Chapter 42
"Executive," said a low, baritone voice as soon as Adler opened the doors. Right in front of him was a full view of the rear of a towering leather office chair, on its arms, he could see someone's elbows resting on it, which he figured belonged to the man who spoke. He looked around and examined the entire office. It looked nothing different from his previous visit. It was still reeking off the scent of burned sandalwood, a scent that'd make his nose itch, a trait that he inherited from his mother. Everything was still had the same furniture, with each right on their spot. As if they were never moved at all.
"Chairman," he greeted back with a slight nod, and the swivel chair immediately turned. It revealed a man looking in his early 50s wi
Chapter 43"Nothing at all, sir," he said for the nth time while at the back of his mind, thought that this is was like an investigative interrogation and why this goddamned old man asking him such questions. Was this his way of showing that he didn't fully trust his son in handling his job or was he just being a nosy prick? After all, he could see the signs of progress and escalations in the issues through the reports."Good," was what he only replied while nodding. "It gratifies me reading..." he trailed off, lifted a thick wad of papers in the air, and harshly slammed it on the desk with a loudwhack!"You have improved after countless failures, executive.
Chapter 1The city of Cagayan de Oro, the very definition of hustle and bustle, may it be rain or shine, is always busy. Even on an arduous rainy Sunday morning. The wide, blue skies in the yonder were covered with dark, grey clouds that soon yielded countless raindrops in haste, showering over the road full of taxis, jeepneys, vans, and personal use vehicles, honking endlessly along with the loud pitter-patter of the rain in and giving birth to an unholy, inharmonious melody joined by the hollers of vendors promoting the products they are selling, the wet footsteps of strolling and chatters of civilians, workers and the mirthful giggles of children singing while playing on the side of the road, finding joy in the chaos around them.The brisk breeze blew by Habagat propelled in every direction, sprawling like wild coyotes hunting for some prey that caused the passersby to shiver in gelidness, even though some had worn jackets and extra thick clothes be
Chapter 2Adler has experienced tons of crazy things ever since he started going to college. As he was a pampered young master in his grade school days and a reserved young man when he was in high school, he became a wild man when he finally got his liberty to decide for himself and authorization of his actions when he got to college. Among all the senseless things he had discovered, he was often overwhelmed, occasionally surprised but rarely intimidated while to those that he had done, he felt guilty to some, enjoyed most of them, sometimes guilty while enjoying doing them at the same time. But compared to all the senseless things that he had done, he couldn't find anything more ridiculous, and flabbergasting compared to suddenly meeting your bride, especially on a rainy Sunday morning while suffering a massive hangover."I'm your fiancée." As soon as the woman's pale lips conjured those words, Adler's jaw to drop down to his carpeted floor as
Chapter 3Damped, Adler thought as he pursed his lips, and a thought immediately came across his mind."Hold on, one second," he told her before turning on his feet and heading back to his bedroom with quick yet profound footsteps.When he arrived, he hastily grabbed his phone from his nightstand, opening his lock screen then started dialing his mother's phone number, the pressure of his thumb pressing on the screen gets harder and harder as well as his rising vexation. He finally pressed the call button and placed the phone on his ear while heading to the bathroom to grab one of his towels. Adler grit his teeth strongly while listening to the dialing sound produced by his phone, impatiently waiting for his mother to answer the call from the other end as he relentlessly took the towel hanging on the tiled wall then left the bathroom, hurrying downstairs.When he arrived, his irritation faded and like a strike of lightning, pity immediate
