Revenge of the Billionaire’s Ex-Lover

09. The Karma's Payback

“HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WELL?”

The silence broke inside a small space of this car after Darryl decided to speak up on behalf of the two of us. It is weird how things turned out like this between us. Thinking about those days when things are just peaceful between us and we don’t really have something to be awkward about, it feels new that we are in this kind of situation all because we are being forced with one thing that we don’t want in the first place.

In the very first place, I already know that the marriage our parents wanted for the both of us will make everything between us different. There will be changes and there will also be a gap between us starting that day, yet we can’t even help it. And that is what I fear the most for the both of us, for us to feel like there is a gap that we can never cover up anymore.

“Good? I have been just busy managing the hotel and just doing my job. Not really much to do these days besides those.” I answered shortly, giving him a small smile.

“I heard you are tasked to make the partnership with DTC Group possible?” I immediately looked at him, confused on how he got to know about it. But then, I knew well that my father must have mentioned it to him already. After all, they are pretty close since he is the only one that my father approves for me back even when we weren’t really in such a relationship. “How is that going so far?”

I hum for a while, not exactly sure what to answer because I really don’t know what to say. That partnership my father wants really puts me in such a complicated situation with Don, who turned out to be the person my father used to discriminate against because of his social status. It makes me wonder what my father would react and feel like once he found out that the person he used to look so little at is now a CEO and the owner of the company he wants to make a partnership with.

“I think it’s going well?” I answered in a questioning manner, making him glance at me for a short time.

“You aren’t sure? I thought you and uncle made a deal, so I thought it was going well.” He pointed out. He must have not been aware of the deal that Dad and I made that includes our marriage. “What is the problem? Maybe I can help.”

“It’s not really a big thing. The problem is more on how the proposal didn’t reach the standard of DTC Group. You are aware that they are pretty strict with employee treatment, right?” He nodded his head, clearly aware of it like everyone else in the industry. “They heard about Dad’s bad reputation with employee treatment that is why they rejected the proposal during my first visit. But the CEO is reconsidering the proposal again now, though it might not push through right away since they need to do some further checking.”

“Further checking, you mean observing your father in terms of what he lacks?” I can only nod my head and let out a sigh.

What hinders me from getting that partnership and ending this whole agenda that Don created between us is my father himself. If he weren’t so rude to his own employees and even to those people outside his business, he wouldn’t have a hard time getting that partnership in the very first place. After all, what kind of businessman doesn't want to make sure that his employees are being treated well? They are the backbone of the company who helps it keep going. That is why I can’t understand why Dad had to be like that.

“Well, I guess you and uncle can make amends tonight. After all, the host is the CEO itself.” He pointed out once more yet all I could do is let out a sigh.

If the CEO he meant is Mateo, then it is no use. He is not even the actual CEO of DTC Group but he only plays an important role in the company. But knowing that Don will be present tonight, I somehow feel like something is bound to happen tonight. He wouldn’t just randomly show up at his company’s party, when he hasn't revealed his position yet publicly, and sound overly confident for nothing.

We arrived at the venue of the party within a few minutes and saw how it was packed with cars, dropping off each of the guests, and some reporters around the area. They really are on a different kind of level now for the media to come in here and check who the guests are for tonight’s party. So, Darryl and I walk together on the red carpet without even trying to look around while the media takes a photo of us no matter how much they call each of our names.

As much as I want to stay with Darryl and keep him next to me the entire night so that Dad won’t bother me and force me to meet people here and there, I had no choice but to leave him because of an urgent call from the hospital. While he went somewhere less noisy, I felt someone’s presence coming near me, and I wasn’t wrong at all with all the eyes on him. He is stealing the show.

I gulped hard when I saw Don walking towards my direction, dressed in a black suit with it covering his white polo complete and only letting the long collar out. He doesn’t have any tie on yet his look is enough to make people keep their eyes on him. His hair is styled up with a partition on the side and he has a light make up on which makes his face brighter. No wonder women let themselves be tamed by this man. I bet he doesn’t even need to say anything and they already welcomed him warmly.

“Don’t you look alluring in that dress, Kaylie Amber,” He exclaimed after giving me a short peck on the cheeks. I tried to look normal, but it is hard when everyone’s eyes are in our direction because of him. However, as all that attention is given to us, he only had his gaze fixed on me. “I see that you came with your fiance?”

His gaze went to the person on the balcony, standing there with his phone on his ear. I glanced at Darryl shortly before looking up to Don once again. “I had no choice. Dad made us come here together.” I shortly answered.

“Then maybe it is a better idea to just tell your Dad that you are my woman so he wouldn’t keep forcing you to do something you don’t want.” He bravely says as if his words would actually help me escape from my father’s orders.

