After reaching home, I immediately changed out of my work clothes and freshened up.
The moment I stepped out, I felt the exhaustion of the day catching up with me.
I was about to order something for dinner when my phone suddenly started buzzing.
I looked down at the screen.
Alden.
I immediately answered the call.
“Hey, where are you, Meavy?
Why aren’t you picking up my calls?” Paige’s voice came from the other end instead.
I pulled my phone away slightly and checked the screen.
Only then did I notice the number of missed calls and messages waiting from her.
I winced.
“Sorry, Paige.
I came back late from work, and my phone battery was low, so I put it on silent mode.” There was a brief silence.
Then Alden’s voice came through the call.
“Aren’t you working too hard for an internship that literally started yesterday?” I smiled slightly.
“You need to work hard when you have four bosses on your head.” I could almost imagine her expression changing.
Especially because she already had opinions about them.
“Meave, did something happen?” Paige asked.
I paused.
A lot had happened.
The mysterious department.
The investigation.
The new division.
The confidential reports sitting on my desk.
But somehow, explaining all of that over a phone call didn’t feel right.
“Nothing bad,” I reassured her.
“It’s just more work than I expected.” Alden chuckled softly.
“Well, that’s called working life.” “Easy for you to say,” I replied.
“How about you join us at this new sizzling café we found?
We’re going there for dinner,” Alden suggested.
“It might cheer you up.” I smiled at the thought.
But I shook my head.
“No thanks.
You don’t need to invite me to every single one of your dates.” I said it matter-of-factly.
Because honestly, they did this all the time.
Whenever Paige and Alden made plans, somehow I ended up being included.
Not that I disliked it.
Quite the opposite.
Sometimes I felt like I was their third wheel.
Other times, I felt more like their little sister—the baby of the group they both wanted to take care of.
And that alone proved how much they loved me.
“And before either of you start arguing with me about it,” I quickly added, knowing them too well, “I’m actually exhausted and I really want to stay home.” There was a brief silence.
Paige remained quiet for a moment before speaking again.
“Fine.
But promise me you’ll eat properly.” I rolled my eyes.
“Yes, Mom.” Even though they worried too much sometimes, a small warmth settled in my chest.
No matter how overwhelming Westbridge felt, knowing I had them made everything a little easier.
“Text me when you eat dinner,” Paige ordered.
“Yes, yes.” I said.
After a few more reminders from Paige and Alden, the call finally ended.
I looked at the stack of documents sitting on my table.
I decided to look through the documents one last time before finally giving up for the night.
Just one more time.
That was what I told myself.
The files were still spread across my table, filling the empty space around me with pages of information that I had already read countless times.
I was about to finish reviewing them when my dinner arrived.
I brought the food to the table but didn’t move the documents away.
Instead, I sat there quietly, eating while my eyes kept moving between my plate and the papers in front of me.
Even while chewing, my mind was somewhere else.
I kept searching for something.
Anything.
But no matter how many times I rearranged the details in my mind, I couldn’t find a clear pattern.
Nothing significant.
Nothing that would immediately point toward the person responsible.
A small wave of disappointment washed over me.
Maybe I wasn’t suited for this.
Maybe the others had expected too much from me.
But then… I looked back at one particular page.
There was something.
A small detail that had caught my attention earlier.
It wasn’t big enough to be called evidence.
It wasn’t even enough to prove anything.
But it was noticeable.
A tiny inconsistency.
Something that didn’t completely fit.
I stared at it again, trying to decide whether I was imagining things or whether it actually mattered.
Would it even help the investigation?
Or would it just make me look foolish if I brought it up?
After finishing my dinner, I organized the documents and placed them neatly on my desk.
I decided I would mention it tomorrow.
At least I should try.
As I lay in bed that night, my mind kept returning to the same question.
Would Alexander appreciate that I noticed something?
Or would he think it was irrelevant?
I closed my eyes, still thinking about the answer.
And eventually, exhaustion won.
I fell asleep wondering if my small discovery was actually something important… or just another dead end.
The next morning, I entered the Westbridge building with a little more confidence than my first day.
At least, I knew where I was going now.
I headed toward the elevators, but by the time I reached them, the doors were already closing.
A group of employees had filled the elevator, leaving no space.
I sighed quietly.
Instead of waiting for another one, I decided to take the stairs.
A little movement before sitting at my desk wouldn’t hurt.
I reached the third-floor staircase when I noticed someone.
A girl and a boy were standing near the landing.
They were talking quietly, almost whispering to each other.
The girl covered her mouth while laughing, and the boy leaned closer as he said something that made her smile even more.
They looked completely lost in their own little world.
Why do I always end up seeing these kinds of things?
First the staircase incident before my internship even started.
And now this.
The stairs apparently had become the company’s unofficial romance corner.
I immediately looked away.
I had no intention of interrupting whatever private moment they were having.
Quietly, I turned around, ready to leave.
“You really have a bad habit of lurking on stairs.” I froze.
That voice.
I slowly turned around.
