Mistakenly Eaten

76. The Santiago Ordeal

“What is it?”

Althea asked Salva, wondering if it was going to be her last day on the island.

Salva shook his head in utter disgrace.

“I am sorry!”

“Huh?”

Althea hurled, wondering why the guy was being so incoherently apologetic, whilst everything that came in to her mind, in anticipation of their conversation, seemed to be things that Althea should have been apologetic for.

But listening to Salva say that he was sorry, only rendered the girl even more confused.

“I am sorry, for what happened earlier.”

Still having the entire conversation resonate around the fact that it must have got to do something related to her and Nicholas’s rendezvous from early in the morning, Althea was having a hard time wrapping her mind around the reality of what Salva was trying to conjunct to her.

“What happened earlier?” she asked, bobbing her neck a little, trying to sound as relaxed and leaned in as possible, keeping her face poker, so that Salva couldn’t read through the anxiety and unease she felt at the moment.

“How Garry was mannerless towards you. That shouldn’t have happened.”

Salva told Althea, making a huge wave of relief wash all over her anxious state.

She sighed in relief and at the same time, chuckled a bit as she realized that she was reaching way too far in the entire situation and she didn’t need to worry much about anything regarding to what happened to her and Nicholas. No one was even remotely aware of it and it was just her and the moral compass inside her heart that was in doldrums and threatening her that her dirty little secret was out. No one knew about it – well except for her and of course Nicholas.

“About that.” She smiled as she spoke to Salva, “You don’t have to worry even the slightest about that. Nicholas already took hold of everything and…”

“I still feel like I owe you an apology.”

Althea paused, as Salva abruptly spoke in between her words, taking her by surprise.

“Huh? Why?”

“Because, I really respect you and no woman ever deserves to be put in such a place where someone should slur her due to prejudices of their own mental sickness and just because they think that being a man makes them better than the rest.”

Althea’s eyes softened as she looked at Salva and a soft smile appeared on her lips, curving them slightly and noticing the gentle uplift of her lips, Salva was rendered impermeably consternated, wondering if Althea’s happiness had beginning to be of matter for him.

“Salva…” she gently grabbed his hand and squeezed it just very lightly but her little gesture melted mountains of something so erogenous and yet so saintly pure that even Salva couldn’t quite comprehend and place a finger to what he felt in that moment.

“You saying all of this, is more than enough and if one think, I must tell you that you’re upbringing and your grooming is incredibly nicely done. Your mother must be very proud of you.”

She patted his cheek, which made a huge blast of something so ambiguous go out and loud inside Salva’s soul.

Just a single touch of sobriety and affection, though platonic but still extant, split Salva’s heart in to many pieces at once but at the same time, they all glued back together and once his heart was full, as it felt the moment Althea’s hand remained intact on her face, his heart had never felt so perfect, in place and fitted right from every single angle.

“You are an incredible human being. Please never change and I hope whoever is your better half, would feel the same way as well. I wonder why you are single, when you have such a graceful and such an honorable thinking. I am pretty sure, all of your ex girlfriend must have felt delighted whilst they were with you.”

As Althea stated those words, she finally turned to leave and Salva was left lost in his thoughts. Of course, even if he was hanging around and involved in temporary flings with girls, never dating anyone with the possibility of settling down, he was still making sure to always be a gentleman and many girls also taught him to be gentle and caring as well.

And perhaps, all of that, including his familial values, brought him where he was, to Althea, the first girl ever to appreciate the art of being sensitive and not being too in touch with his masculine side.

Whilst Salva and Althea were having a sweet conversation, right outside the kitchen, when Fiona had rushed to be alone in her room, Andrew had caught up with her and obstructed her path by standing right in front of her.

“Fiona, please! Just listen to me. I know what I did in there was abrupt and it shouldn’t have been done this way but I thought that I saw a moment, where you were being brave and vulnerable, and that gave me the courage to be brave as well and admit my true feelings…”

He tried to argue and explain himself but Fiona’s mind was in shambles, rendered her too muddled to even think clearly.

“Andrew, please!” Fiona held her hand out in front of Andrew, hindering him from speaking any further.

“Anything you say right now would fly like an arrow through my heart. I am already very confused and tired and honestly, very hurt. Please! I just need some space, can I have that?”

Even though, her words pierced through the poor skinny guy’s heart like a sharp dagger, that had its pointy end puncture right through his chest, but at the same time Andrew understood that he should not act like Garry and push Fiona.

No matter how much eager and worried it might make him feel, he still needed to understand that Fiona needed her space and time to process everything that had happened and for that very purpose, Andrew nodded.

“I am sorry for pushing my personal feelings on to you, like that. Of course, you need your time and space and once, you have decided and cone up with a decision, whatever choice you have made, I promise to support it in its full form whether it resembles my own personal choices or not.”

