Chapter 144 - The Deepening Mess

It seems Michelle Alcantara has swallowed her tongue. She sees Gabriel and Claire, holding hands like they're together in joy and sorrow and all sh1t like that, and the last words she says is a thinly veiled, sarcastic, "And a pleasant morning to you, too."

"What are you doing here?" Gabriel's voice is clipped with rising anger.

Mrs. Gomez's ping-pongs from Gabriel's face, then to Michelle's , then to Claire. Repeat as necessary. "Uhhh, sorry, Mr. Tan, everyone in the office has volunteered. The rest are on their way here, on board our shuttle buses. And by everyone, I mean, including Mich—"

"Why are you apologizing on my behalf?" Michelle snaps. Then she turns to Gabriel. "I'm here not for you or anyone else, but for Miguel. I didn't even ask why he's in this medical situation, or who did what to him. I'm here because I want to help, like an old friend. So stop being melodramatic, Gab."

Gabriel grits his teeth, but says nothing. He stands there for a long moment, trying to process his ugly feelings. He's not sure, but there's something about Michelle's face that pushes all his buŧŧons, no matter how much he stifles it. He wishes for a time when he would no longer hate her; when he would no longer be affected by the sound of her voice, the sight of her face. Her presence here brings to mind that recent mess with Relentless, and how Michelle had maneuvered her way into becoming his unwanted business partner in a recent merger. If it were up to him, he would—

"Thank you, Michelle," Claire says, smiling her best. She's a vision of elegance, despite the fact that they've been here since the small hours of the morning. "Your help is much appreciated. Mrs. Gomez will ȧssist in having you tested for compatibility."

"Of course, Miguel and I are compatible," Michelle scoffs. "And I'll do everything for an old friend." She throws Gabriel a sticky gaze. "I'll do even more, if only someone asks me nicely."

Gabriel must have bitten his lip hard just to stop himself from saying something that he'd regret, especially in this situation. When he says nothing, Michelle nods to Mrs. Gomez, who ushers her toward the general direction of the hospital's lab.

"Michelle," Gabriel mutters, sighing. "She's really insufferable."

"Gab, I'm not sure if it's my place to say this," Claire says softly. She hesitates. "But are you sure you're no longer in love with Michelle?"

"What? Of course, I'm not! I have moved on, see. I'm no longer—"

"Because if so, then whatever she does should no longer affect you so much."

Gabriel stops. He looks at her. "What do you mean?"

"It's simple. If she's no longer in your heart, you should feel nothing about whatever she does. Do you know how that old popular song goes? 'I remember the girl, but I can't remember the feelings anymore.' Something like that."

"Well," Gabriel says. He looks around. The hospital entrance is filling up with newly arrived people, and from the looks of them, they must be his own employees, come to help out with the blood donation. "You're right. Maybe I still have some unresolved feelings, ugly feelings. But I'm sure it's not exactly love. Maybe I'm still hurting from the betrayal. Maybe it's my ego. Maybe I still haven't done to her what the blackest part of my soul has dėsɨrėd to do."

"And that is?"

"To grab her neck with my bȧrė hands and strangle her." He pauses. Then Gabriel laughs. "Just a joke, Claire."

"All jokes are half-meant," she says, with a wry smile.

"I won't kid, then. Really, I wanted to hurt her for the longest time. I admit I even 'hired' you remember, for revenge? I was really, really angry. And although I have changed my mind, and much has happened ever since the first day you appeared at my office, sometimes I still find myself annoyed at everything about her. But you're right. Maybe I should rethink my emotional responses toward her, and rein it in. It's not proper, I know. And legally, we're business partners in this one business unit, so I really should hold it together."

Claire smiles. "Thank you, Gab. Let's take baby steps. I'm here for you, remember? I'll do anything so that you can forget her."

"Really?" Gabriel's eyes go round. "As in 'anything'?"

"If you're thinking about something titillating, come on, Gab. Let's focus on Miguel first."

Gabriel laughs. "Sorry. Just got carried away."

By then, some of the TXCI employees have wandered in their proximity. Some have immediately recognized the couple, but are too timid to directly ask them. Claire notices one of them as Mary, Claudia's ȧssistant, and she instantly smiles. "Oh, Mary, you've come, too!"

