Echoes of Unrequited Love ( Hogan Zade )
Chapter 47

Chapter 47

I gritted my back teeth, feeling a surge of rage welling up in my chest. In the next second, I pointed at Cecilia’s desk and snapped, “Then you better cough up a rose gold one just like it. Mr. Zade. You clearly have an eye for the good stuff, saves me the hassle of picking another.

Hogan probably didn’t expect me to come on so strong, and for a moment he was totally lost

for words.

Cecilia, the instigator, was turning all shades of red and white.

The atmosphere got super tense real quick.

Just in time, Wallis stepped in to smooth things over, “Even though Director Irwin didn’t mean any harm, the laptop’s definitely toast. Considering she’s still a student, how about the company covers the difference?”

Cecilia’s eyes went wide with confusion, her lips quivered, showing she was on the edge of saying something but held back.

“No need.” Hogan cut in crisply. “We’ll do as Ms. March suggested. I’ll handle it.”

“Hogan,” Cecilia burst out, obviously worked up, “this isn’t right, I can’t let you shell out for this.” “Come on, Director Irwin,” Wallis interrupted Cecilia with a chuckle, “Let’s just go with that. you’re really in luck, aren’t you?”

After finishing, Wallis turned to Hogan and asked, “Are we heading straight to the store. Mr. Zade?”

She was even more down–to–earth than me.

So there we were, me, Hogan, and Cecilia hitting the mall together.

The shop owner took one look at the fried laptop, sighed, and said, “The motherboard’s fried, it’s a goner, no fixing it.”

I wasn’t planning on fixing it anyway, but it was packed with important files that I needed to ensure wouldn’t leak.

Hogan got right to the point, pointing at a laptop priced at 1,999 dollars, “Wrap this one up.”

The owner was caught off guard by his decisiveness and paused before suggesting. “Sir, there’s an upgraded model of this one, just two hundred more.”

Hogan glanced at me immediately, as if asking for my input.

Before I could even open my mouth, the shop owner added, “Your girlfriend must be in IT, right? In that field, the laptop is all about showing off. Gotta get something snazzy.”

Suddenly, Cecilia piped up, “Hogan, since the owner suggests it, why don’t you get Xaviera the upgraded model?”

Chapter 47

The shop owner’s eyes were darting between the three of us, his gaze loaded with unsaid thoughts.

Hogan looked at Cecilia and said, “Alright, we’ll go with your suggestion.”

After Hogan swiftly swiped his card, the owner, grinning from ear to ear, asked, “What about this one?”

He was referring to the waterlogged wreck Cecilia had created.

It was my stuff, and I made up my mind quick, “Could you toss it in the trash for me, please?”

After that, I made up some excuse and left with my new laptop.

Back at the office, everyone’s eyes practically popped out when they saw the laptop in my hands.

Zora just blurted out, “Man, I wish Director Irwin would spill coffee on my laptop tomorrow morning.”

Wallis joked, “You’re daydreaming.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

At the end of the day, Tina suddenly called.

“Xaviera, there’s a comic con at the convention center tomorrow afternoon, wanna come check

it out?”

I wasn’t really interested.

But thinking about how she went out of her way to clear up that photo mix–up for me, I felt bad

saying no.

“Come on, once your game launches, you might need to do all sorts of offline promotions too. Consider it a learning experience.”

That reasoning was pretty tempting.

After talking it over with Wallis, I agreed to Tina’s invite.

Time flew, and the next afternoon I showed up at the convention center as promised.

Right at the entrance, I saw a bunch of cosplayers, all decked out and catching people’s eyes.

There were characters from various online games, fresh and exciting.

I walked and looked around, my gaze finally landing on a guy cosplayer in a black robe with a waist–long skirt.

He wore a black patterned mask on his face, and his eyes were slender and long, with a touch. of red at the corners, holding an old–school umbrella matching his outfit. He sat there quietly. exuding a vibe of being both righteous and wicked.

He was drawing quite a crowd, like a handsome man stepping out of an ancient–style poster.

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Chapter 47

For some weird reason, he kinda resembled one of the male leads we had set up in our game.

My heart skipped a beat, and my feet involuntarily moved towards the cosplayer,

As I got closer, he noticed me too. Our eyes met, and his trembled slightly, his gaze suddenly softening with tenderness.

It felt eerily familiar.

“Do I look good?*

His warm voice reached my ears, and I was taken aback, blurting out, “Darren?”