"Tristan... Lee?"

It was the first time Justin heard that name in so long. The moment he heard Hannah say his name, his heart suddenly started to pound.

"Yeah, that's his name," Hannah said as she nodded. "People call him demon because he's literally one. It's like he doesn't know what being a good person is. He makes thinga difficult for everyone, and before he became the CEO of the company, he makes the atmosphere so suffocating for those who work with him," Carl explained.

"Wait, wait... He's the CEO?" Justin asked with a shocked expression on his face. "Yeah? Why?" Carl glaced at Justin while raising his brow. "No... nothing," Justin said as he shook his head.

'It must be a different Tristan. It's not like there's only one person in the wntire world whose name is Tristan Lee. Tristan is a pretty common name. Yeah...' Justin thought, convincing himself that it wasn't the Tristan thay he knew

"Now, back to Sir Tristan Lee. Neither Carl nor I have worked with him so we really don't know how much of the rumors were true, but I heard that he's really strict with time when it comes to those who work directly under him. You get to work late once, you're fired. He's also really demanding and he wants things to go his way. But well, I can't really say anything about his job though. He works hard and gets excellent results when it comes to business. Hmm, what else...?" Hannah looked up a bit to think for more things to say about Tristan.

'It really is someone else. He's literally like a puppy. There's no way he's that Tristan,' Justin thought to himself, convinced that it wasn't his ex boyfriend.historical

"Oh! Also, he's the chairman's son. I really thought he would just ride his father's coattails, but I was wrong. Nobody knee that he was the eldest son of the chairman until he became the CEO. He really deserves his position right now, seeing how he climbed his way up to the top," she continued.

She then giggled and stopped walking as she grabbed Justin's arm, making him stop as well. "Believe me or not, you'd expect him to be a man who's on his late 40's, but he's not. Once you see him, you'd literally ask yourself how his parents made him for him to be so handsome and almost perfect," she giggled.

"They had sex, duh?" Carl retorted as he rolled his eyes at her. Hannah looked at him from head to toe as her forehead creased and her lips frowned.

The three of them continued walking behind a bit farther from the other employees from their department.

"Oh, right! There's also this rumor that circulated around him before. I think this was from three years ago? I was recently hired that time, so I kinda got curious about this demon guy. While I was at the comfort room, I heard two people talking about how Sir Lee is impotent, and that's why he never got married despite being oh-so-perfect," Carl said and clicked his tongue.

"Hey!" Hannah suddenly yelled. The other employees in front of the three glanced at them when they heard her yell.

"Oh... It's nothing," Hannah said as she shook her head and waved her hands around.

Hannah turned her head as she glared at Carl who didn't seem to care much about what he said.

"He's probably just picky or maybe he's got someone, and he's being lowkey about it. Who knows? Don't jump into conclusions, asshole," she glared at him. "Whatever. You're just defending him 'cause he's good-looking," Carl said as he shrugged. "Duh? If he looks like you, then I wouldn't bother at all," Hannah said as she rolled her eyes at him.

"You guys fight every single day," Justin said as he chuckled. He felt a bit pressured because he was between the two.

"Don't listen to that ugly man next to you," Hannah said as she pulled Justin closer to her and linked her arm with his. "There's no way he's impotent. Carl is just bitter because he's ugly," she continued.

"You're ugly," Carl said as he frowned at her.

The two kept throwing insults at each other until they arrived at the pub. Once they got there, they ordered food that will be paid using the company card, meaning that they could buy as much food as they want.

"You adjusting well at work?" Someone sat next to Justin.

Justin looked at the person who just sat next to him and saw that it was their department manager, Mark.

"Yes, sir. Hannah and Carl really helped me out a lot at work," Justin said as he smiled at him. "That's great. By the way, you can call me Mark. We're outside work so you can speak comfortably," he said as he looked at him while smiling.

'Hmm? What's this? Is he making a move on me right now?' Justin thought, feeling a bit conscious.

"Hey, Mark! Why are you sitting on my chair?" Carl said as he looked at Mark who was sitting next to Justin. "Hey, come on. You can sit next to Hannah," Mark said as he chuckled.

'Oh... I was mistaken. He's like that to everyone, huh?' Justin thought to himself, embarrassed that he mistook his manager's friendly gesture as flirting.

"Ugh..." Carl grunted and slowly walked to the chair next to Hannah. "Hey, do you have a death wish? Why are you sitting next to me? Ugliness is contagious, you know?" Hannah frowned at him. "Yeah, it's contagious. That's why I didn't want to sit next to you," Carl said as he pulled the chair and sat.

"Asshole," Hannah whispered.

"They're always fighting," Mark chuckled. "They really are," Justin said as he looked at the two who were fighting once again.

"They're actually dating, though." Justin felt Mark's breath against his ear, making him flinch a bit.

"Sir... I mean, Mark? C... Could you please refrain from invading my personal space? It makes me uncomfortable," Justin said, not moving his head because it might shorten the distance between them.

"Oh, right. I apologize for that. I'll keep that in mind," Mark said and chuckled. "Thank you," Justin said as he finally faced straight again.

For the last few years, he started becoming more open with telling people whenever he feels uncomfortable because of their actions. Back then, he couldn't even dare to imagine that when he thinks thay it might offend someone or make them feel bad, but now that he's grown for the better, he began to care more about himself.

It was different when it came to Xander, though. He was already comfortable with him because he was like a brother to him, but when it comes to other people, it's really difficult for him to tell them that they make him feel uncomfortable.

The food and drinks they ordered finally arrived, and they started eating together while chatting.

Meanwhile, at the cafe where Tristan was, he suddenly dialed his secretary's number.

"Miss Erika, is anyone from the Finance Department still at the company?" he asked as soon as his secretary picked up. "Good evening, sir. I'll go ask somebody about it. Please wait for a while," she replied. "3 minutes. Do it quickly," Tristan said, giving her a time limit.

Two minutes have passed, and without even reaching the time limit yet, his secretary talked over the phone again. "From whay I found out, everyone from the Finance Department is currently having dinner at a pub near the company building. They're having a welcoming party for new hirees. I believe the pub's name is Midnight, sir," she said, explaining about their whereabouts.

"Thanks," Tristan said and ended the call. Erika was shocked upon hearing the word 'thanks' from her boss. She didn't expect him to thank her based on how he has treated her so far.

The reason why Tristan asked her about the Finance Department is because he wanted to know whether the person she bortowed the jacket from was really Justin.

He still couldn't let go of that idea even though he knew it was most likely impossible for him to work there. He wanted to cling onto the little hope that he had, and he didn't want to regret that he didn't bother checking if it was really him.

Truthfully, he could have just asked Erika to check about that employee's identity, but it would take too long for her to do that. He decided to check it for himself.

He drove to the pub that his secretary said, feeling anxious and excited at the same time.

There was something about it that made him feel excited. It was like something was telling him that Justin might really be there.

He parked the car at the pub's parking lot and got off as soon as he did. As he entered the pub, his eyes were immediately drawn onto someone.

"It's him."