Nang makalapit si Catherine ay kaswal na hinawakan ni James ang braso nito at marahang hinila palapit. Catherine easily letting him pull her close to him shows the closeness between them as lovers, and as husband as wife. It was only when she realized that James was letting her sit on his lap did she protest.“James!” protesta ni Catherine na pinamulahan ng pisngi dahil kasama nila sina Arturo at Matteo. Bukod doon ay nasa opisina pa niya sila. Oras na uli ng trabaho at may posibilidad na pumasok ang kanyang sekretarya para ikonsulta sa kanya. Nakakahiya kapag nakita sila nito when she was supposed to be working! Panakaw na humalik si James sa pisngi ni Catherine bago siya nito hinayaang kumawala. Catherine chose the armchair across James’ to sit in. Sinamaan din niya ng tingin si James, her eyes warning him to keep his hands to himself, at least until they’re alone again. Ngunit sa likod ng kanyang isip ay lihim siyang nasisiyahan sa ipinapakitang possessiveness nito sa harap nina
Arturo had known that James and Matteo were crazy but it’s only now that he’d realized just how crazy they really are. And dangerous. He must not forget that they’re that, too.He’d expected it of Matteo, but James? Napaisip si Arturo kung nagkamali siya ng basa dito. Alam kaya ni Catherine ang parteng ito ng asawa? No. Imposible.Matteo stared at his reaction, amused. “You’re not gonna crazy on us right now, are you, Arturo?”Napaismid si Arturo. Siya pa talaga ang sinabihan nito ng “crazy”? “Aww. Come on, now. This is actually pretty tame than what I’m used to doing back at home.”Sa halip na patulan ang panunudyo ni Matteo, binalingan ni Arturo si James. “Seriously, James?”Hindi agad sumagot si James. Hindi mabasa ni Arturo kung ano ang tumatakbo sa isip nito. “Inilalagay mo sa panganib ang buhay ni Catherine!” galit na naibulalas ni Arturo.“I’m not putting Catherine in danger. You’re overreacting, Arturo.” kalmadong saad ni James.“And melodramatic.” komento ni Matteo.“Shut u
Matapos ang masinsinang usapan, kumain silang tatlo kasama si Cath sa isang malapit na restaurant kung saan nagpa-reserve si James ng para sana ay dinner date nilang mag-asawa. Konektado sila sa bawat isa hindi lang dahil sa klase ng ralasyon na mayroon sila sa isa’t isa kundi pati na rin sa kanilang mga shared interest at magkakaugnay layunin.Nagkasundo ang tatlo na hindi ipaalam kay Catherine ang kanilang napag-usapan.their dinner was peaceful. There was hardly any sign of the tension and the disagreement between the three men earlier. Masayang nagpaalam si Catherine kina Matteo at Arturo. Niyakap pa niya ito at binilinang mag-ingat. James was beside her all that time, making his presence known in case Matteo makes a move on his wife. James wouldn’t put it past the guy to do just that. Kahit nga kaharap pa siya ay tinagalan pa rin nito ng ilang segundo ang pagyakap kay Catherine. Nang-aasar pa ang mga mata nito nang sumulyap sa kanya.Tumawa pa ito nang makitang nagdidilim na ang
Hindi man sinabi ni James kung ano ang napag-usapan nila nina Arturo at Matteo, nalaman pa rin ni Catherine kung ano ang naging paksa at napagkasunduan ng tatlo dahil sa System. She was enjoying a private time in the bath, with James waiting for her in their bedroom. Ipinaalam sa kanya ng System ang lahat ng mga namagitan at naging palitan ng mga salita ng tatlo. Hindi niya napigilan ang malapad na ngiti pagkatapos sabihin sa kanya ng System kung gaano siya pinapahalagahan ng dalawa pang lalaki maliban sa kanyang asawa. Catherine felt very proud of herself that she was able to gain the affection of three such high-quality men. And there’s still Aubrey waiting for her to harvest favorability points from him. Kahit na ilang araw na rin niyang hindi nakikita si Aubrey, sapat na ang favorability level nito para hindi masyadong makaapekto sa kanya kahit na matagal pa silang hindi magkita o magkaroon ng kahit na anong interaksyon.[Host, ‘wag kang masyadong maging kampante. Negative pa ri
