Chapter 14

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It's been approximately 30 minutes.

The irate woman leaning on her car wondered what was taking her tag along so long. After shooting one of the armed men walking around the vicinity of the gravel driveway a peeved look, she glanced at the time on her phone.

The screen said it was clearly time to chuck in the towel, and get out of that place.

Maybe the security won't mind if she fled? Doubtful. Those men are always well informed on what goes in and out.

She shook her head at the thoughts invading her mind.

It also goes without saying that Cassian will have her hide if she didn't follow up on her end of the deal.

Ah, well, I sure hope he's paying me enough for this.

Wasting precious time was a usually no-go for her, and it seems the billionaire was already bent on stretching her patience to its limit.

Strands of black hair partially blocked her view from the huge front doors, so she wasn't quick to notice the tall man getting out of the door with Pablo trailing behind him.

"Shall I get one of your cars out for you, Mr Sandejas?" Pablo was asking him.

Eyeing the coffee colored car already parked at the driveway, Cassian shook his head.

"That's quite alright, Pablo."

Lyari glanced up in time to see broad shoulders almost blocking her view and those familiar wide- vivid black eyes.

About time.

In obvious anticipation of the warm weather, he was wearing lightweight clothes comprising of a neutral cotton shirt, black khakis and black leather shoes with obvious designer labels.

Not bad, his taste could rival her white t-shirt and gray slacks.

His black hair which fell over his forehead in straight streaks was decidedly wet, as if he just came out of the shower.

But why does he look like a model who'd just gotten out of a photoshoot? The cynical part of her mind thought.

Anyone who could look that good even in the morning should be committing a crime.

Cassian raised an eyebrow at her. "You going to open your car or what?"

Lyari didn't trust herself to give a reply.

Clearing her throat instead, she unlocked the doors of her car, to which he unceremoniously got in.

Surprisingly, she didn't dwell on Cassian's mood because Pablo was there.

She smiled apologetically at a concerned Pablo.

"It's been too long. Master must be really bored," the old man said with a dry smile.

"Really?" She didn't exactly get what he was talking about.

"When do you get back, Miss Sage?"

"Soon, I guess."

He nodded, retreating by a few steps.

"Have a safe trip then. I hope you keep the master in order."

Again, she smiled tentatively.

The whole ride to the Metro was littered with sparse conversation and longer silence.

Cassian looked remarkably more preoccupied than usual, his hands too busy typing messages on his slim phone.

After navigating the maze of downtown Makati's insanely posh streets, they reached the hotel where he was going to be staying at, stopping just short of the curb where few people are passing by. It was another skyscraper living up to its notorious name, celebrities often checked into this place for its exclusivity.

The haughty concierge at the glass doors didn't appear impressed by the way they parked in his precious sidewalk.

Even at this point, hardly anything that Cassian does ever surprises her anymore. She didn't have the energy to question his choice or taste, but all the same she wondered what his purpose was for going in there. This was one- if not the most regal hotel in the city after all.

Although he can damn well afford it, still, Lyari's practical eyes twitched with the effort to stop herself from asking about his business in this place.

"Alright, I'm here. Hold on, let me just speak with my friend here..." Cassian was saying on the phone, lowering it just to cast Lyari a glance.

Friend?

"Are you coming?" He asked her. As far as she knew, Cassian never asks when he gives invitations.

She averted her eyes, biting her inner lips as she prepared to decline his offer. Sadly, she has other work to do.

"I can't, I have to stop by at the firm."

Cassian regarded her with a small frown before he acceded.

"Hm. Suit yourself." He then proceeded to grab his small black leather carry on bag, stretching his long hands to reach the backseat.

Patiently- and expectantly, she waited for him to utter any more instructions as he got out and closed the car door.

A wry smile was tugging at the corners of his lips when he leaned down to her car's level.

"Do you have my number?"

"Yes, Chase gave me."

"Good. Then I'll be texting you if I need anything else."

"That's it?"

The signature eyebrow raise again. "Were you expecting more?"

"Um- no. I..." I'm still new to this, you idiot.

Cassian suppressed the smile forming on his lips again. "Keep your phone on, Sage."

Lyari drove off, before he could say anything else. Not really caring if her tires were squealing from the force of her foot as she stepped on the gas.

• • •

Vladimir wasn't exactly a healthy man, a year ago he'd been diagnosed with severe hypertension and . He used to be an advocate for healthy lifestyles in the office, and now Lyari wondered what'd prompted the drastic change in him.

Thick plumes of smoke coming from his cigar was creating a sort of haze between them as they sat there in his office, blurring her view of the portly man.

Maybe that's what happens when some are always hard put in maintaining their high-powered careers, she supposed with a grimace. They flirt with death by engaging in all types of dangerous habits because it was the only kind of respite they can get from the periodic grind.

