Perfection Isn't Ours

Chapter Nine

Mason typed away swiftly on his laptop in his huge dark themed office. He shifted his hand to his coffee cup and sipped some out of the ceramic cup then winched and spat the content back into the innocent cup.

"Why do people in my life just make horrible tea or coffee?" he asked bitterly, and removed his numb fingers from the keyboard. He massaged them and glanced at his wall clock. "11:34am? It's already lunch time, how come I didn't know?"

He sighed and relaxed on his executive chair with his hands behind his head and eyes on the ceiling. The door opened, he rolled his eyes. Only one person never knocks.

"Mason, why are you still in this room? I thought you'd have lunch with the new investors?" A blonde haired guy his age said and fixed his blue rimmed glasses as he sat down on one of the seats in front of his large desk.

"I sent my PA to handle that, Harry. What'd you want?" Mason asked and Harry shrugged, placing his legs on his desk.

Mason frowned. "Just because we are buddies does not give you the right to put your stinky feet on my desk."

Harry held his chest in fake hurt. He adjusted his glasses and pouted.

"But I'm like your only brother, Mason. Why would you say that?" Harry whined, wiping imaginary tears off his cheeks.

Mason remained unmoved.

"Don't you have work to do?"

He shrugged. "Nah, bruv. I'm work-free today." He replied, cracking his long fingers.

Mason rolled his eyes and smiled. Ever since he started working in this company, Harry was the only person who had gotten closer to him. They both worked as mere staffs but as the years went on, they were promoted. Mason as the branch manager of the company and Harry, the assistant.

Mason blinked out of his thoughts when his phone beeped a notification and he began to sweat.

What if Ciara didn't like what I sent and she is backfiring? What if she insults me for being too forward like a perverted animal. And why am I nervous? He thought.

"Are you going to check that?" Harry asked him and he just spared him a glance.

Just as he was about to pick the device, the phone rang. He gasped. Ciara was requesting for a video call. He pushed back his seat and stared at Harry who was looking at him unimpressed.

"Well, if you're not going to answer it. I will," Harry said and picked up the phone before Mason could stop him.

Harry accepted the video call instantly before it rung off.

"Oh... Hi, you're not Mason. Have I been texting the wrong person?"

Mason chuckled at her words. Harry placed the phone over his shoulder to waggle his arched brows at Mason. He smirked and faced the phone.

"Hello, beautiful. What's the name?"

"I am certain that my name popped up on the caller ID, right?"

Harry smiled. "Such a sarcastic tongue you've got there. So, how do you know my mate, Mason?"

Mason scoffed, stood up and walked to where Harry sat down and took his phone. He shook his head at the confused guy before looking at the screen of his phone. He smiled. It seemed like she was in a restaurant or so, plus her food was showing in the video chat.

"Hey, Ciara," Mason said and sat on his desk.

"Hi, Mason. I got your text this morning and-"

"Wait! Please, that was an accident. What I typed was a mistake. It shouldn't have happened!" He said hastily and he swore he saw a flash of hurt in her eyes. Uh-Oh.

She smiled. "It's-It's fine. I mean, I was expecting it to be. We just met and you know, it is sort of weird."

Mason nodded. It wasn't any mistake. Ciara was absolutely beautiful. In fact, he found himself checking her out via the video chat. Her hair was now out of the way she styled it, it was flowing down her shoulders, cascading her face. His eyes glanced down at her pink lips and then her eyes that he was always so captivated in. How could her eyes shine so green?

"Uh... Hello?" She spoke up and he blinked.

"Er. I have to go now," he said and ended the call when she was about protesting against it. He dropped his phone and leaned on his knees. His fingers in his hair.

"It almost seems like you have a thing for her."

Mason flinched.

"Jesus Christ, Harry!" He shouted, holding his chest.

Harry doubled over in laughter. He laughed so hard that he fell to the floor, not caring if his suit was getting dirty. He sat on the floor and wiped off the little tears in his eyes.

"Wow, Mason. She's got you whipped," Harry said. "You didn't even remember that I was right beside you."

Mason frowned. "Don't say nonsense. It's not what you think. I just met her."

"That is what people who falls in love at first sight says," Harry replied, getting up and dusting his body. "Come on, mate. You were glowing when you began to talk to her. Tell me, how'd you two meet?"

Mason chuckled in amusement. He moved away from his position on his desk to sit on where Harry had been sitting.

"In the most unusual way possible," he just said. "Meeting her made me realise the people around me actually matters."

"I swear, I'm confused," Harry muttered enough for him to hear with his fingers stroking his sharp jawlines.

"We actually live in the same neighborhood. Her best friend lives opposite me. She goes to the same gym as I do. She's like two houses away from mine," Mason replied, biting his bottom lip with a distant look in his eyes.

"Hmm, did you say best friend?" Harry asked and Mason rolled his eyes.

"Really? Of all the things I said, your stupid head only caught that?" He asked, glaring playfully at Harry who just shrugged and gave him a raised brow. "Yes, it's a girl. Her name's Nora."

Harry smirked, stroking his jawlines again while his blue eyes were narrowed in interest.

"Nora. Sounds like a beautiful name for a beautiful lady," he said in a more defined British accent. "Could you-"

"No, Harry. There is no bloody way that I will ask Ciara for Nora's number," Mason completed knowingly.

Harry laughed hard.

"You know me So well, Bruv. Don't worry, I'll find her sooner or later," he said, walking to the door. "Soon, Mason. Soon."

With that, he left. Mason face palmed and exhaled. Immediately, his mind raced back to the hurt he saw in her eyes when he said those things.

"Maybe I was a bit mean. She's a woman for Christ's sake. I can't say that to her. It's degrading. I gotta fix this or the friendship I'm building with her will fade," he said, grabbing his phone.

Me: Hey, Ciara. I'm sorry for what I said earlier. It was pretty rude of me to take back what I sent to you this morning in such an offensive manner. Please forgive me? I really don't want our friendship to start off with bad manners.

He tapped send after checking the texts for any flaws. He dropped his phone and tapped his back mentally. Just then, his phone beeped a notification. He rushed the phone and unlocked it.

Ciara: Hey, it's okay. You were just worried about how'd react. I was shocked but thank you for the compliment. I appreciate. No one has called me that in a while.

He frowned at the last sentence in her text. He looked up and stared ahead of him.

"Why would she say that? Doesn't she- Hold on."

Me:  Why would you say that? Does Jerome not let you know that? He's the man you're about to marry. Sorry if I'm being too nosey.

Mason locked the screen of his phone and hoped she'd reply positively. He waited for ten minutes straight and got no reply from her. He stood up and tossed his phone on his chair in a slightly aggressive manner. He took off his suit jacket and took off his tie before strolling to the large window in his office.

"Why would she make such a comment? If she did, it means that Jerome isn't treating her right. That's true, when I first met him, he was acting all insensitive towards her and I," Mason muttered, crossing his arms.

His phone beeped a notification.