"Nate." I didn't know where I got my courage, so I was standing in front of Nate now. His cold gaze was seeping in through my skin. It was barely twenty minutes after that mind-boggling kiss and yet it was as if I was with a totally different version of Nate Sarmiento. Making me wonder if the kiss really happened or not.I wasn’t in a hotel room a while ago. But in the very penthouse where the GM holds office. All I did was get out of the room and went to his office without permission."I- I don't know what you're up to, but I just want to beg you– spare my colleagues. I- I'll leave the company if that's what you want... I’m also no longer in my apartment. I'm sure your men already reported it to you-–" I paused when his eyes narrowed at me. "It's alright. I understand. I have already found a place to stay— uhm, so you can have your apartment.""What are you talking about?" he asked."The apartment? The one you bought five times the price just so I will lose a home?" I reminded him,
"Ms. Rodriguez, in my office now. Bring my coffee," Nate said via intercom.Sarah nodded at me and I did as told. I went to the pantry and made Nate his coffee.Since our workstation was one floor down from the GM's, we couldn’t see his arrival as he was using the elevator directly to his floor. Nate would usually announce his arrival by asking for his coffee.I went to the penthouse using the stairs that connected the two floors. Sliding the keycard, I realized that my hands were shaking and keeping the coffee still became a struggle. I felt nervous having to face Nate again. It took me a lot of effort to make myself appear relaxed when I knocked on the smoked glass door of his office."Come in," he said, and I wanted to slap my face for shaking even more at the mere sound of his voice."G-good morning, Sir," I greeted him when he came into view. And I almost gasped. He was so handsome even if he hadn’t lifted up his head yet to look at me. "Your coffee.""Put it right there," he g
"The GM is too early today. He's looking for you. He was wondering why you aren’t still here when you're just living downstairs?" Sarah told me when I got to work the next day. "He's here already?" I can't believe it. I'm one hour earlier than the official time. "Yup. And he seems to be in a bad mood. What did you do to him yesterday, huh? You both didn't go back.""We went to your sister's house," I answered."I know about that, Miriam told me. What I mean is, what did you do after that?""He drove me here and he went home.""Jeez, that boy. I don't know why he's not declaring his love to you yet. Tsk!""Sarah, maybe there's really nothing to confess," I proceeded to make Nate's coffee while Sarah followed me to the pantry. "Besides, I'm not his type.""And what do you know about his type?""Come on, the likes of Olive of course. Tall, fair, sexy, beautiful and—""A cheater?" She cut me off, rolling her eyes."They love each other.""You are the only one who keeps insisting that."
Body Heat.I couldn't believe I was considering it. Nate had eaten, he had taken his medicine and was back to his sleep. But he was really chilling despite the aircon being off. I already added his blanket, and even wore his socks. But none of them seemed to work.Lying beside him and hugging him was the last thing I was considering. I would often do that with Elisha before. But that was Elisha. She was my baby. Not the grown-up-super duper attractive man I am in love with.I drew a deep breath. First, I lied beside him but I didn’t slide inside his blanket. For a while it worked, then he got chills again. So okay, I decided to give him body heat. I slowly slid myself into his blanket and hugged him. I thought of the time when he hugged me to sleep when I was mourning the loss of my dad. Nate didn't leave me then and even made a way to bring back the smile on my face by taking me to the beach.Now was the time to repay his goodness. And maybe while I’m hugging him this way, I could l
I woke up a little bit heavy headed the next morning. It seemed like I caught Nate's cold. Or maybe because I have been crying the past few days.I was contemplating the things that I lost because of my stupid decisions.I shouldn't have left without talking to Nate first. Because of what I did, I left him with an impression that I never really cared about him and Elisha. And of all the things that he could accuse me of, it was the most painful.Because it was never an easy decision to leave them. I died every day for three months. And they didn't have any idea how hard it was to keep moving on when the very reason I was still alive was no longer in my life.I forced myself to get up from bed. I should come to work early today. I need to be there before Nate arrives. First step, be the ideal employee to Nate Sarmiento.Thirty minutes later, I was already at my workstation. Sarah wasn’t around yet. I cleaned our area before I went to the penthouse to clean Nate’s office. The only thin
Even if I wasn’t feeling well and Nate didn’t ask for my presence, I chose to stay beside him. I didn't want to leave him at this painful time in his life. But whenever Olive and Elisha were in the wake, I had to leave temporarily.That I almost forgot. Olive.There's still Olive in Nate's life. She was still the woman beside him at times like this one."Hannah." It was Adam. He saw me peeking at Nate, Olive and Elisha, who were currently talking to the people paying their respect to Benjamin for the last time. Most were just business partners, since Nate maintained his family matters private.I should’ve left the moment Olive and Elisha arrived. But I didn’t want to leave without seeing my baby first, even just from afar."Hey," I faintly greeted back."Why are you here? Go to Elisha," he urged."I- I can’t. Nate might get mad at me.""He has been waiting for you to do that, Hannah.""How did you know?" I weakly smiled at Nate’s younger brother.I understood that he was just trying t
