"Leave my house, Gabriela Flores!!" Claudia burst out.
"You could use some tissues."
Gabriela stepped back.
"Okay, okay, I'm leaving!"
~~~~~ THE WHITE'S ACADEMY~~~~
"Did he show up?"
"No, Mom!" Claudia burst into tears.
"You said someone showed up..."
"Yes! That bitch, Gabriela!"
"What..What was she doing? How did she gain entrance?"
"She's Gabriela Flores! A witch! She must have flew in with her broomstick." Claudia replied sarcastically.
"Fuck. I can't believe your plan failed. I'm sorry dear." Jennie stroked her daughter's hair.
"I'm not gonna give up yet! Gabriela Flores will go down."
It was time for the morning lectures.
"You should get going, Claudia. I'll come up with something." She assured Claudia.
"Okay." She left her mother's office, wiping a tear of defeat.
The door swung open right after her departure.
Jennie was horrified.
"Good day, Professor Jennie." She retired on her seat, trying to hide the shock all over her face.
It was Veronica.
"Do you perhaps...recognize me?"
"N-no. I don't know who you are. You must be the new business student. If you wanna make inquiries, you can go to the head of college's office. I'm not in the best position to answer your questions."
"But you are." Veronica's voice sounded pleasant.
"People talk. They said you're Mr. White's mistress, despite being married to Mr. Alejandro Flores." Jennie slid off her glasses in anger.
"That's a lie! Who told you that shit? All of them will be expelled!" She roared.
"Of course. At the snap of your finger, they'll all be expelled." Veronica relaxed on the chair in front of Jennie.
She folded her arms.
"Anyways, I'm not here for that. Why did you push my dad off the bed, paralyzed him and steal his money?" Jennie's eyes widened.
She really knew.
"I didn't..."
"I have proof, Professor Jennie. Dad had your sick voice recorded on his phone. I said I'd release it to the press once I got you."
"You're such a promiscuous woman. Mr. Alejandro will find out the truth. I overheard what you discussed with your daughter yesterday. How could you? Claudia looks like such a sweet girl. But you've turned her into the bitch that you are. And Gabriela, don't waste your time trying to bring her down. She'll always rise above you. Got that?" Veronica rose up.
Jennie gritted her teeth.
"Don't you dare! Don't you dare release that audio!"
"Watch me." Veronica winked before walking out. Jennie hit her fist on the table.
"Ahhhh!!!" She screamed.
Gabriela alighted at Mr. Jackson's mansion.
"Gabriela! Its so good to see you!" She smiled but it wavered when she recalled he lashed his son once.
"Come in." She entered, sashaying and finally plopped on his plush sofa.
"I was hoping to work with you again. This time on a hotel management project." He started, sitting too.
"Hotel management? How can I help with that?"
"Your sales team could be of help. Identifying opportunities, building relationships, overseeing other aspects...adverts, market segments...it'll be excellent."
"Humph." Gabriela sighed in dissatisfaction.
"I'd be delighted to do something like that." Mr. Jackson was elated.
"But not with you." His smile vanished instantly.
"What? Why? Is there a problem?" He was shocked.
"No. I just don't want to work with people who are so cruel and full of terror. I work with individuals who show the same love they have for their business to their children."
He was burning with anger at her bluntness.
"Who told you these things? Miguel, right?"
"Yeah." She nodded confidently.
"He did and I view it as cruelty. He's your son. Your wife died leaving you to take good care of him. Instead, you judged him for her death. Hazel Jackson's death wasn't his fucking fault. What's wrong with you? This didn't happen to you first, and you're not gonna be the last, so - "
"You are right, Gabriela Flores. I'm not gonna be the last. One day, his wife will fall into labor, give birth and she will die! She will die! She'll die instantly!" He shouted.
Gabriela's glistened eyes glared at him with fury.
She was fuming.
"He's still my son, I agree. That's why I fed, clothed and financing his college. That's why he's a department head in my company. That's why he'll be the successor! What more does he want? What more should he get? I'm giving him all Hazel ever wanted her son to have. She wanted him to be a champion, right? Now he is!"
