I LOVE YOU GIRL....

But Sandi seemed to see nothing. Jackie felt that even if she were wearing nothing at all Even if she were wearing no clothes at all, her boss still wouldn't notice.

"What’s my agenda for today, by the way?" he asked with a smile, not even noticing that his secretary needed to go to the ladies' room first.

Sandino had nothing but work on his mind whenever he looked at Jackie; he didn't care if she looked horrible enough to be a vampire.

The young woman opened the top drawer of her desk and pulled out the architect's appointment book.

"Mrs. Magbanua is coming here today at ten in the morning to discuss the design for her new boutique," Jackie said. "It's noted here that you may treat her to lunch if your meeting runs until lunchtime."

"Oh Lord, I hope our meeting doesn't last until lunch," the man said. "I'm not in the mood to take her to lunch."

"You're thinking about the cost again, even though there are representation expenses for this."

"No, it's not that. There’s just no spark in having lunch with a client like her. Besides being very fat, she’s also elderly."

"What do you want then? For all your clients to be beautiful? It’s those elderly matrons who have the money."

"I suppose so," Sandi shrugged.

"If you don't want to go, why not pass her off to your brother so he can be the one to talk to this client? After all, he’s the one who will manage the construction of the boutique, right?"

Sandi let out a full laugh. "You really don't like my brother, do you? Is that why you want him to have lunch with the one I’m turning down?"

The young man’s even, white teeth showed, giving him that boyishly handsome look that Jackie was so crazy about.

"It’s actually more fitting for the two of them to have lunch together. They aren't that far apart in age."

"Oh, it's a big gap. Jeslie is only thirty-five. Meanwhile, Mrs. Magbanua looks to be around forty-seven."

Jackie shrugged. "Is that so? To me, they look about the same age."

"You're just too prejudiced against my dear old stepbrother. Why can't the two of you get along, huh? Jes is actually a nice person."

"Maybe he's nice when he's asleep. He’s too arrogant, dominant, and serious. He is always brooding and seldom smiles."

"That likely has something to do with Jes's past life. You have to understand him."

"Why, what happened back then?"

"I'm not entirely clear on it because he simply refused to talk about it. He doesn't even want it mentioned anymore. Jes wasn't like this before. It’s only recently."

Jackie paused. She wondered what kind of mysterious, dark past Jeslie had experienced to have transformed him into such a cold and distant person.

"After your session with Mrs. Magbanua, you need to go see Mr. Henry Lim regarding his new project. After that, you're free for the rest of the afternoon."

"Oh, good. Because Viola and I have a date tonight."

"Again? It seems like it's every night now." Jackie forced a smile.

"Yes. I honestly don't know how I manage to survive." Sandi winked meaningfully at her. "Well, we’re making the most of it while Viola is here in the Philippines. By the end of the month, her fashion group might go to Italy for a modeling stint there, and it will be a long time before we see each other again."

"It must be hard to have a commercial model for a girlfriend. She's often away from your side."

"But on the other hand, it’s good so we don't get tired of each other. You know, Jackie, when lovers see each other too often, they get tired of one another. To the point that the wedding doesn't even happen."

"Is that how it works? From what I know, when you love someone very much, you always want to see them."

"For you women, perhaps what you said is true. But as for us men, we also want to be free once in a while. We feel suffocated when a woman is constantly breathing down our necks.

"But... but is Viola really the one you plan to marry?"

"Well, yes. I love her. She has all the qualities I want in a woman. Beauty, talent, and she’s kind. And she is famous as a commercial and fashion model—I am proud of her."

Jackie turned away and pretended to look for something in her cabinet, but she only wanted to make sure Sandi didn't see her eyes suddenly well up with tears. It felt like her heart was being squeezed by her boss’s words.

The relationship between the two seemed serious now, and Jackie was truly nervous. she was losing hope that Sandi would ever notice her.

How could she accept it if Sandi married someone else? It felt like she had loved him forever, ever since she started working at Afable Construction and Development Corporation.

But he noticed nothing about her except her efficiency as a secretary.

"Has Jeslie arrived yet?" Sandi asked suddenly.

Jackie tensed up at the mention of her boss's stepbrother's name.

Jeslie Afable frightened her with his hard, brooding features, his massive body, and arrogant ways. He was the most masculine man she had ever seen, and he seemed to have disrupted her quiet world since he came to work with his brother at the company.

She couldn't understand why Jeslie decided to join his stepbrother at his fledgling company when Jes had come from a prestigious and internationally known construction firm.

According to Sandi, the engineer and his partner hadn't been getting along, and his partner wanted to take advantage of their brothers’ large clientele, who were the ones approaching the engineering firm they worked for.

When Jeslie moved to his stepbrother's office, he brought along his large clients, who almost poured a fortune into the company's coffers.

They got along well, and it was obvious that Jeslie loved Sandi like a full-blooded brother. Sandi's company was just starting out when Jes arrived; he had only just passed his board exams back then.

"I don't think he's here yet," the young woman said. "According to the security guard downstairs, he hasn't arrived."

"But why didn't you check his office? Why do you seem afraid of Jes, huh, Jackie? He told me it seems like you're hiding whenever he's around, and he has to come looking for you if he needs something done..

"Of course not. Why would I hide here? I’m probably just busy. Because whenever you're away, I'm in the records room organizing the files."

"I know. But tell me, you don't like Jeslie, right?"

"I just feel awkward around him."

"Because he’s very popular? Jes attracts a lot of women despite his aloofness."

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