Surprise

BASH

I feel the instant coldness of the stainless door handle on my office as I push it open. As I enter, I feel a sudden unsettling in the pit of my stomach when a familiar flowery scent hits my nostrils.

A gasp has my head snap, and my eyes are transfixed on the woman in front of me. Everything stops. My surrounding blurs. The beating of my heart races. My eyes widen in shock, and I am surprised that my jaw is still attached to my head.

I’m not expecting to see her here in this building, let alone in my office. I wasn’t thinking about her when Dad told me to be nice to my assistant. What’s this supposed to mean?

I shut my gaping mouth close and cough awkwardly. “Trinity.” Her name comes out a whisper, and it feels foreign in my ears.

She blinks many times before she clears her throat. She smiles at me—a tight smile; just a plain smile; a forceful one. “Mr. Hughes, good Morning, and welcome to your new office,” she greets with courtesy. Mr. Hughes? “I hope the interior fits your liking, but we can still request and change—”

I raise my sweaty hand for her to stop. My heart beats faster than before. My lungs expand further, that my ribcage can crack any moment, and it makes me difficult to breathe.

I look at her for seconds, and she meets my gaze then breaks it quickly.

“You didn’t come to the party my family threw out two days ago,” I said almost silently.

She grabs some files on top of my desk with the iPad on top. She hugs them to her chest gracefully and says casually, “I sent Lizzy a message that I couldn’t come. So, as you know, I’m your new assistant; temporarily, and my office is just adjacent to yours,” she puts a little emphasis on the temporarily while pointing at the door on my left.

Her stares give me shiver; her green eyes are shooting an icy glare on me.

She changed a lot. Her hair is cut short just above her shoulders. The color is still the same, though. Her face still has freckles, but they’re lesser, maybe from the makeup she applies on. Her lips are still full, painted with red lipstick.

She taps on her iPad. “You have a meeting in less than ten minutes.”

I take a deep breath. “Trinity, just leave the meeting for a while, can you?” I move closer to her because I badly want to pull her into a hug and feel her warm welcome.

She swallows hard. “Okay, you’re the boss. I placed all the paper works that were left by Mr. Peter Williams.” She gestures to the file on top of my desk.

“I’m not interested in that either.” I snap. “What happened to you, Trinity?”

She looks taken aback. “What happened to me?” she asks back, pointing her finger to herself. “Nothing bad happened to me, Mr. Hughes. If you don’t want me as your temporary assistant, by all means, please, just ask HR for my replacement,” she adds sternly.

“That’s not what I mean.” Why is she acting like she doesn’t know me? “Stop calling me Mr. Hughes. You’re my best friend for God’s sake—”

“Were,” she cuts me off. “Ex-best friend, Mr. Hughes. You are my boss now, so only it’s proper to address you as—”

“I am your boss, so do as I say,” I tell her in an authoritative tone.

“Sure.” She looks down at the empty chair in front of my desk.

She places back down the file she took a while ago and smoothens her dark blue pencil-cut skirt that ends just above her knees. She wears a white blouse with a dark blue blazer. She looks beautiful, elegant, and very professional.

“I came to see you before my flight to the U.K, but you were not there. You went to your grandparents in Boston.”

She doesn’t say anything. I guess she’s listening.

I continue, “I wanted to apologize that day and take back our friendship, Trinity, but you didn’t even answer my calls nor replied to my messages.”

“It doesn’t matter. That was four years ago,” she says coolly.

I snort. “That’s it? I mean, you just wasted our friendship for years with just one mistake I made, and you made mistakes too, Trinity.”

“I don’t want to be your friend, Bash, Can’t you understand that? Your friends, classmates, and girlfriends thought I was just your slave. I’m a dog under your leash. Your personal maid!”

“Did I listen to them even once? How many times did I fight for you against them? How many times did I choose you against my girlfriends? How many times did I defend you against those freaking losers, Trinity? How many times?” My voice fills in the room. Before I came, I did not exactly expect to fight early in the morning. It ruins my mood to have an early argument with anyone.

“I don’t care. I have friends now. I’m sure you made friends with Brits.” She doesn’t look affected. She’s so cold that makes me shiver.

“You’re such an immature.”

“You’re an asshole!”

I narrow my gaze on her. “Watch your tone and your language when you’re in my office, Trinity. I’m still your boss.”

“My apology, Mr. Hughes,” she says silently.

“Don’t I get a welcome back hug?” I ask, hoping she gives in now that we finally talk about the elephant in the room.

She rolls her eyes. “That’s inappropriate. Meeting in less than four minutes, Mr. Seb Hughes will introduce you like the new CFO.”

I grab the iPad from her hand and scroll it down what she jotted down. I stop with brows furrow to the second note. “Dinner with Luke; to discuss the engagement?” I read it slowly, and I almost drop the iPad from my hand.

