Beautiful Tragic Love Affair

CHAPTER III

Jury, Raven, Manager Javier, and his affiliate ended up in the Human Resources office. It is Jury's first time being involved in a fight and summoned to the HR manager's office. It is so embarrassing for her. She doesn't know why she threw that can in the first place. All she can do now is apologize and accept her penalty. But rather than bearing all the fault, Manager Javier received most of the consequences and warnings. It turns out that Ms. Lorenzo, HR Manager, got a lot of complaints about him, and now he is in a dangerous position. On the other hand, Raven, who is sitting next to her, falls asleep again. She is trying to wake him but the brat visibly shows his boredom and sleepiness which makes Manager Javier angrier, while Manager Lorenzo is trying to ignore it. Soon enough, they got dismissed and left the room without Manager Javier.

"Thank you for helping me earlier," she said while walking in the empty hallway. "But I hope you won't just jump into trouble again."

Raven looked back at Jury, while his hands were in his pants pocket, "It is my choice. Anyway, he is so noisy, and I don't like seeing you in pain."

A long loud silence filled the air. It feels like for the first time someone is worried about her. She was glad but she also thought that everything would be awkward if she said 'thank you'. Good thing, he spoke up first, "Got to go!" That's it and he ran off. She was in awe but a smile was drawn on her face.

*****

Mariel lifted her wine glass, tilting it circularly, before looking around her. It was a celebratory night for Mateo and his team because of the big success of their new product launching. And since Mariel also worked hard for that project, plus, she is Mateo's girlfriend, she joined Mateo's team celebration party. It was fun and everyone was in party mode.

Edgar, Mateo's buddy and associate, leads the lively night. He hosted the small event and it turned out to be very engaging. It is impossible for Mariel not to laugh at Mateo's teammate's funny jokes and silly games. Until someone forced Mateo to join the dance floor. Mateo left no choice but to accept their invitation, while she became forgotten on the side. They also invited her but not as eager and insisted as to how they invited Mateo. Now, she's watching her boyfriend dancing with other girls.

Thanks to Jury, she and Mateo were still together. Even though Mateo is not aware of her being grumpy about him. The next day, when they talked, she said that the reason she left without a word is that she had a lot of things on her hand, she was burned out, and she didn't like it if the President noticed it. Surprisingly, he buys and accepts her excuse without a doubt. He really is a nice guy. But now it is different. Other than his team are mostly women, the majority of them are single, and they were flirting with him. And what she hated the most was he didn't have any idea about it. All she can do is watch and drink.

"Go! Move to the beat, Sir!" said the tall, model-like girl named Brigette.

"Sir, your dancing skill is awful," the petite one named Princess.

"Look at Ms. Mariel. Seeing you right now, it looks like she's going to dump you later," the sexiest of them named Ruby. She is also her most hated among them.

"Woah! No! That's a bad joke!" Mateo backs off and goes back to their table.

The ladies followed him and sat around them. "Anyway, Ms. Mariel, are you a heavy drinker?" said Princess.

“I doubt it! It doesn’t suit her character,” Brigette said, laughing.

“Right.” Princess and Brigette had a high five.

“Or maybe it is fine to get drunk since Sir Mateo is here,” Ruby inserted. “And they can have a wild night! Rrrr.” Ruby acted like a cat and playfully scratched Mateo's face.

Mariel stamps the table beside Jury's station that makes her startle.

“Thinking of what happened last night makes me pissed,” said Mariel in distress.

Jury was in the Advertising office when Mariel came in. Since Jury was busy the whole day, and she had to finish her assignment, they didn't have a chance to talk in other places. Considering no one was there, Mariel decided to spill out her anger there, over last night’s incident.

“What did Mateo say?” Jury asked, trying to focus on her flyer designing.

“Nothing! He didn’t do anything that adds up to my outrage. That’s why I’m ignoring all his calls and texts.”

