= Sarah POV =
"Umm…I'd say things are still pretty tense between us for the foreseeable future. We don't seem to be on the same page about a lot of things, so it's been a bit hard to communicate recently," I finally said, taking a sip of warm, comforting Ocha.
"Well, if she becomes too much of a bother, you can always move in with me. I have more than enough rooms to spare, and since you already work at the cafe, I won't charge you. Consider it a company perk." Ms. Jun smiled and then scooted closer to me, a hand behind my back. "And if you're lonely at night, you can also consider me a company perk."
I leaned back, placing down my cup before I spilled it all over myself.
"Ms. Jun -" I started.
"You know you can just call me Ruby," Ms. Jun interrupted, capturing one of my hands and bringing it up to her lips for a kiss "You already are on a first-name basis with Heather and Christina; why not extend the favour to me as well."
I sucked in my breath and bit my lip " Well, Heather hasn't exactly come on to me so -"
"Ah, I see. So, in the entire time you have lived with Chris, she has been a good girl and has kept her hands to herself?" Ms. Jun asked, pressing my hand to her chest "Doesn't sound like the lustful fiend that I know her to be."
I snatched my hand away and averted my eyes "No, well…Chris and I, we go way back, so when she does things like that, it's not that serious…" I said, but as the words came out of my mouth, it suddenly occurred to me that Chris had always been a lot more touchy-feely than any of my other friends had been, and I guess I had just written it off as things foreigners do, and not take it seriously. Wait…did that mean this entire time… then I guess that meant right from the first time I stayed at the dorm with her…the first night when she had "play-wrestled" with me in the bed before we slept…was she already…into me?
"Really? She always seems pretty serious to me. I don't remember Chris being half-hearted about anything she ever does. Could it be possible that you haven't noticed her feelings for you?" Ms. Jun asked as if she was reading my mind, " Or could it be that you just don't have feelings for her?" her hand behind my back roamed up to gently caress my hair as I thought about what she said.
"I-I think of her as a friend. A really good friend, my best friend," I said and turned to Ms. Jun, who I hadn't noticed had already come close to me as I spoke.
"Then you wouldn't mind if I stole your heart instead, would you?" Ms. Jun smiled, and before I knew what was happening, her long arm embraced me and pulled me closer. Her other hand tilted up my face as she closed the gap between us, kissing me gently under the warm light of the private dining room.
"Ms. Jun, stop", I gasped, pushing her away and getting up, trembling as she looked up at me dreamily.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help myself. I had such a lovely time today, and you made my heart flutter; keeping me in check with the budget and helping me out with everything today, I feel like I could trust, no I could love someone like you. Won't you stay by my side, always?" Ms. Jun asked, reaching a hand out to me.
I took a step back, my fingers trembling as I covered my lips. This was highly inappropriate; how was I supposed to respond? In the past, this would have been an ideal situation for me, as dating the boss meant that I could do whatever I wanted at work. However, as Chris was also a partner in the business, wouldn't that mean I'd be dating two bosses in the same company? What was with this weird love triangle? And why was I even acting like I was dating Chris in the first place?
The doors behind me slid open and Heather walked in beaming, with Amber in tow.
Ms. Jun immediately dropped her arm and propped her elbows on the table, plopping her head in her hands as if she hadn't just confessed to me a second ago.
"Wow, looks like you guys started the party without me," Heather grinned and patted me on the shoulder "Are you ok? You look pale, did Ruby make you walk too much?"
I shook my head and slowly eased myself back down next to Ms. Jun " No I'm fine, just a little dehydrated. I think I should order some water" I replied sheepishly.
"Oh Ruby, come on, you know you can't sit over there" Heather chided, beckoning Ms. Jun over to her side.
"But I don't get to spend any time with Sarah", Ms. Jun pouted but got up nonetheless and walked to the other side of the table and plopped down next to Heather.
"Huh? Why can't she sit here?" Amber asked as she sat down where Ms. Jun had been sitting.
"Ah, every time she is alone with Sarah, she makes a pass at her; it's annoying:" Heather started, then looked up at me and then looked at Ms Ms. Jun " Oh," she said, and before anyone knew what was happening, smacked Ms. Jun at the back of her head."
"Hey! That hurt!" Ms. Jun explained, leaning away from Heather while rubbing her head.
"Do you want to file charges? I'll call the police right now," Heather said, whipping out her phone.
I shook my head and burst out laughing. Immediately the mood lightened and I felt the stress that was building expel.
"It's fine. She just confessed her undying love for me because I helped her do grocery shopping," I smiled, picking up a pair of chopsticks and finally trying some of the delicious tuna presented before us.
"Hey, that sort of thing is private, it's just between you and me" Ms. Jun exclaimed, pouting, but still managed to help herself to more honeydew.
"Well, if you two get married, won't that be at the company's expense? So no, it's kind of everyone's business," Amber chirped up.
Both Heather and I looked at each other and then burst out laughing.
"Spot on, Amber, spot on", Heather sighed, wiping a tear from her eye " Ruby, you truly have created a terrible spending reputation for yourself if even our barista knows of your financial crimes."
"It was just one time, and that salmon was amazing, we had so many salmon dishes for weeks" Ms. Jun explained exasperatedly.
I leaned back and smiled. It was nice to just laugh and let loose. All this talk about relationships and love was really getting me down. If a relationship could just be this, where everyone was just happy, and no one had some weird expectation of anyone else, I could accept this, for the long term.
"So, do you accept me, Ms. Jun, as your lawfully wedded wife to have and hold, through fish markets and farmer's markets, for salmon or tuna?" Heather asked, holding up a thick piece of tuna belly.
"Yes, I do, and do you, accept me, Ms Yoshida, as your lawfully wedded wife to have and hold, through company spreadsheets and budget cuts, for tuna or salmon?" Amber asked, holding up a slice of thick salmon belly.
"Yes, I do!" Heather said cheerfully.
"You may now, eat the fish!" I exclaimed, acting as officiator, and both Heather and Amber chopped down on their fish slices, while Ms. Jun covered her face in embarrassment.
"What's wrong with appreciating someone's talents?" Ms. Jun exclaimed.
"Well I don't remember Mr Nakajima reporting being confessed to, so you're just being a pervert as usual" Heather rolled her eyes, turning to face Ms. Jun and give her a pointed look.
Ms. Jun sighed " Ah, you got me, I have such a thing for pretty girls with feisty personalities, Mr Nakajima just won't do, he is too mild-mannered." Ms. Jun admitted, looking anywhere but Heather while she popped another honeydew into her mouth.
"Well he's going to have to do because this is the last time I'm sending my top accountant along with you, now let's order some more food, I'm starving!" Heather said and started adding things to cart on the tablet, while Ms. Jun winked at me from across the table.