CHAPTER 5: First Disaster

Nala’s Point of View

“Come to my office.”

Taking a deep breath, I violently gasped for air as Hugo’s voice blared through the intercom for the fourth time. My butt wasn’t even warm on the seat, and he’s already calling me again. I don’t know if he’s trying to annoy me or what.

With a sudden burst of energy, I leaped out of my seat on the swivel chair, causing a ruckus that made the hardworking employees around me pause and turn their heads.

They must have been really curious because I got called for the fourth time this morning.

So, first, I had to trudge all the way down to the 12th floor just to fetch some documents from HR. Seriously, couldn’t they have sent an intern or something? Then, this guy sends me down to the 19th floor to grab a bunch of documents that I have to encode and send to him via email. Ugh, like I don’t have better things to do? And just when I thought I was done, he asked me to dig through the piles of paper in his office to find some proposal documents from some big-shot company.

I don’t really mind being given orders since that’s my job anyway, but why does he have to give them one by one? It's so dizzying in the elevator! I’d rather take the stairs if I didn't have so much stuff to carry!

I can’t believe it! It’s literally my first day here, and this guy decides to torture me. Is this some twisted way of getting back at me for him treating my sister, or is he trying to make me pay for whatever I supposedly stole from him?

I barged into his office; there was no time for knocking. The sight that greeted me was a chaotic mess of papers scattered all over his desk and even on the floor. Some were crumpled up, as if he had angrily tossed them aside. It looks like someone wasn’t a fan of the proposal written there.

He stood there, his phone pressed against his ear, staring at the glass wall. No suit, just a white button-down shirt tucked into black slacks, highlighting his physique.

When he felt my presence, he turned toward me. I gave him a death glare, and I couldn’t care less if he scolded me for the way I looked at him.

“Do you need anything else, señorito?” I asked sarcastically and raised an eyebrow at him.

He put down the phone he was holding and then sat on the swivel chair.

“Clean this mess and make me some coffee after,” he ordered, placing his elbow on the table as he rubbed his two palms together.

I slipped my tongue inside my cheek because of annoyance.

“Well, it seems like this task is no longer within my job description. So, why not let the company’s cleaners take care of it?” I reasoned.

His right eyebrow raised. “Is that how Mrs. Masaya oriented you?”

I winced. “No!”

“Why do you seem mad?”

“No,” I repeated, and I faked a sweet smile.

I begrudgingly began tidying up his messy office, scowling as I gathered the crumpled papers and tossed them in the bin, just as he had instructed. I couldn’t help but notice how he watched my every move.

“Do you have any other orders, sir?”

“My coffee.”

I rolled my eyes at him before I stormed out of his office and slammed the door shut.

The employees who saw me leaving Hugo’s office appeared to be like runaway giraffes from the Manila Zoo. I thought I would be surrounded by people who couldn’t care less, but it turns out they’re all a bunch of Marites. I ignored them and headed straight to the pantry because there was no coffee maker in Hugo’s office.

As I stepped into the pantry, I was relieved to find it empty. Finally, a moment to let out all the frustration I had been holding in for that guy! I may have a tiny bit of respect left for him, but it’s definitely dwindling fast. Thank goodness for an empty pantry!

“He’s so annoying!” I whispered and then hurriedly walked to the coffee maker.

I totally know how to use this thing because Lawrence has a similar one at his place. I’m not that clueless.

As I was brewing, the mischievous idea of adding salt or chili to Hugo’s coffee crossed my mind. But then I couldn’t help but think about my sister and how Hugo’s influential and respectful demeanor could potentially harm her if I went through with it. It's clear that Hugo holds a lot of power, and I don’t want to risk my sister’s well-being.

I made Hugo’s coffee and headed to his office without knocking. It turns out that that was a mistake because he wasn’t alone anymore.

“Whoa! It’s you again, Miss Crimin— I mean Nala!” exclaimed by a familiar man.

My eyes widened when I heard him call my name. How does he know me?

I strained my eyes, desperately trying to recall where I had encountered him before. But the elusive memory of where I had encountered him remained just out of reach.

