I paced back and forth in my office, my palms annoyingly sweaty. Anxiety pooled in my stomach, making me feel nauseous. Everything would change after today; my life depended on one verdict.

Kate's eyes were glued to my laptop screen, refreshing the page every two minutes. She wasn't as nervous as I was. Her unwavering confidence was surprising—she had complete faith that I would get this. But I didn't. Not from the beginning, and especially not since meeting Mr. Eric Richmond; my confidence and optimism had drastically faltered.

I heard a click and halted. Anxiously, I turned to Kate. "Is it here?" I asked.

She shook her head with a sigh. "No, not yet," she replied, and I resumed my pacing. "Can you please sit down, Eve? Watching you pace for over thirty minutes is making me dizzy."

"Just keep looking at the laptop. Don't mind me."

"You're impossible," she grunted.

After a while, my legs started aching. I slumped into a chair beside Kate and put my head down. "I don't think I'll get the confirmation," I mumbled.

"Would you please keep quiet and have some patience?"

I pursed my lips and closed my eyes.

"Whoa! Oh! Oh!"

I lifted my head as I heard Kate squealing. "What happened?" I peeked over her shoulder to see the laptop.

She slapped my arm and shook me. Turning to me, she chuckled. "You got it, baby," she said with a wicked grin.

I quickly pushed her aside and brought the laptop in front of me. "Let me see." In black, bold letters, the subject read, "Letter of Confirmation." I opened it and read it. It was mine—my confirmation letter. I was now a full-time employee at The Richmonds Inc. "Is this real?" I gasped.

She pinched me.

"Ow!" I yelped, rubbing my arm.

"Now you believe it?" She gave me a questioning look.

"Kate, I'm selected. I'm a full-time employee at The Richmonds!" I squealed.

"Yes, you are."

We stood up and danced together. "Oh! I can't believe this," I laughed hysterically.

"Do you want to go and ask Eric personally?" she prodded with a glint of amusement in her eyes.

"No, thanks. I believe it."

There was a knock, and then the door opened. "Hey, Evelyn—" It was Ryan. He noticed Kate and his smile weakened slightly. "Just heard about your confirmation. Congratulations!"

I giggled. "Thank you."

Just then, Christina emerged beside Ryan. "Hey, Evelyn, did you get your confirmation?" she asked.

I pursed my lips, holding back my excitement, and nodded.

She laughed, pushed Ryan aside, and came inside, engulfing me in a bone-crushing hug. "I'm so happy for you. Congratulations, Evelyn."

"Th-thank yo-u." She was choking me.

Fortunately, she let me go quickly and grinned. "Told you, you would get it."

I nodded with a smile. Behind Christina, I saw Kate watching us with a confused look. I opened my mouth, but before I could explain, Ryan cleared his throat.

We all looked at him. "Ryan, you're here too," Christina chirped. "When did you come?"

I covered my mouth to stop myself from laughing out loud.

Ryan looked at her in disbelief. "Before you," he replied.

"Oh!" Christina stepped closer to him. "I heard you went to your hometown for some emergency. Is everything okay?" Her voice was low but audible to me.

Kate stood beside me and nudged me with her elbow. "Who is she?" she whispered.

"Christina. I told you, remember? The one who was fired..." I trailed off.

"Yeah! The flip-flops girl?"

"Yes."

Ryan gave Christina a slow nod. "Everything is good now."

"That's a relief." She stepped closer to him and spoke, "Are you free tonight?"

I gasped softly. How could she ask that?

"What's going on here? Don't tell me she has a crush on that perv," Kate whispered, shooting glares at the pair.

I tilted my head towards her. "They've hooked up before."

"What?" Kate screeched.

Ryan's gaze flickered to us for a second and then went back to Christina. "I have some appointments tonight," he replied.

"Oh, okay." Christina's shoulders hunched in disappointment.

"I feel bad for her," Kate whispered.

"She must still have feelings for him. He's single, so she still has a chance," I said in a low voice.

