"What do you mean they both are not coming in today?" Daniel said, with a raised tone, toward Rhea, who stood next to the head office entrance, half trembling in her red-and-black patterned suit.
The office fragrance was fresh, but the tension wasn't. Yesterday had obviously spilled into today, and the enablers weren't even around to resolve it.
"Daniel, settle down," Mr. Genova said from one of the guest seats at the executive table, clad in a grey suit.
Daniel cursed silently and stood, pacing toward the grey office couch as he began loosening the red tie around the collar of his white shirt.
Rhea flinched, moving closer to the entrance in fear of Daniel's instability.
"Rhea," Mr Genova called and she jolted before answering.
"Y-Yes sir," she replied, still side-eying Daniel's movement. He was now looking into the fridge that stood a few feet away but beside the couch.
Mr Genova exhaled, rubbing his temples lightly with his fingers, his arm resting on the table beside him.
"Where did you say Maria and Miles were going to be today?" he asked. "And why wasn't anyone else aware of it until now? Aren't you all supposed to be in on the project?"
Rhea rolled her eyes internally. She had thought so too.
"Yesterday," she started. "I documented a short meeting between Mr Miles and Maria by nine thirty a.m."
The fridge door slammed and Rhea flinched.
She and Mr.Genova turned to Daniel, now standing with a cold bottle of water in one hand, glaring at Rhea.
"It was just the two of them in that meeting," Daniel said. "When did you come in to document the minutes?"
"I-I did," Rhea stuttered. "The CEO requested I record that you were unavailable yesterday due to understandable reasons due to the instability of your mood, sir."
"Wait," Mr Genova said, narrowing his eyes at Daniel. "How early did all of this begin?"
Daniel strode from the fridge's side to the grey couch with the bottle of water in his hand.
He sat and loosened his tie some more before twisting open the bottle.
"You'd better tell me the part of the story you are leaving out," Mr Genova said sternly.
"Maria is my girlfriend," Daniel said and drank from the bottle, then lowered it. "I can decide to talk to her anywhere I dim fit in this office."
"It'll certainly be a different situation if you were handling issues with Maria in Miles' presence," Mr Genova said. "He deserves his respect especially where employees are present."
"No, he walked in while I was speaking with Maria," Daniel snapped.
Rhea inhaled. She could feel Daniel's frustration but she had instructions from Miles that she couldn't betray even if she wanted to.
Especially since it involved that troublesome Maria.
"S-sir," Rhea called softly to Daniel and both men turned to her. "The time for the meeting was eight. We had assumed that both of you were aware due to the mails sent out the day before."
"I didn't get a bloody mail," Daniel said with irritation.
Before Rhea could reply, Mr Genova spoke.
"You should also get a secretary so you get notified of important mails earlier to avoid this kind of confusion."
"I'm not confused, Dad," Daniel said and drank from this bottle again.
Rhea's legs ached in her heels; she needed to sit out this drama.
Hating the way it also confused her when Miles had casually called her into the office to document the meeting after being alone with Maria for some time.
"The meeting decided today would be the fixed day for Maria's weekly project supervision," she continued, turning back to Mr Genova. "Sports day was picked due to carefree energy feedback in teens."
"Are you sure you're not mistaken, Daniel?" Mr Genova asked.
No reply, but deep down Rhea shared his certainty that something was going on.
"I couldn't access the estate last night," Daniel finally said with a tight jaw.
"Were you certain Maria went home last night?" Mr Genova asked and Rhea stared, also anticipating an answer.
Daniel was silent again.
"Rhea," Mr Genova called. "Leave us."
Rhea nodded, relieved as she pulled the door open to leave.
This situation was becoming more real by the day.
Would the CEO really risk family ties for a woman?
Let alone a woman like Maria.
**
Miles observed the grey sky, eyeing the dark clouds before he and Maria disappeared into the stadium access tunnel.
Faint round ceiling lights ran in a straight line toward the end, clearer under the dim weather.
The first thing their eyes landed on was the other vending machine mounted against maroon painted walls, standing near the drift point before the main field.
A taller boy with brown hair and a green player jersey stood flirting with two teen girls in red cheerleading outfits, listening with amused interest as they scooped pudding from their plates—one blonde, the other dark-haired.
"It's becoming a flex too, sir," Maria said from beside him, the triumph in her tone tugging at his smile.
He turned, catching the proud look in her eyes as she watched the teens.