“Stop speaking like you didn’t force me to be your woman as well. I think you are forgetting the fact that this whole thing between us is secret and is only happening for the sake of the partnership that you promised.” I pointed out for him, firmly, which made him chuckle softly. “Why did you come tonight anyway? Isn’t your identity supposed to be a secret?”

“It is!” He nodded slowly. “But I need to do something tonight so I had to be here.”

A single nod is what I can only give him as my mind does its work to think about the possibilities for him to be here. Based on their previous hosted parties, even how important it is, I never really see him, or maybe he was just hiding somewhere. But for him to be here tonight, something big might really happen at this point. After all, everything about his company and him is just surprising.

“Kaylie.”

My eyes widened upon hearing Dad’s firm voice from behind Don. I immediately push Don aside, as gently as possible, to approach my father who has his brows furrowed this time while eyeing on the man facing him through his back. I tried to cover up Don with my body, but I am sure that it is not enough to cover him, especially that my father has seen him already.

“Who is that person?” Dad asked, looking at me intensely as if he is ready to tear this place down if I don’t give any proper response.

“U-Uhm… Dad, it’s just—”

“Mr. Moreno,”

My eyes widened upon hearing Don’s voice to our side, calling for my father's name. All I could do was silently curse. He really is getting me in trouble at this rate.

As I silently curse Don, I look at my father’s expression, only to see him faking a smile like someone he wanted to impress is standing right behind me. I gulped hard and gathered my courage before slowly turning to my back to face whatever trouble was standing behind me. However, I was only greeted by the most unexpected excuse these people could ever use.

“Mr. Concepcion!” My father exclaimed in a high pitched tone, as if Mateo is such a very good friend to him and someone he didn’t for once wish him trouble after Mateo rejected our proposal. “I was hoping I could talk to you!”

I mentally let out a sigh of relief as I escaped another trouble. It is not that I am afraid that Dad would meet Don. I just don’t want them to cross paths as much as possible, especially that it is hard to happen when Don is the actual CEO and owner of DTC Group. My gaze passes through Mateo to look at Don who shows me a small smirk, making sure that it is not evident to his face. I wasn’t sure if him standing just close enough for him not to be in my father’s sight is a good thing or I should be grateful that Mateo showed up in time but this asshole ended up smirking, obviously mocking the heck out of me.

“I was hoping I could bump into you tonight as well, Mr. Moreno.” I raised a brow at Mateo, wondering what he meant. The way he tells those words, it sounds like there really is something important that is happening tonight yet I can’t even guess what it is all about. “I wanna let you know that Ms. Moreno here is doing a great job persuading us to push through with the partnership. I am actually surprised how you got yourself with someone who is so persistent to get what she wants on your side. You are indeed lucky to have her.”

A sigh escaped my lips as I rolled my eyes. He is obviously mocking me! I am sure that he is clearly aware of what his friend is planning to do and what kind of situation I am in right now just to make that deal possible. If it weren’t for that partnership, I wouldn’t even bother spending a day with Don even if I feel guilty for what I did back then. If that partnership isn’t the only way for me to escape such a cage and have my freedom, I wouldn’t bother standing here tonight next to my father as I try to hide Don away from his sight.

Dad glanced at me, looking amazed for a moment but remained his composure right away. “Well, she is not my daughter for no reason.” Dad proudly says. “Though, I am hoping my daughter’s passion can really convince you to make our partnership possible. I also don’t want my daughter’s effort to go to waste.”

For a moment, I caught a glimpse into Mateo’s eyes of doubt and as if he was deeply questioning my father for his words. I am not sure what made him look at my father that way, or I was just hallucinating just now. But whatever the case, I am pretty sure that Don would even bother telling his friend about my family issues.

“Let’s all hope that it goes well too. But for now, I hope you enjoy the party! I also encourage you to stay until the party ends because we will be making a special announcement afterwards,” Mateo’s gaze went to me as he put on a mischievous smile that made me lose mine. “Just to shake up the party even more.”

Those were his last words before he left after giving one last nod to my father, who had his fake smile earlier completely gone from his lips. I watch as Mateo walks away with Don following him after giving me a single wink that I desperately wish my father didn’t catch. Those two, there is something about them that makes their whole aura so mysterious. Maybe it is just me, but somehow, they look like concealing such a deep secret that no one should know about.

The party continued with everyone on their own thing. In the end, I am left alone because Darryl had to excuse himself once again because of an emergency in the hospital that I could understand pretty well and was so used to by now. Having a sister for a Physician and a mother for a Pediatrician, it really prepared me to face such sudden calls that will interrupt such a family or an important night.

