CHAPTER 6

Three days had passed since Clara's interview with Philip. She knew Philip had to take care of his problems first, so she didn't disturb him. That evening, she heard a knock on her door and went to open it. It was Philip's secretary, Carmen and she was holding a letter.

"I was given the task of delivering this letter to you personally. Maestro Felipe wouldn't let me say it over the phone. He said I needed to give you the letter." Secretary Carmen said, giving the letter to Clara.

"Thank you very much." said Clara enthusiastically.

He asked me to apologize for the belated response. He also told me to let you know you have to start next Monday.

"Yes! I appreciate your effort in bringing this letter to me."

"No worries, I was brought here by an official car."

"Thank you!"

Secretary Carmen waved to Clara and went off. Clara saw her get into the official car and the driver led the car away. She closed the door behind her and opened the employment letter,  her name was written boldly on it as a registered employee of CRUZ enterprise. Clara couldn't contain the excitement, so she called Ella who was still at work.

"It's here!" Clara said.

"What's here?" Ella asked.

"My employment letter, it's here!"

"Oh, my sweet potatoes! I will be home in some minutes' time. So wait for me!" Ella said and cut the call.

Clara sat down for a moment and sighed. This was the start of a new life and an extension of her career. This was also the chance to get to know Philip well, so she made up her mind to arrange her life and do things well.

Ella and Clara celebrated the success by going to a party. Clara knew Ella was a responsible woman, but when she heard Ella suggest going to a party, Clara coughed and looked at Ella. Clara was always the naughty one with the party spirit but Ella...She couldn't believe it. Even so, she had to accept.

Clara only drank a few cups of beer and her head got misplaced, her eyes turned continually until she felt like vomiting everything in her stomach out. Ella was discussing with a guy, so Clara decided to go to the restroom herself. On getting there, she saw someone who looked like Henry walking past her with another lady.

"Henry?"

When Henry heard his name, he turned back and saw Clara. "Clara, you are here." He said with a smile.

"Yeah...I just wanted to..." She didn't complete her words before she threw up, right where she was.

The lady with Henry looked disgusted and said to Henry that they had to go but Henry left her and walked toward Clara to help her. He swiped her off her feet with his hands and carried her out of the party.

Henry carried her into his car and sat her down on the back seat with the door opened.

"What were you thinking, when you decided to drink?" Henry asked while handing a bottle of water over to her.

"It wasn't my idea."

"You came with someone?"

"Yeah...my friend."

"Where's she?"

"In...the...ah, who cares? I need to go home and take a nap." She said, climbing out of the car.

"You can't go anywhere now,  you're drunk."

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself. Thanks for your help." She said and took two steps forward before she stumbled and fell down.

"Clara!" said Henry as he hastened to assist her.

"My ankle...it hurts!" She sobbed.

"It's okay..." He helped her up gently and sat her down in the back seat of his car. Then he gently massaged her ankle.

Henry didn't deny her beautiful and soft skin as he massaged. Her thighs were slender and long, such that he could almost imagine himself feeling them with his hands. He had to shake off those dirty thoughts and concentrate on helping her. It wasn't his desire to fall in love with an employee of the CRUZ company though, he was allowed to do it.

His mother was only concerned about Philip falling in love and being distracted from his duties as CEO. She didn't really care about Henry's lifestyle or the ladies he slept with each night, her only request was that he shouldn't get any lady pregnant except he was married to the lady and secondly, he wasn't permitted to distract Philip from his duties in the company. This is why Henry had always distanced himself from Philip. He never really loved Philip as a brother would, in fact, he disliked the way his mother treated Philip like he was a precious stone that did not need to be touched for any reason.

His eyes were twirling around Clara's body and his heart was pounding faster than before. Meanwhile, Clara noticed the way his eyes were fixed on her body. He was handsome and she could never deny that one truth. The day they first met, which was at Manuel's birthday party, he had also stared at her the same way he was doing now.

The fact that he sitting next to her, rubbing her ankles, made her blush her cheeks. She withdrew her leg and in her drunken state without thinking of the consequences, she got up from the seat and sat on his lap facing him.

Henry was shocked by what she did, but he wanted her, which means he didn't care. Their lips met and Henry could not resist, even if they did not know each other very well, he still cared to feel her body and her lips.

Clara got home and laid down on her bed with a pounding headache. She knew that going to a party was a mistake. She had gotten drunk, thrown up in front of Henry and they had kissed inside his car. She felt like a shameless young lady without a future.

