“It's almost 6 in the evening, nobody's here to help us.” Zannie was yawning while speaking. She couldn't help herself not to feel hopeless at this moment. Howard tried to call them so many times but none of them were reachable as of now.
“I don't want to assume this, but what if that medical head stopped our colleagues from sending help?” Howard assumed.
“I'm thinking the same way.” Zannie got out of the vehicle but she stumbled upon realizing it was still raining outside.
“I just can't stay here and wait for them,” she grumbled.
“You should wait here, okay?” she added and stood up.
“Hey, where do you think you are going? Don’t you know how dangerous it is for you to go alone?” Howard argued.
“What do you want me to do then? Stay still and wait for nothing? I don’t want to waste time though,” Zannie reasoned.
Howard shook his head and just adjusted Zannie's position, he even removed the tuxedo coat he was wearing and that served as Zannie's blanket.
“What are you doing?” Zannie suddenly asked, shocked at Howard's sudden gesture.
“Making you feel at ease. Alright?”
“How can I ever sleep in this kind of situation?”
"Just sleep well. I'm sorry," Howard insisted.
***
The next morning, Zannie just woke up hugging Howard and the same with him. She distanced himself from it.
"How did we hug?" she asked herself and noticed that the tuxedo coat that Howard was wearing was already on her and the mp3 player that he lent her was also low battery.
"Is your help really sincere?" she said while looking at Howard who was still sleeping, she couldn't help but simply admire him.
A few moments later, they saw the approaching vehicle and fortunately, it turned out to be their colleagues to help them out of being stranded.
"Thank god, they're already here," Zannie said then suddenly smiled and woke up Howard as well.
"Look, look, they're here," Zannie exclaimed excitedly.
Howard woke up quickly and immediately got out of the car.
"Thanks for the help," Howard said and after that scene, they returned safely to the barracks and just distracted themselves with other things.
In the evening...
Zannie still remained conscious and no matter how tired she was, there’s still no presence of drowsiness in her. There are no other volunteers returning to the barracks so that's also one of the things she wonders about.
"Where will they sleep?"
She went out of the small room to see if any of her colleagues were coming back. But Howard, who was sound asleep on the bamboo bench, could not escape her sight. She sighed as she couldn't take her eyes away from him. That glimpse was like a magnet attracting her. Her other side urged her to move closer and approach the handsome sleeping man.
'I've been to a lot of places and the scenery I've seen is even more beautiful, but there are even more beautiful places I've seen.'
She even bites her lower lip. She didn't think he would feel any different while looking at Howard's handsome face. He had those lips that were tempting to kiss. Zannie glanced at the whole of it, damn all part of it was perfection. Zannie can't explain why this is just the attraction that wraps her personality because she's so close to Howard now. Her cheek was burning and she felt like she was floating now in the cloud. And she almost yearned for the man in front of her. How could it be? Is her inner self a demon?
She quickly averted his eyes from Howard. She also noticed that it looked crumpled because it was cold where they were. She suddenly thought of wrapping him with a blanket to at least relieve the cold and somehow make it comfortable to sleep. She was about to leave but she was startled when Howard woke up.
It was as if she was running a marathon because she immediately felt short of breath and her heartbeat quickened. She made no noise so surprisingly she woke the young man.
"Stay with me for a while, please?”
Zannie was shocked after she heard those words. The tone of his voice was so captivating that he couldn't help but think of something.
She was gulped several times. "I'm really going to go outside. I'm just breathing here and I can’t just ignore that you’re here and sleeping uncomfortably."
She jumped quickly but Howard was even faster. The man grabbed her waist so she lay down on top of him. God knows, it was so awkward right now. What if their fellow volunteers suddenly arrive and see that their position is like that? They may even think badly and spread malicious gossip about them..
"Howard, what are you doing? Will you just let me go?" she pleaded.
Until now, Howard still wouldn't let go of him and wrapped her in his arms. Zannie's heartbeat became even more erratic as she felt Howard's lips claimed her lips. She wanted to stop him. The young man's lips were soft but her body was softer to stop what he was doing right now. Is she just dreaming? The relish of such a dream—too good to feel but unlikely to be true.
And Zannie just woke up to Lucille's roaring voice. "Zannie! You're dreaming!"
She felt like she had an adrenaline rush. “You’re here? I thought everyone wasn't around.”
Lucille let out a bubbly laugh. “What the hell are you saying? We can’t even go anywhere since the relief operations have been halted for a while.”
"You're saying something, 'Stop Ho ...' and then you have a subtle kind of mumble," Lucille added.
Zannie rubbed both of her cheeks. She had a dream and she did not think that Howard was with her in that dream.
‘Son of tofu! Of all the dreams, why did I dream such a scene?’ she castigated herself without a word.
"What time is it?" she asked Lucille who was well dressed and looked like she would be fighting again on day 2 of relief good operations.
"It's eight o'clock in the morning. One of our comrades has replaced you as an OIC. That's the order of the head of the NGO affiliated with us," Lucille admitted.
:That would be better. Let me sleep again, please?” Zannie pleaded and went back in her wooden pallet where she was sleeping whole night.
