Chapter 2 Yes, It Was Him

"Are you not lying?"

"I swear I'm not!"

"Oh my goodness."

"So... what do I do, Es?"

That night, thanks to a day of confusion after discovering that her ex-boyfriend was the CEO of the company where she worked, Vanny took immediate action. She contacted Estella Claire-her best friend. She needed the fastest counselor to help her get out of this bizarre situation.

"Uh..." Estella coughed as she played with her stray curls near her ear. "Are you sure it's Haris? I mean... the name Haris isn't unique, you know. There are a lot of people named Haris."

Vanny rolled her eyes in frustration. She wanted to hit Estella on the head with the chicken bone left on her plate.

Estella chuckled and reached for her glass of lemon iced tea. She took a sip of the almost empty drink through a white plastic straw.

"Okay, okay. Your ex's name is Haris. Fine. But like I said, Van, not only your ex has that name. So many people in this world, maybe even in the hereafter, use the name Haris, I'm sure of it."

Vanny grimaced. This time, both her hands appeared on the table, pushing aside the remains of her dinner plate as she clenched her fingers, trying to contain her frustration.

"Like I said, Es. This is Haris Corbyn. How many people can have the exact same name from beginning to end? How many?"

"Um..."

"Besides, it's his face, Es. His face."

Estella's eyes widened. Vanny's words made her lean towards the girl, her expression becoming curious.

"Why his face?" Estella asked quickly. "He still looks handsome, just like before?"

"Oh, God."

Vanny raised her face to the ceiling, her hands clasped over her chest, her fingers squeezing together. She moaned in frustration.

"He's so damn handsome! Just like my last memory of him when I broke up with him. And let's give him credit for his mature age. He looks incredibly mature and charismatic!"

Estella's mouth silently formed an 'O' shape and she held her breath for a moment. She took a sip of her lemon iced tea, which now contained only clear brown liquid with the lingering scent of lemon.

"Okay," Estella said indifferently. "Now I'm convinced that he really is Haris. Your ex-boyfriend from back then. The one you broke up with on the last day of high school after three months of dating."

Vanny did not know whether to be happy or the opposite. Happy because Estella finally believed what she said, that the CEO at her workplace was the same Haris they knew. Or sad because Estella brought up the past between them?

Ah! Whatever it was, there was only one thing that mattered.

"So... what should I do?"

Estella raised her hand, index finger pointing in the air. "You should..." There was a pause of about two seconds before she continued. "Is it really Haris who's afraid of spiders?"

Vanny grinned again, and this time it was even more dramatic than before. It was so dramatic that she felt like hitting her forehead on the dining room table.

"Yes! That's Haris, my ex-boyfriend who I broke up with on the last day of high school. He's Haris, the guy I broke up with in our third month of dating. He is Haris, the handsome guy who is famously afraid of spiders. And he is Haris, the CEO of EcoScape Constructors!" Vanny exclaimed hysterically.

This time, Vanny could not contain the frustration that was building up inside her. Naturally, this caused the people in the restaurant to turn their heads towards her table.

Estella's eyes widened, shocked to see Vanny releasing her emotions, and she followed suit. She quickly got up from her seat and moved to sit next to Vanny. She immediately covered her mouth and glanced left and right a few times as she awkwardly said,

"I'm sorry. Please forgive us. We missed a discount event yesterday."

With a thickened face to hide her embarrassment, Estella gave Vanny a meaningful look through her eyes and silently asked her friend to be more self-confident. They were in public, after all.

"If you want to embarrass yourself, don't involve me," Estella whispered as she removed her hand from Vanny's mouth.

Vanny pouted. "This is all your fault. I told you not to doubt me from the beginning. Besides, Es, he's my ex. I can't possibly forget. Seriously, forget your own ex?"

Estella seemed amused. "I don't even remember my ex, by the way."

"That's because you've had exes since the third grade," Vanny said hysterically. "Maybe your exes can make up five soccer teams, Es."

Estella laughed even more when she heard Vanny's comments about her love life. She was not offended at all. On the contrary, she found it funny and finally said,

"It turns out we've been friends for so long, huh, Van?"

Vanny stared in amazement, her eyes wide open and her mouth agape. "You're commenting on the length of our friendship instead of helping me find a solution to get out of this mess? Wow! Good for you, Es."

"Hehehe!" Estella laughed, not feeling the least bit guilty. "When we're in a complicated situation, don't panic. Keep it pleasant. If we panic, our brains get stuck, Van. Uh... that's my life principle as a girl who's had ex-boyfriends since the third grade."

In fact, not only was Vanny not offended by Estella's words, but she also realized that there was some truth to what Estella was saying. Don't panic. When you panic, your brain doesn't work properly.

So Vanny decided to take a long, deep breath. Her reflex caused her to close her eyes for a few moments. And as she exhaled slowly, her heartbeats, which had been irregular all the time, gradually calmed down. They began to beat normally again. Vanny slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Estella smiling at her. Ah! It felt like Vanny's attempt to regulate her breathing had been in vain.

"So... you're calm now, right?" Estella asked.

Vanny nodded.

"Okay, in that case," Estella continued, "try to tell me from the beginning. How did the chronology of events unfold? So, I can help you find a solution to this problem."

Vanny was not sure if the full chronology of events would help Estella find a way out. After all, the bottom line was that she had to work with Haris, her ex-boyfriend from high school. My God! Is this possible?

"Okay, then. I'll explain it to you."

Estella nodded. But before Vanny could tell her everything, Estella decided to return to her original seat. That way she did not have to tilt her head to look at Vanny. Sitting face to face was more comfortable for her neck.

"So... as you know, yesterday I tried to apply for a job at EcoScape Constructors as an administrator. And, well... according to the criteria, I wasn't really qualified. They needed someone with "three years' experience as an administrator in a construction company."

