6. Trinity

"I met her when I was nine. She said her name was Tyellian-and she used to call me Blue. Funny, really. She mistook my eyes for blue, when they're actually green. But then the day came when I had to return to Manila, and I had to say goodbye. Before I left, she gave me this beaded bracelet, and we made a promise-we'd find each other no matter what. Believe it or not, I'm still looking for her. I've been madly in love with her ever since."

I swallowed hard. It's him. He's Blue. The boy I've been searching for all these years. God-we've been looking for each other for nearly fourteen years.

I was about to throw my arms around him and tell him I'm Tyellian... but then I remembered Nicole. I knew how badly it would hurt her to find out I had a past with the man she's fallen for too.

I don't want to hurt her. She's done so much for me-she's like a sister. And I can't ruin our friendship. I just can't.

...

"I'll have the paper bags delivered to your condo," Boss said, his eyes briefly meeting mine while his hand gripped the steering wheel.

I simply nodded and thanked him before stepping out of the car.

The whole drive had been filled with silence. I didn't know what to say around him. Even now that we were back at the building, I was still lost for words.

As I walked away from the parking lot, I was startled when Boss suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him. At the same time, a speeding car rushed past where I had been walking. If he hadn't pulled me away, I would've been hit.

"God! Be careful, Trinity. Watch where you're walking," he scolded, pulling me into his chest. I could smell his cologne-it was masculine and intoxicating.

I could stay in this moment forever. I took another breath of his scent before stepping back to put space between us.

"T-thank you, sir," I murmured. He didn't say anything, just smiled-and then laced his fingers with mine as we walked together.

...

When we reached the 54th floor, I went straight to the conference room. Boss told me he had to quickly check something in his office. I rushed inside-thankfully, no one else was there yet... except for Nick, who was already typing away at his laptop.

"Wow! Ain't you so early, huh? Kidding. What time is it? You're only showing up now?" he teased loudly.

"Idiot, I just had lunch at Boss' condo-wait, no, I mean-" I froze when I realized what I said.

Nick stopped typing and looked up at me, then actually stood from his seat.

"Oh... Oh? Ohhhh! What's going on here?" His grin stretched almost ear to ear.

"Nothing." I tried to block him using the tarpaulin I was holding, but he kept poking my side. I laughed and dodged as best I could.

"Liar! Spill the tea. Come on now, don't gatekeep the juicy stuff." He wouldn't let up.

"Hey!" I scolded him, laughing.

"Seriously, it was nothing. We just had lunch at his condo-" I returned to my seat and started arranging the documents for the meeting.

"Why the condo, though? There's a restaurant. Like hello? Why not eat at the restaurant?" he asked, clearly in full gossip mode.

"Okay, fine. He had to stop by his apartment and I was with him. He cooked lunch, so we ate there. That's all. End of story." Of course, I left out the part about what I imagined in that damned elevator. God, how embarrassing.

"Hmm... not convinced." He sat back down and resumed typing.

I turned my attention to the pile of work in front of me. I was rushing to finish my assignment-damn it! I should've done this earlier. Now I was scrambling to edit and print everything.

I glanced at the time. Ten minutes left. I quickly highlighted the title, bolded it, saved the file to a USB, and ran off to the 31st floor-the department in charge of printing.

...

"Greetings, everyone. May I have the pleasure of introducing myself? My name is Trinityellian Gomez, I'm 21 years old and from Pangasinan. I graduated from Pangasinan State University with a degree in Business Administration. I'm currently working as the Personal Assistant to Mr. Vasquez."

The room fell silent. No one interrupted. All eyes were on me.

I was so nervous. I swallowed and looked toward my boss. His gaze was locked on me-calm, serious-like he was telling me I could do this.

...

The presentation went well, and I was walking out of my workplace when someone suddenly called out behind me, making me stop and turn around.

"Trinity!" a voice called. A man came running toward me.

"It's me, Joshua. Joshua Navickas. Your scruffy-but-handsome playmate from back in Calasiao," he joked, making me laugh.

"Of course I remember you! How have you been? I saw you earlier in the conference room. So you're one of our big investors now, huh? You've made it big! I still remember how you used to play in the mud and wipe it on me and Nicole. And now look at you-money in hand and running a huge company."

He laughed at what I said and slipped his hands into his pockets.

