Jacob Mavro is working on his desk inside his office when Kate suddenly knocked on his door and entered.
“Hi baby,” he said when she closed the door and invited her to sit on his lap. He smelled the sweet perfume of Kate that lingers around the room.
Kate, his secretary, walked towards him but she stopped in front of his desk looking serious. The playful smile on his face suddenly faded. She did not greeted him back.
“What?” he asked impatiently, trying to find out why she has a serious aura early in the morning.
“The board members called for an emergency meeting. They want you on the conference room this instant.”
He stood up and walked closely to her. He brushed his fingers on her shoulder and whispered on her ear. “Just tell them I am busy.” He thought something really serious came up, but it’s just an emergency meeting so he did not pay much attention to it. For sure, the board members just
Jacob’s life has been a ruin since his investors started to cut ties with his company. The operation of his business is a wreck and he’s been trying to do everything he could to rise again. He blames his brother for what is happening to him, and all of the pressures surging inside him makes him more mad and furious. He haven’t met Howard yet since all of it happened, and after all of this, he swears to make sure that Howard will get what he deserve. A place in hell.Jacob has been so busy meeting with people and getting his reputation back while Howard stayed silent and watch him suffer.There are times that he choose to get drunk and forget, then burst out. He thought of Natasha and thought that it would be much easier if she is here. He won’t have to suffer alone. He waste it all. Whenever Kate consoles him, all he can think about is how different she is from Natasha. He regrets it but he knows it is too late. She disappeared and it may
“Good morning,” she greeted her secretary before motioning her to follow her inside the office.Kendra, her secretary, was too stunned to see her back because she did not tell someone regarding her comeback. She stared at Natasha’s back for a second before finally regaining herself from astonishment and followed her.“You are finally back, ma’am,” she started.“Yes. Too many things happened and I needed a break. So, tell me how is everything going here.”Natasha was too confident to leave even with such a short notice because she trust Kendra and she knows that she will not let her down. Kendra reported every single detail that happens on the company and Natasha is at ease to find out that nothing unexpected turned out the wrong way while she was gone.“Thank you, Kendra,” she dismissed her.The secretary was about to exit when she turned again and look at Natasha, contemplating whe
"What are you doing here, Howard?" Natasha looked up on her desk when he suddenly barged inside her office."You've been gone for too long and that's the way you are greeting me?" Howard was too shocked to see her on the conference the last day but he kept his calm and talked to her like she’s just an old friend whom he didn’t see for a long time. Nothing special. But he can’t accept the fact that she just turned her back yesterday after a short conversation.Natasha smiled sweetly and walked over him.“Care to explain where you’ve been, Natasha?”She linked her arms on his neck and whispered softly, "Do you like me?"Howard looked at her with his forehead creased. He sniffs her to make sure she is not drunk."What made you think that?" he asks seriously while her face is just a couple of inches away from him."You won't react like this if you do not have feelings for me," she speaks s
Natasha went to a bar that night and got wasted. She paid no attention to men who are intently staring at her. She refused them when they asked her if they could drink and dance with her. They are not her type, she searched the crowded bar and look for someone who can attract her attraction. After a moment of searching, she gave up. Looks like she has to be alone tonight, the men in this bar looks like idiot and fools and she doesn’t like their aura. She drunk as she thought about Howard’s confession. He wants to get closer to her? Huh! He is just like other men who wants her in bed. Howard is not different from them. After a while, someone joined her in her table, she looked at the man but her vision is becoming blurry due to so much alcohol. The man is smiling while telling her something but she can barely hear the words due to loudness of music so she just kept on nodding and agree with whatever he is saying. Then, all of a sudden, she felt the hands of the stranger m
Howard scoffed and led her outside.“What was that?!” he let go of her and questioned her behavior. His face is fierce and full of range.“What was what?” she asked innocently.“That! All of that! What are you doing to yourself, Natasha?”“I am just having fun. And why are you reacting like that?” she exclaimed back.“Why are you so obsess about whatever I am doing to my life, Howard?”Howard let out a heavy breath and calmed himself down. Natasha waited but it’s been almost five minutes and he is not still uttering a word.“If you want someone to watch you breath there, you should find another person. I do not like wasting my time.” She was about to turn away when Howard speak up.“You can have fun with me, you know.”His tone is different, it sounds like some child who wants to ask favor from his parents. She faced h
Natasha stared at the man beside her, both of them are naked and she wonders if this man has a woman waiting for him. It does not matter, anyway. They both wanted this to happen. She looked at the wall clock of the hotel room, it is 6 am. She needs to be at the office by 8. She was about to get herself off the bed when he felt the man’s arms wrapped around her belly. Come to think of it, she can’t even remember his name. She turned to him and smiled sweetly.“I have to go, babe,” she said huskily and kissed his cheeks.“Just a few more minutes, hmm?” the man muttered.Natasha removed the arms of the man which is wrapped around her and stood up. She picked up her dress on the floor.“Maybe next time, okay?” she said while putting up her clothes.The man sat at the bed and hug a pillow. “You haven’t even given me your number.”She turned to him and moved her face closer to his.
