The next day, I woke up early and replied to Nick's chats while I was taking my breakfast. I even apologized to him for not answering his chats yesterday evening. Fortunately, he is understandable to me. 30 minutes ago I left our house. And today, my goal is to see my father in person, so I need to know where his office is.
I arrived at the office at exactly 5 a.m. in the morning. I wandered my eyes and the light from Hailey's office caught my attention, and through the transparent door, I could hear an old man's angry voice. I couldn't see his face because he was talking while facing Hailey.
So, it appears that I arrived at the wrong time today. I turned on the light on the side of Sir Michael's office and, of course, eavesdropped to hear what was going on with my half sister.
"YOU ARE SUCH A FAILURE, HAILEY!! YOU ARE JUST A FAILURE! I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE THIS POSITION BECAUSE OF YOUR LACK OF INTELLIGENCE! THERE ARE MORE DESERVING PEOPLE THAN YOU! HONESTLY, I WISH I SHOULDN'T LET YOU STUDY AT HARVARD. THE RESULT OF YOUR WORK DOES NOT SEEM LIKE YOU ARE A GRADUATE OF THAT PRESTIGE SCHOOL AT ALL. YOU BROUGHT SO MUCH SHAME TO MY COMPANY!"
That was the old man's loud shout to Hailey. I don't know but I also feel hurt by what this mysterious old man said. Maybe his position is higher than Hailey's.
"Dad... sorry... I promised to do my best! Just give me another chance!" Hailey begged.
My whole body almost trembled and a mixture of joy and anger was the dominant emotions in me. I turned on the light and immediately sat on my seat. I'm afraid that I might be caught eavesdropping.
"WE HAVE FIVE INVESTORS COMING AND THEY ARE ALL VIP'S. ONCE YOU FAILED TO PRESENT OUR OBJECTIVES TO THEM, THE DOOR IS WIDE OPEN! YOU KNOW FOR SURE WHAT IS NEXT!"
I heard the door of Hailey's office slam and I saw my father come out. He was also dressed in black corporate attire and had white hair, indicating that he was too old to be stressed out. My hair is standing up and my blood is boiling. I've confirmed that the emotion I'm experiencing is anger. I want to confront him and express all the hate and anger I've kept hidden for nearly 21 years. But I was taken aback when he abruptly grabbed his chest and collapsed in front of Hailey's office.
I didn't hesitate to stand up to help him. I thought he had a heart attack. I was on the verge of panic, but luckily Hailey came out and helped. Tension filled the air
"Dad!! What happened?" Hailey said while facing our father.
I felt a frantic bubble of fear rise up inside him.
"I think it's a heart attack!" I answered Hailey with a shaky voice. Breathing and relaxing was the only way I knew to control the panic.
Her eyes landed on me. "Please help me bring my father to the clinic!" she said with an American accent.
We carried our father to the clinic in our arms. Fortunately, there was a nurse inside who quickly treated my father. Hailey wanted to ensure the safety of our father, so she even ordered me to call the ambulance using her cellphone while she and the nurse attended to our father's condition.
After I called the ambulance, I helped Hailey carry my father until we put him in the ambulance. When I returned to the office, Sir Michael called me immediately.
"What happened to Sir Joseph?" he asked in wonder.
I took a deep breath before I spoke and I filtered the words I would say to him.
"Sir, I came in early today and accidentally overheard Sir Joseph yelling at Sir Gerald and he was screaming at the top of his lungs; I could feel his rage, and I believe that triggered his heart attack!"
Sir Michael leaned back in his chair before asking a question. "Where did he collapse?"
"Just outside your office!"
A proud half smile tilted his mouth. "I see..." Sir Michael grinned. "On behalf of Mr. Joseph and his family, thank you very much for what you did! I'm sure you have a reward waiting for his family!"
Sir Michael's words made me pale, but I realized that this was a good opportunity for me to be close to my father, and he would soon see my true colors.
"Sir, I am a shy type of person and I think even other people won't hesitate to save Sir Joseph's life. It's just that if I can receive something from their family, I will accept it wholeheartedly!"
"Mr. Joseph's family is extremely generous, and I'm confident he will personally deliver that reward to you!"
I lowered my voice first because I gossiped to him what I had heard earlier. It's dangerous and maybe someone will hear me. "I'm excited to meet him in person, but I just can't figure out why he was so angry with his daughter!"
Sir Michael crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, you'll get used to it! I don't know why he treats his daughter like that either. I'm sure that the janitors and guards will be in a miserable situation. Ma'am Hailey usually vents her frustrations to them because she can't hurt anyone!"
I brought my face closer to Michael to make sure that no one else would hear what I had to say but him. "But how about you, sir? Do you experience being scolded by Hailey?"
