SIX

Rachel shook her head immediately. "No. But seriously, I mean, how lucky you are." She said, turning dreamy all over again. "Meeting the gorgeous CEO on your first day at SI. It's like destiny! So spill, do you have a lucky charm or what? Because if you do, you have to share it with me."

Lara sighed. Looks like she was worried about nothing. "I didn't think meeting him was such a lucky thing though..." She said and that made Rachel sad and turn quiet for a while before sighing with her.

"Come here." Rachel opened her arms and hugged her. "If you're transferring for real then I'll really miss you." She said. "Yes, I'll be alone in this department but at least we're still working in the same company, right?"

Lara nodded.

"Besides." Rachel pulled away and gave her an encouraging smile. "We can still have lunch together with Chance. We can also go partying this weekend if you're up for it..."

Lara suddenly felt excited about the invitation. Oh great! A party! She never attended a human party before. Is it the same in her home where people wear gowns, dance to orchestral music and drink wine while talking with each other? As far as her research went, human parties kinda evolved in time.

"Sure! Let's go partying this weekend."

"Great!" Rachel squealed. "Wear a dress."

Suddenly, the head of the HR department, Valerie Campbell, came to the finance department, and behind her followed a clueless Chance looking around in confusion.

"Oh my gosh, is that Chance?" Rachel gasped and waved at their friend. Their gay friend saw them too and waved back.

"What is he doing here?" Rachel murmured. Lara was curious as well and waited for what was going to happen next.

"Attention everyone!" Miss Valerie Campbell clapped her hands, calling for everyone's attention. "Starting today, Chance Addams here will be working with you in this department, effective immediately. This was a decision made by the higher-ups. So, everyone gets along, okay?" She said, turning to Chance and tapping his shoulders in an encouraging manner. "Work hard!"

After that Valerie left, leaving Chance gaping because he was not expecting this to happen, at all. Not until the announcement was made actually...

Lara and Rachel approached their dumbfounded friend with surprise and glee written on their faces.

"You're working here?" Rachel incredulously asked. Another shocking event has occurred.

"It seems so." Chance replied with a stunned expression.

Rachel squealed. "Oh my gosh!" She really thought she was going to be alone in here forever. Good thing fate had other plans and now she's not alone. Chance is going to be with her.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're here..." Rachel wrapped her arms around Chance for a hug. She was relieved and comforted that he was there, she wasn't alone.

Chance didn't know what Rachel was thinking or feeling inside, but he graciously welcomed the hug with a smile and open arms. Her hug comforted him as well, in a way, it eased him into gradually accepting his fate that he got transferred after working in the HR department for a day. It was a surprise, of course, but at least he was going to work in the same department as his friends. 

"Let's have a celebratory dinner later after work." Chance announced and Rachel immediately agreed to this idea.

"I'm in!"

"Lara?" Chance asked.

Lara couldn't help but sigh, pleading in front of her with those eyes, how can she even say no? "Of course, I'll come." She said, "I mean, how could I not?"

"Great!" Chance grinned. He was pleased that he was able to convince her to agree. The proposal was abrupt, but he was excited to spend it together with Rachel and Lara. His mind worked. Which club should he bring his friends to?

"I'm so excited!" Rachel said. She clapped her hands, jumping around like a hyped fan. She couldn't contain her giddiness. "The weekend is still a couple of working days away, but the situation isn't so bad now that I have Chance with me." She said.

"What do you mean?" Chance asked.

"Lara's not working here anymore." She answered, which earned her a confused look from Chance.

"What? Why?" Chance's eyes widened as he looked at Lara. "Wait... Did you get fired?"

Lara snorted. "I was not."

"Then what the hell are you talking about?" Chance asked Rachel.

"Well... About that." Rachel was about to tell Chance the whole story when suddenly, someone appeared by the door making her blink.

Every soul in the room went completely silent. Followed by a handful of gasps when someone recognized the person standing by the door.

"I-Is that Miss Steff?" Someone stuttered.

"Yes, I think it's her..."

Rachel, Chance, and Lara blinked multiple times checking if they were dreaming or not. What is the CEO's secretary doing in the Finance Department?