“Natasha!” James called out.Howard abruptly turned around to see her, but to his dismay, no one is there. It’s just him and James inside the room.“There! At last! I have been trying to call your attention for a while now, Howard. Your head seems to be drifting elsewhere,” he said and clapped his hands enthusiastically like he just won a lottery ticket. It made Howard threw his pen on his direction.“Damn you.” he said. Howard really expected that Natasha would appear.“What happened between the two of you, dude?” James intrigued.Howard “I admitted that I have known her since she was a teenager. I think she got mad. She’s ignoring my calls.”“Tsk, tsk,” James shook his head. “That explains why you are being like that. Girl problems again and again and again. Maybe she blocked your number.”Howard considered it and fell silen
He should not have agreed on coming to the bar with James tonight. The stares of women on his direction all over the club is making him irritated. He does not feel tempted on being with any of those women, all he can think about is Natasha and the way she moves in bed. Of course, he still haven't experience spending a night with her and it is killing him.“So, do you want to come over to my place?” the girl who kept on pestering him asked.He darted his look to the dance floor to find James but the room is too crowded that he couldn’t even get a glimpse of his shadow.“Where the fuck did that guy went?” he asked himself.“Come on, baby. I will make sure you will enjoy the rest of the night.”He ignored her. The woman had been flirting with him since he arrived and he does not know why she can’t sense how uninterested he is towards her.He drank from his glass and his eyes finally darted o
36The next thing she knew, Jacob is carrying her inside his car. Natasha did not notice it before but it turns out that he brought a car with him which is parked right across her house. It was the same car he used to bring whenever they had dates or events that they would attend together. She hates it but she can still remember all of the silly things they have done in that car. She thought it was already taken by the bank when his company suffered bankruptcy, maybe he bought it back. Too sentimental and nostalgic. He carried her inside, she tried to stop and fight against him but he is too strong that she cannot even resist him. She slapped his back and all of the parts of his body she can hit but to no avail, he succeeded on getting her inside. She used to adore the fact that he is stronger enough than her to protect her, but she hates it now. She wished she is capable of physically fighting back.He forcefully made her sit on the passenger’s seat and locked the door and windows o
35She was looking at the screen of her laptop above her desk but her mind is elsewhere. She kept on glancing at her phone as if waiting for someone to call her. She can hardly focus on her work. Her thoughts is lingering on everything that is happening in her life right now. Everything suddenly changed when she found out that her long time boyfriend was cheating and making a fool of her. She have been trying to find the missing piece of her life again, she thought she is already figuring something out with a new man who is obviously missing in action now that her ex-boyfriend is back. Her life is totally in chaos and she hates it more than anything. She was distracted from her thoughts when her secretary knocked on her door.She told her to open it.“Someone is here to see you, ma’am,” her secretary informed her.“Okay, tell that person to come in,” she instructed, glad to be away from her thoughts but she immediately regret that she did not ask who it is before allowing him to enter
Thirty-fourIt's been weeks since Howard left but she still haven't heard a single thing about him. She thought he is going to call her as soon as he arrived to wherever he is going but she was obviously wrong. He did not even left a message. Maybe, he decided to be a gentleman and let her be for a while, but he is giving her too much space and she misses him. She paced around her office and contemplated whether to call him. If she calls, then she would appear desperate for wanting to talk to him. No, she can't do that. She should not call. But it's been weeks. He should have at least left her a message. She do not know what's really happening to her. She does not even know why she misses him, his voice, his touch, his kisses, all of him. It's driving her insane to want him right now. Oh, what the hell. She thought and decided to just call him. She picked up her phone and searched for his number on her contacts, she licked her lips and touched the call button. The phone rings, and she
Thirty-three“What is this, James?” Howard asked his secretary when he placed a folder in the top of his desk.“It’s a proposal, someone wants to buy your company,” he told him.Howard creased his forehead and opened the folder. His secretary was right, it is an offer to buy his business. He scanned the files to see who has the guts to do it and did not quite get shock upon seeing the name Inno Pavel. He knew that Jacob will make a move to destroy him but he did not expect him to do this. His brother is aware that he will not sell it, especially to him.“Huh. Does he really think I will sell it to him? He lost his mind,” he exclaimed.“But, sir, don’t you think it is odd?” James told him.Howard tilt his head and looked at him. “What do you mean?”“Jacob is back but he is not even making an effort to visit you. He is not doing anything against you. He is too quiet.”Howard placed his hands at the top of his desk and intertwined it. “You are right. I am wondering about that too. We won
