Sunday morning, beside the twelve by five-meter swimming pool, five lounge chairs were lined up.

Two of them were occupied by a pair of siblings who were sunbathing together, with gray sheetmasks on their faces and cucumbers on their eyebrows. The cucumbers should have been on their eyes, but they had already placed Nathan's MacBook on a small table near their feet. The screen displayed the Crayon Shinchan series, a favorite show of theirs.


Unlike his younger brother who intently watched every story, his older sister was not as focused. Erin's mind was still occupied by the office, where he seemed to have suffered consequences for her laziness. Now, she couldn't fully detach from work on her days off.

"I'm curious about the cheese chips we can get for free in the minimarket window. Unfortunately, our mother always forbids us, as if we're taking the poor people's share or something," Nathan sipped his guava juice. His comment led to a scene in the show where Shinchan and his family were busy hunting for free samples at the supermarket until they were full.

"Because we can afford it. We can buy as much as we want. Sometimes, we have to consider others," Erin answered lazily.


'Okay, got it. Erin will never coexist with wisdom. What happened to you? Exactly, what's on your mind?"

"Mr. Know-it-All!" Erin covered her eyes again with the cucumber. The cold felt soothing on her eyelids, helping to alleviate the fatigue in her forehead muscles, which often wrinkled from thinking hard.


"Still because of that IT Guy?"

Erin didn't respond. Crossing her arms, she seemed to close herself off from Nathan.

"I think you're just curious about him. Understandably, he's the first guy who doesn't really care about you."

"The question is, why? Am I not trying hard enough?"

"You said it yourself, you're a hot topic in the office. People think you're trivial and so on. Maybe as a man with a good reputation, he feels he needs to protect himself and stay away from you."

Damn, Nathan was right.

Perhaps Amir was polite, but Amir had probably heard a lot about her. What would people say if Amir became close to Erin?

Surely, those gossipy people would think negatively of Amir, and that wouldn't be good.

"What makes me look bad in the eyes of office people are my social media posts. That's the first thing. But what's wrong with wearing a bikini on the beach?"

"It's your fault for taking the photo and posting it. Plus, your Instagram account is public. Anyone can see it. Do you know that in our country, talking bad about others clothes is just casual conversation?"

"Yeah, yeah, I can't blame them either, right?"

"Clear!"

"So I have to change? I have to delete photos and change my image to get close to Amir?"

"The question comes back to you, sis."

"But it doesn't feel fair, Nate! Why do I have to change for someone else? Why can't I be myself? If I pretend to be a 'good girl' who I'm not, I'll end up depressed, right?"

"You know that, Sis. First of all, make sure Amir is really worth chasing. And also strengthen your reasons for wanting to pursue him." Nathan took a small towel from the back of the chair, covering his forehead and brown hair, which was starting to feel too hot from the sun.

"I like him because he's hot..." Honestly, Erin. That was the first thing that came to mind when she discovered there was a cool guy named Amir.

"That's right! You're only attracted to his physical appearance! If that's the case, the reason isn't strong enough for you to sacrifice a lot of things to get him. Trust me, if you try going to clubs, you'll definitely find someone who attracts you more."

"And, be patient, there will be a sequel. And he's different from other guys. He doesn't flirt with me." This second factor was honestly starting to become the main reason she liked Amir. The problem was that while he was at the office, joking with everyone, no one was as impressive as Amir.

"What if it turns out he's gay?"

Erin immediately imagined the macho Amir suddenly wearing a pink handbag, pink lipstick, and pink eyeshadow on his flat face. She cringed, but it didn't seem logical, "I don't think so. He's too manly and macho to be gay."

"Who knows, he's the top?"

"Ew, what?" Erin's image changed, with Amir appearing as a man in his typical black work shirt and trousers, but holding a figure of a plump boy in a sparkly mini dress, waving at Erin. Erin wasn't against gay people; she actually knew some kind and wonderful gay people. But Amir? Oh, Erin wasn't ready to be heartbroken now!

"Who knows, right?"

Erin didn't want to think about that possibility. Just imagining it made her heart ache. But she also realized that the world was getting crazier. Many unpredictable things happen.

"Yes, again. Then what should I do, Nate? I'm getting more and more confused!"

"Just show him you're genuinely interested in getting close to him. Guys are definitely sensitive. If he's not interested in you or if he's gay, he'll definitely show it."

"So I just need to be brave?"

"Just be brave. As long as your feelings aren't too deep. Whether you're rejected or not, you have nothing to lose!"

"Yeah, I'll figure it out." Smile Erin lightly.

*

It was already Saturday.

However, unlike usual, the employees gathered on the third floor, standing nervously in front of their boss, Mrs. Berta, who was furious because the admin staff had just eaten breakfast together in that room, leaving a strong smell of chili sauce on the entire floor.

"What's the pantry for?" exclaimed Mrs. Berta.

