I glanced over to where the PR girls were sitting—several of them were already waving us over.
“Nana, you girls plotting something?” I joked.
She giggled.
“Oh come on, what could we possibly be plotting?
You scared we’re gonna eat you alive or what?”
“Pfft, scared?
Nah.
If anything, being eaten by a group of beauties doesn’t sound all that bad.”
“Then come on, sit with us.”
With my tray in hand, I ended up trailing behind Nana and joined the lively group from the PR department.
“Andrew, with that face, it’s a waste not having you in PR,” one of them teased as soon as I sat down.
“Totally!
If Andrew was repping us, I bet a bunch of female clients would be totally sold.”
“We should pitch it to Sophia—get Andrew transferred to our team.
What do you think about that?”
“Honestly, PR seems like a lot,” I said with a smile.
“I’m not sure I’d land a single client.
I’ve got zero experience, and it looks tougher than it sounds.”
“Oh please, with your charm?
Female execs would be falling over themselves yelling ‘Andrew, Andrew!’ Get you talking sweet for a sec, and the deals are in the bag!”
“You’re giving me way too much credit,” I chuckled.
“You all are the real pros here.
I’m more the type to spin ideas on paper than work the client circuit.”
After some playful bickering, Nana leaned in, grinning.
“Truth is, Andrew, they’re scheming all right—they just wanna have you around every day.
Bunch of thirsty girls, jealous of those two cute planners from your department.”
“Oh come off it, Nana,” another chimed in.
“You’re the one always chatting about Andrew in the office.
Constantly!”
“Yeah, and I don’t hide it.
What about some of you sneaky ones?
Quiet on the outside, but lord knows what’s going on in your heads.”
Honestly, eating with this bundle of sunshine was a blast.
“Ms.
Smith,” said the girl across from me suddenly.
My heart skipped.
At some point, Sophia had walked up behind me.
“What’s everyone laughing about?” she asked, expression unreadable.
“We’re just picking a girlfriend for Andrew,” Nana said with a smile.
My stomach dropped.
Really, Nana?
Bring up my love life—especially when my crush is standing right there?
But Sophia played it cool.
She put on her boss hat and said, “Andrew’s only been here a few days.
He’s still learning the ropes.
Instead of goofing off, maybe try actually getting work done.
Don’t drag him into your nonsense.”
“Come on, Ms.
Smith,” Nana protested.
“We’re just looking out for his happiness, aren’t we, ladies?”
“Obviously!
Our office is full of single beauties—who wouldn’t want a shot at Andrew?”
“From now on, no chit-chat like this during work hours.
Anyone slacking off, expect me to deal with you.
Andrew, come to my office after lunch.” Her tone was strict and boss-like, and just like that, she walked off.I couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy—was Sophia calling me to her office because of what happened at lunch?
The girls from PR were still giggling, clearly enjoying the drama.
If Sophia’s mad, I’m the one who’s getting dragged into it.”
“Andrew, just accept your fate,” Lily smirked, tapping her chopsticks on her bowl like she was sending me off to war.
“We’ll play funeral drums for your glorious fall.”
“Lily, seriously, this is your fault.
Who knows what Sophia’s gonna lecture me on.
You all saw her face—she wasn’t happy.
Could you just eat in peace next time?”
“Take one for the team, Andrew.
We’ll remember your sacrifice,” another girl chimed in.
I shot them a dramatic glare, left that group of crazy-but-charming women behind, and headed back to the office.
After lunch, I tried grabbing a quick nap, but my brain wouldn’t shut up.
Was Sophia really upset about those jokes at lunch?
If she was…
crap.
That would make me look like I couldn’t even keep my cool around female coworkers, totally giving off playboy vibes.
Not good.
Before I even hit thirty minutes of rest, I got a text.
It was her.
“Andrew, please come to my office.”
I splashed cold water on my face in the restroom to wake up a bit, then made my way to her office.
When I walked in, Sophia was playing solitaire on her computer.
“Sophia, you need me for something?”
“What were you guys talking about during lunch?”
Standing beside her, I tried not to let my eyes wander toward the neckline of her blouse.
Focus, Andrew.
“They were just messing around,” I replied.
“And you told me on day one—no office romances.
