Tulip's Destiny

XII - Right Beside Her

"With that estimate of hectares, I don't think the allotted investment will be enough..."

"Yes and also considering their history... are they credible enough..."

"I'm gonna crush them, I swear." Khalil gritted, whispering to his side where Raine is sitted. "Don't make a scene. They have a point." Raine noted, watching Mikhail clenched his fists of annoyance."But aren't they too harsh?" Khalil replied under his breath.

"And who ARE YOU to say that, again?" Mikhail said dryly. "I didn't need your opinion. What I asked for is that if you can make what they need available for them to access. YES OR NO?!" He glared irritably.

"Y-yes, we can."

"Good." Mikhail breathed, waving them to go. Soon enough, it was only Khalil, Raine and Mikhail left in his office.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled, running his fingers through his hair and then fixing it again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you two to..." Mikhail trailed off, preoccupied with embarrassment.

"It's totally understandable." Raine smiled. "No, it's not." Khalil sneered faintly. "Khali!" She glared, rolling her eyes. "No, you two didn't deserve that treatment, you're our guests."

"Mr. Bruxen, we're not guests. And we are here for business. Their reactions are valid considering we're nothing YET and absolutely questionable." Raine remarked.

"Raine..."

"I promise, it's okay." Raine said softly with a smile. "It's most certainly not--" Mikhail batted before being cut off by the sudden swing of the door.

"Ahhh! My Mikey!!!" A woman in her 50s shrieked, rushing towards them while holding a leash on her hands. "Waar ben je de laatste tijd geweest?! Hail misses you badly! Waarom heb je me niet gebeld toen je al terug was?!" The woman stopped, trailing off in Raine and Khalil's direction. "Oh! I see you have guests?"

"Mother." Mikhail said with a tight lipped smile as he stood firmly in front of the woman. He then leaned in to grab the cheerful furry into his arms, hugging him close to him.

Raine was immediately taken aback. Clearly, she can see similarities between the two of them as they stand facing each other. The woman had the same blonde hair, flowing in curls just a little over her shoulders. While the same blue tint from Mikhail's also swirled into hers, it can be quite noticeable that Mikhail's are more intense in shade.

"I'm sorry to be such a bother." His mother said. "Oh, we were just heading out too, madam." Raine smiled, shaking her head gently. "Is that so?" She asked, looking over at Khalil. "Yes, madam." Khalil confirmed nodding.

Hail was eyeing on Raine excitedly, the same way she had been glancing at her with so much adoration. Soon, Hail was uncontrollably reaching with her tiny paws towards Raine. It didn't take long before Mikhail along with her mother noticed it too.

"You must be?" His mother giggled, as her eyes landed once again on Raine awkwardly standing beside Mikhail. Raine was wearing a gray inner blouse paired with a red slim blazer suit. "Good morning, Madam. I'm Lorraine Buenez. Uhm... I'm..." She introduced, gesturing towards Khalil. "WE are here for a finance meeting regarding a new project Mr. Bruxen planned out back in the Philippines." Raine answered, keeping her voice low and calm yet still smiling politely.

"You know what? You're cute!" His mother chuckled, taking in Raine's formality. "Mother..." Mikhail mumbled. "Noticing that Hail's favorably excited to see you... then you must be someone important to her and to HIM." She smiled, passing Mikhail a playful wink before extending her hand to Raine. "Please... just call me auntie."