CHAP 2

“Good morning, ma’am.” My head lifted as soon as I heard my co-workers motioned to greet a woman passing by.

It was Achetbir’s grandmother, walking towards our table. We quickly rose from our seats and arched to bow in front of her.

“Good morning, ma’am,” we said in a synchronized manner.

The old woman smiled at us with such warmth before motioning her hands towards my two colleagues to sit. She turned towards me and opened her mouth. “Is my grandson busy, hija?” she asked with such a gentle tone.

“Ahm, sir is currently free right now,” I said.

He was even able to call me just so we can have sex, so I doubt that he’s busy. I shook my head as a winced expression crept into my face because of what I thought of.

“Okay, thank you.” She narrowed her lips to smile and promptly turned away, walking towards Acherbir’s office.

I lowered my gaze and sighed to myself. Achetbir’s grandmother is a kind person however I still can’t help feeling nervous in front of her. I feel like we could get caught by her any moment which gives me the shivers down my spine.

“Madam is quite gentle, doesn’t she?” Freya said, whispering near my ear.

I nodded followed by a smile on my face.

“I feel like she likes you a lot, Jandie,” Serah then said.

My lips twitched as soon as those words reached my ear. I furrowed my brows. “Huh? Why do you think so?” I asked while fixing the papers on my desk.

“Wait, really? You haven’t noticed how her eyes would twinkle whenever she’s talking to you?” Serah asked, lifting one of her eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes and looked at her. “You wished,” I said despite noticing it for myself.

I could never get it out of my system about how much Madam looks at me with such a kind expression on her face whenever she talks to me. What if her expression changes when she finds out about Achetbir’s and my relationship?

“Tss! Though despite her being so kind, our sir’s mother would be so strict with you! Like, damn! She gives me goosebumps whenever I see her,” Freya said, shivering.

Serah and I laughed at her reaction.

Achetbir’s mother is kind of intimidating. Even with just her eyes landing at you, it would feel like just one wrong move, and she’ll gobble you up in a minute. She had such a cold tone followed by an expressionless face which Achetbir inherited, especially whenever he’s talking to other people.

“Oh, miss Patriza is also here,” Serah said as her eyes roamed around the area and spotted a woman walking.

Freya and I looked. She was promptly attempting to come inside Achetbir’s office.

“She’s really beautiful, isn’t she?” Freya asked, in awe.

“Yeah, I agree. She suits our sir, well. Doesn’t she, Jands?” Serah asked, turning towards my direction.

I smiled bitterly in front of them. I felt a stinging pain on my chest as I had to agree. I nodded saying, “Yeah.”

Patriza is one of those women who were being linked with Achetbir. She’s usually invited by his mom every now and then at family gatherings. I couldn’t help but suppress this pain in my chest, admitting the truth. They look like a match in heaven; a man who is gifted with such looks and a woman who looks so stunning then followed by their riches. Yeah, they suit each other perfectly.

It was something that I don’t have.

I’m not ugly but I’m not gorgeous as well. I’m only an average woman and sometimes, I wonder what Achetbir found in me. On the other hand, Patriza is my total opposite. She’s indeed perfect that’s why it wouldn’t be surprising to know that she’s a famous model who built her own clothing brands.

My two colleagues continued to talk and praise my lover and a woman’s name nonstop while I decided to just focus on the door of his office, guarding, waiting what might happen from the inside.

It was probably already thirty minutes when the door swung open. The first person to come out of the room was Achetbir’s grandmother. Just like what she just whenever she comes out, she then walks towards me as if it were a habit of hers.

I immediately stood up and greeted her again as a sign of respect.

“Stop treating me like this hija. You always remind me of our difference in status,” she said, jokingly followed by a small chuckle.

Her eyes looked like it was glimmering.

For some reason, her presence had always made me feel calm. My lips automatically crept into a smile.

“I apologize, madam,” I said.

As I apologized to her, my eyes widened as she quickly hooked her arms around mine. I couldn’t help but gasps, the same way my colleagues did as they witnessed the scene.

“Why don’t we grab a coffee together? Don’t you think it would be a great idea?” she asked, her tone looking like she was excited.

I blinked several times, not knowing what to do. She’s my boss’s grandmother—my boyfriend’s grandmother, how can I not feel uncomfortable? How can I decline her?

My words started to stutter as I was left with nervousness creeping through my body. “I-it’s a little embarrassing, madam but i…i-if you would like to, I would gladly agree.” I feel like I was drained as soon as I said those words.

An excited expression motioned on her face as she heard me agree with her invitation. Her arms tightened towards mine followed by the words, “Great! Let’s go!” she shouted as if she was really looking forward to this for all these times.

