Through a Needle's Head

The commotion outside made the trio – Yana, Jack, and Secretary Gail – scramble out of the pocket room with Yana taking the lead. However, just as she was about to turn the corner towards the hallway, she froze in her track which led to a domino effect of Jack and Secretary Gail crashing on her back.

The little lass's eye grew big as a saucer, surprised at what she just witnessed that she immediately pivoted on her heel and ducked, covering her mouth too to prevent the giggle that threatened to escape her lungs.

Her swift movement caught the two assistants behind her by surprise that they were left with no choice but to mirror her too, ducking and covering their mouths.

Yana tried to take a peep but her heart was pounding so loud in her chest, frightened that their bosses in the hallway would notice their presence so she gestured to Jack and Secretary Gail to walk back towards the pocket room and flee the scene.

The three assistants quietly wadded back to the pocket room in a line, looking like three ducks in a row. Once the trio got back inside the pocket room, they all stood up with Yana closing the door behind them. Jack and Secretary Gail did not ask Yana what she saw because it was none of their business although they were curious about it too. To them, what matters most was their bosses weren't fighting. Less fight, less outrageous requests from their bosses, so they all went back to their businesses as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, outside in the hallway, Maxen and Olivia sat still frozen in time.

"Are you still mad at me? Baby, it won't happen again. I promise," Maxen pleaded after a few seconds of silence. He cupped her face and moved it so their eyes could meet. Earlier, even when Olivia refused to face him the entire time, he still saw her eyes softened for a second upon seeing the stalk of tulip in his hand before it went back to her blank hazel brown eyes. He was hoping to see even a glimmer of hope through her eyes but saw nothing when Olivia locked her eyes with his.

Dodging his question, Olivia said, "I have to go, Max. We'll talk later, okay?" She peeled his hand away from her face and stood up from her kneeling position, pulling Maxen up to stand too. Even if she wanted to discuss things with him, she's in the middle of an important call and now was not the perfect time for it.

"Thank you for this," she said, bopping the stalk of tulip on his nose too.

Somehow, her small act ignited Maxen's hope that tonight would end on a positive note. "Anything for you," he said as he inched closer to Olivia to tuck a loose hair strand behind her ear. Knowing that she didn't like her personal space to be invaded, he spread his arms out, waiting for a hug he didn't deserve. When Olivia didn't move from her spot, he sighed in defeat.

"We'll. Talk. Later," she repeated in a stern voice as she pivoted on her heel and walked back to her office. Before she closed the door, she sent Maxen an evil glare, and he FINALLY got the memo, leaving her in peace.

Outside Olivia's office, Maxen stood close to the door as he tried to eavesdrop on her conversation yet failed big time for he couldn't hear a thing outside.

Earlier, he heard a man's laughter from Olivia's computer which sounded familiar that he was not sure if his mind was just playing tricks on him after hitting his head on the wall.

"Tristan Yang?" Maxen knitted his brows in confusion when the sudden realization hit him. How on Earth did Tristan meet Olivia but he, Prince Maxen, never did?

He was about to step away and save his thoughts for later when Olivia's laughter could be heard again. He felt his heart ripped and shredded into pieces at the thought of other men making her laugh.

The green-eyed monster told him to knock the door down and demand an explanation yet he knew better not to cause another trouble for himself so he stomped towards the living room and plopped on the sofa. He closed his eyes as he processed the information but soon enough exhaustion took over that Maxen drifted off to sleep.

Once the door was closed, Olivia unmuted the mic on her computer and sent a buzz to the other person across the web conference.

"My apologies for the interruption," she said, as she took the documents that lay on the desk and scanned it.

"Is that Prince Maxen?" the man on the other line inquired. His mocking tone didn't go unnoticed by Olivia that she quirked a brow and placed the documents back on the desk.

Crossing her arms on her chest, she sneered in derision, "News sure travels fast. Since when did Tristan Yang learn how to gossip?"

"We're not a member of Pyxis for nothing," Tristan Yang shrugged. His animated facial expression and movements made Olivia laugh.

"Tris…" Olivia trailed. "How come I never heard of the Suis being mentioned as if they never existed?"

"There you go again, you drama queen. Before you jump to conclusions, which I know what you are doing as of the moment, shouldn't you ask yourself why YOU didn't know they existed? It's not the Pyxis's job to educate you of your country's history."

"Ok, point taken. But how come nobody was assigned to them?"

"The answer to your question is simple: The Pyxis cut ties with them. The Suis are more complicated than you think, Olivia. If I were you, I'll leave them alone and not meddle with their business. Oooh right, how can you leave them alone when it was the prince who wouldn't leave you alone?"

Tristan's mocking laugh infuriated Olivia yet her face showed nothing but a neutral expression. She wouldn't let this fool get the reaction he was aiming for from her.

After what felt like forever waiting for Olivia's come back, Tristan Yang swiveled in his seat. He had not seen that much control in Olivia as what he saw at that moment. He stole a glance at the report on his desk and was half thankful that there weren't any photos of Maxen and Olivia together yet, but that meant he couldn't report anything to their headmaster and it made him slightly miffed.

Two days ago a search on Olivia from the Sui security team had alerted Pyxis that the headmaster called him in for 'tea'.

Tea should be savored and enjoyed. A wonderful drinking experience according to Tristan's books. However, nobody enjoys a cup of tea with the headmaster because 'tea' means business to her… the type of business that nobody should know about.

He felt like he was betraying his friend. How could the headmaster use him, Tristan Yang, heir to the Yang Corporation, to spy on his dear friend Olivia when it was a known fact that Olivia and Tristan were scouted by the Pyxis at the same time?

Shifting his gaze back to the monitor, Tristan broke the ice, and asked, "Are you guys serious? Like do you have plans on getting married?" He knew he was out of line to ask such questions and he also knew that to gather info from Olivia was akin to passing through a needle's head but he had to at least get an idea of what he was dealing with and Olivia's silence was expected.

'Less talk, less mistake,' Tristan said to himself as his eyes never left the monitor as he patiently waited for Olivia's reply. Resorting to other methods to get a reply from her, Tristan said in a matter-of-factly tone, "I guess that's a 'yes'. Silence means yes. Am I right, Olivia?"

Under the table, Tristan's knees buckled when Olivia's scathing glare penetrated through the monitor. He stealthily massaged his kneecap and forced a laugh. "Or maybe not," he retracted his words. He breathed out a sigh of relief upon seeing Olivia's shoulders shake from glee at his expense.

"Maxen and I just met, Tris. Why is everyone expecting us to get married already? And why are we gossiping? Shouldn't we talk about serious matters like what I just saw with my eyes."

"Wait, Olivia. Don't change the subject," Tristan said. Although he was curious as to what her intel's about, he had to stick to his agenda and extract even a tiny detail between Maxen and Olivia's budding relationship.

At first, he thought what he heard from the headmaster that morning was nothing but smoke around the campfire. However, the thought of him calling in to schedule a meeting just so he could borrow Olivia's time while a spoiled little prince could just easily knock and disturb their meeting incensed him that he too wanted to know what was really going on between the two.

"Just say the words first that there's nothing serious going on between you and Maxen," Tristan insisted. He tried not to flinch when he saw Olivia roll her eyes and moved an arm. 'Please don't hang up on me,' he prayed in his mind even though he knew the odds were against him.

"OK. Hanging up now. Just schedule a meeting when you're ready to talk about my report."

And with that, Olivia dropped the call, leaving Tristan Yang chuckling in his seat.