Chapter 3

Russ's gaze swept over me. I glanced at him, but he wasn't as angry as I'd imagined.

A smile tugged at his lips. "Is that your husband? He talks... pretty harsh."

"Boyfriend."

Russ glanced at my phone and turned toward the location it showed.

"I'll drop you off. Go easy on the drinks."

Russ parked in front of the restaurant. I unbuckled my seatbelt and reached for the door.

It wouldn't open. I pulled again, but the door didn't budge.

When I turned around, Russ was propping his head on his hand, watching me with a faint smile.

I scratched my head, embarrassed. "It's my fault today. I'll treat you to a meal another day."

He didn't say anything, just held up two fingers.

"Two meals?"

Russ nodded, and I was a little speechless. "You really know how to take advantage of the situation."

"What choice do I have? I begged you for days, finally got you to come out, and we didn't even get to eat. Your boyfriend called and you were gone with one phone call. Two meals isn't too much to ask, right?"

I thought about it. I really had stood him up. "Fine, two meals."

Only then was Russ satisfied, but his hand was still on the lock button.

I looked at him. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, there's still a lot I don't know that I need you to teach me."

He looked down and tugged at his shirt. "Look at this fabric—how do you tell them apart? I don't get it."

I followed his hand. The clothes he had on today were made of a very thin fabric, with a little cutout at the side of his waist. When he tugged, the lines of his waist and stomach flickered in and out of view.

I looked for a couple of seconds, coughed, and shifted my eyes away. "Is that company merchandise? I've never seen it before."

Russ leaned a couple of inches closer. "Then take a good look."

"Where's the tag?"

"Cut it off."

"Then look it up online."

"Can't make sense of it."

I stayed quiet. Russ looked at me with an innocent face.

I sighed—not out of anger, mostly because I suddenly understood Silas.

He was right. What bad intentions could a newcomer at work have? They're just humbly asking for help.

"We'll talk about it later."

"Okay."

The door finally opened. The moment I got out, I saw Silas standing at the restaurant entrance.

It was very hot. He'd probably been waiting a while—his forehead was covered in sweat—and when he saw me, his face was clearly impatient.

"Why are you only getting here now?"

I glanced at the time. Seven minutes late. "Traffic on the way."

He glanced in the direction I'd come from. Russ's car had already driven off.

"You took a rideshare again?"

I didn't explain, and Silas didn't press. He just tugged at his collar. "Never mind, let's go in first. Everyone's waiting."

My steps stopped. "What 'everyone'?"

I'd assumed he asked me here to talk about the wedding.

But the second the private room door swung open, I knew I'd read too much into it.

That whole pack of his good-for-nothing friends was there, and in this private little party, Gail was sitting right in the middle.

There was already a good amount of liquor gone from the table, and a few men were laughing around her.

When Silas walked in, her eyes lit up right away.

Then she saw me, and her smile froze for half an instant before she stood and took hold of my arm.

"Sis, what took you so long? We've been waiting ages for you—you should punish yourself with a couple of drinks, right?"

She casually linked her arm through mine. Her tone was playful, but her hands moved fast, and two glasses of liquor were already pushed in front of me.

I didn't touch them. I turned to look at Silas.

I didn't say a word. Silas's eyes wandered, and he laughed it off.

"Ah, Gail just wanted to join in the fun too. She... she means well for you. Don't be rude about it."

I looked at Gail, and before I could even start in on her, Silas jumped in to pin a label on me.

"Joyce, can you not act like this the second you walk in? Everyone here gets along fine. What's wrong with her wanting to come? Don't lose it here."

He lowered his voice. "I asked you here today so the two of you could clear up that misunderstanding from before. You'll be seeing each other plenty from now on. Let's not make it this ugly every single time."

I almost laughed out loud. Gail clung to my hand. "Sis, I really didn't take what happened last time to heart. I know you were upset because you care so much about Silas. I understand completely."

She pushed the glass toward me. "Let's have a couple of drinks and put it behind us, okay?"

At a signal from Silas, his good-for-nothing friends immediately backed her up. "Yeah, come on—Gail isn't holding a grudge, we're all friends here, don't make it so tense."

"We all know she didn't mean anything by it. Gail's young, her heart's simple. Just cut her some slack."

I looked around the room. Interesting.

I shoved Silas aside and sat down right next to Gail.

"I can drink."

Gail was startled, then broke into a smile. "I knew Sis wasn't a petty person."

I gave a cold smile and picked up the glass. "But drinking like this is no fun. I drink one, you drink one."

Silas jumped in at once. "She has a bad stomach."

I turned my head to look at him.

He realized himself that he'd spoken too fast, and his face stiffened slightly.

I asked with a smile that wasn't a smile, "You know your coworker pretty well."

"Come on, we're in the same department, we see each other every day. Isn't it perfectly normal to know she's got a bad stomach? Don't make a big deal out of it."

"Did I say it wasn't normal?"

Silas was stuck for words. Gail hurried in. "Sis, don't misunderstand. Silas just looks out for me. I just graduated, there's a lot I don't know, and everyone in his department's been really good to me."

She pressed her lips together in a cute little smile, and the eyes turning toward me were full of resentment, as if I were the one being unreasonable.

Then Gail changed her tune. "Besides, Sis... I really can't hold my liquor."

The few people beside her burst out laughing. "Gail can't drink? Quit pretending!"

"Who nearly drank all of us until we puked the other day?"

"Yeah, one drink short, one piece of clothing off—you drank Silas down to nothing but his shorts! And you say you can't drink? Hahaha!"

The whole room broke into laughter.

Silas's expression didn't change as he coughed. "What are you talking about?"

The guy who'd spoken was drunk and still laughing. "What do you mean, what am I talking about? Weren't you and Gail the last two drinking that night? I opened my eyes and you were down to your shorts."

Someone nearby gave him a nudge, and he finally shut his mouth.

I nodded. So they have this kind of department team building. Nice.

Gail flushed red. "They're just joking, Sis, don't read into it."

"I'm not reading into it. Come on—I can't hold my liquor either, and I won't take advantage of you. I'll have two drinks, you have one."

Gail's eyes clearly lit up, though her mouth put on a show of hesitation. "Isn't that too much? But since Sis wants to drink, then—then I'll reluctantly agree, okay? But no going back on your word, Sis."

"I won't."

I opened a bottle, tossed the cap on the table, and smiled. "Just don't cry."