Mary stops, shocked, that the big boss's fiancée addresses her in that familiar tone. "Good morning, Ma'am. Good morning, Mr. Tan. We've all come her to se if we can help Sir Miguel."

"Good—" Claire stops mid-sentence; instinctively, she touches her hair and realizes she's not wearing the blond wig. She's not Bella at this moment, hence, Mary's bewilderment.

And yet, Mary stares at Claire's eyes so intently; this is the first time she's seeing Claire this close, and there's something about her that strongly reminds her of someone else. "You look really familiar, Ma'am. Miss Claire. I just can't quite figure out how."

Claire makes a nervous laugh, and glances at Gabriel.

"Thank you for coming, Mary," Gabriel says, saving the day. Then addresses the crowd. "Thank you, everybody, for this selfless gesture. I deeply appreciate it. I don't know how I can repay you."

"Sir, Mrs. Gomez said we can take the rest of the day off," someone at the back yelled.

"She what?"

"We can take the rest of the day off," Mary offers as she stands nearest them. "Mrs. Gomez said that. She said to treat this as a special holiday."

"Oh," Gabriel mutters. "Okay." He looks around at the expectant faces. The presence of so many people from his company has turned the corridor into some sort of a standing-only conference. Gabriel sees they're starting to affect the traffic of medical personnel and patients. He claps his hands. "Alright, thank you, guys. Sure, take this as a special holiday, paid holiday. And to make it even better, when you return to work tomorrow, there will be a special buffet spread at the employee dining room. It will be like Christmas."

The people cheer; there's a lot of excited chatter going on.

"But first things first. Please proceed to that area over there to get tested. I'd also ask not to choke up the hallways as we don't want to cause inconvenience to others. Please be mindful of the hospital's policies. And again, I appreciate your help. Thank you."

The crowd disperse, and yet, Mary stays standing there, gazing at Claire's face.

"Miss Claire, I feel like I've known you all my life."

Claire laughs meaningfully. "Me, too, Mary."

Mary gazes at her, as though she has no plans of going to the hospital lab. Gabriel, watching this all happen before his eyes and knowing the real reason why, taps Mary on the shoulder. "Mary, let me walk you to the testing area, please." He winks at Claire, as though saying, I got this.

Claire, meanwhile, does not forget that she needs to get in touch with the company's public relations team. She quickly walks over to one of the hospital's phone booths, realizing for the tenth time that morning that she really should start carrying her own mobile phone. She'll ask Gabriel about it. It's really uncharacteristic of her to insist not using a phone in this day and age. And besides, she has growing responsibilities; she's no longer just living for her own sake.

The phone rings only twice when the other end picks it up. "Catherine Buenavista's office," the cheerful voice on the other end says. "Hello?"

"Hi," Claire says, introducing herself. "I need to speak with Catherine, please."

"I'm sorry, but Catherine's going out for a meeting and—"

"Tell her this is coming directly from Gabriel Tan."

"Oh."

Claire hears muffled voices. "Hello, Claire?" Catherine's voice, like all PR practitioners, is too saccharine to be genuine. "What can I do for you today?"

"Catherine, I know you came in late. So I don't take it against you if you don't know yet what happened with Gabriel and Miguel. But I need you to come down here at the hospital. I need to brief you on an emergency press release."

"Oh, my God!" Now, the shock in Catherine's voice is finally genuine. "What happened with the brothers? Are they safe?"

"They're safe. But their reputation is at stake. So what time can you come here?"

Catherine pauses. "I'll be there maybe in an hour."

"Take out the 'maybe'. I need you here in fifteen minutes," Claire says, finally with that don'[email protected] tone. "And bring your entire team."

If Catherine Buenavista is shocked by the tone of Claire's voice, she doesn't get the chance to express it, as Claire already hung up. "Who does she think she is?" Catherine mutters. Before her, her five-person public relations team await her word. She sighs; this is, after all, Claire Monteverde, Gabriel's fiancée. They're all going to have to live with her presence in the company moving forward.

"Pack your stuff. Bring your ŀȧptops," she says to the team. "Something terrible must have happened with our boss. We're all going to that hospital."

Catherine Buenavista, one of Michelle Alcantara's friends, is already out the door before her team could react.