123 Pie

While Keren and Luke were having their little date, Liz was hard at work in the office of Happle, Inc.

Only, there were some changes in her life due to that damn Ellen's actions.

She had come to the office after dropping Luke at his place, and Rao had even warned her that things might be different.

She had been preoccupied with what was going on between Keren and Luke, so she didn't respond to him.

However, when she got out of the car and started to notice the stares and whispers, she started to understand what was going on.

The CEO, was, after all, the object of admiration of desire of many woman and even quite a few men in Happle. Yet, she had somehow made him confess his liking for her on a public forum.

She caught a few snatches of conversation. For example, one employee in the bathroom had called her a "slut who wrapped the CEO around her finger."

It was then that she understood what the CEO had meant about being dragged into this life.

She was being constantly judged, and she knew that no matter what she said or did, there would always be people who would think increasingly worse things about her.

At first, she was a little frustrated.

But after that, she adopted an attitude that she had picked up during her childhood.

Titled "Who cares?", the attitude was all about ignoring others and just being happy with those whom she knew were people who didn't do the same.

In school, her and Luke had been outcasts who came from the streets and didn't deserve to study along with other 'normal' people.

This was when they had both learned how to shut society out, and Liz realized that it was actually very effective.

The CEO was in meetings constantly through the evening, so Liz caught up on some paperwork while listening to music.

Her music of choice was always something that had a nice beat, as she felt as if it always managed to increase her concentration and make her work better.

At around 5 pm, when everyone was starting to leave, she looked up from her desk to see the CEO looking at her with that small smile.

If they were closer, she might have asked why he didn't smile wider, but they weren't at that stage yet.

So, smiling wide enough for both of them, she said, "Hey, you."

"Hey. Are you done? Because we should go somewhere."

"Huh? Another date? Mr. Will, isn't that too sudden?"

Liz was kidding, so she chuckled when she asked this.

By now, Will was starting to become better equipped to handle her banter and the affect she had on him.

So, he replied, "No, Miss. Liz, its not a date, but someone told me that I just need to ask if I want to spend time with you. Even if its too soon, I would do so. Anyway, I just got some information which is…interesting. I wish we could hang out after that, but I have some things to take care of."

If she had to be honest, Liz had been kind of hoping that he would, actually, take her out again.

After all, yesterday night had been truly wonderful, and she had had more fun than in months.

They had talked about various topics, ranging from favourite foods to favourite sports and even views on the state of society.

During their conversation, Liz had started to realize more and more that she loved the way the CEO's mind functioned.

It was meticulous and logical, and it was fun to have a nice, good-hearted debate when the other party was competent.

Of course, because the two were still slightly awkward with each other, they stopped before the debate became an argument.

Will had been surprised when he found that Liz liked dodgeball, but Liz had been expecting it when he said that his favoutie sport was golf.

Coming out of the memories of last night, she nodded and said, "Haha, yup, a woman did say that. Give me a second. I'll meet you out front."

After a few minutes, they were driving along the city in that unmarked sedan again.

They talked casually for a bit, but stopped when Will said that they were close.

Close to what? Liz wondered, but when she saw the answer for herself, she gawked and kept staring.

Her best friend, Luke, and her boss's sister were sitting in a restaurant, talking to each other animatedly while ignoring the food on their table.

This was an all-day Indian restaurant, but Liz could see that the staff were looking at them with slightly unhappy expressions.

Both of them were standing on the street while looking inside the restaurant through the transparent window, and as it seemed as if the two were too engrossed in themselves, they didn't notice Will and Liz.

"Keren and Luke? Wha-, how-, whe-?"

Liz didn't even know how to articulate her question properly.

What the hell was Luke doing?

The CEO was looking at her and smiling with amusement while she sputtered, but he then gestured at her to follow before entering the restaurant through the back door.

There, he met the owner and gave him a fat wad of bills, telling him to close the restaurant until they were done.

There it was-the extravagance again.

"Ready to interrupt their date?", Will asked, making Liz once again sputter as she understood that it did look like a date.

However, she also started to feel a deep curiosity as to what they were talking about with such serious expressions.

So, she nodded, and the both of them walked out into the dining hall while taking care to be in the blind spot of Keren and Luke's vision.

They could already hear the contents of the conversation, and as Liz understood their topic, she had to stifle a gasp.

"Lucas, there is no way my brother would lose to your friend in dodgeball! He's a golf pro, you know!"

"Oh please, Liz would swipe the floor with him! She once went up against 3 people double her size and made them cry!"

"But that was when she was a kid!"

"She's even stronger now! LIZ WOULD WIN!"