Charlie kept on shifting on her seat. She had been there at the Gold Hotel’s restaurant for almost half an hour now subalit hindi pa rin niya nakikita ni anino ni Mr. Reyes. Pasado alas siete na ng gabi subalit wala pa rin ito doon.Nagkamali kaya si Gray?Nanlumo siya sa naisip, muling dinala ang wine glass sa kanyang bibig. Ilang sandali pa, lumapit ang waiter upang muling lagyan ng alak ang kanyang baso.The waiter gave her a smile. He seemed friendly.“Can I ask you a question?” hindi na niya ito napigilang tanungin. Agad na tumango ang waiter. “Do you know where in your private rooms here in the restaurant could Mr. Reyes be?” She gave him a sweet smile and discreetly pushed some thousand bills in his hand.Kumurap ang waiter, pasimpleng sinilip ang laman ng palad nito bago alanganing nagpalinga-linga at bahagyang yumuko. “The meeting is in a suite upstairs, Ma’am. Room 314,” bulong nito.She cleared her throat. Kung gayon, wala talaga sa restaurant ang taong sadya niya. “But you
Panay ang marahang pagdampi ni Charlie ng cold compress sa kanyang ulo. She’s now inside the room she booked. Doon siya dumiretso kanina habang kinakausap ng management ng hotel sina Mr. and Mrs. De Vera, including Gael, dahil sa gulong nangyari.She had minor cuts on her face and her head still hurts like hell. But aside from that, she was fine. The doctor the hotel management called made sure of that. Well, her ego was a little hurt for what seemed like an initially brilliant plan she had turned out to be not brilliant at all.Muli niyang idinampi ang cold compress sa ulo niya at pinakatitigan ang mukha niya sa salamin. She can’t help but curse under her breath. Hindi siya pwedeng umuwi nang gano’n. Magtatanong ang mga kasama niya sa bahay—ang mga katulong at lalo na ang mga bodyguards niya.She bit the bottom of her lip and rein in her tears. She can’t help but pity herself. She looks like shit and she still hadn’t talk to Mr. Reyes.She felt like a failure through and through!Why
Muling napairap si Charlie sa tanong ni Gael, mabulis na namumbalik ang inis sa kausap. “I don’t answer to you, Mr. Bernstein,” she replied, sarcastic.She turned and reach for her purse, putting her cellphone back in. Subalit pagharap niyang muli, nasa harap na niyang mismo sa Gael.His stares were heavy but she braved and met them. “Gusto lang kitang paalalahanan, you are still married to me, Charlize.”She scoffed. At ano ang ibig nitong sabihin? That he could meddle with her affairs as he pleases? Talagang sinusubok ng lalaki ang pasensiya niya. Namaywang na siya.“Ngayon asawa mo ko but last night you clearly rubbed it on my face that you want a divorce. Nagpapatawa ka ba? And why the hell would you care about my affairs, Gael? It’s not like people knew about us. I never even took your name. It remained right there on that damn piece of paper. You are so damn free to take it and I wouldn’t even care! At saka bakit ikaw, pinapakialaman ba kita at ang fiancée mo?” Pinagdiinan niy
A sudden knock on her door made Charlie stopped fixing herself on the mirror. Late na siya sa pagpasok sa opisina pero may umiistorbo na naman sa kanya.“Come in, the door’s open and I’m decent,” sabi niya, muling itinuloy ang pag-aayos.Madaling araw na siyang umuwi kanina mula sa Gold Hotel. Matapos ng mga nangyaro kagai, kinailangan niyang magkaroon ng oras para umiyak.It was cut short though because she promised Levi that breakfast chat. After Levi finished his breakfast and went to the pre-school, she went ahead and cried again.She was a crying mess the whole night. She felt like she’s inadequate and incompetent to be the leader of SSL. That made her question her worth yet again. She felt like she’s failing everyone all the time. Like she’s stuck from where she was five years ago when she failed her family many times.There were days that she still pity herself for the consequences of her wrong decisions. But she was trained not to dwell on them for too long. Her Dad and uncles