Chapter 4"Hi, ma—""Aiya! Show me my daughter-in-law! I'm sick of seeing your face!" she immediately demanded, Adler had no choice but to leave the kitchen and show his fiancée who was quaking in coldness in the living room while gripping the thick towel around her shoulders using her gelid hands."Hey." He lightly tapped her shoulder, and she instantly turned her head in response. He handed her his phone and mouthed. "It's my mom, she said she wants to talk to you.""Oh." she lightly gasped. "Okay, okay," she whispered before taking the phone from his large, veiny hands and gently placed it on the stents attached to the coffee table."Hello, Tita," she greeted with a small smile on her face."Oh my! Carylle, dear. It's so good to see you agai—" his mother's jolly greeting was soon cut off and Adler saw how her eyeballs almost jumped off her eye sockets because of how they widened. "Oh my! You look like a
Chapter 5"What do you mean?"She was silent for a moment, rubbing her arm whilst looking in a different direction. She looked like she was mentally debating with herself about something. "You don't look so well, carrying them might give you a hard time."Thinking that she doesn't trust him and is worried that he won't be able to handle her things well, he grabbed the handles as he decided to lighten the heavy, awkward atmosphere surrounding them by chuckling softly. "I may look like some snowflake right now but "strong" is my middle name," he said wittily that made her give off a small giggle, and he had never thought he would hear something so beautiful."Is that so? Then I'll leave them to you, strong sir," she replied jokingly, going along his pretense while striding behind him and he thought that the atmosphere between them seems to have gotten lighter. "Please lead me the way," she told him with a small smile that made the corner of
Chapter 6 "I think you should rest right away!"she answered, her voice rising to pitch higher than the small and timid voice she used earlier. He inwardly laughed and thought that she sounded like his mother when worried. Maybe just a few parts to take note of and a little more practice, and she would be able to copy his mother's high-pitched fretting voice perfectly. "But I need to show you to your roo—" "I just need to head straight to the door at the end, right? You don't need to worry, I can handle myself just right," sensing her nape moving back and forth, he learned that she was nodding at him. "And where's your room?" he heard her ask. "Let's just take a 180-degree turn and head straight. My room's just on the opposite side," he answered, and they both turned on their heels, moving in sync, and then began walking. "Are you sure?" he asked her once again. "Yup yup, very sure." She nodded continuous
Chapter 7 While Adler started to sleep soundly in the comfort of his sovereignty of pseudo-clouds and the ice pack she brought him, Carylle rested her back against the door she had recently closed and heaved a sigh whilst thinking how eventful the entire morning was. For one moment, she was freezing like the Philippines' hell-like temperature dropped to negative zero degrees that she felt like she was going to get frostbite, and now she is in a warm room, she feels awkward being left alone. But she doesn't mind, the excuse was reasonable anyway. Remembering her fiancé's appearance made her facepalm inwardly, his dazed self who was completely disheveled, obviously perturbed and taken away from his ecstasy and his reaction when she introduced herself to him, the chaos between him and his mother when he called her. It wasn't his fault though, she came to his house unannounced. Their meeting was a fiasco, and it was beyond disappointing
Chapter 43"Nothing at all, sir," he said for the nth time while at the back of his mind, thought that this is was like an investigative interrogation and why this goddamned old man asking him such questions. Was this his way of showing that he didn't fully trust his son in handling his job or was he just being a nosy prick? After all, he could see the signs of progress and escalations in the issues through the reports."Good," was what he only replied while nodding. "It gratifies me reading..." he trailed off, lifted a thick wad of papers in the air, and harshly slammed it on the desk with a loudwhack!"You have improved after countless failures, executive.
