"What do I know about what?" Chase asked him with a small smirk playing on his lips."Do not play tricks with me, young man," Paul yelled, slamming his heavy hands down on his desk but Chase didn't bat an eyelash."Didn't that hurt your arm?" Chase asked, feigning concern."Wh….what…." Paul stuttered. How did Chase know his arms had been hurt?Getting bored of the game already, Chase decided to go straight to the point."If this is why you called me, making me leave my post, then I must say you lack work ethics. I'll have to excuse myself," Chase said confidently and stood up and Paul's face turned red in anger."Walk out on me and that will be the end of your services here. I'm your employer. Don't forget your place," he yelled.Chase chuckled a dark, humorless chuckle. He leaned forward and rested his palms on the desk so his face was inches away from Paul's.The blood dried from Paul's face at Chase's intimidating position and his eyes flickered to the telephone on his desk, trying
"Excuse me," he said hurriedly and walked straight to the bathroom.Evelyn eyed him warily but shrugged her shoulders and continued sipping her coffee."Grandma," he breathed into the speaker. He hadn't heard from her since the day at the gala and a small part of him thought she had forgotten about him, which he would have believed if not for the money he received daily."How have you been, Kevin?" She asked in her smooth, regal voice.The name still sounded foreign to him but he replied anyway."I'm doing well," he said curtly."Hmm," she hummed and relaxed in the recliner chair in her grand office. "Has Secretary Kim been discharging his duties rightly?" He nodded, then remembered she couldn't see him and quickly used his words. "Yes, he has.""Very well. I haven't kept in touch because I didn't want to overwhelm you and I wanted to give you the space you needed," she started. "And I hope you've had enough of that and you're ready for your trip tomorrow?" She asked promptly."Yes,
"Congrats, man," Chase said with a wide smile."You believe me?" Kenny asked. He thought he would have to show Chase pictures of his new office and probably the money he received before he would buy his story."Totally. I didn't see you at work today, which by the way, left Paul cranky and miserable, so I thought something must have happened but I didn't know it was something this big," he told him."Serves him right, that motherfucking ra….." he started to say but clamped his mouth shut due to Evelyn's presence. She didn't need to know what kind of monster she was working with."This is great news. We should celebrate," Chase announced."This is nuts," Evelyn muttered as she still tried to wrap her head around what looked like a scene directly from a movie. She couldn't understand how Theo would buy a ridiculous story like that, no questions asked."Of course, all bills on me tonight," Kenny said and flagged the waitress down who came and took their orders."You don't have to. I can
Light peeked in from the thin curtains and Chase rubbed his eyes, still feeling very sleepy.He opened his eyes quickly, thinking he was late for work, then he relaxed when he remembered he didn't have to work there anymore. That day was the beginning of a new chapter in his life.He turned to the opposite side and almost fell back into sleep before his phone vibrated from underneath him."Ugh," he groaned after trying to ignore the call but the caller was persistent."Young master," Secretary Kim said immediately as he placed the phone on his ear.Chase answered grumpily with a grunt at the back of his throat.Noticing that his call had woken his young master, Secretary Kim rushed to apologize. "I'm sorry for waking you this early but the empress asked for a package to be delivered to you. Can I come upstairs?" He asked.Chase quickly sat up on the bed as he realized what Secretary Kim had said. He was downstairs and probably waiting for him."Yeah, um sure," he said into the receiv
"Something important came up and I had to leave. I'll talk to you when I can. Be safe."Evelyn read the words on her screen again and again. She had gotten to work that day and didn't see Theo, thinking he was running late as usual and just as she was about to call him, her phone pinged, indicating a new message and she smiled when she saw the sender but her smile quickly faded when she read the words. She tried calling him but it went straight to his voicemail each time."What's wrong, Theo?" She muttered as she bit her lips, worry filling her.She knew the text message was a simple one and nothing indicated that he was in danger but she couldn't get herself to relax. But at the same time, she had been with him till late the previous night and if something was wrong, he would have told her right?"Did something bad happen to a family member?" She asked herself.She knew his adoptive parents were dead and he didn't have any siblings and he had never mentioned any relatives but she co
The door opened and all the people seated looked on, mostly with envy and disdain.Chase walked confidently with his head held high into the house aa his footsteps echoed loudly in his ears."Grandson," The empress stood up from her seat, much to everyone's surprise."Grandma," Chase replied and bowed his head respectfully but she wrapped her fragile hands around him, engulfing him in a big hug.This surprised the people even more. The empress was very hard on them and never referred to them animatedly as she was doing with this new person, even standing up from her seat to hug him.She had told them about the lost son of their late elder brother, who was the company's heir but died of unforseen circumstances but they didn't believe. But now they had seen him, the resemblance was too uncanny to deny."Thank you for coming back to me," the empress breathed into his ear.He didn't know what to reply, seeing as he didn't have much of a choice after they had met, so he just wrapped his ha
Everyone's head snapped to the staircase that a beautiful woman was descending from."I'm sorry I'm late, mother," the woman said but her eyes were not on the empress, they were on Chase.She stood for a couple of seconds, watching the man that looked exactly like her brother and sobs wrecked throughout her body.She walked up to Chase, who was confused at her reaction and pulled him up to his feet. Before he could think of anything, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace, sobbing into his chest."It's really you," she said, not believing her eyes. She pulled his away, running her hands through his face and chest to be sure he was really there and when she was satisfied, she pulled him towards her again.Chase, not knowing what else to do, awkwardly wrapped his hand around her.Soon, the emotional embrace ended but she couldn't stop staring at him."Pardon me," she said with a choked chuckle. "I'm Imelda, your aunt. I thought I would never see you again. You were so little
A small smile played on Chase's lips because he could already tell he was going to have 'fun' working directly with Damien.Damien's apprehension was visible because he bit the inside of his lips, clenching and unclenching his fists. He wanted to protest. He wanted to blatantly refuse but he knew better than to counter the empress."Hope that is okay with you?" The empress, with narrowed eyes, asked for the sake of it. He didn't have any choice in the matter."Yes," Damien said stiffly as he sized Theo up with his eyes."If that is all, you are all excused," she told them.Damien was the first person to storm out of the room, followed by Benedict, who was also raging. His anger was because he already had enough competition with Damien and he didn't need any more clowns to join the charade. His wife, Clara followed him swiftly and his sister Jennifer, with an upturned nose and a glare to Theo."I'll head back to the office, mother," Jacob said and after clearing his throat, turned to l
"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