"That's not all, Mr. Jackson. You need to love your son. My dad is giving me everything out of pure love and not pity. Think about it. Miguel's mom could have died for a reason, probably so you could discover your inner strength. You could have been meant to do it all alone! But you failed, Mr. Jackson. You have failed horribly!"
"Failed?" His voice was laced with arrogance.
"You've made your son grow up to love what he's got not the man who's giving it to him. You don't care about your son's feelings. All you are concerned about is the progress of your company. Miguel is such a good person. He deserves to be loved. I'm sure Miss. Hazel won't be happy to see you treating her baby this way. Please, I want you to ponder on this and change what you think about him. He is not his mom's killer." Gabriela got up and left the house.
Her eyes widened and the confidence vanished when she set her eyes on Miguel walking towards her.
"What are you..." She was breathless.
He stopped.
"Why are you staring? By the way, what are you doing here?"
"I came for...I..I came to..your dad invited me to discuss business. But I refused to work with him."
"Really? Any issues?" He was curious.
"Let's go." She ordered and he followed. They both entered the car.
"Drive."
"I told him about you. I tried to convince him and advised he could think about it and make changes."
"Will he change?" He asked in a relaxed tone.
"Of course. If he still has a heart." Miguel chuckled.
"How were you so brave? How didn't he lash you?"
"He wouldn't dare. I'll have him sued." He laughed heartily.
"Why are you laughing? I said I don't like you laughing when I'm being damned serious."
"I'm sorry."
"How's Leslie and Lana?" Gabriela changed the topic.
"They are missing you so much, Gaby." She pouted cutely.
"I know, same..." She caught Miguel staring at her and frowned.
"Aren't we still friends?"
"Not anymore." He replied casually.
"Oh boy, we still are." She argued.
"Friends, huh?" Miguel leaned closer and whispered into her ear, his hot breath making her shiver.
"Friends don't kiss, do they?"
"Yes they do!" Gabriela blurted out. Miguel mocked her.
"They do? They kiss...like that?" He continued his low murmuring. His eyes went to her lap and he laughed silently when he saw her playing with her fingers nervously.
Her teeth and her lip awkwardly turned enemies...
"O..of course. Kissing isn't actually a big deal. We could both get this out of our minds." She half yelled.
"What if I tell you I can't get it out of my mind?"
"You have to, Miguel."
"Okay, I can't!" He refused, adamantly.
"Why? I'm not the first girl you've kissed, right?" Miguel's eyes widened in embarrassment, reminding her where they were.
Gabriela rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
"I don't care, yunno..I don't know how to keep my voice down." She mumbled.
~~~~~
Gabriela arrived home with Miguel, alighted on the other side and slammed the door.
She was walking ahead of him and after unlocking the door, she walked in and sat, turning on the TV like she was alone.
"You're acting like I don't actually exist." He sat next to her.
"Its so difficult for you to forget about one kiss, right? Then you'll have to forget about me." His eyes twinkled with surprise and he burst into laughter.
"Stop laughing!" She screamed.
"All right, I'll forget about it." Gabriela turned to face him.
"I'd really like that. Pretend it never happened."
"Why are you doing this to me?" He questioned, his voice hinting interrogation and disappointment.
"I'm con...fused..."
"Do I really have to say this?" He leaned in and cupped her cheeks.
Gabriela didn't even know why she allowed him.
Kissing her was a golden ticket to do whatever he liked with her.
Their eyes locked.
"Friendship with you has made these past months the best of my life. I can't – continue. We both know how exactly we feel about each other. I don't see the need to punish ourselves. I don't see the need to be regular buddies. You should understand – "
"Can you wait for me?" Her soft voice was above a whisper.
Miguel looked puzzled.
"Wait till our graduation night. We can go on an official date then." She grinned. Miguel let go of her cheeks and rolled his eyes.
"Graduation? You must be kidding."