"I meant I feel bad for her for falling for a jerk like him," Kate spoke through gritted teeth.

Kate hates Ryan. How could I forget that? "Shut up!" I glared at her.

"Okay. I'll leave then. Are you celebrating tonight, Evelyn?" Ryan looked at me.

"I'm not sure," I said.

"Why? You should."

"Oh, yes, we are, Ryan," Kate said.

Bewildered, I looked at her. "When? Where?"

"We were actually—" Kate turned to Ryan and gave him a stiff smile. "—deciding on that before you came."

"Ah! I see. Then I'll not disturb you girls anymore. Have fun." He smiled at me and left.

"So, what are you two planning?" Christina hopped to our side.

Raising an eyebrow, Kate turned to me and gave me an "Are-You-Serious?" look. I sighed. "Well... Kate, this is Christina. She's the senior product manager. Christina, this is Kate. She also works here as an account manager." I introduced them to each other. Kate looked displeased. "And Kate is also my childhood best friend," I added.

"Nice to meet you, Kate." Christina stretched out her hand with a smile.

Kate shook her hand. "Same here." She gave a lopsided grin.

"So... you both know each other now." I felt like I was making a peace pact between Russia and Ukraine.

"Cool. Where should we go tonight? There's a great jazz bar near downtown," Christina suggested.

"I love jazz," I said. Kate narrowed her gaze at me. I really do love jazz. I batted my lashes at her.

She scoffed. "Great. If you two love jazz, then jazz it is." Kate is more into electronic music.

"Done. What time should we leave?" I asked.

"Oh! I have a meeting at 7. Is 8 okay with you two?" Christina said.

"I'm cool. Kate?" I turned to Kate.

"8 is fine with me," Kate replied with a not-so-happy face.

"Perfect!" I clapped my hands. Christina grinned. Kate glared. This was going to be a long night.

Kate and I waited in the parking lot for Christina. Kate hadn't brought her car, so we were depending on Christina's.

"She isn't bringing Ryan, right?" Kate inquired.

"Of course not." I sighed. God knows what Ryan did that Kate hates him this much.

"How can someone like that perv?" she complained for the fourth time. "That British accent is a honey trap. Why don't girls understand?"

I turned to face Kate. "Hey, Christina likes him. Please don't say these things in front of her. We can't choose whom to fall for. It just happens. Let's not talk about him anymore."

"Sure, Mary." She rolled her eyes at me.

"I'm so sorry. Did you wait long?" Christina ran towards us.

"Not—"

"Fifteen minutes," Kate cut me off.

"Ow!" Christina stared at Kate with a surprised look.

"It's okay. Everyone's here now. What are we waiting for?" I squealed.

Christina nodded with a smile. "Hop in," she said, pointing towards the grey Toyota.

"Let's go," I said, pulling Kate alongside me.

We arrived at the Redwood Room, a cozy but lively bar that was almost packed. As I navigated through the sweaty bodies, Kate clung to me while Christina gracefully swirled her way through the crowd to the bar.

"What should I get for the lovely ladies?" the bartender asked.

"Tequila for me, and... Kate and Evelyn?" Christina looked at us.

"I thought you were going to drop Eve home," Kate objected.

I squeezed Kate's arm. She returned my gesture with a death glare. "It's fine. I can call a cab," I suggested. I didn't want to be a bother to Christina again.

"No, I’ll drop you home safely. I’ll just have one drink," Christina insisted.

Kate scoffed. "You don’t know how strict Evelyn is about drinking and traffic rules."

"I see," Christina nodded thoughtfully. "Then I’ll have a Mojito. Evelyn?"

"Shirley Temple. Kate?"

"Adonis," Kate replied.

"Your drinks will be here soon," the bartender said, taking out three differently shaped glasses.

I scrolled up and down my call logs, debating whether to call Jace to give him the good news and wondering if he would pick up.

