All Chapters of The Afterburn of Tempation: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"Oh my god. No, no, no. This cannot be happening."The sheets felt like pure silk against my skin, but my heart was pounding like a jackhammer. Slowly, I turned my head to the left.Beside me, was The Zhean Phete Valeriano. "Shit," I muttered, keeping my voice to an absolute whisper. "Argh! Alessa, ano'ng ginawa mo?!"I remembered the bar last night.The heartbreak over my ex. And then... him. One thing led to another, and now I was here.I slid out of the bed as quietly as a cat. Just as my hand touched the doorknob, a deep, raspy voice echoed through the room."Leaving without saying goodbye?"I froze. I slowly turned around, forcing a very awkward smile. Zhean was propped up on one elbow. His dark hair was messy, and his sharp eyes were locked onto me. "Ah... hi," I squeaked out, shifting my weight. "Good morning.""Is it?" He sat up, completely unbothered by revealing his sculpted chest. "Usually, people wait for the sun to actually come up before they sneak out like thieves."

It had been three consecutive days since I made the decision to ignore him and surprisingly, he didn't bother me at the office either. I think it was because he was too busy toying with his other girls."Dalian mo, Alessa. Baka mapagalitan tayo ni Miss A," bulong sa akin ni Karen habang inaayos ang maikling satin na palda ko.Nandito kami ngayon sa locker room ng Obsidian, isang sikat na VIP bar sa Bonifacio Global City. Dahil sa sunod-sunod na bayarin at sa kagustuhan kong makaipon para makaalis sa puder ng Valeriano Corporation, pinasok ko ang pagiging part-time cigar girl dito. Si Cassie ang nagpasok sa akin dito, at kasama rin namin si Karen na nag-aabot naman ng mga mamahaling inumin. "Kaya mo 'yan, gurl. Ngiti lang sa mga mayayaman, bibilhin nila kahit buong kaha," pagpapalakas ng loob sa akin ni Cassie sabay kindat bago kami lumabas sa mausok at maingay na VIP floor.Nagpalakad-lakad ako, iniiwasan ang mga bastos na tingin ng mga kliyente."Isang pack nga ng Cohiba, Miss," taw

The days had passed and Zhean was extremely busy traveling overseas for his international business meetings. It was a blessing in disguise. I finally got the chance to take a rest physically and mentally. "Saan ba talaga tayo? Is it La Union or Palawan?" tanong ni Alexis habang sumusubo ng pasta.Nasa isang cozy cafe kami malapit sa office para mag-lunch. Kasama ko sina Alexis, Karen, Cassie, Joyce, Dave, Vince, and of course, Brion."Kahit saan, basta may dagat at preskong hangin," nakangiting sagot ko.Brion, who was sitting beside me, chuckled softly and leaned in. "Kung gusto mo ng relaxation, Palawan is the best choice.""Palawan it is then!" deklara ni Vince, adjusting his glasses while checking his phone for flights. "Sakto, the long holidays are coming next week. I'll book the flights and the beach resort for us."Everybody cheered. Just the thought of leaving Manila's heat and traffic made me feel lighter.After a grueling, tiring week of rushing reports and endless deadlin

"Let's get straight to the point," basag ni Zhean sa katahimikan. " This shipment delay cost us a massive amount. I want to know exactly what went wrong and how it affected our bottom line." "Good morning, everyone," pormal kong simula. "As you can see in the report, the logistics delay severely impacted our Q3 deliverables and incurred heavy demurrage charges." "We tried to mitigate the risks the moment we received the advisory from the port authorities" "But we couldn't reach out to the shipping lines but they kept withholding the duration until it was too late to reroute cost-effectively." paliwanag ni Mr. Mendoza. "I don't want any excuses, Mr. Mendoza. I want you to call them immediately and fix this mess right now." malamig na wika ni Zhean . "I want a risk mitigation audit on my desk by the end of the week. Ms.Salesa ,I want you to personally oversee the financial recovery plan and report back to me." Dagdag pa nito at tinapunan ako ng tingin. Tumango lang ako

Inayos ko ang buhok ko, pinunasan ang natitirang luha sa aking mukha, at sinigurong maayos ang itsura ko bago lumabas ng restroom. Pagbalik ko sa table, agad napansin ni Brion ang mukha ko at nag-aalalang nagtanong, "Alessa, are you alright?"Pilit akong ngumiti at nagsinungaling. "Medyo sumama lang ang pakiramdam ko."Hindi na siya nagtanong pa at agad tinawag ang waiter. "Bill, please."Mabuti na lang at tapos na rin kaming kumain. Akala ko ay magkakatalo pa kami dahil gusto ko sanang i-share ang bayad, pero pinigilan niya ako agad. "Brion, let's split the bill—""No, I insist," mabilis niyang putol habang iniaabot ang credit card. Wala na ako sa mood makipagtalo kaya hinayaan ko na lang at nagpasalamat. Paglabas namin ng restaurant, sinabi niyang ihahatid niya na ako pauwi sa aking apartment. Ilang sandali pa, huminto ang kotse niya sa tapat ng tinutuluyan ko. Bago ako bumaba, tinapunan ko siya ng tipid na ngiti. "Thanks for the dinner and the ride, Brion."Bago ko pa mabuksan ang