CHAPTER 22: VVIP

A week ago

According to Nana Maria, his cousin opened a store that sells used high-end clothes, shoes, bags, furniture, and a lot more. The money from the store is for the orphanage and foundation that they are supporting.

Nana Maria never named Marco's cousin, and she did not mention the gender, too. She's not nosy, so she did not ask further.

The storage room was on the first floor, and it was three rooms connecting each other. The first room was for all the clothes, shoes, and all kinds of men's bags. The second and third rooms ranged from appliances to different types of furniture. She was dumbfounded when she saw the things stored in the storage.

'OMG! seriously, these are used?' She said to herself. 'It can pass as new!' Athena walked to the closet and opened it. She felt like her jaw almost fell to the ground when she saw that it was full of clothes. 'Wow! How many times does Marco wear clothes every day? These clothes should be more than three hundred sixty-five!' She scanned all of them and saw his t-shirts hanging in one area.

"Nana, can I have these?" She asks while she grabs one to show it to Nana Maria.

"Bea, you can tell Sir Marco to buy you a new one," she said with a smile. It's only them in the storage room, so Nana Maria called her in her name as she requested before.

"But, I want the one that he already wore," she pouted. She's like a brat wanting her mom to buy something for her.

"Tsk, tsk, okay, if you insist." Nana Maria found her cute and funny when she pouted. She doesn't have a daughter, and it was nice having a daughter like her, she thought.

"Thank you, Nana! You're the best!" She giggled and continued to grab more t-shirts in the closet. If only she could get it all, she would! Call her greedy, but it's her husband's clothes!

Present-day

Instead of walking to the sands, Athena followed the cemented path to reach the mansion. It's barely eight o'clock in the morning, and the sun is beautifully shining in the east. The road has trees on both sides. The sunshine passed through the empty spaces between the trees and their leaves. It makes her walk to the mansion a little colder because of the wind and not the full sunlight to warm her up.

Nana Maria was waiting for her at the side gate to welcome her. She's like a mom who stays outside to wait for her daughter to go home after school. She always does that each time she goes to the mansion.

She shook her head, reliving the sad memories of losing her mom when she was younger. Her bittersweet smile did not escape Nana Maria's eyes. She looked at her with concern.

"Is there anything wrong, Bea?" She asked worriedly. "Did you fight with Sir Marco?" She inquired. She thought the only thing that would make Bea sad was a fight with her husband.

"No, Nana," she denied. "I just remembered my mom," she paused, heaved a deep sigh, and said, "She always welcomes me home each time after school."

"Oh, dear!" Nana Maria reached for her wrist and gave her a motherly hug. "Sorry, I'm sure she missed you too." She said, trying to comfort her.

"She would, but she's gone," she can't control the tears constantly falling from her eyes, so she just let them fall, making Nana Maria's shoulder become soaked with her tears.

"Dear, I'm so sorry for your loss," Nana Maria was tempted to tell her that she could be her mom if she wanted to, but she thought it was insensitive to say it at this moment.

Athena gently pulled herself away from Nana Maria and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"I'm okay, Nana. Thank you." Athena said, trying to make her voice sound like she was alright.

"Okay, let's head inside so you can have your breakfast. I'm sure you're hungry." Nana Maria did not let go of her hand and led her to the dining room.

Athena smiles with appreciation when she sees the food they prepared for her. There's fried rice with mixed vegetables, sunny-side-up eggs, sausages, bacon, and of course a hot coffee.

"Thank you, Nana!" Athena's face lit up with the sight. She pulled a chair and started eating.

Nana Maria smiled. She loves to see her eat. She always has a good appetite, especially if the food in front of her is to her liking.

MC Group

Marco was reading the documents when a knock disrupted him.

"Come in," he said in a low voice, enough to be heard by whoever is outside.

Anthony Perez opened the door and walked in. "Sir, I found someone who can analyze the videos," he said proudly. He was so frustrated last night on who to find to analyze the videos. It's the first time his boss has given him such a task.

Since Sir Marco entrusted him with finding a capable man for the job, it means he doesn't want to bother to think of any of his contacts. He is sure that he has many different kinds of people on his list, but he doesn't want to bother himself to think about who might be the perfect candidate. He thought of Mr. Chavez's friend, Dr. Francis Guzman.

"Send whoever that person is as soon as possible," he said without sparing him a glance.

"Ahm, Sir Marco, he said he will come if the price is right," he swallowed his saliva as soon as he said that. He is nervous that his boss might throw something at him if he isn't satisfied.

Marco paused and glared at him. 'How dare he,' he thought. "Who is it?" He has someone in his mind that has a gut to talk to him like that.

"It's..." Before Anthony mentioned the name, the door flung open behind him.

Francis Guzman entered Marco's office with a grin on his face. "Long time, no see, my friend!" He said while walking to the couch. He sat down, spread his arms on top of the back pillows, and crossed his legs.

Marco set aside the documents he was reading and leaned on his custom-made leather chair.

"Tell me what you're up to?" Marco believes that Anthony found to analyze the videos is no other than his friend Francis.

"Well..." Francis was thinking about how to extort money from his friend. He might not be the richest man globally, but he is indeed rich himself, and who knows how much his real value is? Marco doesn't flaunt his money and doesn't spend it either. If someone would compare their expenses, they might think that he is more affluent than this man. But the fact is far from that. 'Stingy!' he thought.

"How much?" Marco cut him off before he speaks more. He knows Francis very well, and Anthony is right. Francis is perfect for the job. He is a doctor, but he also has rich experience in many fields.

"How about a VVIP card at your resort?" He winked at Marco and studied his reaction. He looks calm while telling Marco what he wants, but deep inside, he is nervous and, at the same time, excited. Marco has a VVIP card at MC Hotel and Resort, so if he gives him one, he will have an equivalent position with him, at least in his hotel.

"Sure, but you need to be the on-call doctor of my hotel." Francis might be crafty, but he won't give him the card for free. He needs to at least work for it.

"Oh, men! You're mean!" His relaxed position on the couch was gone. Anthony looks at him with sympathy. 'Sir Francis, you cannot take advantage of my boss,' he thought.

"Take it or leave," Marco acted like he was not interested anymore and grabbed the documents that he was reading earlier.

"Fine! Fine! Fine!" Francis was anxious that Marco might change his mind if he didn't decide right away.

Marco snickered and opened the top drawer of his desk, where he put the USB drive.

"Here," He suddenly threw the USB drive to Francis, who was caught off-guard. Luckily the USB drive landed on his lap.

Francis picks it up and twirls it in his hand. "When do you want the result?" He asked. It will only take an hour at most, depending on the clarity of the videos.

"Now!" He commanded without leaving him a choice.

"Hey, man! Easy! It's too early to be serious," Francis knows that it is imperative to finish the task, but he wants to annoy him. It's not always that he has a chance to do so. He grinned at the thought playing in his mind.