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    Ron’s words instantly made me think of Hayden, and what Steve had mentioned yesterday about a


    friend with thest name ‘Hart‘ who had invested a ton of money in OceanixCorp.


    I turned to Ron. “When you say ‘manly,” what exactly do you mean? Or do you have a friend like


    that?”


    Ron cleared his throat. “It’s hard to exin… I mean, someone with a strong presence, stands tall,


    like…” He trailed off, pointing at the cafeteria’s TV screen.


    The news was showing a g–raising ceremony, soldiers standing tall and straight, radiating


    discipline and strength. It reminded me of Hayden again, and I had a feeling Ron was hinting at


    something.


    Thest name Hart?


    Manly?


    A soldier?


    It couldn’t be, could it?


    I watched Ron’s face, but he was focused on the screen, deep in thought. I decided to throw him off


    a fittle. “Is your friend’s name Hayden?”


    “Huh?” Ron blinked, looking at me in surprise. “What did you just say?”


    I couldn’t tell if he actually didn’t hear me or if he was just ying dumb.


    “You have a friend named Hayden?” I repeated, trying to keep it light.


    “Hayden?” Ron echoed, shaking his head a little too quickly. “Uh, no. Who’s that?”


    He gave me a smile, but there was definitely some unease in his eyes.


    I smirked, raising an eyebrow. “You know, the ‘manly‘ guy you were talking about.”


    “Heh,” heughed awkwardly. “Really? You know someone like that? So, what’s your deal with this


    ‘manly‘ friend? Are you two close or something?”


    The curiosity was all over his face. “Wow, you’re really into this, huh?” I teased. “I’ll have to


    introduce you two sometime.”


    “Sure, but… would that be cool?” Ron asked, pretending to be all hesitant.


    “Why wouldn’t it be?” I teased.


    He gave me a sheepish grin. “I’m just worried about, you know, misunderstandings. Like how your


    buddy got all territorial yesterday and pretended to be your boyfriend.”


    “You’ve got a friend with thest name ‘Hart.‘ What’s his first name?” I asked, steering the


    conversation and totally throwing him off.


    “Uh, I mean… yeah, I do have an old buddy…” Ron stammered, looking like a deer caught in


    headlights.


    “Oh, like ‘old‘ old?” I pressed.


    His expression tightened. “Not old–old, but not young, either. He’s in his mid–thirties and still


    single.”


    I nodded, ying along. “Think I could meet him sometime?”


    “Huh?” Ron’s eyes widened, a mix of surprise and mild panic on his face.


    I just smiled. “You said he doesn’t have a girlfriend, and I don’t have a boyfriend…”


    Ron’s mouth twitched, and he let out a couple of awkward chuckles “Wow, I didn’t expect you to be


    so upfront about it. Setting yourself up like that–impressive. He even gave me a thumbs up.


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    I grinned. “Good guys are hard


    try, right? As they say, you gotta


    Come by these days, so when there’s a decent one, you’ve gotta at least fight for your happiness.”


    Ron had no response to that and just nodded along. “Yeah, yeah. You’re really something else.”


    “So, does that mean you’ll help me get in touch with your friend?” I pressed on.


    “Uh, sure, sure,” Ron agreed, though his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “But I’ll need to check


    with him first. He’s kinda got this girl he’s been secretly into, and I think they’re finally getting


    somewhere.”


    “Got it,” I said, acting all disappointed.


    “Yeah, so… it’s probably not gonna happen,” Ron added, clearly trying to let me down easy.


    But that just made me more curious. “As long as he’s not married, I’ve gotta give it a shot, right?


    Who knows, maybe when he meets me, he’ll realize I’m the one.”


    Ron was totally speechless.


    “Come on, Mr. Shane, do me a favor,” I teased with a grin. “They say helping people find love


    brings good karma or something. I’ll be waiting for your update.”