The secret

Caught

POV: Melissa

Melissa walked down the hallway and saw that door A21 was open. She entered quietly, but her nervous breathing could still be heard. As she looked around, she noticed that Chris's computer was open. Placing the coffee on the table, she couldn't resist the temptation and started browsing through his computer. Suddenly, Chris's deep voice startled her, "What are you doing?" Melissa looked up, terrified, and stammered, "I'm so sorry! I was just looking around..." Feeling embarrassed, she glanced down at her feet. An unpleased Chris responded, "Well, get out." Melissa quickly apologized again, handed him the coffee, and hurriedly left, her face flushed with embarrassment. Chris, with a strange look on his face, muttered, "She's weird," as he finally enjoyed his coffee.

Later, Melissa made her way to the set and received an unexpected call from her boss. Stepping outside to answer, she confidently greeted, "Hello?" Her boss, Sam, frustratedly asked, "How is it going? Did you make friends with Chris yet?" Melissa, knowing she had already messed up, replied, "No, sir. It's going to take some time." Sam's anger grew, "You better make some progress soon," and abruptly hung up on Melissa. A bodyguard then approached her, demanding to know why she was outside instead of being with everyone else. Thinking on her feet, Melissa replied, "Yes, ma'am. I just stepped out to take a call from my mom." She wore a pensive expression, trying to come up with a plan to make things work.

Later that day, it was lunchtime. Sofia, Ross, and Chris invited Melissa to join them for lunch, even though Chris already had some dislike towards her. Ross, who was hungry, asked Melissa where she wanted to eat. "Hurry up!" he said, but Melissa laughed and said, "Ross, you didn't even let me speak!" Pulling out her phone, Melissa suggested, "What about 26 Thai Kitchen & Bar (Midtown)? It's only 26 minutes away!" With a big smile on her face, she convinced everyone, and they all headed to the restaurant.

Chris, with a grin on his face and rubbing his belly, exclaimed, "I'm so hungry for sticky rice and chicken!" This made everyone laugh as they entered the restaurant and looked for a table. Melissa and Chris kept making eye contact, and in Melissa's head, she wondered if he thought she was creepy. However, she greeted him with a smile, but Chris looked away and focused on his phone.

A few minutes later, Ross, wanting to get to know Melissa, asked her where she was from and why she came to give them coffee every morning. Sofia, annoyed, told him to stop asking so many questions, but Melissa assured them it was fine. "I'm from New York, and I saw this as an amazing opportunity, so I came all the way down here. After the show is over, I'll be heading back to be with my family," Melissa nervously replied, knowing she was lying to everyone to keep her job.

Then, Chris announced to everyone at the table, "Why were you going through my computer?" Melissa apologized and explained that she was just curious after reading an article about him. Trying to change the subject, she asked if people were spreading lies about him. Chris revealed that everyone was upset because he didn't want to do an interview, after telling Melissa he waved a guy down for a beer.

30 minutes in, everyone is having a great time, laughing and enjoying themselves. Melissa and Chris seem to be getting along really well. After a while, Melissa needs to use the restroom and she asks Sofia, "Hey, can I get through? I gotta go!" They all laugh as Sofia smiles and moves out of the booth to let Melissa pass. Melissa hops out and walks to the bathroom.

POV: Chris

He's smiling really hard after Melissa leaves. Ross notices and says, "Chris? Who's got you smiling like that?" Sofia, with a happy expression, adds, "It's Melissa, isn't it?" Chris responds, "Listen, she seems cool. Nothing more, guys. I should probably go apologize for what I did earlier." Everyone agrees, and Ross lets Chris out of the booth. Chris starts heading near the bathroom and waits.

POV: Melissa

Just as she's about to leave the bathroom, she gets a phone call from Sam. Melissa answers, "Hello?" Sam asks about the progress, and Melissa replies, "Good, I think I got him to be my friend. I really don't like this. He seems really nice." Sam reminds her, "If you want this job, you'll do anything to keep it. Good luck, and I'll call you in 2 days." Melissa hangs up, washes her hands, fixes her hair, and starts walking out. To her surprise, she sees Chris standing there, waiting for her. "Um... hey!" Melissa says awkwardly. Chris also says awkwardly, "Can I talk to you?" They walk outside, and Chris starts by saying, "I'm sorry for being disrespectful. Today was already rough, and then I saw you looking through my stuff, and I thought it was weird." Chris puts his hands in his pocket. Melissa quickly responds, "No, please don't be sorry. It was all my fault. I shouldn't have been nosy and going through your stuff." Melissa apologizes with honesty, well, kind of. Chris suggests, "Here, I'll give you my number. Maybe we can start over."