by Wynn, Ann
“I was just feeling a little under the weather earlier but I am feeling much better now. Allergic Rhinitis, that's all. Where are you at? Isn't lunch time over already?” Lisa questioned.
“I...um...I'm in the hospital right now.” She covered her mouth with her hand as she drew her phone closer to her lips and whispered.
“What?! Why?! Did something bad happen to you or something?” Lisa's panicked voice echoed in her ears.
“Actually, no but something bad happened to Michael. I think he might be needing stitches,” she confessed.
“Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that. You can just tell me more about it later when you get back,” Lisa said.
Before Juliana could say anything else, she heard a man's voice on the other line talking to Lisa. Although she could not figure out much of what he was saying, she knew that voice well. She swallowed hard as she hoped for the best. She did not want this to be about her. She thought of a reason for him to look for her at work, but the only reason she was able to think of was that lunchtime was already over and she was nowhere to be found in the office. She pondered harder but still came up short. Her thinking of reasons was suddenly interrupted by Lisa's voice on the other line.
“I think you need to get back here soon. Mr. Mitchell is asking for something regarding some articles you've written and I have no clue what to tell him.” Juliana cursed. Could this day be any worse?
“Can't it wait? I really need to make sure Michael's okay before I leave.” She inquired.
“Judging by the look on his face, I don't think he can wait. You better hurry. I'll try my best to stall him,” Lisa said before ending their conversation.
This was not good. When she turned around, Michael had already been admitted and was being tended to. Joana sat in one of the chairs waiting. She cursed as she realized she would have to talk to her and ask her to take care of Michael for the rest of the day, as she was currently needed at work.
“How is he? Is he going to be okay?” she asked.
“The nurse said he would be getting stitches and needs to stay here overnight. As soon as I hear more, I will call the office and tell them what happened. Are you staying?” Joana looked at her and asked.
“Actually, I can't. One of my office mates called. It seems I am needed at work right now,” she said in disappointment.
“I'll be here. I'll let the nurses update you if I won't be here. I'm sure he'll be fine,” Joana said curtly.
Juliana did not feel comforted at all. The fact that Joana was going to stay with him in the hospital unnerved her. She knew she would have to visit him later on. She also did not like the way Joana talked to her. It was as if she was intruding when in reality, she knew she wasn't. She had every right to be there whether Joana liked it or not. Juliana was Michael's legal girlfriend after all and Joana wasn't. At least that was what she still kept on telling herself. She decided that she should talk to those in charge to get things sorted. She gave them her contact details, hoping that they would update her regarding Michael. She went back to where Joana was seated but found her in one corner talking on the phone with some people at work. Although she felt like it was rude to leave without saying goodbye, in this case, she had no choice. She had to leave soon.
Although Lisa would be stalling Gabriel, she knew she wouldn’t be able to stall him forever. She hailed a cab as soon as she got out of the hospital to get back to work. Luckily, the traffic wasn't that much, but she knew she was still late nonetheless. She ran to Lisa's station as soon as she got out of the elevator. Lisa told her about what Gabriel wanted, and she immediately went to his office to get things sorted. She knocked before proceeding inside.
Gabriel was looking outside the window. There was a cloudy sky filled with so many forms and shapes. He longed to be a child again whenever he looked at the clear sky. It was as if he was a bird and the clear sky was a sign that it was safe to fly. He used to be carefree and yet now, he felt like he wasn't anymore. He sighed as he realized he needed to grow up. This was why his father chose him to lead the company. Although he wanted to refuse the offer initially, he knew he had to. He might not look like it but he loved his father dearly. He might have given him a lot of heartaches because of the troubles he had caused him and his family in the past, but he was starting to turn into a new life now. His random musings were suddenly interrupted by a knocking sound on his wooden door.
“Come in,” he said without turning his chair around to see who entered his office.
“Sir, Did you want to see me?” Juliana said weakly.
She was not comfortable standing there in front of him. She wished she was either somewhere else or that this meeting would end fast. Gabriel exhaled before turning his chair to face her. He looked at the frazzled woman in front of him. She did not look calm and collected at all. She fidgeted as she stood there, and she could not even meet his gaze. He wanted to stand up and move closer to her. He wanted to lift her chin to meet his gaze to ask her what was wrong, but he knew it would be wrong. He knew his place even if sometimes he found himself questioning why it mattered. He cleared his throat and looked away to focus on the matter at hand.
“Yes, I asked Lisa where you were, but she said you ate lunch alone. I need you to check the articles that you wrote which I sent back to you with some suggestions. I see their potential, I just feel like they are lacking a bit,” he confessed.
“I see. When do you need them?” she asked. She did not mind his suggestions. She was always open to them ever since she started working there.
