Adore Me ( Harrington Heirs #1)

Chapter 2

Brighton Berenberg

"Who the fuck do you think you are? Alam mo ba na I've been the highest selling artist at Berenberg Entertainment for the past five years? I am not going on an indefinite hiatus just because you think I'm in danger!" Rinig kong sigaw mula sa conference room A. I jogged to the front of the door, quickly fixing the suit I was wearing before turning the knob and opening the door.

"Brighton, thank God you're here, please tell this crazy man that I won't be wasting 6 precious months in hiding!" Sigaw ni Yves Santos, Singer-songwriter, model, and actor. I took a seat at the end of the table, taking a quick peek at the man in front of Yves.

"Mr. Santos, I am not doing this because I want to keep you from your job. I'm doing this because I've been ordered by tito Lucian to keep one of his artists safe." Sagot naman ng lalakeng nasa harap ni Yves. I finally recognized him after studying his face for a few moments.

"Gen. Maximillian Harrington, I'm sorry I didn't recognize you earlier, hi." Bati ko kay kuya Max. Pangatlo si kuya Max sa limang anak nila tita Alaria, he served as the head of the armed forces of the Philippines for a few years before retiring and taking over their security firm. He's the youngest person to ever lead the AFP.

"Good morning, Brighton, I was just here to pick up Yves Santos, your father ordered me to bring him to a safer location because of reasons that I can't disclose to you." Sagot nito sakin. Ibinaling ko ang aking tingin kay Yves na tila mangiyak-ngiyak na sa kanyang upuan.

"Oh, it's for your safety naman pala, Yves. What seems to be the problem ba?" Tanong ko dito. Tuluyan nang tumulo ang luha nito sa kanyang kaliwang pisngi. 

"I don't wanna go, Brighton. I want to stay and prepare for my upcoming world tour, I don't wanna stagnate, B, alam mo yan." sagot nito sakin habang patuloy parin ang pag-iyak. Tumayo ako mula sa aking upuan at niyakap ito mula sa likod.

"Yves, you will always have your fans, right now I need you to listen to kuya Max and cooperate." I said softly into my best friend's hair. He seemed to finally understand the situation as his cries started to soften.

It was lunchtime and I was sat  in my office when Yves rushed in, bakas sa mukha  nito ang kalungkutan. Yves settled himself on one of the chairs in front of my desk before finally allowing himself to break. I stood up, kneeling in front of Yves and holding his hands in mine as an attempt to calm him.

"I don't wanna do this, Brighton." Yves said through tears. I felt sad for my best friend. Yves did not grow up the same way me and our other friends did, kinailangan niyang paghirapan lahat ng pera at success that he's achieved throughout his career in the entertainment industry.

"I don't know what to say, Yves." Sagot ko dito. The singer smiled sadly at me before raising one of my hands and kissing the back of it.

"You being here as my best friend is more than enough, Brighton." Said the singer, sincerity overflowing from his eyes. Madalang lang magpakita ng emosyon si Yves, he went through a lot of heavy, emotional stuff before finding luck as one of our artists. Ngayon, isa na siya sa mga pinakamalaking celebrities in the world.

This man has worked tirelessly to get to this level of success, needless to say, it all worked out for him. Five years in the industry and he's already had five number one singles on Billboard's hot 100, he's also had three number one albums on the Billboard 200 list.

Yves wiped the tears on his face with the cuff of his sleeve. Tumayo na ito para umalis, binigyan niya ako ng isang yakap bago tuluyang namaalam at lumabas na sa aking opisina.

Deafening silence enveloped my office, now that we were on the process of revitalizing my image, I've been forbidden by dad from partying. I decided to look through the pile of  artist contracts on top of my table and read each of the terms that they were asking from the agency.

Berenberg Entertainment is the small part of Berenberg media that dad had entrusted me with. Here at the agency, we manage actors, singers, models, and even TV hosts. 

After signing a few documents I started to tidy up, cleaning the small bits of garbage that I had manage to accumulate throughout the day on my desk. I headed to the small bathroom that I had in my office to freshen up before I went out. Sigurado akong may paparazzi na naman sa labas ng building mamaya, kaya I needed to look pretty and perfect.

I was drying my face on a small towel when I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in." Sigaw ko dito. The door opened and in walked Elijah Harrington, looking as dashing as ever with his signature suit and slicked back hair. Elijah scanned the interior of my office before settling on my face.

"H-how may I help you, Elijah?" Nauutal kong tanong dito. I don't know what it is about him that makes me nervous, and I don't like that.

"Reporters are already lining up outside, we need to be seen together in order to make the engagement announcement a month from now more believable." Preskong sagot nito sa'kin. Umupo ito sa harap ng aking desk at nilabas ang kanyang cellphone.

"Please get ready faster, we have dinner reservations at eight o'clock and it's already seven o'clock. We don't wanna be stuck in rush hour traffic." Pahabol pa nito. Binilisan ko pa ang aking paghahanda at kinuha na ang aking messenger bag mula sa'king upuan at tinawag na siya para makaalis na kami.

"Let's go, Elijah." Tawag ko dito. Tumayo lang ito at dumiretso papalabas ng aking opisina. Naabutan ko itong naghihintay sa labas ng elevator, bakas sa mukha nito ang pagkabagot. I don't loathe the fact that he's entirely aloof when it comes to me, instead of feeling anger, I feel uncomfortable with his silence.

The doors to the elevator opened after a few minutes and he headed in first, making sure to hold the doors for me.

"Thank you, Elijah." Sabi ko dito. Tumango lang ito at yumuko ulit para bigyang atensyon ang kanyang cellphone.

"Can I hold your hand once we exit the elevator, Brighton? It'll make the scene more romantic for the reporters waiting outside." Panimula nito. I wanted to say no, pero I knew na para naman to sa 'selling the romance' kineme nila dad , so I had no choice but to say yes to his idea.

Tumango lang ako dito.

A few minutes had passed when the elevator finally stopped, the doors opening to about a few hundred reporters screaming and pointing their cameras at us, flashes going off all around me and Elijah.

I was frozen in place when I felt strong, rough fingers enveloping my smaller ones.

"I got you, hübscher Junge." Sabi nito. I was in shock, 'di dahil Elijah literally called me 'handsome boy' in German, pero dahil when Elijah looked at me I couldn't recognize him, gone was the cold, aloof stares that he usually had when he looked at me, those stares were replaced by something beautiful, something magical, something that felt real.

Elijah Harrington was looking at me like he adored me.

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Hi guys, thank you for clicking on this book and deciding to give it a try. 

Again, thank you for reading. Don't be shy guys, you can comment naman, I don't bite hehe.

-Briyelle-