MY EX'S REVENGE FROM JANITOR TO BILLIONAIRE

CHAPTER 4: THE RUMORS

CHAPTER 4: THE RUMORS

THURSDAY. 6:00 AM. CEO'S PRIVATE BATHROOM. 50TH FLOOR.

The bathroom was bigger than my old bedroom.

Marble floors. Gold faucets. Rain shower.

And it was all mine to clean.

"Make sure you use the lavender soap," Claire's voice came from the intercom.

"And don't touch my things."

"Yes, Ma'am," I answered to the empty room.

I was scrubbing the sink when I heard footsteps.

Two female voices outside the door.

"That's him? The new janitor?"

"Yeah. Ms. Reyes personally assigned him to her bathroom."

"Why though? Don't you think it's weird?"

My hands stopped.

"I heard something," the other girl whispered. "HR said his last name is De Guzman."

"So?"

"So... like Richard De Guzman? The guy who used to own 40% of this company?"

"Wait. The one who disappeared 5 years ago?"

I closed my eyes.

"And get this," the first girl continued. "He was engaged to Ms. Reyes.

In college. Then he left her at the altar."

The water was still running.

"No way."

"Yes way. My tita works in Legal. She saw the old files."

"So Ms. Reyes hired her ex to be a janitor? That's cold."

"Or that's revenge."

The footsteps walked away.

Leaving me with soap in my hands and my past in my ears.

*9:00 AM. PANTRY. ALL FLOORS.*

By 9 AM, everyone knew.

I could feel it.

The stares.

The whispers when I pushed my cart.

The way people moved away when I entered the elevator.

"That's the guy."

"That's Claire's ex."

"I heard he cheated."

"I heard he has a wife."

"I heard Ms. Reyes is torturing him."

Samantha walked past me with 3 other girls.

Loud enough for me to hear.

"Poor Claire," she said. "First he breaks her heart,

now he comes back to beg for a job.

Men are so shameless."

One of them looked at me. "Is that true, Kuya?

You're really the ex?"

I kept mopping. "I'm here to work."

"Working hard to get back with the CEO?" another laughed.

My phone buzzed.

`FROM: CLAIRE`

`My office. Now.`

*9:15 AM. CEO OFFICE.*

Claire was pacing.

Laptop closed. Arms crossed.

"Do you know what they're calling you?" she asked.

"No, Ma'am."

"'The Ghost of the Wedding'."

She laughed. No humor. "Cute, right?"

"I'm sorry if I'm causing problems--"

"Problems?" She cut me off. "You're the problem, Alex.

You showing up here is the problem."

She walked to me. Stopped inches away.

"Do you know what I had to do this morning?

I had to tell the board that you were NOT a security threat.

That you were NOT here to sabotage the company."

"I'm not."

"Then why?" Her voice broke. "Why are you making my life harder?"

"Because I want to fix it."

"Fix what? Us?" She shook her head. "There is no 'us', Alex.

There's me. And there's you. The janitor."

She turned to her window.

"Starting today, you're assigned to night shift.

11 PM to 7 AM.

So people will stop talking."

Punishment. Again.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"And Alex?"

She didn't turn around. "If I hear one more rumor about us,

you're fired. Understood?"

"Understood."

*11:00 PM. NIGHT SHIFT. EMPTY BUILDING.*

The tower was a ghost at night.

Just me. The lights. And the echo of my mop.

I was on the 30th floor when I saw her.

Claire.

In the dark.

Sitting on the floor. Outside her office.

In sweatpants and a hoodie.

No makeup. No CEO.

She had a bottle of wine. And two glasses.

"Couldn't sleep?" I asked. Keeping distance.

She didn't look up. "Go away, Alex."

"I was told to clean this floor."

"Then clean."

I cleaned. In silence.

Until I reached her.

She held out a glass. "Drink with me."

"Ma'am, I'm on duty--"

"I'm the CEO. It's an order."

I sat. 3 feet away.

Took the glass.

We drank in silence.

Watching the city lights.

"Do you remember," she said suddenly, "when we were broke?

College? Eating 3-peso noodles?"

"Yes."

"You said we would be rich one day.

And own a building with a view."

She gestured to the window. "Well. I got the building."

I looked at her. "You did good, Claire."

She laughed. Bitter. "I did good?

I have 50 billion and I sleep 3 hours a night.

I have a company and no one to come home to."

The words hung between us.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Stop saying that." She drank. "Sorry doesn't bring back 5 years."

"I know."

Another long silence.

"Why did you come back?" she asked. Softer now.

"Because you're still the only person I want."

She turned to me. Eyes wet. "Liar."

"I'm not."

"Then prove it."

She stood up. Wobbly. Drunk.

"Come to the company trip this weekend.

As my... assistant."

She smirked. "Let's see how long you last."

Then she walked to her office.

Leaving me with an empty glass and a full heart.

*FRIDAY MORNING. GROUP CHAT LEAK.*

By 8 AM, a screenshot was everywhere.

`CLAIRE: Come to the company trip this weekend. As my assistant.`

Under it, 200 comments.

`OMG IS SHE DATING THE JANITOR??`

`REVENGE f**k???`

`MS. REYES HAS A TYPE: BROKE MEN`

`SOMEONE FIRE HIM ALREADY`

And the last message. From Samantha:

`Can't wait for the trip 😊 Should be interesting.`