Chapter 1

"Attorney, Mr. Sandoval has already deposited your acceptance fee," napaangat ang tingin ko sa pinto kung saan dumungaw ang ulo ng aking sekretaryang si Mariel. "He's asking when will you be available for a meeting daw po," dagdag nito.

"Can you check my schedule for tomorrow if kaya siyang isingit," utos ko. Mr. Sandoval is a big client and he's filing an Intellectual Property case against a competitor, specifically a trademark case.

"After your court hearing po in RTC Manila tomorrow, you're free naman po in the afternoon but at dinner time po, you have a meeting with Sir Vince,", sagot nito.

"Kindly tell Mr. Sandoval to come here after lunch," sabi ko.

I don't meet clients outside my office. If it's work related, I prefer them coming in my office for consultation or for a meeting so we could focus more on the details regarding a case or any prospective case to be filed for a possible Attorney-Client-Relationship.

"I will po, Attorney," sabi ni Mariel at sinara na ang pinto nang binalik ko ang mata sa binabasa kong answer ng defendant.

For only 2 years of being a lawyer, it's undeniable that I was able to prove my legal expertise despite my young age. I may not have graduated with honors at the University of the Philippines during law school and did not top the bar exam, but I was able to exhibit my legal skills and legal techniques in the real world and achieved what I have now.

I and my 2 partners in RCV-Law were the most successful lawyers in our batch. We, three, established the RCV-Law firm after passing the bar exam and we were able to grow it in the span of only 2 years. We have 30 Associate Lawyers now and at least 75 staff which hold administrative positions. We were able to prove ourselves despite us being considered as newbies in the Philippine Legal World. We have a lot of big clients which I and my 2 partners- Attorney Ayn Contreras and Attorney Elijah Villareal- sometimes personally handle.

The three of us handle different types of cases. My expertise is Intellectual Property and Tax cases, Ayn is an expert in Labor Cases, while Elijah handles Criminal and Civil cases. I lead 10 Associate Lawyers which also specializes in Intellectual Property and Taxation cases, while Ayn and Elijah each have 10 Associates to help them in their own field of expertise.

"I will draft the pleading within this week sir and will file the case next week," sabi ko kay Mr. Sandoval after asking him for the right information that I would need in drafting the trademark case and after telling him to send me the necessary documents to support his claims.

"Thank you, Attorney Rillera," sabi nito bago lumabas.

Napatingin ako sa orasan sa opisina ko at mag-a-alas-sais na ng gabi. Mejo natagalan kami ng pag-uusap ni Mr. Sandoval dahil madami itong tanong at ang iba ay walang kinalaman sa kaso niya.

Napailing nalang ako nang maalala ang mga tanong niyang mejo personal gaya ng kung may boyfriend na daw ba ako dahil irereto niya daw ang anak nitong CEO sa sarili nitong kompanya.

Of course, I know Marius Sandoval. We met before at one of the charity events I attended. I won't deny that he's good looking, but I just can't have any interest in anyone else right now.

"Except him," the tiny voice in my head corrected na di ko maitanggi.

After 10 years and getting everything I dreamt of as an orphan, hindi ko maikakailang parang may kulang pa rin. Most of the time after becoming a lawyer, I can't help but to ask myself if I really made the right choice.

Not that I'm saying that I am being ungrateful to my adopted parents because I have nothing but respect and love them. It's just that there's a void in my heart that I know he could only fill. Kaya ako naghire ng detective agent sa isang private detective company to locate and find out his whereabouts.

I tried searching for him on F******k before noong nasa Amerika ako at doon nagcollege ng Business Administration. I wanted to talk to him and apologize for breaking my promise pero hindi ko ito nahanap sa f******k. Hindi ko man lang nagawang makapagpaalam dito dahil hindi ito nakabisita habang inaayos ang adoption process sa akin.

When I came back for Law School, hindi ko pa din siya nahanap sa kahit anong social media hanggang sa naging busy na ako sa pagbabasa ng sandamakmak na cases.

I thought I would eventually forget about him. Pero natapos na ako ng Law at naging abogado na't lahat-lahat, hindi ko pa rin siya makalimutan at hindi maiwasang maguilty sa pagpili ko ng pansariling kapakanan.

And now that Vince called me and set this meeting up, alam kong may balita na tungkol dito.

"What if hindi ka niya mapapatawad or worst, may pamilya na siya?" tanong ng tinig sa aking isipan.

Hindi ko alam ang gagawin ko if mangyayari mang kasal na ito. Malaki ang takot ko dahil malaki din ang posibilidad na baka nga may pamilya na ito. He's already 29 years old kaya talagang nasa marrying age na ito.

Alam kong mas kaya kong i-handle ang galit nito sa akin kesa mabalitaang kasal na ito.

Napatigil ako sa pag-o-overthink dahil sa narinig kong katok. Napatingin ako sa bumukas na pintuan at pagsilip ni Mariel.

"Attorney, naghihintay na daw po si Sir Jessie sa baba," she informed about my bodyguard/driver.

"Okay," sabi ko at tumayo na para bumaba.

Dahil sa nature ng trabaho ko ay naghire ako ng bodyguard sa isang sikat na security agency. Being a lawyer means being exposed to danger. Hindi lingid sa kaalaman ng marami na maraming pinapatay na lawyers dahil lang sa kasong hinahawakan nila. The people take it personally and treat their adverse party's counsel in a case as their enemy as well. They're clouded with their anger that they forget that lawyers are only doing their job in making sure that due process is upheld and that justice prevails, whether or not they think that their clients are guilty of the crimes accused of. Hindi sila judges para hatulan ang mga ito without even going to trial. It's their job instead to make sure that the rights of their clients are being observed as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land, which is our 1987 Constitution.

That's why I can't help but to hire a bodyguard as well as to buy an armored Audi Q8 to protect me. Lalo na at marami akong clients na mayayaman at malamang sa malamang ay mayayaman din ang kabanggaan.

Hindi ko maiwasang mangiti nang mapansin ko ang grupo ng mga babaeng empleyado ng firm na nagsisikuan dahil sa bodyguard ko. Pauwi na ang iba dahil alas-sais na ng hapon. Palabas na ako ng building at namataan ko ang bodyguard kong nakatayo sa side ng sasakyan ko at hinihintay akong pagbuksan. Hindi nakatakas sa akin ang mga kasabayan kong emplyedong palabas na dahil tapos na ang kanilang shift. Nang makita ako ay biglang nagsiyukuan ang mga ito para bumati at natatarantang maglakad dahil nakita ko silang kinikilig sa bodyguard ko.

Jessie is a good looking man. Nasa early 30s ito at I honestly understand why my employees gushes over him. Even some of my associate lawyers who are single were very open to me about how they find him attractive and that they wished they were me. Natatawa nalang ako but I don't feel lucky just because he's good-looking. I value good service over looks and I say I'm lucky kase he's a very cautious bodyguard. I know he can protect me and that's it for me.

Isa pa, ilalaban ko si Caleb pagdating sa looks kahit na payatot pa siya sa memory ko. He's the most handsome to me despite him being the skinny teenager that he is in my memories.

"Good evening, Attorney," bati sa akin ni Jessie bago ako pagbuksan sa back seat.

"Good evening," I greeted him back and went inside.

While on our way to the restaurant, I suddenly felt nervous. My palms are even sweaty. Mas kinakabahan pa ako ngayon kesa sa pag-attend ko sa mga court hearings. Handa akong malaman ang ano mang balita sa kanya except if he's already married.

"Please Lord, let him be single," I silently prayed.