Chapter 3 BACKDOOR DEAL.

Mrs Martinez led Bryan and Lana to the table while

Tristan joined them uninvited,just a a third wheel.

On the table,

She dished out the food to Lana and Bryan,

Making more emphasis on Lana's as she added more than enough for her,

"Aunt,

I don't think I'll..."

"You'll have to." She cuts her off,

"Look at how skinny you're,

You'll have to eat a lot to gain more flesh like Bryan."

Hearing her use him as an example to Lana,

He began to bloat,

"Aunt tell her,

She thinks I eat too much." Bryan said to Mrs Martinez and the woman laughed.

It's no secret Bryan is walking stomach,with mini attachment of head,arms and legs,

His thoughts revolves more around what to eat than what to do.

"Don't mind her Bry,

She seems to have forgotten food are the most essentials in your life" Tristan asserted and everyone burst into laughter when the double meaning dawned on them.

Lana was so filled she couldn't move out if the seat,

Mrs Martinez had made sure she ate a lot,not even her flimsy excuses could get her off the woman's hook.

"Lana can you follow me to my room?" Tristan asked her,

She turned to Mrs Martinez and the woman just shrugged,

It was evident from her son's look he's dying to be alone with her.

"Go on." She smiled wanly and got up from the seat,

"I'll be in my room." She said to them,

Giving one last smile,she left the youngsters and went upstairs.

"Bryan,

You could use the Xbox in my game room." Tristan said to Bryan and he squealed in excitement,

"Yes!"

"Follow me and I'll open it for you." He said and got up,

He signaled Lana to wait for him and she concurred with a nod then Bryan followed him to the direction of his game room,

A room he'd been to a couple of times and still haven't had enough of it.

Tristan's game room is practically the most exclusive room in the mansion as it has mostly all indoor games any child would wish for,

It'd every indoor game,from arcade basketball to arcades machines,

Not excluding the video games consoles,Xbox games and all,

It'd had almost everything a game room would have and even more.

So far,it's Bryan's second favorite room after the kitchen and the dining and it's Lana's least favorite,

Boys and their toys.

After unlocking the room for Bryan's disposal,

He went back to the dining room was Lana wasn't there anymore,

She was in the living room,

"There you're." He called her attention and she turned to him.

"You're back?" She got up from the couch and walked towards him,

"Let's go." He said,taking her hand into his,

She obliged and they walked towards the stairs.

"So what are your plans for tomorrow?" He asked her when they got into his room,

She sat on the bed and slumped on it,

Letting it comfiness fill her.

"Nothing.

I'll stay at home and..."

"Come with me to the office tomorrow." He cuts in,looking at her for approval as she got up from the bed,

"I'm not asking you work for me or be my intern,

I just want you to follow me to work,

Just be there and keep me company." He explained when he saw the question that lingered on her face.

"But..."

"No buts Lana,

You're just keeping me company and two you'll get to see how the corporate world works too,

So I'm kinda helping you,you know?"

And helping myself to your company too.

He said to himself and his lips formed an arc.

"Okay,

I think it's a good idea and I can be your intern for one day,

That's good." She finally said and his smile widened,

"Thank you." He said and rushed to hug her,

She hugged him back and gave him a slight pat on his back,

It was normal for them to hug as best friends,

Plus is wasn't their first time hugging,

At least those were her thoughts,

But were they his?

When they pulled away,

He fought the urge not to kiss her,

Damn!

Those alluring lips of her,

Those lips he'd dreamt of kissing countable times,

He'd to call up all the angels of the heaven to keep him from losing his sanity with her.

"Are you okay?" Lana finally asked him when she noticed how mecurial he'd become,

He shook his head,

"Nothing,

I'm just wondering what it would be like if we..."

"If we what?" She asked when he paused,

"Like if we stay together." He breathed out and she smiled,

"Awwn,

Don't worry Trist,

I'm never gonna leave you okay.

You're my best friend and you'll always be,

We're inseparable." She assured him with a peck and he smiled.

"Yes we're." He mouthed,

If only she knew what are words are doing to him...

And he wished she'd give him the peck on his lips instead..but at least,a peck from her means a lot to him.

Later that evening,

Tristan drove Lana and Bryan home after they'd had lunch in house and his mother had insisted of them taking some home too.

