Chapter 13: Chapter 13

I heard Xander's voice behind me. I hadn't realized Xander was already back. My head turned to him.

His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Mr. Ventura and then back at me. "Charity?" he asked me, his eyes now full of concern.

I cleared my throat. "Sir… I…"

"Your secretary tried to seduce me, Mr. Villarama. After you left, she touched my hand and offered herself to me."

What the fuck? I turned to Xander, ready to tell him the truth. But then Xander was already in front of Mr. Ventura. My lips parted when he grabbed the asshole's tie and looked at him with a dark expression on his handsome face.

Xander… he looked mad.

"Do you think I'll believe you?" he said in a dangerously low voice. "Too bad for you, Mr. Ventura, because I know Charity well."

I could hear my heart inside my chest. Xander… he defended me in front of this old man.

"Now, I want you to apologize to my secretary," Xander demanded as he let go of Mr. Ventura's tie.

The old man chuckled nervously as he fixed his crumpled tie. "I didn't say anything wrong to your secretary. You two should be the ones to apologize to me. This is harassment, Villarama."

Xander just ignored Mr. Ventura. Instead, he turned to me. "What did he do to you, Charity?"

I glanced at Mister Ventura whose face already turned pale, before my eyes drifted to Xander. "He insulted me and touched my hand," I said in a small voice.

I saw Xander's eyes slanted with anger. Before he could do or say anything to the old man in front of us, I held him in the arm. "Sir… just let him go." I looked him in the eye. "I think… we should just leave." Shit. I realized that Xander just ruined this meeting because of me.

"But Charity. This old man needs to learn—"

"Please, Sir," I said in a soft voice. "Let's just get out of here."

Xander looked at me and studied my face. Then he sighed before turning to Mister Ventura. "Be thankful my secretary's kind enough to let it pass. But what happened today will reach your President, Mister Ventura." After that, Xander grabbed my hand. "Let's go, Charity."

He was holding my hand tightly as he led me to the exit of the restaurant. His hand was big, his fingers long. I felt something warm travel my skin.

"I'm so sorry, Charity." Xander said as we reached his car.

"I shouldn't have left you alone with that old man." His expression was now soft as he looked at me. His face was apologetic. Shit. Those brown eyes of his were doing something to my system.

"It's okay, Sir. It's not your fault. Even if you didn't come sooner, I can defend myself from him." I smiled at him.

He scanned my face. The way he cared right now was making me fall harder for him. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I nodded at him. "Yes, Sir. Thank you." I pursed my lips. "Uh…you can now let go of my hand."

"Oh." He muttered, as if he just realized that he was still holding my hand until now. "Sorry." He let go of my hand.

"It's okay, Sir." If only I could tell him that I wouldn't mind even if he held my hand for a whole day.

"Where do you want to eat?" he asked as we entered his car. "We didn't get to eat a proper lunch," he answered. He started the engine. "I'm sorry again for what happened, Charity. I shouldn't have brought you to this meeting. If I had only known that it wasn't Mister Yamaguchi I'd be dealing with…" He shook his head.

"It's okay, Sir. This was not the first time this happened to me. I know how to deal with those kinds of men."

From the road, he drifted his eyes to me. "So, where do you want to eat?"

"You decide, Sir."

"It's you I'm asking."

I looked around the area and spotted my favorite fast-food chain.

"If you're going to ask me, Sir. I just wanted to spend my lunch there." I pointed at the direction of the fast-food restaurant. "But I know you don't eat there, so…"

"Wait, who says I don't eat fast food?"

My brows furrowed as I turned to him. His lips pursed as if amused with my speculation.

"I like pinoy style spaghetti at Jollibee, Charity. I'm also a fan of chickenjoy."

"Really, Sir?" I muttered, still flabbergasted with the new information about him.

"Of course," he replied with a smile. "I used to eat there during college."

Oh. I didn't know that about him.

"How about you? You eat at Jollibee?"

I cleared my throat. "Yes, Sir. That's my favorite place to go when I was in college."

"You said you were eighteen when you migrated to Greece, right? So you were in your second year, then?"

"Yeah…" And you were already senior. I bit my lower lip to stop myself. He didn't know that we attended the same college. Well… he couldn't even recognize me.

My eyes followed him as he went to the counter. He insisted to order for us and instructed me to sit already. He was really a gentleman.

Now, he was standing in a queue while the people around him were giving him the looks.

He looked very out of place in this fast food restaurant. Everything in him screamed elegance and power.

Shit. Maybe it was a wrong idea that I asked him to eat here? I looked around and noticed that most of the women stopped eating just to look at him. I couldn't blame them, though. Xander in his three piece suit was really a sight to behold.

