Chapter 28

"Why are you two here?" Harold eyed Agatha and Tracy with narrowed eyes.

The two women were seated or, more accurately, lounging on the sofa in his living room. Jasper was on a couch across from him.

"I was just dragged here," Tracy said as she ate a huge bag of potato chips.

"Because I thought you could use some help," Agatha said. "Also, Mr. Cheng asked me to accompany him."

Jasper stared at Agatha in disbelief. "Wow, that's amazing coming from you."

Agatha let out a loud laugh. "What do you take me for?"

"Gee, I don't know, an ice queen?"

"An ice queen? Me?"

"Maybe not. Hmm, how about Hulk? Agatha, smash." Jasper began to impersonate the comic book character.

"What did you say?!"

Agatha and Jasper began to bicker, with Tracy and Harold watching them impassively.

"So much for them helping you out," Tracy said as she took another chip and bit on it. "So, you got the reservation for the restaurant. Flowers? Chocolates?"

"I already gave those to her. Rayne would appreciate more cat toys and treats." Harold said, looking thoughtful.

"You're not dating Bubbles; besides, you already gave that darkness incarnate some offerings." Tracy glared at him. "It wouldn't hurt to give her another set of flowers and candies or a vibrator. Does she already have one?"

"WHAT THE HELL, TRACY?!" It was Jasper who shouted at her while Agatha was chuckling. It looked like they were finished arguing with each other. Harold was staring at his friend in horror. Tracy strikes him as a wholesome and innocent woman, but for her to say such a thing made him think how little he knew her.

Tracy looked at Jasper with genuine surprise on her face. "What?"

"Your advice is to give Rayne a vibrator. Are you serious?!" Jasper asked, and Harold swore his friend's voice was increasing in pitch.

"No, but why are you making a big deal out of it? I have one, and you never batted an eye when I told you." Tracy said, sounding annoyed.

A heavy silence blanketed the group. Harold was still horrified, Jasper was blushing furiously, and Agatha, who rarely reacts to anything, was staring at Tracy with wide eyes and her hand covering her open mouth.

Jasper was the first to recover from his shock and went to Tracy, leaning close and whispering to her ear. What the other man said made Tracy cover her face with her hands and make muffled screams.

Both Agatha and Harold were staring at the pair speculatively. They knew the two were close since they were former classmates back in their college days, but this was looking a little too intimate even to a casual observer. Agatha turned to Harold and pointed at them with a jerk of her thumb with a questioning look on her face.

Harold shrugged. He had no idea or cared what was going on between the two as he was too preoccupied with his problems to notice anything or anyone else around him. If something had happened between Jasper and Tracy, then good for them.

"While those lovebirds sort out their issues, what have you planned beyond dinner and flowers? Movies? Oh wait, are cinemas open these days? With the restriction guidelines changing, I get confused all the time." Agatha said as she took a box of chocolate marshmallow cookies from the coffee table and opened it so fiercely Harold felt sorry for the container.

"You should go out more often, Aggie," Harold said, using her nickname.

"I do go out." Agatha countered.

"Supermarket trips don't count."

"Once I have the time, I will. Please don't change the subject; I'm not the one on focus here. Anyway, I'm glad you're finally making a move. The dinner sounds nice. Where is it again?"

"Café by the Ruins."

"Excellent choice; that's a wonderful restaurant. My best friend and I frequently eat there. I think you're good being there, and the place is cozy enough to be romantic."

"Thanks; good thing you guys are here."

Agatha made a kissy face toward Harold. "Aww, you're such a sweetheart." She turned to Tracy and Jasper, who were now seated close together. "You two made up now? Cool. You can have make-up sex later and somewhere else."

"Aggie! That's a crazy thing to say!" Tracy protested as she nearly jumped away from Jasper and took the bag of chips she was holding earlier. She plopped beside Harold and resumed eating.

Harold snuck a glance at his friend and saw how Jasper had a slight smile on his face. He mentally shook his head. At least he had stopped brooding. Did he take his advice? That would be funny if he did. The other man met his gaze, and his grin got wider. "So, when is this important date with the lovely Miss Valera?" He asked playfully.

"After the prelims," Harold answered.

"Wow, the calm before the storm," Jasper said sarcastically.

"Hey, I need to be in a good mood before I check those test papers."

"What makes you so sure she would…oh crap, don't tell me you told her in advance? You did, didn't you? You sly devil, you."

"Ohohoho, no wonder you sound so confident," Agatha said as she was munching happily on her fourth chocolate marshmallow cookie.

"What the hell are we here for then?" Tracy asked as she was now eating several chips all at once.

"Morale?" Harold said as he offered Tracy a bottle of water after uncapping it.

The other woman took it and drank it. "You hardly need it." She laughed. "Okay, okay, kidding aside, you do. Well, dress casually but warmly, knowing how it's frequently raining lately. You may need to bring protection just in case-! Ouch!"

