65 CH65: Early Lunch

"I do not want to look back,

And think 'I could have eaten that!'"

- Anonymous

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Delilah leaned back against her chair as she stretched her arms above her head. She twisted her upper body left to right and back again. She then flopped down on her table with a sigh. It was a slow morning and she had done nothing but play games ever since she walked into the office.

Sometimes being fast in your work can be annoying because you will be left with no work to do and will do nothing but sit there and wait until the office hours end. She had already asked Aubree whether she has any other work for her but unfortunately, she doesn't. She even asked her other colleagues whether they needed her help or not. And again, they said that they could handle it themselves.

She was doodling on a piece of paper, her body still flopped on the table when she remembered something. She was nearly out of her facial wash. 'I'd better buy one later after work,' she reminded herself.

She was still doodling when Aubree came by her cubicle. The latter grabbed an empty chair and sat down beside Delilah and greeted, "Yo."

Delilah turned to look at her, without raising her head and greeted back, "Yo."

"I want to eat at HappyBee."

HappyBee restaurant is a fast food franchise, which is famous for their fried chickens. Although they are not as popular as the other big food chains such as Kentucky Chicken and MacD's, they are still popular among the locals here.

"And then…?" Delilah said slowly, her eyes narrowing at Aubree.

"Lets go?" Aubree suggested cheekily.

Delilah glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was still a few minutes after 10AM. She then remembered that the nearest HappyBee restaurant was a 15 minutes drive from the office. And not only that, it might take another 20 minutes or so to look for a parking spot since it was located inside a shopping mall where many people frequent.

She turned back to Aubree who was giving her a pleading look and sighed. "I don't think we're able to eat out today," she reasoned. "I mean, if we waited for 12PM, it would be a wee bit late to return back to the office."

"That's why I've said to let's go," Aubree replied, snickering.

Delilah narrowed her eyes at her. "You mean… Early lunch?" she questioned.

Aubree nodded, her eyes twinkling a mischievous glint.

Delilah shrugged inwardly. If she wants to go for an early lunch, then go she shall. I mean, her supervisor just basically told her to go for an early lunch so why not?

At Aubree, Delilah said, "Then okay. What time shall we go?"

"I'll go grab my purse and phone now," Aubree answered, insinuating that they should go right now.

Delilah nodded as she began to pack her phone and purse inside her handbag.

Shortly after, the two women went out of the building. Bella, who was manning the front desk, only looked at them as she answered a call from the office phone.

They finally arrived at the shopping mall after a few minutes, though, they needed to look for a parking spot before they could alight. It took them another few minutes to finally parked the car and got out of the car.

Then they immediately set off for HappyBee restaurant where they ordered their food. Both of them ordered fried chicken, though Delilah's portion was the spicy ones.

Delilah loved how crispy the skin of the fried chicken was and how it makes the crunchy sounds as she bite into the chicken. The chicken meat tasted juicy and tender that juices dripped down onto her plate, making a small pool. The chicken was still hot as steam can be seen coming out from it when she tore the fried chicken apart. She could taste the spicy taste from the chicken, which was obvious since she ordered the spicy chicken.

The chicken comes with french fries which tasted soft in the inside but a bit crispy on the outside. With salt, it has that added flavour making it more addicting. Delilah likes to dip them in chili sauce since she likes it spicy. Though, it does make the fries a bit sweet as well.

The two enjoyed their meal while chatting. And after they were done, Delilah asked Aubree whether they can stop by at a Beauty and Cosmetics store. She nearly ran out of her facial wash so she needed to buy one. And since they were there, why not?

They were about to head over to the store, which was a couple of stores away inside the shopping mall. However, before they could enter the store, Delilah stopped Aubree from approaching it by placing a hand on the latter's arm.

"Wait…" she said slowly. "Doesn't that guy look like Matt from the back?" she asked, pointing at a guy who had his back towards them. He has the same body shape and height as Matt from behind.

The two took a glance at their wristwatch and saw it was still before 12PM. As they walked closer, careful not to be seen, they saw a woman beside him. And judging from how she was dressed and her hair from behind, they quietly gasped. That was Sheila!

