Echoes of Unrequited Love

Chapter 23

With a “ding.” Hogan’s glass suddenly landed on the table, making a crisp sound. | couldn’t tell if it was on purpose or not. He gave me a casual glance, grabbed his glass, tapped it on the table, and downed it in one go. Pretty decisive.

| pretended to take a sip of my juice, too.

The scene looked like everyone was having a blast, but the vibe was kinda stiff, for some

reason.

| felt like a total jerk, stirring up trouble at someone else’s birthday bash—definitely not cool.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Clueless Jack, just there for the grub, didn’t pick up on it and, loving a good show, said, “Darren, Xaviera’s laid it out for ya, aren’t you gonna respond?”

Great, now it was even more awkward. | wished | could just vanish into thin air.

Thank goodness Darren's got social smarts. Holding his glass, he said, “Xaviera, you’ve given me such high praise, | should definitely return the toast.”

His voice was teasing, a playful twinkle in his eye as he gave me a secret wink.

At his cue, | reluctantly raised my glass.

That warmed things up a bit.

We

were at the meal for over an hour.

+

When we left the restaurant, Hogan's car was already waiting by the curb.

Zachary hopped out of the car and helped a tipsy Hogan into the back seat.

Cecilia got in, too, but then popped her head out the window and asked. “Xaviera, wanna join us?”

I smiled and declined.

Who wanted to be a third wheel, right?

Wasn't a cheap subway ride way more appealing?

“Xaviera, let Darren take you,” Jack said when he heard | was hitting the subway, “It’s getting late, not safe.” | looked at Darren, cheeks flushed, and said, “No need.”

“Let's go together,” Darren interrupted, “The university’s put me up in a two-bedroom near campus, it’s on the way.” 1/3

| couldn't tell if he was for real or not.

It was so out of the blue.

Noticing my hesitation, Darren just pulled out a key card from his briefcase and said, “Believe me now?” So there | was, catching the subway with this slightly buzzed guy.

In the end, he even walked me to my building.

Thinking about my antics at the dinner, | seriously apologized.

Darren just grinned and said, “Xaviera, | actually had a great time today. You being you, it’s really quite something.” | was totally baffled.

“That’s our Computer Science Department's pride and joy, Xaviera.”

That word “pride” felt both foreign and familiar, sending a little tremor through my heart.

Back at my place, | sat silently by the window, pondering my life’s many flaws, and forced a bitter smile. Me, worthy of “pride“?

My phone’s dark screen flickered unexpectedly.

It was a friend request from Hogan, with a question mark.

| hesitated for two seconds, then locked the screen and headed to bed.

| overslept.

Wallis called as | was dashing for the subway.”

“What's Hogan playing at? Why set up this planning department out of the blue?”

| stopped and took a couple of minutes to get the story straight.

Turns out, Hogan wanted to add a game planning department to our studio, with Cecilia as the planning manager.

Game development mainly consisted of three indispensable parts: planning, tech, and art, with planning at the forefront, showing its importance.

But we'd already nailed down the entire game framework for LOVE STORY, and now letting Cecilia meddle seemed off. “| think we need to talk to Hogan. He may have invested, but that doesn’t mean he can lead us by the nose.”

“Did Hogan explicitly say Cecilia could get involved in the game details?” | asked.

“No.”

“Then let’s wait.” | reasoned, “Cecilia needs some veneer for her gold—plating, as long as she doesn’t overstep, we don’t have to upset the investor over her.”

Hogan probably knew better than to blur personal and professional lines, After a pause, Wallis agreed, “Makes sense, we'll talk when | get back.”

Call ended, | raced to the studio, and right as | walked in, | saw the receptionist Zora standing on a stool, taking down the sign from the office door,