She regretted getting drunk and she regretted kissing Henry, even though it felt good. She was still in confusion when Ella came in.

"I shouldn't have left you alone." Ella said.

"Yes, you shouldn't."

"But the good part is that you got the chance to make out with Henry Cruz... that's not something we see every day...do you like him?"

"No!... I mean...yes I do. Oh my gosh, I shouldn't have kissed him." Clara said covering her face with her hands.

"You were only expressing yourself in a drunken state."

"I shouldn't have drank anything in the first place. I feel so ashamed."

"It's a normal thing...you will get over it quickly." Ella assured.

"Ah...I am not feeling well. I need to sleep." Clara said and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight." Ella said and left the room.

Philip got a message from his mother while he was still at work, she had called for a family meeting. He kept his phone aside when he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in." He said.

Carmen entered the office and approached him with a file. "Tu hermano, Henry is here to see you."

"What does he want?" Philip was already stressed out and he didn't want any more discussion or talks with anybody.

"He wants to speak with you."

Philip sighed and relaxed on the chair. "Fine, tell him to come in."

"Por supuesto." She replied and went out. Some minutes later, Henry came in.

"Looks like you are drained," Henry said.

"I don't want to discuss any other thing except the reason for your visit."

"That's very rude but I will take it," Henry said. "Mom has called us for a family meeting."

"I know that."

"She said that you were slowly drifting from her and she wanted to put you in your place...and well, you know where that place is. Beneath her feet."

Philip got provoked by his brother's statement and stood up. "You really think that my place is beneath her feet." He said approaching Henry.

"You were always her slave, maybe you didn't know it before. She always protected you and treated you well because you are the person fit enough to take control of this enterprise... isn't that the truth?"

"You see, I have always tolerated you and mom's insults for a long time but this time, I am not going to let it go. You can leave my office now." Philip said glaring at Henry with his dark grey eyes.

Henry nodded and walked out of the office. "See you in the meeting." He said.

Philip tucked his hands into his pocket and recalled what Henry had said about him. It was not only surprising but jarring. He didn't know that his family thought of him as a slave under the will of his mother. Thinking about it only broke Philip's heart.

Maria, Henry, Dr.Mathew, Philip, Manuel's personal assistant whose name was Daniel, and lastly, Tara who was Manuel's grandmother, all sat at the table to discuss.

"You called for this meeting, Maria. I want you to be fast with it. We have things to do." Tara said.

"I called this meeting for a very important reason and that is to discuss the essence of our positions in the CRUZ company."

"We know our positions very well, we don't need any lecture." Tara said.

"Mom, please stop being impatient and listen to what I have to say." Maria said.

"Okay."

"Manuel and I built this home and we built the CRUZ enterprise together. Now that he's dead, I am in charge and so, everything will be controlled by me."

"You must be crazy, you want to manage all of us?" Tara asked in disbelief.

"Maria, that's not right." Dr. Mathew said.

"As I said before, I and Manuel were the initiator of the success that you see all around you today. My duty as a wife is to manage these successes and make sure that they stay longer. From now on, everyone answers to me."

"María Cruz!. This is insane!" Tara said.

"It's my decision, whether you like it or not."

"None of us agrees with your decision. We know our responsibilities and we can make the decisions. We have been making decisions for this company and there has been no problem, so you have no right to lord your decisions over us." Dr. Mathew said.

"I agree." Daniel said.

"If anyone doesn't like my mandate, then they are welcome to drop their keys here and leave the office!" Maria said.

The whole place fell silent after her words and no one dared speak.

"If you think that you can do better than us," Philip said. "Why don't you divide yourself into five places and fill those seats?"

"It would be good for you to keep your mouth shut, Philip. You wouldn't want me to say things that you might regret. That CEO position that we gave you can be handled well by me."

"Maria! He is your son." Tara said loudly. She couldn't endure it any longer. When it came to Philip, she was willing to risk anything to defend him. "Without Philip, there would have been no CRUZ enterprise."

"He is my son! And he is answerable to me. Your son is dead, why don't you allow me to train my son, how I want to train him?"

"You are going beyond your limits young lady! You have no right to speak to me like that! This is still my house and I have the biggest shares in that company."

"You are welcome to withdraw your support from the company." Maria said and Tara kept calm.

"I won't be your slave any longer." Philip said as he kept the key to his office on the table. "You can take the seat. I have other things to do with my life." He said and walked out of the house.

The others looked at themselves in amazement and directed their gaze to Maria. She was obviously shocked by Philip's reaction. Only Henry managed to smile.