"I'm just a senior manager, and fortunately, I'm not submitting any reports to her, so we have no business with each other!" Sir Michael stated emphatically.
I have no further questions and I want to go back to my place. "Okay... okay sir! I'm going back to my seat!"
Sir stood up and came to me while his two hands were in his pockets. "Wait a minute... why do you seem so interested in the Montreal family? I can sense from the tone of your speech that you want to know more about them!"
I bravely made eye to eye contact with Sir Michael and just laughed at what he said even though I was turning pale.
"Sir... I just asked questions and I guarantee you that I have no other intention. Besides, I really thought that once you became as rich as them, there would be no more issues between family members. I thought I was wrong!"
Sir Michael sat in the unoccupied chair in front of me. It was as if he had doubts about what I was telling him. "I know you're a smart person, Stella! You know I'm so impressed with your observation skills. That's why I accepted you into my department. I'm not pulling a joke here, but I can see that you will be a successful person one day. And it's only right that you made Sir Joseph a role model!"
Sir Michael couldn't take his gaze away from me. He was clearly reading me deep down in his head.
"S-alright sir... I'm going back to my place!"
He just nodded, so I stood up and went out. Of course, this is not the end of my story, so I'm just like a broken radio and repeating my stories to my colleagues at work. 11 a.m. in the morning when Hailey suddenly appeared in front of our department, she was still wearing her broad smile even though he was scolded by my secret father earlier. I can still smell her expensive perfume.
Her eyes landed on me. "Hey, I haven't said thank you yet! Are you new here?" she asked.
I stood up and tried to imitate her way of speaking in front of everyone. "You are very welcome Ma'am. My name is Stella!"
Damn! I looked like a social climber with my terrible American accent.
Some of my co-workers laughed a bit but I just flinched.
"As a token of appreciation, I'd like to invite you to lunch today!" She said with a cheerful smile.
She spoke English so fast that I only heard a few words of what he was saying and had to use my common sense to understand the context.
"I accept your offer Ma'am," I said without a second thought. "Let me ask my manager about this!" I don't want Sir Michael to be bypassed. I have a lot of respect for him so he needs to know about this!"
"It's fine!" said Sir Michael, who had just left his office. He dragged his feet towards Hailey and they exchanged smiles.
"So how is Sir Joseph's condition?" Sir Michael asked.
Hailey let out a slow breath of relief. "He had a heart attack but miraculously, his condition is stable at the hospital!"
"That's good to hear! Anyway, you can borrow Stella for a while. She told me that Sir Joseph is her idol and her dream job is to work in this company!"
I don't know what went through Sir Michael's mind when he slipped his mouth and said that. Damn it, I ain't ready to tag along with my half-sister and I was drenched in sweat even for no apparent reason.
Hailey gave me an appreciative grin. "Is that so? Then welcome to this company! I hope we can be friends, Stella!" Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see the blushing cheeks of Nick who was right next to me. It made me think that maybe he has a secret crush on Hailey even though in our chats, he blatantly tarnished her reputation. I stood up and went with Hailey. Damn! It's a painful feeling when your crush has another crush. I can see the attention that Hailey gets from the people around her, maybe if we are always together, I have to get used to this kind of situation. After we arrived in front of the elevator, two women came out and took a picture of Hailey. They don't wear uniforms the same with us so I thought they were working on another company. The worst part is, I took the picture of them with Hailey and I heard no thank you. When they left, I praised my half-sister while we waited for the elevator to go down to the ground floor. "Wow. Your charisma is so strong, Ma'am
She suddenly asked me a shocking question."How about you, Stella? Where is your father working?"What she asked me made me sweat. I almost swallowed the rice in my mouth without chewing. It took a few seconds before I stuttered to speak. I need to be very careful otherwise I'll be caught in my own lies."My... my... my father left us since I was a kid so my mother raised me alone!" I really tried to cry to bring him to my emotions. Fortunately I really cried in front of her.She held my hand and looked me in the eyes with pity. It seems I am a best actress as of this moment.She gave me an apologetic grimace. "Sorry if I brought such painful past. But I'm sure that you and your mother went through a lot and she breathed a sigh of relief when you graduated!"I agreed with what Hailey told me. "Well, I can't deny that what you told me was true. When she presented me with the award, our stage was almost flooded with tears!""Too bad, I am certain that your father regrets leaving you beh