“ACD Company refused to sign another cooperation with our company again…”“BE Corps chose AVN over RanCorp in the RAiOn AI development project…” “Cruz&Vega Holdings have canceled their contract with us. They’re willing to pay for compensation and damages incurred with their sudden cancellation…”Tahimik na nakikinig si Garreth sa report ng mga subordinate niya tungkol sa sunod-sunod na cancellation ng ilan sa kanilang mga business partners. He would’ve treated it as normal if not for the succession of the same reports he’d received since the morning of that day. “Boss…,” HIndi maitago ng kanyang sekretarya ang pag-aalala. Ilang araw na silang nakakatanggap ng report tungkol sa iba’t ibang problema dahil sa supplier o sa business partner o sa ialng mga empleyado. Medyo mataas na ang level ng tensyon dahil ilang araw nang inaasikaso ni Garreth at ng kanyang mga subordinate ang mga solusyon sa mga problemang ito. Subalit kada isang suliranin na kanilang nalulutas ay may sumusulpot ulit
Ilang beses nang tiningnan ni Ellaine ang schedule ng plane arrival sa flight timetable ng airport. Delayed ang arrival ng hinihitay niyang flight. Isang oras na ang nakalipas mula sa orihinal na schedule na ibinigay sa kanya. Maaga pa man din siyang nagpunta kaya ilang oras na rin siyang naghihintay.Tatlong bodyguard lamang ang kanyang kasama. Isasama rin sana niya ang mga bata subalit may nauna na silang playdate schedule with one of the triplets’ classmates kaya sa huli si Ellaine lang ang mag-isang susundo kay Georgia.Yes. Georgia is finally coming back to the Philippines. Tuwang-tuwa si Ellaine at ang triplets nang malaman iyon dahil miss na miss na nila ito. Ilang buwan din na ang tangi lang nilang koneksyon dito ay ang twice a week nitong phone calls. Alanganin pa ang oras dahil sa time difference nila. Ipinagpaliban ni Georgia ang pag-uwi dahil ang headquarters ng clothing business nito ay nasa US. Marami pa itong inasikaso para makapagbukas din ng branch sa Pilipinas. Bat
After a long time that they haven’t seen each other, Ellaine and Georgia had so much to tell one another. Georgia’s stories was mostly complaints about the difficulties she had in expanding her business. Although she was successful, the process to get there was not easy. Too many factors had made it difficult– her being a foreigner, her lack of powerful background, her inexperience, her youth, her gender. Pero mostly, some people just make it difficult for her and uses a variety of reasons as their excuse.“Their small minds just couldn’t fathom how you could be dropdead gorgeous and capable at the same time– basically an all-in-one package. They think that a woman who’s hot and beautiful would have an empty brain, while an intelligent one would look like some strict, conservative and mousy, unattractive lady. They didn’t believe that you could castrate them and feed them their b*lls without getting a single one of your perfectly-manicured nails getting chipped in the process.”Napasu
“Ellaine! Hi!” Catherine’s voice was too bright and chirpy for 8pm in the evening. “Catherine… It’s you.” Napangiwi si Ellaine. “Hey, how’re you doing. Napatawag ka…” ‘... na naman,’ dagdag niya pa sa isip.Nitong mga nakaraang araw ay ilang beses na ring tinawagan ni Catherine si Ellaine para mangamusta o kaya naman ay imbitahan siyang lumabas para kumain o kaya ay dumalo sa ilang mga social gatherings. Malinaw kay Ellaine na nais siyang kaibiganin ni Catherine pero ang hindi niya maintindihan ay kung bakit. Basta, bigla na lang napadalas ang mga coincidental na pagkikita nilang dalawa sa mga pinupuntahan niyang lugar– department stores, restaurants, salons, coffee shops, etc. Hindi tuloy naiwasan ni Ellaine na mapaisip kung ini-stalk ba siya nito. Crazy thought, she knows. Sino ba naman siya para ii-stalk ng Heroine, ‘di ba? Nagsimula ito nang minsang magkasabay sila ng appointment sa isang hair salon. Ellaine was only being civil and polite when she returned Catherine’s greeti