One of the senior employees skittered to Stefani's side, "H-How can we help you, Ms Anderson?" He was sweating bullets, but he was eager to please, "Our department head is still not here."

Stefani smiled. She waved her hand, "That's okay. I'm not here to pick up anything."

The murmurs continued as Stefani stood in front of the crowd, un-bothered by the attention she was getting. Her eyes searched the sea of heads while ignoring the buzzing around her.

"T-Then why...-" the senior employee was immediately interrupted when Stefani beamed and waved at someone in the crowd.

"There you are. Hi!" 

Her target was standing in the corner of the room. Beside her stood her friends, which she read so much about in the reports she got from Seth. 

The sea of spectators separated like the red sea when Stefani approached Lara with a mega-watt smile on her face. The murmurs grew. 

Chance and Rachel flinched on their feet when Stefani stopped in front of them. 

"A-Am I dreaming?" Chance asked her in a whisper. He wanted to pinch himself so he could wake up but apparently, he wasn't dreaming at all.

Stefani wore a simple pink blouse and a plain black pencil skirt. Nonetheless, she looked sexy and gorgeous as hell.

"No, you're not dreaming," Rachel replied. "Maybe I'm the one dreaming." She said.

Chance shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not." He said, still staring at Stefani's face.

The two stayed like that for a while. They looked like statues standing behind Lara, not flinching a muscle when she spoke. "Miss Stefani, wh-what are you doing here?"

Stefani chuckled. "Of course I came to get you, silly. By the way, he's waiting for you upstairs. Shall we go?" She asked, smiling sweetly at her. 

Chance and Rachel gaped at what they heard.

"Wait, wait, wait. Where are you going?" Chance asked.

"The CEO is waiting for her..." Rachel said in a daze. She couldn't believe this... The CEO is personally assigning Lara to another department. But why?

"I'll wait for you by the elevator." Stefani smiled. Clearly, her friends needed some explanation so she'll leave her to her business. "Don't forget to bring your things." 

Lara grimaced as she watched Stefani leaving the room. Everyone watched her retreating back, her ponytail swaying as she walked.

When Stefani was finally gone, Lara immediately felt a burning sensation at the side of her face. She slowly faced her friends. Their eyes narrowed at her, screaming 'EXPLAIN' on her face.

"Uhh."

"Talk." Chance said, folding his arms over his chest in perfect unison with Rachel like they rehearsed the move before she faced them, just to intimidate her. 

"I honestly don't know what's going on." She said. "Ask Rachel." She pointed at their blinking friend and Chance looked at Rachel. 

"I know a part of it, and it's a long story."

Chance closed his eyes and sighed. "Fine. You're telling me everything you know." He said to Rachel then turned to Lara. "You, don't make Ms Anderson wait. Go, now. But you're telling me everything during lunch."

Lara smiled, relief flooding her chest. "Okie Dokie." She saluted.

***

Lara didn't bring a lot with her except a box of her personal belongings and a shoulder bag. When she arrived at the elevator, Stefani was standing there tapping endlessly on her phone. 

The woman never stops working, does she.

"I'm ready."

Stefani looked up. "Oh, you done?"

Lara nodded. "Yep. They're postponing the interrogation till lunchtime."

Stefani laughed. "I like your friends."

Lara's eyes soften thinking of her friends. "Me too."

"Shall we?" Stefani locked her arms around Lara's before pressing the 'up' button on the panel of the elevator. "Noah must be feeling impatient right now." She said, smirking. 

Lara heard it, but she didn't know what to say to that, so she stayed quiet, pursing her lips together while waiting for the elevator doors to open.

Meanwhile...

Chance and Rachel's eyes sparkled with mischief as they sat beside each other, a giddy smile on their face.

"I'm going to grill, Lara with questions later." Chance said.

They immediately became seatmates after Chance introduced himself to their department head. Now Rachel was helping him set up his future workspace. 

"I'm even formulating my hot seat questions inside my head, right now." Chance added, earning himself a chuckle from Rachel.

"I usually forget anything I preplan when opportunity calls for it." She said and her words immediately made Chance think.

