The One Kind of Love

Chapter 4: Work Without Him

Dad: So, you started as strangers then quickly created a bond as if fate brought you two together.

Freddie: That's how it seems.

Dad: Since we're almost to your building, do you want to come over to my place later for dinner?

Freddie: Let me guess why you want to hear the rest of the story?

Dad: Yeah. I feel like there are some things I still need to know about my son.

Freddie: I can come over but in one condition.

Dad: What is it?

Freddie: Pick me up at 5 pm, since I don't know where you live now.

Dad: Sure. Maybe we could pick up a few drinks for us on the way there.

Freddie: Thanks. See you at 5 pm.

I went out of the car, the minute we reached the building and rushed to catch up with the elevator. I got in the elevator on time along with some employees who work at different companies. As the elevator was going up, I then remember the times that Oliver was with me along in the elevator, secretly holding my hands while waiting for the elevator to reach our floor. I guess I was missing him too much after a week or two.

Reaching the floor, went directly to the development department and I was shocked to see the whole development team troubled because the producer department just dumped like a month's work of songs. What's worse is that the deadline is in one week. I went directly to my workstation, opened my laptop, and started working on the songs with the team. Realizing that there was a lot of work to do, I took a deep breath, looked at Oliver's workstation, and continued with the work.

Lunch finally arrived and we all felt relieved that we get to take a break for an hour and a half.

Freddie: So, this is what hell feels like…

Stephanie: You can say that again. I feel like my hands are gonna fall off anytime soon.

I sighed out of exhaustion and leaned back on my chair as I looked at the office ceiling, thinking about what would happen if Oliver was here since I miss him so much. Then Emil makes an announcement.

Emil: Can I have everyone's attention? I just want to say, we just reached 30% of our work in only a few hours. That's a big achievement for us for having a one-week deadline. Because of that, I want to treat everyone at lunch. So, any suggestions where besides the pantry downstairs?

Stephanie: Let's have sushi for lunch.

Freddie: I'm sorry Stephanie but I can't eat sushi.

Stephanie: How come? Are you allergic?!

Freddie: Yeah, I'm allergic to seafood.

Steve: How about steaks?

Emil: There are no steak restaurants near the office.

Max: I will pass on suggestions, I don't have anything in mind.

Dorothy: How about we try the new café just across the street.

Freddie: There's a new café?

Dorothy: Yeah, there is. It belongs to my parents. Believe me the food there is amazing.

We all agreed on eating at the new café. As we went on ahead, Stephanie then asks me how Oliver and I are doing, since she was the only one who knows about us. I told her that everything is fine between us.

We arrived at the new café, the business was slow since it's just opened and not that popular yet. We found a table for us, sat down, and started to look at the menu. There were a lot of varieties on the menu.

While I was looking at the menu, I started to miss Oliver more because our first date together was also in a café. Dorothy then shouts as her parents came to us. She introduced us to her and introduced themselves as they welcomed us to their café. Their names were Elizabeth and Benjamin. Elizabeth then sits with us while Benjamin will work in the kitchen since they're short on employees. As we were about to order, Elizabeth then tells the waiter that we will have the specialty today which is the parmesan chicken, and tells us that was on the house.

While waiting for our food we chatted a lot and I excused myself to use the restroom, but in reality, I was gonna text Oliver about today. I was in the restroom, thankfully they only allow one person in the restroom, and I texted Oliver right away after locking the door behind me. The text I sent to him said:

“How's everything, Oliver? Sorry for not calling you earlier. My dad kind of gave me a surprise visit earlier. Work today was hellish. There were a lot of songs to develop and believe me, we were on the edge of chaos. I'm with everyone in the department right now, having lunch together at the new café since Emil is treating us. Text back if you have free time. See you soon!"

I washed my hands and went outside the restroom. As I sat down, the food also arrived as Benjamin served the food along with the waiter. After serving the food, Elizabeth then excused herself since she has work to do and Benjamin went back to the kitchen to help out with the food. We started eating together and chatted for a while.

We finished eating, Emil paid for our meals and left a tip as we went back to the office. We arrived at the office, and before we started working, we all went to the restroom to freshen up. After we freshen up, Emil, Max, and Steve went on ahead to the department while I went to the cubicle to take a piss. I went out of the cubicle, washed my hands and my phone suddenly rings. I checked my phone to see who texted me and saw that Oliver replied saying:

“Everything's fine Freddie. That's rare to see Emil treating the team for lunch. It's okay though even if you didn't call earlier this morning, I know everything's rough between you and your dad. I have good news for you. I'll tell you later. I have a meeting to attend to. Can't wait to see you!"

It's great to see Oliver replied. It kind of motivated me to do more at work. I went back to my workstation and continued with work with the team for the rest of day. As time goes by, I couldn't stop thinking of what will Oliver tell me later. I am curious and excited to hear from him again since I can't help with the thought that I miss him so much. I'm glad that Stephanie has my back because sometimes when I get to think about Oliver too much, I tend to stop work and just look at my laptop with my hands on my cheek. If that happens too much, they will notice and that will be hard for us if Emil finds out about us since he's still my supervisor