Miles' heart felt light—at least there was something that made her genuinely happy in the midst of their complicated relationship.
Maria's eyes flickered to him briefly and her smile faded as she caught herself, clearing her throat.
"What I mean is the product is beginning to rise to status judging by what we can see here," she said.
Miles smiled.
"I understood the first time," he replied.
"The effrontery!" a woman's voice echoed ahead, and both Maria and Miles raised their heads.
A young woman in plain blue jeans that clung to her thighs, a white T-shirt, and black hair tied in a ponytail faced the teenagers with a stern look behind clear glasses.
The girls scurried toward the field, while the boy groaned, rubbing the back of his neck as he followed them.
"The next ones I see in this hallway will stand in the middle of the field till it's time for the game," the woman added after them.
The boy's scoff echoed softly.
But she ignored him and turned toward Miles and Maria with a smile and a wave, walking toward them in red sneakers.
As she approached, Miles noticed her smile and brown eyes were focused more on him before she stopped in front of them.
"You're both welcome," she said."I'm Miss Tina and I'm one of the teachers here to represent the principal of Minchstone in hosting you both as our guests."
"How nice of her," Maria said. "Thank you."
Miss Tina giggled, still smiling at Miles.
There was an awkward silence, and Miles turned slightly toward Maria, who was also confused, flickering her gaze between them.
"Thank you?" Miles said as he returned his gaze to Miss Tina.
"You're welcome," Tina replied with a wider smile. "I'll be escorting you to the teacher's seat section—a great view for watching the game too."
Miles liked it.
No moving around, just contained observation of consumer behavior…and Maria.
"Oh we appreciate that but…" Maria started.
"We would like that," Miles cut in, and almost instantly, cherry scent filled his space as Miss Tina stepped between them, brushing against him deliberately.
"Pardon me," she said, smiling as she faced him. "The principal also stated that I offer a special escort to a dignitary present. I recall vividly who you are, sir."
Miles frowned. What a ridiculous lie!
"That would not be n…" he began.
"That is so hospitable," Maria cooed, and Miles' jaw tightened. "The CEO couldn't be more honored."
He shot Maria a side glare, and she pouted, avoiding his gaze.
A hand slid into his arm, and his eyes dropped to Miss Tina now hooked onto him, still smiling as she said,
"We need to get settled in before the game begins so we don't distract field time."
"Yeah," Maria said from beside them, frowning as she balanced both pudding plates. "That and self-control."
Miss Tina rolled her eyes, but Miles smirked. Not a bad opportunity to bask in Maria's jealousy.
"Then what are we waiting for?" he asked
Miss Tina's face immediately lit up as she gently tugged him forward.
Miles paused. Miss Tina did too, confused.
"Maria," he called.
"Sir," Maria responded.
"You'll be right in front of us," he said.
There was a pause. He knew she wanted to protest, expected it, but then her faint footsteps moved ahead of them.
Miles' eyes shifted immediately to Maria's rear as he walked with Miss Tina behind her, enjoying the gentle jiggle of her curves beneath her dress.
**
Maria rolled her eyes as she waited at the stairway of the section reserved for teachers.
Miss Tina could obviously just point it out without pressing into Miles the way she was—all in the name of escorting.
The wide stadium field stretched beneath the grey sky, its atmosphere subdued but heavy with anticipation.
Wind drifted across the grass, and the school's green and red flags, planted at all four entrances from the access tunnels.
Massive paper banners stretched across opposite tunnel openings.
One was green with STRAYS OF NATURE written boldly in white with a shadowed outline.
The other was red with VOLCANO FURY written in bright orange letters, decorated with flame motifs.
Cheerleaders stood beside each team's benches, practicing lightly with towels and water arranged behind them.
The seat sections were filled with students in orange, green, red, and blue sportswear, noise rippling across the space.
Students ooohed from the section ahead of Maria as Miss Tina and Miles walked along the sidelines.
Maria scoffed harder as they drew closer, especially when she noticed him laughing lightly at something Miss Tina said.
Miss Tina was curvy too—maybe Miles actually liked her.
"Hi," a male's voice said behind her.
Maria turned to find a young man with light stubble, blue eyes, and a polite smile.
"Please permit me to show you to a seat," he said again, offering his hand for support to Maria from where he stood on the third stair of the stairway.
Before she could respond—
"I'm certain there'll be no need for another escort," Miles said from ahead.
Maria looked back; he and Tina had now stopped before her at the beginning of the stairwell.
