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Deji is a handsome man in his early twenties, but his looks are overshadowed by his personality. He can’t seem to shut himself up. Everything always needs to come out of his mouth, or at least some semblance of it. The man is so loud that the others have started calling him a “Bitch in Love” among other things because of his tendency to speak over the top of them during work.
He doesn’t really care about what they think of him, but he feels obligated to try hard not to say anything. It may just be in everyone else’s interest if they don’t make an issue of him. Besides, it isn’t like he ever said anything bad about anyone. In fact, he thinks all the people who work for the company are good at what they do, even if their methods aren’t particularly unrefined.
Deji sits at his desk, his legs tapping relentlessly on the floor. He soon begins to bite his nails, a nervous habit he developed a while ago due to growing up around too much drama in his childhood. His fingers itch with an urge to do something, anything, to get the feeling off his skin.
Just then, Jessica walks in with her high heels clicking against the concrete floors as she strides through the office. Deji watches her from behind his glasses, his eyes trained on every move the woman makes as though he expects someone to attack any second.
She glances up and down the hallways, her lips thinning into a line as she notices the man sitting before her.
"Oh, Deji," She says with a sigh, "Are you still here?"
She walks towards him, a smirk plastered across her face as she leans against Deji's cubicle. "It seems we're stuck together for today."
Deji scoffs and rolls his eyes at Jessica, "You're such a brat, Jess."
Jess laughs and pats Deji on the shoulder lightly before sliding back behind her cubicle where Deji could only see her reflection in the mirror. Jessica's reflection looks slightly more professional than Deji, wearing a crisp white button-up and a pencil skirt which matches her perfectly manicured nails. A strand of hair falls from underneath her neatly pinned-up hairstyle and flops onto her forehead.
"Well aren't you lucky," Jessica teases, "You are stuck in this night shift with me."
"As if I care," Deji replies bluntly and rolls his eyes again. Immediately his heart skips a beat.
Jessica raises a brow at him and tilts her head. "Did your girlfriend break up with you?"
There it is again. Deji feels his heart skip a beat again. Jessica has been trying to tease Deji since the first day she entered the department. Whenever Deji would respond, she would go right for the kill.
"No," Deji answers quickly, "I'm single."
"Single? Really?" Jessica asks, "I thought you were dating someone."
Deji shakes his head and shrugs, "I am."
"Who?" Jessica presses, leaning forward in her seat.
Deji bites his lip and stares at the ground. He tries to find the right words to use but nothing comes out.
Finally, he settles on the one that had been bothering him lately.
"A friend," Deji admits, "We've been friends for years."
"Really?" Jessica says and grins wide at him, "That is nice! Do tell me more!"
Deji smiles and shakes his head, looking away from Jessica. He feels his cheeks heating up. He knew Jessica was going to ask him about this. Ever since Jessica joined the department, Deji had spent most of his time with her. He didn't feel comfortable enough to tell her how he feels about her despite his parrot character but he wasn't about to let her know how miserably single he was. It wouldn't do him well either.
Deji shifts uncomfortably in his chair, trying to keep Jessica from noticing the slight blush that is spreading across his face. He's not sure why she was so interested but he'd rather keep it that way.
The moment stretches between them. Neither of them seemed inclined to talk for a little bit but neither of them wanted to leave, either.
Eventually, Deji speaks. "Can you promise me something?"
His voice wavers slightly under Jessica's intense gaze. He hopes she won't notice.
"Yes," Jessica responds, raising an eyebrow as though expecting a secret.
Deji swallows and fidgets with his hands nervously, wondering how much he should reveal to Jessica. After everything they've done together, he trusts her completely with his life, but as he was about to say a word he starts to think of their friendship. He feared that what he was about to say would wreck their already steady friendship.
What would be so terrible, though, if he told Jessica how he felt? or If it changes their relationship?
After everything, Deji couldn't imagine living in a world without Jessica. The only reason he even considers telling her is because he knows she will understand. She is kind.
