Tulip's Destiny

V - Second Thoughts

The sounds of cars honking and passing by had Raine woke up earlier than usual. Rubbing her face, she sat up in bed reaching for her phone to check the time. Immediately turning the screen on, a message read from the same private number last night. As she hadn't thought much about changing the caller ID name of Mikhail's number.

Private Number: Good morning Miss Tulip, I'll see you later.

A blush quickly crept on her face along with a smile remembering all about last night. The dinner. The deep conversations. And Mikhail. Raine smiled looking down on the traffic jam just below her apartment. There is a magical feeling of reconnection she couldn't just shrug off with his presence. It almost felt like she was with Bleu.

"No! Raine... get a grip of yourself! He's not Bleu. Okay? He's not." Raine told herself, letting out a deep sigh. Suddenly her eyes stopped on her wrist, watching the Tulip dangle intensely on the bracelet as if dancing along with her racing heartbeat. "Tulip..." She whispered under her breath, reminiscing her dreams with Bleu.

Shaking her head out of her trance, Raine decided to visit her small company with Khalil. After getting ready, she ran off as soon as she could.

"Ohhh!!! What a surprise? Who do we have here?" Khalil smirked, coming out of his desk to greet her. "Admit it, you missed me!" Raine said jokingly. "I haven't even noticed." He said laughing.

"So what do we have here?" Raine asked, gracing her finger over a stack of paperwork. "You know what I missed?" Khalil asked lively. "Oh I know. You missed me doing your workloads, didn't you?" Raine said, gritting her teeth at him like a wild kitten. "Exactly!" He exclaimed.

"But the office sure does lack something for a while. Maybe it's your loud and annoying voice." Khalil continued after a long pause. "Nah! Stop being emotional!" Raine said, hitting him on the shoulder. "You know what you're lacking?" She smirked, raising her brows. "What?" Khalil asked as confusion washed over his face.

"Lara." Raine teased, tinkling his side lightly. "You haven't changed at all." Khalil stepped back with a smirk, going back to his chair. "Come on!!! You know I know you like her! And if it's not that obvious she probably knows too!" Raine gushed while sitting on a chair in front of his desk.

"It's not going to happen." Khalil sighed looking at her with hopelessness. "It won't happen if you're not going to do something. OR WORSE! Someone might have already been making a MOVE on her! You're losing her by the second!" Her voice echoed. "I don't know..."Khalil shook his head hesitantly. "Gosh! You two are impossible!" She groaned looking at him in disbelief.

"We're just friends. And probably for the best." Khalil tried justifying himself more than to Raine. "Sureee... Whatever floats your boat!" She replied unsatisfied.

"By the way!" Khalil's voice popped out, shifting the conversation immediately. "Hm?" Raine looked at him, resting her chin on his desk.

"We have a new job for our marketing expert here." He said, handing Raine a folder. "A client?" She asked ecstatically going over the pages.

"Wait? Relocation? Bruxen Inc.?" Her excitement quickly faded away from confusion. "Bruxen?" She thought to herself recalling any conversation she had with Mikhail that regards any business. "Well... it might just be a coincidence. But Manuel said..." Raine stopped, biting her lower lip hard. Calming her thoughts down, Raine looked back at Khalil with a confused look.

"Yes. It'll be a big change to our company, I get it but here me out." Khalil said seriously. "Okay..." Raine smiled nervously.

"It's my fault last time, you know with Roselle Industries. I am foolish enough not to do a background check but this time... I promise. If this deal works out we can use some of the profit to expand our business ventures. So what do you say?" Khalil finished off waiting patiently for her answer.