Alicia and Lucy drove back to Lucy's apartment in Aethel City's exclusive 'Silverbrook' residency. The drive was tense, not from traffic, but from the emotional drain of Alicia's first successful male interaction.
As they entered the high-rise building, Lucy felt somebody had invaded her privacy.
The apartment door wasn't locked. This instantly put Alicia on edge; her old military training flashed to the forefront. Although Lucy had securely locked both the gate and doors, a fact Lucy confirmed as they stepped inside.
Lucy knew apart from her, it was Alicia, Kristen and Chris who had her keys.
"Could it be Chris?" Alicia suggested, her hand dropping instinctively toward her side bag where she kept a small, legally registered defence weapon.
"No, remember we left him and Jason there," Lucy whispered, already moving into a defensive posture.
They both agreed. After countless thoughts, heartbeats accelerating in shared tension, they made up their minds to cautiously find and catch the intruder.
What they didn't expect was their own friend Kristen, casually pulling a tray of fresh cookies from the oven.
"What on earth are you doing here?" Alicia asked annoyingly, her posture relaxing but her voice edged with genuine irritation.
She hated surprises, especially ones that involved perceived security breaches.
"Why, can't I be here?" Kristen countered, setting the tray down.
"At least you could have informed me that you would be coming here," Lucy complained, instantly distracted by the delicious smell of the freshly baked cookies on the centre table.
"And what about your parents? Thought you were on a vacation with them. Why are you here?" Alicia, still cross, asked again.
"I was bored. Besides, I missed you guys." Kristen's casual reply defused the situation entirely.
Kristen got up and threw herself into Alicia's arms. "I missed you so so much." She hugged Alicia's neck tightly leaving her no space to breathe, completely oblivious to Alicia's military discipline.
"Kris, Kristen... Kristen I can't breathe," Alicia wheezed, her highly trained lungs struggling under the affection.
"Are you gonna choke her to death right when she had found the guy?" Lucy exclaimed, unable to contain the news.
"What?" Kristen let go of her abruptly. Her eyes immediately locked onto Lucy, her "love expert" status instantly overriding her need for air.
Lucy immediately covered her mouth with her finger, realising her blunder.
"When? Alicia how come you never called to gist me?" Kristen demanded.
Alicia stared at Lucy with cold, sharp eyes that promised painful retribution later.
"Lucy, did I tell you Jason and I are a thing?" She demanded, before sinking into the comfort of the couch.
"Of course not. But from the look of things, you guys are gonna be one good match," Lucy said, moving her hands as if analysing the future.
"Two people into each other".
"Wait," Kristen held Lucy's hands, her eyes wide with shock and excitement.
"Jason Jennings. The Security CEO. Chris's friend. Wow. What a real match!" The idea of Alicia with someone equally powerful thrilled her.
She jumped out of excitement. Kristen held Lucy's hands and the two danced with her.
"Guys, we only met today, at the gym," Alicia cut in, emphasising the word gym to alert them—the meeting was purely transactional, not romantic.
"You met at the gym. Which means you finally moved out of your shell," Kristen countered, seeing only the progress.
The two danced more.
"I'm leaving," Alicia snapped, grabbing her things to leave. She couldn't handle this emotional chaos.
"No, no, no, don't go. Come here," both friends grabbed Alicia and led her back to the couch.
"Even if you just met, you have to make it work," Kristen insisted, her voice serious.
Kristen sat at her right while Lucy sat at the left, caging Alicia in a comforting, inescapable trap.
"Baby girl. This is going to be your first encounter with a man and you mustn't let it go," Kristen continued, looking directly into Alicia's guarded eyes.
"Please, Alicia, we know you've been looking forward to having a guy, and this is the time for that."
Lucy pleaded with puppy eyes.
Alicia sighed, defeated by their combined affection.
"Fine. I'm listening." Alicia finally agreed to the friendly advice.
Kristen leaned in conspiratorially. "You know we have just seven days left to return to the barracks, right?" Both Lucy and Alicia nodded solemnly.
The barracks—the place of duty, the place that demanded her return.
"You should use this time to get to know him better. Since you already know some things about him, it would be easy to get in touch." Kristen, the self-proclaimed love expert, stated.
Both she and Lucy knew Alicia was a crazy fan of Jason's security firm and his strategic business moves. That was going to lessen her burden of interacting with him, making the effort less awkward.
"But don't let him know you are a crazy fan of his work," Lucy suggested, knowing Alicia's pride.
"Guys, I'm not sure. What if he doesn't want to? I mean go out with me." The question was small, frail, and entirely unlike the formidable Alicia Kara.
"Girl, you're a hot chick. Which guy in Aethel City is going to turn you down? You're worth a fortune, your businesses made 20 million Apex (A$) this quarter alone!" Kristen encouraged her.
Both she and Lucy knew men couldn't resist her beauty and her power. Men could ogle at her so much that they could even lose their direction.
"No problem. You don't have to do anything. Just be in your comfort zone. He's the CEO, he can afford to chase," Kristen added.
Kristen cupped Alicia's face in her palms.
"Girl, he's gonna come to you." She hugged her again.
"I'm so happy for you." Lucy hugged her best friends. They were pleased that a man was able to break through the cold atmosphere and approach Alicia.
She was really cold. Wherever she went, you could feel this cold aura around her. It made it difficult for others to approach her, especially men.
So far, the only man who was really close to her was her master—the person who forged her into the weapon she was today. Even the management from Alicia Kara's companies always had difficulty in approaching her for simple updates. They desperately hoped Jason was the one to break her shell.
"I got to go. I have to check some management reviews." Alicia informed them. The world of business was her safe refuge.
They broke from the hug.
"Will you be going over there?" Lucy asked, referring to Alicia's primary corporate HQ outside the city.
As the CEO of Alicia Kara, she had lots to do. They remembered she hadn't had enough rest. Always checking the day's activities of the management group.
"No, it has been delivered to my place." The reviews were digital and awaiting her. She got up to leave.
"Wait. You haven't even tried my cookies," Kristen pleaded.
Kristen packaged some cookies and handed them to Alicia.
"You can be working and be drooling over this as well." Kristen knew there was no way Alicia could resist her cookies—one of her few known weaknesses.
Alicia gave her a rare, warm smile.
"Thanks." She then left, the weight of the seven-day timer pressing down on her.
"So, tell me. How did it happen?" Kristen turned to Lucy after Alicia had left.
Lucy got up to go upstairs. She was trying to avoid Kristen's question. Lucy knew Kristen could be relentless; she was really talkative.
If she were to answer a question, there was no way she was going to go free—Kristen would demand every detail.
"Come on, Lucy, tell me. I'm interested in knowing my beloved's well-being. Don't you dare hold back on the juicy details!" Kristen stared intently at Lucy's back.
"You could have asked her when she was here," Lucy said halfway up the staircase.
Kristen climbed up and followed her.
"Lucy. Lucy tell me now. What was he wearing? Did he look like his pictures?"
"Stop following me. I won't tell you a thing. Go back to your apartment," Lucy said, laughing despite herself.
But Kristen wasn't going to give up. The chase was on.