Three Men Plus She (Completed)

22 - Meet-up

Gabriel prefers to lock himself in his room the avoid a possible reprimand from his grandfather regarding his behavior during their lunch with the Ricardos. He chooses to act that way so Elizabeth would know that he is not easy to deal with and he will not just shrug off her stubbornness.

What he could not understand is why Lino Ricardo would like Elizabeht to takeover his shipping business despite his granddaughter's disinterest. She and Yago are fit with each other, both are insensitive and think only of themselves. They did not even appreciate the efforts of the old men to make their respective businesses as big as what they are now.

Also, he does not regret mentioning about Yago and Emily. For him, Yago and Emily looks good together, but Yago seem to blend better with Elizabeth than with Emily. From how Elizabeth reacted earlier when he mentioned about Yago and Emily, he is certain that Elizabeth is not yet over with his brother, and for him that is a good sign.

He is hoping that Yago would divert his attention to Emily or even to Elizabeth, so his brother would forget about his interest to one of the JACP's new authors, TheLostGirl. He does not care to whom his brother will end up with as long as he keeps his interest away from his Lily, as what his grandfather claimed. He will make sure that the connection between Yago and Lily will immediately end after the approval of the book cover design for the 'Bridesmaid Forever' story.

He checks on the time and it is only few minutes after three in the afternoon. He opens his hang-out and compose a message for his Lily. But he did not hit the send button as he thought that he might disturb her. He laid in bed to get some sleep when he heard a beep from his phone for a notification from wattpad for an update from his favorite wattpad author.

He immediately sends a hello message to his Lily as soon as he confirms that she is currently on-line. "Wow, mukhang maaga ang update mo today ah," he sends. His heart beats fast while waiting for Lily's reply. He smiles widely when a reply message from Lily pops up on his screen.

"I need to update early kasi kailangan maaga akong matulog tonight," Emily replied.

"May lakad ka?" Gabriel asked.

"Yes, maaga ang schedule ni Tatay sa clinic bukas," Emily replied.

"Is your father sick?" Gabriel asked.

"Nothing serious, medyo masama ang ubo eh kasi naman naulanan daw nung isang araw sabi ni Nanay," Emily replied.

"I hope he'll get better soon," Gabriel replied.

"I hope so, too," Emily responded.

"You are so admirable. How do you manage your time for work, for your family and your writings?" Gabriel asked.

"I make sure that I find time on things that are very important for me. I am very fortunate to have an understanding employer. Since I don't do overtime, may time ako to write. May edad na rin kasi ang boss ko kaya hindi na advisable na mag-overtime, ayun damay tuloy ako," Emily responded.

"You are lucky, indeed. Imagine, kahit stay-in ka, you are not required to work overtime. Sino ba 'yang employer mo, baka pwedeng akong mag-apply," Gabriel asked.

"I cannot tell you who my employer is, request yan ng Boss ko, for safety reasons daw," Emily uttered.

"Mafia ba yang Boss mo kaya ayaw ipaalam kung sino sya?" Gabriel asked.

"He is not a mafia. Let's just say that he is one of the country's successful businessman. His company belongs to the top ten companies in the country," Emily replied.

"Well, good for you," Gabriel said.

"By the way, contract signing ko na on Wednesday," she added.

Gabriel smiles at the information provided as he already knows about that detail. "Great. I hope you still remember your promise of treating me for a coffee," he replied.

"Hindi ko po nakakalimutan. Excited na nga akong ipakita sa iyo ang contract ko eh," Emily responded.

"So, can we have coffee this coming Saturday?" Gabriel asked.

"Weekend is my only time to spend with my parents," Emily responded.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot na stay-in ka nga pala sa work mo. So, when is the best time to have coffee with my favorite author?" Gabriel asked.

"Friday would be fine," Emily said, and Gabriel could not control himself but to shout his gladness.

"Yes, finally! Thank you, Lord," he exclaimed. "Then Friday it is," he asked in reply.

"What time?" he added

"My working hours ends at five," Emily replied.

"Where shall I pick you up?" he continuously asked.

"No need to pick me up, we can meet in Solenad," Emily responded.

"All right, Let's meet in Solenad on Friday at around five," Gabriel excitedly replied.

"Teka lang, di ba, Makati ang office mo, okay ba talaga sa iyo ang Friday? We set it some other time," Emily asked.

"No, this coming Friday is fine with me. I am a salesman, Lily. My time is flexible," Gabriel responded.

"Ikaw na ang swerte sa flexible na time," Emily replied.

"That is the only perks that I enjoy, you will not like the stress I have at work," Gabriel responded.

"May quota ka kasi kaya stressful. Ipanalangin na lang natin na sana lahat ng tao mahilig magbasa ng libro para maraming bumili ng tinda mo," Emily replied.

"Sasamahan mo ba akong ipagdasal yan?" Gabriel asked.

"Tara, maghawak tayo ng kamay at manalangin," Emily kidded.

"You have no idea how I imagine holding your hands," are in Gabriel's thought. "Amen," is the only respond he sends to Emily and he receives a laughing emoji in reply.

"Walang nang bawian ha, meet-up tayo this coming Friday," Gabriel then sends another message to Emily.

"As long as hindi ako makakaistorbo sa work mo, we will push through with the meet up on Friday," Emily replied.

"Kung mag-file kaya ako ng leave sa Friday para siguradong hindi ako late sa Friday," Gabriel responded.

"Eh di makakaistorbo nga ako sa work mo," Emily replied.

"Hindi naman, I just realized na hindi ko pa nga pala nagagamit ang vacation leave ko. Kaya tama lang na gamitin ko na yun para hindi masayang," Gabriel responded.

"Sigurado ka ha," Emily replied.

"Sigurado ako, Lily, kung alam mo lang mo kung gaano ko kagusto na ma-meet ang favorite author ko. Ngayon pa lang sobrang excited na ako sa coffee date natin," Gabriel responded, and Emily's eyes widen upon reading the last part of Gabriel's message.

She paused for a moment, as only now she realized that she will be going on a date with a total stranger, and this gives her a bit of anxiety. "Yeah, I am excited to finally meet you in person, Riel," was the message she sent to Gabriel.

Despite her anxiety on their meet-up, Emily could not deny how she longs to meet someone whom she only has very few information about. "It is not safe to meet him this early," are in her thought. But her heart said, "It's about time to meet him,"

In the argument between her mind and heart, obviously her heart won this time, and this is the first time this has happened to her.

***************
Don't be afraid, Lily. Riel has a good heart, and that heart beats for you. 😉😊.

Please stay safe guys. 😊

Pagpasensyahan nyo na ang wrong spelling at grammar, maitatama ko rin yan kapag may panahon na ako. 😁😙😜.

Let me know what you think of the update guys and thank you for the reads and votes😘😊😘😊😘😊.