Chapter 3

Sa kabilang banda…

Sa OLYMPUS Headquarters…

"Oliver, mahal…" Malambing na saad ng isang babae sa isang lalaki na nakaupo sa kanyang respetadong upuan. Bigla na lamang siyang pumasok sa pinto nito ng walang pakundangan at nag complain. "You have to find someone else to take care of your mother. Please…" Pagmamakaawa niya dito na tila ba'y mangiyak-ngiyak na siya sa sobrang sama ng loob.

Siya ay si Sofia Castillo, ang tatlong buwan ng kasintahan ng binata. Gorgeous brat and a butterfly socialite. Nagmula sa isang mayaman at prominenting pamilya. Nag-iisang anak kung kaya't lahat ng anumang naisin nito ay nakukuha. Kagaya na lamang ng kanyang madalas na pag-stay sa piling ng kanyang boyfriend instead of doing relevant and meaningful things to show her capabilities but here she was trying to please him. She's completely smitten to the point that she never cares about how she would degrade herself in front of everyone. Heredera naman siya ng malaking kayamanan in the future so she just acting according to how she likes. No limitations but pure recklessness!

Kunot noo ng pinagmasdan ng lalaki ang babae at ang buntong hininga pa'y napakalalim. "Weren't you the one who insisted on taking care of her?" Marahang paalala niya rito. "You were adamant to make her like you as a daughter-in-law and now you're nagging at me about this?" He looks extremely annoyed at her ngunit pilit na pinakalma ang sarili. 

Oliver Mitchell is 24 years of age and is the newly appointed CEO of OLYMPUS after his father's death which just happened a couple of months ago. He is the eldest among the three Mitchell siblings and carrying the baggage was his responsibility thus even if he was reluctant to accept the ordeal to run the company, he had no choice but to be obliged. His mother was traumatized with his father's death whilst the two of his siblings were still on their studies abroad. Coincidentally, the incident takes place when he was just planning on going back home after finishing his major course in business administration abroad.

He was at the airport when he bumped into Sofia Castillo and from then on, she began pestering him until they eventually reached the level of dating. He had just established his footing in the company yet his girlfriend was messing up his days which made him displeased but he couldn't do anything about it. It frustrates him that he couldn't get rid of her so easily out of his life. She's useful to him and according to his situation right now, he needs help and not enemies so he had to endure her temper no matter how depressed he was. Sofia's father is one of their business partners and pulling off her leg won't do any good in his position.

"Okay! Fine!" The woman raised her hands in the air and pouted, "I surrendered! I'm fed up! Tingnan mo naman kung anu ang ginawa niya sa'kin." Saad ni Sofia sabay lapit nito sa binata showing her messy strands and clothes. Obviously, pinaglaruan siya ng kanyang inaalagaan at nagmukha siyang kakaiba at katawa-tawa sa paningin ni Oliver.

He wanted to laugh at her appearance but he restrained himself. "Go home and fix yourself, Sofia." Saad niya ng mahinahon. "I will tell Emman to find someone professional enough to take good care of my mother. Don't worry about it." He pacified her.

"Okay. I'll go home for now but can we have dinner later, babe?" Sofia pleaded with hopeful eyes.

Tumango na lamang si Oliver upang manahimik na si Sofia at umalis na. Gustuhin man niyang humindi sa imbitasyon nito ay wala pa rin siyang magagawa. Kukulitin lamang siya nito at hindi lulubayan hanggang sa siya'y pumayag. In the end, talo pa rin siya dahil he has to be tolerant about her whims for the sake of his hidden interests.

"Yes!" Sofia squealed in so much delight. Lumapit siya rito at akmang hahalik sa kanyang labi ngunit umiwas ang lalaki. She groaned, sounding rather offended. "Bakit ayaw mo magpahalik, hmmm? Are you ashamed of kissing me?"

"Sofia, cut this crap. We're in the office if I were to remind you so please behave yourself." Paliwanag niya ng marahan. 

He was trying to maintain his name to be clean and not scandalous. How could he earn trust and loyalty from his employees when they saw him ravishing a woman inside his office? And to think that the woman was Sofia, everyone would think that he was trying to use her for his ambitions. Yes he is but he wanted it to be smooth and not blatant to anyone's eyes. He would marry her if he needed to just to contain his father's legacy in his hands. That's how desperate he was when it came to his company.

"Fine…" She pouted but then she giggled. "Let's do something spicy later, babe." She winked at him before she turned around strutting her heels out from his office like an immature kid.