Fiona didn’t say much and simply turned and left and at the very same time, Althea walked out of the kitchen and found Andrew standing inside the main foyer, all alone, seemingly dejected and disappointed.

She saw Fiona rush up the stairs and understood that the girl was simply looking forward to wrapping herself in her blankets and spending the rest of the days alone.

Althea first walked up to Andrew and gently patted his shoulder.

“It’s going to be okay.” She told him and he nodded.

“Whatever decision Fiona will make, must be accepted by me.” He told her, showing complete confidence in the meritoriousness of the situation.

Althea hummed and gently patted his shoulder one more time, before making her way towards Fiona’s room, to give her friend the emotional support that she needed, leaving Andrew all alone, who decided to go by the pool area.

As the main foyer emptied, for only a moment, out of the kitchen walked Anthony and Martha, along with Salva.

“How the hell did all of that fiasco even occurred?” Martha asked from Salva, who had told her about the entire debacle, once she and Anthony entered the kitchen through the dining area and had found it to be completely empty, something which was quite unusual for them to witness, at that early hour of the day.

“I always knew that this boy Garry and Fiona will be of trouble some day.” Anthony complained, as he rushed along with Salva towards Nicholas’s office, where he was going to consul his nephew to make the correct decision.

He believed that he had done enough in his life to help Alejandro, guide the kids, both Nicholas and Lucas, to make the appropriate decisions and even though, Anthony knew that Lucas was actually a weak link in the entire family and since the work that he did revolved around handling the illegal businesses of the family, which automatically put Lucas under more pressure to perform extra carefully, that’s why Anthony made sure to always stay by that kid’s side and believed that Nichoals was more keen and sharp to make better decisions.

Despite of his faith in Nicholas’s better cognizance, Anthony believed that in the matters revolving around the house staff, that Anthony and Alejandro hand picked and ordained to work at the island, which was a highly secretive place for the family to rest during their leisure days.

That’s why, Anthony couldn’t risk firing any officials, since they were also hired under strict contracts.

As the trio entered inside the office, Nicholas stood in front of his desk, leaning back against the last glass table, with Gigi and Garry standing erect, their hands behind their backs, their heads perched down and their backs facing the door, as they were going to be held accountable by the owner of their island and their boss, at that moment.

Anthony and Martha got inside the room, and found Serena sitting at the sofa chairs.

Salva made sure to check that no one, Althea in particular was nowhere around the office and closed the doors behind him.

Martha joined Serena and sat down on the sofa chairs but she noticed how treacherously silent Serena was, as if something were cooking up in her mind and she was the least concerned of the worldly activities that were going on and around her. Martha could tell that the woman was lost in a trance of her own. Martha assumed that it might be something related to what incurred with Fiona, whom Serena treated like a daughter. But little was she aware that Fiona was the last person on Serena’s mind and instead, her veins were pumping and filled with ever increasing and multiplying hatred for Althea, whom Serena blamed for the entire façade.

Had Althea never urged Fiona, to confess her feelings to Garry, none of the debacle had occurred.

Martha shifted her attention to her husband, who walked to stand next to Nicholas, hoping that whatever decision he would make, would mirror the impetus perspicacity and invigorated decision making of his father.

Salva made sure to firmly stand behind the two brothers, so that in case, something physical might incur, he would be present assertively active, to handle things in his own way.

“I don’t have much high expectations from Garry.” Nicholas began, shooting the first dart and hitting Garry right to the bullseye of his ego.

The boy clenched his fist tightly behind his back and Salva keenly noticed the twitching of his fingers and silently nodded at Nicholas that his words were having an effect on the guy.

Nicholas simply read Salva’s expressions and decided to remain poker, shifting his gaze towards Gigi, who looked up at his master, ready to listen, like an obedient slave.

“But you Gigi! I perhaps expected a bit too much from you.”

Gigi clenched his jaw, gritting it with as much force possibly his body could apply to urge him to stop from screaming out loud and thrashing the furniture around, to disappointing his employers. Because for him, the only thing and the only target of his life was pleasing those who paid him.

His training told him to use his physical powers and wits, in defense of those, who paid him and listening to the fact that he had disappointed them, did hurt his ego and his morality.

“You haven’t failed me in your duties as head of the security. In fact, you perform those duties, better than anyone could ever in this entire planet. I would never find someone as honest as you in this line of field, even if I begin burning my hair one by one with each passing attempt to ever find someone like you but perhaps, it is your teachings, I expected you to impart and pass along to the second generation of those hired on this island, that I do not see and I feel like you have failed to pass them on. Why don’t I see the honesty that you posses in others? A woman on this island was insulted today, where was the safety of her owner? Was that not put in to question? And that also in your presence, under your watch? Is it only physical security that matters to you? Don’t our ideological constitutional obligations tell you what is sovereignly correct and what not on this island?”

