Baby Madness

Chapter 33

I spent my third day roaming around the company building because I was bored and I wanted to see the expressions of those board members. As luck would have it, Mr. Yu, the fox-looking geezer who tried to humiliate me yesterday, entered the elevator with me and it was already too late when he realized who I was.

"Good morning, Sir," bati ko at umatras naman siya. I smirked at his action and held my head high. "You seem uncomfortable."

He glared at me in return. "Just because you gained the approval of some members doesn't mean you have the right to—"

Sakto namang tumunog ang elevator at nagsimula akong maglakad kaya hindi na niya natapos ang sasabihin niya. Pero bago sumara ang pinto ay humarap ako sa kanya at kita sa mukha niya ang inis dahil sa ginawa ko.

"What an insolent brat," he grumbled. "Rudeness must be hereditary in your family."

Tumaas naman ang kilay ko sa sinabi niya at sa totoo lang ay gusto ko nang sabunutan ang matandang 'yon nang tuluyan nang mawala ang buhok sa ulo niya pero nagawa kong pigilan ang sarili ko. Instead, I gave him the sweetest smile I could offer.

"You know, respect shouldn't be freely given to old people. You should also earn it. Clearly, you don't deserve it so I guess my knack for someone's attitude is, indeed, a hereditary trait."

Before he could say anything, the door had already concealed his figure. I strutted toward the lobby and saw employees doing their own business. Balak ko sanang dumiretso sa right wing pero may nakita akong hindi kanais-nais. Paliko na ako nang bigla kong narinig ang pangalan ko. Damn it. He saw me.

"Chloe!" tawag niya kaya napilitan akong lumingon.

"Yes? What do you want?"

Shang Zuan smiled at me. Sinabayan niya akong maglakad at nag-offer siya na mag-coffee. Dahil hindi pa ako kumakain ay pumayag na rin ako. Isa pa, marami akong gustong itanong tungkol sa mga nangyayari sa company.

Dumiretso kami sa café sa floor na 'to at sinundan ko siya sa loob. Napunta kami sa parang veranda at mukhang doon ang gusto niyang pwesto. Pagdating ko ro'n ay napahinto ako sa paglalakad.

The view from here was breathtaking. The veranda overlooked the Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands, which looked like an exquisite painting in the morning.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" sabi niya at tumango naman ako.

Habang hinihintay namin ang order ay bigla naman siyang nagtanong.

"How long are you going to stay here?"

"Till tomorrow," sagot ko.

"Oh. I thought you'd stay longer."

Gusto ko na ngang umuwi. I wanted to say that but I held back.

"I have a question—I mean, questions."

"Go on," he said and he didn't know that he would regret those words.

Inulan ko siya ng tanong tungkol sa kumpanya at marami akong nalaman mula sa kanya. According to him, there are two factions: those who are siding my Dad and those who are siding Mr. Mao. Basically, the Mao faction opposes Dad's decisions and tries to bring him down because they think he's not capable of running the company. Shang and his father are allies of my Dad and he said that the other faction might outnumber them soon. As expected, Mr. Yu belongs to Mao faction.

"So yeah, that's why I thought you'd stay to help your father since your Mom isn't here," Shang said. "Well, I guess your Dad thinks you're still too young to handle this kind of mess."