In which I fall in love with my brother's best friend.
*****
"Don't pretend like you don't feel anything." His voice is low, sending shivers down my spine.
"What do you mean?"
"You know damn well what I mean."
"I don't know what you're talking about...
Trigger Warning: The following chapter will have contents that will be disturbing for some people in terms of violence and depression.
***
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I'm driving to my office when I hear my phone ringing on the dashboard. A smile tugs at my lips when I see the caller. Lais. I press the speaker button, and her voice fills the air.
"Morning, Jake."
I almost want to bite my tongue to prevent myself from saying the next words, but hell with that, I decide to give myself a chance, "Morning, beautiful."
I know that she won't take this one like the other girls normally would have done. Still, a smirk curves on my lips.
"You hit your head or what?" she asks, and I can imagine that she's rolling her eyes. "Easy there, Cassanova."
I chuckle. What a perfect way to begin my day in the morning. Our banters. Suddenly, all the tension from the morning rush disappears, just from hearing her voice.
I like Lais. Everybody might think that this is bullshit, since I always like girls. When do I not? Even my reputation as a player has already reached Lais. But what I mean here is that I really like Lais. I'm definitely taking this slowly and carefully, because as far as I know, she's not ready to label us more than just best friends.
Silently, I curse. Woman, we are so not going to be stuck here in the friend zone.
"To what do I owe this morning call?" I ask playfully.
I can hear her sigh. "We're already standing by. But the guys are still waiting for you to brief them before the presentation."
"I'll be there in a minute," I say as I stop my car at the red light, feeling slightly guilty. I've been entrusted as the team leader, so I should have been there earlier to make sure that they're ready to impress the boss. But seriously, I could barely get enough sleep last night that I woke up late. Something has made me restless. I don't even know what it is, but I guess that it's something to do with Derek being on the run.
"Okay," Lais says. "You know our boss. He's so technical that he may not miss any single fault, even if our overseas branch has secured it. And no one can hide from him if he lashes out." She chuckles at her own hyperbolized sentence.
But that's not what bothers my mind. Suddenly, hearing about someone hiding triggers a feeling inside me. A horrible feeling. One that has made me restless the entire night.
That's impossible, but...
The hairs on the back of my neck stand as I imagine about the worst scenario that could happen. I snap my head toward the backseats. Second row. And then the third row. Then, my heart drops.
