Miguel rose at the break of dawn, it was another day of work but this day was different.
He felt a tingly sensation in his belly as soon as he remembered that he was going to meet Audrey at Mrs Evans's company. He was to send his manager but Miguel decided to go himself just so he could see her.
The feelings were strange to Miguel, he had never felt that just by remembering a random woman.
"No way," Miguel murmured as his mind tried to convince him that he was in love.
There was no way he could have fallen for her at first sight, he thought. He had seen plenty of beautiful women with brains, however, this one was different, her aura and her entirety...
Miguel shook the thought out of his head, falling in love was not something he planned to do, women make men weak and a weak man is not a man at all.
Miguel finally slumped off his cosy bed and made his way to the bathroom, avoiding his reflection in the mirror, his hair standing up in all directions. Even though women thought it was hot, Miguel thought it was stupid and unkept. He preferred his neat curls.
He soon took a bath after brushing his teeth and got dressed up in his normal office attire, only that this time, he wore a red dress jacket on top of his black suit as the weather was down. He did his curls and put on his woody-scented cologne. He carefully selected a shoe with the thought that good shoes take one to good places. And when he was certain he looked responsible enough, he exited his room and went down for breakfast.
His father was already in the living room as usual, reading newspapers cross-legged with his early morning coffee at his side. Miguel laughed softly, his father's old habits will never die. His smile died down as soon as he remembered that he had wronged his father the other day when he slept in and did not make it to the meeting on time. Even though he was too tired from work and needed rest, he should have set an alarm, that is what any responsible person would do, Miguel thought.
Mr Parker looked up when he heard footsteps and met his son's gaze through his glasses.
Miguel greeted his father and instead of eating at the dining, he decided to join him for a father and son talk. Collecting his food from the table, he sat opposite his father.
Mr Parker eyed the food on his son's plate and raised an eyebrow which made Miguel grin. He fetched a few cookies and a cup of black coffee.
"Are you going to finish that?" Mr Parker joked and Miguel burst into a fit of laughter, he was expecting that. It was a joke they always had when he was a child.
"You still remember that," Miguel responded and his father chuckled.
"What you have on your plate reminded me of that day." Mr Parker said, thinking of the time when Miguel used to ask his father for his leftover cookies.
Miguel looked at his father and smiled, it's been a while since they've laughed together like that, indeed his childhood was a good memory for his father. His smile faded as it dawned on him that ever since he became an adult, his father had changed towards him, maybe he was not trying enough as a son.
He saw that the atmosphere around there was good and decided to take the opportunity and apologise to his father. Mr Parker's smile also faded out when Miguel spoke about his lateness the other day but he just waved to dismiss the conversation. Of course, Miguel appreciated that it was not something that happens often.
Soon he left for work, having in mind to make it on time for his meeting with Audrey.
*******
Audrey worried for Johnathan who had been missing for two days.
A chorus of congratulatory words echoed and startled her, she was completely oblivious to her surroundings. She didn't realise that she had already stepped into the company, it was like her legs had lives of their own. She was drowned in her thoughts.
Although her mind had been messy with the thoughts of the mysteries she'd yet to uncover, she responded to the greetings with a smile and a wave at the bunch of workers who had greeting cards and gifts in their hands for their future CEO. It was amazing that a woman at her age was doing so well.
The News of their stolen project had already been published in the news, and Audrey had made a big reputation for herself as she found herself on the front page of the newspaper. Along with her best friend, Audrey rejoiced in her office as Rosa read the article about Audrey out loud, while Audrey checked out some presents.
The telephone rang and Audrey got up from the red sofa to pick up the call. It was the fifth call she received from top live show companies that day. She was given invitations to have a talk show with them about how she made it at her age, the purpose was to make an inspiration for the young girls around the world but Audrey knew exactly what they were on about.
Everyone knew Mrs Evans had no child, they wanted to know how she ended up with her and why. After all, that wasn't the first time someone had asked that question. Mrs Parker, Miguel's mother had once asked at an event but Mrs Evans ignored the question.
People want to uncover her secrets and Audrey feels insecure, not only does she hate to remember it, she hates to tell people about it. That was not something a reputable person would talk about, it could ruin the company's image, and doing that to Mrs Evans would be unfair.
Audrey did not forget to change her computer password despite the adrenaline outage in her head. She had Rosa talk to the manager about installing a security camera in her office for safety reasons, what happened to her and almost put the company in shame should never happen again.
Mrs Evans had advised the two not to interrogate anyone in the company if they wanted to catch the thief who stole their campaign.
Ever since their security guard had been missing, Audrey's eyes widened as the thoughts came to her head, Johnathan said he saw someone going to her office that night, and the next day, he went missing. The stolen campaign raised a suspicion that Audrey could be connected. Audrey thought as she held her head, she was still unable to figure out the motive for the stealing.
Rosa advised Audrey not to think too much and leave it to the police and Audrey nodded, agreeing not to get distracted. Mrs Evans entrusted the company to her, she must take care of it.
Rosa left for a company shoot and Audrey was left alone with a pile of papers to go through, eyeing them warily, she groaned, regretting letting Rosa out of her sight. She could call someone else to help but decided to keep everything confidential. Just as she started to do her work, someone knocked on her door. She made it clear she did not want to be disturbed so she could finish her work.
Her anger died down when the door opened and her godmother stepped in. Audrey smiled and stood up to take her bag but someone else was holding them.
Miguel held the door to let godmother in while he held her bag. Audrey raised a questioning eyebrow, wondering why he was there and holding her mother's bag.
Audrey greeted Mrs Evans while she helped her sit on the sofa. Miguel, whose heart was hammered in his chest, handed the bag to Audrey and watched her casually collect it from him without sparing him a glance, he was not expecting that, did she not recognize him from the other day, he thought.
Seeing that Audrey sat beside her on the sofa without asking Miguel to take a seat, Mrs Evans slapped Audrey's hand gently and scolded her.
"You should ask your guests to sit before you do," Godmother said but Miguel had already made himself comfortable on a leather office chair opposite to them.