AUTHOR'S POV
"I will endorse it for expedited review."
"But it is really okay?"
"It means your event still has a chance."
That was enough for her.
She almost squealed from happiness, but she stopped herself because she was holding barbecue and she did not want the headline in her head to be, Sauce flew across the CEO's office in the middle of good news.
"Thank you," she said, and this time it was fuller, truer, lighter.
Lucien did not answer right away. He only looked at her for a few seconds, as if thinking about something she could not read.
Honestly, there was something strange about the way he looked at her. Not in a rude way. Not simply in an observant way either. It always felt like he was trying to solve a puzzle in his head whenever he was facing her. And that was annoying because she herself did not understand her own behavior half the time, so how could he.
"Why did you come back yourself?" Lucien finally asked.
Mara paused.
"Huh?"
"The student council president could have delivered this."
She looked down at the barbecue in her hand. It was a simple question, but for some reason it hit her more than it should have.
Because it was true.
It could have been Aira.
It could have been Josh.
It could have been anyone.
She did not need to come back. She definitely did not need to face this man again.
But she still came back.
She gave a small shrug. "Aira was already tired."
"Your president."
She nodded. "She had barely been breathing all day from stress. And I was also the one who rushed in here first." She grimaced a little. "So it felt like it was my responsibility too to finish what I started."
Lucien listened quietly.
No interruption. No sarcastic comment. No cold reminder about how reckless she had been.
So she kept going.
"And besides," she added, "if I was the one who made the mess, then I should also be the one to bring the tape and fix it."
She stopped.
She shut her eyes.
What was that.
Tape?
It was not like the problem had literally been torn.
Slowly, she lowered her gaze to the barbecue stick as though she would find the answer to her own foolishness there.
"That analogy was terrible," she murmured.
At that moment, she could not help looking back at Lucien.
And then she saw it.
That small, quick, but real lift at the corner of his mouth.
Not an obvious laugh.
Not a polite smile either.
Softer.
More natural.
And unfortunately for her ability to stay quiet, Mara's mind nearly blanked out at that simple sight.
So he really did know how to smile.
That somehow made him even more annoying.
"Your analogy was messy," Lucien said, "but understandable."
Mara's soul returned to her body. "I will take that as a compliment."
"You should not."
"I still will."
It looked like he wanted to smile again, but it quickly disappeared. He adjusted the way he sat and closed the envelope. "Luz stepped out to coordinate another meeting. Next time, leave the food outside first."
Mara looked at the kwek kwek tray, then at the barbecue. "Even if it is good food?"
"Yes."
"Even if it is still warm?"
"Yes."
"Even if it would be a waste?"
"Yes, Miss Cortez."
She let out a sigh. "You are really hard to talk to."
"And yet you keep coming back."
She froze.
Her mouth opened, then closed again.
Unfortunately, he had a point again.
That was so irritating.
So instead of answering properly, all she managed to say was, "Some parts of this were not exactly by choice."
Lucien tilted his head slightly. "The kwek kwek says otherwise."
Mara stared at the stick in her hand.
Traitor.
"In my defense," she said, "street food is emotionally supportive."
"Is that a category?"
"Yes."
"Recognized by whom?"
"By me."
Lucien fell silent again. But this time, the silence was no longer frightening. It felt like there was some strange lightness slipping in between them. The kind where even if they were not both talkative in the same way, somehow breathing in the same room no longer felt so difficult.
After a while, Lucien stood up.
Mara stood too automatically, even though no one had told her to. She moved so suddenly that she almost hit her knee on the side of the coffee table. She gasped and fixed herself quickly.
"Careful," Lucien said.
"Yes."
That only made her more conscious of her every movement.
Lucien walked to the side of the desk and picked up a small card from the document tray. He held it out to her.
Mara froze before slowly accepting the card.
Her gaze dropped to it.
Lucien Alcázar's name.
Position.
Company details.
And one direct office number.
Her eyes widened.
"If there is a problem again with the submission details," Lucien said, "tell your president to coordinate properly next time. Through the office."
She did not know what to say right away.
To a normal person, it was probably just a business card. Practical. Formal. Meaningless beyond work.
But for Mara, who only a few hours earlier had nearly lost the right to even look at this man out of sheer embarrassment, the small card suddenly felt heavier in her palm.
"Ah," she said very intelligently. "Okay."
Brilliant.