"Hahaha! Yeah. Actually, after we left Pangasinan, I stayed in Manila for a while to learn my dad's business. A year later, I followed him to the States. Then, during a business trip to Europe, out of nowhere, my dad had a heart attack. When we brought him to the hospital, he was declared dead on arrival. So I had to take over the business."

I nodded, feeling sorry for him.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Joshua."

I didn't say anything else-I had nothing more to add-so I just nodded quietly.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" he asked.

"Well, not really. Just finishing up the meeting arrangements Boss asked for tomorrow."

"Can I take you out on a date tonight? If you don't mind."

My cheeks instantly turned red.

What the-Is he serious? Is this actually happening?

"Yeah. M-maybe? Sure. Okay?" I said awkwardly, and he laughed at my response. I mean, there's probably nothing wrong with going on a date... or a friendly date, right? I mean, I don't have a boyfriend, a husband, or even a suitor.

Wait-is that even a thing? Date as friends?

"I'll take that as a yes, then." He immediately led me to his car parked nearby. We almost got lost with all the other vehicles around.

"You know what, this parking lot in front of Vasquez Company is actually really nice. Surrounded by pine trees, spacious, and with guards patrolling everywhere," he said, clearly impressed.

Just as we found where his car was parked, I suddenly got a message. The sender: "VASQUEZ COMPANY." I read it before getting into Joshua's car.

> Where are you? Are you already home? If not, please come to my office. ASAP. I need to discuss something with you.

It seemed to be from the company's internal number-so I couldn't reply.

I took a deep breath and called Joshua's name.

"Josh, I'm sorry. Let's eat some other time, okay? Boss just asked me to come back to the office-he needs me for something." I scratched my neck awkwardly, disappointed by the sudden change.

"Oh. Should I wait for you then?" he asked.

"No, don't bother. It might take a while," I said, stopping him. I didn't want to make him wait-it felt too embarrassing.

"Nope, it's fine. I don't really have anything to do right now. I'll wait for you here."

I gave him a small smile before turning around and walking quickly toward the office. Something felt different-most of the employees around were unfamiliar. Of course, it was already 10:00 PM. These were the night shift staff.

I tried smiling at one of them, but she just rolled her eyes and went back to fixing her eyebrows.

I took a deep breath before stepping into the elevator and pressing the button to my boss's floor.

Once I reached it, I headed straight to his office. I didn't bother knocking-my mind was scattered, and honestly, I forgot. When I walked in, I saw him sitting on the couch watching a horror movie. A wicked idea sparked in me-I wanted to sneak up and scare him. Maybe not the smartest move, but I just wanted to get back at him a little for always being so grumpy.

I crept closer, but before I could do anything, I froze.

Suddenly, two pairs of hands grabbed mine from both sides, and something covered my eyes.

Everything happened so fast. When I tried to scream, I was struck hard across the face. My body trembled in fear.

"That's right. Shh... or I'll screw you up and slit your throat," a voice growled. His breath was foul, his voice gravelly-an old, filthy rich man.

"If you want to leave this room alive and untouched, you better tell us your boss's schedule. How he runs this company. All your dirty little secrets." I felt the cold barrel of a gun press against my forehead.

"I'll give you a minute to remember every little detail," he hissed, stepping back.

Tears welled up and slipped down my cheeks. I had one minute to save my life-or die.

"I... I need a piece of paper to write on," I pleaded.

"Bitch. You talk, I write."

I was shaking uncontrollably as I tried to speak. "There's nothing shady about how he runs things. Honestly. You won't find anything to ruin him with..."

"You think I'm joking?" he spat, his breath inches from my face.

"I swear... if there was anything, I'd tell you."

"What about his schedule?"

"H-he-"

"Sir, we've hacked his calendar. He's leaving the country tomorrow," someone interrupted.

The old man burst out laughing.

"Well, I don't need you anymore, sweetheart. But I swear-I'll burn his empire to the ground. You better start job-hunting... or start hiding."

His men yanked the blindfold from my face and pulled me up.

"I'll count to five. If you're not gone, you die. One..."

I didn't wait to hear the next number. I sprinted down the stairs from the 54th floor, the man's laughter echoing behind me. It felt like no one else heard it-like I was the only one awake in a nightmare.

I lost count of the floors. I couldn't stop to breathe-I was terrified they'd catch me.

Then I tripped. My body went tumbling down the stairs.

