27: Elise (ii)

27: Elise (ii)
I looked at him. We had an approval committee in the office. I thought of Tessa Bodet, one of the committee members. Tessa didn’t like me. She was a known critic and strict before she moved to VerraCom, so no one could just say her frequent vetoes on startups I endorsed were not personal. She was my senior as an employee and about a decade older than me—she’s intimidating. It was said that she accepted the appointment at a new company thinking it would lead to the highest position there.
I could only imagine what she felt after landing at VerraCom and finding out that Gian himself was already training someone very young with an obscure background for the position she wanted. If she hated me for it, I could understand. But VerraCom was created for me. It was mine. If she wanted to be the CEO of a company, she should create her own. Done. I was tired of bullies.
She’d put forward a bunch of cons regarding Kyle’s proposal. She must not be happy about this, then.
“Did Tessa and the panel already re-evaluated the revised proposal?”
“They didn’t have to. I told you, I’ve approved it.”
“I’m sure she’ll think you approved it because I liked the project.”
He looked at me. “Who’s the boss, Tessa or me?”
“You are.”
“I’m glad you know it,” he said. “Tessa is a professional. If she has personal prejudice against you, she’ll be too proud to let it affect her work so she didn’t say anything to me after I’ve signed the contracts. She was brought to VerraCom because her experience can help you once you’ve become CEO. Let’s just say that right now, her professionalism is being tested. I know she would love more control but she’s loyal as hell. If she passes this test, then she’ll be one of your best assets.”
Yes, if only life were that easy. “Do you think it’ll reach the office… what happened in Tagaytay?”
“Not yet but it will,” he said in a more serious tone. “But it’s probably making rounds in the business circle by now.”
We continued walking but I was distracted, imagining the scenarios when my secret was out in the office. I forgot that it wasn’t just the elitists who would change but also my coworkers when they found out.
“Don’t lose focus, Elise. People like Tessa could trigger you but they have nothing to do with why you are there. They are just the details in the play. Put your focus on the business.”
“But aren’t they part of the business?”
He shook his head slightly. “Perhaps I should say… put your focus on the prize. If you are affected by the attitude of the people around you, your decisions will be affected, too. Remember—you can always fire them.”
I blinked. “Fire them? We have a labor code, FYI.”
He smiled, one of his signature office smiles. Calculating. Without warmth. I rarely saw it. When it happened, someone was about to get struck by lightning.
“You didn’t really mean fire them, right?”
“Yes, fire them. Start getting the guts to do it, Elise. Mom will announce that you’re going to head VerraCom when you come back.”
I let go of his hand, feeling my eyes widen. “What the fu—ah—udge?!”
“Yes. You will be… not exactly promoted because you’re not an employee. You will be… positioned. I am being summoned back to headquarters and Paulo’s going to get sent to the offices in New York. Julia’s been complaining. She needs her husband now that the UK offices are fully operational.”
I stared at him, mouth agape, until I recovered enough to speak. “You were just bidding your time the whole day to tell me, weren’t you? The rose and chocolate were just props?” I looked at my box of rose, feeling disappointed. He also gave one to Anna, didn’t he? Why would I think it was special?
Suddenly, I wanted to throw the flower away.
I changed my mind after a second. I couldn’t do it. It still came from him.
“Hey. I brought the flowers before I even received the confirmation of the appointments, Elise. Don’t be like that.”
I looked up at him. “Like what? I’m not like anything.”
“You’re looking at it like you freakin’ don’t like it anymore. I will not give you a rose on Valentine’s Day if I didn’t want to,” he said coolly. “I’ll also not use this day for an agenda. After all you’ve been through, I really want you to have a nice Valentine’s Day with me.” I stared up at him, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with happiness. He was smirking at my silence. “So, you don’t like it? Give me back my rose.” He reached out to take the rose.
I took it behind my back. “I didn’t say that!”
“Why did you accept it, anyway? Just trying to be polite?” he threw my words back at me.
“No.”
“Then why? See? You can’t even say it.”
“None of your business. You already gave it to me!”
We were both laughing as I continued to move away, and he kept circling me to grab the box. He was taller, so, of course, I was stretching my arms away to the fullest.
“Stop!” He was crowding me. His broad chest was in my face, and it was hard not to hold onto him for balance. Especially now, after what happened between us in Tagaytay, it was a huge temptation to cling to him. I might not be able to let go. “This is mine!”
“You don’t even appreciate it.”
“Thank you! Okay? Thank you. I already said thank you earlier!”
“That’s just lip service.” Then he snatched the box away.
“Ahh!” I cried in frustration, then chased after him when he ran away. “Gian! Give me my rose back!”
“Catch me first…!”
“Are you freakin’ kidding me?!” I ran to catch up with him, bits of sand flying everywhere, until I grabbed the end of his flying jacket. “Gian!” I shouted in frustration. “What are you doing?”
He sidestepped. Unfortunately, his foot got caught on one of my forward steps. “Whoa... whoops!”
“Oops!” The next thing I knew, we were falling on the sand and I was carried along. I closed my eyes. When I landed on top of him, my forehead bumped his chin.
“Owww…” I groaned, holding my forehead.
“Elise? Are you okay? I’m sorry, that was stupid!”
“Ouch…” It really hurt. His chin was hard. His body was hard. Why was he so hard?!