"Wish I would've told you but you just don't seem To wonder what I'm doing when you're close to me...

I think it over and it might be true I'm only overthinking when I'm close to you"

[Song: "Close to You" - Dayglow]

RECAP:

That was sure some hiatus but we're back after 3ish years.

Everyone -Naomi, Bennett, Jordan, and Declan- is still suspended after a big fight with Raymond and his goons. Naomi learned more about the others through some da- I mean, hang outs in the last couple of chapters.

Let's see what will happen in this chapter!

NOTE:

I rewrote a little bit of Broken Glasses. I rethought Bennett's character/dialogue- shorter lines but more actions. It will be a good reason to reread the book as a refresher. You'll know it's a new scene if there are no/few comments. Definitely read Chapters 4 and 7. Hint: "passenger princess"~

Made by the amazing @Pekgna! I commissioned this back in 2021 when I first began writing the chapter hehe

~

"Why can't the author update faster?" I grumbled out as I scrolled down to the comment section of the chapter. "They just had to leave us at a cliffhanger."

My chin rested against my hand as I sat in front of my laptop on the couch. With a sigh, I used my chopsticks to pick up another chip from the bag. It may seem like an odd choice to use chopsticks for chips, but I'm able to have clean fingertips as I eat chips while using my computer.

Mindlessly chewing, I tapped against the mousepad as I looked for something to do. I already finished all of my schoolwork to keep me ahead of missing a week of school. The only reason I didn't do any more work was that I didn't have any handouts from class. I frowned knowing that I had to do something about that.

When my phone rang, a picture of me and my dad in an amusement park was displayed on the screen.

"Naomi, I'm in trouble," my dad said, his usual greeting when giving me a call.

"What?" I asked, sitting up from my seat in surprise. "What's wrong?"

"I forgot my lunch bag," he said urgently. "It's on the kitchen counter. Your mom's going to kill me if she finds out I forgot it again."

I sighed. "Thanks for giving me a heart attack so early in the morning," I told him.

"Please tell me the food is still alive."

"Aren't you glad your daughter got suspended from school? The food would've gone bad if it was left out like this," I said as I got up from the couch.

There was a pause. "I'm not going to confirm nor deny that."

"Oh that's too bad," I told him, placing the lunch bag into the fridge. "The lunch box is just sitting there on the table. It would be a shame if mom were to find it."

I paused for a moment, a smirk appearing on my face. "I think today she's getting out of work early before you. I forgot, what happened the last time you forgot your lunch? I think you made your own lunches for a week. I didn't know you had such a taste for sandwiches with burnt toast."

"What do you want, child?"

"Ice cream, the usual."

"Deal," my dad said after heaving out a sigh. "I'll come back to the house during my lunch break. And we will never speak about this to your mom."

"I would be too busy eating ice cream to say anything," I told him with a smile.

The TV played a random anime upside down. Well, actually I was the one who was upside down on the couch. I wanted to see if I could learn how to read the subtitles upside down.

It wasn't working.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. I looked at the clock on the wall, squinting at it to figure out the time upside down. It was an hour before noon. My dad must have been able to have his lunch break early.

I walked towards the kitchen to grab my dad his lunch bag. But then the doorbell kept ringing over and over again. For a moment I stopped walking, looking between the fridge and the ringing doorbell, not knowing what to do. Then I figured I should just open the door first in case my dad had forgotten something else and was in a hurry to get it.

Opening the door, I began, "Hey dad I-"

Jordan smirked. "Don't you mean... daddy?"

Standing in front of me was Jordan and Declan.

Wearing suits.

While Jordan wore a crisp charcoal gray suit with the collar of the white button-down popped open, Declan wore a neat black suit with a maroon tie worn underneath the collar of his white button-down.

I lightly chuckled to myself as I slowly bent down to grab my slipper before raising my arm up to begin hitting Jordan with it.

With a curse under his breath, Jordan moved to avoid me as Declan burst out laughing, I yelled out, "You think you can come to my house just to say that?"

Jordan was now using Declan as some shield between us. When I tried to move to one side he would move to the opposite. Declan tried to get out of our way, but Jordan would move with him.

He peeked over Declan's shoulder. "Yes," Jordan said sheepishly.

"As hilarious as it would be to see you beat Jordan up with that, we actually came here for a reason," Declan said.

"Truce?" Jordan offered weakly.

"For now," I grumbled before throwing my slipper on the ground, satisfied by how Jordan flinched at the action.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked before pointing at their shoes to take off once they stepped inside. Seeing that they came into the house without my permission, they might as well not track dirt in the process.

"It's... drumroll please..." Jordan gave Declan a pointed look to which Declan rolled his eyes and halfheartedly pantomimed playing the drums.

"It's Bennett's birthday!" Jordan said excitedly.

His tone missed the poor reception from me and Declan. He pathetically threw in jazz hands to make up for it.

"It is?" I asked.

"Yup!" Jordan said brightly. "And we're going to go celebrate!" He exclaimed again, throwing in the jazz hands once more.

I smiled, excited at the thought of going to celebrate Bennett's birthday. Not only because I didn't have anything better to do, but it would've helped patch things up between us more after the whole "thing". Then my smile faltered at another thought.

"But..." I said quietly. "I wasn't invited. Bennett didn't tell me." I glanced away in embarrassment.

"Well good," Jordan said with a snort. "That would've been really awkward because he didn't invite us either."

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"We're going to celebrate Bennett's birthday... although he doesn't know that yet," Jordan explained with a wink.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Wouldn't you just call that a surprise party?" I asked.

"Yesn't," he said proudly. "And no I'm not having a stroke. It's a new word I came up with combining yes and no."

I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it. I tried to say something again but stopped. I then realized my mistake and turned to look at Declan.

"I was hoping I could talk to someone with common sense, but you're here with Jordan also wearing a suit so I might be alone here," I told him, ignoring how far Jordan's jaw dropped when I said that.

Declan considered it to himself then gave me a shrug. "Fair point, but it was either this or going through the music theory textbook my mom's making me read."

"Well of course I'll join, but how are we going to celebrate his birthday and surprise him?" I asked. "Are we going to tell him there is a lunch meeting with some client? But then again, Bennett is working right now so-"

"Naomi, Naomi, Naomi," Jordan mused, shaking his head to himself. "You're thinking too small which I understand you're used to since you're vertically reduced." To top it all off, he patted my head.

I shaped my hands into a semicircle and held it in front of Jordan's face.

He frowned at the action. "What... are you doing?"

"I'm trying to imagine what it would be like if I strangled you right now. Please help me make my dream a reality."

Declan coughed, covering up his laugh.

I thought about it. "Are we sure that Bennett is at his father's company? What if he ends up being at home?"

"Well, he told us that for being suspended he had to work there for the week- some kind of deal," Declan explained to which I nodded, understanding him.

Walking to the living room to turn off the TV, the guys followed behind me. Turning around, I saw Jordan eyeing my open laptop with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

I closed my laptop shut, narrowing my eyes at him. "Don't even think about it, Wallace," I told him to which he held his hands up innocently.

"So do we have a plan?" I asked.

Jordan began, "Well I have an idea."

"A good one?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

I gave Declan a wary look.

"Every time Jordan has an idea, I feel my life getting a little bit shorter," Declan told me.

"What life?" Jordan asked.

"Says the short guy."

"What is your super amazing plan that you always make because of your incredible genius?" I asked Jordan, desperate to distract him from Declan.

Jordan pointed two fingers to his eyes and then back at Declan to which Declan rolled his eyes in response.

Turning back to me, Jordan smiled. "The amazing plan I have is that we are going to break into the office Bennett is working at and surprise him there! Then after seeing how awesome his friends are, he's going to invite us to eat at some fancy restaurant, his treat."

I looked at Declan who only gave me a shrug.

"That sounds like a terrible idea," I told Jordan. "I'm in."

"Great, another accomplice," Declan said.

"But how do you think this plan would work?" I asked Jordan .

"I'm glad you asked," Jordan said with a grin as the lights dimmed and a spotlight was on top of where he was standing.

I looked around in confusion. "How did you- I don't have this light system for my house," I muttered.

"The secret to my overwhelming self-confidence," Jordan explained, "is that when I face any kind of situation, I ask myself this one simple thing: WWJD."

I frowned at the acronym. "What would Jesus do?"

"No," Jordan told me. "What would Jordan do."

