Days passed in a blur and the deal with Google was soon wrapped up. Unlike what Amelia or even Lillian expected, the board was completely ’on
Amelia suspected that they’d even accept the two hundred and fifty million annual fee. For the first time, the board, including Mr. Grayson had one thought in mind:
What’s more costly? Paying OmniTech, or risking a breach OmniTech could’ve prevented?
The answer was pretty obvious.
Their golden goose was still relatively young and they’d do anything to secure it.
Across the city, Lillian sat cross-legged on her hotel bed, staring at the finalized agreement in her inbox. A part of her still couldn’t believe it. She had stood toe-to-toe with Google — Google! — and walked away with terms that would have made Wall Street legends jealous.
Her phone buzzed.
A message from Ethan.
Ethan: "Good work. I’ll review the closing documents tonight. Take a day to rest — you’ve earned it."
She read it three times before realizing she was smiling like an idiot. Aria, sprawled on the couch scrolling her phone, caught the look immediately.
"You’re simping again," she stated, only to have a pillow thrown on her face
With a chuckle, Aria sent the pillow to the side and sat up straight, looking at her friend, "Since you’ve got a day off, why don’t you invite him on a date, y’know, as a chance for him to see you as more than just a business partner," Aria finished, wiggling her brows.
Lillian nearly choked on air. "A—A date? With Ethan?"
"Exactly," Aria affirmed, "a date."
"I don’t think Ethan would be interested in a date," she said, "besides I’m not int—"
Aria leaned closer, cutting off whatever Lillian was going to say with a softer tone, "look, Lily. I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re hiding behind excuses. You like him. Don’t waste your life being scared to admit it, or else, someone else would just snatch him away."
Silence fell in the room after her words, with Lillian seriously contemplating it.
Her phone buzzed again.
It was another message from Ethan.
Ethan: "We’ll be moving faster from here on. Rest well, you’ll need it."
Her fingers hovered over the phone’s screen as she contemplated whether to text or not. Aria peeked into the the phone before moving back and giving Lillian ’the look.’
"Fine," Lillian said in resignation before she started typing.
Her thumbs tapped nervously against on the screen.
What do I even say?
Aria leaned in again, grinning like the devil on her shoulder. "Keep it simple. Coffee. Lunch. Dinner. Whatever. Just don’t send him an essay."
Lillian shot her a glare before deleting three half-written drafts. Finally, she settled on something that didn’t make her want to crawl into a hole.
Lillian: "Thanks... actually, since I’ve got the day off, would you like to grab dinner tomorrow? My treat."
Her finger hovered over the send for a while.
"Do it," Aria urged.
She hit send and as the message changed from delivered to read, she immediately regretted it.
What if he thought it was weird? Or maybe unprofessional?
Yes they were actually friends and yes she had invited him for breakfast at Sammy’s multiple times, but the intention this time was different.
The first few times, he hadn’t invited him because she wanted a date, she invited him as a friend.
The three dots that indicated that he was typing caused her even more nervousness. And she held her breath, alongside Aria who was also watching with anticipation.
Ethan: "Sure, dinner works, 7PM tomorrow?."
Lillian froze and Aria immediately squealed.
"He said yes! He actually said yes!"
They way she celebrated, you’d think she was the one who had gotten a date with her crush.

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