Chapter 4 - Different

Mon didn't respond instead she got up from the chair ready to bolt.

But before she could make a step, I quickly grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"Let go of me," Her eyes were slits.

I saw something there that I haven't seen before and my heart sank to see that after all these years of being apart, she hasn't forgiven me.

My hands loosened its grip and she walked over to the door.

"Aren't you supposed to show me around?" I called out.

"I will. You're the one who's still sitting on your butt," The commanding tone was devoid of mirth.

She pulled the door handle and didn't even wait to check if I was following behind her or not.

I stared at her back as we made our way to the first floor where the creative content was housed.

Mon stood with her back straight, her long brown hair loose and sitting just below the shoulder blades.

I remembered running my hands through her soft thick hair, loving the feel of every strand against my fingertips.

She loved it too and my heart did a little somersault as I thought of all the days and nights we spent in her bedroom doing anything other than studying.

But I was the one who blew it.

I lost the opportunity to be with the one person I truly cared about because I was too afraid to speak up for myself and go after what I want.

The noise in the office faded as soon as Mon and I walked in the door.

They looked at her and then at me.

I scanned their faces and saw an all too familiar reaction – panic.

It wasn't new.

Once people see the icy expression on my face, the smile immediately disappear from their faces.

I wasn't doing it on purpose.

Just like everything else, I learned it growing up.

Our grandmother taught my siblings and I well.

She drilled it in our heads that we shouldn't reveal what we were thinking and feeling.

People would use it to take advantage of us and we don't want that to happen.

That thought stuck with me ever since.

The only time I peeled the layers and let anyone in was when I was with Mon.

She was the only one who broke through all my barriers.

Not even Kirk could figure out what was on my mind.

Mon spoke and introduced me to everyone.

They nodded with forced smiles and stood frozen not knowing whether to wave or say hello.

I could tell what was on their mind.

With a new boss and a major change such as this comes the fact that a few of them could be let go.

They need not fear though.

Before the acquisition, Nita made it clear that no one was getting fired.

The company had more than enough revenue to retain her employees and keep mine.

I envied how she was able to keep the company running despite the economic downturn.

We operated in the same advertising sector and yet the clients come to her instead of Diversity.

It broke my heart to make the decision to shut down and listen to Kirk's proposal.

The company was the source of my happiness.

It kept me busy and provided me with a lot of room to play with my ideas.

I could be who I am there but now it was all gone.

I did my best to keep it afloat but it wasn't enough to keep it going.

The only person who was happy that the company folded was my grandmother.

She made me promise that if on the fifth year of Diversity it was not as profitable as she hoped it would be, I should closed it and marry Kirk.

The last part was the hardest to keep.

But my hands were tied so I agreed.

"Should we move along?" I turned my head and saw Mon with a puzzled look on her face.

I blinked once, nodded and followed her to the farthest desk in the room.

She introduced me to Chin who couldn't keep himself from stuttering.

He was the graphic artist.

When I glanced at his screen, I saw that his current file was saved as Mon My Crush.

I shot him an evil glare.

The poor guy was sweating like a pig.

"That's it," Mon's voice pulled me back.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow.

For such a big company, I was expecting a bigger workforce in this department.

This was the main hub.

The source of all the ideas that Nita's company put out in the online world.

"Were you expecting more?" Her question sounded like a challenge.

"I was but it's not important now," I waved my hand to shut down whatever question she had in mind.

Mon closed her mouth, stunned by the curtness in my tone.

"We're done here then," She took a step to go back to her desk but I spoke again.

"We're not."

"Is there anything else you need?"

"We have to go through the files upstairs," I pointed to the second floor.

"Miss Nita didn't say anything about that."

"She's not your boss. I am." Before she could protest, I turned on my heels and left.

I was seething by the time I reached the second floor.

My hands shook and I balled it into fists to keep it from trembling.

It had been twelve years since we last spoke.

That moment was forever ingrained in my mind.

I tried to forget but it was not easy.

To this day, I still remembered how she cried and pleaded for me to stay.

But I dropped her hand and walked away.

The soft footfalls coming up the stairs dispersed the villainous thoughts that usually haunted me in the night.

Mon came in and sat two seats apart from me.

