Trapping the CEO

Chapter 2

RAN ADRIENNE ROSS

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Naiinip na ako sa malaking mansion ni Tyler. I went out shopping again. He gave me a credit card that I could use whenever I wanted to. It had no limit.

I wasn't really that materialistic, but I loved buying things for him. Hindi ko don't know, I was enjoying going around the men's section.

Also, almost anything fits Tyler. Hindi ito mahirap bihisan. May sarili din siyang fashion sense pero gustong-gusto niya pa rin kapag ako ang pumipili ng isusuot niya.

Napadaan ako sa shoe section. The elegant black shoes caught my attention. Nilapitan ko iyon para tingnan. Kukuhanin ko pa lang nang maramdaman ko ang palad na umibabaw sa kamay ko.

Nag-angat ako ng tingin rito. I saw a pair of brown eyes looking at me. Hindi ako nakaimik agad dahil hindi ko naman siya kilala. Ganoon pa man, tuluyan kong kinuha ang sapatos pero hindi niya hinayaang tuluyan ko iyon mahila dahil hinawakan niya rin iyon.

"This is mine," walang emosyon sa tinig na sambit nito.

"I touched it first."

Tuluyan ko iyong hinila palayo sa kaniya. Diretso kong tiningnan ang size sa ilalim at saktong-saktong iyon ang size ng paa ni Tyler.

Nilapitan kami ng sales lady and I handed her the shoe. "I'll buy it."

"Para po sa kaniya?" nakangiting tanong nito na ang tinutukoy ay ang lalaki sa harapan ko.

I again looked at him. Nakatingin pa rin ito sa akin.

"He's a stranger."

"Ah... p-pasensya na po. Akala ko po mag-jowa kayo. Parehas po kasi kayong maganda at guwapo."

"Do you have stock of the same size?" he asked.

"Pasensya na po, sir. Wala na po, eh."

Nagsimula na rin akong humakbang palayo para tumingin pa ng ilan sa loob. Hinayaan kong si Port na lang ang maghintay sa sapatos.

Ilang sandali pa, lumapit na ito sa akin. Tinapat ko sa kaniya ang damit na nakuha ko dahil halos magkasingtangkad sila ni Tyler.

"Bibilhin mo ba para sa akin?" he asked.

"I'll never buy anything for you," diretsang sagot ko at inabot sa kaniya ang damit. Ngumisi lang ito.

Nagpatuloy ako sa pagtingin ng iba pa. I could sense that someone was looking at me. Wala sa loob na tumingin ako sa shoe section. I saw that guy still staring at me.

"I think you're really good at making someone fall in love at first sight," sambit ni Port.

Tinanggal ko rin ang tingin dito. "Tyler needs new handkerchiefs."

Lumipat kami ng section. Pagkatapos kong mabayaran lahat ng pinamili, nagtungo na rin kami ni Port sa carpark.

"May pupuntahan pa ba tayo?"

"Let's go home. Baka nakauwi na si Tyler."

"Copy."

Inatras niya ang sasakyan mula sa parking. Hindi pa siya tuluyang nakakaatras nang maramdaman kong bumangga ang sasakyan sa likod.

"Fuck..." he cursed.

Nakita ko ang kulay itim na sports car sa likod na nabangga nito. Bumaba agad siya ng sasakyan. Sinundan ko siya ng tingin sa side mirror. He bent down para kumatok sa bintana nito at sumilip. I guess they were discussing something hanggang sa tuluyang bumaba ang driver.

I was a little bit surprised when I saw that man again. He looked so calm, yet... strict. I knew he wasn't ordinary by the way he wore his suit.

Port was taking it long to settle everything. I felt the need to get out of the car. Sinundan ako ng tingin ng lalaking iyon hanggang sa makarating ako sa harapan niya. Sandali kong tinanggal ang tingin sa kaniya para tingnan ang damage ng sasakyan.

"Leave us your account number. We'll pay for the damages."

"I don't take risk," simpleng sagot nito. "I'll bring my car to the repair shop, exclusive for luxury cars. Come with me and pay for it."

"I don't have time for that. My assistant can come with you."

"Then maybe you have time to call your lawyer and come with me to the police station."

Sandali pa akong nakipagsukatan ng tingin sa kaniya bago ako tumalikod at bumalik sa sasakyan. Sumunod din agad sa akin si Port.

"Ano, susundan natin?"

