Chapter 4

“KYLE, why didn’t you go to the meeting with the senior citizens? They were waiting for you yesterday!”

Kyle was shocked upon hearing Ramius. “Meeting? I was not informed.”

“Will you please ask your secretary?”

Kyle touched his forehead as if it was hurting. “I’ll call you later. I will talk to Veronica firsts.”

Kyle called his secretary and she quickly came. “What is it, Sir?” she asked innocently as if she hadn't ruined something.

“Was there any invitation from the senior citizens that you forgot to give me?”

“There was an invitation, Sir, but I didn’t forget to give it to you. I put it on your table the other day. I just forgot to tell you about it because I did it while on your lunch break,” Veronica replied. She lowered her head, it looked like she was getting scared of him.

“And you confirmed my attendance?”

“Yes, Sir. Because you don’t have any appointments during the time of the meeting. I sent you a message about that before I got home.”

“Why didn’t I receive it? Are you sure?”

“Y-yes, Sir,” she replied. She looked guilty and scared at the same time.

Kyle took a deep breath and tried to calm himself because Veronica looked pitiful. He picked up his phone and looked for the message that Veronica sent but he can’t find anything.

“Sir, did you try to look at your spam message? It can happen sometimes,” she said, head still lowered.

And she was right. Kyle felt pain in his head. It was a chance for him to campaign himself subtly. The problem was, maybe the senior citizens were already disappointed in him for not showing up yesterday. The supposed merit point has become a demerit. Coaxing the senior citizens would be a headache to him for sure.

“Next time, if you received invitations like this, just give them to me personally. And before you confirm my attendance, ask me first.” He wanted to be mad at Veronica, scream at her but he pitied her.

“Strike one, I can let that go,” he told himself.

“Yes, Sir. I’m really sorry.”

Kyle just nodded his head. Veronica turned her back and quickly went out of his office. He looked for the invitation on his table, it was covered by the documents that he was studying. He sighed for the nth time.

***

Vindicta smiled slyly when she returned to her desk. She had made sure everything was taken care of the other day before she went home because she knew Kyle would discover about the meeting with the senior citizens.

Of course, all that she said were lies. And the text message, she knew that it would only go to his spam message. That was all Allison’s doing. Now, she had to plan their step two. That night, Veronica went to Allison.

“For now, it would be difficult to put holes in Kyle De Dios, so we need to target the people that are close to him,” Allison suggested.

“What do you mean by that?” Veronica asked, then took a bite of her food.

“His uncle is in the country right now. He has a history of gambling addiction. He consumed all the money he inherited on gambling. In short, he was penniless, it is easier to bait him. I will advise you when you can move to lure this man. We need to ask the Mayor for some funds, you know.”

Vindicta nodded and continued eating. She suddenly remembered Kyle’s face when he knew about the meeting that he could not attend. His face was red with anger but he did not shout at her.

She felt a sense of guilt even though she did not want to. That was nothing compared to all the things she had done before but this time, she felt a pinching in her heart. With her kind of job, she already lost her sense of guilt. It was just a job, nothing personal. She was not sorry for all the things she did. Having a weak heart was not allowed. Her mission was her only focus, it did not matter who will be stepped on. She has to finish the job, no matter what it takes, no matter who would be hurt. But this time…

“What’s with that face?” Allison asked with a knotted forehead. Vindicta shook her head. “Don’t tell me—”

“I won’t tell you so please shut up,” she answered quickly, not letting Allison finish what she was saying.

“Seriously, Vindicta? You haven’t done something cruel as of now, you didn’t even put the slightest effort into doing step one. We will do the cruel things next time, and you know that. This is only the tip of the iceberg but right now, I am already having doubts about you. Have you already forgotten our rules? When someone falls in love, she will be out in this job automatically right? We can’t do this job when we fall in love because that would be a hindrance. Men will make us vulnerable. It’s either this or the guy. When Roma finds this out—”

“Who is in love?” she asked with a sly smile.

“I’m just reminding you.”

“I know the rules.”

Vindicta stood up. “I will go home. I’ll be back here when you think of our next move.” She did not wait for Allison to answer. She turned her back on her and left quietly.

***

“The senior citizens were really disappointed. They have been waiting for you,” Ramius told Kyle. His cousin visited him at the office.

