The Experiment © [Completed]

Chapter 78 - The Offer

"Okay, before we actually get inside the office building, I want to make sure you have lowered your expectations," RJ said as he drove his car to Park Avenue where the TrendBuzz main HQ was located. "It isn't as great as you think. It isn't Google."

Dei laughed. "Fine. I actually looked at the pictures on our website before. I know it's similar to the Manila office, just a bit messier," she said.

"Yup!" RJ said. "That's because people here are much more laid back," he added, smiling.

He found a parking area and they both walked to the office building. They rode the elevator to the 15th floor and walked into a small lobby. Dei looked around. Each part of the wall was painted white and the floor was covered in grey carpet. In the middle of the room was a small receiving area. It had a big TrendBuzz logo painted smack in the middle of the wall and there were two cushioned sofas in different bright colors pushed against the white partition.

They strode past the receptionist after RJ flashed his ID, and they walked through a glass door and along a narrow hallway that led to the expansive office floor.

"I dunno why I'm nervous," Dei muttered as they walked.

"No reason to be, babe. The people here are nice," RJ said, looking at her.

They finally stepped into the office floor and Dei realized just how unique (translation: weird) the office looked. Some of the desks were laid in rows and then some were placed against each other in weird angles. The arrangement made Dei uncomfortable and she felt her OC-ness kicking in.

The walls were painted white and were very bare, except for one part at the back of the room where the wall was painted in a psychedelic design. The colors used for it were all bright and shiny that Dei had to blink a few times, to adjust her eyes to the loud image. It was kinda unsettling to look at it after seeing mostly white everywhere. She wondered if the wall was painted like that as a way to perk the staff's imagination because it certainly did for her.

"Let me introduce you to my old teammates," RJ said, pulling her to the middle of the room.

As they walked past the work desks, his previous co-workers took notice of his presence and started greeting him excitedly. He waved at them and grinned, his hand holding Dei's hand tightly. They looked at Dei curiously and she just smiled at them.

"Tim!" RJ exclaimed, clasping the shoulder of a tall bespectacled guy whose eyes were glued on his laptop screen.

The guy turned around and his face broke into a huge smile. "RJ, my man!" he said, pulling him into a huge bear hug. "Guys! RJ is here!" he told the rest of the staffers in their row and all of them stretched their necks to look at him. Then there was a collection of 'Oh my Gods!' and 'RJs!' as each of them greeted him.

He waved at them and moved his arm around Dei's shoulders, pulling her close. "I brought Dei with me," he said, grinning proudly. "Dei, this is the star team that I had the privilege of working with before," he said, pointing at each of the guys and girls looking at them from their desks, and started mentioning their names. RJ introduced her to them too and all of them greeted her warmly.

"It's nice to meet you guys, I've been looking forward to this," Dei told them happily.

"And Dei, this is Tim - he was my old partner and a good buddy too," RJ said, pointing at the tall guy with specs.

Dei knew Tim too, of course. She and Coleen used to watch his videos with RJ when they were still partners. He was lean and was about 6 ft tall, and had a face that could grace magazine covers. His eyeglasses did not make him look like a nerd at all, in fact the spectacles made him look more gorgeous.