"He's at the hotel.""What?!" I exclaimed. "I just came from there, Paul and his assistant told me he was not around."I called Paul to ask Nate’s whereabouts. Of course, I won’t go to his house. For all I know, he banned me from entering the village.“Maybe in another branch.”“Where exactly?” I asked frustratingly. “There’s a lot of NS Hotels. Which one? Please, I only have a couple of hours left and then my landlord will throw away all my belongings if I am not back to get them.""Hannah, I'm sorry. I don't know. I'm going to fetch Elisha now.""Can you help me figure it out please?" I begged. "Please, I've nowhere to go. I need him to tell my landlord to give me more time.""You have his number, Hannah. Why don't you call him?""I- I don't have it." I deleted his number so I wouldn’t be tempted to call him then. "I deleted his number," I admitted."Jeez, Hannah, you're so complicated. I'll forward it to you. Call you later, I’m going to get Elisha.""Okay... Uhmn, wait... Could yo
"Nate." I didn't know where I got my courage, so I was standing in front of Nate now. His cold gaze was seeping in through my skin. It was barely twenty minutes after that mind-boggling kiss and yet it was as if I was with a totally different version of Nate Sarmiento. Making me wonder if the kiss really happened or not.I wasn’t in a hotel room a while ago. But in the very penthouse where the GM holds office. All I did was get out of the room and went to his office without permission."I- I don't know what you're up to, but I just want to beg you– spare my colleagues. I- I'll leave the company if that's what you want... I’m also no longer in my apartment. I'm sure your men already reported it to you-–" I paused when his eyes narrowed at me. "It's alright. I understand. I have already found a place to stay— uhm, so you can have your apartment.""What are you talking about?" he asked."The apartment? The one you bought five times the price just so I will lose a home?" I reminded him,
"Ms. Rodriguez, in my office now. Bring my coffee," Nate said via intercom.Sarah nodded at me and I did as told. I went to the pantry and made Nate his coffee.Since our workstation was one floor down from the GM's, we couldn’t see his arrival as he was using the elevator directly to his floor. Nate would usually announce his arrival by asking for his coffee.I went to the penthouse using the stairs that connected the two floors. Sliding the keycard, I realized that my hands were shaking and keeping the coffee still became a struggle. I felt nervous having to face Nate again. It took me a lot of effort to make myself appear relaxed when I knocked on the smoked glass door of his office."Come in," he said, and I wanted to slap my face for shaking even more at the mere sound of his voice."G-good morning, Sir," I greeted him when he came into view. And I almost gasped. He was so handsome even if he hadn’t lifted up his head yet to look at me. "Your coffee.""Put it right there," he g
"The GM is too early today. He's looking for you. He was wondering why you aren’t still here when you're just living downstairs?" Sarah told me when I got to work the next day. "He's here already?" I can't believe it. I'm one hour earlier than the official time. "Yup. And he seems to be in a bad mood. What did you do to him yesterday, huh? You both didn't go back.""We went to your sister's house," I answered."I know about that, Miriam told me. What I mean is, what did you do after that?""He drove me here and he went home.""Jeez, that boy. I don't know why he's not declaring his love to you yet. Tsk!""Sarah, maybe there's really nothing to confess," I proceeded to make Nate's coffee while Sarah followed me to the pantry. "Besides, I'm not his type.""And what do you know about his type?""Come on, the likes of Olive of course. Tall, fair, sexy, beautiful and—""A cheater?" She cut me off, rolling her eyes."They love each other.""You are the only one who keeps insisting that."
Body Heat.I couldn't believe I was considering it. Nate had eaten, he had taken his medicine and was back to his sleep. But he was really chilling despite the aircon being off. I already added his blanket, and even wore his socks. But none of them seemed to work.Lying beside him and hugging him was the last thing I was considering. I would often do that with Elisha before. But that was Elisha. She was my baby. Not the grown-up-super duper attractive man I am in love with.I drew a deep breath. First, I lied beside him but I didn’t slide inside his blanket. For a while it worked, then he got chills again. So okay, I decided to give him body heat. I slowly slid myself into his blanket and hugged him. I thought of the time when he hugged me to sleep when I was mourning the loss of my dad. Nate didn't leave me then and even made a way to bring back the smile on my face by taking me to the beach.Now was the time to repay his goodness. And maybe while I’m hugging him this way, I could l
I woke up a little bit heavy headed the next morning. It seemed like I caught Nate's cold. Or maybe because I have been crying the past few days.I was contemplating the things that I lost because of my stupid decisions.I shouldn't have left without talking to Nate first. Because of what I did, I left him with an impression that I never really cared about him and Elisha. And of all the things that he could accuse me of, it was the most painful.Because it was never an easy decision to leave them. I died every day for three months. And they didn't have any idea how hard it was to keep moving on when the very reason I was still alive was no longer in my life.I forced myself to get up from bed. I should come to work early today. I need to be there before Nate arrives. First step, be the ideal employee to Nate Sarmiento.Thirty minutes later, I was already at my workstation. Sarah wasn’t around yet. I cleaned our area before I went to the penthouse to clean Nate’s office. The only thin
Even if I wasn’t feeling well and Nate didn’t ask for my presence, I chose to stay beside him. I didn't want to leave him at this painful time in his life. But whenever Olive and Elisha were in the wake, I had to leave temporarily.That I almost forgot. Olive.There's still Olive in Nate's life. She was still the woman beside him at times like this one."Hannah." It was Adam. He saw me peeking at Nate, Olive and Elisha, who were currently talking to the people paying their respect to Benjamin for the last time. Most were just business partners, since Nate maintained his family matters private.I should’ve left the moment Olive and Elisha arrived. But I didn’t want to leave without seeing my baby first, even just from afar."Hey," I faintly greeted back."Why are you here? Go to Elisha," he urged."I- I can’t. Nate might get mad at me.""He has been waiting for you to do that, Hannah.""How did you know?" I weakly smiled at Nate’s younger brother.I understood that he was just trying t
"What was that, Nate?" I asked Nate, who closed the room's door behind him.Elisha was now out of earshot as Adam took her with him after much convincing that her mommy wasn't going anywhere."Can't you stay for Eli?" he asked back. He walked towards me, and pulled himself a chair to sit in front of me. Then he started to gently press a cold compress on my swollen cheek."You know that I'd do anything for Elisha," I answered, heartbeat fast at Nate’s proximity to me. I was more aware of his hand touching my skin than the cold compress pressed against it. “But how about you? Is it okay with you?""What do you think, Hannah?" He stopped what he was doing and just locked gazes with me."I- I can't really tell," I admitted.He sighed before pulling away."Please do this for Elisha. I want her to be happy," Nate pleaded."It's not like I can say no, right? I'm still working for you. So, I'm obliged to obey you." I smiled faintly. "But I really need to know if it's okay with you. I don't wa