My rivalry with Jake - not like he even seemed to be aware of being in one with me - was frustrating me to no end. He just didn’t make any mistakes. He was focused and hardworking, if we weren’t vying for the same promotion I would have respected his work ethic and admired his skills. As it stood, I was getting more and more irritated at how perfect he was. Him doing well did not mean that I was doing poorly, we were both exemplary employees and now that I had settled in properly, my shaky start was long forgotten. But there had to be something I could do to get the upper hand…

“Hi Tia. Sure, let’s meet for lunch, it’s been awhile.”, I overheard Jake say into the phone. “Mhm. See you soon. Bye”, Jake finished the call, sounding more focused on the report in front of him, than whoever this Tia was who he was chatting with. 

I needed more information about Jake to be able to find his weaknesses. I didn’t like to stoop so low as to openly sabotage someone, and I, of course, only wanted what was best for our company, but if I could find some dirt on Jake, maybe I could highlight that weakness so that I looked better in comparison… Of course, I always had to keep in mind that anything that hurt the company, hurt my family in return, so I wasn’t out to create a scandal or anything. I was just going to gather some intel… and do some risk management, that was all. 

Before my mind could wander any further, my thoughts were interrupted by a call of my own. My mother. Ugh, what did she want now? 

“Hana! I was quite upset to hear that you rejected Aiden. What happened? He’s such a respectable young man. I worked hard to set up that date for you, you know?”, Mrs. Lee, my mother, nearly shouted over the phone in a hurried tone. She never did speak at a normal volume or pace when she called. 

“Hello, to you too, mother.”, I said calmly, refusing to let her way of speaking rub off on me. 

“Don’t take that sassy tone with me, young lady! Tell me, what was wrong with this one then? Nothing, I tell you! Aiden is well suited in every aspect. You’re not getting any younger, Hana, I need to see you married.”, I could hear her frustration creep in. 

“Ironic.”, I mumbled. 

“What?”, my mother questioned. 

“Nothing. Just ironic of you to call me ‘young lady’, while telling me I’m getting old. I’m only thirty.”, I sighed. 

“You know you’ll always be my little baby girl, but thirty isn’t as young as you think it is! I want grandchildren and your fertility starts declining at thirty. You know this, Hana. We’ve been over this. I had you when I was younger than you are now, I even had your younger sister when I was younger than she is now! Bless her. I need to call her, to see that she’s not getting into any trouble, but don’t think you’re getting away with this Hana! You can’t reject the people I introduce to you forever! If you’re not going to find someone of your own, I’ll have to do it for you!”, my mother was ranting, not giving me a chance to speak up, not that I had anything to say that she hadn’t heard before, anyway. The call went on for some time, my mother going over the same old things and complaints as always as I half-heartedly listened and sporadically tried to get a word in to no avail. 

🝔🝔🝔

I missed most of lunch due to my mother's call. I knew I shouldn’t have picked up. My plan to do some casual espionage, that is, try to overhear what Jake was talking about with this mysterious Tia during lunch, was a no go, but I did manage to catch them on their way out of the company dining hall. I spotted them before they could spot me, so I had time to backtrack a few steps and hide behind a corner. Fortunately, there was a watercooler there so I could pretend I was getting some water, while I eavesdropped on their conversation. It seemed they were about to part ways in front of the dining hall and were making small-talk, nothing too interesting, I was a bit disappointed. 

“Well, it was nice catching up.”, Jake said at last to Tia. Or at least I assumed it was the same Tia from the phone. 

“Yes! It really was! And actually, before you go there was something I was going to talk to you about… I know it’s silly, but I was thinking about that pact we made in middle school.”, Tia said, sounding a bit shy. 

“Oh, what pact?”, Jake asked. 

“You don’t remember? Ouch! The marriage pact! We said we would get married at thirty if we didn’t find anyone else!”, Tia said with a laugh, but she sounded like she kind of meant it. 

“Oh, yeah, that is silly, indeed.”, Jake laughed awkwardly, but then he must have sensed something was off because he then backtracked and said, “Or I mean, err… what…What about the marriage pact?”

“Well… I haven’t found anyone, so I was kind of wondering… What about you?”, Tia sounded hopeful and I almost decided to leave right then and there. This felt too personal to overhear. I shouldn’t be listening to Jake getting a marriage proposal. But I couldn’t get my feet to move, I was transfixed, it was horrible, but I needed to hear the rest. I had a hand over my mouth and a cup of untouched water in the other. I was holding my breath as I waited for Jake’s response. 

“Oh, I… I have someone.”, Jake said, but sounded unsure. 

“Really? You’re in a relationship? I didn’t know…”, Tia responded. 

“Well, not really, but I do have someone I’m interested in. I like someone. I’m sorry.”, Jake explained and apologized. 

“Oh… You don’t have to apologize, I understand.”, Tia said. I removed my hand from my mouth, this was going well, it wasn’t as dramatic as I thought it would be. Very civil. Very calm. It seemed I was more nervous about it than those two. I took a shaky breath. 

“So, who is it? Do I know her?”, Tia asked Jake about his crush. 

“No, no, you don’t know her.”, Jake denied. 

“Tell me! Come on! If I don’t know her, what's the harm in saying?”, Tia pried and pestered Jake for a while. I was amused, but decided I had heard enough so I took a gulp of the water I had poured myself to use as a prop, but now needed to get rid of before I went back. 

“Fine, fine, her name is… Hana, we’re on the same team.”, I overheard Jake finally give in and admit. I immediately choked on my water as I heard my own name, and it would have been comedic the way I did a spit take if this was a movie, but unfortunately, this was not a movie and overhearing that your coworker and rival liked you was not in the least bit funny. Another thing that wasn’t funny, was that they now knew someone was behind the corner and had overheard them. What was I going to do? I had to think fast.