“It’s good to see you again, Maria,” Paul opened up with a wide smile on his face. There was a hint of anxiety in his voice, though. Perhaps he didn’t know how he would approach her after five long years.
They already finished dinner and everyone was having desserts. Evina coaxed him to ask Maria if they could talk in private. He thought Maria wouldn’t agree. But she did.
They were in the backyard and sitting on the bench. The sky was clear, and the stars could be vividly seen from where they were.
“You too, Paul,” Maria smiled at him, making Paul’s heart gallop at a fast rate. Even when the years have passed, he still has feelings for her.
She left the country without even saying anything to him. He thought that it was because he was too hasty with expressing his feelings with her that is why she moved away.
He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable again, so he decided to just let her go.
“It’s Miss Chen!” One of her former colleagues screamed as soon as she saw her. She quickly stood up from her desk and ran towards her. She gave her a tight embrace and jumped up and down. The other staffs' eyes grew wide in bewilderment. They must not have expected that she would drop by after five long years. It was the day of the director’s meeting, and they invited Evina to join them to discuss her proposal. Evina went earlier than the time, so she could catch up with her colleagues. The participants of the meeting hadn't arrived yet, so she went down to her department and greeted them all. She was surprised that there were a lot of changes since she left. Before they were understaffed. But now it seemed that they were more open to hiring more people. The place was more crowded. But the staff seem happier than back in her days. Their faces don’t look stressed like what she was used to seeing. Her cheekbones lifted as sh
“You didn’t just declare that I’m your girlfriend, right?” Evina whispered to Gabriel. Her dainty hand cupped her coral-lipped mouth in her hopes that none could hear them.They were walking along the corridor to the boardroom meeting. Since it was still early in the morning, there were a lot of employees roaming around, trying to finish their tasks early.Some of them were surprised to see her. They greeted her with a warm smile and bowed down to her. She gladly returned the favor.However, the others weren’t. They would acknowledge her presence. But after they passed by, they would sneer at her and chat behind her back.The other directors were already at the boardroom, waiting for them. Evina didn’t realize that she took a while in their department, catching up with them.They were already near the door when Evina asked him his motive. She knew that they had to talk about business in just one minute.Bu
“G-Gabriel?” Evina uttered in disbelief. It didn’t matter to her anymore if she called him by his first name in the board of directors meeting.Gabriel was still standing tall, opposing the Chairman, his father, in front of everybody. His nostrils were flaring. But he managed to keep his calm and still acted in a civilized manner.The other directors’ jaws dropped in bewilderment at the CEO’s horrendous action. They have known Gabriel as one who was collected and unperturbed, even when things were going haywire.It was fortunate of them that there was a pitcher of cold water and glasses. Some directors quickly grab one in an effort to moisten their throats and make things less awkward.The Chairman, Gabriel, Evina and the directors were all in the same room, supposedly to discuss a merge between their companies.But it seemed that it would not be feasible. The Chairman declared his outright defiance against the CEO of
All the directors’ attention turned towards the Chairman, who seemed to be awestruck at that moment.A conflict of emotions was evident in his stern face. He looked surprised at Evina’s lowliness.He also seemed angry, perhaps because the memory of the past was like a ghost that reappeared again just now.His eyes seemed to be welling with tears as if he was reminded of his deep friendship with William Go and how he has broken faith with him for money.Just then, the sun’s rays penetrate through the windows. It announced both the time for refreshments and the time for a new start for both the offended group.An hour has already passed, and they still haven’t started the purpose of the boardroom meeting. They were supposed to be discussing the pros and cons of Evina’s proposal at that time.“Perhaps it would benefit both companies if both their leaders would have a good relationship as well. No matter h
“I won! Now you have to grant me a wish,” Evina boisterously reacted with her fist in the air.Her feet jumped up from the sofa and flashed a warm smile at her father. William scratched his head as he shrugged his shoulders.They were playing chess after dinner while Maria and Simon washed the dishes. Evina decided to take this opportunity to ask him to meet up with Chairman Yang.Though, she has no idea if he would agree with it or not.“All right. What is it that you want?” William sighed, giving in to the whims of her daughter.He then put back the chess pieces to their case. A grin made its way to his face.Evina drew in a deep breath. She knew this would not be easy.After The Elysian Inc cast him out, he runs away and never lets anyone see his face again. How would she make him show up again?She picked up a huge throw pillow and embraced it as she contemplated how to open up.“I went
Evina bit her fingernails as she stared into nothingness. Her heart was palpitating faster than light. Her father and the Chairman would be meeting later in the afternoon. And she felt jittery about the outcome. “Calm down. If Plan A didn’t work out, we have Plan B anyway,” Gabriel soothed her anxiety. He held her hand and brought it to his lips. It is the weekend and Gabriel didn’t come to work. He and Evina decided to go to a jewelry store. Their plan is to go to the Chairman’s Villa after their meeting and give him a gift. If the result is great, they could celebrate. And if not, they could pacify him. Evina walked inside the store with Gabriel. All the attendants came to their side for assistance. “Good afternoon, Mr. Yang and Ms. Chen,” They addressed them. “Good afternoon,” They both greeted them back. But afterward, Gabriel whispered in Evina’s ear, “Very soon they will not call us like that. It will be Mr. and M
Chairman Yang paced back and forth at the floor. His hand flew to rub his neck as he checked on his watch. He was already an hour late. “Did he opt to back out at the last minute?” He sneered. He has been waiting for him inside the car. But since it was taking him a long time, he decided to get out of the car and wait for him outside. “I did not,” A voice behind him replied. Chairman Yang turned to his back and saw William approaching him. He chose to meet up at the first office of The Elysian Inc. Building. It was part of a shabby commercial complex then. But now it deteriorated to extinction as there were no tenants left in the place. Instead, it was an old abandoned building filled with exposed pipes and loops of loose wiring hanging through holes in the ceiling and torn-up flooring. He wanted him to be reminded of their good memories that he destroyed. With a sarcastic smile on his face, he smirked as William walked towards him. He
Chairman Yang felt like the whole building just collapsed on him. His extremities felt numb and paralyzed.He was just intensely arguing with him a few minutes ago. And now is he actually dying in front of him?His driver and bodyguard already went out of the car and checked out the surrounding areas. When they came back, they immediately retorted, “We have to leave now, sir.”He pulled his arm away from them as he argued, “And what about him? Will we just allow him to die here like this?”He then pointed to William who had already passed out at that moment.“But sir, they cannot see you with this man,” his bodyguard commented.They were still at the abandoned complex, the former Elysian Inc office, but was now a haunted place. It was getting dark, so the only light that was allowing them to see each other was the fainting light of the setting sun.The place was also far from the metropolis, so ther