SERENDIPITOUS LOVE

CHAPTER 1: Grandmother's Scheme

February 6, 2016. Saturday. It was around 7 in the morning. Jacqui was awakened by the ringing of her smartphone. It was a video call from her mother.

With her eyes still closed, she reached for her smartphone on the bedside table, opened her eyes and received the call.

She replied, still yawning – Yes, Mom

Her mother asked – Did I wake you up?

She answered – Yeah, Mom. But my alarm will soon sound. I need to be at the office by 9 AM.

Her mother then stated – Well, I just want to remind you about the family dinner tonight. Your Dad will fetch you from the office by 5 PM.

She responded, surprised – Why too early, Mom? The dinner is usually at 7 PM.

Her mother explained – We have family friends coming over.

She asked, curious – Who?

Her mother answered – The childhood best friend of your Lola Consuelo who just recently returned from Shanghai.

She then told her mother – There is no need for Dad to fetch me, Mom. I can just drive home on my own.

Her mother insisted – Your Dad doesn’t want you to be tired from driving. He is already in the process of finding a personal driver/bodyguard for you.

Her parents usually lived during weekdays in their residence Vienburg City, Missi, located in an exclusive subdivision not that very far from Pinnacle Tower. Her parents came home to their family residence in Beaunne City, Sorocon during weekends.

Her father, the current Sorocon Senator Jacgques Antonio 'Jack' Avila, had already left his law practice for the time being to focus on being a member of the Senate. Whereas, her mother, Dr. Evelyn 'Eve' Juarez-Avila, a developmental psychologist, had been focusing on FESL as its founder, owner, and Headmistress.

She asked – What for? We have Manong Rod anyway, and I can drive.

Mommy Eve reminded her – You know how your Dad could be overly protective, especially with you. He is now a public servant, so he is very cautious.

Jacqui then asked her Mom ,– Is Dad still pursuing the idea of having me as his chief-of-staff in the Senate?

Her mother answered – Your Kuya Jer is now managing the law firm, whereas your Kuya Jon is busy as VP for Legal Affairs at Sorocon Constructions. So, that leaves you as his final choice.

She made a request to her mother childishly – Mom, you need to help me out with Dad. I only took up law because he and Lolo both wanted me to be the first Avila female lawyer.

Her mother reminded her – Plus, you get to have their bribe as a brand new car. Well, luckily you won the lottery on your first try at betting. You used your winnings as startup capital. Or else, you have got no other choice but to heed your Dad’s wish. You were the bar top-notcher on your batch. We all take great pride in this, most especially your Dad, so he wants to flaunt his princess to everyone in the Senate.

She shared – I had already told him that I could still help him out with all the legal paperwork. But I really don’t like working full time for him in the Senate.

Mommy Eve tried to cheer her up – Well, you are a Daddy’s girl! I am sure you won’t need my help. He will respect your decision even if it is not in his favor.”

She voiced out her fear – But why do I have a feeling that I need to do something else if I don’t agree with his wish.

Jacqui was gifted with an IQ of 160. At a very young age, her mother had already discovered being a developmental psychologist. Jacqui’s giftedness had paved the way for her mother to establish the Filipinas School for Exceptional Learners (FSEL), a nonprofit boarding school in Vienburg City for exceptional children (those children with autism, deaf-blindness, deafness, emotional disturbance, intellectual disability, hearing impairment, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, visual impairment, development delay, gifted and talented). It provides special education for exceptional children and coordinates with top higher educational institutions in the country or even abroad for further enrichment of their skills and talents. Currently, it has one branch for every region of the country. The first was on the North Region – Vienburg City, Missi, and the others were: West Region – Mellin City, Zaramala; East Region – Yeredan City, Kebu; and South Region – Puerto Ava City, Davou.

Jacqui was more of the academically gifted. Despite her giftedness, her mother tried very hard to give her a normal childhood. Her parents had arranged for playdates with children her age. Jacqui was also encouraged to take up summer classes she preferred. Thus, she took up swimming, lawn tennis, piano, violin, musical composition, taekwondo, drawing, dressmaking. She excelled at drawing. The sport she excelled at the most is lawn tennis. She may not be an exceptional singer, but she can sing in tune, can play the piano and violin decently, and can do short musical compositions.

After winning the lottery, she decided to take up fashion design and technology at the International Fashion Academy in Paris. Her father disapproved of that but her mother reminded him that Jacqui was not a minor anymore and that they should respect her decision.

The Bachelor in Fashion Design and Technology lasted for three years. She only got to go home during school breaks and holidays. Afterwards, she followed it through with MBA in Fashion Business for 15 months. Hence, she had been back home for good by June 2015.