“Again? I don’t know,” Jury said, still concentrating on her laptop. “Maybe there is no other meaning about what they said that’s why Mateo didn’t do anything? You are just over reading what they said.” Mariel didn’t say anything which made Jury turn at her. Mariel is now glaring at her with disbelief eyes. Jury backed off and raised her hands, “But what they did is really--- mean!” she immediately said.

“I told you!” Mariel slacks a little and sulks like a child. “I really don’t like them.”

Thank God, Jury at ease again. It is really hard to disagree with her. “But, I think, you should tell Mateo why and what’s happening to you. Maybe he doesn’t have any idea of what is happening.”

“I’ll try,” she said, playing the pencils and ruler on the other table.

They are still in the middle of a conversation when someone knocks on the door. It was Mateo looking for Mariel. On the other hand, Jury started to feel uneasy again.

“How did you know that I am here?" Mariel asked Mateo.

"Someone told me they saw you come here," Mateo explained. "Anyway, can we talk?"

It takes a while before Mariel speaks so Jury decides to step out, "I leave you two here." She stood up and was about to make her leave but Mariel stopped her.

"You can talk to me even Jury is here," Mariel announced.

Shock, Jury twitch, bubbling to say it is not a good idea. But the two were in deep tension. In the end, Mateo took a deep breath, letting Mariel win.

"Okay, then, would you like to grab some food first?" Mateo suggested. "We can go to a nearby restaurant."

"There is no need to do that," said Mariel.

"So, you are, seriously, going to talk here?" Jury asked.

"If you want, we can go to my office. It's more private there."

Finally, Mariel agreed to Mateo without considering her state. So then, they all went to Mateo's office. Looking around, Jury was trying to distract herself from feeling stress on the occurring situation. She focuses her attention on what's inside Mateo's office. It is not big but just enough to have a small meeting of four to five people. To her surprise, she saw a small refrigerator in one corner of the room and opened it. "Wow, you have your refrigerator, awesome!" she accidentally said out loud, then she heard Mateo's laugh. She looked at him and she was right. He is having fun watching her. "Oh, sorry."

"It's okay!" Mateo exclaimed. "You can eat anything inside. There's also a chocolate bar there. You can have it."

"Really?" The sound of the word 'chocolate' rings a bell in her ear. She really needs that. Other than having a lot of workloads, she is also intensified about continuously getting tangled in the fight between Mariel and Mateo. It is not just the ordinary stress of being involved, but it is also heartbreakingly crushed her feelings into pieces. Damn! She is trying her best not to get in the way of their relationship, and forget her affection for the man she was admiring for three years, yet there she is, dragging closer to him. What bullshit! Good thing, she is a good pretender. Lifting her soul, she took the chocolate bar from the refrigerator. "I love chocolates! Thank you!" The chocolate is so good but it also has an aftertaste she is not familiar with.

Mateo was amazed by how Jury enjoyed the chocolate bar she was eating. He was about to give a trivia about the chocolate, that it has a rum in it when Mariel started to talk. "What do you want to say?" He looked at her girlfriend. Years before, he was just secretly amazed by her beauty and her passion for her job. Then, he had a chance to get to know her more. She is really wonderful and brilliant at doing her work. She is also fun to be with. And it only took him overnight to realize that he fell for her. But now that he is looking at her makes him feel drained. She is serious while sitting on the couch. He never thought that having her as a girlfriend would be complicated. She is very professional in terms of work and business but in terms of having a relationship, she seems a little childish. He doesn't have any idea what is going on in her mind. But then again, he still loves her.

"Did something happen last night? `Cause after I dropped you off last night. It feels like you're avoiding me," he said straight.

It takes a long while before she speaks up, "Let's just forget about it. Maybe I'm just not used to being your girlfriend and I don't like that there are so many girls around you."

"Oh!" He was surprised by the turn of events. He came closer to her and hugged her. "It looks like my girlfriend is being jealous. How cute." He pinches her nose even though she was trying to be hard and tough. "Don't worry, there is no one else above you."