And you are a Communication Arts student too.
Slowly, she tucked the card into the small pocket of her bag as though it were a priceless artifact. After that, she remembered the barbecue she was still holding.
Oh.
She frowned a little. "Sorry. It probably looks weird that you gave me your card while I was holding a barbecue stick."
"It does."
"Great."
"Consistent, though."
She looked at him.
Was he really joking?
She did not know whether to get annoyed or happy that he was finally learning how to match her chaos.
In the end, all that came out of her was a small laugh. "At least I have a brand now."
"You do."
She no longer knew if that was a compliment or a warning sign.
She cleared her throat and adjusted her grip on the remaining barbecue. "I should go now."
"Use the door after knocking next time."
She blinked. "That is improvement. It is not an elevator reminder anymore."
"Do not be encouraged."
"Too late."
It looked like something wanted to move at the corner of Lucien's mouth again, but he stopped it and returned to his usual neutral expression. "Goodbye, Miss Cortez."
She slowly backed toward the door, holding the envelope receipt, the remaining street food, and the small business card that had suddenly become the center of her thoughts.
When she stepped out of the office, Luz returned from the hallway at exactly the worst possible moment.
The secretary stopped.
Mara stopped too.
Slowly, Luz's gaze lowered to the kwek kwek in Mara's hand, then to the barbecue, then to the open door behind her.
Mara's soul felt ready to give up.
"Miss Cortez," Luz said, very calm but carrying unmistakable silent judgment. "You entered."
"You were not there."
"You could have waited."
"Technically yes," Mara admitted.
Luz looked at the food in her hands. "And you still brought snacks."
"They were already there."
Mara did not even know why that was her answer. They were already there. As if the kwek kwek had its own feet and had simply followed her upstairs.
Luz gently closed her eyes as if saying a private prayer for patience. "Did you at least submit the documents?"
"Yes. He said they were complete."
At last, there was a small change in the secretary's expression. Still not warm. Still not friendly. But not quite as heavy anymore.
"That is good," she said. Then she slowly looked at the barbecue stick in Mara's hand. "Next time, perhaps submit first. Snack later."
Mara nodded like a child being scolded by an adviser. "Yes."
She quickly walked toward the elevator before the sermon could grow longer.
When she stepped into the public elevator, that was when she finally let out the breath she had been holding in for so long.
"What is this," she muttered to herself.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was still holding the remaining kwek kwek. There was barbecue sauce on one finger that she had forgotten to wipe again. And in the small pocket of her bag, hidden away, was the business card of the man who was supposed to be just a CEO in her life but seemed to be slowly becoming a source of additional trouble.
Slowly, she took out the card and looked at it again.
Lucien Alcázar.
The print was so clear.
So clean.
So opposite from the chaos of her day.
And for a reason she could not explain, she smiled a little before quickly shaking her head.
"Do not be like that," she told herself. "It is just a business card."
But no matter what she said, she could not get rid of the question in her mind.
If it was just business, why did it feel like something had started to change?
When the elevator opened in the lobby, she stepped out quickly, but her walk was lighter now. Outside the building, she immediately took out her phone and typed into the group chat.
Mara: Alive. I submitted it already. He said it was complete.
Ken: She is alive, guys.
Lara: Did you collect a new humiliation.
Mika: Answer yes or yes.
Aira: Thank you. Is it true the packet is okay now?
Josh: What did he say?
Mara: He said it is okay now.
Mara: And I have the CEO's business card.
Ken: WHAT
Lara: WHAT
Mika: WHAAAT
Aira: Mara???
Josh: Explain.
Mara stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked at the screen.
Then she slowly smiled.
It looked like the night was going to be long again.
And high above in the building she had just left, in the office that used to be quiet and tightly controlled every minute, Lucien returned to his desk once more. The faint scent of barbecue and vinegar was still in the air, something that did not belong in the polished surroundings and yet, surprisingly, he did not immediately order removed.
Instead, he quietly looked at the door where, only seconds earlier, a chaotic student had passed through carrying revised documents, kwek kwek, barbecue, and a kind of noise he could not explain.
Then, very slightly, almost too subtle to notice, the corner of his mouth moved.
Because out of all the people who passed through his office every day, Mara Cortez seemed to be the only one capable of bringing street food and problems in a single entrance.
And in an even more confusing truth, it seemed he did not mind it as much as he probably should.