Pagod na umupo si Charlie sa executive chair sa opisina niya. She had been to three different banks just this morning, but all the same—they refused to consider her loan. Heck! They didn’t even gave her a chance to explain or hear out her plan on how will they pay the loan. They just rejected her outright like she’s some penniless start-up businesswoman who doesn’t have a penny on her name. She’s a Sandejas for goodness’ sake! She still owns the biggest shipping lines in the country! They’re experiencing a little setback now but still, she still has her name and money. How could they treat her like trash? Like she’s some kind of a leper who must be avoided at all times! She leaned on the back rest of the chair and closed her eyes, frustration, pity and worry drowning her all at once. Kanina pa niya gustong umiyak, pinipigilan lang niya. She knew if she’d allow herself to cry now, baka hindi na siya tumigil. The past two days had been too much. Idagdag pang ginigigil siya ni Gael
“Thank you dahil sinamahan mo ‘ko. I know you are so busy these days with your company and all but I really appreciate it that you came and helped me out today,” ani Jasmine bago ininom ang juice na nakasilbi sa harap nito.Sinamahan niyang magmerienda muna ang kaibigan sa isang cafe sa mall dahil nauuhaw na raw ito matapos nilang mabili ang mga basic baby essentials na sinabi niya. Honestly, she wanted to buy more for Jasmine’s baby but Jasmine is being Jasmine kaya panay ang tanggi nito Siguro, magpapa-deliver na lang siya ng mga gamit ng baby nito sa mga susunod na araw kapag naayos na ang problema niya.Kapag naayos na ang problema niya.Mabilis na napasulyap sa kanyang mamahaling wristwatch si Charlie. A sigh instantly left her lips when she realized that she only had less than an hour to spare for her to make it on time for the meeting.Muling bumigat ang dibdib ng dalaga. Ayaw man niya sanang kabahan, hindi niya mapigil ang kanyangs sarili. She knew how the board is, they don’
Charlie was instantly greeted by Rancho Italianos’ staff when she arrived at the restaurant. The staff know her and her family well because the owners are a family friend. It was also their go-to restaurant since she and Caleb were kids kaya kilala sila ng mga staff doon.Maya-maya pa, iginiya na siya ng isa sa mga waiter sa hilera ng mga private rooms na naroon. The waiter stopped at the third door and gently opened the door for her.She took in a sharp breath before entering the room. Agad na bumungad sa kanya ang bulto ng isang lalaki na hindi nalalayo sa edad ng Daddy niya. He was sitting on one of the chairs facing the table set-up, drinking casually from his wine glass. He seemed lost in thought for a moment. But when he saw her, agad itong tumayo.“Y-you must be Ms. Charlize Sandejas,” anito, ngumiti.She forced a smile. “I am. And you must be Mr. Stanley Dominguez,” pormal niyang sagot.Lalong lumawak ang ngiti ng lalaki. “Stanley. Just call me Stanley, Ms. Sandejas,” anito,
“I’m so proud of you, Charlie,” anang Uncle Joshua niya nang sila na lang dalawa ang naiwan sa loob ng board room. Katatapos lang ng kanilang mahabang meeting kaama ang mga board directors ng SSL. She reported about the payment extension Crown Bank Inc. has given them and that they can now proceed with the recovery plan for the cruise line.“Thanks, Uncle Josh. Well, what can I say, I’ve learned from the best,” pabirong sagot niya.Her uncle chuckled. “I’d really take that as compliment kahit na alam kong inuuto mo lang ako, Charlie. Go ahead spill it. What do you want?”Natawa na siya. Her uncle really knows her well. “It means I needed some time off and be with Levi,” mabilis niyang sagot. Ilang araw na siyang paulit-ulit na tinatanong ng anak tungkol doon subalit hindi niya ito masagot-sagot dahil sa problema niya sa Crown Bank. And now that it's settled, there's no better way to celebrate than to be with her son. Nagkamot ito ng batok. “Fine. I’d oversee SSL for a while so you ca