CHAPTER 5

The funeral was just last week, but the way the company changed in so many ways made it felt like it had already been a month ago. 

I left my apartment 45 minutes ago because I thought I needed to be early for the meeting. Yup, another meeting called by the boss, Spencer Johnson. It was scheduled for 10 o'clock and it's only twenty minutes past seven but the heavy traffic in the metro made it impossible to even make it on time. That's when I decided to just ditch my Uber driver and walk my way to the building. 

I took a reroute by the FestiveWalk Mall where only VIP cars were allowed to pass by. This could've been a cure to the heavy traffic if only I had my own car instead of some lousy Uber cab that barely took me to my destination. 

Four minutes passed by, and a red Lamborghini Aventador stopped before me. It beeped twice before it opened the driver's window down. “Hop in.” It was the tall guy I met in the Johnsons’ villa. 

“No, I'm fine. Thank you.” 

The guy took off his LV sunglasses to cast a sharp look at me. “Are you going to hop in or not?” He asked, this time his eyebrows raising. 

I looked around to see if anyone's seeing me. When I figured there's none, I surrendered myself to the highly expensive car. 

“It’s you again,” the first thing I said when I got seated. 

“Fortunately.” The engine started and it reminded me of the reason why I never like sports cars at all. They were low and noisy. 

“Are you in a hurry?” 

“Not really. My first appointment is at 10,” I replied. “But I still need to arrive in the office before 9 o'clock just in case my boss needs me.” I opened my bag and drew out some reports I made last night. 

“What are you doing?” He asked, he must've seen me rummaging through the files. 

“Reviewing my notes?” I answered with my eyes still focused on the highlighted areas of the papers. 

“Quit it. You will still have time for that later.” He took a curve to the left of the mall, completely opposite to where I was supposed to be heading. 

“Excuse me? But where are you taking me?” I asked, at this point, I was already panicking. 

“Calm down, I am not going to kidnap you if that’s what you are thinking.” 

“Then where exactly are you going to take me? It wouldn’t hurt to let me know,” I insisted.

The guy, whom I still did not know the name of, just winked at me with a stifled smile. “Yes, it won’t. But it would certainly ruin the surprise.” 

I surrendered to the backrest of my seat and did not say a word for the next fifteen minutes of the drive. Instead, I opened my phone and scrolled in the dating app until I felt the engine turning down. 

As I looked up, I realized I was in a place I had never been before. It was a tri-tower skyscraper, each of its buildings atop with a satellite like the ones the SPA Network Corporation owned. Private vans roamed busily around the compound, while luxury cars extravagantly paraded in front of the center building. 

I fell into such awe. I couldn’t help but just skip a beat. “What the heck is this place?” I whispered. 

“Just shut up and follow me,” the guy who drove me said as he walked ahead. 

We found ourselves sitting in a dining restaurant, boxed in a room with no one else but us. Everything was etched in red and gold; from chandeliers to statues; utensils to chairs; literally everything. 

“Why are we here? I’m not even hungry,” I claimed. 

“I haven’t had my coffee this morning and I thought maybe you could give me some company,” he replied after he called his order to a waiter wearing a red uniform with a golden logo carved on the chest— The Crest. 

“You seemed so comfortable in here. Do you often go here?” 

“Every single day.” He smirked. “Are you sure you don't want some coffee?” 

“I'm good.” I looked at the window on the right to see the view of the two other buildings. Upon a closer look, I realized there are logos on it as well— the very same name this restaurant had. 

“The Crest.” These words came out of my mouth without me noticing it. 

“Sorry, what was that?” The guy asked, halting his cup of coffee in the air. 

“Nothing. I — I'm just wondering why I haven't seen this place before. It's not familiar either, I doubt I've heard it already.”

“You haven't heard it for sure.” He smiled again, this time, much brighter than the ones I've previously seen from him. 

“Why do you think so?” 

“The corporation is new. It just started its full operation last week.” 

“Oh, really? Now it makes sense why everything seemed so contemporary. I like it!” 

I diverted my gaze back to him. The way the ambient lighting of the room reflected in his eyes drew my attention. I looked at his face, and this had been the only time I realized he had the most perfect features I've seen. Clean, thick eyebrows; soft, rosy lips, smooth, flawless skin. Everything about his face reminded me of the Greek Gods— like Apollo or Adonis. 

When he smiled again, it was over for me. 

“You said you like it, right?” He asked. 

I justified my answer. “Yes. I like it. It feels like the kind of environment I could survive. It's soothing and refreshing.” 

“Well, you can also have them if you like,” he said in a shy whisper as he bowed down to take another sip of his coffee. 

Our quick stopover at the restaurant in The Crest did not last long as we both figured that I needed to be at the SPA Network now. The guy drove me there, and in only less than twenty minutes, I arrived. Just in time before the clock struck nine. 

He dropped me off and I watched him drive away. When he finally disappeared from my sight, it's when I realized I forgot to ask for his name again. 

I entered the building. When I made it to the lobby, a colleague of mine called. 

“Where are you?!” She went right off the bat, no hi nor hello, not even a good morning. 

“I'm on my way now to the elevator. Will be there in two minutes. Why?” 

“I need you to update the report immediately! We need to present it to the bosses during the meeting!” Divine said. I could hear her panting from the other side of the phone. “I will send you the files you need to work on with.” 

Bombarded by her words, the only thing I said was, “Okay.” 

As I ended the call, a file had been sent to my email. I went to check on it as I walked my way to the elevator. 

Upon opening the file, familiar words written in bold letters presented themselves on the front page. 

CREST NETWORK CORPORATION 

I slid onto the second page and it brought me to the landscape of the network and the owner's profile. 

Chills slowly crept its way to my veins when I realized I was in this exact same building thirty minutes ago. And the guy I spent the time there with? He was the founder. 

COLTON CREST. 

The guy who drove me to work. The guy I ate with at Johnson's funeral. The guy I matched with on the dating app.

He's becoming our company's biggest problem.