I’ve always remembered that.”
“Good.
You’re new here, you should be focusing on learning the ropes and getting to know how each department works.
Anyway, I’ve got a dinner meeting tonight I don’t really want to go to alone.
Want to come with me?”
Just like that, the weight on my chest lifted.
So the whole office summons wasn’t purely about lunch chaos.
A part of me couldn’t help smiling—she thought of me, even for a dinner event.
Maybe I did matter to her after all.
“Sophia, it’s someone inviting you, and you want me to join…
won’t that be awkward?”
She paused for a second, then said, “Nah, it’s just an old friend.”
“So…
should I wait in the office afterward?”
“Yeah, I have some stuff to finish after work, just wait here.”
“Alright.
I’ll head back then.”
“Remember to learn from Ms.
Flores when you can,” she added with that smile that could melt steel.
If we weren’t in her office, I swear I might’ve leaned in to kiss her just then.
Brushing off that dangerous thought, I left the office reluctantly.
“No way, you just got back from Sophia’s Political Education 101?” Chloe teased the second I stepped into the planning department.
Guess they knew her better than I did.
I shot back, “Chloe, how’d you know I even went there to get scolded?”
“Well duh.
Lunch was basically a rom-com featuring you and the PR girls.
Sophia’s expression was…
let’s just say, not amused.
I figured someone would get called in.”
“Wait, you noticed all that?””Just look at Sophia’s face.
Her expression is like her personal weather report.
But if something ticks her off, she won’t hide it.
And you know what that means—someone’s gonna become her stress ball.”
“So, you’re saying I’m the poor soul she vents on?”
“Totally!
That’s what you get for using lunchtime to flirt.”
“Chloe, don’t twist my words!
I wasn’t flirting—I was just bonding, team-building!
We’re all part of Anyael, no need to draw departmental lines.
One big happy work fam, right?”
“Ha, says the guy trying to sound noble.
Come on, everyone knows our PR department is packed with pretty faces.
Saying you’re not even the tiniest bit tempted?
Yeah, right.”
“I’m being serious.
I’m not like that.”
“Wow.
A rare gem.”
Right then, Ms.
Flores stepped into the office and called me over.
After I sat down, she sipped her water and started talking.
“Andrew, I’ve got a project I want you to take the lead on.
We need a solid marketing plan to help the sales team push a struggling product.”
“What product are we talking about, Ms.
Flores?”
“Remember those women’s dress shirts we launched earlier?
They’ve been a tough sell.
Our team even sent reps out to support stores directly, but the customer response hasn’t been great—sales just won’t pick up.
Some clients are even asking to return the merchandise.
I’m hoping you can come up with a smart plan that could help them move this product.”
“Is there a store here in Bayshore that stocks this shirt?”
“Yeah, a few.
I’ll give you the contact for one of our Bayshore clients so you can get a better picture of things.” As she spoke, she grabbed a pen, scribbled down a name and number on a notepad, then handed it to me.
The client’s name was Wendy Scott.
Pretty sure that’s a woman.
“How long has the shirt been in the market?”
“Almost three months now.
But sales have missed the mark by a lot.
If things don’t turn around soon, we’re looking at a major financial hit.”
“Haven’t the sales team tried fixing the situation?”
“They’ve been promoting harder, even had staff stationed in stores to pitch directly.
But that eats up too much time and energy, and we simply don’t have enough people to babysit every store.
Plus, it’s just a temporary fix.
We have to understand why this shirt isn’t selling—figure out what’s really wrong and hit that issue at the core.”
“Ms.
Flores, I’ll give this everything I’ve got.
And if I hit a wall, I’ll definitely ask for your input.”
I made sure to stay humble in front of my boss—respect matters.
I could tell Ms.
Flores appreciated my attitude.
I bet she was thinking, “This Andrew kid knows how to work with leadership.”
She gave me a small, approving smile.
I still remember how serious she was the first time we met.
She’s the no-nonsense type, expects real effort and real skills if you want to make it in Anyael.
“Andrew, start with customer research.
Talk to the store staff, get the full picture, then do your analysis.
If anything’s unclear, come see me.”
“Sure thing, Ms.
Flores.
I’ll get started now and leave you to your work.”