Agatha had thrown a pillow in Tracy's direction, smacking the younger woman on the side of her head. "Tracy, Harold is very much aware of that. Stop embarrassing the guy." She scolded. "Just be yourself as always; that does wonders."

"Well, I have yet to ask her out for dinner," Harold said as he scratched the back of his head.

"WHAT?!" The trio screamed.

On the other side of the equation, Rayne stared blankly at the monitor. It was powered off, so she was looking at a black screen. Her conversation with Harold by the pool popped into her mind occasionally. Also, she could still feel the sensation of his kiss on her hands even if a few days had passed.

What kept her awake on most days and nights was the fact Harold told her she was attractive and that he liked her. Coming from such an extremely hot professor had sent her mind reeling. She had dated in the past, but they always ended up as friends or had lost touch afterward or even worse. It was always one-sided. This was the first time a man confessed that he liked her. It felt surreal. It was like the world flipped on her.

What should she do? She said she would be more than happy to start over with Harold, but what did that mean? Were they a couple now? Were they dating? Would they be dating? Why was she assuming that they were even dating? Should she make the first move?

At the last question, she vehemently shook her head. She would never initiate anything from a man. Her parents and aunts ensured that she was raised conservatively but not in a manner that she was seen as a prude. Her reluctance to spread her legs because it was the standard procedure on a date left her single for years.

However, with Harold, it seemed that sense of restraint had flown out of the window when he grabbed and kissed her. She was willing. Why was that the case? Was it because they got along so well she got comfortable with him? Was it…?

"OUCH!" Rayne shouted when Bubbles' paws and claws landed on her shoulder. She glared at the cat. "The hell, void?!"

Bubbles narrowed his eyes at her. Thanks to her cat using her as a landing pad, she got distracted from her mind. She had completely forgotten what she was even worried about when the cat began to meow aloud to her ear, demanding food, companionship, cuddles, or all of the above.

"FINE! Time for your nom nom."

After she fed her cat, Rayne saw that she needed to go to bed if she wanted to be alert later tonight. She was back in her bedroom, leaving the door half-open so Bubbles could enter and sleep with her on the bed.

During work, Rayne met with Russell and the other virtual assistants to discuss monthly goals and updates about work policies and new hires and who would be training them. Christie Katigbak, her friend, colleague, and the current lead manager was in charge of training the new hires.

This was why she was taken aback when Russell announced that she would join Christie as one of the trainers starting next week.

"Wait, hold on, I'm not a lead manager." She protested.

"You are now," Russell said, giving her a shit-eating grin. "Congratulations."

Rayne's expression was deadpan. "Thank you very much, boss." She said drily.

Christie, meanwhile, was clapping her hands in enthusiasm. "Yay! Congratulations, Rayne! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks." She smiled at her co-worker.

"If you need any help or have questions, just ping me."

"Okay."

The other VAs also congratulated Rayne, and she thanked them politely. Then the meeting continued until Russell asked the other VAs to return to work, except Rayne and Christie.

"I'd give you two less work for the next four weeks so that you can focus on training the new guys." He said.

"Really? Wow, thanks. I hope I can do this properly." Rayne said.

"You will since you got Christie. She has been training new hires since last year; you'll be in good hands." Russell said gently.

"Yup! I'm going to guide you every step of the way." Christie said. "Don't worry; I'll be gentle." She added as she giggled like a schoolgirl.

Rayne stuck a tongue at her. "Quit it; you sound like a kid. Speaking of kids, how's your daughter?"

"Being loud as usual."

"It's a baby. It's supposed to be loud. Wouldn't it be creepy if your kid starts to fly and she's barely three months old?"

"You make it sound like Brianna got possessed," Russell interjected. "Oh, by the way, girls, everything looks good on my end."

"Great. Do you need one of us to meet you at the airport?" Christie asked.

"No, I don't want to inconvenience you guys, especially how strict your city is regarding outsiders. We know our way around your country."

"We? Oh, Victor's coming with you? Wow," Rayne said. "we get to meet the guy in person."

Russell laughed. "I can imagine. He's so excited to see you all. Just meet us up as scheduled at Amare La Cucina."

"Got it, boss. So where are you two staying?"

"Microtel."

"As usual. You like that hotel, huh?"

"They got great Wi-Fi."

"Good point."

Russell ended the meeting among the three of them, congratulating Rayne again on her promotion. She thanked him and left the conference call.

For the rest of the shift, she was elated. Finally, after five years of working as a VA, she was one step higher in her career. She needs to treat herself to a meal, which should be a big one. Also, Bubbles should be getting extra kibbles and a toy. She would be able to buy a drinking fountain for him.

When the sun rose, and her laptop was off, Rayne was still energized from happiness. She decided to go out to the city proper to get some breakfast. After feeding an overly vocal Bubbles, she grabbed her sling bag and was about to leave when she heard a knock on the door.