Nicholas rose an encompassing conundrum, making everyone raise their eyebrows in sheer surprise.

Anthony was rendered stunned at Nicholas’s quick witted remarks, that definitely questioned Gigi’s ability to perform his duties in their entirety, without directly commenting that his performance was below par. Nicholas was surely a plutocrat in his essence and ability to control those under him, which exhibited how well he must do in handling all those thousands of employees that were at the mark of his decisions and at the merge of his mercy.

“The set of rules to live and work on this island and in Santiago Corporations are absolutely inordinate and one does not need anything more to look in to, in order to understand morality when it comes to duty and performance.” Gigi repeated his words, that he always used to define and train the new ones, whilst describing the integrity of the set of rules, ordained and engraved for the chosen loyal ones, who worked at the Santiago Corporations and were hired through legal means, to come and work at the island.

“And what is one of the very initial things we tend to focus on, when we hire someone new? What do we emphasize upon?” this time, it was Anthony who urged him to speak up.

Gigi took in a deep breath, and held his head up and high, showcasing that he was proud of the teachings but at the same time, he felt burdened and hurt on the inside, something that he was excellently masking at the moment.

“That our major focus is to make sure to never create a hostile environment for women and those who have newly enjoined the organization.”

“And why is that so?” Nicholas c****d, both uncle and nephew, increasing pressure on Gigi’s neck, trying their best to break through him, if he showed any weak point.

Sweat beads formed at the back of his neck and it showed Salva, that the guy was definitely feeling pressure on some part of his body, even though he made sure to not to show even the slightest wrinkle on his forehead and hold back his sweat from forming on the front.

“Because women are more susceptible to hostility and new ones are required to get comfortable before pressure should be asserted on them.” He answered, still keeping his voice void of being bereaved.

“And how much do you believe in these values?” Nichoals pressed and Gigi remained silent for a moment, until he gulped hard and formulated a text that would not hurt anyone present in the room, who was closely attached to those rules.

“As much as I believe in my ability to protect you and those under my surveillance from any harm.”

Nicholas leaned back against his desk and crossed his arms across his chest.

“My grandfather, formulated the Santiago Ordeal - a set of these rules to define and describe, stimulate and inject a wheel and cycle of efficient working that would continue on, even when he would not be with us anymore. He stipulated these rules, when he saw that my father would be dividing his previously merged from generation business in to two branches and handing it out to his two identical sons, who even though looked the same on the outside but were poles apart in mental and physical constraints and even though we handled two completely different businesses, the rules of these simple ideologies, apply on both, an illegal weaponry and money laundering business and a hotel chain and enterprise business that runs all across the world. Do you think of these two businesses is not performing well?” he once again threw the question and this time as Gigi shook his head to answer, Nicholas rose his hand up in the air, prohibiting him from speaking any further.

“The question wasn’t for you.” He spoke, making it evidently clear, who was the other person, being held under the gun.

Garry, once again fisting his hands behind his back, looking up at Nicholas. Though his entire face was red, one side in particular was slightly more crimson, due to Nicholas’s slap that had hit him previously.

“I asked you something.” Nicholas urged the guy to speak up, who held nothing but flames in his eyes – flames full of anger.

Garry shook his head, deciding to keep his quiet, since he knew that if he opened up his mouth, Nicholas would be the second one to take any action against him, the first one would be his own brother.

Nicholas could still tell that the rod of ego that was fitted in to Garry’s spine had not melted, it anything it had only incurred a slight injury on it and it was tough one that needed to be melted with pressure and extensive work upon.

He turned away, consternating Garry with a simply gesture, something that hurt Garry even more and made him realize that he wasn’t the commander of the world, like he believed himself to be. Each time he put himself in to competition with Andrew and won feigned his ego even more and somehow because of Nicholas, who definitely had more authority than him, made him feel like for the first time, he might be even losing to Andrew, someone he considered to be highly peasant. And all of this was not sitting right with Garry’s self esteem, that felt endangered, as Nicholas kept on blowing his self induced, self-image over and over again.

Anthony understood Nicholas’s turn around and realized that he needed to handle the rest of the situation on his own.

“Every employee, contracted and hired under the Santiago Corporation, has to follow the set of rules and…”

“That’s why these rules don’t apply on Althea? Because she is not a contracted employee?”

The voice echoed inside the entire room, making everyone turn to find Serena, standing up on her feet, in the middle of the room, raising that question high and affront.

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What do you think is the significance of this moment in the upcoming chapters of the book?

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