CHAPTER 2

THE first time Catherine Wayne ran away from home, she was seven years old. 

“I’m running away from here.” She mumbles unto herself acting all brave like it was all just a simple game that she usually plays. “No one can stop me, and when I said no one then it is no one!” She claims, and repeating. 

She packed her favorite cookie, her stuffed rabbit she names Mr. Skittles, a clean red T-shirt, and a handful of granola bars, then set out into the world. Well, not the world, really, just the end of Seventh Street where the alley met the back of the park. 

“This should teach them some lesson.”

She reasons out thinking that it is better than being in the house and the presence of her parents who are arguing about who will take her into custody.

“No one dares to treat me like a thing.”

As she pouts, determine to set her plan in action and to somehow make them realize their mistake and for once they would find the idea of listening to her. 

“Okay, Mr. Skittles it is only you and me from now on.”

As she talks to her stuffed rabbit and settled in to the dark, tight space under the stairs of the slide. But not before long, her stomach rumbled which made her open one of the granola bars, and eat it while observing her dimly lighted surroundings. 

“Hey, piggy-rabbit, where are you?”

Knew immediately who it was as her coin nickname is being blared into the silence of that night. She immediately cowers and hides. 

“Come on, come out, now will you?”

Her bully of a friend Sam pleaded, yet she knows otherwise. For he surely just trying to ruin her plan like he always does every time. 

“Boo!”

Startled, she screams in her high-pitched voice as he immediately covers her mouth with his hands and pleaded. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, okay?”

Slaps him using her beloved Mr. Skittles, he covers his face with his arms instinctively, as their little routine of like hide and seek, but in reality, is him looking out for his cry baby piggy-rabbit ensues. 

“I will not go home, so leave me alone.”

As she immediately claims. Pouting her mouth at the end, as her supposed to be a rebellious state which Sam always and secretly finds adorable from her. 

“What if I do not want to.” He teases which boils Cath’s temper making her turn red. That he finds amusing and ends up teasing her more. “Piggy-rabbit.” As he then instinctively pinches her both cheeks and laughs. 

“Le… me… go!” she protested pushing both his hands away from her face as she rubs it with both of her palms with tears peaking in both of her eyes. “Just go and let me be will you?”

She firmly protested giving a piece of her mind yet, Sam knew her more than that and immediately reach out his hand smiling widely, and said. 

“Let’s go buy ice cream, okay?”

In an instant and with the smile that always means and tells her subconsciously that everything will be alright and he will always be there to cheer her up. She cheerfully nods taking his hand as they run to buy their favorite comfort food. 

"No matter what, I will always be your hero, Piggy-rabbit…”

“MISS CATHERINE WAYNE!”

Startled as she snaps back into reality and towards her piles of work from remembering the past that she honestly wished that she never been.

“Oh, it’s you.”

As she mumbles to herself, as she is faced with the smug wake-up call and bitchy greeting of Francine. 

“Tired, aren’t you?”

She smiles awkwardly knowing how sarcastic she is and getting on her nerves. She let it pass knowing that she had no time to waste arguing with the acting queen bee of their entire news company just because she can and all due to her standing as the quote and quote the ‘boss daughter’. 

“I’m sorry about that Miss Haynes,”

She apologizes, yet didn’t really mean at all. As it was all for the sake of ‘respect’, that it doesn’t deserve at all.  

“But you see being a real journalist eats away fifteen hours of my time not including every meal in between just to produce the best articles that make this company standing.” She retorts sarcastically in the sense of flaunting her achievements and contribution to the current success of the company she’s working at. 

“Unlike you.” She whispers just below her breath thinking of just how unfair the world could be. 

For having a bitch like Francine who had everything and only relay on her name ‘Haynes’. Thinking that she can do anything just because of it. 

“My mom, I mean the editor in chief wants you in her office, now!”

Slamming her hand on the table and threw those dagger-like attitudinal gazes while emphasizing the first two words and pretending as if it is just a gullible mistake. Sure, enough Cath’s day just crumples into the worst one possible. 

“Thank you.” all drawn with a forced smile and a little patience. 

“Good.” 

