Chapter 3

He’s mad, badly and I don’t have any idea why his mood changed like fire, from calm into engulfing flames. I hadn't seen his side like this in a month. I never saw him even shout to his worker. He was always calm and he had to close his eyes and took a deep breathes when something irritates him.

I feel like I am not his secretary maybe merely just his invisible friend. He did all the work and my job only accepts call from his business partners, from talent managers, or any modeling agencies and so many more. Maybe that’s my work or maybe we were not yet has a fully complicated schedules. And in my notes, he only have one month rest because of the successful project.

And today I learned something from my boss that a quite person when gets mad he could explode and awake the dormant volcano.   

He took deep breathes and looked at me, a little bit calmer now and when his eyes moved outside like his eyes turn quickly into ice.

I had no idea what was wrong... What is the restaurant's problem, or was he referring to the restaurant I visited recently? Or maybe not. Maybe Mr. Falcon made a purchase for them and made a mistake.

I haven't eaten yet, and perhaps he hasn't either, which is why he's not in the mood?

“Daniel...”

I looked at him innocently. I left him, no…he left me with a good mood and now he’s not in the mood to talk. I took a seat in the nearest available chair, and the table is the only thing that separates us.

“I heard Mrs. Glaiza has been purposefully ordering you around for the past two weeks.”

I don't see a problem with Mrs. Glaiza, but when I look at him right now, I realize that I may need to seek him for approval on such matters.

“I have no problem with it. Mrs. Glaiza is our worker and you are. Her lunch is not your obligation. I even heard that she’s intentionally order the food faraway from our building where she can buy food downstair or even besides our building and I don’t know why no one’s reporting it to me.”

He muttered something serious, and as he looked into my eyes, he sighed, as if he realized I didn't understand him. Mrs. Glaiza stated that she had just returned from the hospital, and I have no objection to her bossing me around because her motives are justified, and I want to help her as well.

“Daniel, you are quiet and obedient that’s why you were so easy to abuse. I'm hoping you won't take orders from anyone else this time. You just have to listen to me and obey MY orders, not theirs, the people on the bottom floor, or even Mrs. Glaiza's?

Is that why his mad earlier because I took order from Mrs. Glaiza?

“Do you understand? You only need to listen accept orders from me, from Stephony Falcon only. Keep that in mind…”

I nodded as he warned.

“I will really banned that damn restaurant.”

He whispered when his gazed drawn into my tainted and dirty long-sleeved.

“Did you take your lunch?”

He asked and I smiled and it too late to control it nor hide it from him.

“Not yet Sir...”

I replied.

“I see…change your clothes. I have a spare shirts from my drawer. You change while I order our lunch. I was…waiting...”

I was also waiting for him to continue by he only looked away and point the drawer beside the mini-library from afar and point to change my dirty suit and I obliged while I heard him taking order to the phone.

He's strange, and I'm even stranger and more foolish for smiling.

I guess I never heard someone asking that to me except my family.

I came back where I left wearing a white t-shirt and a slax and I can say we have the same body length and size. He was still on the phone and I peacefully waited for him. This is not the first time we ate together but this is the first time we ate together with different, maybe because of what I witnessed recently.

“I want juice…”

I heard him talking to the phone.

I looked at him and he stared at me.

“What do you want? Pineapple juice…soft drinks or wone?”

He asked to me and I think wine doesn’t suit to me.

“Just water...”

I responded, and he returned his focus to the phone.

“I don’t want juice anymore. Just two water and…hmmm…I want more rice. Thank you!”

He hung up the call and he caught my eyes busy looking to his table.

My phone was left here, and I'm not sure where it went.

“Oh! Your phone…that’s why you never accept my call because you left your phone here.”

He smiled and handed me his phone after opening his drawer.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to touch your phone but I saw your wallpaper…is that your..?”

“Yes, Sir she’s my little sister and a ten years younger than me.”

And she loves you, I wanted to reply and I’m glad I stop myself from saying it.

“She’s so young and pretty, too. She more resembles to you.”

“As we grew older we became alike because maybe because we’ve been together every minute, that’s why.”

I said and I became peaceful to our topic because it talks about my lovely sister.

“I see…I also wanted to have a little sister but sadly I am the youngest and we are all boys in our family”

This is my chance…I mean Cassia’s chance to meet the popular boss in town.

“You can meet her, Sir. She would celebrate her birthday and if you want we can invite you and meet my family and sister, Sir. If you’re not busy.”

I said trying my luck… our luck. He's the type of boss who goes home right after work and stays that way. He doesn't go to the bar, nor does he have any friends, or perhaps his buddies are too busy. I received numerous invitations from well-known designers, managers, actresses, actors, and even an international business partner, all of whom requested his presence for birthdays and anniversaries, and he politely denied them all. He refuses to read the cards. He rejects or ignores the card after seeing it.

And I shouldn't get my hopes up today because he can also decline my invitation.

When he nodded, I almost fell out of my chair, thinking to myself, "Really?"

“Please inform me of the date so that we can reschedule my meetings and free that day.”

He laughed when he noticed my reaction. When we heard the delivery man, he got up and walked to the door. I got up to assist him as well.

“Please remove all of the papers from my table...

Let us simply dine there.”

I nodded and followed his instruction.

