Her Boss With Benefits (SPG)

ROB’S eyes move around the room without really taking any of it in. All he gets is an impression of luxury: high ceilings, glittering chandeliers and soft light. The ballroom in the hotel is the height of elegance with marble floors and tall doors leading out to balconies that overlook the gardens. Live soft music is playing on one side of the decorated room. Waiters roam the crowd offering all manner of culinary delights and an endless stream of champagne. The scene is something you can see from those movies where people of high society gather in a gala wearing their most presentable attire and luxurious jewelry. He's surrounded by beauty. Too bad he couldn't give less than a damn about any of it. If not because of his mother’s persistence he would have preferred to be home and spend the night romancing a bottle of his favorite scotch before heading to bed after a long day's work. He has a little enough of these kinds of occasions where people in high society gather for a charity event but he couldn’t really feel the essence and sincerity of it. He feels like it’s more about showing off each and everyone's wealth rather than doing charity. But his mother, Grace Zamora Samaniego, thinks otherwise. Rob walks heading in the direction of the balcony’s door. He paused for a moment when he met an acquaintance and greeted him and chatted for a while. Walking faster now, Rob let out a sigh of relief as he finally reached the door handle to the balcony. He desperately needs fresh air. This place is suffocating him. "Robert. Where are you going, amor mío?" Rob bit his lip and sighed. His hand drops from the handle of the door as he turns around. “Buenas noches, madre,” he greeted her back in spanish. Grace Zamora Samaniego was born to a Spanish father and a Filipino mother Grace narrows her eyes slightly as she looks between Rob and the door behind him. “You weren’t leaving already, were you? I’ve told you, networking is important. Now more than ever." As the eldest son of Dr. Grace Zamora Samaniego, Rob took over his mother’s position as the CEO of Zamora Medical Hospital. One of the largest and private hospitals in the Philippines located in the heart of Manila. While his youngest brother, Klynne will soon take over their father’s position, Ramon Samaniego, as CEO of the family real-estate business. "Of course, mother. I was only going to get some fresh air. It’s just a little suffocating inside.” Grace waves her hand dismissing what Rob said. "No time for that now. There's someone important I want you to meet." It’s an effort to hold in a long-suffering sigh but Rob follows behind dutifully as his mother leads him toward the center of the room. Aside from being the CEO of Zamora Medical Hospital, Robert himself has various businesses where his mother was the one who helped him and invested large amounts of money she inherited from her parents. At an early age, Robert was already earning his own millions with the support of his both parents. They are his mentors, one big factor in his success. So being a good son, following and giving in to his parents' small requests, is the least thing he can do. “¡Aquí está él!” Grace pauses next to a group of people that means here he is in english. Rob paste a smile struggling to show some interest. "Rob, this is Mr. Darwin Santiago and his wife, Helen,” his mother introduces. Rob offered his hand to the middle aged couple. “Good evening…” he greeted them both. Grace turns to a young woman with statuesque beauty, flawless skin, almost six feet tall, with black curls falling around her shoulders, standing right behind the couple. "And this is their lovely daughter,Hena. She studied in Boston University School of Medicine and is now a good cardiothoracic surgeon. She will soon start working in ZMC with you," his mother announced. Hena steps forward and when she sees Rob's face the look of boredom on her face vanishes instantly. She stuck stray curls behind her ear, acting cute. Grace moves so that Hena can step closer. Rob glanced at her mother as if he was saying, not again. But Grace shrugs innocently. Escape isn’t going to come easily, Rob thought. He turned to Hena and extended his hand to her. “It would be nice to work with you, Dr. Santiago.” Hena pulled him closer and kissed him on his cheek instead. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Mr. Samaniego. Your mother has told us so much about you. I feel like we’re old friends already!” By the time Rob gets away, it’s an hour later. He finally gave up all resemblance of civility and just walked away from Hena's mid-sentence. He's the most patient man in his family but right now he just has enough. Hena's fake laugh and cloying perfume gave him a headache. When Rob finally pushes his way through the crowd to reach the balcony’s door, the humid air slaps him in the face. It’s mid-summer, so even at night he could feel the humidity in the air. His tuxedo and the weather don’t match. But he would rather be drenched in sweat than to be comfortable in an air conditioned room full of vultures. *** KLYNNE was learning on the wall, silently enjoying his peace and quiet while looking at the darkness of the night. So many things are running in his head. At the age of 24 he’s on top of his career as a race car driver and even won a driver’s world champion title. Some of his friends tease him about being God's gift to women because of his good look and fit appearance. His bewitching almond-shaped chocolate color eyes that stop you in your tracks and his killer smile attracts him the most. As a bachelor billionaire, he has an almost perfect life. He has everything money can buy, trips around the world, priceless jewels, fast cars, and of course women. Anywhere he goes, women are all over him, the reason why he’s being called the international casanova. But none of it seems to matter. He somehow feels empty and lonely inside. He knows that most women approach him because of his name and money. He can’t feel genuine feelings from any of them. Recently he found out that the very first woman he ever thought of sharing the rest of his life with, approached him only because of his name and money just like all the others. It hurts like hell! He felt betrayed. Flynne’s eyes shifted to the door next to him, pushed open. He was annoyed at whoever invaded his peace. But then he raised his eyebrows when he recognized the man walking past him and stepped closer to the railings of the balcony. The clean cut and espresso colored hair, the exact same shade as his. Although he is a few years younger, he is about 2 inches taller than him. “f**k. You shocked me. Are you here to hide too?” His older brother Robert Samaniego uttered as he saw him. Klynne, straightens slightly and flashes his signature boyish smile with an unlit cigarette clamped between his lips. “Mom is driving me crazy. I had to make up an excuse to get away.” He explained, taking the cigarette from between his teeth. “I don’t even smoke,” he added, explaining about the cigarette. They both chuckle at that. Rob gives a thumbs up to Klynne. “Of course.” No one in their family has a nicotine addiction. It was prohibited in their household. When they were teenagers their parents allowed them to drink alcohol moderately but never smoke of any kind. And even if their parents allowed it, Klynne won't do it. He's too concerned about cleanliness, spending more than an hour in the shower to risk having a bad breath or body odor because of nicotine. “That’s quite a brilliant idea, brother… Very convenient excuse to step outside and make an escape from Mom’s site. I should have thought about that considering Mom’s current mission to shove every woman she knows of childbearing age to my direction. I could use all sorts of excuses just to get away.” Klynne smirked. “You’re not alone, big bro.” “You too? Woah, I hadn’t realized you're getting the same treatment,” Rob uttered a little surprised. “Well, not as intense but yeah…” “At least you manage to hide. I was caught and just wasted the last hour talking to a girl named Hena Santiago.” Klynne laughed at the visible annoyance in his older brother’s face. “You know what? At times like this I want to be jealous of Noah. He doesn't have to attend such social gatherings because apart from the fact that his business partner Chase Mercado is there to do it for him, Mommy can't force him either.” Noah is their oldest and half brother from the father's side so their mother, Grace has no control over how Noah should run his own life. “You’re right. I’m happy for him,” Rob agreed. Klynne looked at the hotel’s landscaped garden and shook his head. “Money, connections and women…” he uttered that made Rob raise an eyebrow. “Do you ever get tired of this?” Klynne gestures around them. “Tired of the fake people, the gossip, the drama?”