"Don't pretend not to know, Antony," Jovanka snapped. She was fed up with her cousin Altezza's pretense. "You were a witness at our wedding."
"Hmm... is that so? When was that?" He frowned, pretending to think. "Because as far as I remember, just a few months ago, I was a witness at my cousin's wedding. Which one of my cousins did you marry? Him?" He pointed his thumb at Gian, who was sitting on the long sofa on his right.
"Antony. I'm not joking. And your jokes are not funny!" Jovanka yelled.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Antony looked at Gian and Duncan alternately. Both men shook their heads. "So, Gian. Is this woman your wife?"
"Antony!" Jovanka stood up with rising anger. Her fists clenched. "My husband is Altezza Quirino!"
"Ahh... Altezza." Antony looked at Jovanka. Still with his casual attitude. "So he's your husband?" Jovanka gritted her teeth. Antony clapped his hands. "Oh, right. I forgot. Six years ago, I was there and witnessed your wedding." Antony said again. Jovanka sat back down. She couldn't read the man's mind.
"Where is he?"
"Who? Altezza? Didn't you just say you're his wife? Why are you asking me? You're not even living together." He replied flatly.
"Antony, I know you're hiding him."
"Gian, Duncan. Can you help this lady find Altezza? Who knows, maybe I forgot to keep him in my desk drawer or perhaps Altezza is in my bedside nightstand." Antony said to the two men beside him.
Gian and Duncan coughed to hold back laughter. Meanwhile, Jovanka looked at him cynically.
"Why? You said I'm hiding him. He surely isn't too big for me to hide in my desk drawer, right?" Antony replied. "Or maybe he's slipped between my credit cards?"
"Stop joking, Antony! I'm not in the mood for games!" She snapped again.
"Joe-Joe. Am I really that funny that you call me joking? And not just once you've said it." Antony gently rebuked. "Alright. This time I'm serious."
Antony tapped both sides of the armrest of his chair. Leaning towards Jovanka, his eyes locked onto hers.
"I. Am. Not. Hiding. Anyone." He emphasized each word.
"Altezza is an adult who can make his own choices. He's not a child I can order around as I please. Maybe when he was a teenager, I could still control him. But now he's not a volatile teenager anymore. So he has his own mind.
"And it seems like now he doesn't want to have any relationship with you anymore. That's why you're bothering to look for him here. When you don't need to go through this trouble if you just realize your position."
Jovanka looked at him with a murderous gaze.
"And let me tell you. Altezza is tall and big. So how could I hide him in my pocket? Sometimes you do sound strange," he said with a smirk.
"So, now you know that the man you consider your husband isn't here, right?" Antony glanced at the security guards who had been sitting behind Jovanka the whole time without her realizing.
"And because I'm still a gentleman. I will still give you options. Leave this office with dignity, or my employees will drag you out disrespectfully?" Antony nodded his head towards the two security guards behind Jovanka.
Jovanka stood up with her mouth agape, shocked by the presence of the two sturdy men she hadn't noticed before.
She rose from her seat with remnants of her grace, straightening her clothes unnecessarily, then walked out of Antony's office with her chin held high.
One of the security guards closed Antony's office door, and afterward, Gian burst into laughter.
"Do you remember the cartoons we used to watch when we were kids? Pink Panther? When he becomes thin? I imagined Altezza becoming as thin as that when you said to look for him in the drawers and nightstand." He laughed uproariously.
Meanwhile, Duncan tried to cover his laughter more elegantly. Antony still stared at the closed door with a troubled expression. Jovanka wouldn't give up easily. He could see that in her eyes.
Jovanka got back into her car with a rage that made her want to scream. And she did scream inside the car while messing up her hair.
It took her quite some time until she could finally calm down and regulate her breathing. Jovanka smoothed out her hair again and drove her car away from Coskun Company. There was only one place left for her to go, but compared to the three places she had visited before, this place would be harder to penetrate due to its tight security.
As the afternoon turned into evening, Jovanka still parked her car ten meters away from the Quirino residence. She could only stare at the door and hope that someone would come out because she knew she wouldn't be able to get in there, as the security guards stationed there would promptly kick her out.
Jovanka couldn't breach the high iron gate equipped with cameras like she had done at Altezza's office earlier. She also couldn't hire someone to enter in her place because the Quirino family clearly wouldn't accept just anyone.
The only option left was to either find a way in or wait for someone to come out. And it seemed like waiting for a servant to come out was the easiest option now. She had to find someone she could entice with money. A young servant would undoubtedly be easier to persuade.
Jovanka waited impatiently, so by four in the afternoon, she finally saw a young servant, not much older than her assistant, walking. And luckily, the woman was walking toward where Jovanka had parked her car.
Jovanka rolled down her car window and smiled as the woman approached. "Jo-Jovanka Lawrence?" The girl seemed wide-eyed at the sight of her. Her hands covered her mouth in surprise. Jovanka smiled. A new victim right in front of her.
"Can we introduce ourselves?" she asked, extending her hand. The girl wiped her hand roughly before shaking Jovanka's hand.
"I'm Rima."
"Rima. How long have you been working with Mrs. Delila?"
"Not long. Less than a year," she answered innocently.
"If I may ask, how much is your monthly salary? Because I have a job for you. And I'm willing to pay you three times your salary." The girl mentioned a figure that was quite surprising for a housemaid's salary. "Alright. I'll pay three times that. As long as you're willing to do what I ask." The girl nodded enthusiastically. And Jovanka gave her the instructions.