"Damn it, why does he run so fast?" Azumi muttered to herself, struggling to keep up with Cleo. As he turned left at the corner, she quickened her pace, determined to stay close.
Little did she know, an unexpected encounter awaited her. "Don't be so reckless, shortie!" Azumi heard a voice before a rough hand forcefully made contact with the top of her head, pushing her down onto the ground. In a daze from the suddenness of the action, she wearily looked up at the person responsible, who knelt beside her on the concrete.
Meanwhile, Cleo abruptly halted when he heard Azumi's footsteps come to a sudden stop, followed by a loud "oof" escaping her lips. He turned around to see her on her knees, facing a man with dark hair whose back was turned towards him. Curiosity and concern filled Cleo's mind as he silently mouthed, "Who?
The tall man turned around to face Cleo. He wore a long black coat over what looked to be typical business attire: dark slacks, leather shoes, and a white dress shirt with a gray tie. His spikey hair was dark and ended at the nape of his neck. Cleo couldn't see his eyes as they were shielded by a pair of aviator sunglasses.
As he strolled casually over to Cleo, Cleo couldn't help but nervously put up his fists, not wanting to have the same fate as Azumi on the ground.
"W-what do you want?" Cleo managed to stutter to him.
"That hurt, Andrew!" Azumi yelled out once she got her bearings straight.
"And-Andrew?" Cleo repeated his name.
"Hey." The man named Andrew answered instantly, a pearly white smile forming on his face at the same time. He took off his gleaming sunglasses with a quick swipe of his right hand. His dark eyes were luminous with a friendly glimmer. "Nice to meet you."
Cleo could only bow his head slightly back at him as he stared in awe.
Andrew's fabulously snazzy red European sports car entered International SSchool'sgates. The sound of its purring engine caught the attention of a large number of students who gathered outside to see who arrived in such a beautiful car. Many squealed with delight (mostly girls) when they recognized Andrew's face. And yet many were shocked to find Cleo in the passenger seat.
"Why is Cleo with Lord Andrew?" One student asked out loud.
"I don't know, but I don't care. It's Lord Andrew!" Another student (female) squeaked with hearts in her eyes.
Cleo was quite embarrassed but extremely grateful to Andrew as he got out of the car. Just minutes before, Cleo offered him a ride to school to get away from Azumi which Cleo quickly accepted.
Andrew also got out of his car and came around to Cleo to hand him a business card. "You can contact me anytime at my office."
"Thank you." Cleo thanked him as he took the card. He read it over briefly to see where Andrew's office was situated. His eyes widened when he read the last line. "Los Angeles?" He asked in disbelief.
Andrew nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "If you were to call, I could fly back to the Philippines immediately on my private jet."
Cleo was still in a state of shock but bowed gratefully as Andrew went back inside his car. Andrew revved up the engine which made many students yell out with admiration. "I'll be staying in the Philippines for a while so we should have a meal. It'll be on me." He said through his open window at Cleo.
Cleo, although extremely thankful, was still baffled by Andrew's kindness. Before Andrew shifted the car gears, Cleo asked him, "By the way, if it's okay to ask, why are you being so nice to me?"
Andrew gave another one of his toothy smiles (more sounds of girls squealing followed) and tilted his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose to look at Cleo. "You and I, we both have similar drives."
This answer made Cleo even more confused. "Huh?" He said, his mouth open in wonder.
Andrew laughed heartily and repositioned his sunglasses at the same time. "You're almost as naïve as Azumi. To cut to the chase, I think she likes you, Cleo."
"Wait… what?" Cleo could stand there looking like a blubbering idiot at Andrew's comments.
Andrew shook his head as he chuckled lightly at Cleo's reactions. "I'll save it for later. You'll be late for class and I must be going soon. See you soon, Cleo!" Cleo quickly thanked him again and with another rev of the engine, Andrew drove off at full speed. Many students almost ran after his car but most opted for waving goodbye at him.
"He's so extremely handsome!" A girl exclaimed to her group of friends.
"Yeah, he looks so cool!" One of her friends added.
As people went inside for class, Cleo stood there for a moment contemplating again his sheer luck while watching Andrew's car go out the gates. He was too deep in thought to notice Harold come next to him suddenly and bump him out of the way.
"Lord Andrew freakin' badass!" Harold commented to Sean and Bobby standing next to him, ignoring Cleo's yell of pain as he fell on the ground.
Cleo groaned and almost forgot the amount of bad luck he had at this school.
Three black vehicles, one limo, and two coupes, arrived in the underground parking lot of a large glass-windowed building. In the limo sat Cameron Wanton and his assistant, Ise Jane. Before the door to the limo opened on the outside for them to exit, Cameron said a few words seemingly important. Nanao hurriedly scribbled on her ledger before heading out after her boss.
A group of businessmen stood outside waiting for Cameron. Once he was out, they all said their greetings and bowed relatively low to show their respect. Cameron merely gave a curt nod of his head and walked past them to the nearest elevator with Jane and four guards following behind him. The group of businessmen shuffled after them and waited to get on the next elevator.
On the top floor, the 60th, Cameron and his entourage exited the elevator. He walked in front, expertly knowing his way around the winding corridors of the floor. One of Cameron's employees who worked in the building came across them and bowed quickly. "Mr.President, I have news." He said.
Cameron walked passed him, not caring what he had to say.