“If you're not a perfect employee, you don't have the right to complain. And one more thing, if you have a problem with your employer, don't post it on your social media! Can your followers and friends do anything to make your job easier? Do you think that they can search for a new job for you? Come on Ms. Ara, grow up!”Ara bowed because her strict boss Howard is currently roasting her. It was about her posting a long rant post related to her work when she was assigned to render an overtime for the whole week. She just made a mistake because she forgot that she’s friends with her boss on that social media. Her post was visible to his account since it was a company rule that every employee under the company should add their big bosses on social media.“I'm sorry Sir Howard, I deleted that post as well,” Ara apologized.Even though she hasn't been Howard's secretary for a long time, she will
“I am planning something good for you as I'm taking your position away from you for a while. Just trust me Howard, I will not harm you because you are my son.”What they talked about last night with his father was still in Howard's mind. As usual, he had a gloomy feeling and he blamed everyone in the office. Everything has ruined, he canceled all meetings because he was not in the mood to face anyone.He just frowned when there was a knock on the door. Although he didn't want to open who it was, the door opened on its own and he got annoyed because it was just Jared, intentionally messing with him.“How are you Howard? Raymart is looking for you, you have a meeting,” Jared opened up to him.“I lost my enthusiasm to meet all of them.”The papers on his desk flew away so his cousin just laughed.“If we only just didn't have to be formal here at SLI, people would probably think that you're crazy,&rd
Howard was still sad as he put away his belongings in his own office. Today is his last day as a CEO. Even though he may pray for all the saints, his father's decision to teach him to find his compassionate self will not change. He didn't think it would be able to blackmail him, because if he didn't agree and tried to run away, all his property would be held and he would have no career to return to.The box with the black marker written on the top of the box caught his attention."BOX OF CONCERNS"He was curious about the contents of the box so he opened it and exposed the folded papers, also written on sticky notes and crumpled paper."What is it? Garbage?" Howard's sarcastic question to himself. But he can already deduce what is written there.He first wrote on crumpled paper.‘Goodbye Monster Howie. You're ugly, as ugly as your SLI management! Guess
"Where are you going Officer Ynares?"Jacob looked away from the source of Zannie's voice. He stopped tying his boots when the girl approached him."How come, when you're dressed like that without a uniform, you're definitely going somewhere." Zannie still smiled."Yes. I'll fetch Mr. Fontafella first." Jacob zipped the bag he was carrying behind his back."Who is that?" Zannie asked curiously."He will come here to undergo an evaluation. He needs it for his father's own company," Jacob said."Ah. Is he and the man you were referring to the other day the same?""Yes Zannie. Case I have a problem, I had a hard time rejecting her dad as her evaluator. Looks like I can't evaluate what he's going to do here. You know, I still have to participate in other activities for a chance to have a rank and pass the next exams." There is sadness and regret in Jacob's
"Is this the place you're talking about? Do you think I should be able to stay here?"At the very beginning of arriving at Jacob's alleged barracks, Howard's immediate reaction was obviously disgusting."Yes Sir. And on the vacant pallet you will sleep," Jacob's formal reply and he was already laughing in his mind."Where? I want to see!"Jacob pointed to Howard, the vacant pallet said. "Over there, in front of you."Howard narrowed his eyes at Jacob and his blood seemed to boil with annoyance when he saw what the pallet looked like. It was very small and didn't even have a mat on it. "Are you really going to put me to sleep here? Are you upset?" he asked w
"How did you get into my room?" Zannie asked as she was able to put on a T-shirt top and thick fabric so that her underwear would no longer be transparent.The young stranger was speechless. The sunlight had dimmed in that part of the room so she had a chance to see his face. The man remained silent as if his question had not been heard so he turned around in disgust."You're not going to speak? I said, how did you get in here? Do you intend to exploit me?" Zannie growled.A few moments later the man stood up from his slump on the floor. Zannie was shocked by the man's appearance, in his appearance, he did not seem to make a fuss and did not look like a member of a terrorist who would overthrow the army.The man in front of her looks like an actor she saw on billboards, that type of look, any woman can fall off and swoon. The strength of sex appeal is understated. He may look intimidating too. His height is proportional to his
Zannie kept her mouth shut. He was worried that Howie might be true to his threat.‘Is that a threat? Keep calm Zannie. It looks very anxious. That won't kiss you.’Her gaze was fixed on Howard's lips. His lips were indeed kissable. But he couldn’t have stolen her first kiss because she reserved it to Jacob.She suddenly looked away. That was probably the signal for Howard to release her because his grip on both of her hands had loosened."You know what? you're an arrogant woman." Howard's seductive eyes narrowed.Then, Zannie snorted a bit. She got the timing right and she started kicking on his private part which made his knees wea
"Why aren’t you moving? Are you waiting for Christmas to arrive?" If Zannie hadn't spoken, Howard probably wouldn't have gone back in time. He could not believe that this woman could drive. She unintentionally impressed him. On the other hand, he couldn't help but worry. He strongly believes that a man can do better than a woman. It’s not cool for a woman doing men’s work. And he was still very worried that he might be ruined again when he was with her. Maybe Zannie's anger at him hasn't subsided yet. "Aren't you going to drive?" Howard asked Jacob. "I can't go back to the barracks so only you and Zannie will ride in that armored car." "Really? Is she a professi