All This Time [ON HIATUS]

Prologue

They were at the SJC-FMCC merger party. All of the employees are present, even some people from the press and each company’s clients.

Elmo was talking with Frank, Nathan and some of SJCs board members holding a glass of brandy, he wasn’t the drinking type but the alcohol helps to calm his nerves.

He was nervous but for a complete different reason.

He’s been thinking a lot about Julie ever since they saw each other again at SJC. He so badly wanted to get a chance to talk to her, to catch up.

Problem was, they’ve all been busy with work, the merge, the party, etc. This party was the only time he stopped working.

Truth is he never gets nervous, especially when it comes to the opposite sex. He was always confident, because once they saw him, they will be the first to initiate flirting, he didn’t even have to do anything.

The last time he felt nervous when it comes to the opposite sex was during his college graduation, when ge decided to confess his undying live for his bestfriend, Julie.

He excused himself from his group to go to the men’s room, to try to get him out of his nervous funk.

When he got to the men’s room he couldn’t help but hear grunts and soft moans coming out from one of the stalls. He couldn’t help but smile smugly realizing what’s going on, remembering himself doing the same thing.

He washed his face then looked at himself on the mirror.

"Get yourself together Elmo." he muttered to himself.

He washed his hands and grabbed a couple of paper towel to dry his face and hands with.

The noise from the stall started to get louder then it stopped. A moment later the door opened, a woman wearing a very skimpy dress went out. She stopped when she saw Elmo, eyeing him and smiling seductively then strolled out. Then the man with her went out fixing his crumpled suit.

Elmo looked at him through the mirror. The guy gave him a smug smile.

"Bago ka lang ba dito? Parang ngayon lang kita nakita." the guy asked.

"Hmm, parang ganon na nga." Elmo answered

The guy nodded in approval.

"You might wanna clean that stain on your pants before going out." Elmo said.

"Shit." he heard the guy say as he went out of the men’s room and went back to his group  joining the conversation.

Habang nakikipag usap siya with Frank and Nathan when they heard murmurs and awes.

Elmo turned to the direction where everyones attention was.

His heart started to beat so fast the moment he saw Julie walking from the entrance.

She looked immaculate with her white, body fitting, sequined dress that falls just above her knees, with her hair up in a bun. She was breath takingly beautiful.

He was still looking at her when their gazes met. She smiled at him which he returned with his own genuine smile that he only give to Julie.

He saw something change in her, but was gone immediately as she approached them.

"Gentlemen." Julie said when she reached their group.

"You look lovely princess." Nathan said giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Thanks Daddy." Julie answered smiling at his father.

"Good to see you again Julie." Frank said.

"Likewise." Julie answered with a smile.

Then Julie turned to him and gave him a wry smile which he returned kindly.

"You look breath takingly beautiful tonight Miss San Jose." Elmo chided himself for letting the ‘breath takingly’ slip out of his mouth but recovered from it and gave her a playful smile.

"Thank you. You don’t look bad yourself. You clean up well." Julie answered him with a teasing tone.

But before he could answer, the guy from the men’s room appeared beside Julie. He furrowed his brows when he gave her a peck on the cheek. He returned to his stoic expression before anyone noticed him frowning.

They were whispering to each other, he saw Julie frown a bit giving the guy a skeptic look. The guy whispered in her ears again and Julie started nodding in agreement, the frown on her face fading away.

Seeing the guy get that close to Julie made his blood boil. He started to feel protective of her. He chided himself for feeling the he felt. Because alam niyang wala siyang karapatan dahil wala naman silang relation except from being best of friends back in college, and they just saw each other after a long time a few days ago. And besides he might just be a relative of hers that she’s really close to.

Get a hold of yourself Moe. he told himself.

Julie and the guy turned their attention back to the group. He didn’t miss the look the guy had when he saw him, like a deer-in-the-headlights look. Elmo raised his eyebrows and saw the guy composed himself and gave him a small smile.

"Aiden, I’d like you to meet our guest of honors, the CEO of FMCC Frank Magalona-" Julie gestured to Frank.

"-and his brother the CTO and current CFO of FMCC that I was telling you about, that I will be working with the finances of both companies, Elmo Magalona." Julie gestured to him and offered his hand to him that he hesitantly took.

"And this is Aiden Caballero, the new Manager of SJC and my fiancé." Julie said proudly.