They quickly turned around and walked in the opposite direction. Once they were sure that they were far from there, the two women burst out in laughter.

"Oh my gosh! Haha!"

"What the heck?!"

They were still laughing as they walked even further. They decided to hide in one of the shops. They began to look for some office supplies and at the same time, brainstorming on what excuse they should give if they really did bump into their bosses.

They spent a few minutes in the shop, browsing on the items displayed on the shelves. After a while, they went out of the shop and returned back to the Beauty and Cosmetics shop. They were confident that their bosses would have left the building.

Feeling a bit cautious, Delilah quickly looked for her facial wash and brought it to the cashier. She paid for her item and the two left the store. Not wanting to bump into any more of their colleagues, or worse, their bosses, they decided to head straight back to the office.

Delilah did ask Aubree whether she wanted to stop by at any of the shops but the latter declined. She probably did not want any such coincidence to occur anymore.

When they finally arrived at the office, it was a couple of minutes after 12PM. Bella was no longer in front of her desk, she probably went for her lunch already as seen as the note on her desk that reads, 'Lunch break'.

Once they arrived on their floor, the two women went their separate ways; both to their own cubicle.

Just as Delilah sat inside her cubicle, a text message arrived in her phone. She rummaged through her handbag to look for her mobile phone. Swiping the screen, she saw that it was a message from her sister, asking whether she could stop by at a small grocery store to buy a carton of milk.

She inwardly sighed. She was planning to take a quick nap once she got home. It seems like that's off the list now.

She flopped down on the table with another sigh. 'I'll probably just sleep here right now,' she thought. She peeked a glance at her wristwatch and saw that it was not 1PM yet.

Seeing that she has a few more minutes until work starts, she went for a short nap.

Few minutes later, she woke up. The first thing she did was rummaging through her handbag once more to look for her pocket mirror. Once found, she opened it and checked herself out in the mirror. After she was sure that she doesn't look like someone who had just fallen asleep and making sure that there was no presence of drool on her face, she closed her mirror.

She got up from her chair and was about to go out from her cubicle when she saw Fawkes walking towards her.

With a wave, he approached Delilah. "Good morning, sleeping beastly," he teased.

Delilah frowned at him as she playfully punched his arm, earning a wince from him. "Who are you callin sleeping beastly??" she asked. She then paused. "Wait, how did you know I was asleep?" she asked, worried.

Fawkes laughed as he leaned closer to her. "We could hear you snore," he whispered to her.

Eyes widened and her face full of shock, Delilah felt like she wanted to die of embarrassment right there and now.

When he saw her look, he laughed again. He patted her on the shoulder and said, "I'm kidding. I went past your cubicle earlier and saw you sleeping. Don't worry. We couldn't hear you snore."

Delilah glared, a bit miffed that he was teasing her that she kicked him on the shins.

Grimacing with pain, Fawkes apologized to Delilah.

She then told him that if he wanted her to forgive him, he better treat her to lunch, which he immediately promised.

After office hours had ended, Delilah immediately packed her things and went off. She waved goodbye to her colleagues, heading straight for her car.

She then drove herself to the nearest grocery store that was on the way to her home as well. After parking her car, she got out of the car.

The grocery store was a small store that sells daily necessities and others. It wasn't like the big supermarkets as only a few tens of people can enter the store at a time.

Just before she entered the store, she noticed from the corner of her eyes, a small stall on the far left of the store. As she got closer, she realized that it was a food stall that sells toasted cheese bread; the type where one would tear the bread apart and the cheese would stretch.

Minutes later, she found herself waiting for her food after placing her order. And when it was done, she found a small bench beside the stall and sat down. She began to eat. The bread was toasty where the crumbs would cover her mouth after she bit into it. The cheese inside was a bit hot but it was also sweet and chewy. She had to pull the bread further back because the cheese was stretched longer than she had expected.

After she was done, she threw the trash in the trash can and thanked the vendor. She then went back to her car and drove home.

Just as she was about to reach home, she slapped her forehead as she just remembered something. "Oh shoot! The milk!"

Delilah let out a sigh and said to herself, "Oh well… I'll just buy it tomorrow then."