Revenge of the Billionaire’s Ex-Lover

12. The Warmth of Hold (PART I)

“MAY I ASK YOUR VISIT, ma’am?”

The woman in the front desk asked with a soft tone and a polite smile. Just as I expected, there are several people around the whole building, trying to get their chance to acquire the experts they need in building their nest. I just hope my best friend is not really that busy for me to kidnap her right now.

“Is Architect Roxas available right now?” I softly asked, returning her sweet smile.

“Yes, ma’am, she is. May I ask for your name first to check if you have an appointment with her?” She asked once again, about checking something on her monitor.

“I’m—”

“Don’t need to bother! Just let her in.” I heard a familiar voice from behind, making me turn around only to see an unexpected person to be in this building right now… or probably not really that unexpected. He walked towards me, stopping his track next to me before giving a smile and turning to the woman in front of us again. “She is my, Architect Roxas, and Architect Montilla’s special guest. Also, if she comes here again, you don’t need to stop her anymore. Just let her in.”

Those were the only words Gerald had to say before he pulled me with him away from the front desk. Luckily, the woman in there immediately gave him a nod then just left us alone. I remained silent and only followed Gerald until we passed through the turnstile with the guards in there giving him a polite greeting which he responded with a smile.

“You are lucky that I came here late and I bump into you. Otherwise, you will end up waiting in the lobby for your turn.” He exclaimed, pushing the buttons in the elevator.

I wander my eyes around as the other employees greets him in a polite way as if he is the CEO himself. “What are you? The owner of this place?” I bluntly asked without any hesitation.

A small chuckle escaped his lips as he shook his head. “Not really, but it is my father who owns this place. Also, my brother is the current CEO while I am the Head of the Engineering Department, which explains why you managed to get in here without any problem.” The elevator opened as we both got in before he pushed another button again which indicated a floor number. “You see, not everyone can really go up easily in the designated floor for every department because clients always need to be picked up by the architects or engineers themselves. If they are too busy, the front desk will call them then they will assist the client to their office. That is why you are indeed lucky that you bump into me.”

“I wasn’t sure if I should be really glad or not. I’m pretty sure there will be rumors between us going around your building after this.” I pointed out, shaking my head.

It is actually given. In our company, almost every single move that each employee makes has become such a big deal to some people that I even had to take action to stop such rumors from spreading over and over again. I know that it is likely their way to relieve stress, but I can’t really let some baseless rumors keep spreading to the company and ruin other employees' reputation without clear evidence. After all, Dad is pretty well-known for firing employees in two ways: they make a mistake in front of him or he hears something bad about them that can ruin the company’s reputation. That is why I always try my best to prevent the rumors from spreading even before it reaches him.

“You don’t have to worry! People in this building are busy enough to not even care about each other’s personal lives. If you will talk about their work related stuff such as stealing projects, failed projects, and sabotaging, maybe it will become a hot topic that will spread within a second.” He assures me, which I don’t think is better than the baseless rumors spreading about our company. “Besides, everyone here knows that I am loyal to my woman. They all know Stacey too. So it is impossible for me to play around and be a f**k boy like Donovan.”

A smirk formed my lips as he spoke ill towards his friend without any hesitation. “Should I be glad that Don’s friends know his damn nature and never deny it?” I sarcastically said, making him smile.

“We aren’t like others who will keep on turning a blind eye to our friend’s mistake, Kaylie. The least we can do as our friend’s friend is to become true to them and point out their faults that they are too blind to see. After all, we are the only ones who know them well besides their own partners.” He explained and clearly pointed out each and each word. I slowly nodded, agreeing to his point.

What he said is one of the reasons why there is never a day when we stop scolding Deven for his playboy acts. As much as we want to just let him enjoy his life despite his busy career, knowing that his playboy acts is just his stress reliever, we still can’t stop scolding him because there are times that he is being too much already. The least we can do is either control him or give the woman he is flirting with a heads up of what can possibly happen. That is what they do to the man who tries to get in my pants as well anyway.

“Speaking of, I heard something interesting though.” He glances at me with a mischievous smirk plastered on his lips. I raised a brow in response. “I heard Donovan asked you to marry him instead? Is it true?”

A deep sigh escaped my lips, thinking how fast Don is spreading such false rumors. “To correct you, it’s not that he asked me to marry him. It is more like he proposed the idea to my father about having me marry him instead of marrying my friend who turned out to be my soon-to-be fiance if things didn’t go the way it's planned.” I corrected him without even bothering to give him a glance. “Your friend really does know how to put me in so much trouble whenever he can.”

“You can say I have a troublemaker for a friend.” He confessed with a grin plastered on his lips, like he is mocking his own friend. “But just to give you a heads up, don’t believe everything he says.”

My brows furrowed in confusion, making me look up to him. “What do you mean?”

