C11 Sorry We Are Not Looking For Friendships

What neither of them noticed was that from a nearby corridor, another pair of eyes had been watching everything.

Ben’s secretary. And the smile forming on her face suggested that she had already begun planning something else.

While I was buried in my thoughts, a shadow suddenly appeared in front of my desk. I looked up and nearly jumped.

Alicia was standing there. Her hands were behind her back as she stared at me. Before I could even ask why she was there, she spoke. “Your brother is waiting outside.”

I blinked in confusion. Then I suddenly remembered. Chris. I had completely forgotten to tell him that I wasn’t going for lunch.

Quickly, I grabbed my phone. The screen was black. No battery. “No wonder,” I muttered.

Without wasting another second, I rushed out of the office.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw Chris pacing back and forth. “Brother!” I shouted. He immediately turned around.

The moment he saw me, relief appeared on his face. “Brother, are you alright?” he asked. “I’ve been calling you for ages. You didn’t answer and you never came out for lunch.”

Then he looked at me more carefully. The relief slowly disappeared. His expression darkened. “You saw that devil again, didn’t you?”

Before I could answer, Alicia spoke up from behind me. “Devil?” She looked between us. “Why would he see a devil in our office?”

I couldn’t help laughing. But Chris wasn’t interested in joking. He folded his arms. “Which devil did you see?” Then he lowered his voice. “The big fat one or the cunning overbearing one?” That made me laugh even harder. Poor Alicia looked completely confused.

After calming down, I finally answered. “The big fat one.” Chris’s eyes widened. He immediately understood. But because Alicia was standing there, he didn’t ask any more questions.

Instead, he simply nodded. “Right. Brother, let’s go eat. Lunch will be over soon.” I was about to refuse and tell him I wasn’t hungry.

Before I could say anything, Alicia interrupted. She pointed directly at Chris. “You delayed my lunch.” Chris looked at her blankly. “And?” “And you owe me a favor for calling your brother.” She smiled proudly. “So you’re inviting me too.”

For a moment, nobody spoke. Then Chris rubbed his forehead. “Woman, don’t you have friends?” Alicia shook her head. “No.” “Us men eating with you would be strange,” Chris continued.

Still no reaction. Instead, Alicia crossed her arms. “Mr. Chambers, I’m a new intern.” Her voice sounded unusually firm. “I don’t have any friends here.”

Then she pointed at him. “So since I helped you, you owe me.” After saying that, she laughed. Neither of us expected that answer. The shy girl from earlier had suddenly become surprisingly bold.

Alicia turned around and started walking. “Come on.” She waved her hand. “Since it’s my first time eating with you, I’ll pay.”

Then she looked back with a playful smile. “Next time it will be your turn.” Chris nearly choked. “Next time?” he muttered. “There will definitely be no next time.”

Only I heard him. I immediately burst out laughing. His gloomy expression became even darker. Alicia either didn’t hear him or chose to ignore him.

She simply continued leading the way toward the café as though she had already won. For some strange reason, both Chris and I followed behind her.

Watching the two of them argue made me forget my sadness for a little while. And for the first time that day, I found myself genuinely smiling.

None of us noticed that from a window on the upper floor, someone was quietly observing the scene. Ben. His eyes followed the three of us as we walked away together. Especially Alicia.

A slow smile formed on his face. “Interesting,” he whispered. “It seems our little nerd is becoming more popular every day.”

At the café, the two brothers who usually kept to themselves were now seated with one of the most beautiful girls in the company.

It did not take long for them to notice the curious gazes coming from nearby tables.

Chris sighed softly and shook his head. “See? I told you this would be strange, but you insisted.”

Alicia calmly took a sip of her drink. “So what if they see us?” she asked. She looked at the two of us and smiled. “Me sitting with my brothers would only bother empty-headed people.”

“Brothers?” Chris and I spoke at the same time. We were both shocked, though we managed to keep our voices low.

Chris immediately frowned. “We don’t even know you. We are only sitting here because we’re repaying a favor.” Alicia laughed. Her beautiful smile instantly caught our attention.

The dimples on her cheeks appeared again. For a moment, both Chris and I forgot what we were saying.

“The other day,” she said playfully, “you rejected me before I even had a chance to introduce myself.” She pointed at Chris. “Now suddenly you want to know who I am.” Chris opened his mouth to argue but couldn’t find a response.

Alicia leaned forward slightly. “Since it’s my treat, it would be rude not to introduce myself.”

She placed her hand on her chest. “My name is Alicia Mooney.” The three of us shook hands politely. “I studied at XXX University and I’m currently interning in the Information Systems Department.”

She paused before continuing. “My family isn’t that rich, but we’re not poor either.” “I came here because I wanted something different.” “I wanted to work hard and earn my own money.”

Alicia rolled her eyes dramatically. “And honestly, I don’t enjoy spending time with girls who only talk about handbags, makeup and clothes all day.”

That made both of us laugh. “So here I am,” she concluded proudly. “Having lunch with my two new handsome friends.”

Chris immediately responded. “Interesting.” “Just now we were your brothers. Now we’re your handsome friends.”

He shook his head. “Sorry, but we’re not looking for friendship.” He pointed at her. “And we’re definitely not looking for a beautiful sister who will attract bees everywhere we go.”

Alicia blinked once. Then she smiled brightly. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” She pointed at Chris. “As beautiful as I am, it feels nice to hear praise from my big brother.”

Chris stared at her. For the first time in a long time, he was completely speechless.