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Ken's sturdy steps stopped right in front of a table with a wooden number written with the number ten. His narrow eyes looked at Wendy, then at Gabriella in turn.
"Hey, Ken, you're here already," Wendy said pleasantly. Gabriella looked up and rounded her eyes in surprise when she saw Ken. "Here, sit down."
Ken nodded and pulled up a chair next to Gabriella. Making the woman with her long hair now rolled up, glance disapprovingly. Secretly, Ken smiled at being able to meet Gabriella and sit this close. Somehow, every interaction he had with the woman he rescued a few days ago made it feel like he won the lottery.
"So, this is El. El, this is Ken," Wendy said introducing each of them. "Even though I know you guys already know each other, but still, you're not officially introduced."
Ken chuckled. "Can you be normal, Wendy?"
The short-haired woman laughed at Ken's request. She then waved her hands in the air, saying, "Well, I'm too normal for you."
"How disgusting, Wen," Gabriella replied.
They both then laughed at Wendy's joke. Ken turned his head, observing Gabriella's neat teeth that became clearly visible when she laughed. A small dimple in her right cheek formed for a moment, before Gabriella realized that the man's eyes were looking at her.
The expression on the woman's face changed drastically, Gabriella scowled. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Making Ken gasp instantly. "Huh, what?" Then his gaze shifted to Wendy who now joined him with an are-you-really-looking-at-Gabriella look? "No, who's looking at you. I was looking at the flower vase at the back," he lied.
Gabriella and Wendy suddenly looked in the direction Ken had pointed earlier. Sure enough, there was a small flower vase placed on the window frame. Eyes covered with gray softlens returned to Ken, the man was raising his eyebrows confidently.
"Right?"
"Well, since El is already here, you might as well tell her your intentions," Wendy suggested suddenly. The woman pulled out the cell phone on the table, then looked at her two friends in turn. "Hurry up, don't be so quiet."
Ken frowned and replied, "Yes, be patient." then his face turned to Gabriella who did not look at all interested in anything Ken said. "Gabriella, I want-"
"Just call me El," Gabriella cut in.
"Okay, El. So, I want-"
"Is this conversation important?" Gabriella interrupted. "If it's not really important, you can send it via chat."
Ken's eyebrows furrowed deeply. "Huh? How? Why?"
Wendy, who was impatient because she saw her best friend's behavior, immediately took action. She hit Gabriella's head with her hand and made her groan instantly. "What the hell, Wen?"
"What did you say?" Wendy glared, then crossed her arms over her chest after putting the glass back on the table. "That's what Ken was going to say, and you kept cutting him off. Just shut up for a while, it's making me nervous."
Suddenly, Gabriella's cheeks turned red. Ken, who saw it, secretly smiled. But because she didn't want any misunderstanding, the woman with her plaid blazer immediately clarified Wendy's words. "Okay, sorry."
"Huh? Really? If it's normal, listen to what Ken wants to say."
"Okay," Gabriella replied in a challenging tone. She then turned to Ken, put her face forward and said, "What else do you want to say to me?"
Deg!
Now, it was Ken's turn to feel a strange sensation inside his chest as that smooth face drew closer to him. He swallowed his saliva with difficulty, before trying to put his wild fantasies about Gabriella's lips behind him and staring into her gray eyes. "Can you step back a little? I can smell the chocolate from your mouth when we're this close."
Gabriella was startled and immediately backed away. She took a breath and crossed her arms over her chest. "So what exactly do you want to say?"
"Can you relax a little, no need to rush."
"You better say it before I pull out," Gabriella said curtly.
"Damn it, El. What are you doing?" Wendy joined in.
"I want to apologize for my words and attitude yesterday."
Boom! A record had just been broken. For the first time in Ken Kalandra's life, the man was willing to apologize and admit his mistake to a woman.
"And as my apology, you can ask for anything."
"Wow, anything really?" said Wendy. "Just ask for a new car, El."
Ken turned to Wendy and narrowed his eyes sharply at her.
"You said you can do anything, right?" Wendy shrugged her shoulders, then lifted her chin slightly. "As a friend who knows that Gabriella has just become unemployed, I just want her to not have a hard life. At the very least, she can use a new car when she goes to the market."
"Wendy," Gabriella muttered. "You don't have to explain that here, do you?"
"Hehe, sorry. I'm sorry, Babe."
The only man in the room immediately turned his gaze to Gabriella who now looked uncomfortable in her chair. "Are you really not working now?"
"Technically, yes, I just resigned this morning," Gabriella said simply. "Well, I'm unemployed now. But you don't have to worry, because I'm not going to ask for a car. It's just a joke. Wendy has lost her mind."
"Do you intend to apply to other companies?" asked Ken.
"Not yet. Maybe I want to go on vacation first, healing first. Like you know, I'm mentally unstable. Don't you want to see me jump off the mall for the second time?" Ken pondered after hearing those words, as well as Wendy who was now just gazing at her seat. "Haha, I'm kidding, Guys. Yes, the point is I also want to calm my mind first."
Ken and Wendy exchanged relieved glances afterward. The man then took out a business card and placed it on the table. "This is just a consideration, maybe after you heal and finish your vacation, you'll think of working again, maybe ...,"
Gabriella's eyes lowered, peering at the predominantly black and white business card on the table.
"Maybe you want to join my restaurant."
"Hahaha, I can't cook. I always have snacks with Wendy during breaks. Right, Wen?"
Wendy, who was sipping her drink, could only nod her head and mumble in agreement.
"You don't have to be a chef at my place, you can be whatever you want," Ken added.
"Well... that's really weird."
"How about being an article writer for the restaurant's website?"
"Huh?"
"This is an offer from me, as an apology too. How about it? You can consider it first, right?"
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