"What was that, Nate?" I asked Nate, who closed the room's door behind him.Elisha was now out of earshot as Adam took her with him after much convincing that her mommy wasn't going anywhere."Can't you stay for Eli?" he asked back. He walked towards me, and pulled himself a chair to sit in front of me. Then he started to gently press a cold compress on my swollen cheek."You know that I'd do anything for Elisha," I answered, heartbeat fast at Nate’s proximity to me. I was more aware of his hand touching my skin than the cold compress pressed against it. “But how about you? Is it okay with you?""What do you think, Hannah?" He stopped what he was doing and just locked gazes with me."I- I can't really tell," I admitted.He sighed before pulling away."Please do this for Elisha. I want her to be happy," Nate pleaded."It's not like I can say no, right? I'm still working for you. So, I'm obliged to obey you." I smiled faintly. "But I really need to know if it's okay with you. I don't wa
"Coffee, Sir?"I am still working for Nate. But I live in his house and we go to work together after dropping Elisha off at her school. I wanted to watch her at school again but Eli told me she could manage with her nanny and Paul."Yes, please." Nate answered, but not lifting his gaze as he was fixated on his laptop. I carefully placed the cup of coffee on its usual spot on his table. I had already prepared it before I asked him."Express?" He looked at me and smiled."Yep..." I answered. "For the ever busy GM.""Come here.""Hmn?" I frowned, moving a little closer to him but with his table between us."A good employee deserves a reward." He pushed his laptop to his side, then leaned over his table, almost closing our distance while looking at my lips teasingly."I am not aware of such a reward." I didn’t back down. "I must have missed reading that in the employee handbook.""Come closer," he whispered. "I'll let you know what's not written in the handbook.""Yeah?" I knew what he w
"Eli," I gently approached my daughter who was sitting in a daze on her bed. "Time to see your doctor, Eli." I felt a pain in my heart when Eli didn't even look at me. My little girl was drowned in her thoughts again. "Elisha, Dr. Railey is already waiting for you." I sat beside her and kissed her head. "I don't need a doctor, daddy," she said in a weak voice. "I'm not sick." "He will just talk to you, Eli." Dr. Railey was Eli's therapist. For a week now, they have been doing sessions in an attempt to make Eli the way she used to. "Hey, do you like to visit mommy Hannah?" Upon hearing the word mommy, Elisha nodded almost eagerly. It’s always been like that. Whenever she was unresponsive, mentioning Hannah’s name always did the trick. Elisha would start responding like her normal self. "Yes daddy! I miss mommy so much!" "We're going to visit her. But, first you have to talk to Dr. Railey, okay?" "Okay," she voluntarily stood up. I bent and carried her in my arms. "I love you,
"Olive," Hannah tried to calm Olive down. "Let's talk. Not like this. Please, don’t scare Eli…""No... We will talk like this. Eli has to know what a slut you are, Hannah!" Olive pulled back Eli’s hair and pointed the knife to her side. "How you ruined our family!"Eli wasn't complaining even though her tears were already brimming her eyes. She was a brave child! I was not sure if I’d be happy or not. She shouldn’t even be seeing Olive and I like this in the first place!"Don't hurt her, I beg you." I was the first to cry. I just can’t bear seeing Eli hurt. "She's your daughter, Liv! Your own flesh and blood!" I couldn't do anything. One wrong move and Olive could hurt Eli."I know... " She drew the knife away a little. "I'm not going to hurt Eli. I needed her so Nate would come back to me. But– " she paused and held the weapon close to Eli’s neck. "If you're not going to cooperate with me, I will slash this kid's throat in front of your very eyes." Then she smiled like real crazy and
Nate held a meeting with his whole security team at his house when we arrived. Why? I had no idea.After an hour, he told me he was going to do a conference call with his hotel staff...I told him okay and decided to just bake chocolate chip cookies for my husband and Elisha. They were like crazy with cookies. They really were father and daughter.I smiled to myself. The problem that arose couldn’t stop me from being happy with my status. Nate loves me and even though we can’t be on our honeymoon now, it’s still okay with me. I knew Nate, he'd made up for it. That's for sure.I was preparing the ingredients when my phone rang. It was Olive."Hannah," she said when I answered the call."Hello, Liv," I greeted, a little bit hesitant."Eli's with me. I'm wondering if you can come and get her? I have an appointment in two hours. I cannot drive her back. I still need to prepare myself.""Sure. Uhmn wait, I'll just ask Paul to drive for me," I agreed.It was the first time that Olive talked
