Girlfriend (Part 1)

Leo came into the inn’s cafe in the afternoon, planning to get a few snacks and an iced coffee to bring to the beach to eat as he read a paperback he brought with him. He went to the cafe instead of calling for room service that day because he heard Vivi was busy with a meeting with some of their investors.

He was just about to leave when he was suddenly attacked with a bear hug.

“Leo! I knew it was you!”

The culprit was a beautiful young woman wearing a skimpy body hugging mini dress. A younger girl carrying a backpack followed behind her.

“Kitty?” Leo exclaimed, recognizing her. “What are you doing here?”

The woman in question brazenly removed Leo’s mask and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He quickly removed her arms around him and pulled back.

“Did you miss me?” she pouted. “We’re shooting my new movie on the island. Your manager told me you were staying here, so I thought I’d surprise you.”

“Kitty, stop making a scene.”

“What’s wrong? There’s no one here.” She looked around and spotted Selene at the counter, staring at them. “Just one of their lowly staff.”

Selene’s eyes widened upon hearing her insult, but she kept her silence. She couldn’t believe what was happening right in front of her; two of the country’s biggest stars are arguing about their relationship. And what’s even more amazing is that the VIP that they have been serving for the past two weeks was actually her idol, Leo Adams.

“Kitty, you shouldn’t be doing this,” Leo said. “We already broke up a long time ago. You need to move on.”

“I came here because I wanted to reconcile. I can change… I’ll do whatever you want. Just… let’s just give us another chance,” she pleaded. “Come with me to the hotel. Don’t stay in such a shabby inn.”

“That’s enough, Kitty. I’m here because I want to. Stop following me from now on.”

“Why not?”

Leo hesitated, trying to come up with an excuse to make her stop her antics. He knew well that Kitty was not one to give up so easily. She will continue to harass him at the inn unless he can give her a good reason.

“I already have a girlfriend,” he blurted out.

“What?” Kitty screamed.

“Kitty, it’s never going to work out between us. I’m already in love with someone else.”

“Who? Who’s the bitch that stole you from me?”

“She…” He turned to Selene at the counter for help.

Startled, Selene stood up and shook her head.

‘You can’t mean me?’ she thought. ‘I don’t want to be involved in these types of domestic quarrels.’

At the same time, Selene couldn’t believe how bad Kitty’s attitude was. She couldn’t just let her insult the inn and get away with it. Besides, she can’t let her idol end up with such a wicked woman.

“M-my boss,” Selene stammered out. “His girlfriend is my boss and the granddaughter of the owner of this inn.”

“Well, where is she, then? She probably looks as shabby and run-down as their inn. Tell me, Leo, why would you like someone so ugly over me?”

“Excuse me?” a stern, authoritative voice said from behind them.

Leo turned to see Vivi standing by the door, only to be astonished by the sight of her. She was dressed differently from her usual Capri pants and t-shirt. Today, she wore a black pencil skirt and a white button down blouse. Her hair was tied in a half ponytail and her face bore the trace of light makeup. She was even wearing a pair of white stiletto pumps.

She walked towards them, one impossibly long leg after another.

Leo, regaining his senses, quickly met her. “Babe, you’re here,” he said. His voice was louder than normal. “Is your meeting over?” 

He pulled her into a hug, then placed his face near her ear, pretending to give her a kiss. 

“Babe?” she muttered under her breath.

“Just play along,” he whispered.

Vivi raised her eyebrows but remained poker faced. Leo flashed her his winning smile as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to his side.

She glanced at the woman who was standing in the middle of the floor, glaring at her with eyes full of hate. Her eyes turned back to Leo. “What’s going on?”

Selene quickly intervened, running to her side. “Boss, this woman tried to insult you and our inn.”

“I heard.” She had, in fact, entered the cafe just in time to hear Kitty calling her shabby.

She gave Kitty a one-sided smile as she walked over to her.

“I remember you,” Vivi said. “What was your name again?”

Kitty held her head up arrogantly. Of course she knew who she was. She was hailed as the most beautiful woman in the country, after all. Everyone knew her name.

But Vivi pretended to have a hard time recalling it as she tapped a manicured finger on the side of her chin. “I remember now,” she said excitedly. “Leo, isn’t she your co-star in your recently released movie? You know, the one that got you the Best Actor nomination. What was her name again? Was it Cat?”

Leo could hardly contain his laughter and pretended to clear his throat as he watched Kitty’s face turn red in anger. It turned out Vivi knew how to push the right buttons. He moved to her side just in case things began to get ugly and held her left hand.

But Vivi wasn’t done yet. She wasn’t one to forgive someone who insulted her inn so easily. That would be dishonorable.

She smiled sweetly at Kitty and offered her right hand, all the while not letting go of Leo’s hand and instead made sure that Kitty would see it. 

“Violet,” she said. “Violet Willows. It’s nice to meet you, Miss Cat.”

“The name,” Kitty replied through gritted teeth. “Is Kitty Anderson. You better remember my name because you haven’t seen the last of me.”

She stormed off, her assistant bowing apologetically to them before trailing behind her.

The three, however, didn’t have time to celebrate their victory as they suddenly heard someone clapping behind them. They turned around to see an old man in a suit applauding happily.

“Wonderful,” he said. “Wonderful!”

“Mr. Morris, what are you doing here?” Vivi asked, shocked at his sudden appearance. 

He was one of the investors she was meeting with a while ago before they took a break and she excused herself, telling them she had something urgent to take care of. It was a lie, of course. She simply needed to step out and grab a bite of something sweet to give her a much needed sugar rush after two harrowing hours of presenting them next year’s marketing plan.

“Nevermind that,” Mr. Morris replied, waving his hand. “How come you never told us that the famous Leo Adams is your boyfriend?”

He walked towards Leo and offered his hand. “Carl Morris. My wife and daughter are big fans of yours.”

Leo graciously shook it, not trusting himself to speak.

“Mr. Morris, I-” Vivi began to explain, but the old man held his hand up.

“It’s alright, Violet,” he said, taking her hand and patting it. “I understand. You probably want to keep your relationship low-key. But you should consider getting your boyfriend to be the inn’s ambassador. I’m sure with such a celebrity on our side, we can make the rest of the investors cough up more money to support your projects.”

He turned to Leo.

“Mr. Adams, would you like to join us in the conference hall?”

Leo looked at Vivi, asking for a sign.

She sighed. “Mr. Morris, would you mind if I talk to Leo for a minute?”

“Of course, of course. I’ll wait for you in the conference hall, my boy,” he called out to Leo before turning to leave.

When the old man had finally gone, Vivi slumped into a chair and groaned loudly.