C79 A Heart That Refuses To Listen

Alicia was deep in thought, replaying everything that had happened between Chris and Sarah, when Chris suddenly snapped his fingers in front of her. "Forget about that for a moment," he said with a grin. "I have a much more important question." She blinked. "What is it?" "When did you learn to cook such delicious food?"

I immediately nodded in agreement. "My mother hasn't stopped praising you since yesterday," I said with a laugh. "She spent the entire breakfast talking about your cooking. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen her compliment someone that much." Alicia stared at me in disbelief. "It was only a simple dinner," she replied. "Why is Aunt Mary making such a big deal out of it?"

Chris shook his head dramatically. "Simple?" he exclaimed. "That meal was restaurant quality. Even I have to admit your cooking is on another level."I smiled. "My mom even said you're a better cook than she is." Alicia's face immediately turned red. "She... she really said that?" "Word for word." I answered.

She looked away, feeling too embarrassed to meet their eyes. Remembering something, I suddenly cleared my throat. "Oh, Beauty... my mom asked when you're coming back to our house. She said she wants to prepare something special for you." Silence. Chris slowly turned to me with wide eyes. Alicia completely froze. "Beauty?" The single word echoed repeatedly inside her head. Her cheeks burned bright red while even the tips of her ears turned pink. "He... he called me Beauty..."

Chris finally broke the silence. "Did you just call her Beauty?" I looked genuinely confused. "Yes." "...Why?" "Because she's beautiful." He shrugged naturally. "What's wrong with that?" Chris looked from Alicia to me before narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "You two aren't hiding something from me, are you?"

Both of us looked at him. "You call her 'Beauty,' and she always walks beside you after work. She even holds your hand sometimes." Chris folded his arms. "Mike... don't tell me you are secretly persuading my younger sister." "She is our genius i don't want you to corrupt her." I laughed. "What are you talking about?" "I'm serious!"

Chris pointed at Alicia. "And don't confuse our sister if you're already dating someone." I laughed again, but this time it felt slightly forced. The more I thought about Chris's words, the stranger they sounded. Beauty... Holding hands... Walking together every day... My heartbeat inexplicably sped up. "Wait... why am I suddenly nervous?" I stole a quick glance at Alicia. She was still avoiding eye contact.

Alicia, on the other hand, decided to ignore the embarrassing topic altogether. Instead, she answered my earlier question. "Tell Aunt Mary that I'll come back when another problem appears." I burst into laughter. Chris, however, refused to let the matter go. "No, no, no. Something is definitely going on." He looked between the two of them repeatedly. "Are you secretly dating?"

Alicia finally laughed. "If we were, would I still be helping him pursue Laura?" Chris paused. "...That's true." I laughed as well. "See? You're overthinking everything." Chris scratched his head. "It still feels suspicious." I turned back to Alicia. "So... if no problems happen, does that mean you'll never visit my home again?" She smiled warmly. "No." She shook her head. "Tell Aunt Mary I'll come on Saturday."

I blinked. "Saturday?" I scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I... actually made plans with Laura that day, so I probably won't be home." Alicia laughed softly. "Why would I need you there?" She smiled teasingly. "Your mother invited me, not you." "I'll stay for a little while, thank her properly, then leave." Chris burst into laughter. "Go enjoy your date, Brother." He patted my shoulder. "Don't worry. Your mother isn't going to eat Alicia." The three of us laughed together.

Soon it was time to begin work. As usual, we separated and headed toward their respective departments. While walking beside Alicia, I suddenly remembered something. "Alicia." She looked at me. "Why didn't you tell me you were buying vegetables yesterday?" "I would've contributed."

Alicia smiled gently. "I wanted to do something for your family." "It wasn't expensive." "It was only a few dollars." "So don't worry about it." I smiled. "Thank you." She simply nodded before turning toward the Information Systems Department. I continued toward the Cybersecurity Strategic Engineering Division.

