“Hey, Stephen. Can you buy me some canned coffee from the vending machine at the lobby?” I asked my colleague, handing him a couple of bills and coins.
He just stared at me.
“If you don’t want to do it, maybe I could just ask the person in this picture?” I told him while showing a zoomed photo from my phone, showing our senior colleague, Claire.
It was that one fateful day, when I accidentally discovered a secret.
Stephen, my timid cubicle seatmate, was quietly enjoying his lunch break few days ago by swiping through his social media newsfeed. He stopped and stared at a posted image, as if it was the last time he would see it.
Being a frustrated photographer, I took out my own phone and moved closer to take a snap at him in secret. I pressed the shutter a couple of times until he noticed that I was stealing some pictures of him. He gave me sharp gazes as I held back my grin. I looked at the image preview and zoomed in on his phone.
He was staring intently to a selfie. Claire’s selfie.
She is our workmate, about the same age as us, but had been with the company for more than two years. She is our department’s bombshell because she bares a beautiful no-make-up make-up look and rocks different outfits everyday. Basically, almost all our officemates are captivated by her beauty.
Stephen, on the other hand, has been my partner in this cubicle since we joined the company about a year ago. He has always been a shy, reticent man who is doing great at his job. We met at the training, but we were never close; we only talked about work matters.
I was shocked, but I tried my best and pretended that I wasn’t affected.
“So, you like her, too?”
His eyes widen and he blushed. He looked away.
“Delete it,” he murmured.
I didn’t budge.
“Please delete it,” he repeated, with emphasis on the word please.
“If you want me to delete it, you have to agree and be my servant for a month,” I told him while showing him the zoomed picture on my phone.
He gave me a bad stare. If looks could kill, I’d probably be dead by now.
“Delete it after a month,” he said. He reached his hand to ask for a handshake. I gave him one in an instant.
—
Back to present day, he still gives me a sharp look. It’s as if he’s imagining how he could get back at me right now.
“Enjoy while your blackmailing lasts, Keira. You still have three weeks,” he told me as he grabbed the money from my hand.
“Thanks!”
On his way to the door, Stephen almost collided with Claire herself. They talked for a bit then suddenly shared a laugh.
Annoying.
I stood up and went to the comfort room.
I saw my reflection upon entering the restroom. I saw a short, A-cup, un-cute woman who doesn’t even have a good figure. Aside from that, I also saw an insecure, immature girl who uses blackmail to get the attention of the person she likes.
I just sighed and dragged myself to the toilet.
As I sat inside the cubicle, I checked the image of Stephen again and began to reflect on my actions.
What the hell am I doing?
I so wanted to click on the ‘trash’ button at that moment. I don’t want him to hate me because of this.
“Are you sure about this, Claire?” a woman’s voice said.
I heard a couple of ladies enter the restroom.
“To be honest, I’m not sure. But I still wanted to try,” Claire replied.
“What’s up?” another woman asked.
“Didn't you notice earlier? Claire bumped on Stephen and he obviously has a thing for her.”
I abruptly stood and quietly zipped my pants. I leaned closer to the door so I can hear them clearly.
“Well, do you like him, Claire?” the second woman asked again.
“He looks cool and attractive, but I got more interested because whenever he talks to me, he blushes. He looks so cute! Maybe if I ask him out, I may have a chance!” Claire exclaimed.
“Oh, definitely. Nobody would refuse a date from the office’s vixen,” the other lady claimed.
So she likes him, too? Isn’t that great, Stephen. Your feelings are mutual.
I left the toilet immediately after they went out. I had another glimpse of my pathetic situation, but I knew I had to do the right thing.
When I returned to seat, a canned coffee was already sitting in front of my laptop. I looked at Stephen and he was drinking the same thing. He was so handsome in his dark gray office suit.
Then something hit me: I liked him for a long time, but I didn’t realize how much I do until a threat came along. And now that he can free himself from my grip in less than a month, I don’t know if we could ever go back to being regular colleagues.
“Oh, you’re back,” he casually said, “thanks for the treat.”
“Hey, can we talk later, on our afternoon break?” I asked him.
“Sure.”
His expression changed from calm to fear.
—
We entered the pantry as soon as the afternoon break started. I checked if there were other people inside before facing the scared-looking Stephen.
“Loosen up, mister,” I told him as I lightly tapped his thick arms.
“It’s because I feel like you’re giving me a harder task. Isn’t that what villains do? They start with easy challenges but gets harder as the protagonist goes through an adventure,” he shyly said, wearing a hint of smile on his face.
Cute, I thought to myself.
