“So, how is she doing?”
SJ looked up from the construction drawings he is reviewing and looked at Brian coldly on a busy Tuesday morning. He then looked back down and continued his checking. He never said a thing and waited for Brian to continue.
“I heard she got into an accident at the food hall last week,” Brian continued casually as he placed down the drawing he is reviewing as well. “No one even helped her up. Poor girl then has to suffer through some tantrums of some bitch she accidentally bumped into.”
“Anything else?!” SJ sneered.
Brian gave him a wry look.
“Just letting you know that your wife is not having the time of her life in your company,” he commented dryly as he returned the drawing to SJ and made some notes on his Ipad. “On my way up in the elevator, there was this group of women snickering and gossiping about her. Presumably, your wife was discovered by one of the janitors having her lunch in the broom closet yesterday.”
“You always like listening to gossips, do you?” SJ countered.
“What I’m trying to say, dude is, why the hell are you allowing these people to treat her like that?” Brian pointed out firmly. “She’s a Kincaid for crying out loud and you’re doing nothing! Is this still part of the arrangement your family decided? That girl’s from the country and she’s isn’t even 21.”
“She has to learn to be the Kincaid wife she will be,” SJ said firmly.
His friend only looked at him wryly before resuming his review on the drawings silently.
“Mr. Kincaid, there’s a call for you on line three,” his secretary, Debra said formally over the intercom. “It’s from the office of Grande Holdings, Inc.”
Brian looked up abruptly at the news.
Grande Holdings, Inc is known all over the world as one of the top hotel chains, running over 100 branches across the globe.
“This is SJ Kincaid speaking,” SJ said formally after picking up the receiver.
“Good day, Mr. Kincaid,” a female voice greeted calmly. “I’m Katherine Jacobs from Mr. Elliot Grande’s office. His office would like to set a meeting with you this coming Thursday. Will 10 in the morning be possible?”
SJ looked at his computer screen, checking his schedule.
“Yes, Ms. Jacobs,” he affirmed. “10 on Thursday will be good. Is there anything or anyone here in the office that Mr. Grande needs to attend?”
“Your Design and Engineering team, if possible,” Katherine answered. “Thank you for your time. We will see you Thursday.”
“We just got an appointment with GHI!” Brian exclaimed. “Bloody hell!”
SJ remained silent for a while, absorbing the news. He clenched his fists gently. This is it! The one thing that he has been targeting on for years ever since he became the CEO and Vice-President of his family’s business, he had been setting his eyes on GHI to get them as clients. Fate seems to be going his way after all the years he had work so hard to become what he is now.
“Your dad will be thrilled to hear this,” Brian continued.
“I’ll let him know once we have the meeting,” SJ concluded. “I don’t want to pre-empt the excitement.”
The two returned to their work in silence for the next few hours until they heard the door of his office opening. Carmela came striding in wearing a leopard print pencil skirt, topped with a plain white silk sleeveless top and a black leather jacket. She paired it with black stilettos, dangling diamond earrings and red lips.
“Hey, guys!” She greeted flirtatiously.
Brian turned to SJ with a cold look to which his friend returned with a warning look.
“Hey, babe,” SJ greeted as he stood up and meeting her halfway. His face was then pulled down by her and gave him a hard kiss, slipping her tongue in his mouth for a few seconds. “Photoshoot already done?”
“It took a while,” she replied as she walked towards his desk and sat on the corner of his desk, looking at Brian sideways. “Antonio really had these stupid assistants in his studio. Not to forget in being so slow in doing their job. If I was the one who hired them, I kick them out immediately.”
“I’ll be taking my leave,” Brian interrupted stiffly. “Just call me up for updates and I’ll see you on Thursday.”
Carmela looked at Brian’s back coldly as he went out before looking at SJ with a pout. “He never likes me since we started going out,” she whined dramatically. She followed him towards the couch and sat beside him. “Is it because he desires me as well and hated the fact that I choose you?”
SJ studied her appearance and could feel his desire rising up. He run a hand up her legs and she flashed him an encouraging smile, her eyes getting excited.
After staying in his office for the next hours, SJ and Carmela went out, looking happy and satisfied as they headed out for lunch. They took his private elevator down to the lobby and driveway where the car he had given her a few months ago is waiting, driven by a driver he hired as well.
“Where do you want to eat?” He asked as he got in beside her. “You deserve to have the best after that contract signing yesterday. My apologies for not being able to make it.”
“Let’s go to Sky Garden,” Carmela said with a smile. “I want to show off this earrings you gave me.”
SJ grinned as he bent down to give her a kiss. Just before he closed his eyes, he caught attention of Ellisande, hurriedly walking up the driveway with several bags of take-out food, more than enough than she can handle. No one bothered to help her. She stopped for a while, putting the bags down and gently rubbed her arms. He watched as she answered her phone and saw her winced slightly at whatever the caller is telling her.
“Ugh! Look at that,” Carmela commented disgustedly when her eyes spotted Ellisande, lifting up the bags again and walking in hurriedly. “With the way she is dressing herself, it’s no wonder that’s the job being offered to her.”
He remained silent and what Brian had told him a while ago came back into his mind.
