They've been running here and there for the whole week and Cole Carlyle is really getting tired of the routine. If this is what a true business man normally do, then he's quitting.
"Ugh, I can't anymore! This is too much of a headache. " reklamo niya as he lean on his swivel chair and stretch out his long legs.
"Who's the one who started this whole thing anyway. You're the one who wanted to come clean and do legit business. " Alexi scoffed while putting another pile of documents in his desk.
"Well yeah. That's what I hired you for. You we're supposed to do all this Alexi. " he whined like a grade-school kid.
"Just because you have us, your team, doesn't mean all the work goes to us, idiot. May mga bagay na ikaw ang dapat umasikaso."
"I just wanted to go back to when I didn't have to deal with anything myself. " he groaned while thinking about his old life in Italy.
He checked the time in his wrist and it says it's 10:30 AM. He might as well get a coffee if he wants to keep going with work.
He stand up and put on his suit.
"San ka pupunta? Marami ka pang gagawin dito." Tanong ni Alexi sa kanya.
"I need to grab coffee downstairs. Take over. I'm so sick with the coffee they serve here."
Napailing nalang si Alexi saka ito naupo sa upuan niya.
"Hey what should I get you?"
"Just go. Katatapos ko lang uminom ng kape kanina. And hey, do me a favor Cole. Don't wander around. We don't have a tight security around right now."
"You know I don't need that. "
"You know that the whole team could get killed if something were to happen to you right? "
"I'll just get myself a coffee. What else could go wrong?" He said turning his back on Alexi.
"Cole! I said... "
"I heard you the first time. Don't worry." He said in a serious tone.
He may look a bit playful sometimes but the real him is totally different from what people see now. At hindi nya rin masisisi si Alexi na wag syang paalalahanan mayat maya. His family would flip if something bad happens during his stay here. And the last thing he want is for them to come here.
He went inside the elevator and pressed the G button. It took him minutes to get to the ground floor. And when he got off, he was met by the buzzling of employees dressed in they're office attires and coming in and out of the elevators.
Naglakad papunta sa Starbucks. The ladies in the front desk recognized him and greeted him politely. Mayat maya'y may mga empleyado ring bumabati sa kanya. And he would nod and would give them a curt smile.
He stopped in front of Starbucks and frowned. It's closed. He wonders why the coffee shop's closed in a busy Monday. He called the guard who happened to walk by and ask why it was close.
"Sir, may leak daw yung water pipe kaya bumaha. May repair at maintenance pong ginagawa sa loob ngayon kaya sarado."
Tumango nalang sya. "Sige. Salamat."
He loosened his necktie feeling the waft of hot air from outside since he's only a few meters away from the entrance door. God, why is it so hot in this country? He could barely stop sweating when he's outside.
He look through the rows of restaurants and food chains there but nothing seems familiar to him. The only thing he knows of is Starbucks and it's close.
Oh wait, there's one.
Naglakad sya papuntang 7eleven. Nakapuwesto yun malapit sa entrance ng building.
He pushed the glass door and he heard the chime that's dangling at the corner of the door frame.
Luckily they don't have customers yet. Napansin rin nyang dalawa lang ang emplayado na naron. Nasa likod ng counter yung isa habang yung isa ay nagaayos ng mga items sa estante.
He walked around the convenience store a bit, checking out some food and drinks that are new to him. Saka sya dumampot ng ilan sa mga yon giving in to his curiosity.
Then he went to the counter and put the snacks on top. After that he asked for a brewed coffee.
"One moment Sir. "
He nodded and looked around. He then noticed the other staff, piling the plastic crates on top of one and another. He leaned and put the weight of his waist at the edge of the counter and watched the thin girl out of curiousity.
His brow went up while watching her.
Yumuko ito at hinawakan sa magkabilang gilid ang crate na nasa ilalim saka bumuwelo at binuhat iyon ng walang kahirap-hirap. He smirked when he saw some of the bread falling from the top crate.
Sloppy.. He kept the snide comment to himself.
Then another pieces of bread fell and he couldn't help himself from rolling his eyes.
He couldn't help himself anymore and walked towards the lady and picked the bread on the floor one by one.
"Wait, you dropped some." He said with furrowed brows. He crouched and picked each one.
He stood up and had a close look at her face. It was a heart shaped and small face. And now that he's this close to her he couldn't help but hide the twitching of the corner of his lips .
He could mistake her for a kid. She barely reach the height of his chest.
Cole couldn't help but study the tiny woman in front of him.
She's wearing a cap that has the store's logo on it. It hides the length and color of her hair. And she's also wearing glasses. He didn't missed to notice the freckles on top of her cheeks and her nose.
She's not wearing any make up either. Wasn't she told that being 'presentable' is a minimum requirement even for a convenience store's employee? Not that his complaining.
