Newbie (7)

"Hmm! Your tea is the best!" she commented while she slowly drank the honeysuckle tea that her boyfriend made.

They are at the flower garden inside the campus, having their own afternoon tea time.

Her boyfriend learned how to make tea because Nida loves drinking tea, especially flower teas.

Pss!

The silence of the garden is broken by the short sound of a can opening.

"Wow, how rude," she pouted as she watched her boyfriend open a can of black coffee and drink it after preparing her tea.

He just gives her a wink and continues to drink his cold coffee in the can.

Her boyfriend loves to make her teas but doesn't like drinking one.

"Is it good?" he asked, while looking at her cup of tea weirdly.

"It's not good." She smiled brightly and offered her cup to make him have a sip. "It is delicious. Try it."

He hesitated for a moment, but sipped a little of it then frowned.

"Yuck." he commented, while his face turned into a grimace.

"Your palate is weird." she pouted even more.

"You're palate is weird too. How come you can't drink coffee?"

"Coffee is bitter; I hate bitter tastes!"

"Your tea is bland! Bleh!"

They may sound like they are fighting, but both of them are smiling while exchanging words.

He then sat closer to her and intertwined his fingers with her fingers.

The two of them just enjoy the breeze and peaceful ambiance of the garden.

The two of them usually enjoy their time peacefully and with so much love for one another.

What would it be like if her boyfriend didn't turn into a wolf and remained together with her until now?

What is life like then?

"Here's your tea."

Nida suddenly wakes up from her own thoughts about the past.

She can not help but reminisce about the past when they were still peacefully dating as she watches Randell make tea for her the first time in a long while.

She doesn't know what to feel after seeing Randell, remembering her fondness for tea.

He made her a cup of tea and, as usual, a cup of coffee for himself.

However, Randell looked restless and seemed to be hesitating about what he should say.

Like him, Nida is also restless internally. She managed to sit up straight and smile in front of her most feared being.

She learns how to hide her true feelings from her father.

She can appear calm and reserved on the outside, but her mind and heart may be chaotic inside.

"About yesterday," Randell brought out what happened yesterday again.

He actually passed by the toy store when he coincidentally saw Nida being stalked by another werewolf. He confronted the wolf and ended up on top of him. But he thought Nida had misunderstood the scene she saw, and all he wanted was to clear it up.

"I am not really interested in your personal affairs, Sir. Let's stop talking about that and you don't have to worry about running my mouth." She sternly stated, but she was hiding her shaking legs under the table.

She plans to make yesterday's event a misunderstanding since she doesn't want him to question her about how she instantly recognized Randell.

"But I am not—"

"Let's talk about work, sir?" She cut him off.

Randell opened and closed his mouth without saying anything, then he nodded instead.

He is trying his best to restrain himself from getting involved with her. He keeps shaking off the greed of wanting her again.

"I am actually here to ask for consideration about the over-speeding penalties." She handed the unorganized papers to him. "And also, we also request a revision. From 50kph, I hope we can run up to 70kph on express lanes." She perfectly stated her intention and wanted to speed up the work so she could finally get out of the wolf cave.

flinched!

Nida flinched when she saw Randell smirking while reading the papers she handed over.

[What is this? Is there something he will do? Did I say something wrong? Why did he smirk? Is he planning something bad?]

Her mind became extremely chaotic and she could hear her heartbeat beating loudly like a drum.

Randell only slightly smiled because he felt proud of how Nida acted professionally. He was worried for years that he might have affected her career due to the trauma he inflicted.

In the end, the two keep misunderstanding each other's feelings.

Randell finally looked calm and talked to Nida with his professional smile.

"Ms. Mildea, we cannot change the speed limit. It's not us who made the regulation, we are just implementing it." he explained.

[Okay, bye]

That is what Nida wanted to say and leave, but of course she could not do that since she still needed to do her job.

"Sir, if we keep up on the speed limit we will be penalized with late deliveries, but if we keep up on our On-Time-deliveries we will be penalized with over speeding. Is there a way you can help us with this?"

Randell shook his head, "You better widen the gap between pick-up and delivery dates so that you won't miss the OTD. In that sense, you cannot go over the speed limit since you are not catching up on delivery time."

Now that the two of them are talking about work, their nerves are slightly relaxed.

"But how will I convince my manager to adjust the time instead of the speed limit?"

Randell stood up and printed a file, which he then handed to Nida. "Here, show this to your manager"

"What is this?" She took the papers and looked at them.

"RA 4136, a document for speed limit ordinances."

"Oh, you're pretty knowledgeable about this," she subconsciously commented, forgetting that she could not tease a beast.

"That's my job as a safety officer."

"Ah really? Then I'll be leaving, sir. Thank you for this." She waves the documents to say good bye.

Then she goes back to her department very tired, as if all her energy had been drained by just talking for a minute with Randell.

"RA 4136? Are you kidding me? This schtick was approved decades ago! It was 1964! It was the time when the roads were small and uneven. We are talking about express lanes here! "

Her manager shouted at her as if she was the one who made the ordinance.

She maintained her stoic expression and let him finish his outburst.

She felt annoyed but she could not express it while her manager continued his solo rap battle.