“Veronica made a mistake. You know, she’s new. I will make sure to explain myself. I will go to them now. Do you want to come with me?”

“You should train your secretary well. This will be bad for your campaigning. The election is getting near, and this kind of mishappening happens.”

“Stop with the sermon, Ramius.”

“Where is your secretary, anyway? I didn’t see her outside.”

“It’s lunchtime, maybe she is in the cafeteria. Let’s go.”

Kyle saw Veronica on their way out of his office. The woman smiled and nodded a little to greet them. He walked towards her. “You take charge here while I am gone. I need to go somewhere,” he told his secretary.

“Yes, sir.”

He was about to walk towards the elevator but he heard his cousin talking to Veronica. The monkey was introducing himself. When he looked back, he saw his cousin shaking hands with Veronica.

“Are you free tonight?” Ramius even asked Veronica.

Veronica smiled but did not answer.

“Ramius, let’s go,” he interrupted his cousin. “I told you to never flirt with my employees.”

Ramius frowned at him then got back to Veronica with a smile. “We are going. Let us talk again when the antagonist is not here.”

Veronica nodded with a smile and Kyle did not like it. Did that mean that she sees him as the antagonist too? He stopped himself from overreacting. “Let’s go, Ramius.”

“Coming,” Ramius replied sullenly. “Kyle…” They were already riding the elevator.

“What?”

“Do you want me to train Veronica so she can be an efficient secretary?” the monkey asked with a sly smile on his lips.

“You are full of bullshits. Spare Veronica, do not put her on the list of your women. Can’t you see how innocent her face is?”

Veronica’s smiling face suddenly flashed through his mind. Her face was small, with round eyes, a sharp little nose, and thin lips. She was the prettiest secretary he ever had. It was like she cannot break a plate or kill a mosquito. She was always conservative and always had a smile on her lips.

Kyle took a deep breath when they reached the office of the senior citizen’s organization. The president of the organization greeted him with a frown. “Mr. Gregorio, I’m really sorry. The truth is your invitation has not reached me earlier.”

“Really? And yet your secretary confirmed your attendance,” Mr. Gregorio replied, full of doubts.

“I am really sorry, Sir. It’s just that my secretary is new.”

“What else can we do? What’s done is done.”

“I am here because I want to make it up to you.”

***

“He will treat the senior citizens to lunch. I have prepared everything. I have booked the venue. You know what to do, Allison,” Vindicta told Allison on the other line.

“Of course, I know what to do. Anyway, the mayor agreed to our plan with Kyle’s uncle. I will tell you what to do soon.”

“Okay.”

Vindicta stood up and shook off the dirt at the back of her jeans. She was at the abandoned house in front of Kyle’s. She saw Kyle went out of his house. He was wearing white walking shorts, a pink V-neck shirt, and slippers. She smiled. Kyle looked cute with his get-up. She was stunned by her own reaction. Cute? Seriously, Vindicta? Seriously?

She followed Kyle but she made sure that he would not be suspicious that someone was tailing him. He went into a convenience store. She saw him pick a pack of instant noodles from one of the shelves from the outside. Vindicta shook her head. He has a lot of money but he was eating at a convenience store, take note, eating instant noodles for Pete’s sake!

Vindicta ran to get home quickly. She changed her outfit to Veronica’s. After changing clothes, she ran to the convenience store again. She felt relieved when she saw that Kyle was still there.

When she caught his attention, she acted surprised. “Sir,” she greeted him.

“Do you live nearby?” Kyle asked her. She nodded her head while smiling. “Let’s eat. Have you had dinner already?”

“I haven’t,” she replied. “Excuse me for a second, Sir.”

Vindicta took pasta from the cooler and paid for it. “Your name, ma’am? We will call you when your food is ready,” said the cashier. They need to heat the pasta for a few minutes.

“Vin… Veronica.” She almost revealed herself.

“This will be ready in three minutes.”

She nodded then got the bottled juice that she bought. She walked towards Kyle who was busy eating his instant noodles. “You’re not cooking too?” Kyle asked her.

“I can’t cook.”

“No one in your house cooks?”

“I am alone in my apartment.”

“We’re the same.”

“How about you, Sir? You don’t know how to cook too?”

“Well, I can fry stuff,” he replied then smiled.