So Deji takes a deep breath and blurts out, "Please... Don't tell anyone that I have a crush on you."
Jessica raises an eyebrow in shock before bursting into laughter. She leans over her desk and places a hand over her mouth as she giggles, causing Deji to feel anxious. He feels foolish now having revealed his biggest secret to someone he barely knows.
"Is this funny to you?" Deji questions sharply, glaring daggers at Jessica.
When Jessica finally calms herself down and straightens up, she looks over at Deji and nods.
"Not very funny, no," Jessica admits, "But it's okay. There's no one to tell."
Deji looks at her curiously. "Really? Who do you have a crush on?"
Jessica smiles brightly at Deji and shrugs. "Doesn't matter who. It's none of their business."
Before Deji can inquire further, he hears a voice call out from the opposite side of the room. "Jessica! Get over here and take over the receptionist position! You need a promotion anyways!"
"Coming boss," Jessica calls out and stands up, shooting Deji one last apologetic smile before jogging over to help another coworker.
Deji stares after her, feeling a sudden lump in his throat. He shakes his head and turns his attention back to the screen in front of him, trying desperately to stop himself from crying.
The Next morning..
The sound of footsteps echoes throughout the halls as Deji walks along with his coworkers, each one of them dressed to impress as usual. They were all in different suits; some were black while others had red accents. All of them looked beautiful in their tailored attire as they marched into the conference room for an important meeting alongside Deji.
Once Deji arrived at the conference room he could see through the open door that people were already waiting, they all moved and went in.
As the conference meeting began, Deji used his eyes to skillfully search for Jessica. When he finally found her, she was sitting alone and staring straight ahead, ignoring everyone that was talking. Her eyes seemed dull and empty, unlike their normal lively self.
Deji felt like he wanted to reach out and touch Jessica.
Instead, he pulled out his laptop and turned it on, ready to take notes as he was instructed to do by one of his superiors.
The rest of the afternoon drags along slowly and agonizingly slow. The longer Deji spends in the conference room, the more he finds it increasingly difficult to concentrate on whatever the other employees are saying when all he wanted was to focus on Jessica. The longer he looks out the large glass window of the conference room and sees Jessica sitting in the corner, the more he wishes he could just run over there and sit next to her. He can’t. She doesn't like him that way and even if he did, she wouldn’t look at him the same way anymore.
By early afternoon, Deji was tired. His eyelids begin to droop and he rubs his eyes with his thumb and forefinger in an attempt to stay awake.
Suddenly, he hears a voice above him say, “All rise. Our CEO is entering the conference room. All rise…”
In an instant, the room goes dead silent as people stand up and bow their heads as the door opens. Deji looks up to see Mr. Matsubara striding in with two men by his sides; one of them was tall with blonde hair styled into an almost perfectly straight, combed back fringe while the other was shorter and rounder than Deji himself, auburn hair slicked back and glasses perched on top of his nose.
Mr. Matsubara clears his throat and claps his hands together. The man beside him reaches out and pushes back the hair on his forehead as he clears his throat as well, “Good evening everyone, and welcome back...."
The meeting went on for about an hour more before Mr. Matsubara decided to end it. But before he did, he decided to introduce his new wife to his workers. He waved his hands and one of the men with him went out of the conference room and came back in with Jessica. "Everyone meet my wife, Jessica "
Everyone cheered and introduced themselves to her as if they had no idea who she was, as they shook her hand and welcomed her. Jessica stood awkwardly behind her husband with a small smile plastered on her lips.
It was obvious that the meeting had left a sour taste in her mouth. She still looked stunning as always but she seemed uncomfortable.
Deji stared in shock as the drama unfolded. After the meeting, Jessica approached him and tried to ease his pain but it was too late. Deji's heart was already broken. He smiled at her and bid her farewell. Eventually, Jessica became the manager of the company and moved to a bigger office, ever since the two never spoke again.