"You stupid."

He sighed at kumamot sa ulo niya. "Sorry na..."

"Follow him."

May kalayuan din ang repair shop na pinuntahan nito, but it really looked luxurious. Hindi ko tinapunan ng tingin ang lalaking iyon pagpasok sa loob. Hinintay ko ang estimation ng damage so I could pay for it and leave.

The damage wasn't that serious, but it still costs me half a million. Kinuha ang card ko pabalik at akmang lalabas na pero nakaharang ang lalaking iyon sa harapan ko.

"No apologies?"

I didn't say anything, but Port did apologize. Hindi ko alam kung bakit ako ang kailangang niyang harangin sa apology na gusto niya.

"Contented?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I just want you to know na ayoko nang... inaagawan ako."

He sounded so entitled and foolish at the same time. Most of these rich people really had an attitude problem. They all feel that they own the world and they have the power to control it.

"You should have done something then," sagot ko at nilagpasan na rin ito.

Port chuckled nang makabalik kami sa sasakyan.

"Angas ng kupal, buti na lang mas maangas ka pa rin."

"Ipagawa mo agad ang sasakyan pagkahatid sa akin sa mansion. Don't let anyone know about what happened, especially Tyler. I don't want him to get mad at you and fire you."

"He can get mad. You can manipulate him anyway. That guy is head over heels with you."

"It's better to avoid the problem than trigger it."

Napansin ko agad ang maraming sasakyan na nakahinto sa harap ng main door. I also saw Tyler's car. Alam ko nang nakauwi na ito. Hindi ko nakita sa labas ang mga security niya kahit nandoon ang sasakyan ng mga ito.

Wala rin ang mga kasambahay sa paligid. Kinailangan ko pang hanapin ang mga ito. Nakita ko silang nagkukumpulan sa harap ng glass wall sa garden.

Sa sobrang abala nila sa pagsilip, hindi nila napansin na nandoon ako. I almost couldn't see what they were gossiping pero dahil hamak na mas matangkad ako at nakasuot ako ng heels, natatanawan ko pa rin ang nangyayari sa labas.

I could see Tyler punching a man habang hawak ito ng mga tauhan niya.

"Hindi ko makita... tumabi kayo riyan." One of them pushed me with her shoulder. Hindi naman iyon gaanong malakas, but enough to move me a little. Tumingin ito sa akin pero mabilis na nagbago ang emosyon sa mukha niya nang ma-realize kung sinong nasa tabi niya.

"Ms. Y-Yerra..."

Naramdaman ko ang paghinto at pagbaling ng mga ito sa akin. Ilang sandali lang, mabilis silang nawala sa paligid at bumalik sa kani-kaniyang trabaho.

I was able to see Tyler clearly. I could feel his frustrations the past few days. He didn't tell me the issues, but I had my own way of knowing it.

Tila binubuhos niya ang galit sa lalaki by hurting him.

Nanatili ako sa puwesto ko and just watched him. I guess he had no plans to stop kung hindi lang nadaanan ng paningin niya ang direksyon ko.

Tumigil siya na marahas ang paghinga. Sumenyas siya sa mga tao niya at hinila ng mga ito ang lalaki palayo. I guess he tried to calm himself down bago siya humakbang papasok at lumapit sa akin.

Gusot na ang suot nitong puting sleeves at may bahid pa ng dugo roon.

"You almost killed him."

"He betrayed me," malamig na sambit nito. "He stole from me. Ang ayoko sa lahat... ginagago ako."

Humugot ako ng malalim na hininga. "I should have stayed here. Baka napigilan pa kita."

"I'll punish him anyway."

Hindi na ako sumagot pa. I didn't want to make him feel bad. For a short period of time, I felt like I've known him already. Just like other men, ayaw na ayaw niya nang naiiputan sa ulo at nang natatalo siya ng kalaban. He was competitive and a perfectionist pagdating sa trabaho niya, but I knew all his soft spots.

"Are you scared of me?"

Marahan akong umiling. I didn't see him as a threat. He could hurt people, but he couldn't kill.

"I won't hurt you..."

"I know."

"I wanna hug you, but I can't. I'm dirty. Can I just have a kiss?"

Mas lumapit ako sa kaniya at sinadya kong idikit ang katawan ko. He was obviously hesitant.

"Let's just have a shower together."

