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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Miss Brown, Keep It Down: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

78 Kabanata

Chapter 11: Blue Mugs and Quiet Earthquakes

It was the morning after the investors’ presentation.The office of Mason Equity Group buzzed not with the usual financial frenzy, but with something Katherine Brown would later call “post-apocalyptic awkward optimism.”The coffee machine sputtered like it had run a marathon. Someone had brought bagels, but no one dared touch the one with capers. And Katherine? She walked in fifteen minutes late, hair wild, earrings mismatched, her thermos in one hand and a stack of notepads in the other like she was storming a boardroom battlefield.“Good morning, chaos professionals,” she called as she entered the creative department, her voice bright and unapologetic. “Today we make magic, or at least pretend convincingly until 5:00.”The team responded with tired smiles — the kind that said she’s weird, but ours.Katherine dropped her bag, flopped into her chair, and immediately spun around in a full circle before slamming her hands on the desk.“We survived investors!” she yelled.“Barely,” mutte

Chapter 12: The Curious Case of the Cinnamon Latte

It started with a coffee. Not hers. Not the half-sweet, double-shot, almond-milk monstrosity Katherine usually ordered from the chaotic café downstairs that spelled her name as “Cateran” at least once a week. No. This was different. This one… appeared. Right on her desk. In a clean white cup. Lid sealed. No note. She stared at it suspiciously. “Did this… appear out of thin air?” she muttered. Cara looked up from her computer. “What?” “This cup. Was it always here? Am I hallucinating warm beverages now?” Cara blinked. “You okay?” “No, I’m questioning the metaphysical nature of coffee. Never better.” She picked it up. Warm. Smelled like cinnamon and witchcraft. She sipped. Her eyes widened. “Oh no,” she whispered. “It’s perfect.” --- Across the floor, behind glass that definitely wasn’t soundproof enough, Sebastian Mason pretended to be deeply invested in quarterly metrics. But every few seconds, his gaze flicked toward the creative department. And when Katherine smile

Chapter 13: Office Slow-Burn Championship

The Monday after the latte-with-a-heart incident arrived with all the subtlety of a confetti cannon. Katherine entered the office in a red blazer — unapologetically bright, wildly inappropriate for Q1 financial reviews, and paired with glossy heels that clicked like a declaration of war. War on boredom. War on gloom. War on whatever was happening between her and Sebastian Mason that was definitely not flirting. Definitely. Not. She strutted past reception, hair down, attitude dialed to eleven. She dropped her bag, spun into her chair, and announced to the room: “I’m feeling dangerously competent today.” Cara looked up cautiously. “Should I alert HR?” “Only if I get promoted before 11.” --- By Tuesday, the coffee cup came with a pun. Scrawled in tidy, slanted print on the lid: “Espresso yourself.” Katherine stared at it like it had personally proposed marriage. She picked it up reverently, turned toward Sebastian’s office — only to find him on a call again, as usua

Chapter 14: Tie Me Not

It was a Monday. A simple, tragically Monday-ish Monday. Grey sky. Cold coffee. Printer jam. And then— Katherine dropped her pen. Not because she was clumsy. (Though, she was.) Not because Jenkins had tried to microwave a tuna sandwich again. (Though, he had.) No. Because Sebastian Mason walked in. Without. A. Tie. She stared at him like he was an eclipse — fascinating, dangerous, and possibly illegal to look at too long. No navy silk. No burgundy power knot. Just crisp white collar, two buttons undone, and the quiet confidence of a man who knew exactly what he was doing. Katherine choked on her stapler. “Holy noose-free necklines,” she whispered. Cara glanced over. “You okay?” “No. I’ve just witnessed a cultural reset.” --- Sebastian, for his part, pretended like nothing was different. Which, for him, was already suspicious. He wasn’t one to “pretend” anything. He existed in absolutes. So why — why — did his absence of a tie feel like a declaration?

Chapter 15: He’s Glitching. That’s the Only Explanation

7:58 AM. Monday. Katherine Brown walked into the office carrying exactly three things: 1. A steaming to-go cup with Caution: Contents May Be Hot (Emotionally and Physically) scrawled on the sleeve. 2. Her laptop, precariously balanced under one arm. 3. Confusion. Because right there, on her desk, was a folder. A real, crisp, leather-bound folder. With her name on it. Her full name. Neatly embossed on a plaque. Katherine A. Brown. She blinked. Then looked around. “Is this... a prank?” Cara peeked over the divider. “What now?” Katherine pointed. “Who gave me a CEO-level folder? Is this an intervention?” “It was delivered half an hour ago. Special courier.” “A courier?! For me? Was it a horseman of the apocalypse in disguise?” Cara shrugged. “Honestly? Possibly.” Katherine opened it. Inside was a detailed prep for the upcoming Brand Strategy Forum. Everything was organized by topic, color-coded, indexed. Her own notes were woven in — edited gently, n