I stared at Jordan. "I'm going to hit him," I muttered to myself.

"Me first," Declan said as he chased after a laughing Jordan.

As I watched them run around the house like my younger cousins in a sugar rush, I thought to myself. I already took a shower this morning, so that just means I just need to freshen up, do makeup, and pick an outfit for an office.

"Okay, I'll go get ready," I said as I began walking up the stairs. "You can-"

"Alright, see you in an hour," Jordan said brightly, in the middle of pushing away Declan. "Or maybe if you put on makeup, probably two."

Declan elbowed Jordan's side. "Shut up," he managed to say between his snickering with him.

I stopped walking and turned around to look at him. Walking down the stairs with my eyes narrowed at the two of them, I began, "Did you know that there was a study about how personal grooming on top of physical attractiveness can impact a person's paycheck?"

"Er, no I-" Jordan's eyes darted to Declan who only gave an unhelpful shrug.

Now walking up to them, I said, "Clothes, makeup, skincare-" listing it off my fingers "-and we can't forget the disproportionate beauty expectations for women compared to men. We have enough to worry about and they just had to throw in the gender wage gap too."

I stood in front of the two of them, my arms crossed in front of my chest. "So?" I demanded.

Both of them hung their heads in shame. "I'm sorry," Jordan and Declan muttered together.

I sighed then rolled my eyes before turning back around to walk up the stairs. "I'll see you in 30 minutes. Just watch TV or something."

Once I was done freshening up and putting on light makeup with moisturizing lip gloss to finish, I checked the thin black watch on my wrist, seeing that I was able to finish with two minutes to spare. Jogging down the stairs, I took another bobby pin I was holding between my lips to fix onto my hair.

When I made it to the bottom of the stairs, I walked over to the closet to find my heels. I held back a sigh, knowing that I would rather wear ankle boots but if I had to pull off the office worker look, I should go with the closed-toed heels my mom bought me instead. The heels clicked as I set them down on the floor and I used the last bobby pin to secure my hair.

With this, my outfit is complete. I wore a long-sleeved dark violet buttoned blouse with a black penny skirt that ended right at my knee before being met with sheer black tights. I patted down my hair to make sure all of the bobby pins were in place for the low bun hairstyle holding up my hair. I adjusted my black rectangular glasses, which were old ones from freshman year that I had no choice but to wear because my new glasses would arrive tomorrow. 

I looked up to see Declan and Jordan looking back at me. I frowned, not appreciating their eyes obviously studying me, and gave them a suspicious look.

"What?" I asked. "Do my old glasses look weird?"

"No," Jordan assured me. "I was just thinking if you fit into my hot librarian or hot  teacher roleplay fantasy." Declan elbowed Jordan's side at the remark.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

Jordan snapped his fingers. "I got it! Hot secretary!" He concluded with a triumphant smile. "Makes sense since we're going to an office."

I stared at Jordan with narrowed eyes then glanced at Declan. Suddenly, Declan grabbed Jordan's arms then held them behind his back, locking them together.

"The hell?" Jordan demanded, fighting against the armlock. "What're you doing?"

"Don't hold back, Naomi," Declan said. "He deserves it."

"W-Wait!" Jordan blurted out in panic, forcing out a laugh. "Let's talk this out. It was a joke. We don't have to-"

Jordan was cut off when I grasped the front of his suit jacket and then kneed him where the sun doesn't shine. When I took a step back, Jordan exhaled a gasp of air while Declan cursed before letting go of Jordan.

With his hands over his groin, Jordan slowly sank to his knees before falling over to the ground. He was then left muttering curses under his breath between winces.

"I... I deserved that," Jordan choked out in admittance. "I deserved that so much."

Declan looked at Jordan withering on the ground and made a small sign of the cross to himself. I held back from rolling my eyes at the exaggeration.

"Why didn't you punch him in the stomach instead?" Declan asked me in disbelief.

"My punches are pretty weak so it wouldn't have been as effective," I admitted. "Your largest muscles are in your legs."

"Oh really?" Declan asked. "I didn't know that."

"Yup, your gluteus maximus," I said, tapping the side of my thigh.

"That makes sense. I noticed the difference since I had my fair share of fights, but never thought about why."

"It's interesting seeing theory proven in practice."

"Um hello? Dying here?" Jordan called out weakly from the ground.

I walked over to Jordan and looked down at him with my arms crossed in front of my chest. Jordan had moved from the fetal position to lie on his back. His arm draped over his eyes slightly moved so he could look up at me.

"So what did we learn today?" I asked him.

"To not be an idiot?" He offered before wincing. "I'm sorry. I actually just wanted to say you look very nice and pretty. Especially your hair. I never saw you wear a bun before. If this is what you look like after 30 minutes, then I can't imagine what it would be like if you had more time to get yourself ready. Anyway, my jokes are a coping mechanism and they went too far this time."

I bent down and smiled at him. "Aw, thank you Jordan," I told him. "Be sure to say that instead next time. You're pretty too," I said, booping his nose with my index finger. "Your charcoal suit, well, suits you, no pun intended."

Jordan paused from his agony, blinking to himself. "Oh um, thank you..."

Looking up, I then said, "And you're pretty too, Declan. You look great in that black suit and red tie."

Declan rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away. "Yeah? You think so?"

"I do," I said, standing upright and smiling at them.

"See, that wasn't so hard, right?" I asked. "When you want to compliment someone without making them uncomfortable, specifically if they're a different gender, compliment on what they can control, not what they cannot. You should compliment them on their hairstyle or clothes, not objectify their looks or body. Then you're just complimenting their style and who wouldn't want to be complimented on that?"

"So after giving Jordan a few more minutes to recover, will we head out?" I asked.

"Actually, there's one thing we still have to do," Declan told me.

Still on the ground, Jordan wiggled his body like a worm to move towards us. It was both amusing and unsettling. "Oh right, I almost forgot about that seeing that I'm in immense pain."

"You wouldn't be throwing sarcasm if you were," I told him. "And please stop sliding around my floor. I mean you're cleaning it, but I feel bad for your suit."

"I'm glad you care about me," Jordan said as he struggled to get up from the floor. Currently, he was on his knees like he was trying out yoga.

Declan dug a hand into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out two items before handing them to me.

I frowned. "Rose beige? Almond?" I read off the labels in confusion. "Why do you have concealers?"

Declan rubbed the back of his neck. "For this plan to actually work, we have to look like we didn't just get run over in the face multiple times, or else we won't even make it past the front door."

"Well I say it would've been an improvement for Declan," Jordan said as he slowly stood up from the floor.

When Declan feigned to punch Jordan for the insult, Jordan jerked away, shielding himself, saying, "It was a joke. You already know me. Please, I'm still recovering."

"So you actually bought makeup to cover your bruises?" I asked in disbelief.

"On the way to your place we realized we should do something about it," Declan explained. "The people in the makeup department were nice enough to pick our skin tones."

"And that's where you come in," Jordan told me. "Use your makeup magic and make our bruises disappear!"

"Alright, fine I can," I said with a sigh. "But I don't get why you didn't ask the makeup department staff to do it instead. It's a free service and they'd obviously have more experience than me."

Jordan and Declan shared a look before glancing away.

"What?" I asked. "What happened?"

"They uh... They thought we were dating."

I snorted. "You aren't?"

The two of them shot me a glare. "Naomi!" They hissed in unison before looking at each other for having been in sync.

Not even trying to hold back my laughter, I told them, "Alright, alright. Let's see how much good a concealer will do for you. Who wants to go first?"

-

"W-Wait, your hand..."

"Slow down-"

"Stop being so rough..."

"You're the one who keeps fidgeting all the time," I said in exasperation. "Now hold still, because I'm still trying to cover the bruise under your eye. I need to use more of the color corrector."

We were sitting in front of each other on the couch with the coffee table laid out with makeup supplies. After a game of rock-paper-scissors, best out of three, I was going to put makeup on Declan first. I was surprised that they provided the two of them with more makeup supplies aside from the concealers like new brushes and such, saving me the trouble. They either pitied these budding makeup enthusiasts or took advantage of their lack of knowledge to have them buy more stuff.

"Maybe we should just come up with a different plan..." Declan offered, slightly leaning his face away from me as I leaned forward to get a better angle of his face. We were like magnets at the same poles, one repelling the other.

And it was annoying.