She booted the laptop, grabbed the folder on top of the pile and started reading.

"Do you know what to do with them?"

She turned her head.

I expected a flicker of a reaction but the impassive expression resembled mine.

Since when did my sweet Mon became so cold?

"You're the boss so you tell me."

We locked eyes and though startled by the clipped response, I gave her instructions to sort through the old articles and discard those that were outdated.

We worked in silence.

Mon going through the files with an urgency I sensed in how her fingers were flying off the keyboard.

I did my best to focus on my own tasks but it was difficult with her sitting so close.

Every now and then I would steal a glance but she kept her head down as if I wasn't there.

She had changed a lot.

When I touched her, she resisted.

There was a confidence in her that I'm both amazed and afraid to discover.

I really missed out on a lot of things.

When four o' clock rolled by, she closed the laptop and pushed the chair back.

"Are you done?" I stopped typing.

"It's time to go home," She picked up her stuff.

"Says who?" I straightened in my seat feeling the stiffness on my neck and back.

"Says the law," She picked up the silver gray laptop.

"But we're not done here."

"There's always tomorrow." She walked over to the door, turned the knob and left.

I was left with my mouth hanging open and a million questions hanging over my head.

That night, I met up with Jim, Tee and Kate at the Japanese restaurant we normally hang out in.

The place was crowded and the noise was getting on my nerves as I struggled to listen to what Kate was saying about a new movie she signed on to make.

For Jim, it was about the hardships of being pregnant and how she should have been more careful during the lockdown.

"But what can you do when you were stuck in the house 24/7?" She gulped down the glass of orange juice.

"Bake?" Tee responded with a teasing smile.

"I did. Look," She pointed to her stomach.

"There's a bun in the oven that's due to come out soon."

Kate choked on the wine she was drinking, the red liquid dripping down her chin.

"That's a different kind of bun for sure," She said as she patted her face with the white cloth napkin.

"What's up with you, Sam? You're quieter than usual," Tee jerked her head towards my direction.

"Nothing," I shrugged.

"There's definitely something," Jim twirled the pink straw.

"Is Grandmother still giving you a hard time about the wedding?" Kate pointed out.

"Nothing like that."

"Good because she shouldn't. You kept your end of the bargain, you sold your company and you're marrying Kirk," Kate said, indignant.

Tee slowly shook her head to warn her to take it down a notch.

When they learned about my decision, they protested.

But no matter how they disagreed, there was nothing they could do.

I was trapped and just like what Kate a while ago, I have to keep my promise to my grandmother.

"Why are you sulking then?" Jim pouted.

The closer she inched towards her due date, the more impatient she gets.

"I'm working with Mon."

"What?"

The synchronized reaction of shock made the other people in the restaurant looked at our table.

"She works for Nita?" Kate couldn't hide her excitement.

Her eyes literally shone.

"She does."

"No wonder you looked like you lost a million bucks," Jim teased.

"How is she?" Tee asked, excited.

"Different."

"Different how?" Kate pressed for more details.

"She looked like the last the last place she wanted to be in was with me."

"Can you blame her?"

I glared at Jim.

She was the first one I told when I broke up with Mon.

"Tough luck, Sam." Kate spoke.

"First, the deal with your grandmother and now this?"

The table shook.

Tee must have kicked her foot under the table.

"What are you going to do now?" Jim asked.

"What else am I supposed to do but work?"

"Are you sure about that?" Tee asked in a challenging tone.

I nodded but they weren't fooled.

We were together long enough for them to know that when it came to Mon, I was powerless.

"We should make a toast," Jim lifted the glass of orange juice.

"To what?" Kate asked, puzzled.

"To Sam. For the gods to give her the strength to go through with this wedding and not give in to Mon," An evil smile was on her lips.

"You're a jerk," I took the champagne and drank it straight up.

"Seriously, Sam. What are you going to do?" Tee asked.

"I don't know."

That was the truth.

I had been mulling that question ever since I saw Mon sitting in the conference room.

I thought my heart was okay after years of not seeing or hearing anything from her.

But when I saw her face, the part of me that I tried to kept under control broke wide open.

She was the only one who could make me go crazy like this.

Powerless.

Consumed.

Hopelessly in love.