Smiling, Phoebe stood up with her arms stretched out as she walked closer to him. "It's me! I thought you wouldn't recognize me! I would have been really disappointed."
"I almost didn't recognize you. What are you doing here?"
"Is that how you greet someone you've not seen for a very long time?" She asked as she dropped her extended arm. "That's not nice. You should have at least asked how I've been doing."
Shaking her head, she walked round his office. "Whoa! This place has really changed a lot. You did a lot of furnishing. I also noticed the change at home. Whoa! It has been so long. How long has it been? Nine years? Ten?"
"Twelve." Chazz replied nonchalantly.
"Ah!" She exclaimed as she clapped her hands. "Right! Twelve years. It's been twelve years and you're not showing any sign that you missed me. How then will you react to someone you've not seen for fifteen years? I wonder. Well, if you didn't miss me, I did."
"What about Alexander?" He asked her with curiosity in both his voice and his eyes. "Did you two come together?"
"No. He came before me."
"Are you just coming from the airport?"
"Of course not!" She snapped. "Do you think this is the first place I'll come to after entering the country? I went home first."
"Why didn't you rest then, you must have been tired from the journey."
"Well, truly I'm tired," she started as she moved closer to him. "But, what can I do? I wanted to see you." Pausing, she gave him a long stare. "Or can't I? Mother told me I would find you here and voila! Here you are! The President of Hernandez Group! Whoa! What an achievement! Congratulations."
Laughing, Phoebe walked up to the couch and picked up her bag before reaching for her smart phone.
Chazz knew there was something more to her laughter because it sounded like she was being sarcastic. When he joined the Hernandez family fifteen years ago, Alexander left for the states a week after but Phoebe was asked to stay back until she was twelve before she could join her brother.
Chazz spent three unpleasant years with Phoebe before she left and she was always being sarcastic. She acted friendly whenever she felt like and she acted rude whenever she felt like. The three years he spent with her was enough for him to know her well.
"I guess you haven't changed one bit." He commented as he walked to his seat, the one she had been sitting on.
"Did you expect me to? The same goes for you." She said smiling as she walked towards the door. "Do you remember what I told you before I left? Be watchful, you never know how long you'll stay in a place or position. You probably never forgot that right? I didn't even know what I meant then, but I guess you should know that now is the time for you to apply my little advice."
"What are you saying?"
"I wonder. What am I saying?" She asked nonchalantly as she opened the door. "I don't mean to say anything much, just be at alert. Ah! And lest I forget, I thought you might like it if I change the way I call you Chazz or . . ." Pausing, she looked at him closely with a serious face before smiling again. ". . . Brother?"
Smiling, Phoebe walked out of his office leaving him angry and confused at the same time. He wasn't expecting them to be back in the country but he knew he had to take necessary measures now that they were back.
He wasn't sure of what Alexander was capable of doing but he was very sure that Phoebe was full of several cunny ideas. Having her around was enough warning for him and he wasn't ready to let his guard down. Walking out several minutes after she left, he approached Rachel, his secretary.
"Check out the activities of Alexander Hernandez and Phoebe Hernandez for me." He ordered her. "I want to know when they got back to the country and I want you to follow them up and report everything they do directly to me. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir." She replied standing up.
"I want you to start working on that immediately." He added as he turned to leave.
York Police Station
Still in the office of the Squad leader of the homicide department, Josie's phone rang the third time jolting her awake from her sleep. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes, removed the phone from her pocket and answered it.
"Yes?" She replied the caller, still feeling sleepy. Sighing, she nodded her head as she continued rubbing her head. "Yes." She replied again and all of a sudden, her eyes went wide open as she paused listening to the caller at the other end. "Eh?!" she exclaimed.
Pausing, she searched her pocket frantically for her wristwatch only for her to stand up when she found it and scream in shock upon realizing what the time was. "What?! Again? Aishhh! Seriously!" She kept on exclaiming as she rushed to the door. "Okay, okay, I'm on my way! And I'm really sorry!"
She was about leaving when she suddenly turned back to find the guy who she had been talking to before she fell asleep still reading the book in front of him. Angrily, she pointed her index and middle finger at him before directing it to her eyes in a way to tell him that she had her eyes on him. He noticed what she did but pretended not to and gave a smirk.
Seeing that he gave her a smirk and acted like she was invisible, Josie frustratingly raised her fist at him but remembering the phone call she received not too long, she hurried out.
Scoffing, he closed the book he was reading minutes after she left and walked out of the office.
Getting downstairs, Squad leader Jared Nittolo walked into the station with three other officers. He was about going towards another direction when he noticed the guy coming from his office.
"Asher!" He exclaimed as he walked closer to him throwing him a tight hug. Releasing him after a few seconds, he examined him closely. "Whoa! You've changed a lot! When was the last time I saw you? Has it been up to five years?
"It's more than." He replied smiling.
"Really? Your brother is getting old already." He replied jokingly as he turned to the female officer beside him. "Officer Michelle, write the report and submit it on my desk."