"Xander…" My lips parted when he came back with two trays of food. "This is too much for us." It seemed like he ordered the entire menu for us. There was a bucket of chicken and a pan of spaghetti.

He just shrugged at me. "We can just bring them back to the office." He handed me an empty plate.

"Thank you, Sir." My eyes went to the huge amount of food in front of us, then back to Xander who was already devouring his fried chicken. I couldn't believe I was eating Jolibbe with Xander. This was another dream come true for me.

"So… what else do you miss in the Philippines aside from the food?" Xander opened the conversation while we were eating. He elegantly picked up a fry and dipped it on the gravy before bringing it to his mouth.

Even with the way he ate his food, he was elegant. I suddenly became conscious of myself. I was used to eating with business professionals but not in front of the one who I've had a crush on for seven years.

"Well… everything except the hot weather."

He chuckled. I watched how his Adam's apple moved as he sipped on his soft drinks.

"But I'm sure you also miss your family in Greece."

I bit the inside of my cheeks as my eyes landed on the bucket of fries in front of me. Xander ordered a bucket of fries for me. Did he remember that it was my favorite?

No, Charity. He really just ordered a lot.

"Yeah… I missed them." I looked at him and gave him a smile. "But I'm happy here." I was happy to get close to you like this. I was happy that the things I once imagined to do with you were now finally coming true.

"How about your special someone there?"

I almost choke on my food with his question. "Special someone?"

He pursed his lips. "Well… I didn't mean to pry but I heard you on the phone earlier. You were talking to your boyfriend, weren't you? Is he the reason you go against your father? Because you're in love with someone else?"

What? I tried to stop myself from laughing by biting my lips. But still, a small chuckle escaped me.

"Sorry, Sir." I said, pursing my lips.

"What? Am I wrong?" He arched his brows and shit, he was just so cute with that expression.

I cleared my throat. "That person I was talking to earlier, he's just my cousin Luke," I lied. Of course, I can't tell him it was my father. "We were really just pretty close."

"Oh… so you don't have a boyfriend?"

I shook my head. Shit. I didn't know the back of my neck reddened with his question. Tsk. He's just curious, Charity. As if he'd be interested in me.

"If I had a boyfriend in Greece, I wouldn't go back to the Philippines."

"Well… good thing you don't have a boyfriend…"

My heart almost leaped with what I heard. But then his next words put my heart back to its place.

"Cause now you're my secretary."

Xander smiled as he took a bite of his burger. I watched as his jaw moved while chewing the food in his mouth. He looked sexy and elegant even when just eating. Was that possible?

Now, I'd bet I wouldn't be able to eat fried chicken and burger the same way again. I would always remember this time that I ate with Xander.

"Charity?"

I almost swallowed. "S-sir?"

"You're not eating your food."

Shit, Charity. Stop watching him like an idiot.

I cleared my throat and started eating my spaghetti. "Can I ask a question, Sir?"

"What is it?"

"The other day, I saw your billboard on EDSA…" I said, remembering how I almost dropped my jaw that time. "I'm just wondering if you also into modeling."

"Oh," he muttered, reaching for his drinks and sipping from it. I noticed how his ears reddened. My eyes widened a little. Was he blushing in front of me? Shit. He looked adorable.

"I… don't do modeling, Charity," he said, followed by a small laugh and a shake of his head. "It just so happened that I was friends with the designer of the MOP suit… he asked me to model his suit because I lost a bet with him."

He winced as he picked up another piece of fry. "Damn, I told Francis to already put down that billboard."

I pursed my lips as I watched him. I couldn't believe I'd see the day that Xander would blush in front of me.

"But there's nothing wrong with that billboard, Sir." I said, getting a forkful of pasta on my plate.

"Really? Austin laughed at me when he saw that."

"Huh? But you looked dashing there." I muttered unconsciously. I noticed Xander stared at my face. Shit. Did I really say that aloud? That I found him dashing?

"Sir?" I could feel my heart inside my chest.

Xander blinked. "You have something on your face."

"Oh." My heart slowly calmed down. I thought it was because of the last thing I said. I grabbed a tissue and wiped my cheek.

"No, not on your cheek." Before I could react, I already felt his thumb on my chin. His thumb brushed the skin of my chin and I felt my heart start to do cartwheels inside my chest.

"Thank you." I thanked all the Gods that despite the chaos happening inside me, I managed to find my voice.

He didn't answer.  He continued to stare at my face. Just as when my heart started to ring in my ears, Xander cleared his throat. Then he smiled.

"You're welcome, Charity."