JACOB LAUGHED despite himself. A man like him, who had never chased after a woman, both figuratively and literally, was now chasing a woman who was not even his type. As they say, there’s a first time for everything. And damn, that woman could run unbelievably fast. He had not expected her to be that quick. She certainly did not look like it. He simply shook his head in resignation. He could no longer find her. He had no idea where she had slipped away. The place had been crowded, after all.
“You’re lucky this time, woman,” he muttered. “Next time, I won’t let you get away.” He swore it. At that moment, his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered the call.
“Good news, Sir.” It was Eric, his secretary. “The private investigators have an update. They have a lead on where the woman you've been looking for lives.”
“Good,” he muttered with a smirk. At least there was some good news, even though he had failed to catch the woman. He had a strong feeling he would find her again. “Tell them to call me as soon as they have her address.”
“That’s exactly what I told them,” Eric replied from the other end of the line.
Jacob glanced toward the flea market. Still talking to Eric, he walked inside. He was tall enough to spot the woman if she were there, but he could not see her anywhere. She had truly gotten away.
“I hope they can find her as soon as possible,” he said as he walked back out of the flea market and returned to his car, which he had parked not far from the burger stand where he had spotted the woman named Sapphire. At first, he could hardly believe his eyes. He had even done a double take when he saw her sitting in the company lounge. After rejecting her application, he followed her wherever she went. He trailed behind her at a distance, watching her. When she finally decided to stop for something to eat, he saw his chance to confront her. Unfortunately, she still managed to escape.
“Sir, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but why are you looking for this woman in the first place?” Eric asked after a moment. Jacob had only been subtle when he asked Eric to hire a few private investigators.
Jacob sighed as he finally reached his car. Leaning against it, he answered his secretary’s question.
“I’m just making her pay for what she did to me. I won’t harm her, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Eric laughed. “I’m not worried about that, Sir. I don’t think you’re capable of doing something like that.”
Jacob laughed as well. It was true, after all. As furious as he was with that woman, he could never bring himself to hurt her. But she would definitely pay for being a schemer and a fraud.
“The truth is, I almost had her,” he admitted.
“Wait, what? You found the woman you’ve been looking for? How?”
Jacob told him everything, from seeing Sapphie in the company lounge, to rejecting her application, and then following her afterward.
“But she still got away. That woman ran awfully fast.” He laughed again as he remembered what had happened.
“I don’t know what your plan really is, Sir, but she probably wouldn’t have escaped if you hadn’t rejected her. You could’ve had her right in your clutches.”
“Trust me, Eric. It was for the better. I don’t need a fraud or a gold digger in my company,” he said. His secretary made no further comment.
“Anyway, I’m on my way back to the office. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
With that, he slipped his phone back into his pants pocket. Then he climbed into his car and sped back toward his office.
“HEY, WHAT happened to you?” Rio blurted the moment he opened the gate for her. She hurried inside and went straight into the house. He immediately followed after her. “Hey, are you okay?” he asked again. “You look pale, and you're out of breath. Was someone chasing you?”
Sapphie raised her right hand as if to say, hold it. She was still trying to catch her breath. “Can I have a glass of water first before I answer all your questions?” she asked. Rio immediately complied and handed her a glass of water. She drank it in one big gulp. She asked for another, and he obliged without complaint. He waited patiently for her to finish.
“Well?” he prompted when he noticed she had finally calmed down a little.
She took a deep breath. “Do you remember that Angry Guy? The one whose girlfriend was our last customer?”
“Yes, Jake,” he replied simply, as if the two of them were close friends. Of course, when it came to the names of handsome men, Rio never forgot them. Well, to be fair, she remembered his name too. It really was Jake—but nothing more than that. She didn’t know his last name, not that it mattered anyway. She certainly wasn’t about to let Rio know that, just like him, she hadn’t forgotten the man's name either.
“Yeah, that guy,” she continued.
“You met him again? Oh my God. This is destiny!”
“Destiny your face!” She smacked him lightly on the shoulder. “It turns out he's been looking for me, and he wants me to pay for pretending to be a fortune teller.” She told him everything that had happened earlier that day. She also shared what she had learned about Jake—that he was the owner of AVIDA Corporation.
“Holy shit, he's a big shot!” Rio exclaimed.
She dragged both hands down her face. “And he's out to get me. What am I supposed to do now, Rio? I obviously can't afford to pay him.”
He clicked his tongue. “This is exactly what I warned you about.” He sighed afterward. “Let's calm down, okay? We'll think of something. Once we come up with a plan, we'll figure out how to approach him and make a deal with him.”
More like make a deal with the devil, she thought. She was already dreading that day. Just imagining seeing him again made her tense, and her knees felt weak.
“He shouldn't be my priority right now. I need to find a job as soon as possible,” she said.
“That too,” Rio agreed. “Didn't any company accept you today?”
She shook her head. “I almost had a shot with AVIDA, but the devil incarnate ruined it.” She rolled her eyes dramatically.
“But honestly, maybe that was for the best. Better than having Jake as your boss.” He gently patted her hair. “By the way, sis... is he still handsome?” he asked, practically squealing.
She rolled her eyes again. “Here we go again.”
He nudged her playfully with his elbow. “Come on. It's just a simple yes-or-no question.”
“I refuse to answer.”
He burst into laughter. “Well, even if you don't answer, I already know Papa Jake is still handsome. Sis, do you happen to know his last name? I searched for him on Facebook but couldn't find him. Oh well, I'll just Google him later.” Rio even squealed in delight.
She was about to respond when the doorbell rang. Sapphie immediately tensed up again. She and Rio exchanged glances, but in the end, he was the one who went outside to see who was at the gate. She watched from the window, but she couldn't make out who had arrived. She didn't know why, but she had a strong feeling the visitor was looking for her.
From outside, she saw Rio glance back toward the house. Her anxiety only worsened. Why are they talking for so long? Who could it be? Just then, Rio opened the gate wide and let the visitor in. It was an older woman. Judging by the way she was dressed, Sapphie was certain she was wealthy. She swallowed nervously.
“You're overthinking this, Sapphie. Maybe she's just here to visit your stepmother,” she whispered to herself, desperately trying to calm down. The door creaked open, and her heart pounded even faster. The moment the elderly woman saw her, she smiled warmly.
“Hello, you must be Sapphire?” the woman asked.
Confused, Sapphie looked at Rio for a few seconds before turning her attention back to the woman. “Yes, ma'am. Uh... do I know you?”
With a broader smile, the woman introduced herself. “I don't think we've met before. My name is Avida del Mundo.”
Wait... Avida? As in AVIDA Corporation?
What the heck is going on?