Jordan's POV
I just came out of the bathrooms after completing the morning drill at the boot camp and was headed to do my own routine without the flabbergasted trainees I had punished with grueling activities earlier. For some reason, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and was quite grumpy, and refused to look in the mirror and check out how long my beard had grown. I know it still suits me, though, modesty aside - if not, those ladies from the female boot camp wouldn't exert efforts coming over to the armory which was a good half a kilometer away from their lounge, and blurt excuses of resting and meditating while I noisily assembled my rifle.
"DI... Do you think it'd be helpful for us to carry rifles while trying yoga?" One of them waved at me unashamedly, while bending her back in such a way that her breasts were almost sticking out of her uniform. I knew she wanted me to notice, so I paid her a good sweep with teasing eyes and she looked rather pleased that I appreciated her cup C assets.
"I'm afraid I can't give you proper advice, babe," I told her as I started moving out of the room, walking backwards while headed to the door to avoid breaking eye contact with the lovely woman. "I haven't met a yoga instructor before, and I wouldn't have an idea whether lifting a rifle while twisting your sexy body would be a good thing..." There you go, smooth talker. I mentally chided myself. Part of me wanted to stay in the room and enjoy the view that the girls were giving me, but I knew I would send them the wrong idea if I did. They were already starting to discreetly undress themselves due to the warmth in the room, but I bet my own badge that they were silently inviting me for something more than just a view of sultry back-bending and yoga posing. I waved them goodbye without any more of a backward glance as I stepped out of the door and jogged straight to the open field to look for some company - by this, I mean a wholesome company.
It wasn't long before I stepped on the dry soil when I heard the booming voice of Franklin, shouting my name. I turned around and saw him jogging towards my direction, carrying dumbbells, but it didn't look like he was exercising at all. On the contrary, he looked like he was carrying grenades, and that he was tasked to take them to me and expect me to stop them from exploding. I stopped and waited for him until he was close enough to deliver the news.
"What's up, Frank?" I asked, hands on my rifle, ready to fire at him in case he was up for some ill joke like he always does in the morning. I normally would have had the patience to put up with Frank’s pranks, but if I hadn't said it earlier, I'm not my happy self today.
"I think the heavens descended on us today, Jordy boy," he began with a dramatic bodily movement, and I instinctively curled my finger on the trigger, eyes narrowed at him and awaiting more of his stupid rambling. "Hold it, don't kill me yet!" He almost laughed as he very well noticed my reaction. He raised his hands, still carrying the useless dumbbells and tried to look as seriously as he could.
"You're needed at the visitor's area. Someone's looking for you."
There. He said the most impossible thing that could ever happen, and I lifted my rifle to point at his head. "Jordan, I'm serious!" He shouted, not at all panicking even with my rifle muzzle pressed against his forehead. I wouldn't kill him - no, not yet. But what he said was the last thing that could ever happen in the world, and everyone in the camp knew it.
I had entered the military without anyone knowing it, and even my father, rich as he was, respected my need for privacy and simply believed that I was out traveling the world wasting my own money and never conducted any search party even if I didn't get in touch with the family for a year. Even the Brigadier General doubted it at first, but after a thorough espionage, the entire military was convinced that my family had not really sent a troop to start looking for me and investigate what I was really up to. With that reason, no one on Earth is expected to visit me, or let alone look for me at the Military camp.
"As the B-Gen told me, you have a visitor, Jordan," Frank repeated slowly and with emphasis, as though he was talking to someone who just had a new pair of hearing aids who might have trouble catching and stringing the words together. I looked at him with a frown and then lowered my rifle. "I'm serious, and I've already met the person." He added.
"And who might that be?" I finally asked. I felt stupid for believing his words, but he never uses the B-Gen's name for a joke.
"I don't think I'm in the position to tell," he said sullenly, but his face broke into a wide grin with his next words. "But she sure looks like an angel who fell from the sky!"
Okay, I get it. Stupid as he was, I knew Frank had standards. If he looked like struck by lightning right now, then that "she" must be beautiful. Whoever she was. I tried to rack my brain for some woman who would have the audacity to look for me in the Military - of all places.