I woke up to the feeling of a hand stroking my hair.What??? Who??? How???I was alone in the townhouse! Who could possibly be with me?"Hannah," it was Nate's voice. I froze. Just last night, I dreamed of him. In fact, it's still so vivid, I could actually remember every detail of my dream. So hearing Nate's voice when I was already fully awake, though not still opening my eyes, made my heart skip a beat. "Hannah." I heard him chuckling. "I know you're already awake. Come on, open your eyes or I'll kiss you."With that warning, I immediately opened my eyes. Only to find Nate's face directly above my face. His amused gaze stared back at my surprised wide eyes."N-nate?!" I stammered and hastily got up, totally forgetting that he was above me. So I ended up head-butting Nate Sarmiento."Ouch!" He exaggeratedly held a hand over his forehead ."I-I'm sorry!" I worriedly apologized. "Nate? Does it hurt so badly?" I inspected his forehead. Nate nodded as if he was in deep pain with his e
"Welcome back, GM!" Paul, my best friend slash Eli's bodyguard, greeted me with a huge grin on his face. He was the only one who knew I was arriving."How's everyone?" I asked once inside the car."You mean, Hannah?" he teased and an involuntary smile lit up my face. But it faded when I saw Paul’s sudden serious face. "Not good.""What do you mean not good?" I frowned at him."The news isn't true, right, Nate?" ."What news?" "That you and Olive are getting married.""What?!" I was surprised. "Of course not!" Where did that even come from? "Well, that's what Olive's been telling everyone. That you're getting married. There were pictures of you and Olive circulating online. That you're together in Macau and you're having your sweet time together." He pulled over and took his phone out. "Look at this."I took his phone and saw the pictures he was talking about. Anger crept within me."You even cut off communication. What happened to you, Nate? That was a very stupid move. We're all tr
It was just supposed to be three days. But I was not able to leave due to a lot of problems that arose along the way.I hated every freaking time I needed to spend in Macau. Each second away from Elisha and Hannah was almost driving my thoughts into nuts.I missed Hannah so much that I needed to disconnect myself from my phone during my stay in Macau so that I wouldn't be tempted to call her every hour. Worst, fly back just so I would have her in my arms again. Because, admittedly, I was so in love with Hannah that I would move mountains to be with her. Unfortunately, I couldn't do that at the given time.I never thought I was capable of loving a woman this way.I had Olive for five years. But I was not that crazy for her. Although I believed I used to love her, separation had never been a problem for me. But with Hannah, it's a whole lot different story.Hannah Rodriguez.The first person to fight against me. She was not scared and did everything in her power to take Elisha back from
It's the weekend.I decided to pay Leah a visit. I brought Elisha with me so she could play with Seth and meet her friend’s baby sister.As expected, Eli's reaction was adorable. Seeing Bethany for the first time, Eli repeatedly told me to give her a sibling. "Eli, mommy and daddy need to get married first," Leah told her."When are you getting married, mom?" Eli asked me, refusing to let go of Bethany’s tiny hand."At the right time, baby.""When is the right time?""You'll just know it, Eli." How will I explain to her that my relationship with her father had no label yet? Eli won't understand."Okay," she pouted and went with Seth to the playroom."So, how’s everything going? It’s been four days since Nate left for Macau.” Leah asked me.I shook my head sadly. Four days in Macau and he had only called me once. After his call when he got there, I haven't heard from Nate again. I’m also asking Sarah but she told me that Nate wasn’t calling her either, and he only gives instructions t
"Coffee, Sir?"I am still working for Nate. But I live in his house and we go to work together after dropping Elisha off at her school. I wanted to watch her at school again but Eli told me she could manage with her nanny and Paul."Yes, please." Nate answered, but not lifting his gaze as he was fixated on his laptop. I carefully placed the cup of coffee on its usual spot on his table. I had already prepared it before I asked him."Express?" He looked at me and smiled."Yep..." I answered. "For the ever busy GM.""Come here.""Hmn?" I frowned, moving a little closer to him but with his table between us."A good employee deserves a reward." He pushed his laptop to his side, then leaned over his table, almost closing our distance while looking at my lips teasingly."I am not aware of such a reward." I didn’t back down. "I must have missed reading that in the employee handbook.""Come closer," he whispered. "I'll let you know what's not written in the handbook.""Yeah?" I knew what he w
"What was that, Nate?" I asked Nate, who closed the room's door behind him.Elisha was now out of earshot as Adam took her with him after much convincing that her mommy wasn't going anywhere."Can't you stay for Eli?" he asked back. He walked towards me, and pulled himself a chair to sit in front of me. Then he started to gently press a cold compress on my swollen cheek."You know that I'd do anything for Elisha," I answered, heartbeat fast at Nate’s proximity to me. I was more aware of his hand touching my skin than the cold compress pressed against it. “But how about you? Is it okay with you?""What do you think, Hannah?" He stopped what he was doing and just locked gazes with me."I- I can't really tell," I admitted.He sighed before pulling away."Please do this for Elisha. I want her to be happy," Nate pleaded."It's not like I can say no, right? I'm still working for you. So, I'm obliged to obey you." I smiled faintly. "But I really need to know if it's okay with you. I don't wa