Being dragged by her from the arms, I turned around to glance at my two colleagues. They looked at me with such a smile on their faces and their hands motioning to an okay sign. I gently shook my head and pointed towards my table. They already get the gist as they both nodded at me.

“My grandson wouldn’t get mad if I suddenly kidnapped his secretary, right?” she said with a shrugging shoulder. My attention was taking aback as I looked at her.

“I don’t think Achet—Sir will get mad,” I said, feeling a little nervous from confusing my words.

He has a visitor right now so I’m sure it would be impossible for him to call for me. Patriza will also probably stay inside his office the whole day today.

I once asked Achetbir with what Patriza does all day in his office. He said that she would only watch TV inside his office and would then talk to him from time to time since he always made it looked like he was busy of some sort. He also made sure that there were no monkey business happening in his office and I trust him.

A few minutes passed by as we finally arrived at the café Achetbir’s grandmother wanted. Just looking at the establishment in front of me, I could easily tell that those with only the most priviledges can get into. It looked expensive with just exteriors hanging around the building. We decided to go inside and as I expected, the interior was more extraordinary and pleasing in the eye as she sat down on one of the tables, unbothered by the decorations.

“What do you want, hija?” the old woman asked as she held the menu on her frail hands.

“Anything you would pick, madam,” I said.

The expression on her face changed into a wince as if she heard something she didn’t want to hear. She shook her head.

“Call me Grandma.”

My jaw dropped automatically.

“What?” I asked.

“Madam is too formal, and you’ve been working with my grandson as he’s secretary for almost three years now. You’re not too different anymore,” she explained.

I lauhed nervously as I gulped my own saliva. It felt like I started sweating from her sudden words followed by wanting to pee.

“Come on, say it,” she said excitedly.

I sighed as I saw such a huge beaming smile on her face.

“Grandma,” I mumbled.

As soon as I said those words, I felt butterflies in my stomach. It was a new feeling building in my chest. So, this is what it feels like to call your boyfriend’s grandmother the same way he does. My eyes landed towards hers and how twinkling it is while looking at me. It looked like she was really pleased.

“Grandma,” I repeated and this time, when it came out of my mouth, I was the most comfortable. A smile crept into our faces, and she motioned to clap her hands together.

“That’s it, my grandchild. Perfect!” she exclaimed.

I was caught off guard when she called me her ‘grandchild’ and coughed despite not drinking anything yet. The waiter and the old woman quickly became worried and gave me a glass of water to drink. As the cold water poured down my throat, I let out a sigh and put down the glass on the table.

“Are you okay, hija?” she asked, her forehead creasing as she was worried about my well-being.

“Y-yes,” I said.

Achetbir, your grandmother’s too much when she’s happy. It makes me feel like I’ll drop dead at any minute.

After a few minutes passing by, our orders finally came, and we had some random talks. We talked about my sibling whom I was helping with his studies in the province and Achetbir as my boss. If you ask me about her, it looked like Achetbir’s grandmother is quite a talker as she had a lot of stories to tell and topics to open up with. Our conversation went on and on, talking about myself—well apart from mentioning my relationship with his grandson.

After our small drinking, she sent me back to the office. We bid each other goodbyes and I thanked her for the opportunity. She was a lovely lady whom you’ll ever dream of as a grandmother. I found myself being comfortable with her.

As I walked back to the company and to my department, it was then that I saw Patriza and Achetbir coming out of his office. He was eyeing me with such confusion on his face followed by raising his eyebrow, as if he was questioning why I just returned.

Instead of answering him back, I lowered my gaze, bowing in front of them before heading back to my table. As I did so, I already felt my co-workers landing their gazes back to me, especially my two colleagues at the very end of the hallway.

“So how did it go? How did the coffee taste like? You didn’t have any take outs for us, didn’t you?” Serah asked.

I bumped my forearm with hers, stopping her from talking. I motioned towards our boss Achetbir, looking at our direction—specifically looking towards my direction with such a frightening look on his face. As she noticed whom I was referring to, Serah quickly fixed herself and went back to her workloads.

I turned my gaze slightly to look at him. He was still eyeing me with such an icy cold look on his face. I bit my lower lip and lowered my eyes. He’s probably thinking, questioning about what he saw.

'It was your grandmother who invited me for coffee not some random guy.' I thought in my head with a pouting expression on my face.

When I was about to go back to my work, still worrying about Achetbir’s thoughts, I heard my co-workers gasping as if they witnessed something phenomenal. I didn’t heed much attention to it until I felt Serah, bumping my arm, pointing towards the direction of my boyfriend.

As I motioned to look in front, my eyes widened from shock and an unwanted feeling crept to my chest.

Patriza was clinging on Achetbir’s neck, their lips connected.

Heat rose through my head as my heart started to race from the inside. I clenched my fist, not bearing what I was looking at.

You better fucking explain yourself to me, Achetbir.