Having lunch at Tako Eats was supposed to be a one-time deal.
It was something natural - something that Irys and Bae could rationalize and make all the excuses in the world about. They were delivering Insurance documents for Ina to sign and the noontime cannon had already fired. Convenience was the name of the game and the two 'colleagues' could keep their distance without giving an inch of their year-long stalemate.
They would be, just like Irys wanted, just colleagues.
And yet, it wasn't meant to be just that
The next day, on Wednesday at noon, Bae emerged from the conference room and made a beeline for the elevators of the reception hall. When Bae reached for the button to call the elevator, another person's hand beat her to it.
Bae turned around and saw the Nephilim Irys pushing the button proudly.
"Too slow." Irys teased.
"It's not a race." Bae shrugged.
"Of course not." Irys turned away, acting nonchalant.
Then, the two of them spoke at the same time.
"Tako Eats?"
Suddenly, the new-hires clammed up. Neither of them wanted to claim victory. So, when the elevator finally came, they let their stalemate linger just a little while longer.
Then, before either of them could step inside, someone else zipped between them like a tiny little rocket. The petite figure of Gawr Gura ducked between the bountiful cleavage of Irys and Bae and snuck into the elevator before her well-stacked wards. The three of them managed to fit into the full-to-bursting elevator somehow.
Gura looked up at her two students and grinned.
"You guys going for the salman at Tako Eats too?" Gura praised. She bounced around and didn't even wait for their answer, "Inya brings in the good stuff on Wednesday!"
Irys and Bae looked at their over-excited mentor and started to laugh.
Gura frowned.
"What?" Gura tested with furrowed brows.
"Nothing, chief." Irys answered.
Gura doubted her completely, but just heaved a sigh.
Before Gura could retaliate, the elevator doors opened. Irys and Bae got out first and made a beeline for the Tako Eats cafeteria. Ina welcomed the three stooges of Bread Dog into her cafeteria and served them with a smile painted on her lips.
And just like that, Bae's one-time deal with Irys became her new routine. Eating with Irys at Tako Eats turned into a habit that she could count on as sure as rain or the noontime cannon shot. The year-old ice between Irys and Bae started to thaw.
Come Thursday, Irys and Bae went out of the conference room lecture together and acknowledged each other's presence.
By Friday, the two of them were on talking terms once again - making small talk about the weather, about Gura's lectures and about their new jobs.
As colleagues, of course.
With each passing day, Irys and Bae talked a little bit more than before. Chatting with Irys again brought her back to the rosier years of her college life. These little lunchtime chats, so far, wouldn't hold a candle to the lively conversations that she had with Irys back then.
But any progress was better than none, Bae decided.
Beggars can't be choosers, right?
Bae looked down into her cafeteria coffee cup and regarded her reflection there.
After all, it was sort of my fault - wasn't it?
"Something wrong?" Irys asked her zoning out colleague.
Bae shook her head and tried to smile.
"Creepy." Irys shuddered.
Then, the Nephilim laughed out loud. Bae's heart throbbed.
I hate how cute she still is!
Bae sipped on her coffee and pretended to think of something else.
It was at this time that Bae saw Gura rushing past the entrance of Tako Eats with her briefcase in tow. Ina saw this too and called out to her.
"You're not having lunch today, Gura?" Ina asked.
"Not today - I gotta run!" Gura apologized profusely. She joined her hands together and pleaded, "Save me a salmon bagel, will ya?"
"Sure thing." Ina nodded.
"Oh!" Gura added, spotting Irys and Bae in the cafeteria, "Sana's gonna do my lecture this afternoon for ya. Don't give her too much trouble, alright?"
Irys and Bae nodded too.
Then, Gura zipped out to the parking lot and drove a blue hatchback out of Purdy's Wharf in a hurry.
"I wonder what that's about…" Ina hummed, thinking out loud.
Irys and Bae thought the same thing, but neither of them knew what to do. For now, the two of them finished up their lunch and went back up to Bread Dog for their scheduled lecture as soon as they could.
…
Just like Gura said, Sana was waiting for them in the conference hall. The cheerful CEO greeted them with her signature smile, but Bae could tell that it wasn't as bright as it used to be. Sana noticed the concern of her two new-hires and forced herself to smile even brighter.
"Alright, ladies! This is sort of a sudden change but I'll be taking over for Gura this afternoon." Sana explained as calmly as she could, "Bring out your course material and we'll go over the things you discussed this morning."
Irys and Bae did as they were told, but their attention to the lecture was halfhearted. The next hour or so crawled on at a snail's pace and Sana's cheer wavered.
Then, all of a sudden, Kaela burst into the conference room with a troubled expression painted on her face.
"Boss Sana." Kaela started, "Gura's on the phone. She needs to talk with you."
Sana's expression soured immediately, dropping the act that she had put on for the past hour. She promptly marched out of the conference room with Kaela.
"We're taking a five minute break." Sana spoke without turning to her students, "I just have some business to take care of. Stay here. Got it?"
Sana closed the door behind her, leaving Irys and Bae alone in the conference room. Tense, awkward silence filled the room.
