She smiled back and thought, ‘Everything about you is cute, even your smile. Maybe I will say hi…,’ she laughed to herself, ‘...later.’
She tore her gaze away and started listening to her friends, pretending like she was not affected by that brief encounter.
Celine looked at her watch discreetly, checking the time to see if enough time had passed for her to check and look back at him again. See if he is still interested. Most of the time, when she does this staring game, as she calls it, they get tired and find some other conquest. It was a test. She will not let them get to her that easily. She was not here for a one-night stand.
Max was indeed still staring at her when she looks up. ‘Let’s see if he follows. I don’t even know what’s come over me, but I’ll make the first move.’
‘He doesn’t seem to want to do anything, just standing there staring and waiting. But then again, my friends are too much sometimes, and I don’t want them to tease us or even take a look at him. He’s mine. Whoa! Where did that come from?’ she frowned.
Suddenly, she was nervous. ‘What if he's still interested and follows me to the restroom? Omg, this would be a first. Why am I so nervous? It’s going to be okay. Just play it cool,’ she told herself. She takes one last drink and stands up, making a beeline in his direction, and stares at him while she walks past. It was an invitation. ‘Come, follow me.’’ Her eyes said invitingly.
-=-
There was a long hallway leading to the restroom that offered a lot of opportunities for them to talk without getting interrupted. The music in this area wasn’t too loud either, so there was no need to shout or get too close to each other.
Max called out to her, 'Excuse me!'
Celine looked back briefly. 'I’m Max, and I would like to know your name, and if it’s not too forward, I would like to ask for your number too,' he finished as he reached her side.
Celine was too nervous, but she wanted to play it cool. She just looked at him and went into the restroom. 'Shit! I froze! Dammit! I hope he’s still out there. Let me rehearse what I’m going to say. Don’t be too easy, and don’t play too hard to get, he might leave,' she instructed herself as she paced inside the room.
When she came out, she was ready to be disappointed. She anticipated that Max had already left, but there he was, leaning against the wall, playing with his phone. He smiled at her when she walked out.
'I’m Celine,' she says with her hand out to take his phone, 'If you stalk me or try to sell me something, I will give your number to the sex hotline.'
He fumbles for his phone as he gives it to her. ‘This girl has the guts to call me out? Sex hotline, really?’
Max couldn’t stop staring. She was more beautiful up close. ‘Her eyes are very lovely, they were the color of melted milk chocolate. I feel like I’ve seen eyes like those before.' He frowned for a bit, trying to recall the exact same eyes he knew he was familiar with. 'She has very long lashes, and her mouth looks so inviting.’ He felt mesmerized as he inspected her thoroughly.
He wasn’t paying attention to what she was doing on his phone. He inhaled to get a whiff of her perfume. ‘I know that smell. Her perfume smells a little like Clara’s scent, but this is a little more fruity,’ he smiles as her smell invades his heart.
Celine was getting conscious of him staring at her face, and she fumbled several times, trying to remember how to figure out how to add a phone number. ‘Damn!’ she thinks, ‘We even have the same phone, but his nearness is making me nervous.’
When she finally figures it out, she hears him take a deep breath. ‘Is he trying to sniff me?’
She glances at him. ‘He is sniffing me out. Well, I do smell good. Daisy Eau so fresh, really makes you feel fresh,’ she thought, smiling to herself. It took a while to convince herself to get it because she had to splurge. It cost more than a hundred dollars for a small bottle of this perfume, and she thought it would be a waste of money.
She found Lana to be the most common name on his phone, so she just added another Lana in there with her number. ‘He won’t get my information that easy. Let him figure that out himself,’ she smiled, pleased with herself.
'Heeeey! What are you smiling at?' he asked. 'Don’t think about giving me your boss’s phone number or your favorite chicken restaurant, okay.' he looked at the number she was entering.
She smiles again. 'I promise I wouldn't do that to you. Let me ring my phone, so you know I’m telling the truth,' she said as she tapped on it. He said, 'Okay, that’s good,' as he heard her phone make the sound. He disconnected the call and placed his phone inside his pocket, eager to get back to talking to her.
'I’m Max from San Jose, Northern California. My team and I came here to meet with a client, and since we are doing a lot of transactions with that company, I’ll be here often enough. Would you mind if I call you, maybe go out on a date sometime?'
She was apprehensive. He was from another city, and she may not see him ever again. One-night stands weren’t her thing. Actually, she hasn’t even had a proper boyfriend, and now this relationship might be a long-distance one if this continues. ‘Hmm...,’ she thinks and purses her lips.
Celine wants to marry for life, like her parents. They love each other deeply, and the tragedy their family experienced did not tear them apart. They seemed stronger now more than ever.
Her dad still blames himself for what happened, but her mom never did. She always said it was a tragedy and that they should rely on each other to be stronger.
Her parents were college sweethearts, and that probably made all the difference. The bond was stronger because there were deeper roots.
She wanted something like that, but she was never lucky enough in love. After the accident, they wouldn’t even let her go out with her friends. They finally let go when she started college, but nights like these were pretty rare. Her dad was still paranoid and did not let her out of his sight.
It took a long minute for her to answer. She thought, ‘I should go out with him, right? I worked so hard to win his attention all night, and now I’m backing out? This might not even go anywhere. Who knows?’
She said, 'Sure, call me the next time you’re in town. When are you leaving?'
'We’re not leaving until tomorrow night. Would you care to have lunch with me?'
She smiled, 'Sure, if you can find me.'
Max frowned, ‘Find her? I know where she works, and I don’t think she knows that.’ He didn’t understand what she meant, so he just shrugged it off. 'So I came here with my siblings and the company CEO. Would you like to meet them?'
