Mike was definitely pissed off waiting for me. Of course, I lied to him about my scandalous encounter with the boss of my boss of my boss.
“Sorry, Mike, I had a dreadful stomach ache,” I smiled rather sheepishly.
I hate lying. But I had to save my carefully crafted reputation as a new intern, and for the sake of Ethan’s image as the leader of his mega-sized rocket kingdom. I shuddered at the thought of the news spreading far and wide. Scandalous. Scandalous. The reminiscence of Ethan’s shampoo and musky scent suddenly invaded the tips of my nose.
You must be crazy, Kimberly.
“Hello? Earth to Kimberly Carson? Are you there?” Mike waved his hands in front of my face, right above the steaming bowls of ramen – one extra bowl to make up for my tardiness.
“Uh? Sorry, can you repeat that question?” I grappled for my chopsticks.
He squinted his electric blue eyes at me.
“Suspicious. Your face looks like a tomato.”
“No, I’m not! It’s the ramen soup – it’s too hot–”
“Right…” Mike still eyed me suspiciously, “and the Nile is a river in Egypt.”
I sputtered and reached for my hot ocha.
“You always drink something when you’re hiding information.”
“I’m not!”
He sighed, “Good luck with your denial, Kim. You’re too easy to be read like an open book. Let me guess. This must have something to do with Ethan.”
“Not everything revolves around that guy, dumbass,” I gulped down my drink, averting my eyes somewhere.
“There. You just did it again. You avoid my guess by drinking and avoiding eye contact. What did I tell you? You’re too easy to be read.”
“Stop being so cocky, Mr. Know-It-All,” I jabbed at him, “and yes, you’re welcome for the treat.”
He gave a smug, victorious look, “I knew it. I won. And yes, I deserve this treat.”
“But worry not. Your secret’s safe with me,” he winked before I could open my mouth to protest.
And with that, he drove me home.
***
I slept fitfully that night. My dreams were messed up, jumbled with the faces I’ve just met from the Aero Genesis. Chris too appeared out of nowhere and tried to kidnap me on a plane. Ethan’s face popped out randomly beside my passenger seat, turning my exhausting, random dream into an unplanned business trip to hunt down The Egg’s culprit. Suddenly, chimes of bells floated around me.
My bedside alarm blared.
I groaned, looking at the clock between my blurry eyes. 6 in the morning. Oh great. I’m not ready for the office. A dream job is still a job, after all.
Before I could doze off for another 5 minutes, a new message popped up on my screen from a random sender. My fingers trembled.
Hi, Carson. Been a long time. Just to let you know, I’ll be coming home tonight. My mom has just given birth to my sister.
I’m sorry for the fight we had last time. I had a shitty mouth. I deserve to be blocked by your number.
Hope we can talk later in person?
My eyes scanned the letters. Twice. Thrice.
No. No. This is too early. I need time for myself to figure out what I want.
YOU ARE READING
The Reason Why
RomansaKimberly Carson was 17 and had known Christopher Parks since childhood as they grew up in Jerryfields. However, life took an unprecedented turn as it journeyed into adulthood, leaving Kim with unanswered questions to solve when her high school boy-s...