Julian was walking toward me, his usual playful smile already appearing on his face.
“Not that I mind,” he added, stopping in front of me, “but other people might misunderstand.” I stared at him.
“I wasn’t lurking.
I just don’t want to get involved in your mess.” The words escaped before I could stop them.
The moment they left my mouth, I regretted it.
Julian’s eyebrows lifted slightly, and then a knowing smile appeared on his face.
“Mess?” He tilted his head.
“Ah, you must be talking about the other day.” My expression froze.
“The day you saw me getting slapped?” He said it so casually.
Almost like it wasn’t a big deal.
Like someone witnessing him getting slapped across the face by a girl wasn’t something that could embarrass him.
I blinked.
“I…
I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The denial came out too quickly.
Too obviously.
Julian noticed.
Of course, he noticed.
He stepped one step closer, lowering his voice slightly.
“You don’t need to pretend you didn’t see me.” My eyes widened slightly.
“We clearly made eye contact.” I looked away.
“And then you ran out of there like you had been caught stealing something.” My face heated up.
Because unfortunately… He wasn’t wrong.
I had panicked.
I had seen something I wasn’t supposed to see, accidentally made eye contact with a stranger, and then practically sprinted away as if I had committed a crime.
A small laugh escaped him.
“Relax, Meave.
I was just kidding.” He leaned casually against the railing, his usual playful expression returning.
“Remember, you don’t need to think of me as your boss all the time.
I’m like your friend.” His smile softened slightly.
“You can ask me anything, say whatever you’re thinking, and I won’t mind.” For a moment, I almost believed him.
That was the strange thing about Julian.
He had this effortless charm that made people lower their guard without even realizing it.
Maybe that was why everyone warned me about him.
Because he was good at making people comfortable.
I looked at him carefully.
“Why did she slap you?” The question came out before I could stop myself.
Maybe I was curious.
Maybe I wanted to know whether my first impression of him was right.
Julian immediately answered.
Too quickly.
Almost like he had been waiting for me to ask.
“She thought I was trying to ask her out.” I blinked.
“She thought I was playing with her feelings when, in reality, I wasn’t.” He said it confidently.
Like that was the complete truth.
I stared at him for a moment.
But I still wasn’t completely convinced.
Maybe because of the reputation I had already heard about him.
Maybe because of the way he interacted with people.
Or maybe because I had personally seen enough of his charming personality to understand why someone might misunderstand him.
Still, I decided not to question him further.
It wasn’t my business.
I turned and started walking back toward the elevator.
Julian quickly changed the topic, smoothly moving past our previous conversation as if he hadn’t just been questioned about being slapped in the middle of a staircase.
Typical Julian.
Before I could ask anything else, the elevator doors opened.
We stepped inside together.
And as expected… Julian couldn’t stay silent for even a minute.
The moment other employees entered the elevator, his entire personality switched on.
“Good morning.” A bright smile appeared on his face as he greeted everyone.
He casually started a conversation with the people around us, making small jokes and somehow managing to make complete strangers laugh before we even reached our floor.
I watched him quietly.
This was the side of Julian everyone probably knew.
Charming.
Approachable.
The kind of person who could walk into a room and immediately make himself comfortable.
No wonder people were drawn to him.
But then again… No wonder people misunderstood him too.
The elevator finally reached our floor.
I stepped out with Julian and walked toward the ESSPU office.
Before we could enter, we saw Damian standing near the entrance, probably just about to go inside.
The moment Julian saw him, his face immediately lit up.
“Damian!” Before I could even process what was happening, Julian walked straight toward him.
And then— He hugged him.
Not a normal handshake.
Not a casual shoulder pat.
A full back hug.
I stopped walking.
Completely frozen.
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Did I just see that correctly?
And Damian… Didn’t even look surprised.
He simply stood there with the same calm expression, as if this happened every day.
Actually… Judging by his lack of reaction, it probably did.
I stared at them.
Do guys really hug like that?
I was still standing there, completely frozen, trying to process what I had just witnessed.
Julian and Damian.
That was not a combination I had expected.
I was so distracted that I didn’t even notice someone approaching behind me.
“Are you planning on standing there all day?” A familiar, stern voice pulled me back to reality.
I immediately straightened.
Alexander was standing beside me, his expression as unreadable as always.
I blinked and quickly shook my head.
“No.” I had no idea how long I had been standing there, but judging by the way he looked at me, it was probably longer than necessary.
Alexander didn’t comment on it.
“We are having a meeting now,” he said.
Then his eyes briefly moved toward me.
“Be ready with your findings.” My heart immediately sank a little.
My findings.
The small detail I had noticed.
I still wasn’t sure whether it was actually important or if I was just seeing patterns where none existed.
“I will,” I replied.
Alexander simply nodded and walked toward the office.
I followed behind him, my thoughts shifting away from Julian and Damian’s strange friendship and back toward the reports waiting on my desk.
Now there was no more time to doubt myself.
I had to present what I found.
Even if it turned out to be nothing.