"Me?" Officer Michelle asked as she pointed to herself. "Why should I do it? Officer Tessa is available, why should I do it? Tell her to do it." She ranted on.
"Michelle Ryan! Do what you're asked to do." He ordered sharply.
"But—"
"No buts." He interrupted before turning to Asher. "Let's go have some drinks."
Squad leader Jared Nittolo went out with Asher, leaving Officer Michelle fuming with anger. She wondered why he was always asking her to do menial tasks such as writing reports when it was clear that he didn't like her and neither did she like him.
"He's always acting all mighty! What will take him to write the report himself?" She asked herself before turning to face an uninterested Officer Tessa. "But why is he making me do all the work? Is it some kind of punishment? What exactly did I do wrong? Last time I checked, he doesn't ask you to do stuffs like this. Why me?"
"Why are you asking me? You should ask him. Just behave well, he's going to be our team leader soon."
"Never!" She replied sharply. "I pray it's someone else."
"Who else is better than him in this station? It's obviously going to be him. I just hope people like those don't get a chance." She told her as she sighted another officer walk in. "You had better hurry up and do what he asked you to do. I'm sure you won't want him getting at you this night."
"Aishhh!" Officer Michelle exclaimed as she noticed the officer that entered. "Seriously, today is just not my day." She was about rushing upstairs when the officer called her back. "Officer Michelle Ryan!"
Giving an awkward smile, she turned back and greeted him. "Senior, you're back."
• • •
Coming out of a corner, Josie rushed into a building quickly and stopped in front of one of the apartments. She knew she was already in trouble, but she had no choice than to face it.
It's just for tonight, she assured herself. I promise not to make this repeat itself again.
Quickly, she entered the pin and hurried inside. Getting inside, she paused upon seeing her friend Isabella Clark lying helplessly on the couch while a guy sat opposite her.
Cursing Isabella that moment wouldn't be of any help and all she just had to do was to quickly rush her out of that apartment, but before she could do that, she had to go through the right process of making remedy for what her friend had done.
Quickly, she rushed to meet the guy, Richard Maran, who looked like he was going to hit her anytime soon and knelt down in front of him.
"Brother, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." She apologized.
"Who else knows my password?" Richard asked without looking at her as he kept a fixed gaze on Isabella.
"No one!" She replied quickly. "I'm serious. No one. She's the only one."
Isabella's handbag fell as she stirred on the couch interrupting Josie's apologies to Richard. "You bad jerk!" She muttered as she stirred again.
Both Josie and Richard turned to look at her. Richard wiped his face with his bare palm while Josie bit her lips in regret as she turned to face him.
"You!" Richard pointed at Josie trying not to take his anger on her. "I don't know what to do with you."
"Let it pass just this once, uhn. Please, I'm begging you." Without waiting for an answer, she stood up and walked up to the couch where Isabella was.
"Seriously! Just how much did you have to drink!" She shouted at her as she tried to kick her awake. "Hey! Isabella! Wake up! Hey!"
"That person. . .that person is a bad jerk!" Isabella continued muttering in her sleep leaving an already frustrated Josie to go on with kicking her awake.
"Are you not standing up?" She asked, taking a pause only to sigh at her pitiable and annoying state. "Let's get you out of here first.
Josie managed to force her to stand up and supported her in walking towards the door.
"Brother," she called turning back briefly. "I'll call you!"
Smiling at the drama she had been performing before helping Isabella up, he stood up and helped her with the door. "Go home, Josie," he advised.
Granny's Restaurant.Minutes after walking down from the police station, Jared Nittolo and Asher stopped by Granny's restaurant. Walking into the restaurant, they both sat down to talk after ordering for drinks. An elderly woman brought them what they ordered for before they kicked off their conversation."This is the first time I'm drinking after returning back." Asher started as he poured Jared a drink before pouring himself."Really? Then I guess I'm getting the honour of drinking with you." Jared raised his glass up to meet with Asher's glass. "Cheers!" He exclaimed as he gulped down the glass. "When did you get back?""Yesterday.""Did you go home?""No," he replied as he took a sip. "And I don't intend to," he added."Are you saying they don't know you're back?" Jared asked with a look of shock and surprise written all over his face."Brother," Asher called looking at him closely. "Aren't you happy that I'm spending my time with you?""Look at you. Of course, I am." He replied a
“Brother!” Phoebe exclaimed. “I thought you've forgotten about me! Where are you? I tried calling you when I got to the airport. I even thought you changed your number immediately you got back.”"Look at you. Have you been expecting my call that badly that you couldn't even wait before picking up?” Asher teased.“Uhn.” She replied quickly. “Besides, I'm angry that you didn't call at all.”“But I'm calling now.” He defended himself.“You should have called earlier.” She insisted. “Whatever! Are you fine? Where are you?”“One at a time, lady. I'm fine and about where I am. . .” He paused looking round. ". . .I'm not sure, but I was with brother not too long.”“Brother Jared?”“Uhn.”“Really? Did he ask of me?”“Uhn.”“I should go see him soon.” She replied quickly. “Are you coming home?”“No. I'm not.”“Why?”“Hey, don't worry about me and start worrying about yourself.”“What do you mean by that?”“When will you start working at the hospital?”“In the next two days.”“Make your brother
