Sarah

She stared blankly at the blue sky splashed with white puffy clouds that danced on it like minstrels busily entertaining their king and queen with a mug of hot coffee in hand. The cool breeze gently touching her silky skin as she stood on the veranda of her plush condo situated at the heart of Makati.

"Tweet!... Tweet!" Her phone rang wildly on the coffee table. Sarah casually walked to it and stared at the screen with scrutinizing eyes, trying to figure out who is calling her at these wee hours in the morning! "Such a fool! Thinking that I will give him my valuable time," her mind shouted in vehement protest. " I am the CEO of the biggest Crypto trading company in the country. My time is priceless! And I'm not about to waste it on small talk!"

It's Mark, her ex-boyfriend, and marketing executive. Memories suddenly flooded her mind. Reminding her of the times when she felt she was on cloud nine in his arms. They were so contented with their relationship back then. They were both in college studying Business Management in one of the prestigious universities in the Metro. Mark was a year ahead of Sarah and was about to graduate that summer.

"What are your plans after graduation, honey?" inquired Sarah, as Mark stared at her while he was lying on the bench, his head rested comfortably on her lap.

"Aaahhhhh… Aaahhhhh," answered Mark with a slight stutter in his voice. "Not sure yet, darling. Maybe I would take a month off then after that I would decide whether to look for a job or join our company."

Sarah was annoyed by her boyfriend's answer. It seems too lackadaisical. It indicates his rather half-hearted approach in life. Yes, he is indeed born of a wealthy family and he stands to inherit their billion-peso business. This doesn't mean though that he should not plan for their future. It's his responsibility to do this!

When she graduated with honors, Suma Cum Laude, to be exact, all hell broke loose. Mark can't accept the fact that she is graduating this semester and he is not. His nonchalant attitude has finally caught up with him. He flunked most of his major subjects for that summer. And even though he was given another chance by their college dean, still his class standing at the moment indicates that he might suffer the same outcome again.

As Sarah and her family joyously celebrate her accomplishment, Mark sulked in his unavoidable failure. Add to that the thought of letting his parents down as this is their dream, for him to finish college. He became depressed which led to his decision of breaking up with her girlfriend.

It took a long while before she was able to accept what happened, but because she had no choice, she silently bit her lip and moved on with her life. For, unlike Joshua who was blessed to be born with a silver spoon in his mouth, she came into this world in a modest hut situated on an island on the southern part of the Philippines. An unchartered island not many people knew about, including the politicians who were supposed to provide them with economic sustenance since their whole village lives below the poverty line.

Though born in poverty, Sarah was determined to make it big in the realm of business, knowing that this would be the catalyst in her life, the lives of her family, and those of her village mates forever. Funded by the scholarship grant she obtained from a multinational company that held a competitive exam in the nearby mainland of Samaloa, she was able to enroll at the International Business and Management University.

Time heals all wounds. Three years after their separation, Sarah found it in her heart to let bygones be bygones. When an opening in her company came up for marketing executives, Mark applied for the position without knowing that she is the CEO. It was only during the orientation that he discovered this. He was lucky that her ex-girlfriend has buried the hatchet and accepted him as an employee with open arms. However, he soon realized that this was superficial. They soon started clashing heads and this made him conscious of the hate that still lurks in her heart.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Ms. Sarah."

"What do you need!? Do you know what time is it?" she replied with a high tone

"I'm sorry Ms. Sarah. I apologize for disturbing you this early. I just need to clarify some points about our meeting yesterday regarding our new marketing strategy."

"What would that be?"

"This is regarding the increase in the deposit that our new clients need to make before they can trade in our platform. It seems like it's too stringent."

"Before any decisions are made, I consult my members of the board about the pros and cons. That means we will push through with the price of the initial deposits as agreed upon. If you're smart, you would devise an advert campaign that would hook more clients to our business instead of whining like a wounded dog. Do you understand me, Sir Mark?"

Unable to convince his boss, Mark remarked, "Yes, Ms. Sarah, I got your point. I will schedule a meeting with my team ASAP!" He then pressed the red button on his iPhone to end the conversation.

"You damn fool. Do you think that you can use our past relationship to your advantage?," remarked Sarah as she laid her iPhone X on the table, then grabbed her cup and got a whiff of the aroma from the roasted Arabica beans mixed in her coffee.

She has metamorphosed into a woman who has an iron-clad heart, eyes focused on the price, never missing a moment to achieve her goal, to become the richest businessman in the whole of Southeast Asia and soon the world. After all, she vowed to her family during her graduation ceremony that she would do anything to bring them out of poverty. She believes that her success would be the triumph of everyone on her island. And she intends to attain this, whether she has to step on some individuals or get rid of her competitors, it doesn't matter. She is Sarah, the iron lady of Capiz.