Unti-unti ring nabuo ang ngiti sa mga labi nito. Binuhat niya ako paharap sa kaniya. I just wrapped my legs around his hips. Salo naman nito ang puwitan ko habang paakyat ng hagdan.

"Hindi ka pa rin bumibigat. I told you not to take a diet anymore."

Sabay kaming kumain ng dinner and had our alone time together on the balcony, sipping some wine.

I liked that I had a simple relationship with him. I didn't have to prove so much, and I wasn't pressured at all. He was a previous womanizer, but he was proving that he was faithful. That was better. Ayoko ng ibang problema habang unti-unti naming binubuo ang mga plano.

Hinatid niya na rin ako sa silid naming dalawa after a couple of hours. He had to stay in his office in the house dahil may kailangan daw siyang tapusin na trabaho.

Hindi ko nagawang makatulog kaya naisipan kong puntahan siya sa opisina niya. Isa pa, I guess it would be a great chance to know more about his work.

He looked so serious wearing his glasses that he didn't even notice that I was there. Kinailangan ko pang kumatok sa glass door to get his attention.

He pressed something on the keyboard and looked at me.

"What are you doing here?"

"Sorry...I can't sleep. Did I disturb you?"

"I just... really have to finish this tonight."

"Can I sit beside you? I promise I'll behave."

"But there's no other chair here."

I slowly nodded. I understood na hindi niya gusto ng istorbo, and I didn't want to upset him.

"I'll just... wait for you in our room."

I was about to turn my back pero muli itong nagsalita. "But you can sit on my lap."

Bumaling din ako sa kaniya at bahagyang ngumiti. Lumapit ako sa direksyon niya at hindi nagdalawang isip na umupo sa kandungan niya. He immediately kissed my neck.

"You're giving me more reason to work hard."

May dalawang computer sa harapan niya at isang laptop sa gitna. There was also a tablet next to it.

Nagsimula na siyang mag-type at igalaw ang mouse. It was hard to understand it. There was so much information on all of the screens in front of him.

Technology was never my specialty. I knew some information, but not that deep. Port probably could understand it a bit, but I didn't think he could comprehend all that information well.

"What are those? Can you read them? They disappear too fast."

He pressed something on the keyboard again and everything stopped.

"Those are data and codes."

"Can you understand them?"

"Hmm-mm, as long as I'm not distracted."

Bahagyang nabuo ang ngiti sa mga labi ko. "I'm sorry... I said I'd behave."

He also chuckled. "It's okay. I would love to answer all your questions."

Tinuloy niya ang ginagawa niya and I no longer asked anything dahil mukhang seryoso iyon at kailangan niya talaga ng focus.

We could possibly use that information on the screen. I should find a way to record all of it without him knowing.

Hindi ko alam kung tamang nagpalit kami ni Raven ng mission. I was more knowledgeable about the illegal transaction of mafias, but then I also wouldn't think na tatagal siya sa klase ng trabaho ni Tyler. She hated using her brain, and she was very impatient. She would give up on my mission so easily and just rant her whole life.

Our mission would really be challenging. I just wished Danger gave me at least a year to prepare and investigate on my own. He gave the mission enough information, but I hoped he digs deeper.

I felt that I was overinformed that I didn't notice I fell asleep. Nagising ako na ramdam kong nasa kandungan pa rin ako ni Tyler. Unti-unti akong nagmulat ng mga mata. Nakapatay na ang mga computer sa harapan niya. Bumaling ako sa kaniya and caught him staring at me.

I panicked. "What time is it?"

"Five?"

"Are you done?"

"Kanina pa."

"Did you sleep?"

He shook his head. "I just stared at you the whole time." Inipit niya ang ilang hibla ng buhok ko sa likod ng tainga ko.

"You should have woke me up."

"Ayokong gisingin ka. You looked so peaceful," anito at ngumiti sa akin.

I found myself watching those lips, and the glimmer in those eyes. Hindi ko alam kung bakit nakakaramdam ako ng kabog sa dibdib ko.

Maybe... I wasn't just used to men treating women well. I didn't grow up with a loving family and parents who cared so much for each other. Perhaps... I wasn't just used to taking love and affection from anyone else... because that was not what we were taught of.

We were taught that love was an illusion and that it shouldn't even be a word. We were taught that money and power were the most important, and vulnerability was our death.

I didn't know a simple eye contact and a little change of heartbeat could be confusing... for someone who had been building her walls higher, thicker... stronger.