"What"s wrong with you, man?"
James asked his friend. This morning he did not see anything wrong with Ben.
"I probably caught a cold. I"m looking at the clip you sent me. Hm, the boss is really a goner."
Ben was reclining on the sofa, watching the clip James had just sent. Summer was sitting, gnawing his bone on the carpet nearby. Ben felt bored and suck for having nothing to do. It was a good job James called.
"Flirting with his Missy again."
James turned his back to the boss and whispered onto the phone.
"My boss is second to none. I have never heard that a man knew his woman got pregnant before the woman herself.
"Oh, now he is your boss, huh?! When the boss misbehaving you said he"s MY boss, but when he"s great, he is YOUR boss. What an a.s.s."
James shot at Ben.
"Alright. OUR boss is so cool. Have you heard any cooler story than this? The man tries to get the woman pregnant without the woman knows. And the woman isn"t a daft one. So he has got to be so smart and crafty and a great liar."
"So what are you trying to say? Is he great or is he a liar?"
James asked. He was not sure about which way Ben"s going.
"He"s great of course! Because I have heard a lot of stories that a woman tried to catch a man by letting herself get pregnant. Not the other way round. Our boss is so clever no wonder why I am smart."
Ben continued to praise the boss and raise his tail up.
"Okay, I get dizzy with your words right now. I don"t have a f.u.c.king clue what to do with you if the boss is clever or daft. The boss said that if you"re sick, don"t go near his Missy. He doesn"t want her to get the virus from you. "
"I know. I already took medicine and I"m resting. By the way, there is some interesting drama on Sam"s Facebook right now. "
Ben whispered into the phone, changed to a new gossip target. Ben did not know why he had to whisper but it because James was talking in a whispering tone. Ben guessed it was because James was in the same room as the boss.
"Really? I think the two of them love each other."
James responded back. He did not disappoint Ben.
"Yeah. It is love. But I don"t know why they both have lovers right now. You watch a lot of romantic movies, you can think about it. I better take a nap since I am poorly. "
Ben cut it short after spreading the news. Before James could say more to Ben, the boss shouted loudly.
"When will the two of you stop babbling for G.o.d"s sake? And if you finish biting each other"s ears, please take these files to Steve. "
The boss"s voice was loud and got through the phone for Ben to hear. Both therefore immediately hung up.
"I think you have too much time on hands. Don"t forget that I haven"t kicked anybody"s a.s.s for a while and my feet feel itchy right now."
The boss said and put his big feet on the table. James gave him a sheepish smile and hurried to get up to take the files to Steve.
Wirata received more information from Wandy.
At four o"clock she was about to walk to Chase"s office. But she received a phone call that Michael wanted to see her in his suite room. Wirata presumed that the CEO wanted to know the progress of the case she was investigating.
Michael was in a private suite after having walked around the hotel to observe the general environment and to check on the overall work of each hotel section in the morning. He then came back to work in his suite room after that. Wirata knocked on the door and heard the sound of permission.
The tall figure of Stefan"s father was standing near the far gla.s.s windows talking on the phone. He turned to look when she closed the door after walking in. He gave a signal to Wirata to sit on the sofa while he still continued talking on the phone.
"Come on, Queen. It"s Stefan"s branch. You should come to see how good he"s doing for this year. And stay till Christmas. The kids will be glad to see us together."
Wirata heard a deep voice spoke. She understood that he was talking to Jacqueline. He called her ... Queen ... The voice was begging as much as the powerful G.o.dfather could do in order not to lose his form too much. Wirata could guess, it"s like father like son. Obviously, Michael Mackenzie had not begged people often or... never.
Wirata tried not to listen. But however, she heard every word. She saw the elegant tall gentleman with an attractive face that Stefan would look like when he was his father"s age. The sharp eyes that looked at her the other day now seemed to soften down. Wirata saw weariness, discouragement, and misery hidden in there.
"Sam will also come."
The low voice continued to persuade his wife. Wirata did not know what the other end said but she heard Michael sighed heavily with a depressed expression.
"Queen ... We haven"t seen each other for a long time. We should spend Christmas together with our children. When are you going to listen to me a little? We used to be good friends. Why can"t we be the same?
The solemn tone said to Jacqueline. And he probably realized that he was not alone in the room. He paused a little and sighed once more.
"I have to hang up now. Wirata, the hotel account manager is here to discuss work with me."
