Jake liked me? My rival liked me? I was stunned. It all made sense now, the drink on my table, the band-aids he offered, the way he had shown concern about me being tired… So, his kindness hadn’t been calculated like mine always was? It hadn’t been to show off or out of pity that he looked out for me? A million thoughts were swirling around in my mind, but I had to act. There was no time to think. Jake and Tia knew someone had overheard them. It would be worse to get caught fleeing, so I had to reveal myself, but what was I going to say? ‘Hey, I was eavesdropping on you to find Jake’s flaws so I could exploit them and get the promotion instead of him’? That was one way to get him to lose interest right away. Yeah, no thanks. 

In the short time it took me to step out from around the corner, I devised a plan - or more like made an impulsive decision - to take advantage of the situation. 

“Um… Yeah, hi.”, I said, eyes shifting awkwardly as I revealed myself to the two of them. It wasn’t hard to play up the awkwardness that I already felt. Being caught overhearing a conversation while drinking water was better than intentionally eavesdropping on a rival, so I lifted my now empty cup in greeting as I mumbled something about how I had been getting a drink. 

Tia looked questioningly at Jake, she of course didn’t know who I was, but the moment she saw his face, she must have figured it out because he looked mortified, his face flushed and his mouth desperately trying to find words. I couldn’t blame him, I would also struggle to find words if my crush accidentally overheard me confessing that I liked them. 

I decided to compose myself as best as I could, it wasn’t like me to show my embarrassment outward. I always tried to keep that shit in. I reached out a hand to Tia in greeting, accompanied with a professional smile and feigned nonchalance. 

“Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Hana. I work with Jake.”, I introduced myself calmly to Tia. Her eyes widening as she realized that what she had probably already figured out was in fact true. We shook hands and Tia introduced herself to me, then the awkwardness continued as none of us knew what to say next. 

“So, I kind of accidentally heard what you talked about.”, I admitted. A bold approach, impulsive for sure, I might have temporarily lost my mind, but I thought I could make this a win-win situation for me and Jake. If I accepted his feelings, he would get to date me, a win for him and if he dated me, it could work to distract him from his work, which meant I would have less competition for the promotion. It would also allow me to avoid my mother’s blind date setups and so, I would waste less time on meaningless dates and get my mother off my back about dating, so a win for me in many ways. My lips almost curved up in a smirk as I thought of this, but I schooled my features and tried to look as innocent as possible.  

“Well… I was actually just on my way out…”, Tia said as she slowly inched away and pointed over her shoulder, her eyes flitting between me and Jake. Her eyes finally settled on Jake and she looked apologetic as she made her leave. 

“Talk to you later, unfortunately I’ve really got to go.”, Tia excused herself, “But it was so nice to meet you!”, she added as she waved goodbye to me. 

“You too!”, I agreed and waved her off. Now, it was time to strike. If I could use Jake’s feelings towards me to my advantage, it could solve a lot of things for me. I turned to face Jake, looking expectantly at him while putting on a shy and innocent look. 

“So, about what you heard… Um… So, the thing is…”, Jake was fumbling with his words, fidgeting with his hands and not meeting my eyes, as he was trying to explain to me the situation. His shyness was oddly endearing, but I was impatient, we had to get back to work and I needed this to go my way. I had a habit of taking over conversations and projects, a need for control that didn’t make me the most easy-going person around, so I struggled not to interrupt him. A struggle I lost when he didn’t seem to be able to get the words out of his mouth again. It was just three words, how hard could it be? ‘I like you.’ was all he had to say. 

“I like you, too.”, I declared, even though he hadn’t said those words to me, to my face. “I overheard you telling your friend and I just wanted you to know that I feel the same way.”. Jake looked stunned. He must not have expected me to like him back. Understandable, since I hadn’t exactly shown any interest towards him, the way he had towards me. 

Just then, the last of the remaining people hurriedly left the nearby dining hall, as lunch time was over. People around us were speed walking to different elevators, stairs or corridors so as not to be late to their meetings and offices. 

“We can talk about it later, but for now let’s hurry.”, I told Jake as I smiled brightly and turned to leave, motioning for him to follow me.