The Billionaire's Closet [English]

Chapter 5: Friends

Hughes was in a hurry right after he went out of the elevator. His step was in a rush until he goes inside to the basement parking lot of Soledad Hotel. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face continues to turn pale as white scratched paper. His heartbeat was at a fast speed that he couldn’t imagine he can sense. He kept on looking behind him as if he was expecting Yuriah to follow and spoke to him. However, he was disappointed when he did not saw her coming after him. He did not even greet Michicko Soledad on his way out, as he is fascinated by the new features that did not even replace his ex-girlfriend’s innocent face. Mico was the owner of the said hotel and Hughes’s classmates back in college for a few subjects. He stopped walking in front of his car, put down his traveling bags on his side, and slowly bent down to wear the accidentally removed pair of shoes properly as he disremembered them to tie.

“Dude, are you checking out now?” Mico inquired as he went near him that made Hughes almost fall on the filthy floor of the basement parking lot if he did not hold on to the side frames of his car. He is surprised by his sudden appearance and by the sound of his deep-toned voice. Mico gave a raucous laughed at his unexpected reaction, “Dude, are you hiding something from me, or are you now hiding on someone right now?” his voice is teasing him calmly.

Hughes grinned at him as he visibly rubbed his slightly rumpled black coat. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He seemed in a state of despair.

“No, Dude,” he replied as he opened the back door of his car; Mico follows him as he is still discussing something. “It just that I’d still have a jetlagged, I just came back from China earlier today, and I was in a hurry to go to my brother’s condo.” he lied; it was a few years ago when Giordano sold his condo unit as he is moving to an Island.

“Oh, I see.” replied the owner of the hotel as he disheveled the still-damp wet strands of his hair, “Are you free later? Today is Lacim’s birthday, and we will celebrate at one of the clubs around here in BGC later tonight. Do you want to come and party with us? It’s been a while since you come with us, Hughes.”

Hughes shook his head vehemently. He did not like the idea of partying, celebrating, and drinking that night. Hughes was tired and had a lot of things going on in his mind. His break up with Andrius and the thought that he saw unexpectedly inside the hotel the second woman he loved aside from his mother when he is in middle school. His mind is a mess. If Hughes looks on the other side, he could say yes to him to forget his hindrance for a while. But he couldn’t utter a single word right now as he is still a bit flushed.

“No, Dude, I don’t think I can come and celebrate with you tonight.” he declined Mico’s invitation.

“Are you sure, Dude?” Mico’s sparkling eyes turn into gloomy ones. He is a bit disappointed as he wants Hughes to bring with him, “Lacim, Julian, and Froylan could be thrilled if they know that I bump with you today.”

“Why?” Hughes’s eyebrow curved into an arch as he shifted his eyes to Mico, “Is there something that you want to ask about me?”

Mico shook his head. He used to drink with Hughes when they are still in college and smoke weeds, if they have time, and with his friends—and meeting him unexpectedly right now after how many years seemed marvelous for him. But he guesses that the time was not appropriate; Hughes is unavailable and busy with his obligations and responsibility.

“Nevermind,” Mico murmured as he gets his business card on the pocket of his suit, “In case that you changed your mind later, just call me.” he stretched his arms that were holding the card to Hughes, he stared at Mico for a few minutes which is now smiling at him. He urged to accept the card and slowly slid it inside the pocket of his bag, “The group wants to see you in person as we often saw you on the local news on television.”

Hughes nods his head at him to agree with what he said. He is one of the billionaires who features on national television like his brother, Giordano.

“Alright, I’ll call you later once I changed my mind.” he agreed.

Mico casually tapped Hughes’s left shoulder before he turned around and walked to get inside the hotel. Hughes watched his back until he was gone from his sight. He shrugged his shoulder as he gets inside his car. And before he starts his car engine, he already spotted Yuriah that went inside the parking lot hurriedly. She roamed her eyes at the place as if she was looking for someone. And because Hughes was shocked at her second appearance, it made him start his car's engine in a rush without a second thought and drove his car as fast as he can. His heartbeat was maintained earlier as if he was on the run from his crime.

