Becca sighed deeply again. Her problematic son was here—again.
She gave him another nasty look and raised her eyebrow yet again.
"What?" he asked.
"What are you doing here?" She continued what she was doing, clearly busy with work.
"Mom, I'm your son. Is it so wrong to visit?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Oh really? You're here to visit me? Or maybe you're just hunting for your next female victim."
He frowned. "What? I'm a good son now. I don't do that anymore," he insisted.
"Is that so?" she asked, eyeing him sharply.
"Yep," he said proudly.
When will he ever admit it? she thought to herself.
"Someone saw you last week doing something stupid at school."
He looked up from his phone, frowning. "What do you mean?"
"Frank, seriously, you're never going to admit anything, are you? Someone saw you having an affair with one of my teachers. You just don't stop, do you?" She pointed accusingly.
"An affair? I'm not—"
"Really? Arianne? That name rings a bell?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Who's Arianne?" he asked with a sly grin.
"Don't try to fool me, Frank. At school, really? What if the students saw that? A teacher doing that kind of thing? You—I swear I'll have you banned from this school."
He laughed. "Chill, Mom. I knew you'd find out. Who snitched?"
"Miss Ronda." She sighed. "Miss Celestial told her. She didn't bring it up herself since she clearly doesn't give a damn about you." she added bluntly.
"You better straighten up. Please. Or some random girl is going to chase you down claiming she's pregnant with your kid, you idiot."
"Mom, I always play it safe. I'm not out here spreading our bloodline around. Trust me, no girl would even bother chasing me if she got pregnant. I'm wise, Mom." He grinned.
"Get out of here. You're driving me insane. One more scandal with your name on it and I'm sending you abroad," she threatened.
"Okay, okay. I understand. Don't be so mad," he said, chuckling at the absurdity.
She could only sigh at her son.
I'm going to die because of this boy. He really takes after his father, she thought.
When will he ever get tired of playing around? she asked herself again.
"Bye, Mom," he said, waving.
"Get out."
"So cold."
He gave her a hug and kissed her forehead. "Love you."
"Go on, get out. Love you too," she said, shaking her head.
"My mom can't stay mad at me." He waved and shut her office door.
*******
Frank's phone vibrated, and he immediately read the message.
"Don't bother picking me up. I still have things to do here at school. Bye." Mariely had texted.
What's going on at school today? he wondered.
He replied:
"I'm still picking you up. You won't have a ride otherwise. And don't you dare accept a ride from Miss Ronda."
He was about to put his phone away when it vibrated again.
"Why do you even care? Are you my boyfriend?" He read.
He grinned.
Boyfriend, huh? Yeah, I've been your boyfriend since high school, Mariely, he thought.
Since she didn't seem to remember that, he replied:
"It depends on you—if you're willing to have a relationship."
Then added:
"See you tonight. Bye. I have work to do. Looking forward to kissing you again."
He grinned again at his own message. She didn't reply.
She's probably blushing now, he chuckled.
He soon arrived at the company. Clover was busy on the phone, so he just gave him a pat.
He went straight to his desk and slumped into his chair—dizzy at the sight of all the paperwork waiting. He still had urgent documents to sign, and he'd probably get scolded again for slacking off.
Ugh. He shook his head and put on his reading glasses.
While he was working, a woman suddenly entered the office. He looked up and stared at her.
"Miss, who are you looking for?" he asked.
"Uh, S-Sir Frank, the chairman asked me to deliver these—" she was rushing and tripped, falling and sending the papers flying. He was caught off guard—should he laugh or be concerned?
Oof. That fall must've hurt, he thought.
"Hey, are you okay?" Clover asked, helping the woman who had fallen in front of him.
"S-Sorry, Sir Clover," she muttered, quickly gathering the scattered papers. Clover handed her the most important document.
Frank read it, sighed, and signed it quickly.
"Here," he said, handing it to her. She seemed to be an assistant from another department.
"T-Thank you, sir."
"Clarisse, are you really okay?" Clover asked.
Frank watched the two, choosing not to comment. He was starting to notice something going on between his cousin and the woman. He shook his head.
The woman quickly left after talking to Clarisse.
"Is that your new collection?" Frank asked.
"She's pretty, isn't she? Fresh. I'm the first to make her happy." Clover smirked.
Frank just shook his head. "Be careful. You might get her pregnant."
"You're just jealous." Clover grinned. "What, you've got a fling too? At your mom's school?"
"Just work, Clover." Frank said, shaking his head again.
A fling? Yeah, I've got one. But she used to be my girlfriend, he thought.
Nothing special happened for a while. He waited for a text—but she never replied. Then he remembered she mentioned she'd be home late, so he stayed late at work too.
At six in the evening, he left the office and headed for the school. He looked around—it was quiet—so he asked the guard at the post.
"Sir, are there still teachers inside?"
The guard thought for a moment. "Ah, yeah. I think she's the only one who hasn't left yet."
He nodded. "Has the principal gone home?"
"Just a while ago, sir."
Frank frowned. "Thank you, sir."
The guard nodded. Frank went into the school. It was already getting dark. One classroom still had the lights on. He peeked in and saw Mariely busy inside.
She looked serious.
"Why aren't you home yet?" he asked.
She jumped in surprise, holding her phone. She turned to him, frowning.
"I should be asking you that. What are you doing here?"
"Obviously, I came to pick you up," he said. "Are you going to be much longer?"
She looked around. "I'm almost done. I just have a few more things to finish."
"What's happening tomorrow?"
"Ah, the kids' recognition day. And there's also a parent meeting," she replied.
He nodded. She went back to her table, grabbed something, and began cutting papers.
"Why not finish that at home?"
"It's better to do it here. I might not finish if I bring it home—besides, I'm almost done," she said. "You can go ahead." She tried to dismiss him.
He sighed.
"Let me help you," he said, walking over to assist her.