7. The Stubborn One

The place was quiet, only a few people were sitting in one or two chairs scattered in every corner of the room. Diaz was there, one of them, with a cup of coffee he had just bought five minutes ago at one of the drink counters. Diaz spends his afternoons in the hospital canteen with his cell phone to his ear.

"Sorry, Ed, I left suddenly. But earlier I called HR for a half-day permit."

"I heard from Sonia earlier, that your family has been admitted to the hospital. How are things?"

Unbeknownst to Edwin—the person who is currently on the phone with him—Diaz grimaced at the statement as well as the question. The reason is that he did use the excuse of "relatives being hospitalized" to apply for permission to the HRD office, but hearing it from Edwin made him feel like someone who was being caught lying. That excuse sounded stupid now, even though Diaz wasn't lying about himself having to rush to the hospital, but describing Claire as an important family or relative was ridiculous. Jus