THEM AND HER FLEETING ROMANCES

Chapter 8

The blaring sound of her phone awaked Sarah the next day. She stumbled from her bed down to the floor as she reached for it to turn it off but it wasn't the alarm clock she's thinking of.

"W-who?"

Someone's calling her and the same number already has a total of 6 missed calls.

"He-hello, good morning, this is Sarah Cas—huh?"

A couple of beeps made her heart stop from beating. She checked the ongoing call and saw that it was dropped. Then a text came in from that number asking her to come and visit ARDEA next week whenever she is free.

Her energy dropped almost immediately after she read the word ARDEA.

Completely disregarding the message, she got up and tied her hair up in a messy bun, took the bra from under her pillow and wore it before going down to prepare a cup of coffee.

Their old coffee maker whirred and in a minute, a large mug of dark coffee was good to go for her to drink alone. She snatched her mother's note posted in the refrigerator and threw it away as soon as she got the message that said that she'll be out for the whole day because of some friend's birthday party.

Feeling elated on her temporary freedom, she whistled and began invading her mother's kitchen completely, going on her ingredients, trying to cook something good for that day.

It took three hours for her to come up with an agreeable food that remains a bit saltier than expected. But in the end, everything was good as long as she could fill her stomach.

Then her phone rang again.

Still thinking that it was from ARDEA, she ignored it and hit the red button.

"Calm down Sarah Castillo, you're over with ARDEA. You're stressed these days, so don't stress yourself with more problems," she preached to herself as she blew the steam off on her food. Munching it loudly like a spoiled teen throwing a tantrum.

But the caller seems to have no reason to stop.

Sarah's phone rang again so she answered it unwillingly and spoke before the caller even said a word.

"Hey, this is Rai. It's nice for you to call me again but I, me, Rai, have no intention to step another foot inside your company. I may be the best girl your company can have but that praise won't budge my decision in leaving your nest. Have a good day."

She hung up shortly after.

The quirky response baffled the person who called Sarah. His editors can't seem to raise their heads on him as he sat motionlessly after the call that's been heard by everyone in the room.

"You said her name is Sarah?"

"Yes, sir."

Sebastian Levine handed the phone to his secretary.

"You can leave now," he told the editors inside the meeting room with him. He watched them scuffle and vacate the room silently as he tapped his table, trying to make sense of what he heard from the call.

"How long has it been since we started publishing, Lewis? Why is there someone cursing us like that?

"Six years, sir."

Lewis sat on the table. He took off his fake eyeglasses and loosened his dark brown hair. "Is there anything you want me to do, sir?"

Sebastian stopped tapping his fingers and let himself be absorbed in the silence. After a couple of minutes, thinking what he could do to tie the writer to her job, he stared emptily at the table where Lewis' image was reflected clearly.

"Can you investigate this writer, Lewis? I need to talk to her soon."

Lewis' mouth slightly opened as he smiled on his master's order.

"Cut it out," Sebastian scolded him which brought back to his initial disposition. "Prepare things as civilly as possible. I am not that Sebastian Levine but the Sebastian who is the editor-in-chief of this company that I own."

Lewis put back the spectacles that he removed and stood quietly beside Sebastian like a tamed dog. He waited until Sebastian made him leave.

"Then, I'll prepare the files for you, Sir." He bowed his head and left the room. He's about to do his information gathering when he received a call from his master.

"Also, buy doughnuts for Ilaria's son."

Ilaria is Sebastian's twin sister. She's the one holding his twin brother's portion of the Levine conglomerate that allowed him to establish his own company that isn't tied to the Levine's.

"Make sure that they're from KC."

"Yes, sir."

The secretary pocketed his phone when the master put down the call.

First, he needs to stop at KC and greet Ilaria as per instructed.

Lewis smiled.

There's nothing more exciting than doing things in the dark for Sebastian. He knows that even though he says civil, that means digging the nastiest dirt about the person regardless of their rank, that's why he also asked him to meet Ilaria who is influential amongst the high ranking individuals in the society. The son is just an excuse.

The reason why their company became stable in a matter of a few years is because of Sebastian's underhanded tactics like this that throws his employees in a burning hell of commitment to them. Although the outside appearance looks just, he can't count how many illegal things he had breached for the sake of Sebastian's ambition of irking his parents to death.

When he arrived, it seemed like Ilaria was already waiting for him.

"Doughnuts," Lewis announced and placed down the boxed dessert on the table. "For Lei."

"Sebastian?"

Lewis nodded. Professional as he is, there's something about Ilaria that always makes him walk in eggshells around her. It's not because she's Sebastian's sibling, it's beyond that. Something annoying and creepy at the same time.

"He wants you to investigate someone named Sarah Castillo, 25 years old and current writer of SL publishing."

Ilaria raised her brow. "Is she a potential slave for him again?," she asked while opening the box of sweet treats for her son.

"Yes," Lewis answered while looking at Ilaria taking a bite on the doughnuts. "That's for Lei."