I knew it wouldn't be my sister, since she never had the inclination to play detective and check on the whereabouts of a thirty-year-old brother who had been living independently since he was thirteen. She always regarded me as a "little brother" much to my indignation, but she also had so much confidence in me that I highly doubt she would start worrying for me and would want to take care of me after ten years of being out of the limelight.
Next thing I considered was whether there would be a woman who I might have slept with while on my break from the military, and to whom I could have confessed my secret job, and here she goes looking for me and about to tell me that she was bearing my child. I shuddered at the thought.
"She doesn't look pregnant, does she?"
"She doesn't look pregnant, does she?" I heard myself ask, and this time, it was Frank's turn to look at me like I just sprouted a second head – rather, third. I didn't have to explain what I was thinking since he knew me too well, and he just sighed like I was too difficult to deal with. "What? I might have impregnated some random woman and she's here to claim her rights..."Frank rolled his eyes and sighed once again, this time with the shake of his head. "No, she doesn’t look pregnant, dumbass."I let out a sigh of relief, congratulating myself for not stupidly leaving some woman longing for me and for a father to her child. I admit, I engage in some casual relationships when I'm out of the camp, but I always made sure that my affairs were never too serious to get hitched, and that the women I dated were not only the less clingy ones but also not the slutty ones. I valued my manhood and would never bow down to some random sex just to get satisfied. I'd rather jack off than get myse
By the tilt of her head and even with her eyes concealed, she was obviously looking at Frank and not me. I felt irritated for some reason but kept my face straight and void of any emotions. We wouldn’t want to be too obvious, would we?She turned to me and looked up. She looked like she wasn't pleased with the idea of me being six to seven inches taller than her, as she visibly tried to adjust her height and straightened her back all the more. "You must be Jordan Gallagher?" She queried, her well-defined eyebrows arched, awaiting any type of reaction from me. I noticed that she didn't extend her hand for a handshake, but simply looked at me behind her sunglasses.I found myself just staring at her. All of my experiences with women, my sweet talking talented self refused to take over, and I suddenly felt tongue-tied. The need to drink some cold beverage became so strong that I felt my throat go dry. She eyed me from head to toe, seemingly assessing why I was dressed in crumpled fatigue
With her new mobile phone in hand, Vee tried to keep herself occupied by watching music videos of her favorite bands. Since she likes having free time before her actual work, she is used to arriving at the venue not less than three hours before the call time. Her habit has made her image really pleasant in the eyes of designers and their staff as they never had to stress about her not getting enough preparation time before her shows start. Today, as she arrived much earlier than usual, she was greeted by a staff member right after she got off the service van that picked her up from the private hangar as she arrived in her private plane. She was then asked to wait for her stylist in her own dressing room while one of her assistants joined the rest of the staff who were preparing all the items needed for the fashion show - from different sets of face paint to five different outfits and props for each model. Her room was adjacent to the common one where the rest of the guest models wer
Her reverie could have taken that long, as Vee was surprised when she realized that Lenka was already shooing her towards the backstage to get ready for the show. She was now clad in her first item to present on the runway - a black, one piece all-lace lingerie which didn't really cover up anything that much. It was high-cut and showed off her entire thighs and crotch, and her buttocks were only partially encased in a V-web of pure lace. The bust part of the piece was cut with a very low neckline which again was shaped like a "V." She suddenly remembered Guy saying that the lingerie was patterned specifically for her.She squirmed as she recalled how she had spent grueling hours at the gym to get her entire body toned up to look perfect in her piece. She also tried to shove the memory of her very strict diet for the past few weeks and a part of her wished she belonged to the plus size group of models who would also walk for Guy’s lingerie line - a wishful thinking, though, knowing tha
Feeling the sexy vibe of the music and hearing the classy cheers around the catwalk helped Vee to project the appropriate facial expression which would match her lingerie piece as she strutted towards the elevated aisle. She looked ahead at an imaginary someone with inviting stares and a slightly parted mouth while striking a pose before twirling and walking back to the curtains. Upon reaching the backstage, she was shocked by the complete chaos - not the usual she sees during fashion shows. Instead of being led towards a spot where her outfit was meant to be redesigned, she was quickly ushered by one of the directors to her dressing room where Guy and Lenka were both slumped on the couch, visibly shaken and with swollen eyes. The unsightly atmosphere got her all tense."What's going on?" She asked, while trying to calm her growing anxiety as she sat in between the two, while the rest of the fashion show team was strictly asked by Guy's assistant to carry on with the show. Vee could s
