Chapter 8

1898 Words
"Look, there's a kitty!" Chris shut eyes abruptly opened and his baited breath eased out so fast. Carefully peeking out from his hiding place, he saw how Ms. Amy emerged from the car directly next to the one he'd been hiding from with a kitten in her arms. It was dark so he couldn't make out its color. Perhaps what's interesting was how dramatic the change was in his oftentimes serious lady boss, for the petite woman had suddenly gone mushy over the kitten. "Such a cute kitty! You're so skinny… poor kitty!" She cooed while cuddling the kitten. "It's quite dirty. You should bathe it first before you cuddle with it like that," the hotel heir remarked. "I'll take it home first so that I could feed and bathe it before I take it to the animal shelter. I know some people there. I would want to keep it for myself but my own cat is quite averse to other cats," Chris heard Ms. Amy reply. "No," Trevor Schwarz said coldly. "I'll take care of it. It was found in the vicinity of my hotel after all." Chris' lady boss then suddenly assumed a defensive stance. "What will you do with it? Do you know how to take care of a kitty?" The hotel heir then loudly sighed and shook his head at the petite woman. "How many times would I tell you that I am not dangerous? You're quite the stubborn woman." Ms. Amy snorted in reply. "Wow. You're really telling me that right now? After what I just found out that you did?" That got Chris' attention. What was Ms. Amy talking about? What was it that Trevor Schwarz did? It kind of annoyed Chris that these two were speaking in some secret language that he couldn't understand. Trevor Schwarz merely shrugged in response, as if dismissing Ms. Amy's reproach. "Give me the kitten," the hotel heir said as he stretched his hand towards the woman. Ms. Amy frowned and asked in a suspicious voice. "Again, what are you going to do with it?" "I'm going to feed it with milk from the kitchen, then task my secretary to take it to my grandmother who has a lot of cats. She would welcome another one for sure. There. Satisfied?" "Oh. Okay." It seemed that Trevor finally convinced Ms. Amy. "Here," she said as she handed the kitten to the taller man, who surprisingly was gentle when he grasped it. "Cats are actually lactose intolerant, so it's better to give it kitten formula. But I guess it's okay because it's still a kitten," the woman added. The hotel heir inclined his head, as if to signal that he got the instructions Ms. Amy gave. "Alright. So give me your number," the man told Chris' lady boss. Chris himself was surprised by that command. He knew that Trevor, as a company executive, was probably used to getting his way, but what he was wondering about though is why this businessman was being so interested with Ms. Amy. Somehow, it did not sit well with him. "I need the contact number of the representative of the company I invested into," Trevor answered in a nonchalant manner. Ms. Amy resisted though. She said: "You can just contact the director about that. I'm just the head of the Human Resource department, you know?" Too bad, the hotel heir was just as stubborn. "Well, I asked for your number, not that of the director's." At the battle of stares that ensued briefly, Chris saw that it was Ms. Amy who surrendered first, not without a big sigh. It was understandable, for their company was still the one that needed this hotel heir's help, and so, his lady boss was in no position to decline. Ms. Amy recited her cellphone number that Trevor Schwarz jotted down in his phone in return, while he continued on holding the kitten in his other hand. Once done, the hotel heir dialed the number, which made the HR Head's own phone ring aloud in the parking lot. The woman then got her phone out and stared at the number registered. "Save mine," the hotel heir instructed. "Yeah, yeah," the woman said as she did so. When she completed the task, she then looked back at the taller man in front of her, who was looking at her with dead cold eyes. Chris couldn't understand how someone could look that empty… he was even questioning if this guy were human at all. "So I'm going now." She looked sharply at Trevor. "And take care of the kitty." "Answer my calls… they're important for business," the hotel heir replied. "Okay. I got it," the petite woman answered with just a hint of exasperation. Honestly, what the hell? Chris couldn't wrap his mind around this sense of formality that he sensed between this Trevor and his lady boss. Sure, it seemed as Ms. Amy was borderline annoyed with the hotel heir's subtle sense of entitlement (of which Chris found very irritating), but still, he couldn't help but see that it was as if the two had a world of their own when they were talking to each other. One thing was for sure though: Trevor Schwarz was definitely interested with Ms. Amy. Whether or not it was in the romantic kind, Chris was felt compelled to find out. ________________________________________ "I've got a lead about the girl, Sir, or should I say, woman? She's in her late 20's now, if the records I have dug up are accurate," the secretary said as he sat across him. After more than two weeks of searching, the private investigator was finally able to gather