"You already made me dress up this much. We're going through with this," I said firmly. "Now stop moving away. If you didn't know, I have to actually be close to you to put on your makeup."

Initially, he didn't seem to mind going first probably because it meant he beat Jordan in rock-paper-scissors. But now he was being antsy at the fact of having to put on makeup. Having enough of this, I held Declan's chin with one hand, forcing him to look back and face me. Declan froze in place, finally keeping still, as I leaned forward to make sure I was gently tapping the concealer with a brush.

I told him as my eyes were trained on his bruise, "I'm placing concealer under your eye so I want to be extra careful and you weren't cooperating with me."

"Sorry about that," he stumbled out.

I frowned. "Okay, look down. I just want to double check how it looks at this angle," I said as I moved my hand so he would, but when he did, he suddenly closed his eyes shut. "You don't have to do that. The concealer needs to dry and it will wrinkle if you close your eyes."

"It's just that I didn't know how..."

Faltering in his sentence, it made me actually look at him, and having opened his eyes to look at me, our eyes locked together. "Didn't know what?" I asked.

He hesitated for a moment, but when he opened his mouth to respond, my eyes drifted away. "Oh, do you want me to also cover the scar on your eyebrow?" I asked as I lifted my hand to lightly brush my fingertips over the scar on his left eyebrow to see how deep it was to be covered.

At the action, Declan suddenly grasped my wrist to stop me. I looked back at him, realizing I had taken a step too far that I didn't know was there seeing I was putting makeup on him. I was going to apologize but instead-

I winced. "Declan, my wrist." He instantly let go.

"It was my fault," I told him before he could apologize again. "I thought you wanted to ask me about that. So what were you trying to say before?"

He shook his head. "It was nothing."

"You sure are taking your sweet time," Jordan observed, leaning over the back of the couch to be between the two of us.

Pushing Jordan away, Declan asked, "Are we done now?"

I leaned to my left and then to my right, studying his face before nodding. "I think you're good to go. To save time, you can put this setting spray on yourself. It's to stop the makeup from rubbing off easily."

"Yay, now it's my turn!" Jordan said brightly as he pushed Declan out of the couch. He jumped onto the couch from the other side to sit in front of me. I couldn't help but chuckle as Declan huffed to himself and then picked up the hand mirror off the coffee table before walking away.

"Here, I have this headband so your hair won't be in the way," I said before sliding a pink hairband onto his head to hold up his bangs.

"Aw, thanks," Jordan said as he awkwardly adjusted it before he threw a peace-sign, playfully posing. "How do I look? Cute right?"

"Yes, sure, Jordan," I said, realizing by now that life is easier if I just agree with him.

Telling Jordan to put primer on his face, I looked away to wipe my hands with makeup remover wipes. I dabbed some drops of the concealer onto the back of my hand for easier access. When I turned back to Jordan, we locked eyes and I gave him a smile mostly because of the sight of him wearing a headband to hold up his hair. When I leaned forward to see what I had to work with, he suddenly leaned back.

"Is it my perfume?" I asked in disbelief. "You two keep leaning away from me. You're asking for makeup magic. If you don't want it anymore, you can just put on your own makeup, Jordan."

"What? That's unfair!" He protested. "Declan got to have you put on his makeup. Also, we can't forget the fact that I'm, I don't know, colorblind?"

I winced. "I trust your artistic abilities to overcome this obstacle?" I offered weakly.

All he gave me in return was an unamused look.

"Alright fine, but so we don't waste anymore time, I have to do this," I said as I held Jordan's chin so he wouldn't move away. I expected to see the surprised look on his face as he looked at me, but didn't expect him to suddenly look down before just forcing his eyes shut.

"How can you expect me to properly put makeup on you if you're closing your eyes like that?" I asked blankly. "You have a bruise under your eye I need to properly hide."

Jordan opened his eyes, looking back up at me before averting his gaze. "Declan, what the hell?" Jordan suddenly exclaimed.

There was a scoff. "You're on your own. Figure it out yourself."

I decided it was one of their stupid competitions with each other again.

Placing yellow color corrector to counter the purple bruising, I held his chin in place as I carefully dabbed it onto his skin. Doing that instead of brushing, it won't move the product but layer it properly to keep the color in place. Jordan had opened his eyes for a moment, meeting mine and he quickly glanced away, visibly gulping.

"How am I supposed to put this whatever spray? Do I have to use a lot of it?" Declan asked.

"Just lightly," I called back. "Imagine you're going to put makeup on Delilah when she's older. She'd love having her big brother knowledgeable on this stuff."

"You really think so?" There was a pause. "But Delilah won't need any makeup. She'll be pretty enough without it."

Jordan snorted to himself. "You can really help advance science if you volunteer yourself to a research study on guys with a sister complex."

I shot Jordan a glare for his unnecessary comment and because I didn't want Declan to give Jordan another bruise on his face that I had to cover with concealer.

"No offense Naomi, but I never really pictured you as a makeup kind of gal," Jordan said as I lifted his head to check for any bruising on his jaw. "You seem more like the 'makeup makes you look fake and I'm not like other girls' blah blah blah."

I snorted at that. "If you thought I was, then why did you come here thinking I'd do your makeup for you? Is it because all women know the secret art of makeup?"

"Um..."

"Yeah, maybe before I thought it like that," I told Jordan as I placed some rose beige concealer to match his skin color. "I read all these books and saw the inspiring messages that you don't need makeup. But in sophomore year, I realized that makeup is just another tool for survival."

"Survival?" He repeated.

Cuts. Scratches. Bruises. Even the dark circles under my eyes, not from pulling all-nighters from studying but the restless nights when I woke up in a cold sweat about what happened and what was waiting for me when I went back to school.

I wish I still believed that makeup was for the pretty, popular girls who didn't need the makeup and just made themselves look vain and fake just to make myself feel better. But after seeing the benefit of makeup in its transforming abilities I see makeup can be many things - a form of self-expression or the modern version of battle armor to conquer the day. Throw in some more confidence inspiring metaphors and we can call it a day.

"Given the looks on your faces, I think you know what I mean," I told them with a wry smile.

The front door suddenly opened and my dad walked in saying, "Llanga, I got your Neapolitan ice cream and-"

He stopped at the sight of his daughter, armed with a brush, putting concealer on one guy while another was looking at himself in a hand mirror, all of them dressed up in business attire.

Before I could even greet him to then explain what he was looking at, he slowly walked backward out of the door and closed it shut. I set down the brush just to facepalm myself.

My dad peeked past the door before hesitantly walking into the house. "I was hoping that I was just seeing things because I haven't eaten lunch yet," he remarked before suddenly looking around the room. "Is... Is Bennett, I mean, Mr. Frazier here?"

As I proceeded to facepalm myself once more, Jordan answered, "Don't worry, Bennett isn't here. It's actually his birthday today and we're going to surprise him."

Relieved with his priorities in order, my dad asked, "So is it some private party? Is that why you're all dressed up? I can drop you off at the venue on my way back to work."

"We're going to sneak into his family work office to surprise him," Declan explained, earning looks of disbelief from both me and Jordan. "What? I'm not going to lie to your dad, Naomi."

"That's great!" My dad said. "Do you have a present for him? If not, I can give you some money to buy something."

"Did you just not hear what Declan said?" I asked slowly.

My dad came up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Naomi, sweetie, llanga," he told me. "Your mother and I really like our jobs."

I hung my head down in defeat.

"You all look really well-dressed," my dad observed. "I'd think you'd be going to work. Maybe it could bring your kid to work day."

My dad laughed at his own joke, patting Declan's back roughly as he did.

"Looking real sharp, Declan. Nice tie," he said before pausing. "Is that makeup?"

"Don't question it," I said with a sigh.

"Oh, you're missing a tie, Jordan," my dad noted. "I can lend you mine." He opened the closet and dug into a drawer. "I have some spare ones here."

Jordan stood up from the couch. "No, that's alright-"

"Nonsense. You need a tie if you want to get into an office. They'll stop you at the front door if you don't have one. This green one should do." He came up to Jordan, hanging the tie over his shoulders. "Do you know how to tie one?"

Jordan hesitated then shook his head. "No, sir."

"Hm, your father should have taught you by now," my dad remarked.

I winced at his words. Jordan was more graceful, hiding any reaction to my dad's comment.

"You're right, he should have."