Within her stay in Paris, the preparations for JADE Company had been accomplished by her trusted family and friends. Madison was in-charge of overseeing the construction of the chemical laboratory. Krista was in-charge of overseeing the development of the botanical farm. Her brother Jon and their maternal cousin Patrick were in charge of the renovations and construction details. And then Maynard did all the accounting and legal aspects of JADE Company’s preparatory stage. The last details of the preparatory stage were left for her to oversee.

So when she finally returned for good, everything was already prepared from all the facilities, furniture, apparatuses, machines and other hardware. She had also prepared all the necessary software she needed for her company. The first step she took when she returned was hiring the most qualified employees who would be able to help her realize her dream company. For a month, she leased an office space in Zenith Tower in Vienburg City solely for the hiring procedure.

FLASHBACK

June 15, 2015. Monday. Jacqui had finalized the lease of the office space at Zenith Tower with Belle, Jac's youngest sibling and only sister. It was just a short-term lease because she would already launch JADE Company by the beginning of July. The office space was solely leased for the hiring process. She needed to find the most qualified employees who would be able to help her realize her dream company.

During the remaining days of June, she devoted most of her time to hiring her dream team of employees. She even borrowed her mother's secretary and one legal secretary from their law firm for the time being, while she had not found herself an executive assistant yet. The interior design of the building has already been done as well. And the last minute purchases of all the furniture, apparatuses, equipment, machines, and other hardware had already been finalized. Madison had already been developing products for JADE Beauty and JADE Scents together with Krista while she was still in Paris. Their first line of products for JADE Beauty, JADE Scents, and JADE Fashion had its ongoing initial samples production already.

July 1, 2015. Wednesday. In the morning, the new office building of JADE Company was formally opened for business simultaneously with the warehouse, farm, and laboratory in Beaunne City.

Jacquilyn Avila Design Esthetics (JADE) Company has four business divisions – JADE Technology, JADE Fashion, JADE Beauty, and JADE Scents.

As a software developer, Jacqui setup the management and monitoring system, and the facial recognition access control system for the Avila and Associates Law Firm and for FESL in four key locations in the country.

For JADE Technology, it offered custom software development, web app development, mobile app development, and embedded systems for small, medium and large enterprises. It was also involved in gadget development. Her first big client was her cousin Patrick Juarez, the CEO of Sorocon Constructions. JADE Technology was tasked to develop customized software specifically to assist the engineers and architects in the execution of the floor plans and blueprints. Leila Cardenas also commissioned JADE Technology for more advanced Interior Design software. Several business enterprises then followed.

For JADE Fashion, she released her first line of fitness and sportswear for all sexes and ages with all the accessories (bag, shoes, headbands, wristbands, elbow pads, arm bands, knee pads, etc.) on August 1, 2015.

For JADE Beauty, it released Madison’s first line of cosmetics – lip tints from all natural ingredients on August 1, 2015.

For JADE Scents, it released Madison’s first line of baby colognes on August 1, 2015.

All items are available in JADE Boutique, her flagship store located on the first two floors of JADE Company Building. The next two floors were for her employees and the top floor was for her office, design studio, recording studio, photo studio, server computer room, and two conference rooms.

September 1, 2015. JADE Fashion released its line of street wear for all sexes and ages with all the accessories (bag, shoes, scarves, belts, fancy jewelry, etc). JADE Beauty also released its line of facial care from all natural ingredients – facial moisturizer, facial soap, facial toner, facial mask, and mineral face powder. JADE Scents released an eau de parfum for men, and an eau de parfum for women.

October 1, 2015. JADE Fashion released its line of knit sweaters, soft cardigans, turtlenecks tops, with plaid scarves, different styles of pants, and different styles of footwear specifically for the cold weather in the country for the so-called ‘ber months’. JADE Beauty released mineral eye shadows and mineral blush colors. JADE Scents released three variants of spray cologne for male teens and three variants of spray cologne for female teens.

November 2, 2015. JADE Company had started opening JADE Boutiques in malls. Foreign retailers had also expressed their interest in selling all her clothing, beauty products, and scents. JADE Fashion also released a line of casual business chic outfits both for men and women, plus all the accessories.

December 1, 2015. JADE Fashion released its line of couture clothing for men and women – formal suits for men and formal evening gowns for women.

Jacqui also received a lasting mark by designing her father’s Barong Tagalog, trousers and dress shoes, and her mother’s Filipiniana Dress, clutch, and high heel shoes when her father took his oath as a newly-elected Senator for the Province of Sorocon in January 2016. It cemented JADE Fashion as a fast-rising international fashion brand.