“She doesn’t remember you, Callum,” the man on the sofa, looking quite dashing with his legs crossed, commented.

His voice is also familiar to me!

“Ouch!” Callum moaned while holding his chest as if he were in pain.

“Does it hurt, dude?” teased the man next to him, and he patted his shoulder.

“Why do you know me?” I asked and glanced at Hugo, who was just sitting in his swivel chair.

“Oh, my bad. Let me introduce myself. I’m Kash Callum Salvatore at your service,” he introduced himself and winked.

“I don’t need a pick-up,” I sassily respond, causing the other two men with him to laugh.

Callum tsked and glared at his friends.

“Shut up, both of you!” Hugo scolded the two men seriously and turned to me, demanding, “Where’s my coffee, Ms. Cabral?”

Tsk, these guys need to learn some manners.

I forced a fake smile and sauntered over to his table. With a bang, I plopped his coffee down, miraculously avoiding a spill. Hugo’s three buddies were left dumbfounded, clearly not expecting such audacious behavior.

I sarcastically asked, “Is there anything else you need, señorito? Just let me know, because if there’s nothing left, maybe I can tackle the tasks you’ve assigned me.”

Hugo’s silence spoke volumes as he stared at me, but I wasn’t about to wait around for him to find his words. I stormed out of his office, unconcerned with how it might appear to his guests. I was furious. Back at my desk, I wasted no time diving back into my work.

I have three bulky documents that need my attention and must be sent to Hugo’s email. It’s funny how my clumsiness actually paid off, thanks to those times my friends and I would sneak off to the computer shop during class. Somehow, I managed to learn my way around a desktop.

I glanced at the tiny picture of Nadine and Mama that I had stuck on the sticky note board.

Looking at the photo, I couldn’t help but smile. Mama looked so proud as she carried my little sister in her arms. The way she held her, you could tell she was the best mom in the world.

Honestly, Nadine and I aren’t exactly full-blood siblings. We share a mom, but not a dad. But let me tell you, that doesn’t make a lick of difference to me. Nadine is more than just a sister to me; she’s family. Pure blood or not, our bond is unbreakable. I love her to bits, and nothing can change that.

I never really knew who my father was, so I ended up using Mama’s last name. It just made sense to me. But Nadine had a different reason. Her father didn't respect Mama, so she also ended up using Mama’s last name.

Before lunchtime rolled around, I decided to order Hugo’s lunch at this ridiculously expensive restaurant.

I rubbed my neck and shoulders because I could feel the numbness caused by my hours of staring at the desktop screen in front of me. I’ve only finished a little because I’m still struggling with my work.

I have no idea how I did this job. I barely finished grade 10, and I never studied anything related to this profession. But somehow, here I am, doing things I never thought I could.

At noon, Hugo’s lunch was delivered right on time. The delivery rider couldn’t come up to the floor, so I had to go down and meet him.

“Thank you,” I said, taking the white paper bag with the restaurant’s logo on it.

“Lunch, sir.”

He was wearing eyeglasses while busy tapping away at his laptop keyboard when I caught up with him. He just glanced at me before turning back to his laptop.

“Just put it there. I’ll just finish this,” he said.

I casually nodded and nonchalantly plopped the white paper bag onto the sleek glass center table, which was conveniently surrounded by a cluster of black couches inside his swanky office. Being the savvy individual that I am, I made sure to extract the tupperware from the bag, just in case he decides to summon me once more for this peculiar task.

“Do you need anything else, sir?” I asked in a calmer tone and turned to him, who was currently folding his silver laptop.

“Nothing.”

“In that case, I’m leaving.” I turned my back on him.

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll continue my work, sir.”

He raised his eyebrows. He stood up from his swivel chair and walked over to the couch.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I’m not hungry,” I lied. Honestly, I’ve been starving for quite some time now. It’s just my luck that I’m swamped with work at the moment.

“I hate liars, Ms. Cabral.” He crossed his two arms over his broad chest and leaned his back on the couch. “Eat here. I don’t want anyone accusing me of starving my employees.”

I rolled my eyes. “I never said you made me hungry, sir. I decided not to eat. Don’t bother anymore if something happens to me here in front of you.”

