OJS: The Sweet Bodyguard

Chapter 1

"Here you go, a cup of hot coffee and freshly baked butter cookies in a shape of a f*****g heart." Salinah put down the thing she was carrying on the round table, in front of a very familiar visitor that she didn't wish to see at the moment. "I don't know what's got into you, but let me just remind you that today is not Valentine's Day. We're in November in case you're confusing the months."

The visitor chuckled as she trailed her fingers in the rim of the cup. "I'm still in the right mind to be confused about the months, Sali." She picked up a piece of butter cookie and brought it to her mouth. The fresh and delicious aroma of the pastry penetrated her nose giving her a warm feeling.

"What are you doing in my place, Leche?" Sali asked as she sat down across from her visitor.

They are on the rooftop of the building Salinah's father bought before he and his wife decided to get married. It was a gift for his loving partner who accompanied him through thick and thin. He gifted her a building to help her achieve her dreams of continuing her passion for making sweets while owning a business that revolves around what she likes.

The sweet shop is on the ground floor and the other two floors before the rooftop are where the whole family lives. The huge rooftop was modified and transformed into a recreational area where they can relax during their free time. It's also where they bring the important guests.

"Just here to visit you." There's a suppressed smile on Leche's face.

Salinah narrowed her eyes as she stared at her friend. A friend of hers from the same agency who loves to tease others. "I don't believe you. You must have an ulterior motive for you to appear in my place."

Leche took a sip of her coffee before finally loosening her smile. "Sali, it may not be Valentine's Day but I can surely feel the hearts floating in the air."

"What the f**k are you talking about?" Salinah instantly became nervous. It's not obvious because of her resting bored face but the feeling is there, inside of her. She had guessed the reason why her friend was here and could understand the meaning of her ambiguous words. After all, Leche was the person she asked to cover her tracks that one night at the banquet.

"You know what I'm talking about, Sali." Leche even wiggled her eyebrows as she grinned at Salinah.

Salinah crossed her arms around her chest and widened her eyes at Leche in annoyance. "I'm not in love if that's what you want to hear."

"Aha!" Leche suddenly pointed at Salinah. "I've never mentioned anything about you being in love. Your words, not mine." She grinned as she called the name of her friend. "Salinah~"

Salinah showed an annoyed expression. "You're so irritating. You're the one who keeps mentioning love and heart, you f*****g b***h. You even made me bake you a Valentine's Day exclusive-shaped cookie. My answer was just based on your words." She was so annoyed that she grabbed a piece of a heart-shaped cookie from the plate and crushed it with all her might to the point that it looked like its origin.

"Salinah, are you nuts?!" Leche asked in disbelief as she watched her cookie being powdered by the woman in front of her.

Salinah's annoyed face quickly changed to a bored one. "I'm pissed, Milky. I don't want to hear anything related to love anymore."

"Geez!" Leche rolled her eyes as she put down the cup of coffee on the table. "Why? You know, I'm really curious about what happened that night. I only saw you carrying the guy from the room he was in, to another room. I can't see what's happening inside since there's no surveillance."

"Nothing major happened, duh." Salinah took a deep breath and continued speaking in her mind, 'Except for the brief moment of a feast she was relishing.'

Leche took a piece of cookie that was not crushed by Sallinah and bit a portion of it. "Really? But I seem to have heard Cheiyan saying that you were so weird at that time you called her because all your questions to her were related to s****l stuff. I'm curious, my friend. Please humor me or else I can't fall asleep tonight." She leaned forward and whispered, "Did nothing really happen? Our friend said that the aphrodisiac has no antidote."

Sali sighed, "Like I said, nothing major happened. Why are you so certain that the man was drugged by Cheiyan's creation?"

Leche shrugged. "I investigated it and found out that the bidder who won Che's successfully-made aphrodisiac also attended the banquet."

"So, Che's mistaken when she said the bidder just wants to spice up his s****l life," Salinah said sarcastically. Then she continued, "His real intention was to mess with someone. Do you know the identity of the man who was drugged and do you know the reason why he was drugged?"

Leche looked away. Of course, she knows. Not through investigation, but because their agency manager gave her a task to examine and review a job request, as it involved a very important person. What surprised her while doing the task was that the important person mentioned on the job request was the one she saw from that one night being carried by her friend.

The job was meant for Salinah and Leche can't tell her friend yet because the manager didn't give her a go signal, so she just responded with vague words. "I do know, but I won't tell you. Best ask the Manager about it."

"Quatro know him?" Salinah clicked her tongue. "I've better not ask her. I have a gut feeling that something will happen to me if I inquire about it." Yes, it's better to just forget about the handsome man and what happened between them. Let it become a past and be buried in the memories that she is going to make.

Salinah decided to erase a portion of her memory that keeps reminding her of the fact that she gave a stranger f*****g head.

"Hmmm..." Leche smiled mysteriously at Salinah making the latter speechless. She then asked to change the topic. "Do you plan on taking a job?"