Chapter 16: You Had Me at “Quarterly Forecast

10:02 AM. Katherine sat in a painfully ergonomic chair in the sleekest boardroom she’d ever seen, trying very hard not to fidget with her pen. Or her dress. Or her nerves. The Brand & Expansion Investor Meeting was in full swing. Which basically meant: half the corporate world had shown up to judge them. The walls were glass. The table was mahogany. The water had labels. Sebastian stood at the head of the room, presenting quarterly growth like a man who had never once felt a single ounce of anxiety in his life. Crisp suit. No tie. Collar slightly open. Katherine was not okay. She told herself to focus on the slides. Instead, she focused on his voice. Low. Smooth. Like velvet dipped in thunder. She didn’t hear a word about the Southeast Asia campaign, but her brain somehow managed to record every inflection of his vowels. “Miss Brown,” whispered Cara beside her, nudging. “You’re staring.” “I’m observing,” she whispered back. “For science.” Sebastian turned slightly. Their

Chapter 17: Earthquakes in Heels

9:15 AM. Wednesday. The office air was charged. Not the caffeine kind. The pre-thunderstorm kind. Katherine stepped out of the elevator in wide-legged cream trousers, a coral blouse that said "I’m confident but haven’t slept", and heels that probably violated labor laws. Her hair was in a loose bun, with three rebellious strands doing their own thing — just like her. She didn’t know why everyone looked… tense. Until Cara whisper-sprinted to her side. “She’s here.” Katherine blinked. “Who?” Cara widened her eyes like she’d just uttered the name of a demon. “Maddison. Mason.” Katherine froze. “Oh.” The ex-wife. The mythical unicorn of backstories. The woman who once had a matching surname with Sebastian — and, apparently, still the entitlement to walk into the building like she owned it. “She’s consulting now,” Cara continued. “Brand strategy alignment. Just for the quarter, but… yeah.” “Wow,” Katherine muttered, adjusting her blouse. “Could’ve used a warning. Or holy wate

Chapter 18: Fire Drills and Fake Towels

Saturday, 3:07 PM. Sebastian Mason was doing what most emotionally constipated CEOs did on a Saturday — reviewing quarterly forecasts in his minimalist penthouse. Until… BANG. BANG. BANG. The door almost died from how violently someone knocked. He frowned, checked his watch, and opened the door like a man preparing to deny entry to the apocalypse. Instead — he found it. Katherine Brown. In nothing but a giant towel. Wet hair, flushed cheeks, manic grin. “Hi,” she chirped, as if she wasn't half-naked in the hallway. Sebastian blinked. “Miss Brown.” “I need a favor. And also a dryer.” “…What?” “My dryer exploded.” “Exploded?” “Well. It started making noises like a dying goat, then it started smoking. Which could mean demon possession or just cheap wiring. Either way, I panicked, grabbed the first towel I saw, and came here.” “You… walked up six floors. In a towel.” “Yes. I considered calling. But I had shampoo in my eyes and thought, ‘What would a san

Chapter 19: You Did What at 6 A.M.?

Sunday — 6:08 A.M. The doorbell rang. Twice. Katherine groaned from the depths of her duvet cocoon. She didn’t know what time it was, only that it was far too early for anything that didn’t involve croissants and no responsibilities. But the ringing continued. Then a knock-knock. Then… silence. She threw back the covers like a betrayed lover and stomped barefoot to the front door. “If this is someone trying to convert me to a new religion, I swear —” She yanked open the door. Empty hallway. Except. A large cream box sat quietly on the floor. Velvet ribbon. Handwritten tag. Her name. And somehow, the air around it felt… charged. Like he was still there. --- 6:15 A.M. The box lay open on her kitchen table. Flowers spilled out like a fever dream. Whites. Pinks. Rich blood-red blossoms. The scent wrapped around her like silk sheets — expensive, intimate, personal. Nestled in the center: a card. Heavy. Elegant. With his handwriting. "I can’t unsee

Chapter 20: Storm in a Glass Office

8:46 AM. Monday. The office was unusually silent for a Monday. No greeting chatter, no printer humming, no jokes near the espresso machine. Just eyes — shifting, darting, avoiding the corner office like it was cursed. Because it was. Inside the sleek glass walls of Sebastian Mason’s office, a storm raged. The soundproofing wasn’t enough today. Every now and then, a voice broke through like thunder, sharp and cold. “…You had no right —” “I don’t need your permission —” “Don’t you dare speak to me like that in my company—” People flinched. A stapler dropped. Someone faked a phone call. Someone else literally escaped to the bathroom. Only one person didn’t hide. Katherine strolled in, wearing his trench coat over a deep green dress and combat boots. Her curls were wild, her eyeliner sharp, and her smirk slightly too wide for 8 AM. She held a croissant in one hand and her tablet in the other, muttering, “Looks like someone’s having a full Monday special.” She didn’

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