some information on this elusive woman they were looking for. It wasn't easy, for most of the records from where this woman used to live and study were erased or blocked. He suspected that the woman's brother definitely had a hand in all of these. The brother did literally everything so that no one could touch his sister and use her for others' gains. The private investigator had to pull a lot of strings like paying off certain people, calling in some favors, and even resorting to threats, which he could back up as he was a man with a certain influence. His name was enough to make some men's knees tremble in fear… but perhaps most helpful to his goals, was that he had help from the household of his target itself. This person who had provided him some vital information was only too happy to be of assistance to him, as long as he gave her some share in return, and by 'some,' we're talking about a great deal of money involved. He himself had already spent a lot of money, time, and effort towards his goal of finding this mysterious woman, but it was nothing to him, because if there was one thing to be admired about him, it was that he was a patient man. He did not mind putting all these investments, for the reward would be sweet in the end, once he got hold of this particular elusive creature. Now, he knew that he was getting closer to his objective, and he was nothing but curious to find out for himself if this woman was indeed worth all these sacrifices. That would be an interesting day and he couldn't wait anymore. ________________________________________ Just like his promise to his friend, Chris called Vance once he got home. It was already 10 in the evening and he had just finished eating his dinner. He stayed hidden until he was sure that Ms. Amy got inside the car she rented from Uber, which the hotel dude did too. He got a chance to observe more of the interaction of the two while they were waiting for the car to arrive, and Chris couldn't help but remember how it all seemed awkward for him. Well, for one, Ms. Amy and that Trevor dude were both quiet people, so for him, standing on the block while waiting without a lot of exchange of small talk was cringe-inducing. It was not a total silence though, for his lady boss piped up once in a while, mostly about how the hotel heir must take care of the kitten, to which the man had merely responded in disinterested 'hn,' nodding, and even silence. Chris had never met a colder and ruder man, and it honestly baffled him why Ms. Amy did not even look the least offended. Shaking his head to himself at the memory, he went on to dial Vance's number. "Hello, Chris!" Vance answered on the other line. "Thank god, you called me back!" "Yeah. What did you want to tell me anyway?" He replied back. "I have request from you… You've closely worked with Ms. Amy, right?" Chris' forehead creased because of the weirdness of Vance's question. "Yeah, I did. Why?" "Errr… the results of my reorientation assessment came in, and it seems like I have failed it. Can you request the b***h-er-HR Head to reconsider my case? I cannot lose this job, dude!" Chris sighed. To be honest, it was Vance's fault in the first place, but he was his friend so he supposed he should help him. "Okay, I will do what I can," he assured Vance on the phone. "Thanks. By the way, why were you at Snowdrop earlier?" Chris sputtered because he didn't know how to answer that question. Should he tell his friend about his tryst with their lady boss during the company outing? But then he remembered that Vance might think that he was pulling off s****l favors from their boss. Ms. Amy's lecture about professionalism was ringing in his ears. "Oh, nothing. I just got curious about our potential investor so I came to check the hotel he owned," he told Vance in a nonchalant voice. "Alright. Don't forget what you promised me, okay? Bye." "Bye." Chris cut the line and sat down on his couch. Sigh… this was frustrating. He couldn't explain what he was feeling right now. He almost blurted out what happened to Vance! And what was more frustrating was how his line of sight was gravitating towards the drawer of his desk… where he kept his memento from that one night of sin. ________________________________________ "Any update?" The darkened shadow spoke lowly through the slit on the door. "He was poking everywhere. I've got reports that he even used threats to get information about my sister. But do not worry; I made sure that he would get nothing." Arthur replied in his usual stoic voice. "And your sister?" "Still well and away from his claws… although I received some disturbing tip." The current head of the Ledesma clan said, for once, worry coloring his otherwise emotionless tone. "What is it?" "It seemed like the scion of the Snowdrop Hotel Chain expressed interest in her. I have no idea how he got wind of my sister. How should I proceed about it?" Arthur consulted the person behind the door. "Approach the young man quietly. Ask him about his intentions, and most of all, make him swear to keep Amethyst's existence a secret." "Very well. I will do it at once," Arthur agreed before he stood up and closed the door.
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