"Eating, ma'am..." everyone answered simultaneously.

Erin also answered, looking down obediently. Even though she was laughing inside, knowing her aunt loved chili paste, she thought she might be angry because she wasn't offered any.

"What's the office for?"

"Working, ma'am."

"Where do you eat?"

"In the pantry, ma'am."

"Do you want to repeat this or not?"

"No, ma'am."

Mrs. Berta scanned the faces of her employees, trying to determine who was less convincing. Finally, she nodded. "Erin and Kyla, categorize the foods allowed and not allowed in the work area. I want a report today."

"Okay, ma'am," Erin and Kyla answered almost simultaneously.

"Xavier, please monitor the second floor. Make sure no one is binge-eating in the studio."

The thin man with glasses nodded obediently, "Ready, ma'am."

"Please get back to work." Mrs. Berta then headed downstairs, followed by Xavier, who seemed to always be at her heels.

Erin was still standing at the front of the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Amir, who was tidying his work desk. He folded a paper and put it to the left. What paper was that?

"Erin!" Kyla called.

Erin took a few steps forward until she was right in front of Amir's desk. She waited for Kyla to approach while still watching Amir from the corner of her eye.

"Erin, I'm really sorry," Kyla adjusted her glasses. Her small stature forced her to look up at the tall Erin in heels. "Today I'm full with employee interviews. I'm supposed to discuss this with HR, not me, but they didn't show up. Can you help me with Mrs. Berta's work? I'm really sorry for asking for help because I'm overwhelmed. I don't even have time to rest."

Erin understood Kyla's situation. As a rapidly growing company, Kyla needed to hire employees as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, many potential candidates couldn't work night shifts, even though the urgently needed position was webinar admin, which required night work.

Plus, Erin happened to be in front of Amir. This was the perfect opportunity to get his attention!

Erin put a hand on Kyla's shoulder and said softly, "It's okay. I'll help you with the work. That way, you won't make mistakes later, and I'll also report to you first before telling Mrs. Berta."

"Wow, really? I feel so bad."

"It's okay. If you need anything, just let me know, Kyla."

Kyla nodded enthusiastically, "Thank you, Erin. You're so kind. I'll continue working. Someone downstairs wants to interview."

"Okay. Cheer up, Kyla."

"You're welcome." Kyla quickly returned to her desk.

"I need encouragement, Erin!" The IT staff next to Amir grinned broadly.

"Yeah, cheer up..." Erin winked. The two employees on Amir's right laughed and covered their faces in embarrassment. The one who got the death wink hid his face with both hands.

Meanwhile, Amir?

He nonchalantly wore headphones as if in his own world.

Okay, Erin decided to start writing counter notes for the mission to approach Amir. The man seemed to be self-contained and distant from his coworkers.

With a frown, Erin returned to her room.

Her position was secretary, but this was just a trick by Mrs. Berta to get Erin to work alone and have direct contact with her without involving other employees too much.

At her desk, Erin stared at Mrs. Berta's schedule in the Notion software created by Xavier.

Apart from that, Erin's work was mostly administrative, including monitoring. Even though Erin had a big project to submit to Mrs. Berta by the end of the year, she was too lazy to think about it.

Erin's fingers scrolled back and forth through the pages, selecting different menus and viewing other schedules until she reached the webinar schedule page.

Higher Atelier was a company with apps and websites for online learning for all groups. Not only school students, but also general classes ranging from drawing training to personality development and digital marketing. Therefore, the two floors of the building were filled with studios.

But usually, there are live sessions, which they use as promotional media. And these webinars are being intensively implemented. Whether free or paid, there are always many people interested.

Tonight, there are three online classes taking place live: a batch 4 scenario writing class, a batch 1 Canva editing class, and a parenting class with guest teachers. All webinars start at eight in the evening, accommodating participants who are mostly working people. So they only have time to study at night. Tonight's session is three hours long with a twenty-minute break. Erin's mouse cursor moved to the right, revealing three production staff who would accompany the admins and IT on duty, including Amir.

Hmmm...

Erin got confused. What if she joined the overtime tonight to get to know Amir better?

For a task like this, as far as Erin knew, the IT team was only responsible for setting up the camera and Zoom at the beginning and ensuring the Zoom recording was safe and all the shooting equipment was put back in place at the end. The rest of the time, they just waited. And that could be the perfect time for Erin to investigate Amir.

That could be an idea!

Excitedly, the girl went to the office WhatsApp group, searched for "overtime form" in WhatsApp search, and found the Google form link.

After filling it out, Erin returned to WhatsApp, looking for Kyla's contact : 'Kyla, please approve my overtime. I got additional assignments from Mrs. Berta.'

Kyla hadn't replied yet, but she knew Kyla would allow it, and maybe tonight would be the night she decided to pursue or let go of Amir.

*****