Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Are you gay ...
Tech Haven Inc:
It has been a busy week with disturbing events ,but well duty calls . Debra adjusted her glasses as she stepped into the bustling offices of Tech Haven. The air hummed with the soft whir of servers and the clatter of keyboards.
Well as the newly appointed project lead, she had a daunting task ahead-overseeing the development of cutting-edge software for their industrial machinery and making sure the software engineers create more codes to keep their project safe .
And there, amidst the rows of cubicles, sat Lean , Debra stood by the cubile staring at Lean,the girl who had quietly stolen her heart. They were housemates but rarely saw each other in the house .
Weird!!
Lean's eyes flickered up from her monitor, and their gazes locked-a thousand unspoken words trapped between them.
"Morning," Debra said, her voice too bright, with a smile plastered on her face."Ready for this project?" .
Lean nodded, her fingers tapping on the keyboard. "Absolutely. We've got this." ,she said with a smile ,but you could not miss the annoyance in her voice ...
What an actress!!
But Debra knew it wasn't just about the project. It was about proximity- Lean's cubicle was right Infront of her office. This was going to be a long day for Debra ...
During the tea break , Lean's laughter echoed in the break room. Well she rarely ate in this room ,but inorder to avoid Debra she was willing to sit with her annoying nerd colleagues.
.....
Then during the team meeting, Lean's heartbeat stuttered whenever, Debra leaned over to discuss code optimizations. All this was toucher to both of them , trying to hide their emotions and the constant eye contact..
Urgh!
Their tension was simmering with a delicate balance of professionalism and longing. Debra could not think straight anymore,she was supposed to be focusing on algorithms and deadlines of the project , but her peripheral vision caught glimpses of Lean - the curve of her neck, the way she chewed her pen when deep in thought.
Damn!
But her staring contest was soon ruined when Clarissa walked in the board room with a bright smile ,holding a Debra's favorite coffee.
Lean felt like her heart was being stabbed a million times, Clarissa was Debra's blast from the past,but well she's back now ...
She had left town abruptly, leaving Debra heartbroken. Now, she stood next to Deb,her eyes scanning the room until they settled on Lean. Her face expression changing immediately, she looked pissed ,but she had to behave herself.
Debra's pulse raced. Clarissa had returned, and the timing was cruel. Lean glanced at Debra, her expression unreadable. "Ummm Lean this is Clarissa" she murmured.
Lean clenched her fists,but still maintained the smile on her face, "I know."
Clarissa saw it as an opportunity to approach Lean, her smile too practiced. "Lean," she said, "long time no see."
" Don't be dramatic it's been four days since you last saw me " ...Lean said keeping a stiff smile , trying to sound polite Infront of the other colleagues or else this was going to be the gossip story for whole week .
Lean stood, her gaze flickering between Debra and Clarissa. "Well Clarissa I guess , I'll be seeing you more often here , because Deb is our new project lead ,so she's going to be here for quite a while "...
Clarissa's eyes widened. "Debra?.."
" Ohh I see you weren't informed , it's of no use ,you might leave town any moment now "...Lean said with a sly smile on her face.
"Excuse me ... Are you talking to me like that ?".. Clarissa looked furious,
" Well no one else in this room has ever left town and came back to hunt their ex , ohh my bad ,it's none of my business....Guys those I'm working with on the codes we can talk in my cubicle"...with one last glance at Clarissa , Lean walked out of the board room...
________Debra's office
Clarissa was fuming "I cant believe you let her talk to me like that".
" Well you came here uninvited..and Lean was just defending herself, you wanted to embarrass her so she stood her ground "..Debra answered still focused on her laptop.
"Urgh you are unbelievable, you love her don't you "..
" I'm sure my father won't be pleased to hear that you came here and caused drama , your father wants us to be together,but my father won't allow it if you jeopardize his project.."
" So next time before you do such a stupid thing ,think about what's at stake ...now if you may excuse me I have emails to reply to,close the door on your way out ..." Debra looked dead serious...
" Ummm can we still paint sometime during the week...." Clarissa said looking hurt .
" Will see...you may leave "....
This has been the worst day for Debra , having your crush and ex in one place is so messed up.... She did not want to hurt Lean, but on the other hand she could not dissapoint her father which means...she has to tolerate Clarissa until the project is completed . This was going to be tough ...
_____________Cubicles______
" And what was that all about in the boardroom?"... Kingsley, the guy in the next cubicle next to lean's asked ....he loves gossip...
" Well with that brain of yours , I'm sure you have concluded what that was about" ... Lean said looking at Kingsley.
" Cut the act Lean, are you fighting with Clarissa because you both like ,the boss's daughter?".... trust Jeffrey to say shit ...
" Woah Jeff , Clarissa is not gay ...she almost got engaged to that tycoon's son , but when he lost everything she came back " ... Kingsley retorted ...
'Ohh so she's broke and she wants to use Deb as her ticket to the top again... Lean thought, well Debra has to find out on her own I don't wanna be the bearer of bad news , besides those two have history.... '
" You guys get back to work" Ellen said , well she loves peace ...but this was Tech Haven there's no peace..
"Well Lean are you gay?... Okay that was unexpected...it was so obvious who asked "Luis" .....Lean felt her throat drying up...
Wth.....
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