Double wince.

"But don't worry, I'll teach you," my dad told him, patting Jordan's shoulder. "I can make a mean windsor knot."

Jordan smiled. "I can't wait."

After my dad had helped Jordan tie his tie- is that grammatically correct? Well anyway. After that, my dad twirled his keys.

"I'll drop you three in front of the company building," he explained. "I can't give you guys access so you're on your own from there. I think I should be more concerned as a parent, but you know the CEO's son who will inherit the entire company and will end up being my boss, so I'm not going to overthink it."

"You already are, but go on," I told him.

"Well, if you see me on the 64th floor, give me a wave but don't make it obvious since I should be working," he laughed at his own joke.

"Thanks again dad," I said with Jordan and Declan thanking him as well.

My dad opened the door, twirling his keys on his finger once more. "Just don't tell me your full plans on how you'll sneak into the building. I want to have deniability."

-

The three of us stood side by side, staring up at the tall office building in front of us. It was a skyscraper, a tower of glass and concrete with the logo of Fraz Corp that glinted in the sunlight. Back on street level, it was a bustling area as business people went in and out of the office, maneuvering around each other gracefully to avoid crashing into each other and missing their next business meeting.

Adjacent to it was an office building in the middle of construction that was surrounded by large fencing and a pedestrian sidewalk walkway with some overhead protection. When we got dropped off, I noticed a sign that read Cubed Construction Company as we walked.

Jordan put his hands in his pants pockets and his eyes trained on the office building. "So here's their security breakdown," Jordan began, smoothly switching to a serious tone that drastically differed from his usual one. "Because there was so much traffic for the building, they don't have a doorman anymore so now they have a center main and two side entrances- all with automatic sliding doors. There are four outside cameras from what I can see, and you can only assume there are many more inside. I haven't had the time to scout to see if they changed the number, but last time I checked there were 10. They also have two security guards stationed at the badge entrance now, which can pose a problem." He paused. "Are you with me so far?"

"No, I think I'm against you now," I replied. "I think as a present, I should just tell Bennett you have an alarming amount of knowledge about his father's company building."

Jordan eyed the glass windows to either peer inside the building or check himself out in the reflection. Either way, he smirked to himself. "I prefer calling it a useful amount of knowledge," he said nonchalantly.

"I can't even imagine why you have this information," I huffed out before turning to Declan. "Can you believe this?"

"Um, yeah sure..." Declan muttered as he glanced away which made me give him a questioning look.

"Back to what I was saying," Jordan continued. "They have a receptionist desk for appointments. But for people who actually work here, they just need to use their company employee badge to open up those security gates with a scan."

"But we don't have- Oh no," I said when Jordan suddenly held up three ID badges strung by a lanyard.

"Why do you have this?" I demanded at the same time as Declan who asked, "Why do you still have this?"

"Don't worry, these are universal badges," Jordan explained as I unwillingly received the lanyard from him. "It's not owned by anyone specifically so the system won't be alerted once we use them. It's usually for guests who just need temporary access into the building."

"And what did you mean by earlier?" I questioned Declan.

Obviously steering away from the question, Declan said, "Alright, and if we were to get caught, and I said if, Naomi," he repeated when I gave him a look of disbelief, "then we can distract the two security guards while Naomi gets away."

"How noble," I remarked, "but stupid," I finished deadpanned. "I'm just as much in this plan as you two."

"Cute, but no," Jordan told me. "And also I'm disappointed you didn't say 'we're all in this together'. I expected more from you, but that's beside the point."

"In the unlikely chance we get caught, we can drop the Bennett card," Declan explained.

"The Bennett card is the only reason I joined this stupid plan," I said. "And I thought we settled that if this goes wrong, we're blaming Jordan again."

Jordan frowned. "Since when did we talk about that?"

"Naomi and I talked about it," Declan informed him. "And I'm all for throwing you under the bus."

"Fine," Jordan huffed. "Let's go. And remember, if you're ever scared, just ask yourself: what would-"

"I'm going to kick your ass if you say that again," Declan told him. "And since when were you leading this?" He asked before motioning his head to the side. "Let's go."

At Declan grabbing the reins to lead this idiotic trio, Jordan rolled his eyes while I couldn't help but snicker at the interaction.

Walking through the sliding doors, we met the air-conditioned air of the building that, despite having high traffic of people going through the reception area, held a soft chatter. The reception desk had three receptionists, each occupied by someone conversing with them. Someone stood up from the couch of the waiting area, greeting someone with a firm handshake. Two people in slick suits walked past us deep in conversation with coffees in hand, towards the security glass gates.

Against the wall was a three-by-three array of flat-screen TVs presenting what I assume to be the introductory video of the company.

"Welcome to Fraz Corp, a multi-sector corporation encompassing a range of industries such as hospitality, real estate, retail, automotive, and more. With small beginnings from a union of companies and people from Britain and Italy, its headquarters are now in America as a beacon to lead a future of innovation and success..."

The video continued by listing the company's past achievements and current goals. I saw two workers having watched the video as well in passing.

"I can't wait to see her come back," a woman in a suit told her colleague. "She's such an inspiration.

"Me too. I hear she's in Europe working on the expansion plan."

"Imagine being transferred over to Europe? That would be exciting. Let's go together."

I realized I had slowed my pace watching the video and quickly caught up with Declan and Jordan. There was a single low-security gate. People trying to get to the elevator lobby scanned their badge for the gate to open while the gates automatically open when people leave the other way. There were two security guards on either side of the gate, standing tall and eyeing every person entering.

Since it was Jordan's brilliant plan, he went first. He took out his phone and started mindlessly talking about business stuff. With a confident stride, he walked to the gate and swiped his badge against the scanning area. I let out a sigh of relief to watch the gate open for him. He did a small fistpump to himself, close to his chest, marking the pride in his plan had worked.

I went next. I did my best to mimic Jordan's confidence only this time with heels. I took steady but quick steps, timing each click of my heels onto the tiled floor. I tucked my hair behind my ear as I placed my badge against the scan. I glanced up only to meet the eyes of a security guard who was watching me. He smirked. I nearly froze in place, but the gates swung open for me as well and I quickly walked through.

Looking back, I saw that Declan was close behind me. The security guard snapped his gaze off of me and was met with Declan's glare. Declan put the badge against the scan with a hard tap, his eyes still not leaving the guard until he finally went through the gate.

"Creep," Declan grumbled.

We walked to the small crowd of people gathering, waiting for the elevator- well any of the three elevators in the lobby.

"What floor should we go to?" I asked.

"Ay there's the rub," Jordan replied.

"Oh no, he's quoting Shakespeare," I said.

"It's a 70-floor building," Jordan explained. "The first 40 are general offices for their worker bees, you know, the cogs in the machine for their different subsidiary companies. But it breaks out after the next 20 on their important ones like consulting, finance, and legal. The last 10 are for their executives."

I tried to ignore Jordan's further knowledge of the building. "So should we go to the top?"

Jordan shook his head. "And meet Bennett's dad just after the first date?"

"Bennett should be in one of the upper 30 floors," Declan explained. "Someone has to scan the badge to go up to a floor or to any of the executive levels. But you don't need to scan to go to any lower floor."

"I don't know if these badges will work for the executive ones so we will have to follow someone onto the floor," Jordan said. "It's the safest but least efficient way."

"Should we take the stairs at some point?"

"Not with those heels," he said, making a pointed look at my shoes. "The security team gets alerted whenever someone uses the stairs. They'll notice us going through each floor."

"That being said, I say we split up. Divide and conquer," Jordan said with a grin.

"No," Declan and I said together.

"What?" Jordan asked. "Don't you think we'll find Bennett faster?"

"Knowing you, you'll probably try stealing some company secrets," Declan said.

"We're keeping an eye on you," I said in agreement.

Jordan sighed. "You're no fun."

"Let's get off the floor with anyone leaving at the highest level," I told them to which they nodded in agreement.

One of the elevator bells dinged and people rushed out of the elevator. After the elevator was emptied out, we moved with the crowd as we packed into the container.

"Please press level 23?"

"Can someone press the button for level 38?"

"Press the button for level 42."

Everyone murmured at the last one, impressed at whoever had the highest floor destination.

The elevator was large and spacious, but because there were so many people inside we were crammed together. Declan and Jordan were able to maneuver to the back of the elevator, their backs against the wall. I was standing in front of them with a comfortable space between us.