“You look like the earth just fell down in front of your own eyes.” Deven’s familiar voice from my side says with mockery in his tone. I look up to glance at him for a while before letting out a sigh and reach for my drink again to gulp it all down. He occupied the empty seat next to me with a glass of champagne in his hand, looking at me with confusion. “What’s wrong with you now?”

“I’m just bored. Look!” I gestured to my empty table. “Everyone left, even my own parents ditched me at this table.”

Instead of pitying me, he laughs so hard as if my suffering is his own happiness. I really don’t get how he can be so different, so protective and caring when the trouble really comes to his friends. For a moment he is a damn playboy who only knows how to play with girls while being so good with his forte in the medicine field, but the next moment he becomes all serious like he is so ready to beat up everyone who messes with his friends. However, all I know is that he is a good friend that will surely put our sake before his.

“Why don’t you go to your lover boy then? He’s been glancing at you several times now.” He shakes his head, gazing at the direction where Don is seated with Mateo and the other executives of DTC Group. “For a f**k boy like him, it is suprising to see him stuck on his chair the whole night. I wonder why?”

I rolled my eyes at Deven, clearly getting what he meant to his last words. “Don’t you have any woman to screw with tonight? Can you just leave me alone if you will only tease me?” I sarcastically said, making him chuckle softly.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t seen any woman worth my attention tonight. So, I would rather just accompany you tonight and make your boring time an interesting one by getting pissed off by me.” Deven determinedly speaks with no will to actually leave me alone. “However, I heard something interesting though.”

“Your mouth is talkative as hell while your ears are active as f**k when it comes to gossip.” I shake my head in response.

“My ears are only active when the gossip is about my friends, dear Kaylie Amber.” He exclaimed, making me raise a brow in curiosity. A smirk immediately formed his lips after earning my full attention. “To sum it up, I heard a group of people talking about you and your lover boy. They seem to be really close to him.”

“And our friend was right that someone was listening to us.”

Deven and I both look up to only see a group of people with Mateo next to them. My gaze focused on the other man and two women next to them dressed in those beautiful dresses with tall heights and beautiful faces, just as Deven’s type. I tried to hide my smile upon seeing Deven looking at the women with those meaningful gazes he always has whenever he eyes women in the club.

“Donovan can’t come and stay with you here so he insisted that we come here to accompany you.” Mateo exclaimed without even needing me to ask. He glances at his former table that made me follow, only to see Don glancing to our side from time to time while he speaks with his executives seriously. As our eyes met, he put on a sweet, short smile before he immediately looked away. “He doesn’t want to put you in a complicated situation with your father, so he insisted on just letting us go.”

“Talking about sweet! How about just make Donovan your fiance instead of forcing yourself to marry your childhood friend?” Deven butted in with a teasing tone, making me glare at him.

“Don’t mind this asshole.” I said, gesturing to Deven. “You guys don’t really need to come here. I don’t want to bother anyone. Besides, the party looks like it is about to end already anyway.”

“I have two answers for you. First, Donovan insisted that I introduce our friends to you. Second, the party is not about to end yet. Trust me. It’s just about to reach its perfect climax.” Mateo confidently argued, making me grow curious more about the whole agenda of this party. “I’m pretty sure you know me already, so I will just let my friends introduce themselves.”

The four of them occupy the empty seats that are now occupied by them. Each of them sits in pairs which makes me realize that they must have been couples just by the way Mateo and the other man they are with hold the woman next to them. I’m pretty sure that Deven realizes that as well because he ended up keeping his silence and only listened to them.

“Hello, Kaylie! I’m Zoey Anahi Montilla, but you can call me Zoey. I think we already met before because I have been friends with Don since we were in college.” The woman with tan skin and a beautiful angelic face dress in a silver dress with her hair tied in a bun introduces herself with a sweet smile. She looks familiar too if I am not mistaken. Her gaze went to Deven as a smirk forms her lips. “I’m pretty sure your friend knows me well too.”

Without any hesitation, I look at Deven with curious eyes that made him clear his throat and obviously taken aback by Zoey’s words. “S-She is an architect too like Kiana. I met her in their office when I came to pick Kiana from work.” He confessed without looking at me.

“You picked up my best friend from work? I didn’t know you two were at that stage.” I teased with a mischievous smirk plastered on my lips. It is indeed my time to embarrass him this time.

“Tell me about it! Architect Roxas won’t even admit it to us as well.” Zoey exclaimed, obviously on my side right now.

A smile in victory formed in my lips when Deven went completely silent without even glancing to my side. He knew well that I would keep questioning once he looked in my direction. It is not like I am not aware that something is going on between him and my best friend. I just find it amusing because they usually argue every single time we go out all together, similar to that time in the restaurant during our lunch, I guess, they really are pretty discreet about it.