Chapter 42 "Executive,"said a low, baritone voice as soon as Adler opened the doors. Right in front of him was a full view of the rear of a towering leather office chair, on its arms, he could see someone's elbows resting on it, which he figured belonged to the man who spoke. He looked around and examined the entire office. It looked nothing different from his previous visit. It was still reeking off the scent of burned sandalwood, a scent that'd make his nose itch, a trait that he inherited from his mother. Everything was still had the same furniture, with each right on their spot. As if they were never moved at all. "Chairman," he greeted back with a slight nod, and the swivel chair immediately turned. It revealed a man looking in his early 50s wi
Chapter 41 "We're talking.We're talking, all right?" Elis asked, nodding relentlessly. "We're patching things up. I know I made a mistake. I should have known my place at that time." He didn't answer her and only gave off a heavy sigh, staring at the dull walls emptily while she continued to explain herself. "But what's with the strong reaction? We just had a good time the other day," she asked frantically with anxiousness painted all over her face. Her forehead held multiple creases, her eyebrows frowning, her frenzied eyes looking at him widely and her lips were wide agape. "I'm sorry if I didn't realize that you were serious. But come on, don't get mad at me. You didn't have to embarrass me earlier too," she con
Chapter 40It was Elis, and she was rubbing her feet on his hard groin!Adler prevented himself from groaning loudly in front of everyone. It was obvious that the woman was doing her crazy lust-driven antics again. She tended to do this whenever they were together in meetings and she was becoming sleepy or bored. She started it off first by mildly running her hand across his, and he would hold her hand in response. It would then end up with them twisting and playing on each other's fingertips. It felt fun, and it woke him up from sleeping on the meeting like how it did with her. The small electrifying sensations running across their fingers felt pleasant. Days went by that time and meetings became more frequent and holding hands and playing fingers gradually became slides on the inner legs and caresses on each other's privates but it d
Chapter 39 "You seem to beenergetic these days, Sir," Morgan said sternly while handing out the organized files to Adler, who was busy reading business proposals and conference invitations on his email. It was another busy day for Adler. Unlike his usual days, he was able to do paperwork efficiently and at a faster pace than his usual. Since his conversationwith Carylle, Adler had been like a wake-up call for him to change his ways. To him, she was right. He realized that he really did need a break, and as they said: Rome wasn't built in a day. However, it did not change the fact that his sleepless nights and endless hours of work with no breaks brought him t
Chapter 38 "I'm okay.Thanks for worrying." "Are you sure?" Carylle asked, her eyes looking at him as if she was asking for reassurance. Adler nodded in response, giving her the reassurance she needed. "Yeah, I'm sure." He figured nowadays that she was such a worrywart to every organism in this world, whether it was alive or dead. Once, she stepped on a pillow while cleaning up. He saw her anxiously brushing it off before putting it back in place. He found her adorable checking on the pillow if it still had blemishes left. She also nudged him slightly just last night as well, and she immediately reacted, asking him if he was all right, and just like right now, she asked for reassurance. It took him a
Chapter 37 It had beentime immemorial since Adler had ever felt comfortable, even in his sleep. For years, he had been alert, restless, and in his keenest senses all the time. He never let his guard down, even less than a second. However, it was what brought him to the position he was in right now. But in exchange for all his continuous success in slowly achieving his goals was the feeling of ease. He had never felt an ounce of comfort since he started dedicating himself to his personal vindication. But right now, there he was, on his bed, sleeping comfortably, unknowingly embracing his pillows with his limbs and sinking into the ultrasoft mattresses like a high-strung being that never had a wink of sleep ever since. He had the most comfortable feeling so far as h
Chapter 36 "No problem,I'm happy to share thoughts deeper than trivial talks." Carylle suddenly said, lifting her cup of decaf for a sip. "I'm enjoying this kind of conversation as well." It was true. Adler never expected he would be having a conversation with her that would hit a level so deep that it went to the point he could reflect and ponder on her opinion. He thought that they would be having trivial conversations for some time, but him opening up brought a door for them to become intimately close, at its slightest, though. Moreover, it proved one of the things people told him before: it would feel good if you open up to strangers because they didn't know you. He s
Chapter 35"Why? What happened?"Carylle asked, obviously intrigued.Adler fell silent for a moment, hesitating once again. He wondered why he hesitated for the second time when he had already made up his mind, and he shouldn't back down from it. "You see..." he started and began pouring what he had been holding back since earlier, telling her that he was upset over unfinished work because he slept on it plus the pressure of the anniversary coming. This time, while he was telling her about it, he felt like a child telling his mother that he was bullied by other kids at school. And it felt good, like something heavy was lifted off his chest."Hmm," she hummed when he finally finished telling his story. "I see," she then