Echoes of Unrequited Love

Chapter 54

| only grabbed a basket of strawberries, meant for Darren and Tina.

But | got held up on the road, so had to swing by home with them.

Wouldn’t you know it, | bumped into Hogan.

And he was about to throw some shade my way.

Obviously, the basket of strawberries for my uncle got mistaken for a gift to Darren by Hogan. | didn’t want to argue.

Pissing off my investor wasn’t the smartest move, especially when | was counting on his cash injections. “I'm heading upstairs.”

“Ms. March, are you in a hurry to brownnose?”

| paused, giving Hogan a puzzled look, and in a flash, | got his drift.

He probably thought | was sucking up to Darren.

| gave a little smirk and say, “I recall the boss saying the strawberries were on the house, so no need to report their whereabouts to you, right?”

| kept my tone even, emotions under wraps.

Hogan squinted at me, chuckled, “Seems like even that little scrape on your wrist can’t dampen your ambitions, Ms. March.” | laughed it off, “Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Zade. Still got lots to learn from you.”

Exchanging pleasantries, right?

But Hogan clammed up, his gaze turning icy.

| cut to the chase, “If there’s nothing else, I'll just...”

“Why the sudden drinking last night?” Hogan cut in, curiosity tinged in his voice, “Drowning your sorrows?”

He caught me off guard, totally slipped my mind.

My bad.

In a heartbeat. | decided to go all out on the shameless front and looking up at Hogan, | said with a cheeky grin, “Mr. Zade, you care about me?”

Hogan opened his mouth to reply but his phone rang.

| took the hint, waved him off, and made a beeline for the elevator.

Gotta give Hogan a taste of how scary | could be without a shame threshold.

Next morning, | was back at the office with that same basket of strawberries.

Wallis was surprised. “Didn't manage to deliver them?”

“Too late, wasn’t appropriate,” | told it like it is, “Today’s the day.”

Then | hit up Tina on WhatsApp.

[Xaviera you're so thoughtful, strawberries from Honto Abbey, and you remembered us.)

Tina suggested we meet up after Work at the bookstore on the corner.

But when | got there, lo and behold, Darren was there too.

There was a book club meeting happening, and he was right in the thick of it. He saw me and came over to say hi. “Why deliver them in person?” Darren eyed the basket, a glint of surprise in his gaze. “You could’ve just told me, | would’ve picked you up.”

Awkward me.

Then Tina rushed over, took the basket from my hands. “Thanks, Xaviera, they look delicious. I’m gonna wash them and give them a try.” Darren shot a glance at Tina, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes. “So they weren't just for

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Making a mountain out of a molehill, | had to tough it out and change the subject, “Do your always join book clubs like this, Darren?”

Darren's interest was, piqued, “Speaking of which, I’ve got a book for you, come with me.” | breathed a sigh of relief and followed him upstairs. After a bit, he handed me a mystery novel, “This story is amazing, you'll never guess the ending.”

| was more into programming books, but didn’t want to burst Darren’s bubble, so | glanced at the author’s name and asked, “Are they any good?”

Darren rubbed his nose. “You'll see.” | got down to brass tacks, “How much? I'll send you the money.” Darren’s face fell, “Xaviera, we don’t need to be so transactional, do we?”

He said it so naturally that | felt like offering to pay for the book was almost an insult to our friendship.