Chapter 33

GRACE'S POV 

Lana only paused typing for just half a second and was soon clicking away on her keyboard. If you weren't watching closely, you wouldn't know that she noticed. You'd think that she didn't know he'd walked in. 

Victoria, still leaning into her chair, watched as he walked to his desk. She had the bottom of her pen in between her lips, eyes squinting hard at good ole Grey. She looked like she was calculating something.

Julia watched him, guilt spreading over her face. She looked like she was cringing, but that was probably the guilt.

Craig just looked completely entertained by the whole thing. I could've sworn he was going to pull out a bag of popcorn to feast on again. However, one glance at Lana, and his hand withdrew from his drawer.

Me? I was curious, waiting to see what would unfold. Would Grey confront Lana? Or would he be begging for forgiveness? I just wanted to know. 

However, Grey just took his seat silently. His presence at that time did not feel like he was present, at all. 

Victoria, on the other hand, had a plan, it appeared. 

“You know, Julia, you started it,” Victoria teased, looking away from the young man.

You can just see the rage bait like the colour red, but Julia, apparently, didn't see it.

“I did not mean to.” She defended.

“You also know that Lana literally threw the first weapon, right?” Craig asked, joining in. 

“It was a calendar.” Lana said, with a tone of finality.

“It flew,” Craig added helpfully. “That qualifies as a weapon.”

I laughed, shaking my head. This entire thing was becoming too funny to not laugh.

“Next time, aim better,” Victoria said to Lana. “You should be able to knock his brain out.”

Julia gasped. “There will not be a next time!” she looked horrified, and I completely understood her. 

I had to step in or there'd be another war. “There shouldn’t have been a first time.”

Silence ensued, before Victoria spoke.

“Fair,” Nothing more.

When it was time for lunch, everyone except Lana got up to go out. 

Victoria stopped beside her and said, “We're all going for lunch, Lana.” 

Lana nodded once. “I'll pray for all of you.”

Victoria sighed frustratedly and tried again. “Including you, hunny.”

“I’ll stay back,” Lana said, persistent.

Victoria frowned at her. “You’ve been here all morning.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not a robot.”

“No, I’m efficient.”

Impressive reply, honestly.

Craig leaned in toward me and whispered, “Same thing.”

I bit back a smile, rolling my eyes.

Victoria sighed. “You’re coming tomorrow.”

“That wasn’t a request, was it?” Lana cracked an emotionless smile 

“No, it absolutely was not.”

Lana paused for a second, then nodded slightly. “Fine.”

Small, but satisfying Victory.

The cafeteria was louder than usual. Or maybe it just felt that way because we were hyper-aware of everything now.

There were glances, nudges, and whispers being thrown around the hall like bonus tortures. There was nothing like being part of the cast or crew in the latest trending office drama.

Craig grabbed his usual seat like nothing had happened. Julia sat down beside him, still looking mildly traumatized. Victoria, on the other hand, looked completely unbothered. I sat across from her, wishing I could just melt into the chair.

“You’re handling this very well,” I told her.

She smiled faintly. “I’ve had practice.”

“With public drama?” I asked, chuckling shortly.

“With people underestimating consequences,” she replied.

That made sense, to a larger extent. 

“You knew Lana would react like that?” I asked, curious to know.

Victoria took a sip of her drink. “I knew she would react. I didn’t know she’d go that far, honestly.”

“Did she go too far?” 

Victoria didn’t answer immediately.

She looked down at the table for a moment, thoughtful, before replying, “No.”

Simple and certain, her answer.

I didn't know how to judge the situation. Living these years already taught me to just breathe and let everyone be. So, I resorted to just enjoying my lunch, instead of letting the tiny things bother me.

When we got back to the office, I half expected an aftermath of world war 3. You know, paper shredded by teeth, furniture scattered and blown to miniscule. And most importantly, bloodied survivors, or survivor. 

We, the lunch buddies, took our seats calmly and quietly. It was almost like we all knew something was coming. Whether it was dangerous or good, we didn't know. At least, I didn't know. Julia looked hesitant, Craig looked expectant, and Victoria just looked like nothing bothered her. 

Then, cutting through the tapping of keyboard keys, hesitant breath, and occasional humming, were the words we hadn't completely expected to come forth.

“I want to apologize.”

Everyone froze, including Lana. No, she wasn't the one who uttered such words. No, I wasn't expecting her to. 

Slowly, we turned to the speaker. 

Grey stood up. His hands were clenched slightly at his sides, like he was holding himself together through force.

“I was out of line,” he continued. “What I said, how I acted, it was inappropriate.”

Silence danced with no music playing.

“I won’t repeat it.” He ended, paused, then looked directly at Lana. It was almost like he was saying, ‘Girl, I'm talking to you.’

“And I’m sorry.”

I held my breath, waiting for something to make me go on with my breathing.

Lana looked up at him, her expression unreadable.

For a long second, she said nothing. Then, she spoke. “Okay.”

That was it. No speech, no lecture, no dramatic response to make Craig gasp.

Just an okay.

Grey nodded once, and sat down.

And just like that, it was over within a few seconds.

Craig leaned toward me slightly. “That was anticlimactic.”

I whispered back, “Not everything needs to go boom boom like fireworks.”

He looked like he was considering that.

“I prefer fireworks.” came his conclusion.

“I know.” I whispered.

I wondered then if another episode of our office drama would be released soon.