Quest For Justice

CHAPTER 8: MR. COLD

Boy best friends were just sweet and extra-caring. No meaning.

Wearing a blue suit and a white polo shirt underneath and black leather shoes, Jarred Guzman, showed up from his black car. At least five securities lined up in front of the company’s entrance and five staff on the opposite line, giving way to the C.E.O of CPM company.

Nang dumaan na si Jarred sa gitna ay sabay-sabay na nag bow ang mga security at company staff na naroon upang salubungin siya. He paused for a second to button his suit, then continued toward the company’s entrance along with his female secretary.

When they got inside the building, every staff Jarred passed by bowed before him to pay their respect toward the boss.

“Sir Verno and sir Jelo were waiting for you at the office.” Angeline, Jarred’s secretary, informed as they waited for the elevator to open.

Jarred didn’t say anything. When the elevator opened, they got in and Angeline pressed number 10. Jarred’s office was in the tenth floor in this building that had a total of 18 floors.

“Kuya!” Jelo joyfully said, leaving the rubrics cube he was fiddling at the sofa and scurried toward his brother and gave him a fist bump followed by a manly hug, tapping Jarred’s back.

Habang si Verno naman, ang panganay sa magkakapatid ay hindi napansin ang pagdating ni Jarred dahil busy ito sa pakikipag landian sa chat.

“How are you doing?” Ginulo ni Jarred ang buhok ni Jelo.

“Focusing on soccer practice for the past weeks.” Jelo put his arm on Jarred’s shoulders as they faced Verno who was still busy with his phone.

Jarred and Jelo coughed to get Verno’s attention. Verno was smiling while typing. They coughed louder and this time they got his attention.

Verno looked up at them from the phone.

“Oh! Nandito ka na pala?” Verno just said still wearing the smile he had while texting and turned his attention back to his phone.

Jarred shook his head in disappointment and walked toward Verno only to snatch his phone from his possession. Verno looked up at him while his hands were still holding an invisible phone in the air.

“Why, bro.? Give it back.” Verno attempted to snatch his phone from Jarred but he failed when Jarred lifted it up.

Verno slumped helplessly into the backrest of the sofa and crossed his arms while watching Jarred read the messages on his phone. Lumapit naman si Jelo kay Jarred para maki-usyuso. Jarred and Jelo cringed together as they read.

“Do you wanna sleep with me?” Jelo erotically read the message.

Verno just licked his lips and smiled naughtily when Jarred and Jelo gave him a disgusting look.

“You, guys, should learn from your brother. Wala ng maraming pick-up lines or flowery words. If you sense that the lady likes you back. Then, that’s it!” Verno shrugged his shoulder.

“You’re dad’s son.” Jarred tossed Verno’s phone to his lap and walked towards his office chair.

Verno just laughed at that. He didn’t take it seriously. Their father, Don. Sebastian Guzman at the age of 57 was very famous for having a lot of mistresses. It was a miracle that the three of them had the same mother who’s the legal wife.

“Bros, I have to go. Papagalitan ako ng coach ko ‘pag na late ako.” Nagmadali si Jelong kunin ang backpack niya na nakapatong sa lamesa ng CEO.

“Kapag pinagalitan ka niya, sabihin mo anak ka ni Don. Sebastian.” Verno advised.

“Hell! As if he cares. Sige na.” Jelo turned his back from his brothers and walked out of the office.

“Angeline, nandito ka pala.” Verno winked at the beautiful secretary.

“Not my personal assistant.” Warned Jarred while going through the stack of folders on his table.

“Why? You like her?” Verno stared at Angeline, watching her blush enjoyably.

“Cut the crap!” Jarred coldly said.