Scattered around us were whispered conversations.

"Were you able to land that deal with the consulting group client?"

"I'm concerned the project won't meet the second milestone by the next status meeting."

"Do you know how many got laid off in the last fiscal quarter?"

The elevator stopped and a few people got off. The space between us increased and I was relieved. But suddenly, even more people entered the elevator. I was pushed from behind, towards them.

Both Jordan and Declan caught me, each with a hand at the front of my waist. I stopped myself from crashing against the elevator wall but by having my hand caught myself on their chests. I looked up to see them, Declan averted his eyes while Jordan gave me a comforting smile. In return, I gave a sheepish smile in an attempt to hide how bright red my face probably was. They each made space between themselves so I could stand against the wall between them.

We left on the 42nd floor, fusing into the crowd of people who left the elevator. The room had cubicles lined up, stretching across the office floor. The crowd scattered to different sections, either returning to their cubicles or offices. Jordan grabbed some files off a table, holding them as if he were to deliver them. Declan and I followed suit, him grabbing a clipboard while I grabbed some more files.

We snaked between each row of the cubicles, checking each desk to see if Bennett was there. Then as we passed by the window offices that were more private than the cubicles, we looked to see who was inside but had no luck either.

Declan motioned his head, telling us we should move on to the next level.

But just as he turned, he nearly crashed into someone but smoothly sidestepped them.

The person was carrying a large stack of binders. "Nice reflexes," he remarked, saying as he walked away, "It must be nice being young."

We started walking back to the elevator lobby when I overheard a conversation.

"Have you seen the Frazier kid?" Someone asked. "He looked like he was in a fight. Got a bruise on his left cheek."

His colleague shushed him. "Are you insane? Don't say that out loud."

A third worker sighed. "Don't worry. We're on the 42nd floor. He's probably in the budget meeting at one of the executive levels. But you better watch your words if you want to keep this position."

"That narrows things down," I whispered as we walked towards the elevator lobby.

Picking up his pace, Declan said, "Let's catch that elevator, it's going up."

Declan and Jordan were able to slip into the elevator with the crowd. I cursed in my head for wearing heels but was able to get inside just as the doors were closing.

The elevator was as cramped as ever. I didn't understand why so many people were in one elevator when there were three of them total, but then again it was a 70-story building and the wait time was probably long. My back was against the elevator doors and with everyone taller than me, I could only see the top of their heads.

With the ding of the elevator, the doors opened and the crowd pushed out of the elevator. I was caught with the crowd as I was forced out of the elevator and I fought against the strong stream of workers. I watched as a new crowd of people went into the same elevator, stopping Declan and Jordan from leaving the elevator with me. I saw them trying to fight out of the crowd, Jordan reaching to press the open doors button while Declan reached to keep the door open. I knew I wasn't going to make it in time.

"Wait, keep the door open," I called out, almost to the elevator, watching the closing doors.

"There's no more room. Wait for the next one, newbie," some man in a suit said.

The concerned look on Declan and Jordan's faces poking out of the crowd vanished as the elevator doors closed shut.

Looking at the sign, I saw that I was on the 65th floor. I got my phone and texted them that we should do the divide-and-conquer strategy. I'll search the floor I'm on and meet with them. Declan informed me that the highest floor someone pressed was the 69th floor. Jordan wrote the number 69 with a laughing emoji. I rolled my eyes at that, not wanting to add anything more to the group chat.

The crowd that pushed me out of the elevator had already dispersed to offices, with a large number of them going to a conference room most likely for a meeting. I lost my opportunity to blend into a crowd and was on my own.

The space was much different than the other floor we went through. Instead, it was long corridors of closed-door offices rather than open-spaced cubicles and common spaces. I chose one corridor and started walking through it. I eyed if there were any security cameras but only saw one facing the elevator lobby. There were no unattended files to use as cover so I had to do my best to not have my cover blown.

I slowed my pace in front of every office, glancing through the glass door to see any tall, black-haired, blue-eyed guy with studded earrings and a cold look on his face.

No luck so far.

The corridor opened up to a more open space with some desks. The entire office space was a ghost town with no one walking around the halls or between offices. I knew that if I were to pass someone, I would have to hide or else I would risk them asking questions about why I was on this floor.

At that very thought, I heard murmured voices getting closer behind me. I stepped to the nearest desk, sat down on the chair, and opened a random file. Rather than outright hiding in case someone comes up from the other corridor to see me under a desk, I blend into the office as another faceless employee.

Glancing up, I saw Bennett walking down the hall. I was about to instinctively call out to him when I realized he was walking next to someone, deep in conversation.

I wouldn't have paid mind to who he was talking to as it could have been someone who worked in his family's company. But what caught my attention was that the person looked strikingly similar to Bennett. Nearly the same height, slightly shorter black hair, and I saw a flash of blue eyes before he had turned his head to talk to Bennett mid-stride. But while Bennett wore a dark blue suit over a white button down and a black tie, the other wore a black suit over a light blue button down and black tie.

Does Bennett have a twin? I tried to shake the thought away, not being able to comprehend there being a second Bennett.

"Didn't you find the status meeting disappointing?" The guy asked.

"It's because they failed to coordinate with the operations department."

The two of them fell silent, ending the short conversation as they walked away from me. I leaned over the desk to watch the walk down the hall, getting carried away by my curiosity.

From the direction they were walking, they must be headed to the elevator lobby. I didn't know what my plan would be, either going into the same elevator as Bennett or seeing what floor he was going to.

Leaving the desk, I texted the others that I found Bennett on the floor I was on. Suddenly looking up, I saw the same guy Bennett was with was now walking towards me. With his confident pace, I stepped out of his way. He was looking down at his phone and didn't even acknowledge me or the crash we had narrowly avoided.

"Can't believe I forgot the folder," he grumbled under his breath.

If he was going back, then Bennett must be alone in the elevator lobby. This was even better. I can confront him there.

When I turned the corner to the elevator room, I saw a flash of Bennett's blue suit just as the elevator doors were closing.

I sighed to myself. I missed Bennett but at least our cover wasn't blown. The goal was to surprise him or else we would have asked him to meet us at the building's reception floor. Actually, that would have been a good idea...

While I was debating what my next move should be, the same guy walked into the elevator lobby, a folder tucked under his arm. I decided to dub him Bennett's body double until I knew what his actual name was. With his  eyes still on his phone, he pressed the elevator button to go down. I wonder why Bennett didn't wait for this guy and went to the elevator without him.

The bell for the elevator rang and the doors opened. Bennett's doppelganger, his eyes still on his phone, walked into the elevator and then held his arm up against the door to stop it from shutting. I frowned at the action, wondering what he was doing.

Bennett's stunt double suddenly looked up from his phone to show light blue eyes. He raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you waiting?"

I stifled a surprised look that he was holding the door for me. "Oh it's-"

I figured that I could hitchhike with the Bennett clone since he was walking with Bennett. I entered the elevator first and he followed after me. He took the badge hanging off a blue lanyard out of his jacket's front pocket, scanning it before pressing the button labeled with a 67 before he placed it back in the pocket. The flash of the badge had "executive" written on top of it but I couldn't see the person's name since it was on the other side of the card. I quickly informed the others that Bennett was on the 67th floor in the group chat.

The guy was already back on his phone, scrolling through reading something. He muttered something incoherent to himself as he read, not acknowledging my presence.

As much as I kept calling him a Bennett look-a-like, there were some distinguishing features. He was slightly shorter with a thinner frame. His hair is slightly shorter at both the sides and the back compared to Bennett's. The most significant feature was that he had no black studded earrings. Despite having an executive badge, he had to be close to the same age as us.

He looked away from his phone and glanced at me for our eyes to meet. I looked away, having been caught staring at him. With how engrossed he was in his phone, he must have felt the lasers coming out of my eyes as I studied him given how I can feel his eyes on me.

"I don't recognize you. Are you new?"

What would Jor- No, I'm not going to finish that thought.

"Yes, I'm new," I forced out.

"Oh, are you one of the new interns?"

I nodded, refusing to look at him. "Yes, I am."

"What did you think of the status meeting today?"

The meeting he just went to with Bennett? He would have known if I had been there. He was trying to catch me in a lie.

"I didn't attend. I'm not in the sales department. I was on that floor only to deliver a file." Use whatever knowledge you have. Make only short, vague lies.