Everything happened like a whirlwind after the sad news had come to Vee. On the very same day, she had to cancel all pending commitments and had her staff make important phone calls to file for her immediate resignation from her agency. Her managers and assistants had to coordinate with different agencies to send advanced notifications of the major changes on her plans for the year which would affect existing contracts. While flying in her private plane, she discussed pending contracts with her attorney and announced willingness to pay for damages or penalties for breach of contract, if any. After hours of calls making arrangements, Vee’s appointment for Guy's fashion line photoshoot for a magazine was the only one left in her line up for the rest of the summer, and her friend readily mentioned that he would be declining the invitation if the editors would demand for Vee, and offer other top models to grace the shoot and be given the opportunity to carry his brand as an alternative.A
After long, sleepless days and nights, when the time finally came for her to go home, Vee forced Guy and Lenka to leave her alone and assured them that she was alright. She wanted them to also get some rest as they had spent days and nights alternating with assisting her. She promised that if she needed anything, her house helpers would do a great job.In truth, she wanted to have some time to mull things over and process her own emotions. Just as how her father had raised her and Viktor, she would never show weakness in front of anyone she didn’t fully trust, thus she would always put on a strong face every time the cameras snapped at her during interviews. The first and last time she ever cried since hearing the news was in front of Guy and Lenka on that fateful day of her last fashion show. Her friends had expressed worry for her lack of emotional display, but she may have been trying too hard to follow her father’s teaching that even when she had tried to rele
Vee had never really paid attention to other business industries as she was growing up, chasing her own dreams. She had spent so much time traveling for her modeling gigs and the only world she had ever paid attention to was the world of fashion. Now that she practically didn’t have a choice but to enter the business industry which her father and her older brother had expertly navigated through, it took her by surprise that she may be facing similar worlds - business is business regardless of the industry choice. Businessmen seemed to have a smaller world than she had imagined.Now I know why everyone’s noses are following me.On the day she had decided to take her first step to solving her father’s puzzle, she only had to tell her driver, Max, where she wanted to go and he already knew how long it would take for the trip.“You may still nap a bit, señorita,” Max had told Vee.She found herself asking if Max e
Jordan studied Lucas' disgruntled face before snatching the envelope away. He peeked into it and saw a small flash drive."There are no other copies left," Lucas said, "and the cops don't know about it. You could research all you want, but that's all there is. I risked my reputation just to get away with that. I don't know what the old man Yates wanted with it, and why he seemed to know that his own accident was going to be captured in it. I did what he wanted - deliver that to his daughter."A sudden movement from the backdoor exit alarmed Lucas and he instinctively hid behind Jordan. The latter aimed his gun in the direction of a man who was lurking behind the shadows."Hold it," came Frank's voice. He slowly approached, his hands raised as he grinned at Jordan and Vee. "'Sup, Jordy, you seem too excited to blow p
"W-who are you?"Vee felt a bit confused as she questioned the man who picked her up from the dance floor and guided her to the backdoor exit of the bar. She wondered how it happened that no one suspected she was being kidnapped or dragged away - she hazily recalled how she appeared to still be dancing as people around her moved with her. She also did not fight back, much to her disappointment with herself, but she realized that she was not being forced. She couldn't clearly see the stranger's face which was covered with a scarf up to his nose, but she could see his wary eyes darting around as though trying to ensure that no one noticed or followed them. He cautiously let her lean against the wall after letting go of her arms."Please don't make a scene, Yates," the man said in a hushed voice. "I won't hurt you.” He sounded worried and sincere. He moved V
Due to Jordan's strict instructions of not making any information sit for more than twenty-four hours, Frank felt the need to immediately inform Vee about his discovery. He wasn't sure if he would need to filter any details - he knew Jordan wouldn’t want anything worrisome to cause Vee any stress, but since Jordan couldn't be reached, he would take the risk of discussing them with the Yates princess. He also knew that he had to work covertly, so he decided to fly to the city himself like how Jordan would do it, instead of talking over the phone or asking Vee to go back to the camp to meet him.The next evening as previously agreed, Vee was all set to meet Frank at a bar which was close to Lenka's workplace. She was also scheduled to attend a fellow model's birthday party, and she took it as an opportunity to act as normal as she could to avoid unwanted attention. Frank had specifically asked he