Verno saw the nifty transition on Angeline’s facial expression from sad to embarrassed. He held his laughter. Verno memorized his brother’s personality. He knew how hard to please Jarred at kung gaano kahirap itong mapa-ibig. Higit sa lahat, wala itong pakialam sa feelings ng ibang tao. Jarred would say his opinions without caring about what others might feel about it. He could see through Angeline that the girl had liked his brother long since. But, itong kapatid niya ay napaka manhid o talagang wala lang pakialam. So he thought, it would be fun to help Angeline know what his brother felt about her. Obviously, nothing. No feelings at all. Now, he could easily attract Angeline into his trap since she got rejected by the legendary Jarred right away before she could even confess herself.

Angeline glared at Verno, she hated him for asking Jarred that. Obviously, he just ruined her fantasy. Verno just flashed a smile teasingly and winked at her. Those gestures of him just relayed her a message that said, akin ka na lang, like teasing a little kid.

Jarred had no idea what was going on because he was focused on the papers. Nang mag angat siya ng tingin ay nakita niya ang tinginan nina Angeline at Verno.

“What’s going on?” He confusedly asked, palipat-lipat ang tingin kay Angeline at Verno.

Angeline blinked rebellious tears and walked out. Jarred’s forehead creased as he turned to Verno.

“What did you do?” Jarred was slightly mad now.

“Anong ako? Ikaw!” Verno was having fun.

“Mag sorry ka sa kanya. You don’t know Angeline! She’s a sulky person. Mahirap ‘yong suyuin. Kuya naman! You think you could do anything you like to every woman in the world. Not Angeline! She’s been my secretary for more than five years now. She’s precious to me! If she resigns, I will blame you!” It was all said in one long, breathless streak of sound.

“Whoa! Easy! Fine. Masama bang tulungan ‘yong tao na mag confess?”

Jarred slapped his table as he stood up. “What? Confess to who? Me? How do you know? Ridiculous!”

“I know because I’m Verno.” Verno smirked and turned his back from Jarred and started toward the door.

“Apologize before you leave!”

Verno just waved his hand and walked out the door.

Jarred sank back on his chair and was left thinking deeply about what just happened. His brother was Verno, a great womanizer who knew a lot about girls’ nature and if he was right to what he noticed about Angeline hiding feelings for him, it would stress him out. He didn’t have any feelings toward her secretary, she was just one of the important persons in his life. Of course, she had worked for him for years now. Angeline had helped him a lot.

He snapped back when his door opened. Three employees, he called went inside and the last one to enter was Angeline. Halata sa mga mata ni Angeline na katatapos lang nitong umiyak even though she tried to conceal it with a foundation maybe. He thought of talking to her pero mamaya na lang pagkatapos ng short meeting nila.

Jarred and the employees proceeded to the separate glass room in his office. Everyone found their seats on the long table. Jarred and the selected employees from the accounting department just talked about important matters about work. After the almost one-hour meeting, everybody left except Angeline who was told by the boss to stay. It was just a serious meeting, as always. Those employees couldn’t even utter one unrelated word to the topic or else they would be frozen. Compared to other bosses out there who could at least stand humor at a meeting, Jarred was completely different than the employees had given him an alias he never heard of, Mr. Cold.

When everybody left, Jarred stood behind the center chair and leaned both his hands at the edge of its backrest that made his back slightly bent. He looked intently at Angeline who was looking down.

“Anj, what was wrong? Did you cry?” he said in a glacial tone.

Angeline looked up at him. “I was hurt!” she almost yelled at him.

“Why? What did I do?” He frowned.

“Kailangan mo pa bang tanungin ‘yan? Wasn’t it obvious that I liked you? Palibhasa wala ka kasing pakiramdam.” Angeline sniffled and held an eye contact with his winter eyes. She felt the coldness.

Angeline wasn’t just a mere secretary to him. She had been his best friend. She was the only person he was closed to at work and other employees thought they were just hiding their relationship. But it wasn’t like that. She was just a secretary, a close friend to Jarred.

“I didn’t know.” Jarred licked his lower lip.

“Now you know!” Padabog na tumayo si Angeline sa kinauupuan niya at bahagya pang naitulak paatras ang upuan.