"I wonder what that's about…" Bae thought out loud.
Irys, however, didn't respond. Instead, she stood up from her seat and started to march out of the conference room too.
"Oy, where are you going?" Bae asked.
"I'm going to find out what that was about." Irys spoke.
"But Boss Sana said…" Bae tried to intervene.
"Oh, so you're planning to sit on your hands and do nothing? Something's definitely up." Irys lashed out. Her tone regained the venom that she had from before and added, "You might be happy being an outside observer and letting things take their course, but I'm not. I'm gonna see what's going on with or without you."
Irys' words cut deep into Bae's heart. It brought back memories that she thought that she had forgotten. All of the ice that had been thawing between the two seemed to start freezing up.
I don't want that.
Bae took a deep breath and stood up from her seat. She looked Irys straight in the eyes.
"I'm coming with you." Bae decided, "Lead the way."
A small smile formed on Irys' lips.
"Finally, some backbone." Irys whispered beneath her breath.
"What was that?" Bae asked.
"Nothing." Irys turned around, "Let's go."
With that, Bae stood up from her seat and followed Irys all the way to Kaela's reception desk. Sana had the receptionist's telephone handset to her ear. The other employees of Bread Dog looked up from their cubicles at the tense scene. Kaela, meanwhile, nervously watched the CEO fretting on her desk.
Another staffer, meanwhile, attended to Sana calmly while she took the call.
Fauna Ceres.
The Health and Wellness Officer laid her hand on Sana's shoulder, doing her best to calm down the furious CEO. Despite her best efforts, Sana's stress emanated from her being like gravity itself. When Sana saw Irys and Bae in the reception hall, however, that gravity intensified twofold.
Sana covered the mouthpiece and glared at them.
"What are you doing here?" Sana growled.
"Let me handle this." Fauna interjected.
"But I told them…!" Sana started.
"Sanana!" Fauna snapped, raising her voice at the CEO, "Focus on Gura, please. She needs your help."
The CEO took a deep breath and nodded.
"Fine." Sana conceded and got back to the telephone call.
Fauna rubbed Sana's shoulder and walked over to Irys and Bae. She wore a wistful smile and whispered to them.
"Now's not a good time, dears." Fauna apologized, "I'm sorry that you had to see this, but things like these happen from time to time."
"Things like what, Miss Ceres?" Irys asked Fauna, forcing herself to whisper as well, "Gura's our mentor and we're studying to become sales executives. We want to be prepared for these kinds of things - and we want to get involved too."
Fauna glanced back at Sana. The CEO gave her a small, affirmative nod.
"Alright, so here's the deal." Fauna spoke on Sana's behalf, "Gura had to rush to one of our biggest clients, KFP Atlantic Canada, because their owner threatened to terminate their portfolio with us and switch to one of our competitors. Gura offered a sweeter deal, but KFP wanted more. But she doesn't have the paperwork." She shook her head and frowned, "Now, the competitors are on their way to the KFP head office in Enfield - near the airport - and they've bringing a contract that has what KFP wants as we speak."
Sana covered the covered the mouthpiece again.
"The owner, Miss Kiara Takanashi, says that whichever company brings her the full stack paperwork with the new terms she suddenly wants gets her business for the coming year." Sana finally explained, "Gura says we need the KFP portfolio printed and signed. Wet signature. No digital copies… but those bastards are gonna beat us to it at this rate."
"I-Is that so…?" Irys' eagerness waned, "That's… worse than I thought."
Bae saw the troubled expression on Irys' face. It reminded her of the kind of forlorn face Irys made back in the worst parts of their university lives. Bae clenched her fists.
No… I'm not gonna let something like that happen again.
The rat-girl took a deep breath and faced the troubled Bread Dog staff.
"Do we have the paperwork for KFP's new deal?" Bae asked.
"I can get it all printed in a jiffy." Kaela answered.
"It's rush work - and we're stretching the limits of their risk profile, but I think I can sign off on it." Sana added.
"But getting to KFP's headquarters in Enfield is the challenge here." Fauna explained, "It's far, for one. Plus, rush hour traffic is already starting so the highway should be clogged up."
"Parking there's also a hassle." Mumei's voice suddenly chimed in. The owl-girl poked her head out from her office, piling more woes onto the pile, "I used to work there at KFP's office. Good luck getting there with a car - or finding an open parking slot."
Sana heaved a sigh.
"I guess we're going to have to prepare to take a hit next year…" Sana groaned, "The KFP portfolio's as good as gone."
Kaela, Fauna and Mumei lowered their heads. Irys, too, had the wind knocked out of her sails.
"Not yet." Bae interjected stubbornly, "The KFP portfolio's not gone yet."
Irys, Sana and all of the staffers turned to her. Bae's blue eyes, however, shone with dogged determination. Sana lowered the telephone handset and faced Bae sternly.
"I'm all ears, Baelz Hakos." Sana spoke.
"We might not be able to get to KFP HQ in Enfield on time in a car." Bae started. Then, she turned to Irys and grinned, "But we might be able to get there in a Vespa scooter!"
…
Nowhere With You
Rush Job
…
To Be Continued