“Actually, I need them today. If not today then early tomorrow morning. I would like to add them to a food booklet that I've been working on with a certain group of writers. I want it to have some recipes, articles and how to's,” he explained.
“I see. I'll try to get them done within the day. If not, I will get them done tomorrow morning,” she promised.
She bit her bottom lip as she remembered that she needed to be with Michael tonight. She wondered how that would be possible now that she had a deadline to follow. The thought of Joana being with him all night bothered her deeply, but she had to do what she had to do. Her career mattered as much as her boyfriend. That was what she promised herself at least. She would have to finish revising the articles the whole night and then just go to the hospital tomorrow morning. She figured she would have to excuse herself from work tomorrow if she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight until tomorrow morning.
“Good to hear that. I hope you can manage,” he said with concern.
“I think I can. Would that be all, Sir?” she asked.
“Yes, that's all. Thank you Ms. Austin.”
As soon as she was out of that room, she knew she would have to hustle. Although they were required to submit their suggestions this afternoon, she was no longer interested in participating in that. As for the competition, which was supposed to be a week away, she would have to work harder if she ever decided to join it. As she checked the articles that were sent to her by Gabriel, she placed earphones on her ears and started listening to one of her favorite playlists while writing. Soon, ideas kept on coming to the fore, leaving her productive. In fact, she was so absorbed in what she was doing that she failed to realize that it was already 7 P.M. She was startled when someone tapped her shoulder lightly. When she turned around, she found Lisa looking at her.
“Hey there busy bee! Are you staying? It's already 7,” Lisa informed her.
“Whoa! I didn't realize it was already time to go home. Unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to go home now. I still have a lot to do. I have a deadline for these articles too.” Her voice suddenly sounded sad.
“What's the matter?” Lisa asked.
“Michael is still in the hospital, and I was supposed to visit him tonight but since I'm swamped with work, I guess I’ll have to wait till tomorrow morning to see him.” She let out a resigned sigh.
“There, there. I'm sure he'll be fine. The nurses will take care of him. No need to worry ab
out that,” Lisa said as if trying to cheer her up. If only she knew why she was feeling anxious. If only she knew about Joana. She decided not to tell her yet. It was too early to confirm anything yet.
“You're probably right,” she finally said. She did not want to feed her doubts, as they would only distract her from accomplishing what she needed to get done tonight.
“Well, if you're staying, stay safe and don't push yourself too hard, okay? See you tomorrow,” Lisa said as she gave her a light pat on her back before turning her back on her.
When she looked around her, she saw a lot of people starting to pack up as they got ready to leave, while the others remained in their seats. Like her, they were busy typing whatever they needed to get done. But as every hour passed, she noticed that there were fewer and fewer of them still working hard on their stations. Juliana felt her stomach growling. When she looked at her watch, she saw that it was already 10 PM and she still had some things to do. She frowned upon realizing that she was alone. She would have to find something to eat in the pantry by herself. She pushed herself away from her table and stood up. She needed some coffee and something to eat. As her heels clicked on the tiled floor, she felt like someone else was there with her. She stopped and looked around but found no one. She dismissed the thought and just hurried to the pantry. All this was just because of her hunger. There was no room for her to fear anything right now.
Gabriel was surprised to see a woman headed to the pantry at this hour. He had been busy working on so many things that he decided he should just stay late at work. It did not matter, as he did not have any other plans anyway. He was lucky to have a bathroom complete with shower inside his office. It was a secret from his employees. A secret he did not want them to think ill of. He did not want them to doubt him especially when female employees came to see him in his office. He might have been a womanizing bastard in the past but that was all forgotten now.
He was no longer into casual hooking up as he had a name and a company with employees to protect. He still did not know who the woman was and he certainly did not want to scare her by sneaking up on her. He decided he should let her go to the pantry alone and then just follow her once she was already inside. He had already removed his coat, had loosened his tie and even unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt. He already felt stressed out, but he felt like there wouldn’t be any sense in going home now. The office had become his second home without his employees noticing it.
Juliana sat in one of the chairs in the pantry. She looked around and saw no one. She sighed as she taught about Michael. She shook her head as she decided that she needed some coffee to keep her awake and concentrated on the task at hand. She stood up and took some coffee from the vending machine. She smiled as she saw the vending machine for snacks. She was glad that she worked in a company with free food and refreshments. She chose some crackers, which would go well with her coffee. As she sat in the same chair to eat and relax a bit, she pulled her phone from her pocket and started sending a text message. She wanted to know if Michael was okay. Her back was turned to the door, yet Gabriel knew it was her. Could he be dreaming? He did not know. He smirked as he entered silently into the pantry. She froze as soon as his scent invaded her nostrils. She looked behind her and saw Gabriel who was looking at her intently. She blushed, as she had not realized that she was not alone in the office after all.
