My Miss Independent

CHAPTER 5

Nas sighed. She wanted to run as far as she could. But she couldn't because Ken told her and Fritz to stay after the meeting as he needed to talk to them both. 

She is still shocked by Ken's announcement. She does not know if she can work closely with Fritz. Especially now that she knows he's Mr. Dreamboy from the hill. 

She thought of asking Ken if he could train her instead since she needs to learn a lot from his role. But she can't tell him that now as Fritz will be there too.

Fritz. She doesn't know if she can even look at him now. She feels uneasy. How can she even look at the person she's been searching for almost all her life. Hearing his voice makes her nervous already. What more working near him? Ugh. 

The other team members from both sites went out. Ken, Fritz, and Nas were left in the meeting. Ken wanted to laugh at the awkwardness of his friends. But he stopped himself because he knew that both wanted to run from this. 

He won't allow it to happen. He found hope in this opportunity. Hope for his friends. Two broken individuals who deserve happiness. They are victims of bad people around them—the cause of their traumas. They don't deserve to suffer for the rest of their lives.

Ken is hopeful he can turn things around for his good friends. 

"Okay, I know the news surprised you. But if you'll think about it, it will be good for you both. Again, I am sorry if you were caught off guard. Linda and Richard just told me about it this morning. We were pressed for time and cannot schedule another video conference before your flight, Nas. So I thought of announcing it today." 

Ken was careful with every word he was saying. He wants them to feel that it is not a bad thing. He needs them to be optimistic about this situation. That is the only way for them to hit it off.

"Fritz, this is it. As I told you earlier, they want you to step up and take over my role. But again, we need to work on some things. So, we decided that this will be a good opportunity for you to work on those. I need you to take advantage of this chance."

Fritz cannot say no to his best friend when he talks like this. He knows that Ken only wants the best for him. Compared to Ken's concern for him, his reason why he doesn't want to do this is petty. He can't let his best friend down when he is only helping him. 

Anyway, this is just work. He can avoid Anastasia when they are not at work. Wait. Fritz remembered Ken said "partner and guardian" while in Australia. Does that mean he needs to watch her outside work too? That can't be. They can't force me outside of my shift time, he thought. But just in case, I'll ask Ken to do it for me instead. He owes me one. He hid this from me.

Fritz decided that he would give this a chance but only when they are at work. Her activities outside work should not be his responsibility. He will let Ken do it for him. Plus, she's a grown-up lady. I'm pretty sure she can handle herself outside work, he thought.

Nas is surprisingly quiet. Usually, she's chatty and has a lot to say. But right now, no words are coming out of her mouth. In a situation like this, where Ken left her out of a big announcement especially involving her, Ken would hear an earful. 

"And Nas, as for you, this is also a good thing because not only will you learn about my role as a manager, but Fritz can explain to you how they work as well. He's knowledgeable in all the processes because he was trained for it. He can give you more input. I know you're mad at me, but please forgive me. I really didn't know about their decision until this morning." Ken is apologetic again.

Nas knows that Ken is sincerely apologizing. Honestly, this news is nothing to her if it doesn't involve Fritz. She has dealt with their Australian counterparts a lot. She's even close to Richard and Linda, the big bosses. But she doesn't know how she can work with Fritz, the guy he has continuously dreamed of until now. 

Be professional, Nas! You have practiced focus and professionalism for a long time. You can't waste all your hard work just because of a man again. Sure, he's the man you were searching for, but how sure are you he's different from all the jerks you've met before? Men are your kryptonite. Remember? Just forget about Mr. Dreamboy from the hill and don't pass up a good opportunity again! Nas scolded herself.

She mustered the courage to talk. "Apology accepted, Ken. I am not mad at you, but you know I hate surprises. You're right, this is not your fault, and I am okay with their decision." Nas briefly looked at Fritz. "I will be happy to partner with and shadow Fritz. I'm sure I'll learn a lot from him too," she said in an awkward and low voice. 

Ken is not sure why Nas is acting that way. She is confident and is always up for the challenge. For the past year that he has been working with her, he has never seen her react this way. She's positive all the time, and she even encourages people to do the same. Nas is a very optimistic person and always sees the good in every situation.

Honestly, he was expecting this reaction from Fritz but not Nas. Unlike Fritz, Nas has excellent people skills. Actually, what surprised Ken today was Fritz's reaction. It might be brief, but he is one hundred percent sure that he saw him smile when he told them the news.

"Same for me. I am okay to work with Anastasia," Fritz suddenly spoke even before Ken could reply to Nas. Ken was amazed. He looked at his best friend and saw him staring intently at the monitor, at Nas. What was that look? Where did he get his confidence? He never saw Fritz confidently speaking like this at work. He has a lot of questions right now, and he will surely coax an answer from his best friend later. 

"Things are looking great right now," Ken thought, smiling. Ken assumed that Fritz was the one who'd require a lot of work with his plan. But it looks like it will be easy peasy for him. Fritz shows an unexpected interest in Nas, which Ken never saw him do before with any other woman. 

"Okay, that settles it then. You are both happy to work with each other. I'm relieved. And don't worry, I will be with you both every step of the way. You know, I have to start observing the other department too. With you working together, I can also begin my training. It looks like there's a lot to fix there too. So, thank you for agreeing to do this." 

Ken ended the meeting with high hopes for his two friends.