CHAPTER 3

Philip didn't ask too many questions as he drove but Clara was not used to the quietness. 

"What can I call you? I confess that it's a little uncomfortable to call you by your name." She said.

"It's okay to call me by my name, I'm not your uncle." He replied with a smile.

"Oh...but it's strange for me to call my boss by his name."

"Just take it, that we are friends. No formality...well, except at work."

"That's fine by me...so we are friends?"

"Yes, we are."

"I can't wait to see your paintings." She said.

Within some minutes, he arrived at the studio.

"Here we are." He said as they got out of the car.

They went inside and entered a room where Clara saw Philip's paintings. She moved closer to one and touched it gently.

"I'll see you within some minutes, I need to talk to my manager." He said and left the room.

Clara looked at his works, they were all special and exclusive, but he hadn't shown them to the world yet. She looked behind and saw an unfinished sketch, which she guessed that he was still working on. It was an unfinished sketch of a female, it wasn't clear who the person was. She sat down on a chair and viewed it carefully, it was impressive but full of confusion. He must have been confused while working on it. 

She figured out that Philip's paintings and designs showed his mood at that time. She was still fifteen when she started seeing and studying his paintings. She would examine, describe and think of the painting before telling people about the mood of the painting. Now, she was twenty-one years old and she hadn't stopped studying his paintings. She loved his works because of how they made her feel each time she looked at them.

"It's not my best," Philip said, looking at the sketch with his hands tucked into his pocket.

"You wouldn't know that unless you finish." She replied looking at him.

"I have tried finishing it, but it's difficult for me."

"Because you've never fallen in love?"

Philip turned his gray eyes to her, surprised by her words. Though, it wasn't obvious on his face.

"I have never fallen in love, yes."

"Why? At least you should try dating a girl."

"That's easy for you to say."

Clara stood up and approached him, looking up at him with her lively brown eyes. "I wouldn't have said it if it was hard."

"I don't always have time to date...not always."

"I see. Don't worry, I will help you with that problem. I will be your personal life helper."

"It's not going to be so easy. I will rarely have time for all that."

"Master Philip Cruz, I am an expert in date matching...even though it has succeeded only once...that was with my male dog and my aunty's female dog...but I am still good at what I do."

"Dog match-making?" Philip said with a soft laugh. It had been a long time since he laughed sincerely because of someone funny.

"That's not a joke... little things matter."

"I am not going to be used as your second experiment."

"I am charming enough to persuade you to be my second experiment, so don't worry." Clara said as she looked at the other paintings. "Why haven't you sold these ones?"

"I haven't accepted them yet. So I don't think that others will."

"I love them."

Philip looked at her with a smile. For some reason that he didn't know, he was very glad to have Clara here with him.

"I know you do, but I won't present them until I have accepted them."

Clara walked to one of the paintings and felt it with her hands, the texture was sweet and smooth but the color was dim and the tone, was light. It was a painting about an eagle soaring. It was simple but meaningful.

"Can you give me this one? I really love it."

"You can have it...my gift to you."

"Thank you so much!" 

Philip asked a guard to take it and package it properly so that it would be delivered to Clara at her house. His phone rang and when he picked it up, it was Dr. Mathew.

"Maestro felipe, are you with Clara?" Mathew asked.

"Yes, I am with her. She will be on her way back soon."

"Okay, please make sure that she is safe."

"I will." Philip said and hung up.

"Is it Dr. Mathew?" Clara asked.

"Yes, he asked of you. I will call my driver to pick you up now, I have to get home."

"I want you to take me back to the party." Clara said with a cute face.

Philip smiled and nodded, he couldn't resist her beauty. That was one thing, she was right about. "Okay, let's go." He said and gave way for her to walk away first then he followed behind.

Philip drove her back to the party venue and they waved goodbye to each other before Philip drove off. Dr. Mathew approached her with a smile, he had seen the smile on her beautiful face which was always there, but he considered this one to be more sincere.

"Tell me the truth." He said winking at her.

"Stop it, uncle Mathew. He's five years older than me." She replied.

"That doesn't stop true love."

"Philip won't be interested in me...in fact, he isn't."

"How would you know that? You are not in his head."

"I don't need to be in his head before I know the type of girl he would want to date."

"Philip has a soft heart, he won't chase you away from him if he knows that you are trying to get closer to him. I've  known him for as long as I have known you."

"Forget it. We are fine as friends."

"My advice is this, if you want Philip then pursue him. It might be hard because he has a lot going on around him, but he will eventually realize how much you love him..."

"I am not in love with him."

"Love at first sight is what you experienced, I am not stupid to have noticed that you were restless until he came in. You didn't take your eyes off him when you were dancing with his brother. So what will it be?"

"I can't believe you noticed all of that."

"I have very good eyes. Even with my glasses, I can see into your heart."

Clara sighed and nodded with a smile.

"Fine. I indeed have feelings at first for him."

"That's a good start. Then you have to make Philip realize it. I brought you here because I needed someone who could love Philip. His mother is very serious about making him work for the company for the rest of his life. She doesn't want to see any lady near her precious son."

"She's overprotective of him."

"She is domineering... let's get going now. It's already getting late." 

They entered their car and the driver, drove the car out of the venue. On their way home, Clara could not take her mind off Philip. Dr. Mathew was right about her feelings for him. She only wished that there was a way to get closer to Philip without clashing with his mother.