21 March 2015
Two weeks later, someone urgently knocked at Chard's door. He was currently in his office, finalizing some paperwork for a shoot next month.
"Come in," he called out.
The door opened, revealing his father in an impeccable black suit. He didn't look happy.
I wonder why? Chard thought smugly to himself. "Dad!" He greeted his father as he stepped into the room. "What brings you here? Did you want to talk about something?"
His father slumped on his chair and stared at him for a sometime.
Chard frowned at him. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"What's wrong?" His father repeated, glaring at him. "Don't act like that, son. It doesn't suit you."
"I have no idea what you're saying," Chard told him. "Is this about the gift that we sent out to some of our clients?"
"Really? Then what is this?" He asked, waving a folder at him. It was the folder that he left on his father's desk days ago. It contained Maine's new contract.
"Well, I told you I'll get her back," Chard said, smiling at his father when he gritted his teeth. "That I'd convince her to continue working with us. And since she didn't want to work with you, I'll call the shots this time. It's about time right?"
"Why?" His father growled. "Did you even think of doing this? She had a contract me! Me!"
"We needed her," he pointed out. He didn't bother correct his father "Besides, we only change a few things in the contract with no extra cost. Everything's fine now."
It was the truth. But his father couldn't be deterred. "Kaya mo ba siya kina-career? Is that how you convinced her?"
Chard's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?
"Eh halos hindi ka na umuuwi sa bahay ah. Siya ba ang dahilan?"
"Stop," Chard told his father. He didn't want to tell him that he's been spending time with her because he wanted to make sure that the scripts were perfect to avoid script changes in the future. He wasn't like his father. He was thorough when it comes to these things. "What I do outside of work is none of your business. We don't even live in the same house anymore."
"I'm just trying to look out for you," his father interjected. "I know I asked you to seek her out. But I didn't say that you should use your body to earn her trust. That's low, son."
"Wow," Chard clapped sarcastically. "I didn't know that you care! Ganito rin ba ang sinabi mo kay Kuya kaya lumayas siya?"
Part of him knew that what he said was uncalled for. After all, his father treated his Kuya like a son, and sometimes showed him more affection than he did to Chard. But he couldn't help but feel vindicated when saw the anger flush across his father's face.
"Nagtanan lang sila ng girlfriend niya," His father bit out. "HIndi siya lumayas."
"Really? Are you saying that he left all of this behind just because of his girlfriend?" Chard gestured at his surroundings. "I find that hard to believe. It's clear that you're the reason why he chose to cut off ties with all of us."
"Stop," his father said, clearly furious. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"I should say the same to you." Chard snorted. "Now, if you could please get out of my office, I'd appreciate it. I have tons of paperwork to do and you're disturbing me."