Elli went back to her desk after having a quick lunch at the cafeteria of the building’s service crew. Thomas Jones, a man in his sixties, discovered her having lunch at the broom closet last week. He then invited her to eat where the crew eats. After the accident she experienced at the food hall, she decided to bring her own lunch and find a small, private place where she can eat in peace. It would also be the time to allow herself to rest from all the orders her supervisor, Valerie is throwing her way.“Are the drawings done, Elli?” Her supervisor’s voice came.“It’ll be done in ten minutes, Ma’am,” Elli answered formally as she neatly stacked the drawing pages and filed them properly. “I will put it on your desk.”“I don’t have ten minutes!” Valerie sneered at her coldly. “I told you that I need them right after lunch! God! You’re such an idiot! Are you doing this to rui
SJ’s eyes hardened as he re-watched the file footages sent to him from the security office of all the accidents that Ellisande has been involved in. He watched as he saw the culprit, who whacked and pushed her inside the meeting room that made her lose her balance.He then clicked on another video where the supervisor she was assigned to, threw a thick file of drawings that landed on her face while screaming curses at her.After receiving a hard slap and some tongue-lashing from his close friend Florence over the predicament that his wife is going through, he called up security and ordered all clips that involve Ellisande’s accident sent to him. He was surprised to see that there are more than twenty files.“You are such a despicable man!” Florence screeched after slapping him. “Did you see the state of your wife just now? Let me guess. Of course, you didn’t. You just came back from lunch with your lover, didn’t yo
“She’s over fatigue and dehydrated.”SJ looked up from the Nordic lazy sofa chair after the doctor had finished the diagnosis and his eyes narrowed at the statement.Dr. Paige McIntyre took off her stethoscope and placed it inside her bag and stood up. She looked at him, whom she had known since childhood, being cousins on both their mother’s side.“She can see a specialist, if she wants,” she commented lightly as she followed him out. “Probably more rest and some fluids. I gave her a sleeping pill so she can recover her strength. I don’t recommend her going in for work tomorrow. You should call Flo and informed her about it.”“And, then received another tongue-lashing from her,” SJ muttered as he went to the refrigerator and open it, finding himself and hers two bottled waters. “I swear, if you tell her what happened here, I’ll definitely make your life hell.”&ldq
Elli slowly opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. For the first time since she arrived in the city, she felt well rested. She clutched the blanket to her face, closed her eyes and rolled to her side to savor a few more minutes before getting up and was shocked to collide with something solid.She opened her eyes and quickly sat up, backing away when she saw her husband, sleeping beside her, only wearing sweatpants. She turned to her bedside table and saw that her clock read eight in the morning and she suddenly jumped out from her bed, rushing to the toilet.I’m late! She thought frantically.She took off her clothes and took a quick shower, her mind picturing the face of her supervisor screaming at her. She cringed at the thought as she turned off the shower and grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body. She then reached for her lotion and applied it quickly as well as her face cream.“This will do,” she mu
SJ looked up from the costing he is studying when his cellphone rang. He placed the document down and reached for his phone, looking at the caller.“What have you got for me, Leo?”Leo Reynolds, his long-time private investigator sighed at the other end of the line. “Nothing except for all those standard information, SJ,” he said calmly. “My men are still digging up but so far we have nothing that can help with whatever you’re planning.”“He couldn’t be that difficult,” SJ pointed out.“Yeah, well some are good at keeping their lives private that they even take them to their death,” Leo replied with mild irritation. “This Michael Porter was one of them. I’ve been digging information for the past month and that’s the only thing I came up with.”“Have you checked his wife?” SJ asked again.“Yes. Same results,” Leo said.
Elli looked up from her computer the following day when she heard Valerie calling her name. She quickly stood up and rushed to her area.“Yes, Ms. Valerie?” She asked formally.Valerie looked at her darkly.“I need you to go and get me three reams of A3 size bond paper at supplies,” she said curtly.“Noted, Ma’am,” Elli replied. “I will call supplies and have them here ASAP.”Valerie cursed at her angrily. “Did you hear what I just said?” She sneered. “I said that you go and get them. I did not tell you to have them delivered here. I could have done that already. Get them now. ASAP! I’m pretty sure you can move quickly considering you were absent yesterday.”“And about that,” she continued heatedly. “The next time you’ll be absent without telling me and only telling the VP, I will suspend you. Who the hell you think you are? Get a move
Three Weeks Later …Florence looked up from the proposals she is studying when she heard SJ cursing under his breath and throwing the document he is holding back on the table. It was Friday morning and he and Florence are going through the proposal for the interior schemes of the hotel lobby and presidential suite as requested by the client.“That won’t help,” she snapped with a frown. “We all know how difficult of a client Mr. Grande is but stop doing that.”“How many schemes have been rejected already? Three? Four?” He questioned dryly. “And, he’s giving us a short notice every time!”“He’s a mover, we all have seen that,” she explained as she reached for another scheme that her staff had submitted, in the hopes that it will be the one chosen by the client. “Why do you think he has hundreds of chains all over the world? That’s the way he works.&rdqu
Ellisande leaned back on the park bench, shaded by a tree, she occupied while enjoying the sandwich she made back at the apartment and brought with her for lunch along with some lemon bars. She even made one for Mr. Jones for dropping her off again last night after another overtime in filing materials samples. She looked at her watch and reminded herself that she got another hour of lunch break.“Miss Val must have been in a good mood to extend my break,” she muttered.But, over the past weeks, she noticed that her supervisor is slowly releasing the reigns on her. She would still insult her from time to time and make her run some errands, but not too much. Perhaps she had seen that Elli never fought back and just do whatever she is told.After finishing her sandwich, she then reached for the sketchpad she brought with her and stared at the schemes she made for their latest and VIP client, GHI. She remembered the day when their VP, Ms. Florence called