No one has received a call from Jordan, and no one dared to check on him due to strict orders of not being disturbed while he was out. Since no one had an idea who the woman was, Vee started wondering if it could have been Jordan's secret girlfriend. The image of him giddily talking on the phone when they were together came back to her, and she recalled seeing a woman's photo of the caller ID flashing on his phone then.Suddenly feeling weird, Vee asked if Katie could let her stay in the office and wait for Jordan for a few minutes. She was granted full access, as Katie was fully aware of the Gallaghers' orders to treat anyone of the immediate Yates family as their own employer, a rule which had been existing since Alister's time as CEO. Vee was allowed to enter the main office while the receiving room was closed.When she was finally left alone, Vee found hers
While enduring Lenka and Guy's teasing which lasted a couple of days more, Vee intentionally engrossed herself with paperwork and important business meetings to avoid looking like a ripe tomato every time she was with her friends. Not long did she realize, though, that she would be unable to evade the two longer than she had hoped when her wedding planner reappeared one day and reminded her of the important steps she had yet to do with Jordan."I-I was hoping to have the fitting postponed..." she said, biting her lip in discomfort. She just couldn’t imagine how to invade Jordan’s already full schedule and further test his sanity to talk about yet another obligation. Almost instantly, Guy jumped from his seat and recited his objection."Your birthday will be in less than seven weeks, lady," he announced dramatically. "Remember that you are
Vee could still hear Guy and Lenka enthusiastically imagining and speculating things about her relationship with Jordan but her mind was still tainted by a familiar sinking feeling which she had been ignoring. I was a nagging sense of unease - she couldn’t shake the idea of him being reluctantly caught up in all the Yates-Gallagher ruckus which seems to be her father’s brainchild.Her suppressed thoughts of an image of Jordan looking silly while talking to the woman who called his mobile phone while they were out for lunch still lingered in her head, and she wasn’t sure how to address that.She had almost forgotten, but the magazine article she had seen at the gasoline station which featured Jordan’s younger years was also something to consider.The magazine feature was a lookback at when he had won his mixed martia
Since it was obvious that Vee would be unable to dodge Lenka's interrogation, she finally gave in and decided to narrate every single detail about her vacation-turned-clue-hunting with Jordan. She purposefully left out the bathtub incident for fear of being teased, but her storytelling skills have yet to be honed since it was too easy to find loopholes which made Lenka discover that she was hiding something. Cornered, she finally shared what happened and how she was left with only a towel after all the ruckus.As Vee had expected, Lenka started giggling so hard that Guy finally gave up trying to catch some much needed sleep. He looked around his room and realized that the ladies had invaded his privacy and now had deprived him of some rest. Guy’s eyes widened as Lenka relayed to him Vee's experience with Jordan while they were in a motel, and with much excitement described how the Gallagher heir trie
After their short vacation which turned out to be an investigation, Jordan and Vee had to go back to work to face their pending jobs in both of their families' businesses. Vee resumed the business refresher courses she had started taking to keep herself sharp and in the loop with industry standards. Afterall, she can’t always just rely on her advisors. On the other hand, while she engrossed herself in her projects for the Rustik-Yates Hotels, Jordan resumed his research on Conan's pending transactions for their company.The mall conversion of the Gallagher Industries branch in Asia was a big project and Jordan always found himself trapped in cadences and overseas meetings. He had to fly out of the country every other day and it deprived him of proper sleep. He remembered the days when he got deployed for special missions in far flung lands where he had to endure sleepless nights while on watch for th
As opposed to what they hoped, Jordan and Vee were unable to immediately decipher what the painting was all about. Other than its title's literal meaning "First Son," they could not think of other clues out of it. The painting itself didn’t lead to other clues which may lead them to what their next steps should be."Maybe we are overthinking," Vee mused. For some reason, her brain refuses to function today. She could only think of wanting to continue her vacation which got interrupted by unforeseen events. "I wish we could have more days off..." She slumped her body in her chair and stretched her long legs across the table as she watched Jordan still intently staring at the painting.She was just planning to wrap her day up earlier than usual when she got a call from him and he said he wanted to drop by her office and study the painting yet again. She had