He let out a deep sigh without giving me a single glance. “One thing I can only tell you is that the past still exists in his mind and heart, but there will always be one thing that won’t change. I’m just not sure if you are actually aware of it or even took it seriously back then.” The elevator door suddenly opened as he decided to put the door on hold to keep it open as he turned to look at me with a small smile. “He might be a troublemaker, a f**k boy in every people’s mind, and a strict yet considerate businessman now, but there will always be a lingering feeling in the past that he won’t ever forget.”

A lingering feeling in the past that he won’t ever forget. There is only one… but I can’t even tell if I should believe what this person says. After all, they are friends and I doubt he will even say things about his friend that will make me view him negatively. No matter how he claims to want to put their friend in the right path, I highly doubt that he will still drag Don down. I just can’t imagine Gerald doing that.

“Just go straight to the right side. There are plaques on the wall which states the names of the architects. You can find her just by looking at those.” He told me before pushing me gently out, probably because I was already stuck in my spot. I turned around to face him again as I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. He probably caught the idea already that it made him chuckle softly. “You don’t need to worry too much about Donovan. I’m pretty sure he made that offer to save you like you want to escape from your father. Set aside your doubts on him and just trust him with this. Besides, I doubt your father will even back down and accept his offer anyway. After all, your father probably despises my friend despite needing him in his business.”

I wasn’t able to say anything back anymore as he immediately pushed the close button of the elevator door, making me face the stainless door instead. All I could do was let out a deep sigh as I processed his words more in my head. He had hit all the points he needed to point out from his friend’s thoughts to my father’s that I can’t even deny his claims anymore because I know what he said were the truth in the very first place, especially the things he said about my father.

Knowing my father is like, no matter how much he wanted something, if he hated the person behind it, he wouldn’t change his view of that person even after acquiring what he wants. He could fake out his expressions in front of that person and act all friendly when in fact he hates that person to guts. He is ready to pretend for all his might just to get what he wants, and once he gets it, he will go back to his jerk side. So about Don’s offer, he probably just showed him that he is interested but has different thoughts.

With all those thoughts in mind, I walk my way in the large space of this floor to look for Kiana’s office. There are some people, whom I believe are junior architects, seated in front of their own tables as they busy themselves with their own works. Some of them would simply glance at me and give me a polite smile, which I was forced to give one as well as it is rude not to respond. Aside from the tables and chairs in the middle of the room, there are several private offices with doors and walls to cover the inside of the offices which is probably set for those with higher positions.

“Kiana April Roxas,” I read out the plaque plastered to the wall next to the door. A smile formed my lips upon seeing the title Head of the Architect Department below her name. She really has gone far now.

I stood in front of her office, not exactly sure whether I should just simply knock and open it since she might be busy or with a private client right now. I hesitated a lot, but I was left with no option since I don’t want to contact her as well because it might disturb her too much. Considering the fact that Kiana is a bit sensitive to any sounds while working, I don’t want to kidnap her today in a bad mood. That will be too hard to handle for the rest of the day… unless I have Jordan with me who can control Kiana well, so I decided to just simply knock.

“Come in!” She said in a bit annoyed tone, like I expected it. Slowly, I opened the door, making sure to take a peek inside first, only to have eye contact with Zoey instead. She raised her brows at me in confusion as I put on an awkward smile before opening the door wide. “Kailey? Why are you here?”

“I came to kidnap you today.” My gaze went to the blueprint on a separate table in the middle of the room in which Zoey and her were standing on its side, like they were discussing something before I knocked. “But you look busy. Maybe I will just kidnap you some other time.”

My own best friend gave me a confused gaze as if lost with my words, I could only let out a frustrated sigh before just waving my hand at her so I could leave already. However, Zoey is quick to stop me without any hesitation.

“You came at the right time! Go and kidnap your friend for the rest of the day, Kailey. She is giving me a massive headache right now.” Zoey stressfully pointed out, shaking her head. She looks at me with pleading eyes. “Please! I don’t wanna deal with a workaholic anymore! I haven’t gotten a proper sleep because of her.”

“It’s because you didn’t double check the overall design! You can’t blame me for that!” Kiana defended herself as usual.

I can totally understand Zoey’s feelings now.

“I did! It was Gerald who decided to change things up because your design is not possible due to some weight issues. He said that the blocks might not be able to hold the heavy object you want to put so he decided to just remove it since it's unnecessary anyway.” Zoey explained her side in a calm tone, but I know my best friend well when she is in her working mode.

“If he wants to change things, then he could at least ask me first! You didn’t even stop him!” Kiana argued this time.

“He did try calling you, Kiana! But he said you won’t answer your call yesterday. When he tried to call Deven, that man only said that you are resting, so Gerald had no choice but to decide himself.” My eyes slightly widened upon the mention of my other friend’s name. I squint my eyes as I look at Kiana, which she obviously avoided my gaze. “How about you calm down and just leave with Kailey for now? The change might be for the better as well so it won’t cause any problems in the future too.”

