"Is there any issues, young master?" Secretary Kim's voice boomed. "Just a little something. I want you to call Paul's superior to make him report to work," Chase said in a flat tone."Yes sir, anything else?" Secretary Kim asked."Yes," Chase said and told secretary Kim what he wanted him to do next."I'll get right on it. Is that it?" Secretary Kim asked again to make sure the young master didn't want him to do anything else."That's all for now," Chase said and pulled the phone out of his ear, ending the call.He had a good feeling that Paul wouldn't report to work after Huncho gave him feedback of how their little journey went, but he wanted to make him feel every pain he cause Kenny, and that included reporting to work after being abused.Secretary Kim made the call and the general manager, who was surprised to hear his voice and even more surprised at his out-of-the-blue request quickly got to work. It wasn't everyday you got to speak to one of the personal assistants of the em
Chase's phone rang in his pocket and he pulled it out but furrowed his eyebrows when he didn't recognize the caller.Deciding to pick the call, his tensed muscles immediately relaxed as he heard the voice of the caller."Dude, are you a psychic or something?" Kenny's excited voice boomed through the speaker."Kenny?" Chase asked to be sure."I have good news for you, man. Let's meet up this evening," Kenny continued."What is it?" Chase asked, trying to sound as curious as he could when he already had a good idea what it was."I'll tell you everything when we see," Kenny said and ended the call and Chase couldn't help the smile that played on his lips."What?" Evelyn asked, startling him. He had not heard her come in."Oh, um, just a friend," he shrugged and put his phone in his pocket, playing it off."Hmm," she hummed and stood beside him. "There's something different about you," she started as she scrutinized his features."Really?" He chuckled awkwardly as he rocked on the ball of
The day went by quickly and soon, it was time for lunch. Every other person went out for lunch except Paul, who was buried in work with an aching body."The broccoli isn't going to turn to a monster and bite you," Evelyn chuckled at Chase's indignant stare at the broccoli on his plate while the took their seat in their favorite spot."Yeah, thanks," he said and immediately picked it out and dropped it on the tray."What's your brother's name?" He asked out of the blue and Evelyn stopped her food mid-air. Chase had been trying to ask her all week but he didn't know how to bring up the conversation and decided the best way to do it was to just put it out there.Evelyn quickly regained her composure and put the food in her mouth. The question was so random that it sent her into a shock wave for a minute."My brother is Malcom. Malcolm Smith," she told him, not knowing why he needed the information but guessing he just wanted to talk about her family with her."Hmm," Chase nodded and made
"I haven't done anything. Please let me go," Sarah's loud screams and cries filled the lobby.The two guards by her side continued to drag her like a sack of potatoes while she wailed."Let me go," she continued to beg.Chase and Evelyn stood off on the side as well as other staff that were around, and watched the scene. Chase watched with an indifferent expression while Evelyn watched with horror. She couldn't believe what she was seeing."What's going on here?" Patrick's deep voice came as he stepped out of the elevator and noticed the commotion.The guards ignored him and continued moving till he stopped in front of them. They were way bigger than him and could have easily shoved him to the side, but they decided to stop."Move," one of the guards said through gritted teeth with a weeping Sarah in his hands."I'm the manager of this branch, hence, I demand to know what is going on and why my staff is being dragged away," he asked with a straight voice, puffing his chest out and lif
"I love…""Here's your order," the waitress' voice sliced through the tension between them and Evelyn felt her resolve roll away."Thanks," Chase smiled at her as she displayed their food in front of them.She nodded once and turned to leave.Chase turned back to Evelyn who was now looking at the food in front of her like it was the most beautiful thing in the world.Eager to hear what she was going to say, he asked, "you love…?" He left the sentence incomplete for her to finish."Winter," she sputtered out. "I love winter," she said more firmly and raised her eyes to meet Chase's.Disappointment flashed through Chase's eyes for a brief second but was quickly replaced with a small smile."What was I thinking? Did I really think she was going to say she loves me? Stupid." Chase mentally scolded himself."Let's eat quickly," he nodded towards their food."Why did you order so much?" Evelyn giggled with a hand over her mouth."I read somewhere that food makes a woman's anger dissipate,"
"You, get me a cup of coffee," Paul ordered Chase immediately as they stepped into the lobby.Paul had been working all morning and only came down to get a drink and as soon as he saw Chase, he knew he had found the perfect errand boy."That is no longer in my job description. You made it clear the other day," Chase said confidently, referring to the day he was removed as the tea boy.Some people in the lobby gasped at Chase's audacity for questioning Paul and refusing straight away to get the work done.Evelyn pulled his hand, silently begging him to just get the coffee for the man so they can go ahead with their day but Chase wasn't having it. He squared his shoulders and stared a furious-looking Paul down."Do you want to lose your job, you beggar?" Paul seethed. He was usually calm and collected but with the work load he had, coupled with the pain he felt all over his body, the last thing he expected was a common cleaner to question him."The last time I checked, you're the one at
