"Whoa, what happened to you?" my secretary greeted me Monday morning.

"And a lovely morning to you, Noelle. What do we have today?" I asked, brushing her question aside. 

A surgical patch was on my forehead where Cara stitched up the laceration yesterday. My head hit the barstool before landing on the floor hence the cut and the growing bruise. I have no memory after that except for the blood, Cara stitching me up at the emergency room, and those blue eyes that bore into my being before I passed out.

Those crystal, azure eyes have been haunting me even in my sleep. They were the most beautiful shade, and they were so clear I could see the emotions they held inside. For that brief moment, there was compassion, warmth, and deep worry for someone she didn't even know! She moved me so much with that fleeting encounter I yearned to find her. I wish I knew where to find her. I needed to find out whom they belonged to!

"Never-ending meetings, as usual. The first one is at ten with Mr. Anderson," she replied, looking at her tablet. I snapped back to the present, but I wasn't completely there yet.

"Anderson Gochino?" I raised an eyebrow. "I thought that has been settled?"

"Yes, the account with Atty. Gochino has been settled. I meant Mr. Anderson of Yuen Fung Enterprises. He wanted a few more revisions and a lot more reduction in the fees."

"That guy just wouldn't stop with the charges, huh? His haggling skills put tourists in the Shilin night market to shame," I shook my head. She continued to run down my schedule then proceeded to update me.

"Wait, where's Bart? We haven't finished the Echivarria breach yet," I remembered when I saw the screen on my desktop.

"He's in his department with the new guy," she said, not looking at me. I noticed a slight blush creep in her cheeks.

"You like him, don't you?" I raised my eyebrow again. My PA doesn't get easily affected, but it's because of some Western-looking guy when she does. She used to blush a lot around Jaxx even though she knew she had zero chances with him. She was highly efficient, and she seemed to work better when she had eye candy in the office, so I didn't mind her harmless crushes.

"What? Who?" she pretended not to know who I was asking about.

"Stop lying, Noe. You're blushing to your roots," I chuckled. "Just keep things strictly professional when you are at work. No office hanky-panky, and definitely no drama. Please."

"Of course not, Mr. Ace," she cleared her throat. "He's younger than I am anyway."

"That didn't stop you from crushing on your COO before," I teased and walked to the door. "Make sure the seventeenth-floor conference room is ready twenty minutes before the meeting. I'm heading to IT."

My pace was steady heading to Bart's office, but my mind was wandering back to last night. I tried to recall the faces in the crowd and the ones that were left until closing time. Dammit! Why didn't I even notice her? I bet she was hot. Suddenly, a wave of jealousy coursed through my veins when the thought of the other guys flirting with her crossed my mind. Why was I even jealous? Nobody mentioned a hot chick to me when I regained consciousness. I don't even know if she existed or she was just a figment of my imagination!

"Where do you think you're going?" I was about to take the first step down the stairs when Jaxx called me.

"Down to IT. I want to check on the Echivarria account," I said.

"Just call Bart about it. I think he and Jacob already figured it out. The report should be ready by four this afternoon," he said before grabbing my arm and dragging me in the opposite direction. "I need your help on something else."

"What?"

"Uh, something... it's personal. I'll tell you once we get to the office," he answered hesitantly. "How's your head?"

"Could be better. I'm still not done strangling Seb, but that's on the agenda today," I deadpanned just before we got to his office to discuss his life issue, most likely his mom and her amigas.

♤

Noelle wasn't kidding when she said I would spend the day in the conference room. I hardly left that bloody room save for toilet and coffee breaks. I even skipped lunch because the presentation at one was moved to eleven-thirty and dragged on for two hours. After which, Jaxx brought in a new client, the issue we discussed earlier, and we had to accommodate them.

I wasn't mistaken. It was one of his mom's friends' daughters. If that wasn't bad enough, her clothes were a little too tight, and her make-up was a little too much for a daytime meeting. And she was flirting shamelessly with Jaxx and me despite her fiance being with her. Unsurprisingly, the guy threw us dagger looks the entire time because he could not rein in the vampish woman on his side. Damn, I prayed the blue-eyed girl didn't act like this tramp in front of us. It would be utterly disappointing if she did.

By four-forty, my head was about to split, starting from the laceration on the left side of my forehead. It was just then that I remembered that I hadn't had lunch, I had too much coffee, and I missed my medications.

"Ah, fuck. Just my luck!" I plopped on my chair, frustrated. The medications Cara prescribed were in the car, but I was running low on energy to walk down the hall and take the lift to the basement. All I wanted was to stretch out on the couch, have an ice-cold beer and eat good food. My finger did the thinking for me and pressed the intercom button.

"Noelle, I need help. Come in here, please," I begged. I hardly ever asked her to do anything this menial because it was degrading for someone with her status. But I knew she would forgive me. She laughed when she spotted the car keys in my open palm.

"Please?" I put on my best puppy dog eyes.

"No need to charm me, Mr. Ace. What do you need?" she smiled and took the keys after I explained my dilemma dramatically and gave her instructions.

Of course, she didn't need that, but she was more than a PA to me. She was the older sister I never had or that hip aunt who coddles her nephews. She helped me a lot with all the trouble when Jaxx was away, and she never left my side when I was about to give up on the firm.

I headed to the Green Room and rummaged the fridge for a beer. We kept the fridge in that entertainment room stocked with drinks, and its bar was always ready with whiskey, bourbon, and scotch. Additionally, we kept a stash of our friends' preferred alcohols and things for cocktails. We were lush like that.