With a smirk plastered on my lips, I approach them then drape an arm into Kiana’s shoulder, almost making her stiff. “Zoey is right, Architect Roxas. You should let me kidnap you for today. After all, it looks like we have a lot to talk about.” I look at her as she gulps right away before a sigh escapes her lips.

Unexpectedly, she gave up right away without even saying anything anymore. She probably thought I would corner her more if I don’t get the answers I need from her today. I’m pretty sure she knows well that I will never shut up for it, so she just gave in despite her frustration. A small chuckle only escapes my lips as I watch her fix her things.

“Thank you for allowing me to escape from your best friend's strictness.” Zoey exclaimed, exaggerating it too much as if Kiana gave her such a very hard time. “Ah! I heard that you got an offer from Don. Is it true?”

“An offer?” Kiana butted in, giving her full attention to our direction, almost dropping her things to fix. I look at her in disbelief before crossing my arms with my purse while she puts a hand on her hips. “Why didn’t you tell me you got an offer?”

“Don’t you think you are not in the right position to question me about my whereabouts when you didn’t tell me about you being with Deven yesterday and dumping your work here?” I pointed out, loud and clear, with a brow raised and a small smirk plastered on my lips. She immediately put down her hand and cleared her throat, avoiding my gaze once again. “If you want me to corner you here now, just tell me. I would be glad to question you about you and our other friend.”

Before Kiana could even respond, I heard an awkward laugh next to me. The next thing I knew Zoey was already standing in front of me with a bit of fear obvious in her face, making me flustered by her sudden change of expression. My worry only set aside after hearing her next words that didn’t fail to make me laugh.

“Look guys, I didn’t come to work today to be your referee so don’t argue here.” She exclaimed in such an innocent tone yet still sounds so funny for me and Kiana. “I don’t want to get in between your business with your man because I have my own. So, let me leave first before you argue with one another about who spends time with who, okay?”

She didn’t waste any more time and rushed to leave the room, leaving me and Kiana in silence and confusion. I could tell that Zoey is that desperate to escape from any trouble that will cause her to be in between. She didn’t even bother looking back on her way back. It made me laugh so hard.

“She left thinking that we are about to fight.” I pointed out before forming a big grin on my lips.

“Well, we were about to do it if she didn’t make the room brighter before she left.” Kiana exclaimed with a small smirk plastered on her lips. We look at each other for a while before a small laugh escapes our lips at the same time. I watch as she then continues to fix her things once again. “You haven’t answered my question properly yet. Why are you here?”

I occupied the empty chair in front of her table with a small pout. “I just came to ask if you are free to spend time with me today. I don’t feel like being alone with everything that happened during the dinner with Don. Besides, I wanna tell you about Don’s offer to me as well.” I disclose without any problem.

“If that is our agenda, then I will have to go with you no matter what.” She exclaimed as if she just gained such a great benefit for herself.

She took time to get herself ready to head out. She even changed from her simple top and jeans into more fashionable clothes as if she is ready to walk on the runway anytime. Her change outfit surely caught almost everyone’s attention without any hesitation by the way almost everyone turned their heads when she passed by. I can’t blame her especially when she dresses up in a criss-cross tie crop tank top, which shows her stomach, and new jeans with a crop denim jacket and a pair of ankle boots to complete the look. I’m starting to think now that she will probably end up in the wrong career again.

We left their firm after arriving at the parking lot with me driving my car and so is she. I insisted on driving since she looked tired but she didn’t want to leave her car behind as it will be hard for her to drive back tomorrow.

In a separate car, we both arrived at the parking lot of the mall we usually visit as a group. It has a deep meaning for our circle of friends as it is the first place we went all together after being friends. It is the same building that helped me realize that it is indeed better to have someone with you, and not being alone.

“So, now that we are here, don’t you think it's the right time to give me an idea of what it is we are going to talk about?” Kiana said right away when she stood next to me with her arms crossed to her chest, looking at me with curious eyes. I squint my eyes on her as well, enough for her to tell what it is that I want, making her groan and roll her eyes around. “Fine! I will tell mine as well. It’s no use to hide it anyway. After all, Zoey already exposed me.”

It is unusual to see Kiana give in so I should take advantage of this moment now. “Give me an idea first why you were with Deven yesterday?” I exclaimed right away.

“He wanted to talk about a woman I caught in his office when I visited him. That was it.” She confessed with an idea, making my lips form an ‘o’ in understanding. “How about you then? What is this offer all about?”

In response, I can only let out a deep sigh first. Her case with Deven is not even as worse as mine now. How unlucky of me to think that I will get something big from her today.

“He offered to marry him instead.”