The morning passed quickly. Since my promotion to the Cybersecurity Strategic Engineer, I spent most of the learning the company's cybersecurity framework, security architecture, and incident response procedures.

James who was only left with 1 day patiently explained how the company protected critical infrastructure against cyberattacks. Finally, around mid-morning, I got my first assignment as a Strategic engineer. Josh my team manager and James decided to test how much i have learned in my new role.

My tasked was reviewing the company's internal network segmentation strategy and identifying potential security weaknesses. I had to analyze firewall configurations, verify user access permissions, and prepare recommendations to strengthen the company's zero-trust security model.

It wasn't a difficult assignment, but it required patience and attention to detail. I smiled. "Finally..." "My first real task." Without wasting another second, I immersed myself completely in the work.

Meanwhile... Chris was having an entirely different experience. Ever since he got promotion to be team manager, the women in his department had become unbelievably bold. Every few minutes... Knock. "Excuse me, Mr Chambers." A girl walked in. "I don't understand this report." He patiently explained everything.

Five minutes later... Another knock. "Mr Chambers..." "The printer isn't working." He stood up and fixed it. Ten minutes later... Another female employee entered. "I forgot how to use this software." Chris sighed internally before helping once again.

What annoyed him most wasn't the questions. It was the obvious effort behind them. Some had clearly spent extra time applying makeup. Others had curled their eyelashes. Several wore fresh lipstick. One even pretended to struggle carrying a single file just so he would offer assistance. Chris forced an awkward smile every single time. "Please..." "Just let me work..." Unfortunately... The interruptions never stopped.

Over in the Information Systems Department, Alicia's reputation started growing in her new position, Special Analyst. She had absorbed almost everything in the books infront of her . She started practicing with past projects that were assigned to her team, she could immediately identify inefficiencies, unnecessary processes, and opportunities for improvement. Her suggestions consistently saved time while increasing system performance.

Her team manager couldn't hide his satisfaction. "Excellent work again." "You've only been here a short time, but your analysis skills are already grown so much ." Alicia smiled politely. "Thank you." She wasn't trying to impress anyone. Solving problems simply came naturally to her.

Ten minutes before lunch, Alicia completed all of her assigned practice tasks. Since there was nothing else requiring immediate attention, she leaned back in her chair. Without work to distract her... Her thoughts wandered once again. "Beauty..." Mike's voice replayed clearly inside her mind. Her face gradually warmed. "He called me Beauty..."

She covered her face with both hands. "Last time he admitted he had been thinking about me..." "Today he called me Beauty..." Her heart skipped another beat. But almost immediately... Reality interrupted those pleasant thoughts. "No..." "He's already planning to take the next step with Laura."

She lowered her head. "Maybe I'm thinking too much." "Maybe I should stop paying so much attention to everything he says." "I should simply treat him as before." She smiled bitterly. "If only hearts listened to logic..." "Unfortunately..." "A heart chooses whoever it wants."

After calming herself, another thought crossed her mind. "Saturday..." Aunt Mary had invited her over. "She probably just wants to thank me for cooking." Then another concern appeared. "If she's preparing something for me..." "Should I also bring a gift?" "Maybe I should cook another meal..." She smiled. "I'll think about that later."

Finally, she remembered Chris. "He asked for my advice." She closed her eyes and replayed the conversation Chris had with Sarah. Sarah hadn't ignored Chris. She hadn't blocked his number either. In fact... She had answered his call. Alicia smiled. "Someone who truly wants nothing to do with you doesn't just answer your calls." "Sarah wasn't angry enough to cut him off." "She's simply disappointed." "That means there's still hope."

She opened her eyes confidently. "The problem isn't their relationship." "The problem is timing." Satisfied with her conclusion, Alicia stood up. "Well..." She smiled to herself. "I think I know exactly what Chris should do next." With that thought, she left her office and headed toward the cafeteria.