"A friend was just joking!" Aria explained awkwardly.
She couldn't exactly say it was from the vice president.
If she admitted that, it would cause a huge stir. Did she want to stay at Sterling Group or not?
Hannah glanced at her but didn't press further.
Aria breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at the bouquet. After a moment, she sent a message to the vice president.
"Vice President, I received the flowers. Thank you!"
The moment Aria put her phone down, it rang.
She saw the caller ID and immediately felt embarrassed. She grabbed her phone and slipped out of the office, answering in a low voice like a thief.
"Aria, I didn't send those flowers." Evan's voice came through the line, laced with amusement.
"Ah?" Aria froze. Then she stammered an apology. "Sorry, Vice President. I made a mistake. I'm so sorry!"
"Someone sent you flowers?"
"Yes, a bouquet of lilies. There was a picture of an induction cooker on the card. I thought it was from you. I'm sorry!" Aria felt her face burn. She wanted to crawl into a hole.
"It's fine. I'll make it up to you later," Evan replied.
"Ah?" Aria was confused.
"Let's have dinner together after work tonight," Evan asked, changing the subject.
"Tonight... maybe not. I have to work overtime tonight," Aria hesitated.
"Alright, another time then."
"Thank you, Vice President. If there's nothing else, I'll get back to work. Bye!" Aria hung up quickly.
Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would leap out of her throat.
What made it worse was that she had mistaken the flower sender for the vice president.
She wanted to die.
Aria trudged back to the office, dejected.
"Aria, what's wrong?" Hannah asked.
"Nothing!" Aria forced a smile.
Back at her desk, she pulled out the card from the bouquet. She stared at the square shape. Was it really an induction cooker?
Who else had the nickname "induction cooker"?
She studied it for a while. It didn't look like an induction cooker. It looked more like a computer monitor.
She was even more confused.
Forget it. She wouldn't think about it. Maybe it was a mistake.
When the sender came looking for it, she'd find out. For now, she had work to do.
Aria tucked the card back into the bouquet and got back to work.
But what she didn't expect was that the front desk sent another bouquet in the afternoon. A bunch of tulips.
Her favorite flowers. But no one in the company knew that.
"Is this a wrong delivery too?" Aria asked Ava.
After the earlier mistake, she was cautious.
"No, it's for you, Aria. From the administration department of Sterling Group. Is there another Aria in our department?" Ava replied with a smile.
"Thank you." Aria had no choice but to take it.
There was no card in the bouquet. But a message from the vice president appeared on her phone.
"I hope you like them."
Aria's face turned red. She replied, "Vice President, are you joking with me?"
"Do you think I'm joking?"
Aria didn't know how to answer.
If she said yes, the vice president didn't seem like the type to waste time teasing her.
But if she said no, did that mean the vice president really liked her?
"Let's talk after work tonight," Evan replied gently.
"Oh, okay." She nodded.
After the call, Aria's mood became even more complicated.
She had thought about it all last night. She wanted to find a good reason to turn the vice president down.
After all, she couldn't afford to play with feelings. But now, she didn't know what to do.
Aria went back to the office, feeling frustrated.
Hannah gave her some tasks to do. Aria temporarily put aside her troubles and focused on her work.
Just as she was busy, a notification popped up in the bottom right corner of her screen. Someone was requesting to add her as a friend on the company's internal chat.
Aria saw it was Landon Knight from the tech department. She clicked confirm.
Just as she was about to continue working, a ding sounded. Aria clicked on it and saw a message from Landon.
"Hello, I'm Landon Knight from the tech department."
Aria replied, "Hello! Thank you for teaching me that practical query method last time."
The other side replied, "You're welcome! Are you free tonight?"
Aria typed back, "I'm not sure if I have to work overtime. What's up?"
The other side said, "I was wondering if I could have the honor of inviting you to dinner?"
Aria stared at the message, stunned. She turned her head and looked at the bouquet of lilies. Suddenly, it clicked.
"Did you send the flowers this morning?" she asked cautiously.
"Yes, I hope you like them!"
"Thank you very much." She replied after a moment.
Aria didn't know how to refuse, so she sent an ellipsis as a polite hint.
Was Sterling Group a place where love was blooming? How else could she have such good luck since joining the company?
But she didn't want to date right now. She just wanted to work hard and get a permanent position.
"It's okay. We can be friends first. If you think I'm a good person, you can consider further communication," Landon replied.
Aria saw his message and didn't know how to respond.
He wasn't directly asking her to be his girlfriend.
She had no reason to refuse outright.
"Well... I might have to work overtime tonight. If you're free another day, how about we have dinner together?" Aria finally replied.
"Alright, we'll make another appointment when you're free."
"Yes, thank you! I'll get back to work now." Aria sent the message and let out a breath.
Would she have to use working overtime as an excuse to refuse him every day?
But although the administration department was busy, they didn't work overtime every day.
Aria felt a headache coming on. She'd take it one step at a time.
That evening, Aria really did work overtime.
After finishing at a little past eight, she shut down her computer and cleaned her desk, getting ready to leave.
Aria locked the office door and headed for the elevator.
"Aria—"
Hearing someone call her name, Aria turned around and saw Landon from the tech department.
She felt like she'd been struck by lightning. The more she feared something, the more it happened.
"Off work?" Landon said with a smile.
"Yes, I just got off work." Aria had to answer honestly.
Now she was carrying her bag, and the office door was locked. She couldn't find an excuse.
"I just got off work too. It seems we have a lot in common," Landon replied with a smile.
Aria was embarrassed. She could only give an awkward nod.