His Nineteenth Secretary [✔]

Four

Back at home the same day, I had just finished taking a shower when I heard my phone ringing. There was no caller ID, but, I picked it all the same.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Good evening." A feminine voice greeted back.

"Sorry, but, who am I speaking with?"

"This is Phoebe." At first, the name didn't ring any bell, but realization soon dawned on me. That was the same name Mike introduced his new girlfriend to me as. "Mike's..." She was saying but I cut her off.

"I know who you are." I rasped.

Why is she calling me anyway?

"Please can we meet?" She asked.

"Why? Why should we meet?" I wanted to remain angry but somehow her quiet and nice voice made that impossible.

"There is actually something that I would like to discuss with you."

"Can't we discuss it over the phone?" I wiped off the water trailing down my left cheek before walking over to my dresser.

"I would like for us to discuss it in person instead."

"All right, then." I agreed though I so badly wanted to say no.

"Tomorrow at seven in the evening. Are you okay with that?"

"I should be free. Where?" I asked.

"Wherever is okay with you. I will come to meet you there."

"Okay, I will text you the address before the end of today."

"I'll be expecting it. Thank you so much."

I looked up job vacancies after texting her the address of where we should meet. I saw the one of MAXCO, an advertising company, which was in need of a secretary and it turned out the qualification wasn't too much of a problem.

I applied for it before checking others up.

*

In the evening of the following day, at 7:00 on dot, I entered the cafe I texted Phoebe for us to meet. There were a lot of people inside today, almost occupying all the seats and behind two teenagers, a boy and a girl about the same age, I spotted Phoebe.

That moment, our eyes met and she had waved at me. I walked over to the table she was seated at and sat on the empty chair before her. Looking at her closely, she looked younger and quite different from the last time that I saw her, maybe because she didn't have on any makeup this time.

"Good evening," She greeted cheerfully with a glint in her hazel eyes.

"Hi," I greeted back halfheartedly before adjusting the jean jacket I had on over a blush pink sweatshirt.

"I would like to order for a glass of caffè mocha, is that what you also want?" She politely asked.

"Yeah."

"Two cups of caffè mocha, please." She said to one of the waiters passing by us that moment. Our order was placed before us shortly after, from which she took a sip.

"Mmm!" She nodded her head with pleasure, savoring the wonderful taste. "Not bad." She took another sip.

Okay, now did she call me out to talk or to drink coffee?

"Why did you want us to meet?" I asked with my arms folded over my chest.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that." She set the glass back on the table and gently tucked her dyed blue hair behind her ear as well. "It's actually about what happened at Huggs restaurant three days ago. I had no idea why Mike did what he did at the restaurant. It must have been so humiliating and I'm so sorry about that." She apologized and I couldn't doubt the sincerity.

"You shouldn't be the one apologizing." I looked away.

"I just want to apologize on his behalf and in case you still haven't figured it out yet, I'm not his girlfriend," She revealed.

"What do you mean by you are not his girlfriend?" My cheeks and the area around my neck were beginning to heat up from confusion.

"That's because I'm his cousin." She said. I stared at her with incredulity.

"I'm telling you the truth. Want proof?" She didn't wait for my reply before pulling out her phone from her trouser pocket. She showed me a picture of the both of them, the one of which was a six year old Mike and a four year old Phoebe, together molding a car with the sand, at a beach with a beautiful smile on their little faces.

She went ahead to show me more pictures, there was the one they took on Mike's seventh birthday and many others.

"How come he never told me about you?"

"We had a fight years back, it was all my fault and it had been long since we last talked or saw each other until that night. The thing is, Mike must have a reason for doing that trust me. He wasn't himself after you left."

"If I may ask, how did you get my number?"

"I got your number from his phone that night while he wasn't looking." She explained to me.

Throughout the drive back home, I couldn't stop thinking about all that she had told me.

📌

What do you think is the reason why Mike broke up with her?