[This chapter is dedicated to SubrataRoy2018. Thank you for supporting all of my works! I'll be forever grateful!]
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"Step a bit to the right. There," he raised his hand to signal her to stop as if she didn't hear his instruction clearly.
When they asked Markus to take their photo, they didn't expect him to be a perfectionist in taking a simple picture. They aren't asking him for a photo that would be for Vogue or something. Just a photo for memory. But then, Markus has a different idea. They have been following his instructions for about twenty minutes.
Jess wasn't really fond of seeing her face in a photo. Hence, she likes taking photos of empty streets.
She didn't bother to smile when Markus for the nth time asked her to pose for him. She rolled her eyes and put her hands on her waist. Her brows were raised high, annoyance can be seen in her face.
"Do you know Markus outside of work?"
June's question startled her that she snapped her head too fast to her side. "W-what do you mean?" She asked, stammering. In her annoyance to Markus, she forgot that June had no idea of her relationship with Markus.
"You don't act like he's our boss." June's eyes were full of questions and her demeanor clearly showed that she already had her answer, she just wanted her to confirm it.
She grimaced and nodded. "He's my boyfriend's friend."
"Oh!" She chuckled nervously. "I thought--"
"Don't worry. I'm not going to be a competition." She elbowed her as she wiggled her eyebrows. She giggled when June blushed.
"Am I too obvious?" She bit her lower lip, smiling shyly, like a child who got caught.
She nodded again.
"Do you happen to know if he has a boyfriend?" June hooked her arm to hers and pulled her closer.
"Hmm," she looked up and tilted her head to the side. "I didn't know if he had. Sorry. He can be such a bully and I didn't like interacting with him that much. He's obnoxious like a toddler, sometimes." She chuckled when June stared at her in disbelief.
Now that June was asking things about Markus, she realized other than he is Noah's trusted friend, she didn't know much about Markus. She looked back to Markus who finally stopped taking their photo because he was on the phone.
"How long have you known Markus?" June probed.
"Not that long. I have met him a few times before our trip here in Mumbai. But come to think of it, our meetings are mostly at Noah's office," she said absentmindedly. She cocked her head to the side trying to remember if there was a time that she met Markus without Noah. She couldn't remember any.
When she turned her head to June, she was surprised to see her stunned expression. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were full of disbelief and shock.
"Why? What happened?"
June closed her mouth when she asked her question. But instead of answering her, she looked around and when she saw Markus was still busy on his phone, she pulled Jess away as if he could hear them in the distance they were with him.
June clasped her hand to Jess's left arm. "I don't mean to pry but I'll die assuming if I don't get the clarification I need…"
"You are such a scientist," she laughed awkwardly. The reason for June's shocked expression dawned on her. Noah's name slipped her mouth. She was slightly panicking but there is no way she could take back what she said.
June already connected the two crucial pieces of information; Markus is the friend of her boyfriend and Noah's name.
"Are you dating the COO of ANAT?" She asked in a hushed voice.
She bit her bottom lip and smiled a little before she nodded.
"Oh.Em.Gee!" Her hand that was clasping on her left arm tightened as her eyes that were full of disbelief are now sparkling in excitement.
She pulled her arm from her grasp and cleared her throat. "I don't want other people to know about…"
"Don't worry about it." She mimed zipping her mouth and throwing an imaginary key before she added. "I just want to ask, is your boyfriend not okay to tell other people that you are dating?"
When her eyebrows twitched with her question, she quickly said, "No, no," she put her hands in front of Jess as she shook her head vigorously. "I was just asking because I think it is a huge red flag if a guy would hide you and your relationship." her lower lip trembled as her voice trailed off.
"Did Gareth hide your relationship?" She asked gently.
June averted her eyes but Jess noticed the bead of tear that glistened at the corner of her eyes, cradled by her thick and curved eyelashes.
She hooked her arm over June's and pulled her closer to her side. "He's fine with people knowing we are dating. I'm the one who's uncomfortable because when I was chosen to be an intern of ANAT some of my classmates spread rumours about me using Noah."
June's eyebrows are knitted. "How did he… I mean during your internship application?"
"Oh! Noah observed in our school laboratory." When the confusion on June's face didn't disappear, she added. "He pretended to be an HR employee of ANAT and observed us. And at times some rumors spread out to our department and probably the whole college, but I didn't care. My friend updated me about it whenever he heard some funny stories." She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
Seeing that Jess had no longer planned to hide the identity of her boyfriend from her, June felt at ease.
"It would be a topic that would last for months and would have a different kind of variation in the cafeteria." She laughed. She gazed at Jess who was walking next to her as though the information she told her was nothing.
"I told you that Noah and Markus used to be a duo of casanovas, right?"
Jess nodded.
"Well, Noah dated one of our labmates." June spouted out.
Jess stepped halted with what she heard and she gasped for air. "Really? How long did they…"
"Not that long. It was probably a weekend love affair or something but that girl didn't stop yapping about being able to date our boss and how he generously gifted her a diamond ring when they broke up."
Jess suddenly has the urge to meet Noah in person. She would love to look at his eyes and punch his face!