“I’m sorry.” Jarred was guilty of not having a mutual feeling toward Angeline.

Angeline scoffed and then swallowed the lump on her throat before she walked out of that room. Jarred just let her go for now even though may kailangan pa sana siyang ipagawa sa sekretarya. He thought of giving her a little time. The very least he could do for her broken heart was to give her time.

Jarred was a type of person na hindi paasa. Marami ng nagkagusto sa kanya noon but in his almost 31 years of existence, isang beses palang siyang na in-loved. Maybe it was really love because at that time he could do everything for that girl. Pero iniwan siya nito pagkatapos ng dalawang taon nilang relasyon. Jarred had no updates about her ex-girlfriend since five years ago. But he never got himself a new girlfriend ever since. Never siyang naging handa to invest his feelings again since their break-up.

The next day, akala ni Jarred ay hindi papasok sa trabaho si Angeline but she did. Angeline was standing in front of Jarred’s table while informing him of his schedule for the day while Jarred couldn’t pay that much attention to his secretary because she kept glancing at her face. He was trying to see from her face if she was fine or not.

“Anj, excuse me.” Jarred stood and walked to the glass room.

The glass was transparent from the view outside, as well as from the inside. Pinanood lang siya ni Angeline na nakikipag-usap sa telepono pero hindi naman nito marinig ang sinasabi niya.

After just five minutes, Jarred emerged from the glass room and walked back to his seat. Angeline then continued talking about his schedules.

“At 3 p.m., you have a private meeting wi--”

Jarred lifted his wrist up to his face’s level to cut Angeline off. She looked at him questionably.

“Can you cancel all my schedules today, please.” Pinagdaop ni Jarred ang kanyang mga palad habang nakatukod ang kanyang mga siko sa lamesa.

“Why, sir? You have at least three different schedules today.” Nangasim bigla ang itsura ni Angeline dahil siya ang maiistorbo.

“I’m your boss here. You’re supposed to follow me.”

“Yes, sir.” Angeline just nodded.

Then suddenly, the door opened, iniluwa nito ang gwapong si Verno na nakasoot ng puting T-shirt na may nakasulat na CELINE, naka itim lang itong maong pants at naka puting sneakers. Angeline smirked when she received a wink from Verno.

“Good morning, bro! Your blind date is waiting.” Verno emphasized the word blind date on purpose.

When Angeline heard it, she got annoyed immediately. She was being jealous.

“So you’re putting me all through this hassle just to have a blind date?” Her shoulders sagged. Her face showed pain.

Jarred hastily moved to get his suit hanging on the loop near his table and wore it.

“I’m sorry, Anj. Please take care of it for me. I’ll see you later.” Jarred was blinking his eyes while he walked toward Verno to signal him to go.

Verno grimaced as he turned his back and walked out of the door while Jarred followed him behind. Angeline was left inside the office, curling her fingers into fists.

“You badly injured her heart. You blame yourself.” Verno teased Jarred as they walked through the corridor.

“This is the least I can do for her.” Jarred seriously said in a straight face.

Jarred talked to Verno last night after their family dinner about Angeline having real feelings for him and asked his brother to help him. Jarred thought about introducing a fake girlfriend to Angeline because he thought that way, Angeline would give up her feelings and move on. Verno was the only person he could think of to help him find someone.

‘Yong tinawagan niya kanina noong nag-excuse siya ay si Verno. He told Verno na pumunta sa opisina niya agad-agad habang nandoroon pa si Angeline. Then Verno just had to fetch him and inform him of his blind date for Angeline to purposely hear. Verno found it a little harsh, but Jarred on the other hand, thought of it as the least he could do for Angeline. Jarred canceled all his schedules, and that was all for Angeline’s sake. He didn’t want to hurt her more. Hindi pinaasa ni Jarred si Angeline. Sometimes it’s just natural for some men to act a gentleman around girls but it didn’t mean anything to them. Especially if you guys were friends. Boy best friends were just sweet and extra-caring. No meaning. If Angeline wasn’t a precious friend to Jarred, he wouldn’t put up with such hassle.