“Well, what do you want this time?” his expression obviously tried to establish a serious face to try and overpower me, while he crossed his arms.
He’s cute and I can’t control my feelings now. I had to do this. I had to.
“Kiss me,” I said, straight to his face.
Stephen loosened his arms and showed a confused look. Things became awkward so I leaned on the counter and stood beside him.
“Do it, or I’ll show her your lustful secret,” I showed him the picture again from my phone.
The next thing I knew, he was giving me a rather passionate kiss. His lips gently touched mine while he cupped my cheeks with his huge hands. It took him almost a minute before he released me.
He stared at him with his droopy eyes and gave me another kiss. He did this a couple of more times before finally letting me go.
“I’ll bring you hell if you threaten me with that picture again, Keira,” he told me, upset.
He looked at me briefly, before he slowly took steps back and proceeded to the pantry's door. I finally clicked on the ‘trash’ button on the image in question, permanently deleting the photo from my phone's gallery.
“I’m setting you free now. You don’t have to finish the three weeks,” I said.
He returned to face me again. He held my shoulders that seemed to tell me to look at him.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Why, Stephen? Why do you wear a somewhat pained expression? Are you disappointed that I decided to relieve you from your misery?
I lightly remove his hands from my shoulders and quickly went to the door. I can hear him call my name a couple of times. Before I turned the door knob, I looked at him again while trying to hold my tears back.
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, Stephen. Sorry for everything,” I apologized.
I quickly returned to my seat and packed my things. I asked my supervisor if I could take rest of the time off because I’m not feeling well. I wasn’t even sure if I encountered Stephen again on my way out of the office.
It's a Friday, so it was a little rebellious leaving work a few hours early.
—
Taking advantage of the weekend made me feel somewhat relaxed. I still don’t know how to face Stephen like normal colleagues do, but I had no choice but carry on through the day.
I arrived pretty early than usual so I was expecting an empty office. Unfortunately, Stephen was already there.
Be normal! Be normal! I told myself.
“Good morning,” he greeted casually.
I couldn’t make any words out, so as my response, I just gave him a subtle nod.
The silence was awkward, I could even hear my own heart pumping like crazy.
Wait, did Claire already ask him out? Then, I should draw a really bold line between us now. He shouldn’t be talking to me anymore. I don’t want to raise any office gossip, especially against the office bombshell.
“I heard you were sick. How are you feeling now?” he asked.
“I’m okay now. Thanks for asking,” I replied.
And thanks to more officemates coming in, the awkwardness subsided a little. I decided to focus on finishing the tasks I left last week, instead, but an uncomfortable aura seemed to still envelop us both that nobody talked to each other about personal matters for the next eight hours. We didn’t even bother to talk over any breaks that day.
I organized my table a few minutes before clocking out. It was a tiring day, not because I had a lot on my plate, but rather because it was exhausting trying to avoid Stephen in any way possible. I hesitantly looked at him, just to get a glimpse for the day. He was also preparing to leave work.
As I closed my bag and grabbed on my jacket, Claire walked behind our cubicle and went straight to Stephen’s seat. Maybe she was just planning to ask him now?
Meh, I don’t care anymore.
“Hi, Stephen! Are you leaving now?” she asked.
“Yes, I am,” he answered.
Their conversation was covered with other people’s voices that I couldn’t hear what they were taking about anymore. I can rather hear murmurs as I went on my way to the exit.
But I agree, they do look good together. There goes my happiness, finding happiness with another person. I must dwell myself with a good dinner later with lots of desserts to mend this broken heart.
I was about to reach the main door handle when another hand from behind me held the knob. I had a jump scare that I looked back to who it was.
It was Stephen. And he was panting like he ran on a marathon.
“Oy!” I exclaimed.
“Before you get any weird thoughts, do you want to go on a dinner with me?” he asked.
Wha—?
I peered everywhere to check if he didn’t make a mistake. I looked at him again and he really was talking to me.
“I-I don’t… I don’t… understand,” I stuttered.
“Keira, I’m asking you out for a dinner tonight,” he asked again, still panting and seemed to be very bashful.
Cute, I thought to myself.
“Wait, does that mean... you’re not… together… yet?”
“We don’t… no, not ‘not yet’… I mean… we’re not going to happen. I-I-I wanted to know... more... about this feeling more… that I feel… towards a certain... somebody... who is very... annoying right now,” he replied.
“Haha! I didn’t understand anything, Stephen! Tell me more about it over dinner,” I said while wearing a big grin.
Stephen opened the door, and we clocked out together. Maybe we’ll try the new pizza place right on the next block from here.