“I’m not!” Still being grumpy.

“Okay, okay,” Mateo giggled. She looks so cute because of her coyness. “Do you want to go somewhere else?”

“Nah, I’m fine.” She settles.

“Oh, how about your friend? Her name is Jury, right?” Then, they heard Jury cough badly. Concern, they both turned to her. She is now choking so she immediately reached for a bottle to drink. Then he noticed that the bottle she was holding was not from him. It was with one of his staff and if he was not mistaken it was a vodka they hid from last night.

“Yes, We have been friends since we were a child,” Mariel started to narrate.

“Is she a heavy drinker like you?” He was being serious but Mariel took it the other way.

“Are you teasing me?” she said in disbelief, but a hint of shyness was visible on her face. She is being cute.

“Ha-ha, No. It is not that,” he said in the middle of laughter.

“Are you sure?” she said, arching one of her eyebrows.

“Of course!”

“Well, if that’s the case, no. She is not. She is worse. A little alcohol can make her sick. Anyway,” Mariel stands up. “It’s getting late, I think we need to go.”

“Yeah!” Jury shouted. “Let’s go! Go! Go!”

“Are you alright?” Mariel asked Jury, seeming like she was wondering about Jury's sudden change of attitude.

“Of course! I’m a little sleepy but I’m fine. Let’s go!” she said, holding the empty bottle.

Oh no! Because of being concerned, Mateo offered a ride to them. And as soon as they’ve got in. Jury falls asleep.

“Do you think she is fine?” Mateo asked Mariel.

Mariel takes a look at the back seat where Jury is in deep sleep. “Yeah, she’s always like that. As soon as we settled on the bus she fell asleep.”

When they arrive at Mariel’s apartment, Jury also gets off without a word. She hugs Mariel and makes a vow to Mateo. Then she started to walk away. Weird, she seems to be different again.

“Take care, Jury. Thanks for tonight,” Mariel shouted beside him. Jury just waved her hand.

“Are you sure she is going to be fine?” Mateo asked again.

“Of course,” Mariel assured him, then she gave Mateo a quick kiss on the check. “Thanks for today. Be careful on your way home.” Mateo nodded, then Mariel made her way inside the building.

Mateo was still worried about Jury being drunk without her knowing she was drunk. He was anxious that she may get into trouble again like what happened to the cafeteria. He was a table away and about to confront Manager Javier when she stood up for her friend. In the end, he can’t help himself but follow him in secret. She seems fine aside from stopping and shaking her head, as if she was dizzy, from time to time. Until she bumped into a mid-old lady with a pomeranian dog.

“Oh, sorry! Wait, you're working at JBS, right?” asked the old lady. Jury nodded. “I knew it. I’m working in the cafeteria. Are you leaving around here?” Jury just nodded again. “Oh, right…” Still, Jury didn’t say anything. “Anyway, it is nice meeting you. See you around.” Jury took a vow on her while the lady was leaving.

Something is odd about her right now so Mateo continues to follow her until she enters a three-story house. She stopped in front of room 202. It takes her some time to move and open the door. Finally, she got home safely.

This is unusual. Mateo stands on Jury's apartment door, still wondering. He never thought that he would follow someone for no specific reason. But now that he was sure that Jury is fine and got home safely, he can now take his leave. When the door abruptly opens again and Jury… with long wavy red-brown hair and wearing red lipstick, emerges from the unit. Both of their eyes met. But she seems to be another person. Though he was wearing casual clothes, he was sure it was Jury.

“Sorry, do you need something?” she asked then shut the door behind her.

He shook his head, a frown on his forehead. She is giving a feeling that they don't know each other. “None. Are you going somewhere--- Jury?”

She faced him confidently, “Oh, I’m not Jury." She stretched her hand and smiled. "I’m Alex,” she said and winked.

*****