Beauty and the Billionaire

Part 3 - The encounter

Chapter 9

INSIDE his recreational room, the crafty businessman was in turmoil. Miguel was sure that halfway to the office, his attraction to Elysse would somehow dissipate. He was convinced a brisk run on the treadmill while watching the monitors on the wall would brush the evening aside. But he became conscious she was haunting him.

The monitors were speaking gibberish. He realized the speed of the treadmill had not changed. He was positive he had been on it for more than fifteen minutes. The slide of stock prices on the screen was making no sense. CNN & BBC was becoming a blur. But it was clear to him that he was contemplating whether he made an impact on Elysse.

On the other hand, she did a number on him. No doubt, she did something else. He was still seeing her smile. He can still visualize that strand of hair she let loose at the side of her head. He closed his eyes, trying to recall the handshake, and felt the electricity again. As if her hand still wrapped in his. Yes, she was an actress, but her laugh was without pretense. He pondered how Elysse could have made those gestures seem naive yet graceful.

He decided to take a shower instead. He went out the door leading to the stairs to the penthouse. He went straight to the bathroom and chose a cold shower. He figured his head would concentrate on fighting the chilling effect of the water. It worked somehow. His hand moved toward the valve to turn the shower off, but he decided against it. He let the water run, pouring onto him, and replayed the evening.

The evening shifted from the ribbon-cutting to the prayer, then the ceremonies. The event was a haze of vague people and place. It stopped the moment he laid eyes on Elysse. It moved again when he watched her go from one group to the next. He visibly remembered that she was tirelessly accommodating. Her beauty was radiantly clear, while the other guests were faceless. Once again, the evening stopped when they shook hands. He saw the bodies of other guests moving, but he and Elysse were not, suspended while hands still locked, smiling at each other.

Finally, he made up his mind to step out of the shower. He dried himself and shaved. Put on a shirt and shorts. He went straight to his study and sat behind the desk. On the desk are three large monitors hooked up to the SGC network. In the middle of the table was the keyboard. Its set-up was like the worktable found in his recreational room. He turned it on and stared at the numbers. His hands got frozen, hovering on top of the keyboard.

Chapter 10

IN the past, Miguel would be punching in ticker symbols and checking stocks as soon as the monitors were on. It mattered not, whether it was a Sunday or a week-long holiday. He was always on the lookout for a profitable investment. He would have Bloomberg, Eikon, FactSet, or maybe S&P Capital IQ on separate monitors and watch graphs and numbers move. Other monitors would have BBC or CNN. The middle and main screen served as his research relay.

Not tonight, he told himself.

For the first time in his life and since the search engine's inception, he typed 'google' on the search field. It was unprecedented. That night, his due diligence was not about a company or a business opportunity. It was not about another money-making prospect or another piece of land for a lucrative real estate deal. It was not an acquisition or a merger. And certainly not about a financial report of a company.

Filled with an inexplicable enthusiasm, he typed her name.

His search gave him a list of hits. He chose images and feasted his eyes and spirit on the thousand photographs of Elysse he found online. He kept clicking on the arrow after the imageries and found himself convinced she was looking at him. Her eyes were on him. They were inviting him. They were prodding him to look for more. And to look at her too.

An hour passed, and he was still looking at her. She at him, smiling. He was beginning to hate that smile since it made him want to search for more, but he decided to stop. He stood up and went out of his den. He forced himself onto the bar and poured brandy into a glass. He thought the drink would eventually make him sleep. He took a sip and remembered he does not drink alcohol. Perhaps coffee would be better, so he went to the kitchen. But it was only to bring himself back to his workstation and tap on the keyboard.

He set the images on the right screen, replacing CNN. He went back to google and retyped her name. This time he looked for her biography. He searched for printed interviews. He looked for online magazines that ran reports and articles about the young actress.

Miguel began learning more and more about the goddess.

Four in the morning, the coffee did nothing. Then again, Miguel remembered he was not able to make one. He was still in front of his monitors, trying to get to know Elysse.

Chapter 11

SHE was born Elyzabeth Serapio to a Filipino father, Alberto Serapio and Francesca Forlani, an Italian who grew up in the States. Her father moved the family back to the Philippines when her mother succumbed to cancer twelve years ago. He also learned that Elysse has two younger siblings who went back to the States for school.

With her inherent good looks, Elysse started modeling for print ads soon after moving to Manila. And during one photoshoot, Audrey Albayde spotted the pretty young girl shining the brightest on stage. Audrey, Mommy-Au from her peers, took the child under her ward. She asked Elysse to use a shorter version of her name and her mother's surname on screen, hence Elysse Forlani. From there, the rest was history.

After five years of print ads, bit and supporting roles in TV and films, and commercial modeling, her breakthrough came via a leading role in a rom-com primetime TV series alongside Toby Moran, her rumored boyfriend. The series' success and team-up paved the way for a couple more movies that earned quite well at the box office. The tandem gained popularity and received further projects together.

A couple of years back, Elysse Forlani played the role of a nun novitiate, which received positive reviews and a nomination for best actress. Due to the nomination, projects without the actor poured in. Although she was still often seen with the latter. And their love team did not lose its popularity.  

It had led to Miguel's search for Toby Moran, and he gathered the actor was voted one of the hottest young male celebrities in the country. He thought, who better go out with the muse than the escort.

He searched the net once more. This time, YouTube. He found what he was looking for and clicked on play. Once again, he did something he never knew he would, watch a Filipino movie online. He got nothing against the local cinema and once shook hands with two kings, FPJ and Dolphy. He dined with the super and megastar and attended a charity event with the star who became a governor. But he never found the time to watch a local movie. The premieres he got invited to and attended were foreign ones. On his monitor, he watched Elysse play her part. She was equally stunning and talented. When it was over, he searched for TV interviews. He realized he was even more mesmerized by her charm, intelligence, and wits. He stumbled on a TV commercial with her in it and watched, then looked for more.

He was transfixed. He was in a different world away from his. It is a world where that girl on the screen was looking and smiling at him, speaking and laughing with him. Finally, he made a full grasp of what she did to him. Elysse was making him daydream.