It was ten minutes before lunch at kanina pa inip na naghihintay si Charlie sa may waiting room ng opisina ni Mr. Jones. Ilang beses na rin niyang nakausap ang secretary ng lalaki. But everytime she does, iisa lang ang sagot nito, may importante pa itong kausap na tao sa loob ng opisina nito. She had always been very patient when it comes to her business dealings. Her Uncle Joshua told her to never show extreme emotions when dealing with clients or business associates. And so she had learned to manage her emotions well. But this transaction, no matter how she needed it to go smoothly today is clearly testing her patience. Why wouldn't she? Sinunod niyang lahat ang protocols para makakuha ng appointment kay Mr. Jones. But now that she's here, she felt like the CEO was just making a fool out out of her by making her wait for hours! Hindi niya tuloy maiwasang isipin na baka inutusan ito ng mga Mondragon na paglaruan siya. This is not the first time the Mondragons have used their co
“So, how was the meeting with Mr. Jones,” anang Uncle Joshua ni Charlie sa kanya. Agad siyang nag-angat ng tingin mula sa kanyang plato, makahulugang ipinalibot ang tingin sa mga kaanak niya na nasa hapag. They were having dinner at his uncle’s house in celebration of her cousin Tala's graduation. Everyone from her father’s side of the family were present, except of course for her parents and her brother Caleb who was away preparing for his Accountancy Licensure Exam. Sa totoo lang, wala sana siya dapat doon ngayon. She’s still flustered from meeting Gael earlier that day. All she would want to do is to spend the night in her bed with the help of a premium drink to knock her senses off to sleep. But Tala’s graduation is quite a big event for the family. Paano, matapos nitong mag-shift ng course ng tatlong beses, her cousin finally got her degree. And soon, Tala will be moving to Italy for her masters in fashion design. Her heart felt a little heavy with the thought. Sometimes,
“What do you want? Coffee? Tea?” alok ni Jasmine sa kanya nang nasa sala na sila ng bahay nito. “Or booze?” pabulong na dugtong nito, bahagya pang nalukot ang mukha habang hawak ang namimintog nitong tiyan. Jasmine is already on her third trimester sa first baby nito at ni Gray. Hirap na itong maglalabas at magkikilos. Kaya madalas, siya na ang pumupunta sa kaibigan. “Unlimited shots of tequila, please,” pabirong sagot niya, natatawa. Agad na nalaki ang mga mata ni Jasmine. “Wala no’n dito. Mag-tsaa ka na lang, Charlie,” anito bago nagpunta sa kusina. Pagbalik nito, may bitbit na itong tig-isang slice ng cheesecake sa dalawang platito. Nakasunod dito ng isa sa mga katulong nito na may bitbit na tray ng porcelain teapot at dalawang tea cups. “So what brings you here?” anito habang isinisilbi ang tea at cheesecake sa harap niya. “Do I need to have a reason to come here?” nakalabing tanong niya sa kaibigan, nilagyan ng himig pagtatampo ang tinig. Jasmine giggled and sat on th
“Coffee?” alok ni Jasmine kay Charlie na noon ay sapo-sapo pa rin ang nananakit na ulo. Last night she had one too many drinks while pouring her heart out to Jasmine. The brandy did its magic last night—make her talk and knock her off to sleep. ‘Yon nga lang, hindi siya sa bahay niya nakatulog. Natulog siya sa bahay nina Jasmine at Gray dahil sa sobrang kalasingan. “Thank you,” paos ang tinig na sabi niya matapos salinan ni Jasmine ng kape ang mug na nakasilbi sa kanyang harapan. She took a sip of the hot beverage, wishing that it will take away all the effects of her stupidity last night. Pasado alas nuwebe na ng umaga subalit naroon pa rin siya, in someone else’s home looking like a shit. Wala sita dapat doon. Napakarami niyang dapat gawin sa opisina. Idagdag pa ang muli niya sanang pakikipag-usap kay Mr. Jones. Heck! It’s not even yet the weekend but she got wasted! She silently cursed herself. What’s happening to her focus? Kahapon pa siya gano’n. She used to be very s