[It's still Monday but I already used up my energy for the week] she thought to herself.

"Then should I insist on revision or should I ask for a delivery time adjustment?" She calmly asked after she noticed that her manager was finally tired of shouting.

"70kph, tell them we are running 70kph in express lanes," he said while holding his nape. His blood pressure might have gotten up from his actions.

"Okay sir." She sighed internally because she knew she would be back at Randell's office again.

"I hope other safety officers will assist me." she said, as she hopes other officers will come and she won't be tense while fixing the annoying task she has right now.

"Hi, I am back." She greeted the lady at the front desk.

"You can go straight to Sir Randell's table." The lady politely talked to her.

Nida smiled and leaned forward to whisper in the lady's ear.

"Is there other safety officer out there?" she asked, hoping.

"The two other officers out in the field. Why miss? Is he unable to solve your problem?"

"No, he can but..." she mumbled.

The front desk lady tilted her head and said, "That's rare, Sir Randell is the best officer here. If there's something you are uncomfortable about, you can fill out the complaint form over here." she pointed at the box containing the complaint form.

"Ah no, No. He is fine. I-I just go there. Thanks!" She awkwardly said good bye to the lady and walked towards Randell's area.

"Ms. Mildea, you're back!" Randell greeted her with a bright smile.

"Yes, I am. Well, my manager still insists on 70kph. I am really sorry. Can you consider?" She awkwardly stated.

"No, I can't. I'm sorry." He stated this while looking the other way. He wanted to help her, but it was beyond his power.

"Okay." She responded shortly, which made Randell blink his eyes multiple times.

[that's cute]

She subconsciously said to herself that she was surprised internally.

[What's cute about that? HE IS A BEAST INSIDE!]

she scolded herself.

"It's okay?" Randell asked confusedly.

"Yes sir, I'll just loiter around somewhere else. Just tell him that I've been here if he asks."

"Then that doesn't solve anything."

Well yes, but I know he'll be stubborn about 70kph, not until he exhausts himself. Anyway, I understand why you can't change the speed limit; it's a law."

She planned to just pass time at the pantry, then come back to her department acting like she did everything to convince the safety officers. Additionally, it's not lunch time yet but she feels hungry and exhausted already.

"Want me to accompany you?" he offered with puppy eyes.

[Don't be deceive Nida!] she thought to herself while looking at his benign face. Even though her nerves finally got used to facing the beast in front of her, she still can not forget the look of the beast who almost killed her that night.

"No, it is fine, sir, Thank you." She rejected.

Randell seemed to want to say something, but Nida walked out of the room in a hurry. leaving Randell to watch her back.

Now with a lighter feeling, knowing that she won't deal with Randell anymore and she won't face her manager for the meantime, she walks while skipping on the way to the company's cafeteria.

"One green tea and one slice of black forest cake." She ordered.

She is astounded by the variety of food available inside the cafeteria, particularly cakes and tea, which she enjoys the most.

Minutes later, she's holding her tray and looking for the best place to eat. Only a few people are present inside the cafeteria because it's not break time yet. She's the only one ditching her own work.

"Nida." A familiar voice called out her name, which made her turn her head immediately.

"Danny!" She shouted, but she immediately bit her lips, realizing that she shouldn't be acting that way since they were at work.

Daniel frowns at her calling but proceeds to walk towards her. He is actually in the exit of the cafeteria when he just softly speaks Nida's name.

"Hey, how did you hear me from that distance?" he asked while his arms were crossed.

Daniel is more mature looking whenever he is at work compared to his casual look that highlighted his pretty face. Outside of work, he lets his black hair down and only wears casual clothes, t-shirts or loose clothes. While at work, he wore glasses and a well-fitted suit, and he fixed his hair up cleanly. Of course, everything is in color black.

"What do you mean? Didn't you call me loudly?" she asked.

"No. I just said your name, but I wasn't calling you." Both of them looked confused and surprised.

Nida leans forward and touches one of her ears. "I have superpowers!" she exclaimed.

"Hey! You will spill your food!"

Daniel snatched the tray out of Nida's hand because she was only holding it with one hand. He then walked towards the table and placed it there.

"Why do you always have that kind of energy." He commented with a frown.

"How about you? Why do you always frown when talking to me?" She teasingly asked and sat in the chair. She gestured with her hand, telling him to sit and talk with her.

Daniel sighed deeply and brushed his hand across his face before taking a seat across from Nida.

"I was going to stay here for no reason. Now that you are here, I won't be bored." Nida cheerfully cut her cake into two and offered the other half to Daniel.

"Ms. Mildea, you might be forgetting that I hate unhygienic things." He said it with his arms crossed while looking down at the cake that Nida had moved to the tissue paper.

"Don't worry, I'll eat this one, you eat that piece on the plate." Nida happily started to eat the cake she placed on the napkin, and she talked while her mouth was full. "Anyway, do you know how I did that?"

"Did what? Eating a cake on napkin?"

"No! That I heard you even with distance."

Daniel was contemplating whether he would eat the cake or not, and he looked at Nida with a full look of disgust.

"How about you think first about how you managed to eat disgustingly like that?"

The clean freak wanted to vomit.