“Hmm. Is that so? You’re declining my offer, then?”

“Yes, sir,” I said without hesitation.

“Did you know I don’t take no as an answer?”

“I don’t care, sir.”

I turned back. I was about to go out when he spoke again, causing me to stop.

“What if I tell you I have an update on your sister’s condition in the US? Would you still decline my offer for you to eat with me?”

I slowly turned in his direction and glared at him.

“Are you blackmailing me?” I asked, annoyed.

He always uses my sister to get to me because he knows she’s my weakness. It’s like he found the cheat code to my emotions and exploits it every chance he gets.

“If that’s what you think I’m doing, then yes,” he mocked.

I clenched my fist and approached him. A smile registered on his lips when he saw me approach.

“What is the condition of my sister now? I want to know,” I said seriously.

“Then sit there and eat with me first before I tell you,” he said.

“Can’t you eat alone?!” I’m getting really annoyed. My nose is practically about to smoke, just to show how irritated I am.

He may have a big body, but he can’t even eat by himself. How ironic!

“I can, but I’m actually doing you a favor here. You will be full, plus you will know the condition of your sister.”

I glared at him and plopped down on the couch in front of him. We were sandwiched between the glass center table filled with food. It just dawned on me that I actually bought a lot of food.

He graciously shared half of the food with me, reserving the other half for himself. I couldn’t help but notice his expert approach to eating while I fumbled around, feeling a bit clueless.

I devoured my meal before he even took a bite. The food was so incredibly tasty that I couldn’t help but let out a satisfying burp. It was a culinary experience like no other, my first time indulging in such a delectable and social dish. I consider myself quite the cook, but this dish surpassed even my own culinary skills.

“I thought you weren’t hungry?” Hugo asked with a smile. He’s done, too.

I quickly averted my gaze, feeling a wave of shame wash over me. Instead of responding, I mustered up a fake cough and glanced back at him, hoping to distract from my lack of an answer.

“So, what’s up? How is my sister? Is she looking for me?”

“Yeah,” he said sparingly.

“Yeah? Don’t you have anything else to say?!”

“What do you want to know, then?”

“I asked you how my sister is doing? Is she okay?”

“Tsk. She was just your half-sister. Why are you so worried about her? You’re even ready to risk your life and dignity for someone who won’t last long in the world—”

I couldn’t stop myself from pulling the collar of his white button-down long sleeve because of the mixture of anger and annoyance in my chest.

“Are you insane?! Do you know what you are talking about?!” I said it emphatically and sternly.

I feel my eyes glaze over and my hands tremble.

“You have no right to dictate to me how I should feel! You also have no right to say that my sister will not last long because you are not God to tell me that! You have no idea what hardships I went through to be with my sister!”

His facial expression didn’t change at all. He didn’t remove my hand that was on my collar like he did before.

My eyes widened as he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me closer to him, causing me to fall on his thigh.

“W-What are you doing?” I asked nervously.

My heart was pounding like crazy, and I had no clue why. We were standing so close that I could practically feel the heat radiating off his body. But then, out of nowhere, my confidence vanished into thin air because of what he was up to.

“Did you know that you have beautiful eyes, Ms. Cabral? And it’s getting more beautiful in my eyes when you’re angry.”

“What are you talking about?! Are you really fucking crazy?!” I struggled, but he was too strong for me to get away from him.

“You are my bed warmer, remember? You should be used to this kind of setup. You don’t know how I work in bed.”

I voluntarily stopped struggling because of what he said. His face was serious, and there was no teasing or anything in his voice.

“Are you saying you want us to have sex here?” I asked bravely.

“What? No! Of course not. I don’t do office sex.”

“What are you fighting for?” I started to stand up again, but he only tightened his grip on my waist.

Fuck!

“Someone might see us, right—”

I didn’t finish what I was going to say when he nuzzled my neck, and I felt something soft on my lips. My eyes widened when I saw Hugo’s closed eyes. He held my neck so tightly that I couldn’t get away from his daring lips that were now attached to mine!

“Your lips taste good, hmm…”