"What is it?" Jane asked instead and prodded the employee to join them walking and following Cameron.
"Andrew Adams returned to the Philippines today." The employee answered.
Cameron heard his words and stopped abruptly. Everyone behind him stopped in their tracks also. Cameron turned around toward the messenger and gave him a quick look over with his eyes. "Jane." He called and closed his eyes slowly as if in thought.
"Yes. Mr.President ." She answered.
"Fire this man and give him whatever his last week is." He commanded simply and opened his eyes. He walked away to leave Jane to do his bidding.
"Wait! Please sir, no! I need to support my family!" The employee begged and tried to run in front of Cameron. He was instantly pushed back roughly by a guard. Jane ordered him to be removed from the premises and the man was forced out kicking and yelling.
All was quiet in the corridor once again as Cameron made his path and entered a room through a large set of double doors. The room was full of businessmen and businesswomen around a large rectangular table. They all stood up in unison when Cameron entered and bowed simultaneously when he passed. He took his seat at the head of the table with two of his guards standing by either side of him. Once he set his briefcase atop the table and took his seat, all others followed suit and sat down.
He cleared his throat as he rested his elbows atop the gleaming wood and clasped his hands together.
"Now," He started, "We will begin the first meeting of the new month for Wanton Enterprises. I expect full reports from all sub-companies as well as stock market reports. Given the time we have, they should be precise and concise. Iba-san, you may start." Cameron sat back in his chair with hands still clasped together and listened with his full attention.
At the Wanton mansion, Andrew settled himself down on a comfortable sofa chair with the daily newspaper in his hands. He scanned the front page and with no surprise to him, found a picture of Cameron under a bold headline that read Wanto Enterprise's Stocks Raise 170 Points, Company Methods Cause Controversy.
As he was reading the article, he heard the door to the room open and knew Azumi was entering. "Your brother hasn't changed at all. He still does whatever he pleases." Andrew told her when she was inside.
Azumi stopped midway when she saw him lounging on her chair. She crossed her arms and looked at him with an expression of annoyance. "What are you doing here? Don't intrude here as you please, Andrew."
"Oh, my apologies." He replied with a short nod but continued reading his newspaper.
Azumi knew it was no use to force him out. He would probably succeed in forcing her out of her own home. She sighed and threw her purse on the couch then sat lazily down next to it. "So you didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?" She asked with questioning eyes.
"My wife and I had a few things to settle here," Andrew answered simply without looking up. He turned a page of his newspaper, obviously fully engrossed in an article.
At the mention of his wife, Azumi rolled her eyes and then scoffed at his answer. "What trouble have you fools gotten yourself into now?" She said quite bitterly.
Andrew finally looked up from his paper, taken aback at her comment. "You shouldn't call us fools, Azumi. We're only trying to get by with life." Azumi diverted her eyes elsewhere and Andrew knew she didn't have anything to retort. He went back to reading his paper.
After a moment of silence, she spoke up. "Why would you stick with a person you don't like?" She asked this boldly and didn't care if the question made him uncomfortable.
He didn't seem fazed by her question when he answered, with all the honesty he had within him. "I'm happy now. I've gotten very used to it."
"It didn't seem like you were happy at first. It's clear you didn't want to get married." She quickly added.
Andrew placed his paper on the side table and looked at her seriously. "Did that seem apparent?" Azumi didn't answer quickly enough and before she could say something he continued with a sly smile on his face. "You miss me, don't you? You want me to leave my wife and come back home to the Philippines."
She scrunched up her face, repulsed by his comment. "Ugh, don't say such disgusting things." Andrew could only laugh out loud from her reaction.
"How long are you staying?" She asked instantly to change the subject.
"About a week."
"Oh…" Azumi twiddled her thumbs together, trying to hide the disappointment on her features.
Andrew caught it nonetheless and went over to sit next to her. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder for comfort. "Don't worry. I'll be back soon."
She pushed his hand off her shoulder and scooted away from him. "Pfft, it doesn't matter if you come back or not." She turned her head to the side away from him and crossed her arms in a defiant stance.
Andrew laughed again. The things Azumi did were just too predictable to him. He decided to test something on her that he was dying to do all day. "So… do you like that boy?"
She didn't answer him nor look at him so he continued by adding for clarity, "The boy that you were chasing earlier today. Cleo."
At the mention of Cleo's name, she snapped back at Andrew. "Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden? Nothing's going to happen anyway."
Andrew nodded, taking into consideration the answer to his question. A grin slowly formed its way to his face when he thought of something. He poked Azumi to get her attention.
"What now?" She asked him, her patience wearing away.
"If you don't act gentle toward him, he'll leave you for sure," Andrew said. He nodded as if this was the sure way to win a man's heart.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Azumi answered coolly. She slumped on the couch and pouted slightly. "And it's none of your business."
"If you have any questions about relationships, you can always ask me., Andrew added cheerfully and gave her a little pat on the head.
Usually after a pat on the head like that, Azumi would punch Andrew for treating her like a child. But this time was an exception when she fully took in what he said. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Andrew's yell of surprise when he picked up a magazine from the coffee table in front of them.
Hey! Lookie here, it's Harvey! Ooh, I wonder when he began his overseas study." He opened the magazine and flipped through its pages to find the article on Harvey. Azumi kept her question to herself, deciding to ask him another time.