"How did you know?" She asked him."Know what?" Chase asked. He thought they had closed the conversation."How did you know Paul is at the verge of losing his job?" She had been genuinely curious about it since the words left his lips. She knew Chase wasn't connected to the top managers and if at all something like that was going to happen, the information would only be among the top staff members and not cleaners like Chase and herself."Oh, wild guess. I'm probably even wrong," he shrugged his shoulders again, playing it off."Hmm," she hummed, even though she knew deep down that from the way Paul reacted, it was no wild guess or coincidence. "But why then…." She started to say but the door to their office was thrown open, making the words die in her throat."Guys!" Alice came barreling into the office. She came to a stop in the middle of the office, in front of where Chase and Evelyn sat. She hunched over, both hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath from running so fast.Ch
At this point, Chase didn't know whether to laugh or not. He hadn't expected the staff members to be smart enough to connect the dots. He didn't feel an ounce of regret for his actions, in fact, he was willing to do it over again if it would teach Sarah a lesson never to look down on or bully anyone.Unlike Chase who didn't know whether to laugh or not, Evelyn clutched her stomach and burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that her sides began to hurt and she was struggling to breathe."What's so funny?" Alice, who felt offended by being laughed at asked.When Evelyn could finally control her fit, she spoke up."Do you even listen to yourself? What do you mean it has to do with what she did to Theo and I?" She asked but quickly added. "You know what, don't answer that. I don't even know why I bother with you," she said amidst giggles."But I'm not….." Alice started to say but Theo casted her a glance, shutting her up."That's enough gossip for today," he cautioned and this time, they
"Quickly, place that there," the empress instructed a group of people with a bunch of flowers."Yes, Dame," they said and did as they were told."Mother, you'll only get yourself sick from all that walking around," Imelda said."My grandson is coming back today," the empress replied and continued walking around to make sure everything was in place. "Everything has to be perfect," she added."One would think we're preparing for a president's arrival," Imelda teased.The empress waved her off and continued checking the decorations."Why don't you rest?" She placed her hands on her mother's shoulders. "I'll take care of everything down here. Your grandson wouldn't be happy if he comes back and you're all stressed out," she told her."There's till a lot to be done and little time and…." The empress started."Mother….." Imelda drew out. "I'll take care of everything. Just take a nap," she told her."Are you sure?" The empress asked skeptically."Yes," Imelda assured her."Fine. Make sure t
"Mother, why aren't you saying anything?" Jacob requested angrily, his hands balled in fists on both sides.The empress, not even sparing him a glass continued sipping leisurely on her coffee.Jacob fumed angrily but his wife, Regina, placed a pacifying palm on his arm, subtly telling him to calm down."Mother, you can't just buy the whole Union consortium," he continued.The empress considered ignoring him again this time, but decided not to.She dropped her cup majestically and squared her shoulders before turning to him."I can and I have," she said in a bored tone.The union consortium belonged to Regina's family. Jacob had seen it as a plan B because he wasn't so sure about his place in Gab and Gabe's consortium with Theo in the picture, hence, he planned to get Regina to inherit the company after her father but much to his surprise, the empress had bought the company."Why?" He snapped."Jacob," the empress said sharply, narrowing her eyes in slits. "I think you forget whom you
"Why my daughter?" Evelyn's mother asked.Chase stared at her as he tried to make sense of the question.Silver caught on his confusion and proceeded to clarify her question."Out of every other person, why did you choose to help my daughter?" She asked.Chase sighed softly before answering."Your daughter helped me first," he said loud and clear. "So the question should rightly be directed to your daughter," he said.Malcolm, who had been leaning against the pillar scoffed and walked away."There's something I've been wanting to ask but I guess now that we've met, I should just ask you," silver said."Ask away," he said with a welcoming smile."How did you and my daughter meet?" She asked.The question about how her daughter had met someone so high and mighty had been on her mind ever since but she hadn't had the right opportunity to ask.Chase smiled and rubbed his hands together."Well, we..""Mom," Evelyn's voice from the staircase cut him off.Chase stood up and rushed towards he