Oliver massages his temples soothingly. Pakiramdam niya ay inaatake na naman siya ng migraine sa inaasta ng kanyang nobya. Kung may ibang paraan lang na pwedeng makatulong sa kanya, hindi na para manatili siya sa kanyang kinalalagyan ngayon. He was fed up with Sofia's unending shenanigans at gusto niya na lang mag-isa muna. Gusto niya ituon ang isip, puso at damdamin sa kanilang kompanya ngunit paano niya ito magagawa kung sa bawat oras ay nakikita niya si Sofia sa kanyang harapan na kulang na lang ay ipulopot ang sarili niya sa bewang nito? 

Makalaan pa ng ilang segundo ang naalala niya ang request ni Sofia tungkol sa paghire ng mag-aalaga sa kanyang ina. Marahang idiniin and mga daliri sa intercom at tinawag mula sa linya ang kanyang assistant at kaibigan. 

"Emman, can you come to my office, please." He demanded with an exhausted sigh.

In just a few seconds, Emman barges in after knocking on his door for thrice a row. He had a playful smirk plastered on his face na para bang gusto niyang asarin ang kaibigan. "Anu po ba ang maipaglilingkod ko sa inyo, mahal kong boss na kaibigan?" Pabirong saad niya rito.

"Nakita mo naman siguro kung ano tapos magtatanong ka pa? I need your help." Demand ng problematic na CEO habang patuloy na minamasahe ang kanyang ulo. "Sumuko na si Sofia." Maikling paliwanag niya.

Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Emman sa narinig mula sa kaibigan. "You mean, she finally gave up on you?" His voice was laced with excitement and seemed to be very energetic compared to his usual tunes whenever he talks to him.

Oliver grimaced in annoyance. Tinignan niya ng matalim ang kanyang assistant at huminga ng malalim sabay pikit ng kanyang mga mata. "Dude, unfortunately mali ka sa assumptions mo. It would be very nice if she's really giving up on me but no…" He groaned while trailing off his words.

"Then what did she give up for? Aside from you, she has nothing to give up..." Emman frowned in confusion.

"I need you to find someone na pwedeng mag-alaga kay Mom. Iyong professional at kayang pakisamahan si mommy without complaining. I'm having too much on my plate right now and I can't pay more attention to her these days." Paliwanag ng binata.

"Oh, iyon lang ba? May alam ako." Emman said as he fished out his mobile phone from his pockets. 

"Professional and dedicated." Dagdag pa niya habang sinimulang mag scroll down sa kanyang mga contact list.

"Kaibigan mo?" Oliver inquired suspiciously.

"Hindi. Pero naging client niya si Mommy ko when she was needing professional therapist help during her accident last month." Emman explained.

"So how's your Mom, did she make it back to her old self? I forgot to pay her a visit these days. How is she anyway?"

"Dude, are you kidding me? She made it like she was brand new! Kanina nga lang eh sinimulan na naman akong hanapan ng babaeng makaka-blind date." Emman looked rather frustrated yet he began to smirk as he spotted the therapist's contact number in his phonebook. "I found it. Want me to call her now?"

"Babae?" Oliver frowned.

"Yes."

"But you said she's a therapist." Oliver protested.

"She is but why not give her a try? Call her for an interview and see for yourself if you find her capabilities perfectly suited to take care of your mother." Emman suggested confidently.

"Dude, you want me to call for the wrong person and what? Ipahiya ang sarili ko, ganun ba? Caregiver ang kailangan ko at hindi therapist for heaven's sake." Oliver was stupefied. He would never do such a thing. To shame himself is like he was also dragging OLYMPUS into it.

"Just try it man. Wala namang mawawala kung susubukan mo lang. I can guarantee you that that therapist is very impressive in what she's doing. You can also ask my mother kung nagdududa ka sa mga sinasabi ko, feel free to call and get her opinion."

"No need for that. Sige, call that therapist for an interview tomorrow at the earliest." Oliver conceded to his friend's insistence. He was just hoping that the person would respond to their call as he badly needed that help right now.

"Okay. I'll call her for an immediate interview." Pagkasabi ay sinimulang tumawag ni Emman at nasagot naman kaagad ang kanyang tawag. "Roselle Ventura…" He began to speak professionally then.

Nakikinig lamang si Oliver habang kinausap ng kaibigan niya ang tao sa kabilang linya ngunit may umagaw sa kanyang attention when he heard him blurt out a name 'Roselle Ventura' which seemed to be familiar on his memory. 'I seem to have heard that name before.' He thought while racking his brains out then suddenly his jaws clenched. The Ventura girl at the coffee shop flashed in his mind which made his blood pressure rise. 

'But that was a young coffee barista and we're calling for a therapist which could be a middle-aged woman according to her job. There's no way that they are the same person!' he pacified himself silently but he couldn't shake off the feeling that strangely swarms inside his chest making him feel a sudden irritation.