James shook his head reluctantly, reminding himself that he may indeed was momentarily mesmerized by his cousin"s beauty but his standards goes far beyond just a pretty face.Pulling back from his musing, he spoke again without thinking too much.
"I don"t think that"s a good idea." He subtly forewarned. His voice and tone was both reprimanding and mocking at the same time. He was just being truthful and frank though. James thought he doesn"t need to be a genius to figure out his cousin"s circ.u.mstances. What she should and should not do is no secret at all and she herself must be aware of it. But based on what he was witnessing at the moment, his cousin must have totally lost her mind for taking such path.
...
Laurice ears perked up.
What did the guy said? Like his opinion matters to her?
However, she was not soliciting for any advice so she shrug off the person"s verbal warning.
Laurice have then reached the ground floor and was already prepared to leave immediately but as much as she wanted to continue threading the pathway out of the mansion, she just couldn"t ignore the presence of the man who went from all the trouble of moving from one corner to another.
There standing tall while leaning his back against the center of the double entry doors was her cousin indeed.
...
As Laurice finally caught a visible sight of the man, her face twitched vehemently.
James Gutierrez Ledesma.
His second uncle"s son.
What was the person doing?
Was he really physically trying to stop her from leaving? Is he sick in the head?
Laurice gaped at the man before her in confusion. Her eyes turning sharper by the second, almost glaring towards him specifically.
What gives? He was only sitting moments ago far across the living area looking rather uninterested. How come he was now evidently resembling a barricade wall guarding her final exit so cautiously like his life depended on it? And how he did it without her even noticing was quite puzzling, too.
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"What are you doing?"
Laurice could not help but question him. Stressing the words one by one. Her tone was also menacing making James a bit intimidated by her but he did not budge from his current position.
...
James: " ... !!! "
James did not understand what really came to his mind and blocked the woman"s path himself. It was so sudden that his body alighted on it"s own and found it"s way here doing something so foolish and shameless. That was really uncalled for and unintentional on his part. What excuse can he tell Laurice? That it was a spur of the moment thing? But is he willing to let her go just like that? Well, he doesn"t personally want her to leave but does he need to go to such extent? How troublesome indeed! He can only play along for now. He resigned with that thought in his head.
What a dumb decision though.
As Laurice was now glaring at him. It was rather haunting and piercing as if penetrating through his soul.
James shivered slightly but concealed the fear beginning to rise from inside of him.
Clearing his throat in discomfort, he muttered as he met the woman"s eyes. Through the dim light however, her big bright eyes shone with resentment and hostility almost manifesting that it has somehow found it"s prey and was ready to attack him anytime.
"W-what?!"
d.a.m.n. He actually stammered.
Man up James! He cursed himself for having such low tolerance against her. This experience was a first. Well, not quite.
Laurice did not talk back at him at all.
In the midst of his fear, the woman remained quiet and unmoving as if withdrawing from the fight that didn"t even started yet.
Oh!
Miraculously. it seems he was spared!
James triumphed.
Life is precious, i tell you!
Unconsciously, his eyes followed Laurice as she took a turn but failed to witnessed the meaningful glint that flashed her very eyes.
...
Laurice just leisurely walked straight to where James was before and asked him something out of the blue.
"Can i sit?"
Asking his permission for something so absurd, James was stunned he turned mute for a second.
"I can"t?"
Laurice prodded in an accusing tone.
d.a.m.n.
Making him feel wretched on the inside, that one was unexpected.
"H-help yourself."
James mindlessly responded in a haste. He suspiciously eyed the woman who now sat rather comfortably in the sofa tracing her fingers around the patterned cushion besides her.
James furrowed his brows deeply.
What is she really up to?
"So ... "
The woman"s sultry voice interrupted his thoughts. Again, that uneasy feeling. James"s pulse begun beating in a fierce rhythm.
He gulped in worry.
"I"ve heard, the group recently turned down Schnell"s joint venture proposal?" Laurice stated from out of nowhere, her tongue clicked in disapproval.
Schnell was Germany"s top telecommunications company and is currently one of the major players in the industry around the globe as per a renowned international business magazine that publishes biweekly overseas.
It seems they were listed in the biddings as one of the prospective telco companies entering the Philippine Market to land the third spot amongst it"s existing compet.i.tors to provide mobile network across the country.
Such a huge opportunity cost since Suma Group said no to buying off investments.
...
James: " ... ??? !!! "
What? What?!
James was in a daze.
What was the woman spouting?
Schnell? Suma Group?
It has nothing to do with him.
Well, in substance it does, but he was not that knowledgeable about the issue. Why was Laurice questioning him about it anyway? This is certainly off-topic! Wasn"t she interested in escaping the old residence? Why is she tackling some business matters so normally as if striking up a casual-formal conversation with him instead? He wasn"t prepared for this!
d.a.m.n it.
He"s hands are already full enough so why would he even care about the group"s affairs as a whole?
James grumbled.
He deliberated among himself.
James appeared to be in so much difficulty, not knowing how to respond to the sudden statement when the lights around the hall was unknowingly lit and turned on as another man"s figure revealed himself from the shadows.
"We plan to further expand, but we aren"t keen on telco. The ma.s.sive capital requirement poses a huge risk, we dare not take it lightly." The man"s deep low voice interceded along.
James was momentarily dazzled by the light that spurred across the hall when the sudden blur was replaced by the clear vision of the man standing on one corner post.
Cousin-brother!