On getting to his phone, Reynaldo dialed Andrew's number while tapping his left foot restlessly on the floor.
"Hey, Boss?" Andrew sounded too happy for someone who was in the same time zone as he was.
"How long have you been up?" Rey asked with a subtle frown on his face. Somewhere within him, he knew that Andrew's happiness when he had no girlfriend or excessive money made him a little jealous.
"Four minutes ago I guess. So what's up Rey?"
"Can you not sound too happy?" Reynaldo had a scowl on his face this time and his grip on his phone annoyed him.
"You don't always have to be a sadist, you know."
"Shut up." Rey snapped. Now, he was getting angry and honestly, he didn't know why he felt this way.
Andrew grunted and kept quiet afterwards. Rey should have felt satisfied at his silence but he didn't, he knew Andrew too well. The guy wouldn't take him seriously, he was just waiting for another moment to pop up like a birthday balloon.
"Release the photos." He ordered and was about to end the call when Andrew's voice bounced back.
"What photos?"
"I think it's high time you get fired Andrew."
"Alright, alright, I'll release them. You sulk." He said like he was a preschool teacher before ending the call.
Rey sneered at his phone before heading for his closet, he picked up the outfit he would wear for the day and after stepping out of the bathroom, his phone rang again. Thinking it was Andrew and walking in a mad dash to give Andrew a piece of his mind, his blood chilled when the caller's ID stared at him in the face.
Looking at the screen of his phone for a bit, he clenched his jaws and swiped the green icon.
"What do you want?" Came his cold voice.
Hearing the sniff from the other end gave him an instant headache. He probably shouldn't have called Andrew so early in the morning just after Mia's outfit spoiled his mood and now, he had to deal with this.
"I'll end this call on you, Celine."
"Is it true?" Her voice was rough, like she had been crying for ages without a stop but Reynaldo couldn't be fooled, he knew her. This exaggerated act was only meant for those who were oblivious to her slyness.
"What?" He snapped, ready to tap the red icon.
"The article."
Reynaldo went silent and her sniffles got even louder, threatening to make his head blow up into smaller pieces.
"You have a fiancée already." She said and Reynaldo wasn't sure it was a question but he responded anyway.
"Yes, I do."
"Rey!!" She whined and he stood unaffected by her high pitched voice.
"How could you?" Now she was crying.
"Is Mum aware of this?" She asked and he was almost tempted to ask her which mum she meant. It felt strange hearing her address his mum by 'Mum'.
When he didn't respond, she changed her tactics. "You haven't forgotten your promise, have you?" He could bet, she was furiously blinking now as if her life depended on it.
"I haven't." His voice was calm, too calm even for his liking.
"Get to G.G Reserved Store by 12 p.m. don't be late." He told her and before she could complete her squeal or try to cross the boundary, he ended the call.
***
Mia was casually dressed by the time Rey came down the stairs and handed him a cup of coffee.
"I made breakfast." She told him with her gaze to the floor, desperately wanting to avoid his intense stare.
"Uhhmm…I still have some things to get from the other room." She told him as an excuse and made to leave when Rey set the coffee down, grabbed her hand and pulled her to himself.
"It can wait." His voice was low and it gave her butterflies.
"We eat breakfast too, henceforth." He spoke into her ear and she had to stifle a gasp.
Looking up at him, she blinked when she was met with a blank stare instead. She felt stupid but silently followed him to the dinning.
While Rey ate like he had his appetite restored to him in ten folds, Mia shifted her food around her plate, her throat too constricted to even swallow a gulp of water.
"What is it?" She was startled at Rey's voice.
"Uhm…" She gave a nervous laugh.
"Don't bother lying to me."
"It's my brother." Mia had said it before she could even think and her eyes widened after the words escaped her lips. What the fuck was she thinking!?
"What about your brother?" Rey had his eyes trained on her like averting his eyes even for a second would make him miss the tiniest detail he needed to solve a puzzle.
"He is fine, I mean, it's just a minor inconvenience…" Mia swallowed, she felt like slapping herself really hard. What was she babbling about!??"
She jolted when Rey's warm hand engulfed her own tight fist on the table. "Calm down and talk to me, I'm all ears."
She blinked at him and this time, she was blinking tears away. She didn't know why she suddenly felt this way but soon, the tears she had tried had to hold back were falling from her eyes as if a dam has been opened but Rey's kept drawing soothing circles around her hand, encouraging her to speak up till she ended up telling him everything about her brother's ill condition.
Pulling her lips into a tight line, she looked at his now soft gaze on her and withdrew her hand from his so fast that she had no time to think about how she was able to do it. Standing up immediately after that, she made for the exit only to feel Rey's hands wrapped around her waist with his head to her left shoulder.
"Hey, be calm." She felt confused and tried fighting him off but he held her still before turning her around to envelope her in a warm hug that made her keep shut, only allowing her cry, her snot and tears rubbing off his chest region.
"Yeah, do that. Cry it all out and I'll get it fixed." Rey felt surprised at his tenderness but feeling her body against his made his heart melt and her tears made his melted heart ache.
Trash the money he had given her before now, he needed to do something about her brother's condition.