“Damned!” he yells as he nearly bumped his car on the car in front of him, “Hughes, please calm down! Why are you running away?”

He droved slowly, and in a split second, he was able to stop and parked his car on the side of the road. Unconsciously, he hit the steering wheel of his car with his balled fist. He ruffled his hair and lowered his face into it.

“Calm down, Hughes, what is wrong with you?!” he urged himself, “She was just Yuriah, your ex-girlfriend from your past. It’s been a decade.”

After an hour of resting there, Hughes was able to call his brother.

“Where are you?” Giordano asked right after he answered his call, “Are you back in the country, Hughes?” his hoarse voice sounds asleep.

“Yes, I am in Manila right now. Are you here?”

Hughes stayed in Iba, Zambales, in the Philippines, where he started and built his vast and enormous tobacco plantation owned by his family. And Giordano, his younger brother, stayed on an Island where their family-owned resorts went broke, but it was now back on track because of Giordano. Their parents are staying in their old ancestral house, which built-in Manila, Philippines. Their family still meets and gathers on special occasions and events like birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and upcoming holidays. Hughes and Giordano grow up independently and have a business mindset. When they are young, their father, pure Spanish, trained them to be like him in the future. Today, Giordano and Hughes’s achievement credited their father, a business tycoon, before passing their business to his two sons.

“No, Hughes, my schedule to go there is still tomorrow.” Giordano responded to his question, “Why?”

“Nothing, I just think that we can meet today for a glass of beer,” he replied, a bit disappointed as he wants him to meet.

“It still midday Hughes, do you have a problem?”

“No, I don’t have one.” he tried to fake his laugh, things that he learned for a long time to hide his real feelings, “You know, it’s been a while since we’ve to drink together and went out.”

He heard Giordano’s deep sigh from the other line.

“It’s alright, Giordano, I don’t think I can stay longer too and--”

“Zach and Maximo are currently in Manila,” he cut him off, telling about his friends, things that Hughes envies about his younger brother. He has a few friends, but they are authentic, unlike him; that ton of friends but they are busy doing things that only God knows in this kind of time. “You can call one of them and be their drinking buddy just for today or tonight. I’ll give you their number. You choose which one, or you choose the two.”

“Alright, I can’t say no to your friends.”

Giordano’s chuckled at what he said for a few minutes. He knows his brother very well.

“I’ll send their phone numbers to you, Hughes, and please wait for me there tomorrow. Let’s have a breakfast to ease your hangover.” Giordano’s cackled made Hughes shook his head.

“Alright, before I went back to Zambales, let’s meet up.” he agreed as he touched his dry lips and the slowly growing mustache; his eyes were roaming around at the many cars that were passing by.

“Are you already in a hotel?” his brother asked with a curious tone.

“No, I am on my way to find one.”

“Hughes, go to my friend Jason’s hotel, and I will call him to assist you, personally.”

Hughes wrinkled his forehead as he thinks that he also has a friend who owns a hotel, and it was Mico that he meet earlier. They are not close, but he can call him friends if he wanted to.

“Don’t worry about me. I could find my hotel room. Have you forgotten who I am, Giordano?”

“I was not Hughes,” his younger brother depended on himself, “I was just worried about you. Your voice sounds like you are tired from your flight to book a hotel. I am just helping you out with all my might. We are siblings, Hughes. Don’t take it seriously as it was also a good idea.”

“Alright, stop explaining yourself.” he murmured, “You are sounded like, Mom.”

Giordano let a boisterous laughed. Hughes can imagine how his brother laughed at him at that moment.

“Stop nagging Giordano, will you?”

“Okay, Hughes, I will stop in one condition.”

“What kind of condition is that?” he asked nervously, he knows him very well, and his brother is bully since they were a kid, “If it was about getting married at this age, please stop. And please don’t ruin my good mood at this moment.” he ruffled his hair once again, he felt a bit devastated.