Michael said to his wife. He called Jacqueline to invite her to the son"s party. Michael thought to hold the Christmas party just for family and close friends. He wanted to find an opportunity to reconcile with Jacqueline for the last time.
But she denied with her soft and smooth tone as usual. Jacqueline did not shout or scold at anybody. She used a soft, smooth, cool voice when talking. But Michael knew that every word she spoke was unchangeable and meant what she said.
"Is Wirata there?"
Jacqueline asked when Michael mentioned Wirata. Causing him to turn to look at Stefan"s woman who was sitting on the sofa looking down at the doc.u.ment in her hands.
"Yes, I invited her to talk about work that she is responsible for."
"May I talk to her for a minute?"
Jacqueline asked. Michael raised his eyebrows with a surprise.
"Sure."
He walked to Wirata and handed her his phone.
"Stefan"s mother wants to talk to you."
The deep voice said. Wirata heard all the words that Michael had spoken to Jacqueline. The sad expression in the voice and the solemn face implied that he still loved her very much.
"h.e.l.lo, mum. how are you doing? I miss you."
Wirata greeted. Michael raised his eyebrow to hear how familiar and close Wirata was to Jacqueline.
Wirata smiled while listening to Jacqueline.
"I am alright, honey. I miss you too. How is Stefan? Is he still a bad boy? "
"I think he has some improvement. Now, he can do the was.h.i.+ng-up and doesn"t mind to help me to cook. There hasn"t bee much of fighting around recently. "
Wirata gave the full report to Stefan"s mother with a soft smile. Michael raised his eyebrows even higher.
Stefan was.h.i.+ng dishes? Unbelievable ... Michael knew his son well. Stefan, who was extremely arrogant and having a Give-No-s.h.i.+t att.i.tude written all over his face. He could not just change like that after thirty-two years of age!...?
"That"s a lot of improvement. Now my son sounds like other human beings. I have to give the credit to you, my dear."
Jacqueline said with her light and kind voice. Wirata glanced at the tall figure of Michael, who stood by the windows with his hands in pockets and turned his back to her. She heard him sighed heavily, again.
"The end of this year, Stefan will hold a party at the hotel. Probably the same as every year. But this year I saw him being so excited and enthusiastic about the party. He would be happy if you come. "
Wirata said with her gentle voice. She could feel that Jacqueline was silent for a minute.
"Sam is going to bring his lady to join us too. Stefan is so looking forward to Christmas with you. He said if you don"t come here, we all will go to your place. But if you come here, I would love to introduce you to my mother."
Wirata continued to convince Jacqueline. She heard a sigh of the soft voice came through the telephone.
"Alright then ... Most of the time, those two naughty kids of mine came to my place for my turkey. This year I should go there to make him bake me some Christmas turkey, shouldn"t I? So it will be fair. "
The soft voice finally said.
"Exactly. I"m very happy and I am sure Stefan and Sam will be over the moon to know that you are coming to join us. I will prepare the room for you. The company"s party will come first and after that, it will be the family"s Christmas party. So you will stay with us for quite a while, am I right?"
Wirata made a happy sound asking Jacqueline. Michael suddenly turned and looked at her. His eyes were glistering filled with hope. Wirata pretended not to see. She talked to Jacqueline about the date and time for a few more a minute and then hung up.
Michael came to sit opposite her and Wirata started to report him about the progress of the investigation. He listened to her quietly until she finished.
"You seem to be very close to Stefan"s mother."
Michael said after discussing work with Wirata.
"I love and respect her as my second mother."
She answered with a polite tone. Michael looked at the young lady, she was not afraid to look into his eyes. However, he saw the sincerity in them.
"When is she coming?" He asked with hope in his voice.
"She said she would call to confirm with me again. But I guess she will be here before the company"s party."
Wirata replied. Michael nodded. He seems to soften down a little toward her. Wirata thought that it was not easy for a great powerful man like Michael Mackenzie to lower himself for the smaller ones.
Being the top man with great responsibilities had formed his tough personality to be who he was now. Everyone had to follow him. He did not need to reconcile anyone. It sounded like Stefan not long ago. When she saw clearly, Wirata could not help but feel sympathy for Stefan"s dad.
"Um ... if there is nothing else..."
Wirata said after the conversation finished. Michael sighed before nodded to allow her to leave.
Wirata then stood up and left the room.
Michael continued to think that if his wife came...
What should he do to make her listen to him again?