"Good morning, Lea," Eric greeted as the tall, curly-haired man entered the room, looking cheerful."Why? Why are you so happy?" Lea asked her colleague, who approached her desk with a big smile."Oh, just happy to see you every morning, hehe," Eric said, chuckling at his joke."Ugh, are you guys deliberately annoying?" Lea grumbled."What's up?" Eric asked, needing clarification about Lea's change of attitude."Being unfaithful friends, I'm upset, and instead of comforting me or buying me snacks, you two bully and one prank. So annoying, seriously." Lea's complaints continued.Eric scratched his head, not understanding Lea's behavior. He glanced at his two office mates, Adelle and Bella, silently asking what was happening with Lea."Come on, get to work!" Bella ordered Eric, pointing to the round-the-clock on one side of the 8x6-meter room.Eric obeyed. He didn't know what was going on with the two girls. Lea and Bella seemed to be equally upset for some reason. He no longer dared to
"Yeah, sorry, I forgot," Eric answered casually."What do you want to do if it's like this? You apologize to Ms. Vivian. She's embarrassed that no one from her division came, and no one asked for permission," Lea pointed out, blaming Eric's negligence."Yes, it's easy. After all, you never want to be invited!" Eric turned to point a finger at Lea."I already told you I had something to do last night; I promised to accompany my sister out." Lea defended herself."Besides, I usually always come to events," she added while pursing her lips."Yes, but never with me, right? Every time I come you don't." Eric cursed again.Bella suddenly kicked the chair in front of her. Her three friends turned to the girl and asked what was wrong. Adelle threw a code with a glance at Lea, who immediately understood that her friend was expressing her jealousy.Lea immediately took quick action by saying goodbye to the restroom to at least stop Eric's babbling, which made her feel bad for Bella. Tsk, poor B
One evening after work, Amanda, Lea’s bestie contacted Lea and invited her to go shopping together."What's up? Why are you inviting me? Where's Alvin?" Lea responded curtly."Oh... still mad, huh? I'll make it up to you. Let's go shopping this evening, my treat!" Amanda said, feeling guilty for making her friend upset the day before.Lea remained silent for a moment. She wasn't angry but wanted to tease Amanda to test her patience."Can't I buy things for myself? You're mocking me!" Lea protested, sounding offended.Amanda sighed on the other end."Oh, come on, why are you so grumpy? Anyway, I'll pick you up at your house at 6 p.m. Be ready!"The phone call ended abruptly.Amanda always knew how to handle Lea's moods. They had been friends for too long to take offense or anything similar. No matter how big their mistakes, they would automatically forgive each other, though usually accompanied by scolding. The most important thing was that they remained friends forever.Lea lay back o
"Let it be; it's already happened; what else can we do?" Lea said resignedly."Well, you could try negotiating with Grace's boyfriend?" "Freddie?""Yeah, talk to Freddie, ask him to arrange another meeting with Shane, tell him you want to apologize," Amanda suggested, including some reasonable advice.Lea immediately rejected the idea."No way! I don't want that. Am I supposed to chase after him now?""Well, not really. There's a reason behind it. Do you want to apologize, don't you?" Amanda tried to convince her stubborn friend. But based on experience, Lea needed to be more easily swayed from her stance. The girl remained stubborn and refused to humble herself by apologizing first."I don't want to! Shane can be so arrogant. He'll probably bully me even more. No way!" Lea insisted.Amanda was at a loss for words to persuade her friend. She knew Lea was stubborn but didn't expect it to be this difficult!"You're so stubborn! I want to meet this 'ice block' Shane. It must be entertai
"Okay, fine. Not just Joan, Adam, Amanda, now even Mom is blaming me! OMG!" grumbled Lea, in maximal frustration. "I'm not blaming you, dear... what Mom means is that you need to control yourself when speaking to others and in your actions. Don't always explode like you usually do. Pay attention, if it's with us, your family, or Amanda, who has known you for a long time, there won't be any problems. At least we know that's just how you are, so we won't be offended or misunderstand. But when facing new people, don't act like that." Mrs. Anna advised at length. Lea realized that her mother's words were almost similar to Amanda's. It was true if she thought about it, but Lea was accustomed to rarely admitting her mistakes; her ego was too high. "So, Se? Have you realized where you went wrong?" Her mom confirmed. She knew exactly the temperament and temper of her eldest daughter. Lea nodded with an expression still unwilling. "Can you improve your attitude in the future? That's the m
"Shane...," called the soft voice of a woman around forty years old who still looked beautiful. The woman with neatly tied-up hair, revealing her slender neck, giving her a firm and efficient appearance, peeked into her son's unlocked room.Spontaneously, Shane turned towards the door and greeted his mom with an innocent look, "What's up, Mom?"Mrs. Kate scrutinized Shane, "I called you several times, and you didn't respond. I thought you weren't in your room. Were you not hearing or daydreaming?""Oh... sorry, Mom. I didn't hear your voice," he replied, somewhat flustered."Hmm... daydreaming about what?"Shane got up from his seat on the bed and pretended to place his phone on the table while searching for an excuse, "Just focusing on reading an article, Mom. You know, when I’m focused on work, I tend to ignore what's around."Mrs. Kate then approached her beloved and only son. She knew Shane's expression when he lied; he would either bow his head or throw his gaze elsewhere, anywhe
‘The next evening, accompany me to the office event; I want to introduce a cousin. No debate!’A chat message from Amanda that night made Lea tickled and want to laugh. It was indeed Amanda's habit to do whatever she wanted. The beautiful girl with a flashy appearance, known for frequently changing hair colors and styles, never hesitated to introduce Lea to many of her business colleagues.Lea had been introduced to one of the managers in Amanda's family-owned company before. On that occasion, Amanda insisted on bringing Lea to the opening ceremony of a branch office, where she was introduced to a mature, handsome man with a distinctive entrepreneurial style, formal and professional.During that introduction, Lea couldn't enjoy her interaction with the man. She felt no chemistry, and everything felt bland, leaving no impression on her.That's why Lea decided not to continue with such setups.It happened several times, yet Amanda remained curious about finding a match for her friend. A
Arriving at their favorite cafe where they often hung out, Amanda and Lea entered and looked around for Amanda's cousin, who had arrived a few minutes earlier."Oh, there he is!" Amanda exclaimed, grabbing Lea's arm and half-dragging her towards a table where a lone man was waiting, stirring his drink. It seemed to be a cup of mocha coffee, judging from the aroma that immediately wafted through Lea's nose as they approached the table.Yes, the cafe was indeed special. Although the menu was standard, the uniqueness lay in the aroma and serving techniques that set it apart from other cafes. It became a favorite for Amanda and Lea, who were pure food lovers."Hi, Daniel. Have you been waiting for so long?" Amanda greeted the tall, slender man who seemed serious."Oh, hi, Amanda. And... who's this, Lea, right?" Daniel, as called by Amanda, extended his right hand towards Lea.Lea shook his hand and introduced herself, "Lea, Amanda's friend.""I'm Daniel, her cousin. Take a seat. The menu