During all of these, Jac had been busy with his duties and responsibilities for JI Pinnacle Corporation. His older and only brother, James, had delegated all of his usual international business trips to him because of the pregnancy of Georgina, and then the eventual birth of their first son, Baby JG. His brother did not want to leave his wife and his baby behind. But they had already made an agreement that he would just do international business trips until the end of the year 2015.

James, his brother agreed, knowing that he also needed to oversee his own business empire. So, he was not able to attend the formal grand opening of JADE Company as well as its other product launches and runway show, even if he received the invitations. Those events had always coincided with his trips abroad. So he was out of the country as they all happened. He had just made it to a point to send Jacqui a large arrangement of congratulatory flowers with an apology and explanation note regarding his business trip.

On the other hand, Jacob Ivan Tan also received an early morning call. It was from his paternal grandmother, Agnes Tan, who was the only person in their family who called him Jacob instead of Jac. His grandmother, who was already in her 80s just recently came home to Filipinas for good after living with their paternal aunt, Aunt Andrea, in Shanghai.

Sleepily, he answered – Yes, Lola.

Lola Agnes spoke up with authority – Jacob, I will be visiting a childhood best friend early this evening for dinner in Beaunne City. I want you to accompany me. Fetch me at 5 PM. Afterwards I will be staying at your Uncle Sergio’s place in Beaunne City for a while.

He couldn’t say no to his grandmother. He was quite pampered by her while growing up – Okay, Lola.

Lola Agnes added – One thing more, please pick up those French pastries I asked Belle to prepare. And pay her because she did not accept my money.

He responded respectfully – No worries, Lola. I will pay her. Anything else?

Lola Agnes replied – Dressed up decently. I do not like your usual all-black attire. Also, purchase the best herbal tea and the finest wine.

He agreed – Duly noted, Lola.

Later in the afternoon, aboard his brand new black sports utility vehicle, Jac dropped by at Belle’s Culinary School in Zenith Tower to get the French pastries.

He told his sister, “Lola insisted that I pay for them, so how much does everything cost?”

Belle responded, “I will just send the bill to your office,” then teased her older brother, “I smell something dubious regarding this, Kuya. I have a feeling that Lola will play as a matchmaker.”

He reminded his one and only sister, “You very well know that before and after Anna, there has only been one woman that I am particularly interested in pursuing.”

Belle was close to both her brothers. “Yeah, I know. But Jacqui Avila is so aloof with men. You might have met her quite a few times already, but up to now you still have not made a move. More than two years have already passed since you last dated.”

He imparted to his sister, “When I first met her in 2010, she was just 20 and I was just starting my business career. While she was in France studying fashion design, I am here in the country making my own mark in the business world outside the family's conglomerate.”

Belle emphasized, “Well, she has already returned. She even leased an office space here at Zenith Tower for a while but you did not grab such an opportunity to make your move. What is stopping you from pursuing her? I honestly don’t believe that you became in despair just because your first attempt at pursuing a lady failed. I have nothing against Anna. She is a very nice lady but she is not just the right fit for you. In fairness, she did try to get to know you on a few dates without any promise of commitment but your interests and aspirations just didn’t jive.” She further stressed, “At least with Jacqui, you are both from the same social class. Plus she is also very down-to-earth. She is also in computer science just like you. You are also both into fitness workout. Since she returned from France, she has regularly worked out again at your gym. And she still lives in her two-bedroom condominium unit in Pinnacle Tower. Let us just hope that Lola will not indeed match you with her best friend’s granddaughter.”

Jac then clarified everything to his dearest sister, "Let me just clear things once and for all. First, I was not able to grab the opportunity to make my move on Jacqui since she returned last June because I was busy jetting in and out of the country. Kuya James could not leave Georgina behind with her due date getting near. And when Baby JG was born, the elders would not allow him and Georgina to travel yet with Kuya. Second, I have not become in despair even if things did not work out with Anna. You very well know for a fact how busy I have become since I returned to working for JI Pinnacle. You don't want to work there. Kuya could not find any other trustworthy person to leave the family business behind but me whenever he had to make some business trips. Then I eventually had to do all of the international business trips on his behalf. And lastly, my only plan for now is to pursue Jacqui and focus on all of my business endeavors."

Belle warned her brother, "Well, good luck on that, Kuya. You are Lola's favorite among all her grandsons. Just hope and pray that her best friend does not have a single granddaughter or else matchmaking is really in the works."

In his mind – I hope that Belle is not correct about her suspicion with regards to Lola. I cannot let this another chance of pursuing Jacqui pass by again. I had already set aside such because she was still studying back then in Paris. But now that I do not have to do a lot of trips abroad anymore, I will pursue her already. She is the only lady whom I want to pursue. i will do my very best to win her heart. Belle is right. We have several common interests. So it will not be hard for us anymore to get along.