Celine looked unsure. 'I know we just met, but if I’m going to see you again, why not get to know you now? It’s going to be fun, I promise.' Max raised his eyebrows in question. She agreed, and he smiled.
He walked her back to the group to introduce her to everyone. He began, 'Guys, this is Celine, we met in the restroom,' and everybody laughed, 'This is my brother Jeremy, my sister Clara and this…'
'Hi Mr. Colfer,' Celine said shyly.
Everyone knew Sebastian Colfer. He was in the news lately, and all the women in the city have fantasized about him being their husband. Max frowned at Celine’s reaction. ‘How does she know Sebastian? Did they use to date? You asshole!’ he glared at Sebastian. ‘You can’t have my sister and Celine at the same time.’ ‘I’m going to beat this guy up if he reveals he used to date Celine,’ his mind was racing with all these terrible thoughts, and he couldn’t help but keep on glaring at Sebastian. Jeremy shakes his head before finishing his drink and gazes into the empty glass. It was typical for his older brother to pursue a married w
Clara, Max, and Jeremy all grew up in the orphanage. That’s where they adopted one another as siblings. As young adults, this ragtag crew changed their last names to Johnson, in homage to the wrestler, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. They left Max at the orphanage when he was around 5 years old. Jeremy was only 2 during that time, so they had no recollection of their parents. Because the orphanage was very poor, they forced the older kids to care for the younger ones. This was to ensure that everyone would have someone to care for them and minimize the cost of hiring additional personnel. Max got assigned to Jeremy, and because of this, grew to love him as a younger brother. Occasionally, the boys gave into sibling rivalry, but the longing to have a family always kept them together. Clara was eventually added to the mix later when she got left outside the orphanag
When Mr. Wong’s business started failing. Another facility with more updated and high-tech gym equipment had opened up in the next city over. They claimed they were training better security personnel, taking most of their business. And because money was getting tighter, instead of competing head-on with their competitor. And perhaps going to debt just to buy top-of-the-line gym equipment, Clara suggested they venture out where they’ve never been before. To specialize in the technology side of the industry. A business that needs little to nothing in terms of capital. This was because they needed to supply the equipment only upon demand. It was slow going at first. Installing security cameras, monitoring systems, and intruder alert technology for single individuals and small family-owned companies, but as their clientele grew, so did their profit. Eventually, when the business kicked off, they were able to
It was 10 am, by the time the SST team re-surfaced and made their way to Navio’s headquarters. All they needed to do was iron out any loose ends and answer any of their questions. The Johnson siblings talked about what they should expect when the system is in use and all its limits and possibilities. Max did most of the talking. Clara looked like she wasn't up to it, spacing out most of the time and working on her laptop. Sebastian invited them to lunch before they left for San Jose, but Max declined, saying he had something he needed to take care of. Clara and Jeremy, on the other hand, accepted. They both felt embarrassed to say no after what happened last night, hoping this would be an opportunity to clear the air. Jeremy excused himself to go to the restroom. Max followed him, saying he needed to make a
‘Why do I feel like it’s my first date?’ Max felt so nervous he was sweating. This was not a feeling he was familiar with. He always had the confidence to face any task or person, but there was something about Celine that threw him off his game. It felt like this was one date he could not mess up because his life depended on it. ‘So how is your sister? Is she feeling any better?’ She asked when someone tapped her shoulder. ‘Celine, I saw you from the street. Why are you having lunch here? Does your lunch date know who you are? That you don’t eat at places like these?’ ‘At least if I was your lunch date, I would never have brought you here. It’s so dingy, and things look cheap.’ He swipes his finger on the table, coming up with nothing, but pretending there was dust on it, to show his disgust. Celine rolls her eyes. ‘Dante, nobody asked for your opinion. And this is my lunch date, not yours. You can leave.’ Dante is the son of one of the prominent families in San Diego. Plastered o
Max Clara has been quiet on the plane ride home, stewing in her thoughts. She has a lot of things to process about her identity, her parents, and her sister. 'I would probably feet the same way if I ever find out about my past.' 'Is she really Carmen Jacobs? What does that mean for Jeremy and me when she finally reunites with her family? Will they be welcoming to us? Will they ask her to move in with them?' Now he started to get nervous. 'I would like to think she would not abandon us for her actual family. After all, she spent most of her life with us already, we have become her family. I just hope we continue to be together. I can't bear to lose Clara. There I said it.'
‘Hey, kids!’ Mr. Powell says from the open door. After a round of hugs, he told them that records from the kids in the orphanage before they assumed management was missing.‘I asked them about all those records when we arrived, and they told us about a break-in years earlier. Those idiots trashed the whole place. Do you know what the biggest surprise was? The only thing the looters absconded with were records of all the kids living here. Since most of you guys have grown up and moved on, they never bothered to restore the missing data,’ he said. ‘I think the old caretakers should have fixed the records because there is always a chance that someone might return.‘Pa, were there any other pictures you could show us from before?’ Max asked hopefully.‘Nah, but
Jeremy texts Max that Sebastian is in the building. ‘Give me 15 minutes before you come to my office. And don’t forget to pay up.’ Sebastian Colfer is in their office, and Max knows he came to see Clara and nothing else. The brothers had been betting on the two CEOs ever since the Installation three weeks ago. Max guessed he would be there after the one-month mark. Believing Sebastian would hold out and pretend he was not that interested in his sister. Jeremy said it would be less, claiming the CEO wanted to hurry things along. His sister and Sebastian have been butting heads the whole time, but he could see that the attraction was not one-sided. Clara felt something, otherwise, she wouldn’t have risen to his bait. Typically, she would just walk out and give him the bird*, but she stayed the whole time. An