Bryan left the car to open the door while Lana stayed back with Tristan,

"So..I'm coming to pick you by eight thirty am." He reminded her and she nodded,

Ever since she agreed to come with him to work,

He'd been super thrilled and can't wait for the day to end.

"But what should wear?" She asked,a slight friend traveled across her face,

"You don't have to bother on what to wear and what not to,

You look good in everything you've only." He assured her.

So far,she's the only lady he knew that even wearing a less fashionable clothes,

It would look damn do good on her,

She practically looks good on everything she wears and it astounds him.

"Okay." She picked her purse,

"Goodnight Trist,

Have a lovely night." She said to him as she stepped out from the car,

He nodded with a smile and watched her walked towards the house after waving at him.

When he saw she was safe inside,

He smiled to himself and started the car,

Then he drove into the night.

The next morning,

Lana woke up early,Bryan had school and she'd go prepare breakfast and lunch for him as he insisted on taking homemade lunch to school everyday.

She made pancakes and served it with Marple syrup and tea to Bryan,

Then packed his lunch of baked mac and cheese,

She kept hers in the refrigerator then went to her room to shower.

Dressed in a simple and free floral skirt and an impeccable white shirt,

She sought out her white sandals and a matching purse,

Packed her hair in a neat ponytail,applied her eyeliners and her lip gloss,

She was good to go.

Bryan was already done with breakfast when she came out,

"You look beautiful sis." He commented when he saw her,

She flashed him a warm smile and said,

"Nice choice of outfit,

You look good."

He smiled and mumbled a thank you.

Soon the school bus blew their horn outside,

He rushed to her and gave her a goodbye kiss,

"Have a nice day kid!"She yelled after him as he rushed out with his school and packed lunch,

He waved at her and dashed into the bus and it drove away almost immediately.

Tristan arrived a few minutes later and she,after locking the door and keeping the keys for Bryan,

She joined him in the car,

"Good morning." She greeted him,

He mumbled an inaudible reply as he was lost staring at her,

She snapped her fingers in his face and he teleported back to reality,

"Holy cow!

You look damn stunning." He said,

She gave a shy smile and told him thanks,

"I'm sure gonna fire any of my male workers that looks at you." He asserted,half seriously and half jokingly,

"Stop it Trist,

You won't do such." She blabbed,

"They should should better not look at you." He stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

When they got to Sterling Corporation,

Tristan drove his car into the underground parking loft and parked the car there,in the VIP parking space reserved for him.

He came out of the car and walked round it to open the door for Lana,

"Welcome to Sterling Corporation." He said to her as she placed her hands on his,

With a warm smile,she stepped out of the car and stood beside him.

"Let's go inside." He said with a smile,

She nodded,took his briefcase even though he insisted on carrying it himself,

She took it and towed beside him.

They took the stairs from the emergency exit and went up to the lobby,

His secretary,Pamela was waiting for him there.

Seeing him walked into the lobby,

She smiled but the smile vanished immediately she saw the lady beside him,

"Who is she?" She asked herself as jealous and envy cut through her as she stared at the lady.

She was a first class beauty,that she could attest to,

Look more like an angel walking on earth,

It was so evident that she was no match for this new girl.

But then it dawned on her who she's,

A name she'd gotten familiar with,over the years working for Tristan,

His so called best friend he'd been crushing on,

With this realization,

She couldn't help but get angrier.

"Good morning sir." She greeted Tristan when he got close,

He nodded with nonchalance as he continued to smile at the girl beside him,

"Pam,

This is Lana,

My best friend."

"And Lana,

This is Pamela,my secretary." He introduced them,still not taking his eyes off Lana and it made Pamela more furious.

"Nice to meet you Lana,

I've heard a lot about you from my boss here." Pamela said,masking the jealousy in her voice,

"Awwn." Lana drawled,stealing a glance at Tristan who could see past the fake politeness Pamela was showing,

"Never knew he have something good to say about me,

Well,

The pleasure is mine,Pamela." Lana said,

She brought her hand for a handshake which Pamela took.

She took Tristan's briefcase from Lana who's willingly given it to her and she led them towards the elevator.

While she was reading out Tristan's schedule which fortunately for him,

It wasn't full so he'd more than enough time to spend with Lana.

