Chapter 2
The day of the gathering, just as Brandon and I were about to head out, I suddenly felt a sharp cramp in my stomach.
“I… I’m not feeling well, honey. I need to use the bathroom, it’ll take about twenty minutes.”
Brandon’s expression faltered, concern flooding his face as he immediately nodded.
“Of course, take your time.”
I could see his nervousness, but I chose not to press it. Instead, I turned and walked toward the bathroom, my mind racing.
After about twenty minutes, I returned, and Brandon was pacing by the door, clearly
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waiting for me. We hurried out, but by the time we left, we were already five minutes late for our dinner.
Arriving at the restaurant’s private room, just as Brandon had predicted, no one was there yet.
I blinked, pretending to be concerned, though my amusement was hard to mask.
“Honey, do you think they’re trying to ignore you on purpose?”
Before I could even finish the question, the door swung open, and several men walked in, one after another.
“Sis–in–law.”
The first one to enter was Lyon, the one I knew best.
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“Hello, everyone. This must be the boss, right? Please, have a seat.”
I scanned the group, my eyes landing on the youngest, quietest man at the very end.
He gave a subtle nod, passing by me with his head bowed, sweat beading at his temple.
The weather was hot, and yet, all six of them wore matching uniforms–white shirts and ties–with their buttons all the way up to the top, perfectly in place.
“Aren’t you guys hot?”
Two of them nodded, while the other four shook their heads, their faces unreadable.
Brandon suddenly cleared his throat, lifting his hand to his mouth, his face unreadable.
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At that, all six men shook their heads in
unison.
“Alright then. Is everyone late because of something?”
“Had some urgent work.”
“Ran into some unexpected issues.”
Their answers came in perfect harmony, but each of them was different.
I couldn’t hold back the smile that tugged at my lips.
“I see. But it looks like you all came together, didn’t you?”
“They were stuck in a meeting, and we three were delayed by traffic.”
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Lyon jumped in, lightening the mood.
Dishes started coming out, but the talk quickly drifted to the unbearable heat.
“I swear, it feels like we’re eating in a sauna!” Lyon laughed, fanning himself dramatically.
“Last week I tried to bake a pizza and ended up with a black hole.”
A few awkward chuckles filled the air.
Then Lyon’s phone buzzed.
He glanced at it, and the grin on his face couldn’t be contained.
Catching my eye, Lyon cleared his throat.
“The… boss just messaged. He said he’s
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promoototing me.”
Lyonelledwooded his “boss” next to him.m. Brandon, h,dvoowever, was eyeing us both. h.
“When did yoroarand/Lyon become soso chummy?“?”
“Not much. Justsasasirtime, when you were MIA, I asked Lyorowlwhere you disappeared TI That’s it.”It
ReReaching for the breadbasket,sl slowly pl placed a roll on Brandonos slplate–taking m tirtime.
PePetty? Maybe. e.
ThThe next roll? It dropped rightintotbybyon’s bobowl.
“C“Congrats on the promotion.“.”
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Brandonrssidddenly coughed violently, spittingng water acrosssthe table.
Lyon’s face draaiaedhof color as panic tookok over. He fumbleedwith napkins, his hands is shaking. “Brandonnaare you okay?” he stuttered..
The boss rushed over his hands trembling as he patted Brandon’ssbback.” “You alright?”
One of the others nearly dropppecha glass of water, his hand shakinggasshkeoffered it. “Here, here…”
Brandon shook his head, hissvoiceeccold. “Back to your seats.”
The group quickly returned to their places. The boss cleared his throat, trying to reggain composure, but Brandon shot him ashlapp
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glare.
“Right,” the boss mumbled, adjusting his tie. “Let’s… carry on.”
His neighbor muttered, “Something’s wrong… Boss…”
He glanced at Brandon.
Brandon’s eyes locked with him. “The boss is. right there. Why are you looking at me?”
The man scrambled, then awkwardly turned to the head of the table.
“We’ve got a server malfunction,” he stammered.
I smiled sweetly. “You guys keep talking. I’ll be back in a sec.”
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When I returned, I saw the men awkwardly pulling away from Brandon.
I stood in the doorway, forcing a smile.
“Honey, didn’t realize you were the spine of your team.”
“Y–yeah, Brandon’s, uh… the heart, soul, and… spine,” the boss stammered, caught off guard.
I suppressed a laugh.
Brandon wrapped up the awkward dinner, and we headed home.
In the car, Brandon sat, clearly holding something back.
I glanced at him and broke the silence.
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“So… don’t you have something to tell me?”
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