"You will still go dine with me?"

"Oh? Where is she?" Jerrod wondered. He saw someone else standing at the cashier counter. He thought maybe Larissa was in charge of stocks now.

Getting anxious about his progress, Jerrod is still buying his dinner from the pre-cooked food packs, despite the new arrangement.

"We can't get any closer if she's in the back working." Jerrod mumbled. He let out a sigh and his shoulders drooped, but then his smile returned when he saw Larissa walking in his direction.

With his sweetest smile, Jerrod greeted Larissa. "Good evening, I didn't see you in- ugh!"

Larissa's expression was cold as usual, and with one hand, she effortlessly pushed Jerrod to move out of her way.

Larissa's actions confused Jerrod.

Larissa acted like Robert was a bother that was hindering her work. He was about to confront Larissa about the cold treatment, but suddenly everything became dramatic.

"I finally got you!" Larissa screamed, as she jumped into another customer, twisting his arm and pinning him to the ground.

"Do you think you can steal again?"

"Fuck! Get away from me!"

The man tried to get out of Larissa's hold as he flailed his legs and kicked Larissa.

Although she was brave and strong, a man still has more strength than she did. She lost her grip on the shoplifter and the man got up and tried to escape the store.

Thud!

The shoplifter fell after Jerrod purposely tripped the man with his foot.

For a moment, Jerrod was hurt by the cold treatment but then took action to help Larissa, thinking that this situation might help him get closer to her. But of course, Larissa was too focused on catching the thief that she didn't have time to even look at Jerrod.

Almost immediately, the shoplifter stood up and yelled, "You can't get me!"

The shoplifter randomly picked up items from the shelves and threw them toward Larissa and Jerrod.

as if it snowed inside the store because of the powdered milk and pancake mixes popping out of their packaging once the shoplifter threw them.

Larissa and the other employees of the convenience store hurriedly jumped toward the shoplifter and restrained him. While Jerrod was too stunned to move, he just caught all the white powder.

Soon, the chaotic situation calmed down, and the police arrived.

"Oh my, sir! Are you alright?"

Finally, someone noticed Jerrod and hurriedly helped him dust off his dark blue coat, which was now showered with white powder. Jerrod was the only one who could dust off his hair because the employees couldn't reach his head without tiptoeing.

"I'm fine. It's good that you caught him." Jerrod responded to the store employees kindly.

Normally, if something like this happens to him, he would be angry or annoyed, but he must still be kind and forgiving in front of Larissa. He wants to win the hearts of Larissa's colleagues for extra points.

Of course, internally, he was still stunned by the way the employees dealt with shoplifters. He then looked at Larissa, who had noticed his presence late. As a 6 foot tall woman, she doesn't have any problem reaching Jerrod's hair and dusting it off.

"You're pretty brave, Miss Larissa," he commented, which made Larissa perplexed. She stopped moving but didn't remove her hand from Jerrod's head.

"H-how did you know my name?" Larissa asked, and looked at Jerrod suspiciously, which Jerrod calmly responded to by pointing at Larissa's name tag.

"Ah! I am sorry for being rude!" Larissa instantly apologized, as she felt embarrassed by her false suspicion. She hurriedly stepped back and lost her balance, causing her to miss her steps.

"Watch out!" Jerrod reflexively caught Larissa by her waist, which also made her co-workers startled. Jerrod didn't let go of her, even if she could now stand properly. Instead, they talked closely to one another.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I am alright. Thank you."

Instead of pushing Jerrod away, Larissa just covered her face as her face turned bright red. "H-How can I make up for this?" She asked out of courtesy and embarrassment, as she didn't expect Jerrod to actually think of something in return.

"I want to try to eat somewhere but they don't allow solo diners. Would you accompany me?"

Jerrod was smiling brightly as he smoothly asked Larissa for a dinner date. However, deep inside, he was also preparing himself to be rejected.

If Larissa agreed, then Jerrod would have another chance to get closer to her even outside the convenience store.

Jerrod could not let go of this opportunity and hoped Larissa would agree.

"O-okay."

Jerrod's eyes opened wide as he entirely didn't expect the positive response. He was so happy with it that he ended up hugging her instead of letting go of her.

"Ehem! Ehem!"

Jerrod finally stopped hugging Larissa after he heard multiple fake coughs. They entirely forgot about Larissa's colleagues, who were also close to them, dusting off his coat.

"Oh! I am sorry. I was just happy to visit that restaurant. They really are not allowing single people to dine alone inside the restaurant. I badly want to taste their food again." Jerrod felt strange with his inventive excuse and thought he would worry about the restaurant later and just enjoy his triumphant success of getting a date with Larissa.

"Oh? Really? Did you visit that restaurant before, sir?" The convenience store employees looked at him suspiciously, to which he shamelessly responded with another lie.

"Yes, their food was extremely good! Especially the seafood. Miss Larissa, you will not regret dining with me!" Jerrod spoke confidently as if he was not lying at all, but Larissa's co-workers wanted something else as an answer.

"Who did you go with, sir? With a lover? Then why not ask your lover instead?"

Jerrod paused and didn't move. He actually blanks out as he didn't expect such a question.

Jerrod panicked internally. "What should I say? ex-lover? A Friend? But if I mention someone, then Larissa will reject me and tell me to have dinner with the person I'll be mentioning instead. What should I say?"

"S-sir? Are you alright?"

Everyone got worried when suddenly Jerrod's expression turned glum and his face turned pale as they thought they shouldn't ask about a personal question, but it was only Jerrod panicking internally.

"The one I went with before is long gone." Jerrod said it in a low voice, but everyone heard him clearly, which made everyone uncomfortable.

"Oh my gosh, I need to clean the store!"

"What do I do? I'll get the vacuum!"

"S-sir, thank you for your help. I'll be on the counter!"

"Risa. Go and help, sir. Get off to work early. I'll pay you full with over time."

Everyone left Jerrod and Larissa alone with different excuses. While Jerrod keeps his head down as he is still drowning in his own worry, not noticing the other's reaction.

"Excuse me, sir? Would you want me to drive you home?" Larissa volunteered, which brought back the colors in Jerrod's expression.

"Y-you will still go dine with me?"