" Nope, he said to meet at the coffee shop outside the company during lunch break, " Derek replied while helping her clear her desk.
Clara looked at him gratefully and said, " Thank you.?. She had a habit of living trash papers on her desk after office hours which she usually cleaned the next morning.
Derek's eyes were focused on the trash and his head was lowered, hiding the tiny smile on his lips. " You're welcome. " he nodded slowly and dropped the folded papers inside the trash can, then straightened up and clumsily adjusted his glasses. " If you need anything you can tell me, " he said and quickly left before Clara could say anything.
Clara stared at his back and slowly shook her head with a smile, she was thankful that the employees in this company are very nice and considerate.
She settled down on her chair and remembered Mira, who she had forgotten to see after working hours as her mind was occupied by Maya's shocking news yesterday.
" I wonder how's she's doing, " she said, while taking out her phone then dialed Maya's number.
The call did not go through as the other line was switched off. She stared at the screen for some seconds with furrowed brows and thought maybe her best friend's phone ran out of battery, then switched on her computer with a sigh and continued working.
Hours passed by and Clara finally looked away from her work. She stretched her hands to relax her aching muscles and slightly yawned.
She looked at her wristwatch and discovered that it was lunch break already then stood up and picked her bag which she stuffed some documents inside.
Just as she was about to head out of her cubicle, Derek coincidentally walked inside. " you ready,? " he asked with a slight smile.
" Yeah. . . lemme ask Mira if she would like to go with us, " she said while walking toward him.
" Oh. . . okay. " Derek nodded and went to the side as he was blocking the door, allowing Clara to head out first.
They both walked toward Mira's cubicle and Clara entered inside then her brows furrowed. ' where did she go '?. she thought inside while staring at the space. It was no wonder that Mira did not go to call her for the lunch break. Her brows knitted and she wondered what happened to her then took out her phone and decided to call her number.
" Is something wrong. . .? " David knitted his brows outside the cubicle when he heard no sound coming from inside.
" Oh, nothing. . . Mira's not here, " Clara said from the inside while taking out her phone. She dialed Mira's number which rang a couple of times but no one picked up.
" Did something happen to her, ?. " Derek went inside with furrowed brows.
" I don't know. . . " Clara replied absentmindedly while staring at her phone's screen worriedly. She remembered the state Mira was in yesterday and wondered if it had something to do with her absence.
Derek watched as Clara's expression changed from a confused one to worry and sighed. " I hope she's okay, " he said softly.
" Me too. . . " Clara replied softly and they both went out of Mira's cubicle.
" Here. . . let me help you, " Derek said and took the bag from her hand which looked heavy. He noticed that her mood had drastically dropped after finding out her friend was absent.
Clara slightly smiled at him and said, " Thank you. " then stared back at her phone with knitted brows and continued dialing Mira's number which she eventually gave up on after several attempts.
Derek's ear turned pink and he adjusted his glasses then looked down at his shoes.
They walked out of the company and headed to the large coffee shop. They caught a whiff of coffee flavors immediately they entered, then walked toward a table and sat down. and the attendant approached them shortly after.
" What would you like to have, " Derek said and placed her bag on the chair near him.
Clara shook her head with a smile and replied, " I'm okay. " then looked around slowly while listening to the calming music that was softly playing in the shop.
Derek ordered Americano and turned to Clara who was looking around. " He'll be here soon, " he said while he studied her face with a slight blush when she was not looking.
Clara nodded her head lightly with a smile and immediately spotted a guy who looked the same age as Derek walking toward their table with a friendly smile.
" Sorry I'm late. " the guy sat down quickly and extended his hands towards Clara. " I'm John, nice to meet you. "
" Me too. . . I'm Clara. " she shook his hand while smiling back at him.
Derek slightly cleared his throat to capture his friend's attention while taking his coffee from the attendant. " What would you like to have,? " he asked John who was mesmerized by the beauty in front of him.
" Oh nothing, I'm okay. " John broke out of his stupor and quickly replied.
After the shop attendant left, they became serious and started discussing the designs.
Clara took out the blueprints from her bag and showed him while telling him the difficulties she was having in designing the characters.
John studied it carefully while nodding his head now and then and explaining some things to her, and Derek also commented on some parts.
After ten minutes, they rounded up their discussion and John promised to send her more details through email.
Clara smiled at him gratefully and thanked him before putting back the blueprints inside her bag.
" I'll be off now. " John checked his wristwatch and stood up then turned to Derek. " See you, next time dude," he said and slapped him on the shoulder.