Stella suddenly stood up and looked at the waiter in a mocking way. It looked like she was really fucked up with what happened."Fuck, are you stupid? Out of all the people who eat here, you're going to bump into me?"The waiter was on the verge of panic and looked like he was about to faint from nervousness. I tried defending him from Stella's rants."Sis, I am sorry on behalf of the waiter. Maybe he was tired!" I said with a firmed voice.I really hate people who think they are above other people. It really annoys me!Stella suddenly pointed at me. "Stop defending him, he should be punished for what he did. As customers, we don't tolerate like this to happen!"I was surprised that she refused to listen to me. I became quiet again. She turned back to the waiter who spoke again while keeping his head down."Ma'am, I'll just pay for your clothes if you want!"Stella grinned as if he was insulted by what she heard. "Are you kidding? Do you know how much this dress costs? Even if you wor
When we returned to the office, it was only 12:40 p.m. Almost all the lights in the departments were turned off, even my colleagues at work were al asleep. I slowly went to my seat and was about to sit down when Nick woke up. This guy has a sharp I immediately smiled at her and sat in my seat."Hey, how's your walk going, sir? Are you full?" he asked, smiling at me.I belched suddenly and looked around, luckily no one woke up. Andrea suddenly laughed at me."Hahahaha, don't answer. I already know!" he answered lamely, followed by another question, "Is Hailey a nice person to you?"The way that he asked this question, as if he really knows Hailey from the very start. "She's so much fun to be around!" I answered. "And believe it or not, we treated each other like sisters!"I wasn't able to detail the whole thing, especially when Hailey showed her bad side. That incident was really bad and I think it will be imprinted on my mind forever."Well," Nick said as he seemed not impressed wit
I peed and went out of the comfort room to wash my face. Damn! This is my first time experiencing I've ever been gossiped in my entire life and the pain is heart-wrenching. When I returned to the office, I saw Hailey glancing at her cell phone in front of my area. She was wearing a plain red shirt and her face was beautiful even without make up. I took a few steps before she looked at me and greeted me with a smile. "Hey sis, shall we go now?" she asked. "Sorry I was really busy a while ago with my work!" I went to my area and took my things while taking to Hailey. "That's okay, I am not in a hurry." "Wait a minute, what is your social media account or even just a cellphone number? Our email is for business purposes, so it's better if we communicate by other means!" I gave her my number and social media account. She sent a friend request to me, and I immediately accepted her. We walked to the parking lot until I saw her brand new Mercedes. My jaw dropped on the floor because of it
Hailey smirked. "What does she call you when she's mad?""She called me a fucking bitch. I know that sounds so harsh, but I am used to being called by that!""Well at least you've got a mom who called you that. I guess I need to tell my dad to call me bitch whenever he is mad as well!""Trust me, it's very humiliating if someone beside your mom called you that. But as for Sir Joseph, I think it's impossible for him to call you a bitch. It's not on his character if you ask me!""Okay, please answer me... I want to know your sincere opinion about me and my dad. What is your initial impression? Regardless if it's bad or good. All I care is your honesty!"I felt like in a hot seat. Of course, I am either frank or liar depending on the situation. If I give her a complimentary statement, she would think that I am a social climber, but if I am being too honest to tell the truth, she might get offended. I decided to play safe this time."I think it's better if we try to do it sooner or later.
"Sure, Nick is a nice person as well!" Hailey said with a serious voice.From the way Hailey spoke up, I can really feel that she is not yet ready to face Nick. The fact that she used me to communicate with him adds up to my suspicion that they have something in the past."Please don't tell him that Justin is coming as well!" said Hailey.I followed Hailey, I did not say that there is another person coming.I replied to Nick. "I asked Hailey and she agreed!""That's great. Just chat me the address of that bar so I can use my motor to go there!" Nick replied with a heart emoji at the end.I sent the complete address of the bar to Nick then I received a notification on my phone. I looked at it and my eyes widened in shock. Justin sent me a friend request. I was shaking like hell. I feel I am the most beautiful on Earth.Hailey looked at me. "What happened? You looked pale!""No... it... it's nothing. I just could not believe that Justin sent me a friend request. I know it's a stupid que
Not too long, we arrived inside the bar and sat on a round table. The sound was too loud we could not hear people talking and only the disco ball illuminated the area. Later on, a waiter with a menu on his hand."Good day, may I ask what is your order?" he asked in a polite way, looking at Hailey.Hailey took the menu from his hand and inquired the waiter."What would you like to offer for a moderate drinker like us?""Caipirinha, Margarita, Cosmopolitan, Mojito, Pina Colada, and Californication!" the waiter answered."How about for the heavy drinker?" Hailey asked the waiter again."Beers, Polmos Spirytus Rektyfikowany Vodka, Everclear 190, Hapsburg Absinthe XC, and Devil's Springs Vodka!""Okay, give us one case of beers!" Hailey gazed at me. "What would you like to drink? It's on me!"Honestly, I did not know any of those cocktails as I only know some street beverages."Ah, I'd like to drink Margarita!""Alright, I will also order that. Please also add sisig, boneless wings, mozzar