"Hm, I see."

The elevator dinged, marking that we were on the 67th floor. I quietly exhaled, relieved that would be the end of it.

"It's interesting though because we don't currently have any interns on staff," he explained nonchalantly. "They're hired on a seasonal basis as college interns. And school has long already started."

I looked at him in bewilderment. He didn't have to catch me in a lie. His first question already set the trap. He knew from the start.

As the doors opened, he said as he walked out of the elevator, "I believe that people should do the work their jobs require them. And I can't be bothered doing someone else's job. I'm a busy guy."

Once he walked out of the elevator, he turned around to look at me.

He smirked. With his strikingly similar appearance to Bennett, it was as if Bennett himself was smirking at me with his blue eyes being able to read right through you. It was not only intimidating, it was scary. I couldn't help but prefer Bennett's aloof expression to an arrogant one being more calming and comforting.

My eyes widened. I moved to start desperately jamming the door close button.

As the door began to close, he put his phone up to his ear. "Hello, security? Yes, a little mouse seemed to have found itself in the elevator."

I didn't know what to do. I grimaced when I saw a camera at the corner of the elevator. If I went to the first floor, security would be waiting for me. Since I'm already caught, do I just risk using my badge to meet the guys on the higher floor? I couldn't hide in the executive floors because the office layout had no place to hide and there weren't enough people walking around to look like I was supposed to be there. I figured I should go to the lower floors and hide amongst the bustling crowd until the others could find me before security.

The elevator doors opened at the 64th floor. A rush of employees came into the elevator. I shouldn't leave just yet because the camera would see. I tried to hide myself from the camera by being shielded by some tall people- which was practically everyone. At the next level being the 59th floor, I melded with the people leaving the elevator, keeping my head down.

The floor was bustling with even more people than the first one we went to.

"We are not going to lose this project deadline!" Someone shouted. "Where are the exhibits for contract B-10?"

"Who was in charge of the financials for the Chandler client?" A worker demanded. "I hope you're prepared for your retirement party because these are ridiculous!"

"I don't care if it typically takes 2-3 business days," another yelled at the phone. "We need it now!"

I texted the others informing them I got caught and I was hiding on the 64th floor. I walked down the corridor of cubicles, looking around to see if there were any files I could randomly grab. In my search, I noticed that people barking orders had green lanyards while those running around with papers wore red lanyards. I looked at my lanyard noting it was red.

"Lorraine, is this really the best you can do?" Someone exclaimed.

At the sound of my last name, I froze. How does someone here know me? When I turned in the direction of the exclamation, I saw my father was inside a glass office with the door open for anyone to hear. Knowing the colored lanyard hierarchy of the company, I noted how my father's lanyard is red while the person who shouted has a green one.

"I... I don't know what you mean, sir."

The man slammed his hand on top of his desk before abruptly standing up from his desk. "You know exactly what I mean," he said before throwing said report onto the ground. "Look at the quality of this report."

My dad looked at the report on the ground but didn't pick it up. "With all due respect, sir, I wrote the report based on your comments." My dad cleared his throat. "But I did see there was a section that should have been added. It wasn't carried over from the master template and-"

"You were only tasked to do what I say, not to think for yourself," his tone rising with his anger. "We have a deadline today."

The man jabbed his index finger against my father's chest. "You're holding this whole department back! No, this whole company!"

My dad opened his mouth, about to say something, but at the narrowed eyes of his superior, he closed it. "I understand, sir. I will correct the mistakes."

The man shook his head, massaging his forehead. "I can't believe you had the gall to take a lunch break today despite the deadline. I better not see your desk empty during lunch for the rest of the week. Then maybe you will be able to produce some actual presentable work."

I gritted my teeth in anger, but felt the warmth on my face and the cold sweat down my neck. This is my dad, someone I look up to and depend on. And it felt like a part of my world just shattered seeing him like this... seeing him be... I didn't even want to say it.

I couldn't help but think of the faint parallels of when Ms. Kaito lectured me in front of the entire class. Glancing around, a scattering of other employees with nothing better to do were watching. From the scattering of whispered conversations, the man does this a lot and my dad just happened to be the unlucky target of the week.

A part of me wanted it to have just been his simple mistake on the report and that was how work gets corrected. But I knew I was lying to myself because it was clear as the glass partition of the office, being like a TV screen to watch what was happening to him. My father wasn't given constructive, supportive criticism of his work to improve or even be treated with respect- he was deliberately belittled, thrown onto a stage to be set as an example for everyone to not step out of line.

Suddenly, my father looked up. His eyes widened in surprise to see me before he quickly looked away. I took the signal and pushed past some workers, trying to forget what I just saw. I looked down at the red lanyard around my neck. Gripping it in my hand, the lanyard felt like a collar.

"Are you busy?"

I looked up to see a woman standing in my way.

"What?" I asked.

"Good, we need 10 of these reports printed for the stakeholder meeting," she said, handing me a stack of papers. "Remember, not double-sided and use color-ink. We aren't going to cheap out the stakeholders."

I stared down at the files in my hands. I got the files I wanted but I didn't want the work that came with it.

"What are you waiting for?" She demanded. "The meeting starts in 20! Printer room's that way!"

I began to walk in the direction she pointed at. "We don't currently have any interns on staff," I grumbled mockingly under my breath, repeating the words. "Then how do you explain this? I'm an unpaid intern right now."

I managed to find the printer room. I opened the folder and took out the files, forcing myself to not let my curiosity get the best of me when I hadn't even signed an NDA. I studied the printer to see how it worked before pressing the on button. Unlike the school's printer, it looked brand new. Following the instructions on the screen, I inserted the files and it began to whir to life.

"Need any help?" I heard someone ask.

I looked up to see some employee had just opened the door of the printer room.

"Um no, I don't," I said quickly. "I'm just waiting for it to finish copying the reports."

"You managed to figure this thing out?" He asked with a laugh. "You should get a promotion for this."

It was almost comical when I glanced at the wall that had taped printed instructions on the wall that explained in a more simplified way compared to the printer's screen instructions.

I forced out a chuckle, glancing at the printer that it wasn't even halfway done. "I don't think printing ability should be a factor in promotions..."

He took a step toward me to which I stepped back in response. His smile was a bit too wide for my liking. "Then do you want a promotion?"

"Me?" I asked. "Oh no. I love running around doing errands like printing... stuff." Fax, no printer.

The guy was now standing in front of me. "I don't usually do this, but I can help you out. You seem too cute to be getting people's coffee," he said with a coffee-stained grin.

I glanced down at the guy's lanyard- green. He's technically my superior if I actually worked in this company.

"I have to decline," I explained, taking a big step back. "I rather earn my promotion through my hard work and accomplishments."

He sighed. "Yes, but who knows how long that would take? Especially as a woman in the office. You need any help you can get."

I gritted my teeth. I hate that he was right. But I rather eat this badge than ever get a promotion like this. I hated the idea that some women, people in general even, were backed into a corner to never see a glimpse of a promotion and were forced to take these deals.

He leaned against the printer. "Maybe after the end of the day, you can come by my office and I'll tell you how I can help you out."

I fought back a grimace, horrified of what I was hearing. Is this what is waiting for me when I finish school, join a company, and begin working? From one bullying to another? I couldn't help but remember the words:

"Welcome to the real world, sweetie," Rachel told me. "Do you really think anyone's going to care? It doesn't end after we walk the stage for our diplomas."

Then I realized something.

I smiled at him. "So that's what you're offering?" I asked sweetly.

There was a glint in his creepy eyes. "You like it?"

"Oh, of course not. But I say HR is going to absolutely love it."

"Excuse me?" He demanded.

"Excuse you? Is that your usual response when you're confronted for sexual exploitation?"

"I am not doing that."

"You take advantage of this company's brutal career ladder which is only steeper for women, using your position for your sick, perverted fantasies. That is sexual exploitation."

His beady eyes narrowed at me. "You wouldn't dare. No one will believe you. I hold an actual position. You're indispensable, red lanyard. And I'll make sure no company will ever hire you."

"You hold an actual position?" I asked. "Oh, that's great, because I don't."

He froze. "What?"

"Whatever repercussions you threaten anyone into silence, they don't apply to me," I said proudly. "I don't work here."

"Then why do you..."

