The concord of the melody of the piano and the warm ambience of the restaurant was just what the inhabitants of B City needed.

A waiter led Alex and Irene into a private room.

This welcome banquet was supposed to be for Lilian. But she opted out, saying that she needed to get acquainted with her assistant. 

She needs to step up her game, Irene thought. Even at a mile away, anyone could see that lame excuse. 

In fact, without Lilian noticing, Irene picked up her cry of victory when they separated, as if she just got out of a grueling interview—it was do or die, people!

Nonetheless, it was already booked and wasting money was a big no - no. So here she was with the host, and that blushing cutie-pie was nowhere to be seen.

To think that this maverick before her actually broke his years-long streak twice in a day stumped Irene. First, he accepted another artist. Second, he opened a backdoor for the said actress. He was more unusual than she was.

Lamentably, all she could do was conjure up infinite probabilities about why he did that. The novel’s plot wasn’t given to her, so the how’s and why’s of the characters could only be discerned through the original’s memory and on what she saw in them. 

So far, she was stuck on a tough question. But, if you could ask for help, of course you should. 

Thus Irene said, “What’s with Lilian?”

The receiver, Alex, understood what she implied behind those words. Yet, like with Carl, he was disinclined to share anything. He took a moment to respond. 

Alex asked back, “What’s with Vince?”

Despite saying she wanted a blockbuster, Alex didn’t believe her. 

But, since she didn’t want to talk about it, he wouldn’t force her. People had their own secrets. He was aware of that. He also knew full well how important privacy was to every individual. Hence, he would naturally respect her choice. 

Since he didn’t want to answer her, he backfired her question. 

They were at a standstill.

His lackadaisical posture and the glee in his eyes were awful to Irene. F*ck. 

She perceived his unwillingness. Well, at least I tried. 

She didn’t dwell on it more and moved on.

Irene dove back to her sea of theories. What a chore…

With no one wanting to budge, the both of them came to a ceasefire and went on with their lunch. 

In the middle of cutting his steak, Irene shot Alex a question all of a sudden. “So where’s mine?”

Alex’s hold on the knife loosened. He stared at her and questioned, “What do you mean?”

“You now have more on your plate. I guessed that I would also have an assistant to lighten your load.”

“Oh.” His straight lips morphed into an arc, and his eyes turned crescent. “Why? Are you already sick of this nanny of yours?” Implying to himself.

Inside Irene’s head, she already threw her hands in the air dismissively. F*ck off. 

She studied him, and then slowly leaned on the back of her chair.

Two can play at this game. 

Irene smirked. “Yes.”  

“No!!!” He feigned crestfallen and covered his face with both of his hands. His body went limp. 

In pitch black, Alex observed his surroundings through his ears. Not hearing any shuffling, he peeked between the cracks of his fingers and saw the unmoved Irene. 

Alex swiftly closed his eyes and muttered incomprehensible words. He resigned under this fruitless attempt of drawing pity. 

“You’re heartless.” The ice queen was still at her peak. 

He put his mischievousness aside and stated, “Don’t mind me. I know my limits. And if I ever can’t cope up anymore, you’ll be the first to know.” The amber pupils met the smiling blue ones. “I have to consult our queen’s opinion when selecting an assistant.” 

Alex’s ocean-blue orb enamored Irene. 

“Fine,” she relented. What a handsome devil.

 

 

***

 

 

Lilian watched Alex and Irene as they headed toward the elevator.

The moment the door closed, everything in her went loose.

“Ahhhhhh! Did you see her?! Did you see her?!” Lilian screamed.

She fiercely shook her assistant’s shoulders, unable to contain her excitement. I held hands with Irene!

Meanwhile, the jogged up Maine Brooks was currently dizzy from the shake. 

She held her head and escaped from the clutches of the villain in front of her. Maine also was a fan of Irene, but she didn’t expect that she would be working with a crazier fan than her. 

“I’m not blind. So please don’t rattle me like a toy.” Maine waited for her world to return back to normal. Though her head was spinning, she was truly looking forward to this new job of hers. Like any fan, imagining the encounter she would have with Irene later on was a bliss.

The exuberant Lilian got off from the state of pleasure and was now worrying about her actions. “I did nothing weird, did I?” she asked Maine. 

Their first and official meeting was something that Lilian would remember for the rest of her life. Apart from her embarrassment, she recalled that she didn’t act outlandish. To make sure, she ran through her memories thoroughly. Yup, I wasn’t a weirdo. 

Maine, who was left to deal with the discomfort, now felt fine. 

“Don’t worry. Ms. Irene wouldn’t mind even if you trip yourself.” Her reply earned her a glare from Lilian. 

Maine could only summarize her first impression of Lilian as childish and naïve.

She shrugged Lilian’s look off.

Then, she grabbed and pulled Lillian’s hand and said, “Let’s go have lunch.” 

Before leaving, Alex invited them to lunch. But Lilian didn’t even discuss it with her before rejecting him. That was his welcome party for them! 

Thankfully, Alex didn’t fully buy into Lilian’s excuse and gave them a sum of money they could lavishly spend at any restaurant. This time, she wouldn't miss this chance to indulge in luxury. 

Good food could make anyone salivate, and Lilian was not immune to this. 

She felt bad for saying those words earlier, but she was also relieved. As always, she didn’t know how to handle herself in front of Irene, so she thought about escaping before she became more stupid.

She could sense Maine’s discontent burning her back at that time. But then, an angel came and offered her amnesty.

Alex still treated them to lunch. 

Lilian exclaimed, “Right! Let’s go, let’s go.”

They grabbed their bags and headed downstairs.

Walking down the hallway, Lilian met some familiar faces. 

It was Carl. To his right was a lady of 5’5" wearing a denim jacket, and to his left was a young man sporting a pair of low-rise jeans with a navy blue hoodie. 