“So, just in case you are not aware, Mateo is Donovan’s best friend number 1 while I am his best friend number 2 as well as this woman’s man. I’m Gerald Marc Chavez, a co-worker of Architect Roxas as well.” Gerald says in a polite manner. He looks pretty decent.

“You are an architect too?” I questioned.

He shakes his head in response with a small smile. “I’m an Engineer under Orco Construction.” I nodded with my mouth forming an ‘o’ in response. He then draped an arm to the familiar woman next to him. “This is Aileen Stacey Leones, my girlfriend and someone your friend is really familiar with.”

I look at Deven once again with judgemental eyes, making him let out a scoff in disbelief. “Do you really think I play around with women that much for me to screw every woman I meet?!” He exclaimed with voice raising as if I am betraying him too much now. A small chuckle escaped my lips along with the people around me. “Stacey is a top model under my company. I have been working with her for the past five years now.”

“I was just asking for an answer, okay?! Why do you have to sound so defensive?” I teased even more, making him glare at me.

Much to my anticipation, our conversation actually went smoothly. They are all pretty friendly and are easy to talk with because they have this aura around them that seems so welcoming enough for me to speak whatever I say. For some reason, I immediately felt the comfort around them which is a good thing. I’m pretty sure once Don hear of this, he will definitely have a smile on his lips.

As we all laughed together, Mateo suddenly excused himself from our table before whispering to his woman then bidding his temporary goodbye to us. I wander my eyes around to look for my father, only to see him still busy with the businessman he is talking with since he arrived. I guess this is better. He has his own world tonight while I also have mine. It makes my night less worse than it already is before Don’s friends and Deven accompany me to our table.

“Good evening everyone!” All eyes went to the front upon Mateo’s sweet, deep voice echoed throughout the entire room. “I would like to thank everyone for being with us tonight. It is an honor to have all of you here to witness another party that we have hosted to gather each of our closest friends and business partners as well as fellow businessmen. However, before we officially end the night, we have an important announcement to say.”

“Looks like it's about time.” Zoey exclaimed, making me look at her in confusion. But, similar to her boyfriend, she only gave me an innocent smile.

“You should pay attention to his next words. It’s about to get interesting.” Stacey whispered this time, enough for me to hear.

“As far as everyone knows, DTC Group has been continuously and successfully running for almost 7 years now. During those years, we have accommodated several people, created opportunities for those people who are in need, and have been helping our fellow businessmen with their business ventures, allowing them to expand with our sources. However, behind this success… is a big secret.” Mateo started his speech which was enough to make people whisper with one another about his last words.

“As we embark on a new journey of accommodating more people, giving more job opportunities, and making business with our fellow business, I think it is time for us to meet the end. I would like to announce that, as of today, I,” Mateo glances somewhere in front of me, making me follow his gaze. My eyes immediately landed on Don who, at the same time, gave him a nod as if he was encouraging him to continue his words. “I will be stepping down as the CEO of DTC Group.”

My eyes widened right away as I immediately looked at Mateo who looked seemingly unbothered by his sudden revelation. It is not different with his friends and his girlfriend who is sitting next to me. I immediately look to my father’s direction as I can only see him with his brows furrowed, negative thoughts obviously running through his mind while the people around us whisper even louder this time. This is not good at all.

“I know that this decision will shock our business partners and everyone who is in this room tonight. However, this decision was made only because of one thing. Tonight, I would like to clear up the ongoing rumors that have been going around for years now.” I raised a brow as I tried to process Mateo’s words.

“Don’t tell me… they are revealing Donovan tonight?” Deven whispered to me, making me look at him with wide eyes.

It is all coming into pieces now! Don told me during our dinner that tonight will be an important one which is why he insisted that my presence is needed. He even said that whatever will happen tonight can change my life. If I will add the fact that his presence is felt tonight, I can only conclude one thing… and Deven just speaks it out for me.

“It is indeed true. I have only been an acting CEO since the company began years ago, and all the decisions everyone thinks I have made didn’t come from me so I really do hope those we had to reject during the past years won’t have some lingering ill feelings towards me. However, to get to the point, the reason why I am stepping down today is because the actual owner of DTC Group has returned and came to reclaim his position publicly this time.” Mateo turned to the direction of his best friend.

There is only one thing that can pop in my mind now. Once Don is announced as the CEO, everything will change, and that change… I am not sure if it will really benefit me this time. The moment the next words escaped Mateo’s lips, I found my father’s eyes widened in shock.

He still remembers him.

“Let me introduce to everyone! Mr. Donovan Tobias Casis, the CEO, Chairman, and owner of DTC Group!”

This is the beginning now… the beginning to his payback.