5. REVERSING

It is six o'clock in the morning. From behind the thin pillow, the metal body phone with the rose gold plate around it vibrates loudly. The flat object continued to roar, pleading with its owner to calm him down — at least according to the time displayed on the screen at the time.

A young woman squirmed as she moaned. She carefully lifted some of the thin pillows she was wearing as a head support, then took out her cell phone, which had been screaming for a few minutes to be noticed even for a few seconds.

After catching sight of the number printed on the digital clock on the screen, the girl with long hair immediately turned off her smartphone. 6:00 a.m. That is, the object has been flailing around for 16 minutes.

She slowly yanked away the white blanket she'd been wearing since last night, when she'd managed to get the burly man on her left side very drunk and fall asleep without warning.

The girl crept to the edge, placing a pair of tiny paws on the brown vinyl click floor, which matched the beautiful crown that adorned her head. She gathered the strewn pieces of her clothing one by one, not far from where she had set her feet.

The girl turned around for a moment to inspect the condition of the tall, large man behind her. Along with the sound of his heavy breathing, his broad back and shoulders seemed to sway up and down. The man snored loudly again.

This meant she could leave right away without leaving any traces, including a name — something she was most hesitant to say to any foreign man.

"Pyuuuhhh!"

She took a deep breath, relieved that she had managed to get her suit, shoes, and reading glasses on. However, the girl snorted three seconds later when a pair of emerald beads caught her black handbag lying on the sofa, directly facing the burly man who was still curled up with a thick blanket on his soft mattress.

As she carried a pair of legs towards the sofa, the girl sat down, holding her breath. She quickly retrieved her black handbag from the sofa. She ran out of the big room after successfully placing a sticky note on the pillow she was wearing earlier, without taking all the care she did a few minutes ago.

You're very welcome, as evidenced by the kiss emoticon she scribbled on the small yellow piece of paper.

***

"Eric, for God's sake! If she doesn't show up in an hour, I'll block all of her credit cards!" said the brown-skinned man, who was pounding his glass table with the tip of his expensive pen at the time.

The man named Eric finally laughed. The row of white and neat teeth made the man in front of him look even angrier. Eric's gaze lowered as he fingered the rows of letters engraved on the stainless name in front of him. Executive Director is Daniele Reeves. There are four syllables written there.

Eric read out the lines of writing he had touched, "Daniele Reeves. Executive Director."

Hearing his name, complete with the position he currently holds, made him burst out laughing. Daniele, who had been grumbling for an hour about their best friend's bad habits, finally managed to laugh, even if it sounded discordant and forced, at least Eric had managed to get Daniele's mouth to do something else.

"Eric. Why don't you try calling Zoe with your other cell phone?" Daniele sulked yet again.

"Ssshhh." Eric extended his hand in front of Daniele.

Daniele fell silent on her own accord. Because that is the only way to break Daniele's panic habit when confronted with a critical situation like this. Daniele had been expressing his concern for an hour.

Daniele was very concerned about the fate of the company he had just started with Eric, his best friend, a few years before. All of this chaos occurred because Zoe bravely threatened a jewelry brand that had just signed a cooperation contract with the company that has been overseeing her for the past five years, stating that she will take legal action for the harassment she experienced.

Zoe did it for a reason; the girl had been abused by the brand owner's eldest son.

When she went to their headquarters to see the products they would be working with in the coming years, the eldest son of the brand owner did a live broadcast on his bogus account on the day everyone went to lunch.

During the broadcast, Zoe happened to be in the same room as the company's owner's eldest son, who pointed his camera at Zoe's chest and even brought it closer to it without permission.

Zoe, who refused to accept this, immediately reported the incident to the CEO, who happened to be in the next room. She told him about his son's bad behavior, but Zoe didn't have any proof, not even the fake account username used by the CEO's eldest son, which she didn't know.

Zoe objected vehemently and threatened to report harassment by the CEO's son. Unfortunately, the company disapproved of Zoe's actions, particularly the accusations she leveled at her eldest son.

The CEO spread false rumors about the company where Zoe, Daniele, and Eric worked in such a hasty and ridiculous manner. As a result, in that one month, they were subjected to a slew of offers, and some of the brands with whom they collaborated severed their ties solely because of rumors whose origins and sources were unknown.

Zoe bravely visited the apartment of the jewelry company's eldest son last night, unbeknownst to Daniele and Eric. She gives herself up to the man in order to obtain evidence that could dramatically change their situation.

In the midst of Eric's instructions to Daniele, Zoe interrupted with a cheerful smile, not even knocking.

"Good morning, my babies," Zoe said cheerfully.

The girl sat in Daniele's regal chair and put her legs up on the table without feeling guilty. She held up the heel with a red sole, which was expected to be one of the most expensive shoes, next to Eric.

Daniele, who was sitting cross-legged on the mat, got up on his own, bringing his legs up to Zoe and shaking his hips in annoyance.

"Where did you get that smile? Even if only for an hour —"

"Daniele kept grumbling about rumors about our CEO having an affair with one of the board members in the past." Eric was slashed in a single blow.

When Zoe's deafness allowed her to clearly hear the series of sentences her two best friends were saying, she gave a faint smile. Instead of apologizing for bothering them, Zoe chose to command one of them, as she always did.

"Would you mind turning on the television?" Zoe inquired of the two of them, returning her gaze to Daniele and Eric.