Carl approached her. “Lilian, how’s your first meeting with Alex?”

After her success in “Looking At You”, the top wanted to focus on Lilian more and transferred her to another manager.

Among all with stellar qualifications, Alex was the single person that had only one artist. They never knew why he didn’t want to handle another one. Even so, they took the chance and pushed Lilian to him.

Much to everyone’s surprise, he accepted.

Lilian’s eyes curved when she saw her former manager and said, “It was great! I’m ecstatic to be working with him.”

As she said that, the woman beside Carl clenched her fist behind her back. 

The man noticed this minor act but turned his head away. He spoke to Lilian. “Hey, how’s our rising star doin?”

“Why would you say that?” Lilian turned pink when she heard Aiden’s words. 

“Come on, it’s not like it’s false.” Adrian, Sophie, and Lilian had a friendly relationship. Being in the same manager for four years, they were now in the stage where they could tease each other. 

Well, that was before. Apparently, Sophie seemed to have changed. At least it was not noticeable yet to Lilian. 

Lilian shifted her attention to Sophie and excitedly gestured to hug her.

Sophie was about to step back, but an iron grip held her wrist. In an instant, Lilian’s arms enveloped her. 

With no choice, Sophie reluctantly returned the hug and patted Lilian’s back. 

She forced a smile and spoke, “It looks like you’re doing great, Lily.”

Lilian beamed and said, "How about we hang out this weekend?" Lilian wanted to share this momentous event in her life with her friends, and what more could she think of as a great get together than spending their weekend with each other. She couldn’t help but look forward to it.

Unfortunately, Sophie’s reply doused her enthusiasm. “Sorry, but my weekend is booked.”

Lilian was a little sad when she heard it and looked over at Adrian. 

Her downcast face almost moved Adrian and made him agree. Nonetheless, he still answered, “Sorry, Lil. I already have an appointment. But we’ll hang out next time for sure.”

He gave her a regretful look.

Though unhappy, Lilian understood that they have their own work schedules, and it would be selfish of her to force them. 

Lilian extinguished her sadness and said, “That’s fine. But text me when both of you are available. I’d love to hang out with everyone again.”

Carl listened to their conversation and decided to step in.

“Well, I gotta interrupt your talk now,” Carl cut them off. He put his arms around Sophie and Adrian’s shoulders and said to Lilian, “These two still have to take some pictures.”

Before leaving, Carl paused, and his eyes shook with hesitation. In those brief seconds of contemplation, he released a puff. “You have to take care of yourself. You hear that, Lily?”

His tender and fatherly look was the last straw. His gaze and those accumulated rejection made a pool around Lilian’s eyes. 

She slightly bowed her head trying to cover the redness in her eyes. This man in front of her has been a prominent figure in these past four years of her life. She treasured his presence. And now, she’s off to a new start.

A shadow masked her face. 

She said in a quavering voice, “Got it.” 

She wanted to pour her heart out. She wanted to say more. 

But instead, she lifted her head to meet his sight.

“No waterworks please.” A Cheshire smile blossomed on her face. I’ll be alright.

He was appeased by what he saw. Carl gave her one last rub on the head and said, “See you around.”

The figure of the three of them gradually grew shorter as they walked away.

Maine glanced at the frame of the two artists. She scrunched up her brows. “Are they your friends?”

“Yeah,” Lilian affirmed.  

Maine was in a pensive mood, but she was quickly pulled out by Lilian. 

“Come, let’s go have lunch,” she uttered, much more muted than before.

 

 

***

 

 

Arriving in the parking lot, Carl instructed them. “Wait here. I’ll go get the car.”

Adrian watched as Carl’s silhouette meld into the dim light. 

Now that Carl wasn’t in ear’s range, he drifted his attention toward Sophie.

She noticed his piercing stare and asked, “What?”

Adrian didn’t want to play this game with her. He confronted her. “What’s with your attitude toward Lily earlier?”

“What attitude? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she denied 

“‘My weekend is booked’, really?!” He couldn’t believe she said that.

“What? I was just telling the truth. I’m busy this Saturday and Sunday so I couldn’t hang out with her. What’s wrong with that? I also said sorry, didn’t I?” Sophie was getting irritated by the pressuring stance Adrian was emitting. 

“Oh come on,” Adrian clicked his tongue. “If I didn’t grab your hand, you would’ve stepped back and avoided Lily’s hug.”

Sophie was exasperated, but she held it in. She took a deep breath. “I was caught off guard by her actions and did that. I don’t see any problem at all.”

Adrian was having trouble controlling his emotions, heaving up and down. They’ve been friends for a couple of years; of course, he recognized when one of them was feigning ignorance. 

Right now, he was really interested in prying her head open to see what was in it. 

Lilian’s stooping back when they left aroused guilt in him. 

He was happy for his friend for achieving such a milestone in her career. In fact, he was jumping with joy when he first heard the news of her becoming famous.

He didn’t know when, but Sophie’s attitude toward Lilian slowly changed. 

Of course Lilian wouldn’t notice it since she has been busy these past couple of months, and paired with her character of being unable to see her friends in a bad light, he didn’t expect any reaction from her. But the him that was always by Sophie’s side detected that all too well.

“Don’t think that I didn’t see your hand clen—” his words were cut off with a honk.

A van pulled over. Carl slid the door open and motioned them to get in.

In her black boots, Sophie strode toward it. She ignored Adrian and directly walked past him. 

Adrian frustratingly ran his fingers through his hair and tugged it. 

He was stuck between rock and a hard place; any careless act would topple the peace surrounding them. 

That would be a disaster.

He lingered. He stood on his spot.

Adrian felt burdened and looked up in vexation.  

Eventually, he followed Sophie into the car.