Chase was already half asleep when the text message from Evelyn had come in.He rubbed his sleepy eyes, picked up the phone and read through the message.A soft sigh escaped his lips when he read the words."Evelyn…." He muttered under his breath and shook his head before tossing the phone to the side and going back to sleep.He was woken up by the blaring of his alarm clock the next morning and he sat up groggily on the bed.His long-term "mini vacation" had finally come to an end and it was time to return home.He picked up his phone again and skimmed through the many unread messages but frowned when none of them was from Evelyn.He dialed her number but got the automated feedback before it went straight to voicemail."I guess this is it," he muttered to himself.He got up and walked straight to the bathroom to get ready and when he was done with his quick shower, walked into the closet.All of his things were already packed and ready and he got dressed quickly.There was a soft kno
"I know…it's far and…." She started to say."Heck it is," Malcom interrupted her immediately and she sighed softly.Their mother quickly put her hand over Malcolm's hand to calm him down."Let's hear her first," their mother's soft voice echoed.The glare on Malcolm's face didn't lessen but he was quiet now.Evelyn took a deep breath. Even before she started talking, she already knew how difficult the conversation was going to be, given that her mother was still recovering and Malcolm was yet to get a good job. At some point, she even considered going selfish, but she just had to put it out there. "As I was saying, I got a scholarship in NYU," she repeated but her voice was no longer as firm as the first time."Scholarships at NYU aren't easy to come by, sweetie," her mother said softly, goading her to tell them more.Evelyn looked down at her intertwined fingers because that part was going to be a little difficult but it couldn't be avoided. She wasn't going to lie to her family."I
Quietly, she followed him into the car which was already held open for them.She smiled inwardly at all the respect he was getting because she believed he deserved nothing less, given all that he had gone through."Do you want to get ice cream?" Chase broke the silence between them after contemplating for a while.Getting ice cream after lunch or dinner had always been their thing.Evelyn was still overwhelmed from everything that had happened and had barely been able to get food past her throat."Maybe next time," she said with a polite smile.Her words made Chase happier than she knew. It meant that she was actually considering a next time with him, which only meant that that day wasn't going to be the last time they met."How did you do it?" She asked out of the blue, turning in her seat so she could face him.The partition of the car was up, so they were separated from the driver and could have any conversation without fear of being eavesdropped on."Do what?" Chase asked and arch
Evelyn's eyes skimmed through the words on her screen again and again as she tried to understand what she was seeing.She looked up at Theo who had a small smile on his face as he watched her because he had a good idea what had her like that."Wha….what's this?" She asked with shaky hands. "Do you know about this?" She showed him the screen of her phone.He read through the email and leaned back in his seat."You know about this," she said softly. "I can't accept this," she shook her head and started to type on her phone but he gently took it away from her."Eve…" he started but she interrupted him."No, this is too much, I can't accept it," she said hurriedly."You've always wanted this," he pointed out.She reached for her phone but he kept it out of her reach."It was a dream. A dream I had no hope of fulfilling," she argued."And an opportunity has come for you to fulfill it," he countered."I can't accept this," she shook her head. Chase studied her for a few seconds without say
"I know it was you who paid my mom's bills and helped my brother out of jail," she said softly. "I…" Chase didn't know what to say. He had tried as much as possible to hide it from her because he knew how difficult it was for her to accept help. She had done life on her own for a long time and she felt that any help rendered to her was a set up."I just want to let you know how grateful I am and I'll work as hard as I can to pay back every cent," she said and swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat.She hadn't expected her little speech to get that emotional and she wished with everything in her that he knew how grateful she was."I don't need anything back from you," he shook his head. "I didn't do any of that to get anything in return. I did it because I know how much your family means to you and you're my friend. Friends help each other in need," he told her."But I've never helped you," she said and choked on a sob."You have," he replied without missing a beat and leaned
With a small smile and a shake of his head, Chase tucked the phone back into his pocket but not before sending a quick email to someone."Take me to Hovers," he told the driver, who nodded once and turned on the engine.The ride to Hovers was smooth in contrast to Chase's bumpy thoughts on what to say when he gets there.He hadn't expected her to reply but she did and he was going to see her.He tapped his long fingers on his knees impatiently as each second of the ride felt like a lifetime but soon, the driver was pulling outside of hovers.Hovers was a small café downtown. It was far from the whole bustle of the busy city and Chase could really pin that kind of place to Evelyn.The fresh greenery on the outside and the minimal but cozy decor on the inside was definitely her scene.He pushed the door to the welcoming space that smelled of coffee beans open and he looked around for a couple of seconds before his eyes caught her honey brown hair in a corner.He cleared his throat and r