Granny's Restaurant Asher sat down with the empty bottles of drinks in front of him while different thoughts of his past ran through his mind.Flashback Fifteen years ago At a garden, 14years old Asher and a 12years old girl, Annette Nittolo played around. They kept on laughing as they played on the swing and then they moved to the seesaw. They played for a long time and when they finally got tired, they sat on the grass. Asher brought out a necklace with a pendant that made it look like a locket and gave it to Annette.“It's my mother's necklace.” He told her as he gave it to her.“Why are you giving it to me?” She asked as she rejected it. "It's the only thing of hers you have to look at whenever you miss your her. Why are you giving it to me then?”“No.” He insisted as he offered it to her again. “I want you to have it so that whenever I miss her, I would like to look at you and the necklace at the same time. Also, my mother told me that it's a key to something I'll get to under
Aunt, you're still around? I told you to stop closing late. Do you want the thugs that came by the last time to reappear? If you continue closing late, they'll come back to disturb you." Josie scolded the restaurant woman."Oh my! See this girl. You keep on telling me to stop closing late, but you yourself still come by looking for me late. Besides, I can't leave until all my customers leave.""You still have customers this late?" She asked worriedly. "It's past twelve already. Aunt, if you go on with the rule of customers leaving first, you'll end up sleeping in this place one day. You tell the customers to leave when you want to close, that's the rule.""But what do I do?" She asked, looking at Asher worriedly and dropping the bottle of drink she was holding. "That person over there is not ready to leave yet. He even ordered for another bottle."Josie turned to look at Asher who had already placed his head on the table. "Don't worry Aunt, I'll take care of this for you. Just watch a
Richard Maran's ApartmentAfter taking a glass of water, Richard was about switching off the light and retiring to bed when he suddenly heard someone imputing his pin. Knowing who it was, he walked to the dining table and watched as Josie entered the apartment.Glancing at the wall clock, he scoffed at how late she was. Closing the door gently behind her, she tiptoed to the couch, dropped the nylon bag she was holding on the table, removed her shoes and she jumped on the couch feeling exhausted. Sighing, she closed her eyes while Richard stood up from the dining table and walked up to her."What do you think you're doing here?" He asked.Startled, Josie flickered her eyes open quickly and sat up. "Hey! You startled me!"Folding his hands, he looked at her closely. "Hey? Am I your friend? I asked you what you're doing here. You should be at home and if not, your apartment."Looking up at him, she smiled. "My darling, why would you want to send your wife away?""What? Darling? Who is yo
The Hernandez's House That morning, the Hernandez family sat for breakfast at the dining table. Chazz and his mother, Rita couldn't help but notice the annoying presence of Phoebe, who didn't bother to acknowledge the obvious fact that her stepbrother and stepmother were feeling uncomfortable. Despite the fact that she spent three years with them before going to the states, they were not fond of each other. They only acted all nice and close in front of Chairman Gabriel - their father, but once alone, they acted cold and distant. “Wow!” Phoebe exclaimed. “It's really nice to be eating homemade meal after a very long time.” She turned to Rita and smiled. “Mum, I missed your cooking. It tastes nice just the way I remember it.” Rita gave her an approving nod knowing she was being sarcastic as she never really liked her cooking and complained a lot before she left. “No wonder Brother Chazz is looking fresh.” She commented, looking at Chazz, still smiling. Chazz tensed at the name she
Roosevelt Kitchen.With everyone preparing the ingredients for the night course, Josie had a difficult time trying to work with her junior who turned out to be Asher. Since he came in with Mason, she had voiced out her opinion that she didn't want Asher to be her junior judging from the times she had met with him, but Mason told her she didn't have a choice since she was the one that requested for a junior to work with. Asher had also asked for someone else to work under but everyone told him they had a partner, even Rose who would have loved to drop Mason as her partner and Isabella who would have done the same. However, the stern look on Josie's face gave them a message. Whatever reasons Josie must be rejecting Asher for, they weren't ready to interfere. Out of curiosity, they both asked them if they knew each other but the two of them denied flatly. Josie had later decided to work with him stating that it was because she had no choice. Others had encouraged Asher to learn from her
Hernandez GroupAfter a long working day, Chazz called Rachel, his secretary to ask about what he asked her to find out. Bracing herself up, Rachel walked into his office to give the information she had. Finding out information about the names he gave her wasn't an easy thing to do especially with the fact that they both returned back to the country recently, however, she knew she had to report back to Chazz. Not only because she was trying to get on his good sides but because she also had feelings for him and she was still at the verge of verifying if he felt the same way for her."What have you found out?""I'm still on it." She replied. "Phoebe Hernandez is currently in the country and she is a licensed doctor. She'll start as a resident from tomorrow.""Which hospital?""Theodore Medicals.""Not that close to this place. Alexander? What about him?""I haven't been able to get any leads on Alexander Hernandez. His whereabouts, whether he's in the country or not, I have no idea, bu