"Got any news from my boy, Romero?" Vladimir asked, smelling of midlife crisis.

Atleast, Cassian smoked in a way which is... less repulsive, a part of her mind thought.

"News?"

Some of the smoke cleared and it showed his sneering face at her.

"I'm asking about the construction's status."

"Oh, right. So far so good, but you should check with the technicalities of that with Mr Gomez, sir."

"Isn't that right."

"If that is all, sir? I still got a certain consultation to catch up with today."

Vladimir rolled his eyes. "I was going to ask you for a drink in here, to celebrate yet another project underway. But I guess I should let you go for now, the other partner architects are not yet here anyway. Run along now, you. Off you go."

Unfortunately, the consultation didn't take place that afternoon. The guys failed to show up at their floor. Well, guess there could always be a reschedule. Lyari was too hung up over the heat to hunt them down in the middle of the day in their respective building offices. This only left her yet another task- dealing with Sue's overbearing attitude.

"Finally, I found you, Lyari."

Sue, with her dyed to a reddish brown hair and face tinted with too much rouge was looking her up and down, disdain apparent on her lips. She was a pretty and very vibrant girl, possessing enviable qualities that men often admired in a woman. If only, she weren't such a bitch when it came to her own counterparts.

Luckily, the other woman was shorter than Lyari by a few inches, making it easy for her to look down at her bully.

"Hello, Sue." Long time no see, pal.

"I'd been meaning to talk to you."

"Fine, then talk."

She didn't have enough time for Sue's insecure ass right now.

"How was the field? I heard it was quite an army you were leading on in there, I hope you did well under all that pressure."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Clueless, huh. Mr Gomez is known around here to be a difficult man to deal with, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd been very disagreeable with you're questionable... plans."

Oh, please. Being cowed by that douchebag Mr Gomez was the least of her concerns at the moment, and especially not this pettiness in front of her.

"Don't you have your own problems to deal with, instead of dwelling on mine?"

A couple of their workmates passing by were giving them looks.

It didn't take much to rile the woman, because Sue's eyes immediately turned to slits at her condescension.

"They've been dealt with, of course. You know what, I just can't get over the fact that you practically stole my project under my eyes. I promise you, if that happens again, I'll never let you get away with it."

A sigh escaped her mouth. "You know what, if we're just going to talk about the past, then I still got more important things to do right now."

Sue fought to calm herself, especially when veins were starting to bulge on her forehead. "Why... You..."

Careful now, you might get a high blood.

"What?"

"Don't you dare cross me again, Lyari. I'm warning you."

"Is...everything all right in here?" A nosy Mr Perez intervened and came to stand between them, clearly expecting a scene.

"Everything's fine, Mr Perez," Lyari assured him, "now if you'll excuse me, I still have somewhere else to go."

Leaving a seething Sue in the hallways with the concerned co-worker, she decided her time in for the day at the firm was finished.

The day wrapped up with a trip to the grocery, which Lyari was looking forward to. She just got her period this afternoon, and a bad case of cramps on top of that. Hunting down for napkins on the aisles was her priority, and then maybe buy some herbal teas- anything to help alleviate the cramps.

She'd arrived at the doorstep of her apartment looking like a ghost with her paler than usual face. Crap. There goes another one.

The keys jingled as she struggled to open the door with her hands full of paper bags.

Afterwards, wrapped in a white robe, she came out of the shower, intending to make a peaceful supper. Alone, the way she's used to. The silence in her apartment was refreshing, after being away in the field for weeks and being surrounded by rambunctious men all the time. Well, that she wouldn't miss.

But now, she was towelling her hair dry as she watched the daily evening newscast on TV. Political scandals, traffic, weather... Plus, some news just in. Another foul play. Pretty gruesome stuff.

It was about a depressed mother who killed her baby, the segment playing the footage of the scene of the crime she couldn't even stomach to watch.

Her heart went out to the poor kid who was never given a chance to live. Cases like this happen more often than she liked to admit. But still, who even does that?

The world can be so cruel sometimes.

This was reality at it's finest.

This is one of the reasons why Lyari never wanted to get married or have any children of her own.

She turned the TV off.

The ringing of the phone on the counter shifted her from melancholic thoughts.

It was her boss' secretary calling.

"Mr Chaves needs you at this party," Katya was saying on the other line when she answered, "there are uh, some potential clients he needs you to meet in there. He says you're the only associate he has who's not present."

"What party?"

"Clearly, you need to come Miss Sage. He says it's an order."

"You mean, right now?"

"Yes, you got any problem with that?"

"No, no... It's fine. I'll be there, Katya," she answered, heaving a breath.

"Okay then, I'll text you the address."

Maybe this is what she needs right now, to take off her mind from her personal punishment. Just for a while.

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