Salinah shook her head. "Nah. I'm too lazy to do labor right now. I'd rather help my mother in making pastries, which is my favorite thing to do. Maybe if Quatro gives me a job, I might consider it."

Leche nodded as she finished drinking her coffee and ate the remaining cookie. "Thanks for the delicious treat, Sali. I need to leave now. I still have many tasks to accomplish."

"Are there many job requests that you need to review?" Salinah asked as she picked up the empty cup and plates before standing up.

"Yes. I don't even have time to travel because of how busy I am." Leche also stands up and stretches her body a little bit.

The two continue talking about what they were doing these past few days while riding the elevator. Upon reaching the ground floor, they went straight to the back door where Leche entered earlier and Salinah accompanied her to the nearest parking lot to where the car she brought was parked.

"See you when I see you, Sali." Leche smiled as she opened the car door and entered the driver's seat. Before closing it, she uttered words that made Salinah confused. "Good luck. You'll need that at the right time." Then, she closed the door and turned on her car before driving it and leaving the parking lot.

Salinah watches as the car leaves while also pondering what her friend has just said. It took five minutes of standing like an i***t in the middle of the parking area before she finally came back to her senses.

"What the f**k was that?" Salinah cursed out before going back to the shop.

When Salinah entered the shop, she was greeted by her paternal cousin, Gloriel, who was busy wiping the tables, even though it's already clean. It's still early in the morning and the shop is not open until 8:30 in the morning. The family used this time to make preparations and do last-minute cleaning so that the shop would be more presentable and comfy for the customers who would buy and choose to eat inside.

"Hey, Big Sister Sali. Good morning." Gloriel smiled widely as he greeted his eldest cousin while doing his usual work in the morning.

Salinah also smiled and patted her cousin's head. "Good morning. Where's your mother and younger sister."

Salinah's father's younger sister is Gloriel's mother. Both their mothers were best of friends and their fathers also used to work in the same household as guards. They retired at the same time when they met their wives. Since Gregory already knows everything about his co-worker, he approves of him dating his sister. The two families then decided to live in the same building, helping each other in their everyday lives.

"She's feeding Ella. My younger sister has been crying nonstop since early this morning." Gloriel answered.

"Is that so? Then, I'll go check them and find out what's happening to Ariella." Salinah was about to excuse herself when the door to the counter opened and her aunt entered carrying the youngest in the family who was sleeping soundly.

Salinah immediately went to the counter and asked, "Aunt, what happened to Ella? I heard that she's been crying nonstop."

Glorina put down her daughter first in a special kind of crib her husband made so that she could still look after her baby while working as a cashier in the sweet shop. Her husband works as an exclusive delivery man to the shop since many like to order pastries but are too lazy to buy them physically, so it's very inconvenient for him to look after their daughter.

"She's hungry and irritated. Good thing she calmed down after I fed her and brought her to the balcony to get some fresh air." Glorina said in a hushed voice. "By the way, your mother wants you in the kitchen right now."

"Alright," Seeing that nothing serious happened, Salina nodded and immediately went to the kitchen. After entering, she found her mother putting the icing on a cupcake with a smile on her face.

Salina did not dare disturb her mother until her mother finished what she was doing. She observed how the seemingly ordinary vanilla cupcake became a piece of art at the hands of the woman who was so focused on her work.

Thirty minutes later, when Salinah finally saw that her mother had finished decorating the twelve dozen cupcakes individually, she immediately spoke suddenly surprising the woman who was currently admiring her craft.

"Aunt said you want me in the kitchen."

Selene's heart skipped a beat when she heard her eldest daughter's voice. She quickly looked at the source and when she found Salinah, she glared at her before scolding her softly, "What are you doing? Do you want your beautiful mother to have a heart attack?"

Salinah shook her head. "Of course not. It's just that..." She eyed her mother. "Is it my fault that you asked Aunt to call me here but you're so focused on what you were doing and didn't even notice my presence?"

"You should have called me the moment you came here." Selene took a deep breath to calm herself down.

Salinah smiled, "You know I can't do that. So," She crossed her arms and leaned her head in the column. "What's your purpose in making me come here?"

Selene immediately pointed at the big bowl next to the baking trays on the countertop. "I already put all the crumbs left in the trays into the bowl. You can eat it now."

Salinah looked at her mother blankly. "Is that it? You're just making me eat left-over crumbs?"

Selene raised her eyebrow at her daughter. "Why? You don't want it?"

Salinah immediately moved. "Who said I don't want it? Your eldest daughter loves everything you make and that includes the crumbs."

"Good," Selene smiled brightly when she heard her daughter's words. She loves hearing compliments from her children and husband. "Sali, do you have any job today?"

Salinah was about to tell her mother that she didn't accept any job when her phone suddenly vibrated from the pocket of her sweatpants. She quickly took it and turned the screen on, and was surprised to see that it was a text message from their agency manager.

It stated, 'Exclusive job request for you. Come to the agency. ASAP!'

Fuck!