He ordered a beefsteak, which is one of my favorites. This is also the second time we've had beefsteak in the office, which is the restaurant itself was located on the left side of Falcon's building. And I just realize that Mrs. Glaiza is also a bit strange to her orders or maybe she’s a picky eater.

Mr. Stephony left the office at five o'clock for a family meal, and I waited in his office for a bit because I had been given instructions to print certain paperwork. I left the office at six o'clock and shut the door. I noticed the empty office from the outside, but I also noticed Mrs. Glaiza and her coworkers' bags, indicating that they may have taken a break, and I realized that I needed to apologize as well.

They were at the 14th-floor cafeteria when I noticed them. They were the only ones left, yet hearing them converse made my steps become sluggish... something that didn't seem to fit.

“I don’t know what happened to Mr. Falcon. I-I mean how could he hire a stupid secretary? He is only a new worker then why does he had to take that damn position which should be mine?”

I heard Mrs. Glaiza’ said to her two companions. She said with so much frustrations and insult.

Mrs. Glaiza is in her late thirties, while the two older women are in their late forties.

“His stupid. I even intentionally order the food away from our building so that he could read between the lines. I don’t like him. And I'm not sure why Mr. Stephony hired him when you already knew he was that stupid.”

The two older women exchanged a laugh.

“Don't be too concerned, Glaiza. I have a feeling he won't last long as a secretary.”

The short older woman said. They were so preoccupied with each other that they were completely unaware of my presence.

I was also shocked and I feel… a throbbing pain on my heart.

“Of course,” she says. If he's as foolish as you say, then he won't last long as secretary.”

Glaiza laughed to them as another older woman murmured something, perhaps because she had found a companion.

I watched them with pain. I didn’t know how to leave where I stood up. I don’t even have strength to close my eyes. They were equally taken aback when they saw me standing two meters away from them.

Mrs. Glazia gave me that smug expression, and the two older women gave me a shy look, as if they were frightened to make eye contact with me.

“You are a man right? You won’t be if you tell this to Mr. Stephony. And you will just prove that you’re stupid if you tell this to the CEO.”

She said as she left.

It took me 1 hour to pick up the pieces of me. I stared alone to the floor. I went to the elevator like a zombie, indeed maybe I was.

I stood up outside the building of Falcon. There are still people inside and I didn’t’ even mind the people around as I walked, maybe they also think the way Mrs. Glaiza.

I didn’t call my father yet, I was just there standing alone and staring to the busy car’s light passing far away from me.

Thinking that I thought I was already okay. I think I was already settled, accepted and contented they moment I was hired.

I didn’t even care the car that stopped in front of me. Until the window rolled down and exposed Mr. CEO. I even shocked why he came back and maybe I was stupid. I am the secretary I didn’t know why his back to the building.

“Why are you still here? You don’t have a car or your father failed to fetch you up?”

He inquired loudly enough for me to hear him. He's also aware that my father is responsible for picking me up every night. My tongue's bitterness lingered, but I couldn't bring myself to smile.

My heart feel so heavy right now…

He went out to his car and even let his car stayed that way without following the parking lot policies. It’s not allowed to park the car in front of the building. I have nothing to say but only one word…pain.

“I came back to get my wallet and I left it on my table… and I’m glad I planned to pick it because I found you here. Need a ride?”

Mr. CEO asked and when  I looked into his eyes…his eyes raging with madness and he took a deep breath and calm himself. 

My eyes only resembles pain and disappointments, not because of Mrs. Glaiza maybe because she was right that I am stupid.

I don’t have the strength to talk or even utter any words because if ever I heard him something to cheer me up…I would end up feeling so bad and feel so little. He grabbed my hands and open the car for me. He doesn’t need to ask for my address because he knew where I lived because of my resume he was once interviewed.

It was both a terrible and a relaxing drive. I knew my heart wasn't feeling well, but the drive was slowly attempting to soothe every ache and itch in my chest.

He's silent, and I'm quiet. I traded his hands, which were now driving with such force and control, and I could hear his repeated heavy sighs, as if he was trying to keep himself from exploding or ranting. On the other hand, I was just staring at the passing buildings.

One thing I've learned in this life is that you can't please everyone, no matter what you do or where you go...

You can’t force them to like you as a person or as workmates…

You have no control over what they say, but you do have power over how you react to it. Whatever you do in life, whether you do a lot of good or little, or a lot of bad and little good, people will always find a way to pull you down.

I shouldn’t feel sad and pain about it. They didn’t know what I’ve been through so that I can exceed the expectation of my boss…so that I will feel I’m qualify enough to be a competent and effective secretary I could be.

“T-thank you...”

I said that without making eye contact with Mr. Stephony, yet he was quick to deliver me the two chocolates.

"I went to the SM and remembered your little sister, so I got her chocolates, as well as yours." I'm not sure whether you two will like this, but give it a shot and I'll go out and get you a new one tomorrow with the chocolate you want."

I tried to smile at him and he even saw it but it just the negativity tried to control over me.

This is somehow…too much

However I accepted it in order to shorten the conversation so I could nap.

“T-thank you for this my sister like anything as long as it foods and I am not a picky eater either. Have to go and take care. B-bye”

I said this as I stepped out of the car, not glancing back to see where he was.