When I finally stopped rolling, pain shot through my leg and every inch of my body. Still, I forced myself to get up-limping, barely holding on. I saw someone and reached out.

"Help..." I croaked, my vision fading. And then, darkness.

***

"Doctor, how is she?"

"Her vitals are stable for now. But we'll need to monitor her for the next 42 hours and run some tests to check for any potential brain trauma. No major injuries to her legs, but her left hand is fractured. It'll take time to heal."

I could hear voices-people arguing-but they blurred together. I couldn't tell who was who. When the doctor left, I slowly opened my eyes.

I turned to my side and saw them-my boss and Joshua. My memory was still foggy. Did the attackers catch me? Did I escape?

"I'll make sure the media knows what you and your partners did, Mr. Navickas," my boss growled.

"What the hell? I told you-I had nothing to do with her fall," Joshua defended.

"Then why the hell were you in my company that late at night? Didn't I cancel our contract already? What-afraid I'd expose your business partners for assaulting my assistant?! You son of a-"

I reached out with my right hand-the one that wasn't fractured-and touched my boss's hand.

Both of them fell silent, staring at me. I coughed a little. My voice was hoarse. "He's telling the truth. That night, he was just waiting for me. You sent me back to the office at 10 PM, remember?"

"What? No-I went home early yesterday because of an emergency. I never told you to come back," my boss said, confused.

"It was a message... from the company number," I said weakly, pointing to my bag.

Joshua quickly grabbed it.

"My phone, please," I asked. I didn't have the strength to dig for it myself. He handed it to me, and I opened it to show them the message.

My boss stared at it, stunned. "This... this really came from our company line..."

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'll make them pay-whoever did this to you."

"Trinity, look at this," Joshua said, showing me a headline on his phone.

"Famous Perfume Brand Under Fire for Defective Products: Assistant Breaks Her Silence After... [Read More]"

My stomach dropped. Tears welled in my eyes. I didn't say any of this. I couldn't even look at my boss, already imagining the betrayal he must be feeling.

He snatched Joshua's phone, scanned the article, then pulled his own phone from his pocket.

"Vince, take down that article that's blowing up. Find the source. Track them. If they're shady, expose them instead."

After that, he left the room.

"Don't worry, Trinity," Joshua said, trying to lighten the mood. "If that bastard fires you, you can always work for me." He chuckled. I managed a small smile.

...

I was alone in the room. Joshua had gone out to get food. It felt like nearly 5 AM-the sun was starting to rise.

The door opened again. I thought it was Joshua, but it was my boss. He was carrying paper bags.

I searched his eyes, wondering if he was angry-but all I saw was a soft smile.

He placed the bags on the table and began unpacking them one by one.

"You hungry? I brought chicken soup, croissants with strawberry cream cheese, fruit granola, yogurt parfait, and roasted lamb with brown rice. Oh-almost forgot. Fresh milk. All good for healing your hand."

I stared, speechless. That was... a lot.

"You cooked all that?" I asked, slowly sitting up.

"As much as I'd like to take credit, no. My personal chef helped," he replied, smiling again.

I was about to reach for the roasted lamb when he stopped me.

"Wait. Let me feed you."

I... I have never been treated like this in my life. No one had ever cared this much. I felt tears sting my eyes.

"Say 'Ahhh.'"

...

Time passed quickly. Morning turned to afternoon. I was expecting Nicole to visit me today-she said she'd be coming by.

After a few hours, she finally arrived.

"Girl! What the hell were you doing falling down stairs like that? Are you crazy? Kidding, kidding. You won't believe what I found when I got home. Your boss filled our fridge with fresh milk, yogurt, red meat, fruit-and not just that. There are canned goods and *two sacks* of brown rice!"

I wasn't surprised. He offered to give me a one-month leave or groceries-or both. I tried to refuse, but he insisted. I just chose groceries since I couldn't really afford time off.

"Nicole... do you remember Blue?" I asked softly.

She laughed. "Of course. He was the first guy who stole your kiss, you flirty thing."

"I found him."

"Oh really?" she said, clearly uninterested.

I swallowed hard. "He's my boss."

She turned to me, her expression unreadable.

"Does he know?"

"Not yet."

Her eyes sparkled. She stepped closer.

Silence stretched between us-until she whispered:

"I-I know this is too much to ask... but please don't tell him. Please... this might be my only chance to finally be with him. Please? Let me tell him I'm the girl he's been looking for. Please? We're friends, right?