"Oh, this?" I asked, casually holding up my red lanyard. "I'm actually an inspector pretending to be a low-level employee. Fraz Corp is being audited in an anti-harassment program. State law- fair employment and housing act."

He fell silent. If only he was like this the entire time. I wish Bennett was here. I mean Bennett's silence, or just silence...

I walked over to the printer and picked up the stack of freshly printed reports. Even if I was an unpaid intern, I should still do my job.

"So I want to thank you for your kind offer," I told him. "I wouldn't have been able to put anything in my report if you hadn't proposed it."

The smile wide on my face slowly faded as I saw fear turn to anger on his face. Maybe I took things a little too far.

"You won't be making any report. I'll make you keep your mouth shut."

The man lunged towards me. I turned to run but he was able to grab my shoulder. I tried to fight his grasp off of me, throwing my arm up. I took a bad step back and knew my balance was off. In the momentum, I let go of the reports I was holding and they all flew up into the air.

Suddenly, I was caught in someone's arms, stopping me from falling. I looked up at the person. For a moment, I couldn't see who it was because of the papers raining down in the room. I only saw glimpses - blue suit, black hair, blue eyes.

"Bennett?"

He didn't say anything, but his eyes said it all, checking to see if I was alright. Then his eyes snapped to the guy, glaring at him.

"H-Hello, sir," the man stammered out. "What are you doing here at sales?"

Bennett's eyes narrowed at him. "Who are you to ask me that?"

The guy looked down. "No one sir."

Bennett grabbed the guy's badge, roughly pulling it for the lanyard to go taut. His eyes left the guy long enough to read the name before they went back to him. He let go of the badge.

His tone, while low and calm as always, swayed at the edge of anger.

"Leave."

The guy cursed under his breath and raced out the door.

Bennett's eyes turned to look at me. They held the same intimidating stare he had on the guy. He must have forgotten to switch it off.

"What are you doing here?"

"Surprise," I said weakly, giving him a sheepish smile.

He must have realized he was still tense, still carrying the irritation from earlier onto me. His body visibly relaxed.

"I need to get you out of here."

"Oh, also Jordan and Declan are here... too..."

Bennett sighed, a sigh longer than usual. "Of course they are."

I didn't know how to tell Bennett that security might be looking for me.

"They're in the upper floors. Maybe we can meet them there?"

Bennett pinched the bridge of his nose, deep in thought. "Follow me to the elevators. But don't be right behind me."

Bennett left first and after a few seconds, I left after. I realized what Bennett meant by his second request. The once loud, bustling office fell to a quieter tone when he walked out into the room. People parted a path for him, stepping away and taking care not to meet his eyes. I walked through the crowd, taking advantage of everyone having stopped to do their jobs to watch Bennett. It was weird how the same treatment Bennett gets at school happened here at work as well.

"That's him, isn't it? I've never seen him in person."

"Why is he here? Did the department do something wrong?"

"Isn't he supposed to be in school? Why does he have bruises?"

When Bennett arrived at the elevator room, some people were just about to enter the elevator. But when they saw him, all of them left the elevator. Bennett paused, glancing at me, and I quickly went into the elevator before he followed after me. He placed his badge against the scan and pressed for us to go 65th floor.

Closing his eyes, Bennett sighed and rested the back of his head against the elevator wall. He put his hands in the pants pockets. The dark blue suit he was wearing looked natural on him like he was born to wear it. Something caught my eye, or really the lack of something- he wasn't wearing his usual black studded earrings. He must have taken them off when he was at work.

"What were you doing on that floor?" I asked him.

Without opening his eyes, he explained, "I wanted to oversee the closing with the Chandler deal. I thought I was imagining things when I saw you in the crowd."

"That makes sense."

"Your turn."

"I... got lost. Became an unpaid intern. I was printing some stuff for some stakeholder meeting."

"Are you okay though?"

I nodded. He didn't respond, which was typical, but when I glanced at him, I realized his eyes were still closed. "Yes, I am."

He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at me. "What happened?"

I told him what happened in the printer room. I didn't know he did it, keeping a straight face as I explained the interaction earlier. I didn't think to notice it at first, but I found myself studying him once more. They were hardened, concentrated on hearing my words, comprehending them even. He closed his eyes for a moment, perhaps taking in what he heard, and then when he opened them to look at me, there was a flash of regret. It was then I discovered how to read Bennett, through his eyes.

Yeah, I prefer this Bennett.

After a ding of the elevator, Bennett and I went out into the elevator to see Declan and Jordan waiting for us. Bennett looked at me and I held up my phone, motioning that I told them what floor we were going to.

Bennett opened his mouth to say something, but Jordan put his hand up to stop him.

"Just give us a second to set up," Jordan said.

Jordan took out birthday hats, passing them around and putting one on Bennett. Declan passed around confetti party poppers.

On the count of three, we pulled the strings of the poppers and confetti rained on top of Bennett, some catching on his hair and his suit. While looking exhausted as if the stress of the whole day or perhaps the combined time he has known us had caught up to him, Bennett decided to begrudgingly accept his fate.

"Happy birthday to you," the three of us sang out to him as Bennett massaged his forehead, shaking his head.

When we finished singing we all started clapping.

"You broke into my father's company to sing me happy birthday?" He asked in disbelief.

"I know, aren't we amazing friends?"

A small smile managed to appear on Bennett's face. "Yes, you all are."

Declan grinned as he put his arm over Bennett's shoulders. Jordan laughed and punched Bennett's shoulders. Bennett looked at his friends, holding a small smile but there was a kind glint in his eyes.

To read Bennett is through his eyes. It made me think of the others too- Jordan by his words and Declan through his actions.

"Oh and here's your present," Declan said, pulling out a box from his jacket pocket. "We all chipped in."

Bennett opened the box to reveal circular black diamond studded earrings.

Jordan sighed. "It probably doesn't compare to your usual ones but-"

"No, they're great. Thank you." Bennett put them on before pocketing the box.

"Let's get out of here, birthday boy," Jordan said with a grin. "Have your lunch break or, even better, skip out on work."

Bennett hesitated. "There's a stakeholder meeting that-"

At that very moment, our stomachs growled in harmony.

He sighed. "Alright. There's a good restaurant nearby."

We all went into the elevator as Bennett texted something into his phone. As we began our descent to the first floor, we told Bennett our whole plan to sneak into the company building to which he was shaking his head the entire time.

Suddenly the doors opened for the 31st floor. A small crowd of people were waiting for the elevator. They all saw Bennett, standing in the middle of the elevator.

A person in front of the elevator slightly leaned into the elevator and clicked on the button to close the doors before stepping out. "Have a good day sir."

We continued on with our conversation as if nothing happened.

I asked. "Did you really not have anything planned for your birthday today?"

"Aw poor Bennett," Jordan cooed before snorting to himself. "Talk about an oxymoron."

"Did you just call yourself a moron?" Declan asked.

"No, my birthday was often an excuse to hold networking galas. Also, the company is busy with a Europe expansion so I rather resources be put elsewhere."

"Is this some peasant joke that I'm too rich to understand," Jordan quoted with a laugh.

Bennett frowned. "Don't you always complain about how you're not rich?"

At the ding of the 27th floor, the doors and we all stopped and looked at someone witnessing the sight before them. I was holding my hands up in an attempt to protect Bennett from dying on his birthday. Declan was struggling to hold Jordan back from jumping Bennett.

"I'll uh... take the next one," the person said before taking a huge step right out of the view of the elevator.

When we arrived at the first floor, the crowd waiting for the elevator parted away for Bennett. Both security guards stiffened seeing Bennett leave the security gate with us closely behind him. I made sure to keep my head down, holding a hand to cover my face for good measure.

Leaving the building, we walked to the side of the building where the valet was.

Bennett frowned, looking down at his watch. "My car should be here by now."

"Impatient are we?" Jordan mused.

"You're one to talk," I told Jordan.

"No, it's just that I don't like staying out in the street for very long."

Declan raised an eyebrow. "Don't want the paparazzi to catch you?"

"No, it's because-" He sighed.

There was a meow.

We all looked down to see a cat at Bennett's feet. After the black cat rubbed the side of its body against Bennett's leg, it looked up at him with its blue eyes before meowing once more.

"It's because of this," Bennett finished.

"Because of the cat?"

"I don't know why, but sometimes when I go outside, animals would come up to me."

"You know what this means right?" I asked Jordan.