"I have an idea." He said, snapping his fingers. "How about we make a list of questions, wouldn't that help?"

"That's an excellent idea! Let's make 12 questions each." Rachel grinned, going for her notepad and pen.

"No." Chance stopped her and shook his head. "Let's make it 50." He said, scribbling on his own personal notes. "Then we'll compare them later so no questions will be repeated during the interrogation."

"Yeah." Rachel nodded. "Let's do that."

***

Lara fidgeted uncomfortably on her seat while distracting herself by looking at her shoes as she felt like she could spontaneously combust under the CEO's stare. He's been quiet ever since she entered his office, and she was feeling nervous about what was going to happen to her next.

He didn't take his eyes off her the moment she arrived. Lara would have felt a little bit better if Stefani had stayed with her and shared the awkwardness in the room, but unfortunately, the perfect secretary left her alone with her boss to make coffee, and now she was troubled. What was she supposed to do now?

The thought of being in the same room as the handsome CEO made Lara uncomfortable. His electric blue eyes seemed to burn right through her, his gaze focused on her; watching; observing every move without flinching from his seat, like a statue. A handsome statue.

The awkwardness made the deafening silence between them unbearable. And it was making the atmosphere worse by the minute. 

Biting her lower lip, Lara swayed her back, back and forth distracting herself from his gaze at the same time. The chair didn't squeak or make a sound, it was a comfortable chair, but it didn't help her feel comfortable at all.

Lara was waiting for Noah to break the silence instead of her. He was the only person there and he outranked her, she didn't want to be rude by speaking out first and losing her job, but Noah's continued silence was a problem for her. Is he going to stare at her the whole day? Isn't he busy?

Lara's heart jumped when Noah finally spoke to her. 

"Do you know why you are here?"

Lara breathed a sigh of relief. She thought he was going to stay silent and stare at her for 5 more minutes. "Uhh, yes, sir." She gulped. "You called me coz you said you'll transfer me to a different department, yesterday, sir?" She awkwardly replied.

Silence enveloped them again. Although his expression didn't change, he still stared at her for a moment before replying; "You're slightly correct..."

Lara blinked. Slightly correct? What does that even mean? 

Seeing the confusion on her face, Noah cleared his throat. "Have you, have you eaten breakfast yet?"

Lara blinked. She was taken aback by his question. "Uhh, yes, sir. I already did."

"..."

"Uhm, sir...?" 

Noah didn't respond to that.

Lara's heart hammered inside her chest as she continued. "Can I... ask you a question, sir?" 

Intrigued about what she was going to ask, Noah, nodded his head. A question... "Go ahead." He rested his back on his chair. 

Lara gulped. Now that he's leaning away from her... Noah's appearance became a bit calmer and relaxed.

"What is it?" Lara hasn't said her question yet so he asked. She seemed overwhelmed about something. "Ms Louis?"

Lara swallowed, clearing her throat before she spoke. "I-I'm just confused, sir."

"About what?"

"About why someone as great as you would bring a normal employee like me into your office? W-When you can..." Lara paused. She hesitated with her next words.

"When I can...?"

Lara grimaced and closed her eyes. "W-When you can send someone to tell me which department I will be working instead." 

She finally said it... She finally fucking said it.

Lara cursed herself inside her head. Shit! She couldn't help biting her lip. Awkwardness filled her chest because Noah hadn't replied to her yet. Did she upset him? Will he fire her next?

Lara thought she'd get a direct answer before asking that question. But instead, all she got was a long, uncomfortable silence. 

The four walls of Noah's office suddenly became unbearable once more.

Gosh... 

Thinking back on her question, Lara knew she didn't say anything wrong. She carefully made sure that her words were honest and respectful. She also watched her tone to make sure she wasn't rude. 

Suddenly, Noah stood up. 

"Let me make myself perfectly clear, Miss Louis."

He rose from his executive chair with that confidence and grace that belonged to an Alpha male, and Lara couldn't help but notice that.

He stalked towards her like a predator. His electric blue eyes were sharp, the penetrative gaze never leaving her face. He stopped in front of her, leaning himself in, closer until their faces were inches apart.