My heart just crashes in my chest. “You’re engaged?” I grab her hand a bit stronger, and there you go. The fucking engagement ring on her finger.

My life is doomed!

I stare at her as I try to process what I just find out, but she doesn’t meet my gaze anymore. She just looks down at the iPad that I toss down the chair.

I sprint towards the door and slamming it behind me. I almost collide with Lizzy when I walk my way to the conference room.

“Bash, we are about to start in less than two minutes. Get inside and take a seat.”

I shove my hand in my pocket and look at the monolithic view of the building outside, ignoring Lizzy’s voice.

Pressing my lips into a thin line and slumping my shoulders in defeat, I swallow hard the lump in my throat. I lose Trinity forever.

What’s the point of coming back?

I don’t answer my sister.

“Bash, you okay?” she asks with a worried tone of a sister like she used to when we were just kids. I feel a hand rubbing my back.

I look down at her five-foot-eight inches framed. I shake my head.

“I will never be okay, Lizzy.”

“You will be, Bash. You will be, and you should be. It’s never been too late,” she says and walks away leaving me alone with these glass windows.

The meeting went well as I expect, and I can’t help but steal glances at Trinity whose busy writing something on the notepad. I find out that she didn’t follow her dreams to be an architect, instead, she chose to study business management.

She must have studied hard to pass them because she hated numbers in every way possible. I walk out of the conference door after talking with Dad for a few minutes.

“Leaving already?” I Look at Dean, marching towards me.

I give him a smile and a nod. “Yeah, first day, and still having a jet-lagged. I think I’m excused, right?”

He laughs. “Bash, you owned 15% of this company, and your family owns this. You can work your fat ass at the yacht in the middle of the Caribbean, nobody cares.”

I shake my head in amusement. “Like my dad would agree.”

“I’m always free for a good talk, Bash. Just call me.” He pats my shoulder.

“I keep that in mind, Thanks, Dean. You’re not bad, after all.”

“I know you don’t like me, or maybe you don’t trust me for your sister, but I can’t blame you to be an overprotective brother over her, but man, I love her with all my life, and I don’t care if you are against us or not, and it’s not that you are gonna stop me from loving Liz.”

“Got to go before we fall in love with each other.”

He laughs again. “You will be fine. It’s not too late, Bash.”

Remind me to strangle my big sister.

***

“Bash, I think we should go home now. You’ve wasted, man.” Edmund grips my arms as he guides me out of the bar.

I’ve been drinking my ass, and I get into a challenge with the girls on tequila shots. I’m lightweight. Maybe that’s why the alcohol kicks in quickly.

“I can still handle some shots, Edmund boy,” I slur.

“Shut up, drunk-ass. I’ll lose my job because of you, baby bash.”

I punch his arm. “Stop calling me baby Bash, or I will light your ass on fire.”

He chuckles. My half-opened eyes flutter close as soon as I get in the car.

“Night, Edmund!”

“Just shut up!” He barks out from the front seat. Then I hear the music play in the speaker.

***

My hundred pounds of eyes are forced to open when I hear the doorbell rings repeatedly. My head is pounding with headaches when I abruptly sit on the edge of my bed.

I rub my throbbing temples. Whoever on that door should make sure he has a good reason bombarding into my penthouse. I’m sure it’s my family. They are the only one who has passed to be here without interfering the security.

I swallow the two tablets placed on my nightstand and gulp the still cold water in the glass. I feel relief as the water runs down to my dry and achy throat.

I lick my dry lips as I walk with a lazy pace to my living room toward the door, still rubbing my heavy eyes. I hear the doorbell goes off again.

“Coming. Damn it!”

I press some keys to unlock and squeeze the doorknob to open.

“Can’t you be a little patient?” My voice is still groggy. I leave the door open and walk away without bother looking whoever is on the door. I am still when I hear a gasp at my back. I turn only to see Trinity looks shocked with her hands on her mouth.

I stand frozen in my place like I just turn into an ice statue. I remember I am not wearing a shirt, and I’m only in my pants from yesterday. She doesn’t move a muscle, but she keeps on staring at me without blinking.

I clear my throat. “Trinity, please, come in, and close the door behind you. I’ll just put a shirt on.” I walk away from standing still Trinity.

“Oh, my God.”

“Have a seat, Trinity. Be down in a bit.”

I wash my face with cold water when I feel stings on my back. I stretch my arms wider, and it pricks my skin as if I get a sunburn. I reach my hand to touch my back where it hurts a lot. My eyes widen when the vague of events from last night comes flashing back at me like cold water.

“Fuck! What the hell have I done?” I turn to let my back face the mirror. My eyes grow wide when I see what’s on my back.

A fucking tattoo.