Vindicta paused for a moment. Kyle should stop smiling like that. That was not healthy for her because when Kyle smiles, the time stops for a while. That was a bad sign.

“You should find a girl who cooks then,” she jokingly told him.

“I already thought about that,” he said then laughed. “You too, find a man that can cook excellently.”

Vindicta smiled because it was as if they were telling each other that they were not good for each other. They will both starve to death when together.

“Miss Veronica, your carbonara is ready.”

Veronica stood up to get her food when she heard the cashier. She was used to eating instant foods. Allison was just like her. If they do not eat instant food, they will order cooked meals from fast-food restaurants. She never learned cooking because she grew up living with women who can’t cook.

“Veronica…”

“Sir?”

“Do you think we will soon get sick eating all this instant stuff?” Kyle asked seriously. Vindicta stopped herself from laughing because she thought Kyle would ask her something serious.

“The risk of getting sick is high, Sir,” she replied, smiling.

Kyle was about to say something but their attention was caught by the little boy who was knocking on the convenience store’s glass wall. In her estimation, the kid was seven to nine years old. He looked dirty, not even wearing a slipper. He raised one hand and showed his palms as if asking for alms.

Kyle stood up and went outside. She saw him walking towards the boy. Kyle brought the boy inside the store. She cannot remove her eyes from the two. She can hear what Kyle was saying because the store was tiny.

“You can get anything you want,” Kyle told the boy. The boy smiled and picked a bar of chocolate.

A little later, the boy was with them at the table. Vindicta just kept on looking at the boy while he was eating bread. “What is your name?” Kyle asked the boy.

“I am Noknok,” the boy replied, his mouth full of food.

“Where are your parents? Where do you live?”

“We are homeless,” Noknok said.

Vindicta quietly listened to Noknok’s life story. His family was living in a handcart. He has two siblings younger than him. Vindicta felt sympathy even if she didn’t want to. Her life was not normal but not as hard as this little boy’s life.

She was stunned when she saw Kyle stood up to buy more food. “Here, share these with your family. Don’t worry, Noknok, I will try to help you as much as I can.”

Noknok smiled, a smile that was full of hope and gratitude. She clearly saw how the kid’s eyes sparkled with joy. She knew that feeling, the feeling of being saved. Roma had saved her before. Different situations but it was the same feeling. Roma gave her hope when she lost everything. Kyle was Noknok’s Roma.

Her heart felt like ripping thinking about that. Will she really mess with Kyle’s image? She would destroy his heart of gold. She just really wished that he could still find forgiveness in his heart after her mission was done.

“Are you okay, Veronica?” Kyle asked her. Noknok was not there anymore. He happily said goodbye and thanked them. “You’re quiet.”

She shook her head. “I just pitied the boy. I am thinking about the things he told us”

“Yeah, that kid should be studying at a formal school. There are a lot of things to be fixed here in Aldemar. If I would be the mayor of this place, issues like Noknok’s will be my priority.”

Vindicta’s conscience was eating her. Kyle would not be Aldemar’s mayor no matter how clean his intentions were. She was paid to stop him from ruling that city. And she was a professional. Her opinion did not weigh during missions.

“Is that really your dream?” she asked him out of the blue.

“To be Aldemar’s mayor?”

Vindicta nodded.

“Yes,” Kyle replied. “Even as a kid, I really wanted to govern Aldemar and make this a progressive town. I love this town and I don’t like how the Lizardo’s governing here.”

“Don't you just want power?”

“I want power not to step on other people but to make Aldemar better.”

Vindicta smiled and nodded. “What if you don’t win?”

“I will still serve in a different way. I am extending help even if I am not a politician but I can help more if I become one.”

“I think you helping the people here even if you are no politician is good enough, Sir.”

“Can you stop calling me Sir outside the office?” Kyle asked instead. “You are just making me look old. Just think of me as your neighbor.”

Vindicta nodded. “Politics in the Philippines is filthy. I don’t think that you belong in that kind of world.”

Kyle smiled. “You think so?”

Vindicta smiled shyly.

“I think it runs in our blood, being a politician. A few Aldemarians have governed this town. If you only knew how clean and peaceful Aldemar was. That is what I want to see again. That's why even if I know that politics is filthy and it might ruin me, I will still fight. It’s not about me, Veronica, it’s about the people of this town.”