After painful ten minutes of yelling, Nadine hung up the phone and sat on the chair across from Camellia. “Hey, angry bird,” Camellia said with a big smile, trying to change the mood. Nadine smiled at her. “What happened here?”— she put sugar in her coffee — “Everyone is running, and you made the poor girl cry!”

“Who?” Nadine said, raising her eyebrows.

“Lena, is it Adam who makes you yell at everyone?”

Nadine stood up suddenly. “Did she cry?” she asked. Camellia answered her and waited for Nadine’s answer about Adam.

Instead, Nadine left the room and went to check on Lena. After five minutes, she got back to her office. “Hey, I asked you a question. Are you okay?” Camellia asked.

“Yeah, great,” Nadine said, holding her coffee.

Camellia held her hand and said, “I’m serious.”

“I’m fine really,” Nadine said while resting her back and taking a sip of her coffee.

“I want you to tell me the truth, and I know all of it is overwhelming. It’s okay to open your heart and tell me how you feel—”

“I am fine. Nothing is overwhelming, but this coffee needs sugar.”

“—you’re not okay! You were screaming hard on the phone and you’re furious.”

“It’s the norm of my job, sugar please?” Nadine said and opened her hand, waiting for the extra sugar packets. Camellia had extra packets inside her bag; she always carried some with her. She likes the intense sugar taste any time she drinks coffee counter to Nadine, who only drinks it black with no sugar.

“Don’t lie to yourself”— Camellia took two sugar packets from her bag and put them in Nadine’s open hand — “What happened yesterday turned you into this angry yelling person.”

“No, I’m always an angry yelling person in here. It is just how it works,” Nadine said and put sugar in the coffee.

Nadine took a sip and looked at her phone, expecting a text, while Camellia eyed her suspiciously. “What the hell happened to you?!” Camellia snapped, looking deeply into her eyes.

Nadine frowned and looked at Camellia, who didn’t blink. “Yesterday, you looked like you were about to explode and now you look fine! You’re even putting sugar in your coffee!” Camellia sounded surprised.

“You don’t want me to put sugar in my coffee? Because I’m sure you have more in your bag, or you don’t want me to be fine?” Nadine said deadpan.

“What’s wrong with you?! I need an explanation now!” she said, pointing at her angrily.

“About what? It’s just two sugar packets.”

“I’m not talking about the damn sugar. It’s about what happened yesterday! You left my house and headed home. But you went to the airport, and you didn’t even tell me. Yesterday I kept calling you, but your phone was off all day!”

“Yes, I went to meet Liam.”

“Liam! Our Liam?!”

“I don’t think we know any other Liam.” Nadine held her phone, writing a text.

“And?”

“Nothing, we just hang out and I came back.”

“So, you went to Liam and talked to him and not me!” Camellia said and gasped.

Another ten minutes had passed with Nadine writing a long text and Camellia staring at her. Nadine finished and put her phone on her desk and looked at Camellia. “Blink Cami,” Nadine said and laughed at Camellia’s unusual reaction.

“Don’t act like that,” Camellia said, still not blinking nor changing her seriousness.

“Like what?” Nadine sneered.

“You just went to his shoulder to cry on and not me!”

“Who said I even cried on his shoulder?” Nadine said, laughing.

“I’m disappointed, you went running to Liam and not me,”—Camellia rested her back — “Why do you prefer him over me?” she blurted out. “You have known him for only two years. I know you all your life,” she said and pointed at herself.

“I remember nothing before the accident; so technically I know you for only eight years,” Nadine said in a deadpan tone and shrugged.

“You don’t remember, but I do!”

“Really? Can you recall any childhood memories we had together?” Nadine said and raised one of her eyebrows.

“Well...” Camellia looked at the floor and opened her mouth for seconds, trying to remember. “No, I can’t recall anything now, but of course, we had childhood memories together. We’re cousins, for god’s sake.”

“I doubt it… we didn’t even have any pictures when we were young. I mean I have ones with my brothers but not with you… wait, I don’t have any pictures before the accident, not with you or anyone,”—Nadine shrugged her shoulders again — “I don’t think I ever saw any childhood pictures for either of us… that’s odd.”

“Maybe the pictures were lost in the accident,” Camellia said, looking more relaxed.

“Even yours? I was in the car alone… probably we’re aliens,” Nadine said.

“No, you’re not that cool to be one.” Nadine smiled and looked again at her phone. Camellia took a sip of her coffee. “Hey! don’t change the subject. I’m still mad.”

Nadine laughed; she knew Camellia would never get jealous, especially with Liam. Nadine got up and headed to her door, calling for Lena to get her the number of the company’s lawyer.

Camellia’s phone rang; it was her mother. “Where are you? Your shift is about to start.”

“At Nadine’s office, I’ll be there on time. Papa signed for the new equipment, right?” Camellia said and waited for her mother to respond, but she heard her talking to one maid.

The maid called Layla informing her about a mystery box arriving at the main door of their house. The maid sounded confused when Layla asked her who put the box there. She said a man was already walking away when she saw the box, but he halted and turned. He told her to give the box to Camellia and then gave her a white envelope and immediately left without looking back.

Her mother asked her if she ordered anything, which she did not, and felt odd when her mother told her about the maid, though the delivery man looked suspicious. “I ordered nothing,” Camellia whispered after she hung up.

“Did you say something?” Nadine asked without looking at her.

“No,”— Camellia put the phone in her bag — “so, what did you do to make Lena cry?”

“You know the project we have for the Sweden company?” Camellia nodded. “Well, some morons ruined it, they didn’t follow the exact designs for two buildings and I’m pretty sure the Sweden company is going to sue us,” Nadine said while checking some work papers.

“Does your father know about it?”

“Oh yes! I have been in this mess since yesterday,” Nadine sneered, and her office phone rang.

“I have to go; my shift is about to start,” Camellia said while heading to the door. Nadine waved at her and started the phone call in the same high, angry tone.