SJ looked up from his Mac the following day and looked out the glass door that leads to the terrace, where Elli is working on the Grande project. He watched as she moved the mouse while her other hand is typing gently on the keyboards. She will from time to time stop and checked her notes that Florence had earlier brought with her.
“You know you can work outside, if you want,” Florence commented sarcastically.
He looked at one of his company’s VP and frowned, to which she only gave a nonchalant stare. Florence, who also became one of his good friends when she was introduced by Brian. She is one of the key persons who helped him, and the company become successful because of her hard work and dedication.
“What time is Brian arriving?”
Florence looked up from her work.
“He’ll be here by lunchtime,” she answered. “He has a meeting with a supplier for all the equipment spare parts. Then, he’s g
Elli suddenly sat up crying on her bed, just way past midnight. She had just woken up from a bad dream about her parents. What seems like a flashback, images of her mother drowning while she is trying to save her came back. Then the look of her father when he arrived at the hospital. Next came the images of the pain and hardships he went through when he was diagnosed with cancer. He tried hiding it from her, but she caught him, throwing up.She pulled her knees up and dropped her head while her arms hugged her knees tightly as she tried to make the images disappear from her mind. She had never gotten over them and she knew it. Up to this time, the two incidents had never left her.“Relax, Elli,” she whispered softly. “Calm yourself down.”“Elli?”She looked up at the sound and saw SJ at her door.“I’m sorry,” she immediately apologized, wiping her tears. “Just had a bad dream.”
SJ went out from his early the next day and headed straight downstairs. As he took the last few steps down, he saw William walked by him with a blanket in his arms. The butler immediately stopped and greeted him formally.“Where are you heading, William?” He asked patiently.“Madam fell asleep in her studio,” William answered calmly. “I’m going to put a blanket over her.”“Wait,” SJ said calmly. He looked at him before asking the questions that has been bothering him after he got back in his room. “Has she always had these nightmares? Ever since she started living here?”“Madam never really talks of the reason why she’ll be there at studio,” William responded after some thoughts. “All she tells us that she can’t sleep and so she paints to pass time until she will feel sleepy. She started being like this after the death of her father. Those late-night racing tha
Elli looked up from her laptop when she heard footsteps coming her way.“Brought you some coffee, Elli,” Paige said with a smile as she placed a cup beside her notes as well as hers and sat down on the vacant chair. “Why don’t you take a break for a few minutes? You’ve been engrossed on your work after finishing lunch while your boss took a nap.”“Thank you,” Elli said as she reached for her cup.“How are you doing?” Paige asked softly.Elli remained silent for a while, contemplating on what to reply. “Did he tell you what happened?” She slowly asked. “On the reason why, I was at the studio a while ago?”“SJ doesn’t tell us much, to be honest,” Paige answered honestly. She leaned back on the chair and crossed her legs and looked at Elli seriously. “But I know he cares for you deep down. He’s worried as well, believe me. I know he’
SJ waited patiently for Elli to come down from her room that night for dinner. He looked up the stairs and finally saw her coming down, wearing a sleeveless, emerald knee length crepe fabric, dress with draped detail in the front and back, braided belt detail and a boat neckline.“Jasmine’s making me wear this,” she commented stiffly as she tried adjusting the dress to her comfort.He smiled down at her.“You look good, Elli,” he assured gently. “Stop fidgeting.”“I’m not used to wearing this,” she complained lightly. She looked up at him. “I’ll just go up and change into something comfortable.”SJ held her by the waist when she was about to turn and go up again. He brushed some hair off her face. “They’re waiting for us,” he remarked as he gestured his head towards the outdoor dining area. “There’s nothing wrong with what you’re wearin
Elli went out an athletic store on a Wednesday morning, carrying some bags after buying some trainers and active wear to join Luisa on a field trip with her students on Friday. She only said yes to her friend after getting SJ’s approval.It’s been a week since she came back from the country and one week more to enjoy the vacation that she had asked from him. SJ had called her a few days ago and told her that Mr. Grande had finally approved the design for his granddaughter’s room and had his construction group started on the work. He then told her that he will be going on overseas for a quick business trip.Her phone suddenly rang, and she took her phone from her bag.“Hello?” She greeted politely.“Elli, where are you right now?” Her husband’s voice came.“I just came out of the athletic store after buying some trainers for Friday,” she answered patiently as she sat on a vacant bench. &ldq
SJ went out from the shower and wrapped the towel provided by the hotel around his waist that evening in Tuscany, Italy, before walking towards the lavatory counter and reached for his shaver. His phone suddenly sounded, signifying a message.“Babe, I got this today,” Carmela’s message read with a picture of her wearing a diamond tennis necklace. “It’s perfect, isn’t it? I’ll be wearing this for your mom’s party. When will it be, by the way? News is circulating that there’s no word yet with regards to her birthday party. Is she going to have one?”He placed down his phone and concentrated on shaving, his thoughts on her message.After a while, his phone rung and it was Carmela calling.“Babe, why didn’t you answer?” She whined at the other line.“I was shaving, hon,” he answered as he entered his room. He reached for the remote and turned on the TV. “Was
Elli sat beside Luisa after she got her lunch that Friday. They had just had an educational and fun tour at El Museo de Arte y Ciencias and now they are at the museum’s café where lunch is being served to the students. “My male students seemed to have crushes on you,” Luisa teased with a grin. “Have you noticed that they were trying to outdo each other during the mini quiz given by the guide? They were trying to impress you. It’s kind of cute watching them.” “Because the tour is very interesting and fun,” Elli corrected as she took a drink from her juice. “They don’t do that often in my class,” Luisa chuckled. “But, I’m just happy to see them learning and listening. I don’t get that often. Mostly it’s me tearing my hair just to get them to listen to what I’m teaching them in class.” “Hi, Ms. Porter!” The two looked up and saw the jock from the class, standing in front of her with a shy smile. “Is there something you need from Ms. Porte
Elli leaned back on her pillows that night as she placed down her phone beside her after finishing scrolling through the photos on Carmela Steinfeld’s Instagram account. She felt sorry for herself after seeing the beautiful and appealing model that everyone is raving about.She had over fifteen million followers worldwide on her Instagram alone. She then checked her other social media and one had forty plus million followers.Elli started feeling insecure.“Why am I feeling like this?” She asked herself. She clutched her head lightly and dropped them on her knees, closing her eyes tightly. “What’s the matter with you, Elli? Why are you suddenly feeling unsure of yourself? You were never like this before.”She stood up and went out from her room and went to her studio. She had brought back from the countryside the outline of the painting she did of SJ. She looked at the canvass intently, his profile coming to life with t