Broken Sky

28| Feelings

"Don't worry, Jake," he says, sweat trickling on his forehead. He looks bloody nervous. "I've reported this to the Chairman, and we would take immediate actions to Mark, who has broken our company's code of conduct. Judging from what the Chairman said, he's furious, and Mark will be gone from here."

Well, thank you.

"And..." Charlie pauses. "We would really appreciate it if you don't...you know..."

If I don't tell my parents? Yeah, yeah. I get what you're trying to say.

To tell you the truth, I don't like it when they drag my parents into this. I don't want to be labeled as my parents' son.

I want to be acknowledged as who I really am and to get appreciation only because of my own hard work. But I guess that at this point, it's simply unavoidable.

Charlie keeps talking to ease the initial tension between us, to warm up to me, and I don't remember how long we've been staying in his office.

It's getting harder to not yawn from hearing all the small talks.

For me, the fact that Mark is fucking gone is enough. That's all I need to hear.

The moment we finally shake hands before I leave, he says, "Lastly, Jake, I just want to inform you that the Chairman would like to see you in person."

"Right. I guess I need to see him," I say. "I should thank him for helping me out."

Charlie clears his throat. "Actually, he would like to apologize to you."

I step out of Charlie's office and sigh. So everything's settled now.

I walk off, turning around the corner, and bump into someone.

It's Tracy.

"Jake," she exclaims. "Congratulations. I'm sure you've heard about everything from my boss."

I nod.

"It's good to see that Lais can finally breathe again," she adds. "She was dead worried about you. Poor girl kept crying when she heard that you're gone. Gosh. She even asked us to terminate her contract instead of yours."

I stare at Tracy in disbelief after hearing what she just said about Lais.

She what?

Tracy gives me a knowing smile before walking off, leaving me stunned here.

Did Lais really ask them to kick her out instead? But she's been working hard to get here. Unlike me, she's been struggling to make a living by herself - juggling her studies and parttime jobs, saving money for her college tuition fees and living alone.

Lais...

My throat hurts. Did she ask that for me?

Stupid girl.

Right now, I'm not thinking about meeting the Chairman -- I can book the appointment later this afternoon.

Right now, I just want to see Lais.

I glance at my watch and find that it's already lunchtime. While I'm striding across the hallway to the elevator, I dial her number.

The call is connected, and her voice fills my ear, "Hello?"

"Where are you?"

"Um... I'm downstairs," she says.

It's noisy in the background, like she's in a restaurant.

"I just finished having lunch with Sarah, but we're still in this Japanese restaurant. Where are you?" From the urgency in her tone, I can tell that she can't wait to see me either.

"Wait there," I say before getting into the elevator.

Once I reach the ground floor, I look around the restaurant and see her figure. I rush to her, and when I finally arrive at her table, I'm still trying to catch my breath, surprising her and Sarah.

"Lais." I pant.

My chest tightens, but it's not only because I was running. It's because I need to let something out of it.

"Jake?" she echoes, looking slightly confused with the way I act, like there's something really urgent I need to say.

"Lais," I say again, and then feel like a complete idiot.

"Y-yeah?" she asks. Her brows furrow -- she's wondering what's going on.

I shouldn't make her worried anymore because everything is already settled, but I'm acting like a lost puppy now.

Dammit. I want to say that I'm here. I'm not going anywhere.

But the words stick in my throat. And there are more, itching to escape from my lips.

Sarah looks at me and then Lais. She clears her throat and stands up.

"I'm sorry, Lais. I gotta go upstairs now. I forgot that I still have to send some emails." With that said, she disappears from our sight in a blink of an eye, like she wants to escape as soon as possible, saving herself from being the third wheel.

"Have you had your lunch?" Lais asks.

Oh, yeah. I realize that I'm still standing like an idiot, so I sit down on the chair in front of her.

Lais calls the waiter so that I can order my food. And after I'm done with that, she starts talking.

"You talked with the HR Division Head, didn't you?" she asks, unable to hide her anxiety. "How did it go?"

"Good," I say. "I'm not kicked out. But Mark is."

I feel like I just won a medieval battle. The satisfaction from knowing that the bastard finally gets his karma is priceless.

Lais' eyes brim with tears. "Oh, Jake, I'm so relieved," she lets out a soft cry. "Thank God."

She closes her eyes, clasping her hand in front before opening her eyes again, and that's when a tear escapes from the corner of her eye.

A soft smile touches her lips. "Thank you, Jake," she whispers. "Thank you for everything."

My heart thumps. She looks so beautiful. With that smile. With those tears.

Is she crying happy tears? Because of me?

Seeing her like this, I feel like those nightmares never existed. Like the monster inside me dies and will never come back.

How strange.

I have never felt like this toward a girl.

"Can I ask you something, then?" the words come out from my lips, even when I didn't remember moving them.

Lais looks at me with wonder.

"I don't want us to be just friends," I say, and everything around me seems to stop. I can't believe that I just said that.

But looking at the confused look on Lais' face, the inner voice within me tells me to back off.

Don't ruin it.

And because of that, I add, " I want us to be best friends." I smile, almost biting my tongue to stop myself from revising that line. "Does that sound like a good idea?"

Lais chuckles, and her pretty smile curves on her lips again. "It does."