Danielle sighed, defeated. He immediately took a thin, rectangular black object from his blazer pocket. Following the appearance of the image on the 50-inch screen, there was a clicking sound.

"Please, Chanel G." Zoe inquired once more.

Daniele modifies the show in response to Zoe's request. Channel G, which is always full of gossip shows and hot rumors circulating in the community.

The presenter delivered the news as planned, causing the corners of Eric's and Daniele's lips to lift. The presenter revealed all of the ugliness of the jewelry company, along with some genuine evidence. It was also reported about the eldest son of the company's owner's bad attitude, one of which was the harassment and violence he had done to several of his ex-girlfriends in the past.

Not to mention that all kinds of bad rumors about EN MAGAZINES, the company founded by Daniele and Eric, were successfully debunked—cleared up by various types of evidence that became public. But one thing they can't change is the fact that their Senior CEO affair.

Daniele and Eric appeared overjoyed that everything had been restored. Those two men embraced, bringing Zoe along with them.

Although Zoe did not explicitly state that it was all the result of her hard work and efforts, Daniele and Eric were well aware that only Zoe was capable of doing so in order to fight for what she should be fighting for.

"Okay, lads. Is there a big photoshoot scheduled for me today?" Zoe inquired of Daniele and Eric, who were still clinging to each other and hugging her.

Instead of responding, Daniele chose to say something else to express his gratitude. "I'll increase your credit card limit, my dear," Daniele said on the spur of the moment.

Zoe shifted her gaze to her shoulder, her gaze fixed on Daniel, who was standing on her right side. The girl asked for another offer with her right brow raised.

"Could you please give me your black card, Dan?" Zoe bargained.

Daniele smiled and kissed the top of Zoe's head before answering. "I'll propose a new one for you," Daniele said with a big smile.

Eric's wide eyes widened in surprise at Daniele's abrupt statement. He wasn't envious, believe it or not. The manner in which Daniele made another offer to Zoe, on the other hand, was suspicious.

Eric cursed, "Hey, idiots!"

The white man was the first to let go of all the intimacy. He pushed Daniele's broad shoulders while casting a probing look at the man with the surname Reeves.

"Who else did you give your black card to, huh?" Eric inquired.

Daniele smiled and responded, "Rebecca."

Eric and Zoe rotated each other's eyeballs in a clockwise direction at the same time. Both of them appeared tired and perplexed as to why their Boss was allowing a girl he had only met a few days before to use his most valuable card.

Daniele grabbed Zoe's shoulder and Eric wrapped his arm around them, realizing he was being teased by his two coworkers as well as his best friend. He didn't say anything for a while, until he finally smiled and tilted his head to the right, looking at the only woman there.

"All these big stories are your idea, right?" Eric pressed the point.

Although Zoe is not a native of the city, she has earned the moniker "social butterfly." She knows a lot of powerful people, including those who play an important role in the broadcast media. It is not impossible for Zoe to revert to its original position in the midst of such chaos.

Zoe had nothing to do but smile stiffly — forcedly. That was all she could come up with as an answer, despite her reluctance to give one. Despite the fact that they haven't known each other for long, those two handsome men in front of them can already recognize all of her expressions.

There was no way she could lie, so she chose to remain silent while forcibly raising the corners of her lips to reveal a fake smile.

"Oh, baby girl. Say something. Or... should I say this? "said Daniele

"What?" Zoe inquired, a look of genuine suspicion on her face.

Daniele swiftly caught Zoe's slender waist while bringing his lips to the girl's left ear, then whispered, "Are you lost, baby girl?"

Zoe shook her head and clenched her fists, pushing Daniele's arms away with her fists.

"Stop making fun of that line, Mr. Weak P!" Zoe retorted.

Eric, who was in the middle of the chaos, eventually positioned himself between Zoe and Daniele. Always be the sole neutral party and referee on a volunteer basis. Eric appeared to both of them at times to be a mother figure. Be the most mature and impartial arbiter in all situations.

"OK, Zoe, Daniele," Eric folded his arms across his chest, then looked at his two best friends' faces in turn.

Then, in the next split second, Eric turned his full attention to Zoe, who was standing on his right side. "Stop mentioning Daniele's weakness, okay, Zoe?" he said firmly.

Zoe nodded, a faint smile on her face as her emerald beads met Eric's gray irises. When Daniele's temper flared, she agreed not to make fun of her.

"Daniele?" Eric rebuked as he turned his head all the way to his left shoulder, looking at Daniele, who looked so guilty for mocking Zoe with the words she despised the most.

"Okay. I realize now that I was mistaken." Daniele admits his error.

Before Eric asked, Daniele approached first, drew Zoe and Eric together, and hugged them both while apologizing. However, Eric interrupted in the next split second.

Eric narrowed his eyes as he looked at Zoe, who appeared unsettled after hearing Daniele's last words to her a few minutes ago.

"Zoe?" Eric asked again.

With all her anxiety, the girl raised her gaze, looking at Eric, who seemed to tower over her. Then, in the next split second, Daniele did the same. Eric's eyes narrowed as he looked at Zoe.

"Did you fall asleep and dream about it last night?" Look into Eric and Daniele. They both said the sentence at the same time.

Zoe responded with a firm nod "Yes, indeed. I think I'll stop welcoming those obnoxious drunks."