Page 79 of Chasing Mr. Prefect
“Hi,” I said after an embarrassingly long while of just staring. “Um, I’m here on my own. I didn’t get sent by a teacher or anything. Just so you know.”
“That’s a relief,” he said, his face still impassive. He walked over and saw the food I had left on his desk. “What’s this?”
“Lunch. I thought you’d be hungry.”
“No, not really.”
Of course, he would not make it too easy. I knew I deserved this but it did not stop my ears from burning.
“Fine, give it away, then.”
“You haven’t answered my question,” he said. He seemed to notice the sudden change in the tone of my voice and was reminding me who was boss. We were in his office, after all. “Why are you here?”
“I was hoping we could have lunch together and talk,” I said with a shrug, trying to lower my own voice. “But since you’re not hungry maybe I should just, you know, say sorry.”
Breaking eye contact, I stared at my shoes instead, too ashamed to look him in the eye.
“The past few days were painful,” I began. “But I didn’t know what to say. I still don’t, actually. All I can say right now is how sorry I am for messing up. And this is in no way sufficient but it’s a start.”
I looked up at him again and noticed how he was not looking at me either. His eyes were dead fixed on his steaming coffee cup.
“Don’t worry. You don’t have to eat that. And next time, I’ll have something better up my sleeve,” I said, turning to leave. I had almost reached the door when he spoke again.
“Vinnie, wait,” he said. “Are you coming to Ephemere?”
I knew he just wanted to get me to attend and help out at the event but I jumped at the chance.
“I’m supposed to help out with the booth when gates open,” I just replied, looking back at him over my shoulder. He still had his eyes somewhere else. “But if you need me there early for ingress, just let me know.”
“We do need some extra help. I’m picking you up,” he told me, meeting my gaze. “Be ready at seven o’clock.”
“Thank you,” I just said, not wanting to sound too pleased. “I’ll see you on Saturday.”
It took all of my willpower not to start jumping happily in the hallway like a child. I was walking down the stairs towards the cafeteria when my phone beeped.
DRESDEN MAIL
FW: Requirements
I blinked, unsure of what was going to be in that email, and opened it.
I’ve attached the application form and list of requirements for the Seoul trip. Make sure you compile and submit these at least two weeks before our flight.
(Also, thanks for the food. I ~was~ hungry.)
Smiling, I put my phone away and jumped the last three steps on the stairs, feeling happier than I had been in what felt like weeks.
CHAPTER 35
Cholo stayed true to his word and picked me up at 7 a.m. the next Saturday.
It was awkward in the car, though. We did not talk at all. I was still sleepy and he was focused on driving. I wish I had tried, since there was no chance at all for us to talk in the venue. I came running from one station to another, telling the tech guys where the wires should go, helping the Logistics Team on where to put the cocktail tables and beer station, calling the lighting people to please arrive on time, setting up the booth and the tarps. It was a bit more confusing than the launch event because this venue was larger. Miss Co arrived to help at around lunchtime and had adobo for everyone.
Hours passed by quickly but our practice with the launch party two weeks ago paid off and we were better prepared. Ingress was done an hour ahead of schedule. No USBs or hard drives disappeared this time and unlike the launch party, we were all happy when everything was finished. Cholo declared a break for us to do whatever we pleased at around 5:30 p.m. but said we should be ready and dressed at the lobby by 8:30 p.m. for the pre-event meeting and opening of the gates.
Our girl teammates pulled me into their hair and makeup station behind the DJ booth. I saw a plethora of makeup and brushes spread neatly throughout the table. Two girls from the PR Team curled their hair near the electric sockets while Kristine sat me down on one of the chairs and started rubbing cold creams on my face. She filled me in on all the meetings that I could not attend while contouring my cheeks. By the time she was finished, I had perfect eyebrows and no one could tell that I was unable to properly sleep the past week.
“Thank you, Kristine!” I said happily, checking out my reflection. “I love it!”