Then his gaze went down to her lips, it's soft pink. Her upper lip is so thin yet the lower lip have just the right amount of thickness. But over all, she simply just look plain and a pushover.
He put the pieces of bread back to the crates with his serious face. Salubong parin ang mga kilay nya. He couldn't understand but seeing this weak looking woman brings back bad memories.
"Salamat po." She said with a husky yet soft tone of voice.
"If you we'rent that sloppy hindi mo na sana ako naabala."
She's too busy carrying the crates. And she's not even giving him a single glance. Is she even listening?
Well, that's a first for him.
The cashier called. Napatingin sya sa counter at nag-angat ng kamay as if telling the cashier to wait for a moment. He turned his head back to the lady with the crates but to his surprise, she's already gone. He frowned. Did she just walked out on him?
He was just about to offer help and carry the crates for her. Didn't she know who he is? Almost everyone in this building knows him. She's basically uninterested with him based on how she ignored his presence just now. He's somehow pissed. He shrugged the thought and went back to get his coffee.
Since then, he kept coming back to the covenience store for coffee. Even though nagbukas na ulit si Starbucks. He's getting used to the taste of that store's cheap coffee. He's not even missing he's double shot americano from Starbucks this days. But even so, he never saw the lady again.
"Wala ba kayong staff dito na babaeng nakasalamin? Petite and she's about this tall?" He asked while putting his hand in the air showing how tall the girl she's looking for is. At last he couldn't help himself anymore to ask about her.
Cole can't even understand himself.
This time, lalake ang nasa cashier at mabilis nyang nakapalagayan ng loob.
"Ahh. Baka si Jin ang hinahanap nyo Sir. Nagkasakit kasi yung kapatid nya kaya ilang araw na hindi pumasok. Pero mamaya nandito na yon. Bakit nyo po pala sya hinahanap Sir? " nagtatakang tinignan sya ng lalakeng cashier.
So that's her name huh? Cole thought to himself.
He kept his poker face and shook his head. The cashier had this look of curiosity in his face. So he just said ...
"Oh, it's just that i want to ask her about the bread here. I might send my assistant to get me one soon." Cole knew, what he said didn't even make sense. Obviously ,he could ask this guy for that.
What the fck am I even saying?
Gusto nya tuloy batukan ang sarili nya. He shouldn't have asked about her in the first place.
The cashier nodded though he seemed not convinced with what he heard. Then another staff came behind the counter. She was staring at Cole openly. It's the first time she saw her and her uniform is somewhat different from the cashier. He had guessed that the lady is the manager of the store. Cole didn't gave her a glance. He had enough of this type of incidents with this kind of women before, that's it's getting boring already. He took his coffee on the counter and left.
What he didn't see was the hungry stare that the store's manager was giving him as he walked out.
"Just where the hell did you ran of to this time Mr. CEO?" It was Alexi standing in the middle of the room with crossed arms like he just got there, just like him.
He kept his blank expression and walked towards his executive desk. He reached for his chair and sat there.
"Coffee, obviously. "
Alexi sighed. "I came to tell you na parating na ang auditors natin from Italy this coming weekend."
He took a sip of his coffee. "Wonderful. Tell them to get to work immediately and finish the job as soon as possible. Aaand.. I need you to make copies of all the important documents, all the statement of accounts that we found out, including the dummy ones. Send the original ones at my place. And also contact the biggest auditing firm here."
Alexi had this questioning look on his face. "What for? Parating na ang team natin to do the audit."
Umiling sya saka binuksan ang laptop sa harapan nya. "If we want to catch the culprit, we will need someone to back us up. We don't need them to do anything, we're just borrowing they're name and authority to put the enemy straight to jail."
Alexi stood there and stared at Cole for a moment. As much as he'd seen how Cole run his empire, he still gets amaze everytime. Sometimes he wonders why he still goes to work when clearly Cole can manage everything brilliantly without his help.
He grinned at Cole. "So you're gonna get someone to do the 'dirty' work for you. " Boy, his boss is just simply an evil genius.
Cole kept his focus on his laptop while typing non-stop. The view of Cole looking all serious reminds Alexi of what his boss is truly are. This, right now, is the real Cole Carlyle. The serious and dangerous him.
"Of course , we can't let them know that. At least let them think they're doing something. Give them copies of those documents. The one's they only need to see. We just have to lay all the evidences and wait for them to pick up the pieces and put it all togother."
Alexi was left speechless. Cole's plan is flawless he had to admit.
Cole looked up with a lazy smile plastered on his face. "I told you already. I only do legit business now. Ayokong madikit ang pangalan ng Morgan Capital o ang pangalan ko sa pagpapakulong ng isang tao."
Alexi shook his head, grinning. "Alright, I'm off. Sya nga pala, pinaakyat ko si Franc. He's just outside if you need anything."