"No. Please wait for me. Until then, you can put all your thoughts together and come up with something. Tell me – everything on our graduation night." He nodded understandingly.
"You don't have to plead, though. I support your decision. I was only thinking how I'll be able to survive that long."
"Survive? Of course you will. You're not a video game character. You're not dying anytime soon."
She wriggled her hands together, staring at him like he was the last dot of hope she had.
"Will you wait for me? I promise this decision is best for the both of us."
"I'll wait for you, Gabriela."
"Thank you." She smiled satisfactorily.
"But what would we be until then?" He added.
Gabriela sighed.
"We'd still hang out. Like I said, we won't be talking about the kiss."
"Okay...sounds like a plan. Hang on, did your driver hear us?"
"Does he look like he was deaf?" Miguel almost gasped.
"I can't believe he must have seen you nervous like that." He joked.
"It's not like he's gonna tell anyone..."
"Right. I didn't know he could keep secrets. I would have kissed you again." Gabriela avoided his gaze. One more look at him would make her go back on what she just said.
"Whenever you're angry, you're just too hot. If the driver wasn't present, I don't know what I could have done." He paused to see her reaction and it was evident she was fighting the urge to blush staring at the TV screen.
"Hey...what was with the text last night? I was going there for my photobook issues..."
"Whatever Professor Jennie told you about a photobook is a lie. Her daughter had a bad plan."
"Really? How did you know that?"
"Never mind." He was quick to forget about Claudia's bad plan.
He didn't care about it.
"I need to call Michelle and ask how her meeting went. She's still in talks with Lumi's Kitchen."
"Forget about Michelle for a second."
"You're irresistible," He started softly.
"While we continue this friendship, I don't want you to look too sexy. That might end up ruining things." She couldn't control the chuckle.
"Second rule, you're not allowed to smile like that."
"Yes, Daddy." The sound of 'daddy' made him rock hard.
This girl was hell in the skin of an innocent human.
"Third rule, don't call me daddy. I'm Miguel and not Alejandro." She bit her lip to control her laughter.
"Fourth rule, you're not allowed to bite your lips like that. They'd belong to me soon, and I don't want them ravaged before that." The possessiveness in his voice made her feel protected.
"Fifth, when you come over, we're still acting like couples." She nodded.
"Got it."
"Sixth, don't say 'got it' like that. It sounds too seductive." This guy liked her and she knew it.
She wanted each moment of her life to be with him.
She felt safe with him.
The only time she could be herself was when they were together.
She loved Miguel, she was sure of it.
She wanted to be his girlfriend instantly. But there were still ample things to fix.
~~~~~
Jennie walked out of the bathroom, water dripping from her hair, face and adorning her skin. Her robe belts were undone and her nipples pressed hard against the robe.
She was staring at Mr. White, her eyes filled with lust like a tigress staring at her supper. Mr. White equally adored the short bathrobe, her triangle which was probably aching from wanting him, her long legs, then back up to stare at the valley between her boobs.
She plopped on his lap.
"Gosh, it has been a while, Eric," Her soft voice was adding to his arousal. He had missed her caresses.
"It really has, sweetheart. You've been too busy with work." Eric also touched her and felt her body respond immediately. He grinned.
His hand slid from the back of her neck, to her chest and down to her cleavage.
He went under the robe and claimed her breast, giving her nipples a soft brush that made her moan with her eyes closed.
He finally slid the robe down her shoulders.
"I've missed these two." He growled, referred to her nipples as he toyed with them.
"Before you have me tonight, I'd like to..." She couldn't finish her statement because he was already on top of her, her breast in his mouth.
"Wait..can we talk first?" He was unbuttoning his shirt.
"Talk about what?"
"The – college. Mr. Thompson made so many errors today with the student file. He seems to be getting older and frail. In my opinion, he should step down as head of college."
"What?" He froze.
"I can handle things better, you know? I don't want you to make me beg, unless you want to beg for my body, Eric White."
"So, where are you heading to?"
"Me. Make me the head of college."