“Good evening, Sir,” she said quickly. She blushed as she looked at him shyly. She did not want to be rude to him even if she was not comfortable with him yet.
“Good evening, Ms. Austin. Working late?” he asked.
“Y-yes. I am still not yet done with what you asked me to do, that's why I'm still here,” she looked away as she answered him.
“You don't have to be so hard on yourself. You can still give them to me tomorrow morning.” He smiled as if to encourage her to go home and just continue working tomorrow.
“I know that, but I would like to finish it today. I still have to go to the hospital early tomorrow morning,” she told him. He wondered what she would be doing in the hospital. He knew he had to ask.
“The hospital? Are you sick?” he asked with a worried tone as he slowly moved in front of her. He was still towering over her as he stood before her. She craned her head up to respond to him.
“Actually, no. I have to go there tomorrow because my boyfriend got seriously hurt and needed stitches. I just need to see if he's okay.” Her voice laced with concern.
Just the mention of her boyfriend made his blood boil. He still had not met him and his curiosity hadn't died down yet. He decided this would be a perfect opportunity to meet him finally. To know if he was truly worthy of Juliana or not.
“I'm sorry to hear that. How about I take you to the hospital tomorrow then? I've always wanted to meet this Michael,” he suggested. He wondered if she would accept his offer, but he was hopeful that she would.
“Are you sure about that, Sir?” she asked uncertainly.
“Of course. I am concerned about what happens to my employees after all.” Especially to her, he forgot to mention.
“Alright. I'll just have to finish everything tonight, Sir.” She did not know how to refuse him after all.
“Great! I hope you won't mind me taking a break with you here before I get back to my office,” he announced as he turned his back to her to grab a cup of coffee. Juliana knew this would be a long night.
“I rarely stay in the pantry to take a break. It is hard to be the boss sometimes.”
He smiled as he pulled the chair in front of Juliana to sit on it. She was speechless. She did not know how to have a normal conversation with him anymore. He knew that she was uncomfortable, but he planned on changing that. He remembered that she mentioned about Michael needing stitches, which was why he was still in the hospital. He wondered what happened to him. Why did he need stitches, and was she with him when it happened?
“Sorry for asking, Ms. Austin, but what really happened to Michael?” He did not want to pry. He was not used to it but he knew he had to, as Michael was the only subject they could talk about with her speaking to him with ease.
“W-well, he had fight with a man this afternoon, which is why he needed to get stitches.” She was speaking a half-truth, but he did not need to know that.
“Sounds serious. I hope he'll be okay soon. Were you with him when it happened?” he inquired as he took a sip of his hot drink.
“Yes. We had lunch together and before going back to work, it happened. It happened so fast,” she admitted.
“Did the man who fought him get caught?”
“No. He was able to escape. I took Michael to the nearest hospital as soon as I could. Luckily, his wounds were not as serious as I thought,” she said with a relieved tone.
“Do you know why he attacked Michael?” Gabriel asked curiously.
“N-no. He looked drunk and homeless. He kept on blabbering about his girlfriend. I wasn't able to understand much of what he claimed.” She looked away as she explained, which only meant she was lying, and he knew it, but he did not reveal it.
“Well, I hope he gets caught soon. He sounds like a dangerous man. Anyway, I better get back to work. I still have some paperwork to do. See you in a few hours, Ms. Austin.”
He left without even glancing at her again, leaving her to drink her coffee and nibble on her crackers in silence. Although he would have wanted to stay, he knew he would have to wait.
CHAPTER 4
As soon as she finished taking a break, she was back to work. Hours passed and Gabriel felt it hard to concentrate knowing that she was just outside. He wanted to stay near her, but he knew he shouldn't. He was relieved that she allowed him to take her to the hospital at least. It was 5 A.M. and Joana massaged her neck as she yawned. She had been sleeping in a chair next to Michael's bed since last night and although she hated to admit it, she knew deep inside that she was already investing a lot of her time and attention in him. She felt relieved that Juliana was
not able to come back to him last night, which gave her more time to be with him. His face was still swollen, some parts covered with bruises and others with stitches. His busted bottom lip might look rough, but somehow she felt it would taste nice against her soft, supple lips. His bruised knuckles and his calloused fingers would probably feel rough against her creamy skin yet, she felt herself craving for it. The damage done to him might have marred his features temporarily but to her, it only made him look dangerous, a bad boy, and she loved it. She smiled as she continued to look at him lovingly. It was then that Michael opened his eyes, only to see a person he did not expect to see. His throat and mouth were dry, his voice hoarse.
“Water. Some water please,” he pleaded.
Joana reached for the water bottle on his bedside table and poured some in a clean glass before placing it in his hands. He slowly sat up and drank until the last drop. He was parched. As soon as he had finished drinking, he handed the glass to Joana and gazed at her with a puzzled look in his eyes.