When it got to the twelvth floor where his office has occupied most of it's space,

The elevator stopped and the door opened for them,

Tristan ushered Lana out and followed her while Pamela came out,breathing out balls of fire like an angry dragon.

Tristan led Lana to his office and Pamela followed like a third wheeler,

She kept his briefcase on his desk and walked away from it,

"Anything you would like to have,sir?"

"No...

Don't worry Pam,

I'll call you when I need anything." He replied her and she left the office,

Leaving him and the awed Lana.

"She's nice." Lana said after Pam had left,

Trist nodded and sat down on his seat,

"Yeah,she's,

She has been my secretary for over three years."

"Wow,

You've known her for that long?" She exclaimed,surprised at his confession,

"Yeah,

I've known her for that long." He said as he opened his briefcase,

He brought out his laptop and kept it on the desk.

"What do you want to do first?" He asked her,

She looked away from the transparent glass wall behind him,

"What do you want me to do?" She asked smiling,

His heart skipped a bit as he'd to look away for awhile to catch his breath.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked again when he didn't reply the first,

Just give me the pleasure of your company." He blurted immediately,

"Okay,

I'll.

I'll be your manager for today." She said,

He smile again and went back to his laptop,

Although a greater part of him had listen the concentration to continue his work.

Pamela didn't come to Tristan's office till noon cause everything he wanted,Lana got it for him.

His coffee,his Daily Newspaper,she read out a couple of files for him while he worked on them,

He even allowed her sort out his mails for him and was really pleased with the aftermath of her work.

"You'll make a good intern." He said after he went through the mails and saw the did a good job of them,

"Don't flatter me Trist,

Anyone could've done than and even better too." She said shyly,getting up from the seat she'd sat on.

"No I mean it,

You would make a good intern.

So bad you won't be working for me," He said sadly,waiting for her reply,

"We aren't going to talk about that again,are we?

I told you already,

I don't think I'll focus on work more if I intern here plus,

I don't trust you not to play favoritism." She explained to him,

He knew she was going to say this.

"I need somewhere I know no one and definitely more one knows me,

Somewhere no one would play favoritism with me cause he's my bestest friend and somewhere I would be put on hot seat to work harder.

Have I made my stance clear?" She asked him and he nodded from where he was seated.

"Yes ma.

Now let's go for lunch,

It's almost lunch break and since you're here,

I want to treat you to lunch too,

My principles."

She knew best not to argue,so she got up and walked towards him,

"Let's go boss." She gave a slight bow and he got up from the seat,

"Yes Ms Intern." He replied her and they walked out of the office,

Laughing their gullets out.

The next two days was the same for Lana and Tristan as they went to his office together and stayed together till closing hours and he'll bring her to her house before retiring to his.

This went on till the third day,

Like always,she'd followed him to his office and had gone to get coffee for him from Starbucks while he was in his office when he heard a ping from her laptop,

He didnt want to go see what it's as it was personal and he didnt want to be going through her personal stuffs.

But a few seconds later,

His curiosity got the better of him as he got up from his seat and walked to her desk,

He turned the laptop to himself and scanned through it,

It was a mail from Bluestone Enterprise and to cut the long story short,

She had been rejected from the internship program that they'd advised she tried again the following year.

He was mortified for her,

Like,

He'd seen her application,

He'd reviewed it for her before she'd sent it to them and so far,

That was the best application he'd seen so far,accurate details and perfect.

Which dimwit would reject and internet with such application even when they haven't done any interview on her to see how good she's?

This people must be crazy,

He'd came across series of application and none could match up to her and yet they rejected her.

What else do they want?

An angel with an halo on his head or even Jesus Christ himself,

Those people must be kidding.

He knew Lana would be very unhappy when she sees this cause she'd wished to get the internship with Blue-Stone,

It'd been her dream,

He'd seen her doing countless research on it,their modus operandi and now it's shattered,

He'd to do something about it,

He doesn't want her to be sad or unhappy,

So he'll have to do something.

Think Tristan,think.

Think of something....

Then an idea popped up in his head.

He deleted the mail and kept the laptop how it'd been.

First of all,

She shouldn't know she'd been rejected,

Second of all,

He'll have to get in touch with someone there to re-review and give her the credit she deserves,

That's what he's going to do.