There was this strictly no drinking during office hours policy that I implemented between Jaxx and me, which would also apply to every other employee who entered the Green Room, id est, Bart.

When I checked the clock, it was three minutes before five. It should not be a problem anymore to be drinking while at work because, technically, I was done working for the day. The sound of a popping bottle was music to my ears. I licked my lips and kissed the bottle, allowing the beer to flow down my throat and into the center of my soul. Okay, that was a little too dramatic but would make a good song lyric.

My mind once again drifted back to the blue-eyed angel in Camachile sky. I had no idea how to find her. I mean, I kind of do, but I don't want to ask Jaxx or the other guys about her.

What if she went home with Seb? That fucker! I'm kind of sure she did not end up with Chino because that guy did not do one-night stands, and Bart was with me until dawn in the hospital while Jaxx stayed in the car, waiting like a chauffeur.

Oh no, what if she went home with Chino, and it wasn't a one-night thing? That would mean I've lost my chance with her! I panicked at the thought. I wished there was something more I could remember aside from her eyes and her hair or at least some more of it. Something, anything!

A soft knock interrupted my thoughts, and Noelle entered. I had finished my first bottle when she handed me a brown paper bag of what smelled like food and another smaller paper packet with my medicines.

"I didn't think a sandwich would do so I took the liberty of ordering Korean from the take out on the ground floor – fried chicken, japchae, kimchi, and all the sidings available. I threw in an extra order of that blood sausage you like so much," she beamed, and I almost bounced in excitement.

"Soondae? Noelle, You're the best!" My mouth was already watering. "I probably would have died of starvation and unhappiness years ago if I didn't have you. Don't you ever leave me for that new guy," I warned her. My eyes involuntarily closed after taking the first bite of the sweet and spicy fried chicken. Thank you, Lord, for Korea!

She stayed a little while to keep me company. I asked her about the recruit, but she said she didn't know much since it was Jaxx who directly hired the dude without passing through HR. Now, everyone was just as curious as I was.

Before she left, she gave me a quick lecture on how I should not take beer or any alcoholic drinks with antibiotics and pain medications, saying it would nullify the effect and was bad for the liver. But it should not be that bad if it happened once in a blue moon, right? A discussion was going on in my head, and I listened intently while sipping on my second bottle.

Not long after, the door burst open and the bear came growling in. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"No, you haven't. I've been here for almost forty-five minutes, and there was no sign of you looking for me. Or you could have just..." my voice trailed off when I noticed the missed calls and messages I haven't read. 

When I started with the meetings this morning, I had put my phone on silent and forgot to turn the ringer back on. He sent me a fiery glare, daring me to say something imprudent. I shrugged my shoulders and placed the phone on the table beside the empty container of kimchi. 

Immediately, his eyes were on my leftovers. Fear crept into my heart when his eyes landed on the chicken, but he grabbed the remaining two drumsticks out of the take-out box and out of my reach before I could say anything.

"I'm having these." He gobbled them in swift successive bites. For a brief moment, I feared he might swallow the bone intact, which led me to wish he'd choke on it because he was greedy. He licked his fingers before wiping them with a tissue.

"Well?" I asked.

"Oh yeah. The report is on your desk, according to Bart. And Jacob. You should at least meet your employee properly."

"What do you mean? I haven't been inappropriate to anyone."

"Properly, as in the right way," he said before casually chugging my beer. His reply still left my question unanswered.

"Hey! Now that's where I draw the line! Stop acting like a lout and get your own beer!"

"Stop being a selfish prick and share! I paid for half of this, so I will rightfully have half of it," he stubbornly declared. "It's just a goddamn beer, Ace."

"Exactly!" I insisted.

"Then go get another one. The fridge is stocked."

"You get another one. You finished what was mine. Replace it," I scowled.

"You were always the petty one," he chuckled.

"I'm not petty. You're just being an asshole," I crossed my arms and looked away. He chuckled again, and I realized that, yes, I was petty and dramatic. Fucking asshole. I wish I could blame it on PMS, but I was incapable of having one.

"I'll just meet him tomorrow. It's already six, and it is improper to meet employees beyond office hours," I mocked him.

"True. You have an employer-employee interview tomorrow at eight," he said.

"Eight? Noelle knows I don't schedule anything at eight. Try again," I scoffed.

"I had Noelle put that in your schedule already. I'm just informing you. If you checked your phone and email, you'd find that memo in your messages as well," he smirked.

"So you're also ordering my secretary now?" I glared. "Eight is too early, bro. My brain doesn't start to function 'til nine. And I already have something at nine."

"You're the CEO, you dolt!"

"And you're the COO, and you hired the guy! I don't see the problem. Why is this such a big deal? Besides, you know that guy better than what I would read on his résumé. Enough of the formalities. Let's just meet him outside the office for beer or something."

"Now that you mention it, we're having dinner at Abuhan, and then we're heading to Spumantino after. Thought I'd introduce him to Filipino food with a little finesse for his first time. You're free to join us," he invited, even after sweeping my leftovers clean.

"And ruin your bro time? No thanks. I did just have dinner," waving my hand over the empty take-out boxes. "Seriously though, rain cheque. I can't have more alcohol because of the antibiotics, so that would leave me nothing to do but stare at you guys while you hold hands and reminisce."

"Whatever. Dick," he laughed and stood to leave. "See you tomorrow at eight."

"I'm not coming in at eight, and that's final!" I shouted after him, barely finishing my sentence when the door closed.

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