She pesters her up until the end and not without knocking her piles of paperwork neglecting her position as the managing editor of the company. If she just didn’t love this work all too much, she quit the very moment that she knew that her college nemesis is the daughter of her boss. 

“Well, I told you that you should have accepted the promotion to becoming the section chief long ago.”

Immediately fixes the papers and files and pile them according to what they all used to be on top of her desk. She smiles halfway as she rolls her eyes ignoring Nadia’s comment and the very same ones, she always hears from her ever since she rejected her promotion a year ago. 

“Just drop it, Nadia.”

She requested and meaning for it to be a command rather than a request. Yet, her best friend is making it a point in her life to torment her for the very big mistake that she ever did in her entire career as a journalist. 

“I’m just saying. That bitch didn’t get over that you took everything that she wanted, and most especially the top spot in academics back in our college days, as she is taking back at you by tormenting you right now.”

As she reminds her of the past and acting the same old one that’s getting angry at her place. 

Now pointing out the reality with a firm voice and expression saying, “That bitch will not treat you like this if you didn’t let her. You just clearly gave her the ticket to do so, and now that she is on top of you, talent aside, she’s acting all might and high.”

She continues more with her all-piss expression while holding her favorite espresso from their favorite coffee shop down the alley and showing her how disappointed she is for her passing such an opportunity at hand. Knowing that she deserves that position more than anyone else in the company. 

“Here’s your coffee.”

Giving her-her coffee with the misspelled name on it and with the ‘K’, that by now is just a standard routine of her life, she laughs at her comments and reminded her of the end time. 

"You know where I stand in that matter, Nadia. I am not after the money, nor the position, as all I wanted-”

“Is to pursue your passion in news and produce the best articles ever known in the world. Yeah, yes! I heard that line a million times already.”

She cuts her off ending her line, while all the while exaggerating it using the expression and tone of someone that’s thinking that she is not thinking conveniently just because of her so-called passion. 

“I need to go.”

Shaking her head as she takes a sip and two of her coffee before giving it back to her hands. She headed her way to their chief’s office before the butt of the bitch Francine makes a scene. 

“See you at lunch!”

Waving at her as she marches confidently towards the office of their branded tyrant of a chief. She is greeted with the news that leaves her more than speechless as she wanted to die than take it as her assignment. 

“I want you to know everything and write an interesting article about this certain billionaire and his ways in business.”

Puzzled as she could not help but cross her eyebrows at what she just heard, for she is not into some good stuff news article but a freaking business and more likely an entertainment page turns feature writing that she isn’t fond of at all. 

“Wooh! Wait a minute. Am I hearing this clear, and right? You want me to write an article about a businessman?”

Too bad as a nightmare and a possibility to be a dream. Sheila looks at her with the stern face that they all knew only means one thing. 

“Miss Catherine Wayne.”

Dropping her name without breaking eye contact sure means that she’s not joking nor having the utmost mistake of giving her an assignment. That whether she likes it or not, it is her company, her rule, and her command that is needed to be followed.

“Well,” she tries to buy some reasons while giving it the voice of her achievements for the company so far. As she couldn’t be sent into some assignment that she isn’t comfortable on working. “How about Philip? He is an expert in this field. Or Bea, she has the hunch in this kind of news.”

Hand up and signed for her to stop by which she immediately did so while backing out a step and two knowing that she could not afford to shrink the patience of the tyrant chief. 

Sheila drops a newspaper unto her table and pointed out. 

“It’s time for a change Catherine and even for a while. I trust you more than anyone else in this company as you are the best. I want you to complete this assignment no matter what.”

More like personal gain. As she thinks of it all noticing the newspaper name that drags unto their rival company by which in heavens anger and fall for her doom is their chief’s ex-husbands. Helpless as she could not say no to this, can she? She gives up and asks. 

“But you better give me one hell of a good assignment after this, and news in that matter. Now, who is it?”

On the hopeless move to take this particular assignment, Sheila shows her a particular magazine, flipped it on the particular page, and even showed her a video of her subject. Yet, to her utter surprise and the world that just came crashing down on her, her pen dropped together with the name. 

“Samuel Lawrence.”