“You are right; Mom’s kept asking me if your girlfriend from the past came back.”

“What did you say to her?”

“I did not say anything aside from that she was still in Australia like the last time you said.”

“Good.”

“Should I tell Mom that you two broke up a long time ago?”

“Giordano?!” he yelled in a frustrated tone. His brother is teasing him again, this time. “I did not break up with her.” his voice becomes unlikely.

“What? That was true. You two broke up, or she broke up with you?”

Hughes slowly adjusted on his seat; he doesn’t like the shifting of their main topic. He did not want to go back and recollect about those days of his life. For him, it seemed like the scarier nightmare of his youth.

“Giordano, I have to go,” he said after a few minutes of silence.

“Wait, Hughes, you did not--”

“I will end the call. I am going to look for my hotel room now.”

“Hughes, I already send a message to Jason asking him a favor because of you.”

“Goodbye Giordano, see you tomorrow.”

He ended the call before his brother could protest at what he said. He let a sly smile as if, for the first time, he won on their argument, and he also bullied him and ruined his mood by canceling and dropping his call.

When nights come, Hughes finds himself inside the bar, which has loud music and packed up with customers. After he called his brother, Maximo called him, asking where he is and what he want to do at night. Giordano already gives his number to his friend without him knowing. They two decided to meet inside the bar where the group of Mico was celebrating Lacim’s birthday. After booking a VIP room in a nearby hotel, he called Mico too, not minding and ignoring Giordano’s friend calls who owns a hotel, Jason.

“Dude, it’s been a while!” a muscular and widely smiling guy hugged him and pat his shoulder, “How are you, Hughes? Long time no see.”

“Hey Lacim, happy birthday.” he replied as he returned the smile, “How old are you today?” he laughed at his question.

“Damned, Hughes, we are at the same age.” a guy with a chinky eyes whose name is Lacim replied, “I am just ahead a few months on your birthday.”

Hughes just laughed and went to their table to greet another member of their group.

“Julian, how are you, Dude?”

“I am good, Hughes, please sit down.” replied and gesture of a man with long and skinny legs.

They are inside of a VIP room of the said club. Some girls from somewhere were inside the room. Entertaining the boys as they can that came from a wealthy family. Hughes accepted a glass offered by another guy. He drank in one go, the alcohol in that shot glass.

“Froylan, you did not change even a bit!” he shouts as he tastes the bitterness of the alcoholic drink on his mouth.

Froylan just laughed at him, shaking his head. He is already a bit tipsy.

“Have you changed, Hughes?” Froylan asked that made them burst into loud laughter.

“I thought you wouldn’t come because you are busy?” it was Mico who offered him another shot glass. He accepted the shot glass and laughed when Lacim kicked Mico intentionally in his ass.

“Are you blind, Dude?” he asked as a matter of fact, “Hughes was here, so it means he is not busy.”

Mico was about to retaliate against Lacim with a punch when Froylan spoke, which made Mico stopped.

“Today is his birthday Mico, give him a break.”

“Lacim, your brother-in-law is to the rescue,” Julian murmured enough to be heard by them.

Lacim laughed as he glanced at Hughes, who is a bit awkward at their topic.

“Correction, Dude, you are his first brother-in-law, Julian, and I am just a second one.” he pointed his finger at himself, “How about you, Hughes, do you want to be Froylan’s bother-in-law?”

Words left Hughes at that moment. He forgets how to answer his question. Luckily, Hughes is saved by Maximo, who is constantly calling now on his phone.

“I am sorry, I need to answer this call.” he politely said as he walks outside of the bar while answering the call, not minding their words. “Hello?”

“Bro, it was Maximo.”

Hughes sluggishly smiled at what Maximo called him. It was the code of their brotherhood. For that moment, he looked up at the blurred sky. He wished at the pale, luminous giant moon that he could also meet a friend like them—a group of Mico called them Dude and Giordano’s group with a Bro code.