"Is that right, Miss Tina?" Miles asked, holding Maria's gaze.
Maria acted oblivious, but unable to pretend inside herself, secretly happy that he was still tracking her movements despite Miss Tina's boldness.
"Oh yes," Miss Tina answered with a bright smile. "I've got them, Mr Patrick."
"Okay then," the man replied before walking away up the stairway behind Maria.
"The third seat row is your lane," Tina said, flashing the smile Maria was beginning to grow sick of.
Maria met Miles' stare again, almost tempted to scoff again before she turned toward the teachers' section, only filled up to six rows.
She now wished she had moved to sit earlier.
Maria didn't speak, only obeyed as she moved ahead of them to the third row, where two empty seats sat in the middle, surrounded by other teachers already seated.
Most were dressed similarly to Miss Tina. Maria didn't hesitate as she moved further into the row until she reached the seats.
She sank into one of the black polymer chairs, Miles' fragrance filling her space as he almost immediately sat beside her.
Maria turned her head away, masking her annoyance.
He could have stayed with Miss Tina, who was now moving gingerly toward the front row.
The cheers of the students grew louder.
"What's your team?" Miles asked, extending a hand toward her.
Maria gently placed one of the puddings into his palm, while glancing at hers to confirm the flavor difference.
"I'll be on whichever team Jake's playing in," Maria said, relaxing into her seat with a sly smile.
Miles settled back into his seat as well, his legs apart, and immediately Maria's eyes dropped to his groin.
His grey trousers were already stretched tight, probably from all that contact with Miss Tina.
"Eyes on the game, Maria," Miles said, still looking ahead. "The players will be out soon."
Maria quickly looked back at the field, flushing with embarrassment.
The marching band—about ten students each—came from the bare tunnel entrances without banners, emerging from opposite tunnels in red and green uniforms.
Each band followed the same formation: two boys in dramatic black military hats and red shirts led the front, taking turns striking the sides of a large drum they carried, while a girl in white trousers and a red shirt sat on the shoulders of two taller boys, drumming steadily on the top of the drum positioned directly in front of her as they moved.
The opposing band mirrored them in green.
The rest of the students followed behind, playing trumpets and saxophones in rhythm.
The crowd cheered louder as both bands met at the center of the stadium.
The taller boys carrying the girls knelt on one knee to lower them, and the girls immediately resumed their stance in front of the drums as the rhythm intensified.
Maria cheered along with the crowd, impressed and finally letting go of her irritation.
At least not until Miss Tina returned.
The pretty cheerleaders positioned themselves beside each team's section, now arranged and waving red and green pom-poms in the air as they performed stunts in sync with the band.
"Oh my!" Maria said in shock as one of the girls from the green team launched into a double backflip, landing cleanly on her feet with her arms raised behind the formation that had supported her.
"They break too," Miles said, already scooping his pudding. "This is just one of the cheerleading team's lucky days. They're probably going to get punished for attempting something that dangerous, but looking cool obviously supersedes the logic of safety to them."
"There's a medical team, right?" Maria asked, genuinely concerned as the cheerleaders continued performing.
"A medical team and suspension," Miles replied casually.
The cheerleading performance ended, and the students' cheers rose higher as players burst through the banners at the opposite access tunnels, running dramatically onto the field in their player jerseys, white knee-length socks, and solid football boots of different colors.
The band grew louder again, drums intensifying as the players jogged in, matching the energy of the crowd chanting either 'Volcanoes' or 'Strays' across the stadium.
Maria smiled as she finally spotted Jake in a red jersey, flexing alongside his teammates on the field.
"Don't let him notice till after the game," Miles said.
Maria giggled lightly; she didn't want Jake to notice them early either.
He probably might take his shirt off if he did.
When she returned her attention back to the field.
The players were already facing each other, warming up in close formation.
The band began to fade as they cleared the field alongside the cheer team.
Only an older man, probably their coach, in a black tracksuit, sat in a metal chair on the other side of the field, next to the players' bench.
The referee, also an adult but younger, bald and dressed in a yellow shirt with navy blue shorts and yellow knee-length socks, stood with a black-and-white checkered flag raised in one hand, the ball under one foot as he positioned between the players.
The stadium grew quiet.
Then the referee dropped the flag, blew his whistle to signal the start of the game, and released the ball to the eager players before jogging toward the sidelines.
Maria gently opened her pudding, taking a spoon as she finally permitted herself to enjoy the game without focusing too much on consumer signal feedback.