In a chorus, Erina and Kaito answered yes. Resuming their course, the three walk toward the research lab.'Oh god. Can this be any more terrifying?' Erina mindlessly thinks to herself.
Kaito glances over at her and notices her uneasiness. "Is there something on your mind Miss Erina?"
"Oh, nothing much really but..." She stops and stares into his perfectly sculpted face before turning back. 'You know what? Forget him, Erina. We girls don't need a man, right? We are independent.' Erina always thought becoming single was the best thing that had happened to her. She and Kaito were from two different worlds and didn't belong together.
"Hello? Miss Erina, are you still there?"
"Huh? Oh yes! Sorry about that. Sometimes I get caught up in my thoughts."
"Ahh. It's okay. We all do that sometimes," Kaito assured. "Oh. Here we are. Room 124. Shall we go in?"
"Yeah. Let's go." Entering the room with the CEO caused hushed whispers to spread like a wildfire.
Employee 1: Oh my god. Did you see that? She just walked in with the CEO. THE CEO!
Employee 2: I know, right? Way to find a baby daddy at work.
Employee 3: Maybe we should go and say hi. See how she seduced him.
Ugh. How Erina hated people who spread rumors about others. If she wasn't at work, she would have gone up to those women and told them off. Since this was a meeting and the CEO was there, she decided to deal with the women another time. After a few minutes, the meeting started.
__________ __________ __________
After what felt like an hour of hearing random words being said about the work hours, Erina decided to avert her eyes to the table and just to listen.
"Hello!" A young girl with blonde hair whispered. "My name is Alexis. You can call me Lexi for short. What's your name?"
"Erina. Erina Hirota."
"Are you new here? I don't think I've ever seen your face." Lexi muttered as she put her hair into a messy high ponytail.
"Yup. New to this place."
"I bet you don't have any friends. I-I mean friends at this research lab."
"No. Not one. Although I have met Mr. Fue."
"Well, now, consider me as your new friend. And Mr. Fue is cute, right? I think he's got that innocent yet strict vibe."
"Hahaha! To be honest, I think you're right. I did get that vibe from him too."
"Shhh! Can't be too loud or we'll be in big trouble," Lexi warned. "Hey, after work, do you wanna go get a drink or something?"
Considering her options, Erina thought it would be best to go with Lexi to avoid any trouble from the other employees. "Sure! Why not? What's the worst that could happen?" Both the girls exchanged numbers and Erina turned her head back to the speaker.
__________ __________ __________
A few hours later Erina arrived home. "Ahhhhhhh. What a tiring day at work! My back is killing me." Erina flopped on her queen sized bed. Fluffy, her white pomeranian hopped on her bed and started to lick her face. "Hi, my little baby. How was your day today?" A few seconds later, Erina's golden retriever, Tuffy started to lick her toes. "Ah hahahahaha! Stop it! It tickles!" Erina burst into laughter.
DING DING! Her phone buzzed. 'Who could this be?' She wondered as she grabbed her phone off of her nightstand. 'Oh, sh*t! I was supposed to meet Lexi at the bar! I have to leave now.' Erina quickly changed into a fresh pair of clothes and started to head out the door. "Be good you both! Don't cause any trouble!"
Tuffy: "..." (I like her toes.)
Fluffy: "..." (I'm gonna go walk all over her clean laundry with my muddy paws. Hehehe!)
Her dogs were the most important "people" in her life. She would do things accordingly to them and their needs.
Walking into the bar Lexi chose for them, she finds herself an empty chair. 'Okay. I arrived before she did. No need to panic about being late.' Erina could never be late. It wasn't her as a person. She like things to be perfect. Looking back to the front entrance of the bar, Erina spots her friend walking in with the biggest smile.
"Hi, new friend!"