Verno and Jarred arrived at a five-star hotel. Verno tossed the car key to the hotel’s valet as soon as he jumped down onto the driveway. Bumaba na rin si Jarred ng sasakyan. The valet gave a ticket to Verno which was necessary for when they wanted to pick up the car. Verno handed the claim ticket to Jarred, and he absentmindedly accepted it.

“Why are we here?” Jarred frowned while eyeing the facade of the hotel.

“The girl is waiting at the hotel’s restaurant. It’s on the second floor. Alis na ‘ko.” Verno flashed a teasing smile.

“So you’re not coming with me? Ano ba ‘to? I thought you hired a fake girlfriend for me?” Jarred shook his head in confusion.

“Why hire a fake if you can have yourself a real one. Good luck!” Verno placed his hand on his shoulder for a second, then turned his back from him.

Verno did it again to him for the second time. He also set him up on a date before but that didn’t work because the girl was a nerd who didn’t even know how to converse. Now, what kind of girl did he set him up with?

“What? Where are you going? Kuya!” Jarred scratched the back of his head.

But having no other options, he stepped into the lobby of the hotel. He paused for a moment, hesitated to proceed with his steps. He turned to the doorway and attempted to go out but ended up going back and just went on.

He entered the restaurant. Verno informed him during the drive that the girl would be wearing a red dress. But there were a lot of girls inside wearing red. Maybe that girl had not arrived yet. He told the waiter of the table for two that Verno Guzman booked and he was led there. He was right. His date had not arrived yet and he was secretly hoping, she would not arrive.

He opened a file on his phone while comfortably sitting on a chair with a cushioned backrest. He studied some important work files while waiting for his date. A working man like him treated time a gold. Every second mattered to him.

“Hi!” An elegant woman with a sexy body wearing a red fitted dress showed up.

Not bad, he thought as the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile.

Like a gentleman, Jarred got to his feet, walked behind the opposite chair and slightly pulled it to help his date sit. The girl bit her lower lip and sat down with a straight back. He then sat back to his chair and faced the girl.

“So, you are Jarred Guzman.” The girl uttered in the most luscious way possible.

Jarred became a little uncomfortable. He changed his thought from not bad to really bad real quick. Sexy girls were never bad for him, it’s just that this one was too sexy.

Plus, this girl was wearing a dress that exposed her breasts so much, he didn’t like it. If this girl was really her girlfriend, he would not allow her to wear that scandalous dress. The girl leaned closer over the table, showing more of her plump chest. Jarred looked away, being awkward to himself. Ito talaga ‘yong mga gustong-gusto ni Verno, eh.

Jarred turned back to the girl and looked straight at her face. He said nothing for a minute and just stared at the girl in a straight face. The girl waited for him patiently, flashing her endearing facial contortions.

“You know what? You’re actually not my type. You’re lewd to be honest,” he finally said. His face remained impassive. For Jarred, he was just stating facts. If truth could hurt, then because that’s how it worked.

The girl’s mouth hung open in shock. She froze in the coldness of Jarred’s presence. Jarred was always like that. His personality could change as fast as a racing car. He’s not bipolar. Just like how normal people changed moods. The only difference was, normal people could pretend nothing had changed, normal people could care about others' feelings, but Jarred couldn’t. Mr. Cold never knew what white lies were for.

“How dare you!” The girl fumed. She got to her feet, took a deep breath, and grasped the glass filled with water, and slowly spilled it onto Jarred’s head.

“Melt! You ice-hole!” The girl placed the glass back on the table, pulled the edge of her dress, and marched away, leaving Jarred wet.

Jarred smirked when he realized people were looking at him, probably mocking him. Those people might have thought that no woman would do such a thing to a good man. He leaped up from the table, inserted his hands into his black khaki pants’ opposite pockets, and walked out of the restaurant as nothing happened.