He grinned in response. "Heir to the throne, daddy issues, and animals follow you? That means you're a princess."

Bennett frowned. "Not a prince?"

Jordan and I shook our heads. "No."

"I see."

"All you need is Declan's singing voice," I told him.

"Please no," Declan said.

"Just Ariel it," Jordan said with a shrug.

"Again, no," Declan said.

A large black car rolled up in front of us. The valet stepped out of the vehicle and handed the keys to Bennett. Looking at the logo was for a Rolls-Royce.

I frowned at the car. "Why isn't that your Benz?"

"That car is for school," Bennett explained. "This is for work."

I chuckled awkwardly. "That's all you have right?"

Bennett looked away, not answering.

"Please tell me these are the only cars you have."

I looked at the others to which Jordan and Declan were both shaking their heads.

Bennett opened the door of the back passenger seat and held his hand out to me.

"Ooh," Jordan and Declan said in teasing.

Bennett narrowed his eyes at them. "I'm being polite."

Jordan suddenly took Bennett's open hand and stepped into the car. Bennett was too stunned to react.

"Then don't mind if I do," Jordan said in sing-song.

Taking advantage of Bennett who didn't even have time to recover, Declan followed suit and also took Bennett's open hand to help him into the car.

Declan snickered. "That's nice of you, Bennett."

I took Bennett's hand and grinned at him.

"Thank you, chauffeur."

He paused for a moment. Then, slightly cocking his head to the side, he smoothly replied, "Of course, passenger princess."

I froze midstep from entering the car. I slowly looked at Bennett who wore a straight face with no way of telling if he meant what he said or even knew.

I then slowly looked at the others - Declan with his jaw agape while Jordan had put his hand over his mouth.

When Jordan suddenly took his hand off his mouth, I pointed a finger at him, "Don't."

-

That was such a long chapter. Phew.

I decided that BG Naomi to have a more updated perspective on makeup and beauty. When I initially introduced Naomi to learn and use makeup out of necessity to cover bruises and scratches, there were still some comments having a negative outlook on makeup. I still believe you don't need to wear makeup because society hates women and the standards are ridiculous, but we shouldn't degrade a person if they decide to wear makeup if it gives them that confidence they want or just want to look pretty (and who doesn't lol). As long as they are able to respect and love themselves, and other people, that's what matters.

When I first wrote the chapter in 2021 I never wore makeup. I only started learning this year so I was able to have the scene more realistic haha. But I'm also so big on skincare.

Then it was a bonus having Declan and Jordan wearing makeup plus having a conversation about it.

Also I had debated on the "knee Jordan scene" because it kinda shows not to go to far in certain topics, and a little character development, and Jordan was the best person to learn that about since he can ease the tension with humor.

Don't forget to follow me in Instragram and Twitter as well as join the Flustered Fangirls Discord for a space to share theories, memes, and fanart!

Also there's a collaborative Spotify playlist for all of the characters and their ships, including one just for Naomi! All links are in my bio~

If the 4M are animals:

Bennett - Bombay cat, short hair black cat

Jordan - Golden retriever, fluffy golden dog

Declan - Doberman pinscher, slick hair black-brown dog

Naomi - Somali cat, long hair brown cat

Between the Scenes

(Jordan and Declan standing in front of the makeup aisle. They are both quiet for a long time as they stare at the makeup and the makeup stares back.)

Jordan: C'mon hurry up.

Declan: Shut up, I'm trying to figure out your color. Don't rush me. I'm the one doing you a favor.

Jordan: Just pick one.

Declan: I don't know if you remember how color works but there's different shades.

Jordan: Don't you dare pull a freaking 50 shades of gray joke on me.

Declan: What I'm saying is that I don't want to choose a color and it's wrong and then we have to go back to the store to get it.

Attendant: Hello you two. I couldn't help but notice you've been standing here a while. I wanted to check in if you need any help.

Declan: I uh-

(Jordan elbows Declan. Declan shoots him a glare.)

Declan: Yeah, we do. We want to cover up our bruises and don't know the right color.

Attendant: Oh I see! Well, I can definitely help you with that. Let's use some samples. Some color corrector and concealer should do the job.

Jordan: Thanks so much.

Attendant: Oh you're alright. Just doing my job. And you two are such a cute couple.

(Declan and Jordan look at each other in disgust.)

Jordan and Declan: We are not dating!

Attendant: Haha of course. My mistake...

(Bennett at the 59th floor of the Sales Department. The team is trying to close a deal with the Chandler client and it very chaotic.)

Bennett: (Leaning against a wall, arms crossed, thinking) I see now why the status meeting was so bad with the Sales Department being such a mess. (Massages the side of his head)

(A staff member was walking in Bennett's direction carrying a pile of fliers. He sees Bennett and does a huge nope and turns around on his heel.)

Other workers are making an obvious wide berth to avoid Bennett at a 6 foot radius- call it social distancing.)

Bennett: (Sighs, thinking) Better than attending another networking gala for my birthday.

Bennett: (Looking out in the crowd and sees familiar brown hair and glasses. He stops leaning against the wall, taking a step forward, and cocks head to the side, trying to have his eyes follow a purple shirt)

Bennett: (Thinking) Is... Is that Naomi?

Bennett: (Shaking his head, thinking) No, I must be imagining things. Why would she be here? Why am I even imagining her?

(Bennett leans back to the wall, arms crossed. A minute or two passes.)

(Suddenly he starts walks across the office.)

Bennett: (Thinking) I'm... just going to confirm that I am crazy...

(At his desk, checking an email. Sees notice to meet with HR. Slams fists against table.)

Creepy Printer Guy: Anti-harassment program...

(Security room of the Fraz Corp building. One person is sitting in front of a laptop while another person is standing looking at the large array of screens on the wall.)

Security: Here is where they found each other, sir.

Bennett's Doppelganger: (Leans to study the scene, the light of the screen illuminating his face as he smirks to himself.) Hmm... very interesting.

-

Behind the Scenes

Bennett: (Leans down to check on her, touches Naomi's face) Who... Who did this to you?

(Bennett and Naomi both burst out laughing)

Naomi: I-I'm sorry I messed it up.

Bennett: No you're okay! I couldn't hold it in.

Rubix: Actually we're going to cut this scene out. Let's move on to the next scene everyone!

(The actors will be reading thirst/hate comments from BG Chapter 1. The 3M also read their character descriptions in Chapter 3 and their respective date chapters)

Bennett: I haven't said a lot compared to everyone else so far in the season, but they say that every time I do say something it's hot. Wait why are there tongue and pregnant emojis- (Bursts out laughing) That's crazy.

Declan: Aw everyone is so sweet! They're proposing to me, calling me king and their husband. I had so much fun in my intro scene! It took a lot of takes to catch the ball in one hand though.

Naomi: (Elbows Declan) But you eventually got it. Everyone cheered when you did and then we had to start all over because we ruined the take.

(The entire cast laughs)

Declan: Stop teasing me, you guys. Yeah, it's so hard being all serious and glaring all the time. Sometimes I feel like I was not the right actor for Declan. But he's like such a himbo and I love that about Declan's, or well, Decca's character.

Bennett: (Ruffles Declan's hair) Should we start calling you Decca from now on? (Declan rolls his eyes)

Declan: Someone wrote that everyone simped for Bennett in TGGBB and now everyone is simping for me in BG. What do you think about that Bennett?

Bennett: (Rolls his eyes and scoffs, giving a slight smirk) I think you should enjoy it while it lasts. Everyone loves a slow burn.

Jordan: Do... Do I have to actually read these? Yes? Oh God, ok.

Jordan: Okay... Some are alright so far. They're saying a lot of I love you and I miss you's before I even said a word. Who's Jordie? Is that me? Oh from TGGBB, ok I get it.

Jordan: Oh they're saying my character got hotter from TGGBB to BG. Yeah it's really nice how the author took more care of the character. Wait why did someone say they are on their knees- Oh. (Reddens a bit) Why did someone ask if I need a dog?

Naomi: (Chuckling) I love all of these. They're all calling me queen with my comebacks. Expect more for the rest of the season~

Raymond: Why am I the only one with hate comments? They have so many nicknames for me- Almond, Rat, Ratmond.

Naomi: It's probably out of love.

Raymond: If that's out of love, I don't know want to know what they say out of hate.

Catch y'all on the flip side!

Rubix