in a bad mood lately."

"Why?"

"The person I like likes someone else."

A gasp.

"That's probably worse than heartbreak," she frowned, leaning in closer as if she had forgotten about the interview and was ready to gossip with her newly established BFF.

"It is," he said grimly.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I have multiple options. Option number one is eat a box of donuts and cry in bed."

Tina laughed, but I wasn't sure if Oliver was joking.

"Been there, done that. The second option is to get jealous but," he shrugged. "Too late."

"And the third?"

A wicked smile flickered on his face.

"Win him over."

"How?" Tina inquired. Oliver opened his mouth and said something, but it was bleeped out. Whatever he said made Tina's eyes widen, and she stared at him with an incredulous look in his eyes. Her eyes darted to the camera before looking back at Oliver.