This was one of the things that still puzzled Vanny. If every company had such criteria, did that mean that young people had no chance at all? She thought there might be some discrimination.

Meanwhile, Estella just nodded as she listened. Whether she liked it or not, she realized that sometimes companies did not want to take the risk of giving completely inexperienced new employees basic training. So, it was not surprising that such criteria were often included in job postings.

"But when I got to the interview stage... of course my hopes grew again. I mean, if I didn't meet the qualifications, why would they let me pass the initial screening, right?"

"Uh..."

Estella cleared her throat as she reached for her empty glass of lemon iced tea. The glass was now empty, just the melted ice cubes. There was no taste at all, and even the lemon aroma was gone.

"But it turns out that the rejection was there," Vanny continued with a slightly pouty face. She crossed her arms, clearly frustrated at having to remember that day. "I knew for sure that my interview was just a formality. I wasn't even interviewed for ten minutes. And even then, they didn't ask me anything about the job. Instead, I was asked when I planned to get married, what my favorite food was, and all sorts of other questions that had absolutely nothing to do with my qualifications as a candidate."

Estella nodded as she listened to Vanny's long words without interrupting or commenting. She knew that the story didn't end there.

"A week later, I wasn't surprised that I didn't make it. Uh... I mean, as soon as I left the interview room, I could tell I wasn't going to get the job. But..."

Right at the word 'but' Vanny's tone rose, making Estella raise an eyebrow, preparing herself for the next part of the story.

"After the announcement, there was suddenly an email. I checked it and almost had a heart attack, Es."

"Why, why, why?"

"Basically, the email was more or less an apology because I didn't meet the qualifications for the admin position. But since the company is going through a massive expansion and there's a bit of chaos up there..." Vanny deliberately raised her index finger to emphasize her words. "...so, the company needed a second secretary for the CEO. And looking at my work record so far, it seemed like I would be a good fit. That's how it went."

Upon hearing Vanny's words, Estella raised her eyebrows in surprise. Frankly, she found it a bit strange. Did such things happen in the working world? Uh... Estella was not sure if she had ever come across something like that. Strange, but fascinating.

"So did you accept it?"

"Of course!" Vanny exclaimed. "I'm not as picky as you, you know."

Estella could not help but smile at Vanny's words. But she did not say anything. It was more important for her to know the rest of Vanny's job search story. Besides, since they lived in different places and Estella had been busy with overtime at the boutique lately, they hardly had time to spend together. They could not even chat on WhatsApp lately.

"I had another interview. And well... this interview felt completely different. I was asked all kinds of things. I was interviewed for maybe an hour. So, when I walked out of that room, I had high hopes. Hoping that I had passed."

"And you did pass."

Vanny nodded at Estella's words. "No beating around the bush, I signed the contract right away. And... disaster struck the next day."

Estella's eyes remained fixed on Vanny. She could see how her friend's face immediately turned pale, as if she had no strength left. Even though she had already devoured two chicken drumsticks.

Uh... she wasn't going to order a third meal, was she?

Estella pushed the possibility aside. Because in the next moment, the sound of Vanny's deep breathing caught her attention again. The girl continued her story with a single word.

"And?"

"Then... because I had to start working, I came in the next day. I met Mrs. Astoria Belle, the first secretary there. Uh... she's about forty years old. I talked to her for a little while, and then I was told to go to the CEO's office."

Once there, Vanny dramatically closed her eyes. Honestly, if she did not have to recount the chronological sequence of events, she would not want to remember it at all. It was totally confusing, embarrassing, and oh! it made Vanny's stomach churn.

For after a few seconds had passed, Estella clearly noticed the change in Vanny's face. What had appeared as frustration was now slowly changing. With both hands raised and landing on her head, the girl's ten fingers squeezed her dark brown wavy hair. Accompanied by a painful groan, she could not hold back any longer.

"I saw Haris sitting at the table, Es. It was Haris. Dressed like a CEO, just like in the movies. And he looked incredibly macho. So much so that I felt like I was going to faint right there."

Estella set down her empty glass of lemon iced tea, which was now completely devoid of liquid. There was only one slice of lemon left, and Estella had not even thought about squeezing it.

"I-I ... when I walked into the room it was like I wasn't stepping on the earth anymore. I felt like I was floating, Es. Like I was in a vacuum and time had stopped."

"Okay. I'm pretty sure this is like a real movie."

Vanny gave Estella an annoyed look. "Don't make fun of me now, Es. It's not the right time."

Estella quickly covered her mouth to keep her laughter from bursting out at any moment. It seemed that Vanny was entering a bad mood.

"And when I finally sat down in the chair, oh God."

Vanny dramatically closed her eyes. Her grip on her hair immediately loosened. She looked as if she had suddenly lost all her strength.

"I felt like I was in a judgment seat," Vanny whimpered. "Like I was facing a punishment from the past."

Estella took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"And was it really Haris?"

Vanny opened her eyes and nodded at Estella's question, a pitiful expression on her face. In Estella's eyes, she looked extremely sad, like a drenched puppy in desperate need of rescue.

"It was indeed Haris. And even if I somehow lost my memory or whatever you call it, his words at that moment explained everything. That he was indeed Haris. My ex-boyfriend from the past."

Vanny's words were more than enough to ignite Estella's curiosity in her chest. So she leaned forward slightly, tilted her head down, and asked her friend in a soft voice.

"What did he say?"

For a moment, Vanny took a deep breath as she looked at the helpless Estella. Then she answered the question with an unforgettable memory.

"We meet again, Vanny."

Estella gaped. For a few moments she stared at Vanny without a word escaping her lips. And when she finally spoke, the word was...

"Shit!"

Vanny knew. "It was really Haris."

*