Natasha started to realize what is happening. She was too blind not to see it coming. Jacob changed his name, that was the reason why she could not find nor trace him. Huh. Inno Pavel. Where did he even get that name? She thought about him all night and how he managed to still grow a business despite what he had experienced. His company suffered in bankruptcy. He was framed into a murder case. Everybody turned him down. No one dared to help him during that time. She was surprised that he was able to manage all of it at once and still get back up.Now, what? What will happen that he is back?Should something change? Of course, not. She is happy now. Or is she, really? If she already moved on, then why did the world seems to stop a second the moment she saw Jacob’s face again? Why did she feel a void inside her? Why did she suddenly remember the moments they have shared together?She embraced herself and tears roll down her cheeks when she recalled the time she caught him cheating with
In a luxurious room in a hotel in the city, a well-built man is busily reading some printed documents while his laptop is brightly lit in front of him. He checked his wrist watch and called his secretary who is sitting in a sofa while attending important matter in her laptop.“Is everything ready for the party?” he asked him“Yes, sir. I made sure that everything is settled,” he answered in a formal manner.“Good. Where is Kate?”The secretary glanced checked the schedule she is holding before answering. “She’s probably on her way now.”He nodded and dismissed his secretary.He looked at the image of the grand venue where welcoming party for his company will took place. He heaved a sigh, for sure everyone will be surprised to see him later at the stage. Nobody expected that he will come this far despite his controversies a year ago. He lost so much and he is going to take back everything. I am finally back, he thought.He settled his case about the murder he had been accused with. Aft
ThirtyNatasha is reading something on her laptop when a notification suddenly popped out of her screen. It was an email from a private company. InnoCorp. She narrowed her eyes as she read the message and the attachment from the email. It was an invitation from InnoCorp to attend a prestigious welcome party for the said company. The company is based on Russia but it will open its new office here in New York. She licked her lips and contemplated whether to go or not. Maybe, she will check her schedule first.The letter that had been delivered to Howard back in the restaurant while they were having dinner is still in her head. She wants to know who is behind it. She is worried about his safety because the letter was a really creepy one. Who the hell in their right mind will write a letter written in blood, she thought.She was too deep in her thoughts that she did not notice the continuous knock of her secretary in the door to get her attention. The secretary walked right inside her off
Twenty-nineNatasha and Howard was having their dinner in a prestigious restaurant when a waiter approached their table and served them a bottle of wine.Howard creased his forehead.“Did you order another glass of wine?” he asked Natasha.She shook her head, confused as well. She does not recall ordering anything. Howard was the one who ordered their dinner.“Maybe you approached the wrong table. We did not order this,” he told the waiter.“No, sir. Your friend asked me to deliver this on your table. He told me that the drink is on him and he also want me to give you this letter,” the waiter explained and handed Howard a plain white envelope.He opened it and the lines on his forehead are visible as he read what’s written on it. Who could have sent it to him?“What is it?” Natasha asked upon noticing that there is something wrong, but Howard ignored her and gave his attention to the waiter.“Who gave you this letter?” Howard demanded, intently looking at the waiter.“He already left
27His father used to scoff and crease his forehead whenever he does something stupid. His father was a man with principles. "Jacob", he would call him back when he was young. They were in the mall and he was looking at some toys. His father notice the way his eyes twinkled whenever he saw a robot toy that caught his attention. "Let me tell you about something you should never do." And then, he would tell him with an aura of a serious businessman who is trying to strike a deal."Never waste your time doing useless things most kids your age does. Instead of playing around, why don't you pick up books and take the opportunity to study while you are still young?" He would tell him. Jacob, then, will divert his gaze to the floor and nodded. He found himself following the rule set by his father. Since then, he will look away whenever he saw a toy at a department store and will search instead for handy and knowledgeable books. His father's voice follows him everywhere. Never do this, neve