Mom was happy when she heard the news. She was excited to meet me, but I couldn't go right now. Perhaps I’d talk to Ryan about getting some days off after the carnival. She also asked me about Jace. I didn't know anything about him lately, but she insisted I tell him the news. So now I didn't have a choice. When did I ever have a choice?

"What's going on between you two?" Kate interrupted my thoughts.

"I don't know. I called him over the weekend, but he didn't pick up. He doesn’t call or text like before." We used to talk for hours on the phone. He was caring and sweet. I don't know what changed. "I don't know what's going on." With a sigh, I ran a hand through my hair.

"Call him," she said in a commanding tone.

"I don't know if he’ll pick up."

"You'll never know if you don't make the call."

She was right, as always. "Alright." I chugged down the remnants in my glass and hopped down from the chair. "I’ll be right back."

She gave an encouraging nod. I walked cautiously through the crowd, trying not to bump into anyone. From the corner of my eye, I spotted Christina swaying to the rhythm of the music among a circle of other people. She was so relaxed. I wish I could be that cool too.

Once outside, I inhaled the fresh air and called Jace. The phone rang twice, thrice... He picked up on the fourth ring. "Hey, Jace!" I felt awkward talking to him for some reason.

"Um... hi, Eve!" He sounded nervous.

"How are you?" I asked, biting my lower lip.

"Good. What about you?"

"Great." I tried to sound normal. "I called you on Saturday. You didn’t pick up."

"I'm so sorry, baby. I’ve been really busy with university admissions. I barely have time to go out."

I wanted to believe him, but it was hard. "Oh! Is it that stressful?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry I couldn't call you earlier." He lamented, "I miss you."

My heart melted. "I miss you too." I blinked away the tears forming in my eyes. Why was I feeling so emotional?

"Are you liking it there?" he asked.

"Yeah." I wiped the corner of my eyes with the back of my hand. "I’m living at Kate’s apartment..." I told him about the office, work, and Christina, and he listened quietly.

"That’s nice. You won’t be bored there."

"Hmm. So have you decided which university you’re applying to?"

I heard him sigh and clear his throat. "Um... not yet. I’ve shortlisted a few, but I’m confused."

I couldn’t help myself. "Is Berkeley on the list?" I wanted him to stay here. This long-distance relationship was driving me crazy.

He was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "Uh... yeah. I applied there too, but I’m not sure if I’ll get in."

"You will. Your scores are outstanding. Why wouldn’t you?"

He sighed. "I don’t know. Let’s see. Um... you called... did you want to say something?"

"Yes. I got the confirmation."

"Hey, that’s awesome. Congratulations, baby." He chuckled. I giggled softly.

"Thanks."

I heard some noises and laughter in the background. "Come on, Jace. We are running late. They are already—" a female voice shouted.

"Hey, Eve, I have to go. I’ll call you back later, okay?"

I wanted to ask where he was going but didn’t want to seem suspicious. "Okay."

"And congratulations once again. Love you. Bye," he said quickly.

"Yeah, love you too." Before I finished my sentence, he had already hung up. Where was he going? And who was that girl? He said he was busy but... Now I felt more stressed about what he was doing than I had before I called him.

I gasped when a hand came over my shoulder. My head snapped to the right, and I saw Christina. "What are you doing outside? This is your celebration party. You should be singing, dancing, and enjoying..." she squealed.

Honestly, I wasn’t in the mood to party right now. "Yeah, I just came to get some fresh air. I’ll come in a minute." My smile didn’t convince her.

"Ugh!" She groaned. "You look like you’ve been fired. Come on, girl. Don’t be so boring. Let’s paint the town red!" She screamed, grabbed my hand, and dragged me inside the bar.

Kate saw me and came beside me. "Did you talk?" she shouted over the loud music.

"Yes!" I shouted, and Christina spun me around.

Kate came between me and Christina and brought her face closer to my ear. "What did he say?" she asked.

"Let's talk later." It was impossible to hear anything with the music blaring in this small space.

"Everything alright?" She had a suspicious tone.

I nodded. "Yes. All good."

*****
To be continued...