This Crazy Rich Boy

Claire is standing in the middle of Gabriel's office, wondering where he is. She gazes at the clock. It's weird that he's late. It was him who set their time of arrival, for a full pep talk regarding Michelle's upcoming shitstorm. But now he's not here, and she wonders why.

She hears voices outside the office. People greeting someone cheerfully. Before she could move, the door opens. It's Michelle, wearing a rather simple navy blue knit-sheath dress. Michelle smiles, and for a split-second, Claire is confused—isn't Michelle supposed to hate her? Then she quickly realizes she's not Claire Monteverde in this context, but Bella, the trusty new executive ȧssistant.

Michelle looks around the room. "Gab's not in, yet?"

"Uhh, yeah, I think so. He's supposed to be here early. I…"

"He didn't leave a message? He didn't call?"

"He did—" He did call me while I was in the Jacuzzi, is what Claire is about to say, but she catches her mouth on time. "He didn't, actually."

Michelle gazes at her. "Hmm. That's odd. We're supposed to have a longish meeting to discuss, uhh, not only boundaries—" Michelle rolls her eyes conspiratorially, thinking Claire gets her and Claire sympathizes—"and also ways for us to work together. I want my investment well taken care of, you see."

"I know, Michelle," Claire says. "That's why we're supposed to come here early today."

"Well, why didn't you discuss it yesterday, or in the previous days?"

Yeah, why didn't they sit down and talked about it, Claire realizes only now. But should she tell Michelle now that yesterday, Gabriel ran through the rain just to tell her how much she means to him? Just for shits and giggles. "I'm not sure. I only take cues from Gabriel."

Michelle sighs. "He has always been like that. Remember the last time I was here? How he threw things at me?" She rolls her eyes again, the second time in five minutes. "The temper. Can you imagine that? I wonder how you can stand him."

"Well, he has his quirks," Claire says. "They say he's eccentric like that. Once you get past that rough exterior, though, Gabriel's good. Even better than some people I know."

Michelle says nothing. She looks at Claire in a funny way. "If he's not here, and you have nothing yet to do, how about a quick coffee?"

Claire hesitates, but Michelle grabs her by the arm, as if she has known her for a long time. "Come on, just a little perk-me-up at the cafeteria. Don't worry, if he comes in, I'll make sure she won't blame you for not being at your desk."

How can you say no to an offer you cannot refuse? "Okay," Claire says, letting Michelle take the lead.

Claire feels odd. She's supposed to hate Michelle, this evil woman who's supposedly so cunning she has managed to sneak past Gabriel's defenses to become a partner in a business merger. Not to mention the cheating. But Michelle seems a very like-able person, much better than her former roommates.

There's not a lot of people in the employee dining room because of the hour. They take a table in a corner. Michelle looks around, as though trying to find a waiter. Claire wants to tell her this place is self-service, but she keeps hour mouth shut; let Michelle learn about it herself. Someone in a cook's uniform passes bay. "Hi, you," Michelle says. "Can you give us two coffees?"

The lineman gazes at Michelle as if worms crawled out of her mouth. "Ma'am?"

"Two coffees, please," Michelle repeats. "Espresso. Oh, make mine double."

The lineman stands there, uncertain, for a few embarrassing moments, until he realizes who Michelle is. "Right away, ma'am." He disappears into a door.

"I think they don't serve coffee here, Michelle," Claire whispers. "It's self-service here."

"Oh, they know me," Michelle says, rolling her eyes. "They'll get it."

Claire makes a smile of embarrassment; Michelle seems to be starting to show her true colors.

"So," Michelle beams. "Gossip!"

"I don't know any," Claire says.

Michelle leans toward her, like she's about to divulge top-secret information. "Have you heard about the new fiancée? The blow-hard socialite wannabe, that Claire Whats-her-face?"

Claire blushes; she fake-coughs. "I rarely see her, Michelle. Gabriel keeps his private life private."

"Oh, but you're his secretary! The root word for 'secretary' is 'secret', right? So what's his secret?"

Claire shrugs. "I'm sorry. I'm new to the job. But so far, Gabriel seems a wonderful boss."

"Wait till you see him losing his temper. Serve him the wrong coffee, for instance."

Claire couldn't help but giggle, recalling how she once did just that. "Yeah, I know. He threw the cup at me!"

"See? That's your boss." Michelle makes a big shrug. The coffee arrives, but Michelle doesn't even say thanks to the server. She takes a sip of the coffee and cringes. "Coffee's awful. Remind me to never have coffee here again."

"Well," Claire says, "I did warn you."

"What else do you know, Miss Bella Xavier?" Michelle flashes a sly smile, gazing at her sideways, sizing her up. "I'm sure you've seen and heard a few things."

Ever the polite girl, Claire smiles. Slowly, it dawns on her: Michelle wants to use her against Gabriel, convert her into a spy of sorts. You can't reason with someone like this person, she thinks. It's best if you just play along. "Not much," she finally says. "Except he's been tormented by the merger. Gabriel feels he's been betrayed." Emphasis on the last word.

"I wonder why that is," Michelle says, her face deadpan. Like she's the most innocent woman in the world. "Maybe some people around him are not who they seem to be. Can't blame them, though. Gabriel often acts like he owns the whole world." She laughs dryly.

"Well," Claire looks at her wristwatch. "Maybe Gabriel's already in the office and looking for me. Shall we go back?"

Michelle gazes at her for a moment before she stands up. "Let's have lunch later. My treat."

"If my boss doesn't send me to some cross-city errand, then why not? It would be my pŀėȧsurė."

"Great!"

On the way back, Michelle decides to visit her own office first, while Claire goes straight to Gabriel's office. She finds the door slightly open, but no one's there. "I wonder where he is…"

Back at her desk, she thinks of calling him up. But as she touches the phone, it rings loudly.

"Miss Monteverde? This is Lopez, Mr. Tan's butler," the voice says on the other end says, quaking as though Lopez has been running. "This is about Mr. Tan."

"Oh, God, Lopez. Where's Gabriel? Michelle's here already. We've been waiting for him."

"Something has happened, Miss Monteverde," Lopez mutters. "He, uhh…"

"What do you mean? Where's Gabriel?"

"He's in the hospital," the butler says, sounding as if he has aged by a thousand years. "He's in the intensive care unit. I found him unconscious in his room. I don't know. I called up his brother. Then I called you up. I don't know what happened."

In that instant, Claire feels as if she's been ejected out of her own body, as she watches herself say nothing, too shocked to even mouth out a response. She looks at the phone in her hand, as though wondering if this is true, if she's really right here right now, and that she's really speaking to someone who's telling her Gabriel Tan is severely ill. She could hear Lopez's tinny voice, saying, "Hello? Miss Monteverde, are you still there? Hello?" But Claire, in a trance, quietly puts back the phone on its cradle. She looks around; everyone is busy working. It's the first few hours of a full day of work. These people have no idea what just happened, where their leader is. Then without a word, she stands up and starts walking away. All she has in her head is a single idea: she's going to the hospital. She won't think of whether Gabriel is okay, if he's alive, or what-not; she'll just go to the hospital and not think of anything else. She will cross the bridge when she gets there. Just yesterday, the man she had secretly fallen in love with made a grand gesture of telling her what she means in his life. That was only yesterday. Now he's in some hospital, probably fighting for his life. What a difference a day makes. And as the elevator's doors slide open, Claire mutters a silent prayer, wishing that her worst fears wouldn't come true.