It was past six in the evening subalit nasa SSL pa rin si Charlie. She came in late today kaya natambakan siyang husto ng trabaho. Kasalanan naman niya 'yon dahil nagpakalasing siya nang nagdaang gabi. Wala siyang ibang pwedeng sisihin kundi ang kanang sarili. But she promised herself that last night will be the very last time she'd drink herself to sleep habang maay mga kinakaharap na problema ang SSL. She will work harder to prove herself worthy of her position.Kung sabagay, balak niyang h’wag umuwi sa mansiyon ngayon. She will stay at the penthouse upang maaga rin siyang makapasok bukas.She has a lot of proposals to study all for the upcoming board meeting three days from now. That would be her first time facilitating the meeting by herself. She wants to be prepared. Ayaw na niyang magkamali. Huli na talaga ang kagabi. Abala siya sa pagbabasa ng biglang sumilip si Diego sa pinto ng kanyang opisina. Taliwas sa masayahing aura nito, her father’s trusted assistant and secretary had
The woman has been silent for a while now. Her beautiful caramel eyes staring at him were filled with confusion and fear. Good, Gael thought. She should really be afraid of me.This woman whom they say was his wife looks a little more matured now compared to the pictures compiled by his men. She still looked beautiful though, an air of effortless sophistication follows her-- a real billionaire brat. She looked so innocent then, breathtaking. No wonder he was smitten. But now, he curse the day that she met her and her family.Nang magising siya sa isang ospital sa Germany limang taon na nakakalipas, nakilala niya ang kanyang tunay na kapamilya, si Aksel Bernstein, ang lolo niya at ang may-ari ng Bernstein Industrial Technologies.His father was the old man's only son. But Aksel never approved of his mother who was from a poor background. Umalis ng Germany ang kanyang ama upang makasama ang kanyang ina. Subalit hindi nagtagal ang pagsasama ng mga magulang niya dahil magkasama ang mga
Marahang dinala ni Gael ang baso ng alak sa kanyang bibig. Malalim na ang gabi subalit hindi pa rin siya makatulog o mas tamang sabihin na may gumugulo sa kanyang pagtulog. A woman. A woman's face to be specific. The face of Charlize Sandejas. There's something in her that was haunting him-- a heavy feeling he cannot shake off of his chest since she met her accidentally yesterday.He scoffed and down the glass of drink in his hand. The woman was really something. But he must not be fazed. Si Charlize ang puno't dulo ng lahat. May kasalanan ito at ang pamilya niya sa kanya. At naroon siya para maningil. Limang taon niyang pinaghandaan ang muling pagkikita nila ng dating asawa. He studied and worked hard-- pushing himself to the limits every time. Lahat ng ginawa niya sa nakalipas na limang taon ay para sa kanyang paghihiganti laban sa mga Sandejas. At ngayon na ang oras ng paniningil.He was really in the country to finally meet her and have him lay down his terms sa kanilang pa
Ang biglang pagbuhos ng malakas na liwanag sa kanyang kwarto ang nagpabalikwas kay Charlie mula sa kanyang higaan. The light coming from the windows of her room were blinding she wanted to throw an endless fit. "What the hell!" gigil niyang sabi, marahas na itinakip ang mga kamay sa kanyang mga mata. "Yeah, exactly! What the hell, Charlie!" anang pamilyar na boses ng Uncle Joshua niya. She groaned inwardly and squinted her eyes to look at her uncle. Agad siyang napangiwi nang makita ang nakapamaywang na bulto nito sa paanan ng kama niya. He looked serious, ready to explode. Shit! "W-what time is it?" she asked in a hoarse voice, reaching for a pillow and hugging it tight. "Time to get your ass out of bed and go to fckin work!" singhal ng tiyuhin niya. The curse made her wince. Lalong nalukot ang mukha niya, yumuko at isinubsob ang mukha sa unan na yakap niya. Sanay siyang magalit ang Uncle Joshua niya. She had lived with it for the past five years while he trained her as