Victor cast a stern look at Helena, then gently removed her embrace.
"I've already informed my assistant that I'm busy today. Why are you still here?" he asked.
"Baby, didn't your assistant tell you that I brought snacks for you, and it wasn't your assistant Lucas who informed me, but the receptionist!!" she said with a pout, seemingly trying to look cute.
"I'm already full," he replied coldly.
"No, you should eat more. Besides, I missed you a lot. How about we go on a date today?" she suggested, wrapping her arms around him again.
"We were together earlier, and I even slept at your place, remember? Besides, I can't accompany you today," Victor responded.
"What about tomorrow?" she inquired.
"I'm still busy tomorrow," was his concise answer.
"How about dinner later? I don't think your meeting will extend until dinner," she proposed.
"No, it might take that long," he replied.
"Then let's go home together," she insisted.
"No, I already told you---," He began to say he was still not able to accompany her home, but he couldn't continue when he heard his cell phone vibrate, indicating an incoming call.
"What?" he exclaimed into the phone.
"Mr. Reymundo, where are you? Our client is on the way to the meeting room," his conversation partner, Lucas, informed him over the phone.
"Okay, I'm on my way there," he said and hung up abruptly.
"Helena, I'm sorry, but I'm really busy right now. Maybe we can catch up some other time," he said to her.
"But I already told you I'll wait for you here," she replied with a sad expression.
He sighed heavily, ignoring her words.
Then he quickly left to meet their client, leaving Helena behind with a determined look in her eyes.
While watching Victor's retreating figure, Helena pondered that what might he be doing now seemed truly significant.
'I shouldn't worry, he's just working for our future. Everything Victor has will be all mine." she thought to herself while her gaze roamed within the company.
"This will all be mine soon. So, I need to convince him to marry me as soon as possible" she mused with a smile, contemplating how she should work harder and wait for his attention after the meeting.
As she passed by the reception area...
"Hey, kindly inform everyone not to come to the guest lounge. I'll be resting there while waiting for Victor, and I don't want anyone else with me," she told the receptionist she had spoken to earlier, then quickly turned away without waiting for a response.
---------++++
Earlier, Victor had been glancing at his watch while talking to their client.
The meeting had just ended, and now they were about to sign their contract.
It had been over two hours, longer than he had expected, as their meeting had turned into more of a friendly chat.
His new business partner noticed Victor's restlessness and teased,
"Hey Victor, your watch seems to be melting from all the attention. Are you in a hurry to leave? Do you have a date today?"
"Shut up! Just hurry up and sign that," Victor replied.
"Wow, you're still as rude as ever. Don't forget I'm a big client of yours, and we're not done with signing our partnership agreement. You should treat me with respect," his partner joked, laughing at Victor's reaction.
"Yeah, that was earlier, but not now. We're done with work for today," Victor replied.
"But do you have a date with Helena?" his partner inquired.
"Shut up and just sign it," Victor said.
His conversation partner was Dave Martin, a friend of his, so the playful banter was expected.
However, Dave was also a successful business tycoon, so Victor had prepared seriously for their meeting.
Now that it was successful, he reverted to his friendly demeanor with Dave.
"I'm done, Victor," Dave said.
"Then you should head home because I have somewhere else to be," Victor told him.
He had been worried that Rina might have been waiting for him for a while now.
"What's the rush? We should have dinner first. I haven't had lunch yet. You know, you're not the only one who prepared for today," Dave suggested.
"Alright, but we need to make it quick because I'm in a hurry," Victor agreed, realizing that declining the offer would be impolite.
'Perhaps Rina can be patient for a little longer.. she has been waiting for quite some time'.
He pondered whether she might choose to have a meal during her wait.
Victor scratched his head, suddenly realizing that he hadn't even gotten Rina's phone number earlier.
"Come on, Victor, I thought you had someone to meet," Dave said, bringing him back to the present.
As they left the office, Helena was waiting to greet them, and Victor was surprised to see her, thinking she might have gone home earlier.
"Baby, you took so long!! I've been waiting for you outside your office. I got impatient waiting in the guest lounge, so I came here," she said directly to him, her arm wrapping around his.
"Ohhh, Dave, good to see you here. What are you doing here?" Helena asked when she noticed Dave with Victor.
"So, Helena is your date, and you didn't even bother to tell me it's her, fearing that I might pester you? " Dave playfully teased at Victor.
Dave had known Helena for a long time and was one of Victor's friends who thought highly of her.
They all believed she was kind and caring, not just to Victor but to all their circle of friends.
That's why most of Victor's friends liked her.
"I'm the client and business partner Victor was talking to earlier," Dave revealed.
"Oh, that's you. I'm glad to know that. So, are you joining Victor?" Helena asked.
"Yes, and we're planning to have dinner together," Dave answered.
"Oh, good. Can I come along? I'm quite hungry, especially since I've been waiting for quite a long hours now,"
Helena said, looking at Victor.
"No, we're just quick," Victor said.
He was concerned that Rina had been waiting for him for a while, and he didn't want to keep her waiting.
"What's the hurry? Don't you have a date with Helena? Maybe she can join us. After all, you'll still go out; the only difference is that I'll be part of your dinner date," Dave said with a grin.
"Oh, so you're planning to date me? You should have told me sooner," Helena said, moving closer to Victor.
"Yeah, I saw Victor checking his watch earlier. It seemed like he was worried that he was keeping you waiting. Isn't that right, Victor?" Dave teased.
Victor was taken aback by Dave's words. Dave was quite talkative, and he found himself speechless.
He couldn't argue with him, especially when he was tired from the meeting earlier.
"You're so sweet, Victor, but you should have told me right away so I could have prepared," she said with a hint of annoyance.
"No, I'm meeting someone right after the dinner" he replied to both of them.
"Oh, and who's this important person? Apart from us," Helena asked, clearly becoming suspicious.
"So, you're not meeting Helena? Do you have another woman besides Helena?" Dave teased again, seemingly unaware of the building tension around the two.
"No, I don't have another woman, it's just someone I know and she's not that important to me," Victor replied cautiously, especially after noticing Helena's intense gaze on him, a sign of deep suspicion.
It's tiring to argue about this on her now, especially since he's tired from work earlier.
"If she's not really that important. Compared to Dave and I, then it's not a big deal. Maybe we should have dinner now since I'm hungry," Helena suggested, her smiles began returning.
She was pleased with what she had heard, even though she knew she wasn't the one Victor was meeting.
Helena, Dave, and Victor walked toward a nearby restaurant, with Helena clinging to Victor's arm.
-----------
Meanwhile, Rina had been anxiously waiting at a cafe near Victor's company.
She had finished three slices of strawberry cake and a large milkshake while watching the entrance, hoping to see him soon.
She thought to herself, 'it seems like the meeting is really important, but he promised it would only take half an hour.'
Her stomach growled, and she realized she was hungry again, despite all the desserts she had consumed. She had a craving for Chinese food. Pregnancy had made her quite ravenous.
She gently touched her belly, which had been rumbling, and said, "Looks like our baby is hungry too, and Daddy Erwin hasn't even shown up yet."
As the minutes passed, Rina couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. She considered leaving but decided to wait a bit longer, hoping Erwin would still come as he had promised.
-------+++
At the Chinese restaurant,
Rina suddenly felt a chill run down her spine as she entered.
From a distance, she saw Erwin's back, the same person she had been waiting for. He was holding hands and sharing an intimate moment with Helena.
They were having a meal with another man, whom she assumed was a friend of Erwin's.
A wave of weakness washed over her as she witnessed the scene, and she couldn't believe her eyes.