Cedric. K: Sorry, Ma'am. Can't take you home. The guests want to go sightseeing. (sad emoji)I had just finished closing the computer screen when I laughed reading Cedric's message. No wonder he wasn't around all afternoon. Oh, maybe he's been busy since lunchtime. When there are guests like this, the front office is always busy. But what makes me think that Cedric falls into the category of good guys is that during lunch, he still managed to ask how I was doing.It was just a simple inquiry, not an interruption, like "Don't forget to eat, Anya." Or, "Please remember, you're pregnant. Take care of your eating habits." Not like that. Cedric's message to me earned its own special place in our chat history."I hope Anya has eaten because I've already had my meal."I scrolled through our previous chat history, and it was all about sharing food or breakfast. Nothing more than that. Even since that fateful night, I haven't received any strange messages from Cedric. We've been interacting as

"Morning, Ma'am," I greeted politely. I arrived exactly as planned, twenty minutes before Krystal's arrival. When she saw me, she seemed to frown. Is there something wrong? Before even sitting at my desk, I had checked my appearance multiple times. Nothing was wrong, and it seemed perfectly fine."Morning, Anya." Krystal smiled sweetly. I recognized the Christian Dior Rouge lipstick she was wearing; it's her favorite brand. Sometimes, when meetings or gatherings are held at the Washington DC mall, Krystal would pull me aside and we'd visit the store. Some of my collections are from there as well."You look... different," she said again. I didn't know how to respond; my mind was telling me this was a bad sign."Good or not?" I asked softly. Actually, I rarely seek Krystal's opinion because this beautiful woman in front of me always has a way to make the person she's talking to spill everything on their mind.Krystal simply laughed and walked into her office, leaving me feeling weak and

I might as well label myself as crazy too. I'm really sitting on Cedric's red motorcycle. He drives it carefully, rarely overtaking other cars or motorcycles, waiting for vehicles in front to turn if there's a speed bump or pothole, he doesn't press the brakes too hard. Occasionally, he asks how I am behind him.I enjoy it. Honestly. Sitting sideways with some of my legs covered by a pashmina, my body wrapped in his scented jacket. I'm confused; even though the jacket was inside the motorcycle seat, its smell is still pleasant. I like it. Well... I mean, I don't really smell the usual vehicle odors even though I'm wearing a mask.The helmet I'm wearing is also clean, with no dust on it. Shiny. I guess Cedric is the type who takes good care of his belongings. His motorcycle is spotless."Do you want to eat at the apartment or outside?"I flinched. "What did you say? I didn't hear." I held onto the metal at the back of the motorcycle. I didn't want my hand to touch Cedric; he might get

"Delete it, Naomi," I said during our lunch break. Naomi laughed contentedly. Although when we met in the elevator, she was already smiling inexplicably, causing some of the people inside the lift to look at Naomi with puzzled expressions. They might have been confused because someone was behaving strangely."Oh, this is concrete evidence that Anya Joice wants to get close to Cedric."I rolled my eyes in annoyance."There's nothing wrong with your closeness. You're both human. Unless Cedric is a ghost, maybe I'll stop you, Anya," Dona added, and Naomi immediately agreed. My two best friends are exceptional at cornering someone."Do you even think about who Cedric is?""I know. A human," Dona answered nonchalantly. She then enjoyed the cold fruit she ordered after finishing her bowl of corn soup with carrot."Office boy," I whispered. This is the cafeteria, and I don't want my words to be overheard and misunderstood. I didn't mean to disrespect him. Since I got to know him recently, I

As I arrived at the elevator door leading to the lobby, I thought, this is a good opportunity, right? No one is following me home as usual. I can finally execute my plan to take the emergency exit stairs when I come home from work. Not for exercise, but to make my body tired. So, I decided to push the emergency exit and climb the stairs one by one.My laptop bag, work bag, and a tote bag filled with financial documents were hanging on my finger, and don't forget my other hand that was already crowded with stuff. I carried my high heels. Slowly, I walked in this rather dirty stairwell. When I saw the floor sign in the corner, it showed number five. I was halfway there to the tenth floor.My breath only reached my throat. My forehead was drenched in sweat. Occasionally, I wiped it with the back of my hand that held the laptop bag. I was certain that my shirt and bra were soaked. Sticky, due to the sweat that had come out. There was no fresh air coming in and out here, right? It was stuf