Office Diaries - Chapter 129

A tall man with a small handsome face, a pair of upturned light brown eyes, and pouty lips stepped out of the shiny black car and trudged into the parking lot towards the elevator which would lead to his penthouse suite on the topmost part of the luxurious high-rise building. He tugged at his tie as he walked, and as soon as he reached the sanctuary of his suit, he let out an audible sigh.

Today had been exhausting and depressing. Well, it was not about work. Work was a breeze compared to his real concern. Jena Wang.

It’s already a month since he was introduced to the beautiful secretary and a year and a month since he had audibly proposed to her in front of his parents. He had been courting, flirting with Jena for the most part of their time together but until now, she still remained adamant that she’s not prepared to be in a relationship.

Jena had told him flatly that she had a son hoping to shock the young president, and Alvin was indeed shocked.

But in a good way.

It’s most especially when he had met and befriended the little boy, Sam. Oh, it was good indeed, he thought and he had pursued her harder than before much to her chagrin. In a way, instead of him, it was her who was shocked to find herself in a situation wherein she was still wholeheartedly pursued even with the fact that she was a single mother.

Tonight, he had coerced the beautiful woman into having dinner with him. Lately, he had been catching her stealing glances at him with that thoughtful expression on her elfin face. He knew that look. Jena Wang wasn’t as immune to his charms as the latter claimed she was.

Then again why did she still reject him?

Alvin wondered as he sat on the sofa, propping his feet up on the center table as he did. What was keeping her from being in a relationship with him? He was absolutely positively sure that he’s in love with her just as he was absolutely positively sure that the other returned the favor a little bit. Aside from that, his family approved of her, so why?

He was still contemplating on it when his mobile phone sounded and he fished it from his pocket. He’s got one message, and when he opened it, all of his woes vanished as his brown eyes twinkled, his full lips spreading into a fond smile.

[Mom will make lots of sweet eggrolls tomorrow. I’ll give you some so come to school for lunch okay?]

If it was possible, his smile widened. It seemed he had to cancel his lunch meeting tomorrow to taste the eggrolls Sam had been bragging about. The boy had been telling him about Jena’s cooking for eons, and sadly, until now he hasn’t been invited over at her place for a meal.

He was still mulling over that fact when it was his home phone that rang and he sighed heavily before answering. His was a private number only his family and Jena knew and so he picked it up.

“Yes?”

“Son, how did your date go?”

“It was okay,” he answered blandly which his father understood.

“Ah, that doesn’t sound like it was successful,” another voice spoke and Alvin almost choked.

“Mom?” he asked in surprise and he heard his parents laugh.

“You’re on speaker phone son. It was your mom’s idea to call you up to ask how your date went.”

Geez, Alvin chuckled at his parents. They were really unbelievable.

“Well, it’s not a failure either,” he quipped and his mother made a sound of protest.

“Alvin So, maybe your techniques are wrong. You should have given her lots of flowers and took her to romantic places,” she scolded and her son was scandalized.

“Mom, are you teaching me how to court Jena?”

“Well, you’re not successful with your tricks right? Your mother’s just advising you son,” his father answered and Alvin rolled his eyes heavenwards.

“Mom, dad, believe me, I already did everything I could think of.”

“Then why aren’t you getting married yet? Your cousin Marian who is younger than you is already married and has a cute kid. Until when are you going to make your parents wait for grandchildren?” his mother asked and Alvin sighed again.

He’d gladly like know the answer to that question himself.

“I don’t know— and why are you comparing me to Marian? She’s a girl. It’s Little Tohru who’s not yet married, no? He never even had a girlfriend before,” he countered, totally complaining about being compared. His voice echoed all the frustrations he was feeling.

“Why are you mentioning Little Tohru? He’s two years younger than you,”his parents retorted making him feel aggrieved.

If it’s like that then why mention Marian? She and Tohru were twins. But she backed down since he knew he wouldn’t win this type of argument.

Silence hung between them before his father cleared his throat and spoke.

“Son, if Jena really doesn’t like you, will you give up?” he asked and Alvin frowned.

There was no way in hell he’d do that.

“No dad. That’s not possible. I love her and I want her to be mine,” he answered with all the conviction he had and he could almost imagine his parents nodding in approval. “Besides…” he added as he glanced at his right where the picture of Jena and Sam, smuggled from his parents’ house was. “Besides, I can’t give them up no matter what happens.”

“You love her that much?” his father inquired and Alvin cleared his throat. “Yes. But not only that mom, dad. Jena and Sam… they’re my family.”

“We understand,” his parents said but Alvin shook his head.

“No, you don’t understand,” he said as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He guessed there was no point in keeping his secret any longer. “Sam… Sam’s mine. I’m his real father. He’s mine and Jena’s son…”

There was a pin-drop silence after his declaration and Alvin waited anxiously. But for a long while nobody spoke and he suspected at one point that his parents hanged up on him.

“Mom? Dad?” he called softly.

He was all prepared to confess to them, but he realized now that it would have been better to do that in person. He was way too impulsive and he regretted it now.

What if his parents got angry? What if the shock made them sick? They were already old. Why did he have to shock them? All the possible remuneration ran through his head and he became more concerned as the silence stretched on.

“Mom? Dad?” he repeated at a more urgent tone.

If they still remained silent, he swore he’d run out and drive to their place right at this moment. Alas, after several more seconds that felt like a lifetime, a clearing of the throat could be heard on the other end. Since there was no screaming or sound of falling, he reckoned his parents were okay.

Or so he thought.

“Alvin So,” his father called his complete name seriously and it didn’t bode well.

Still, the elder Mr. So sounded calm so he thought it would be alright.

Or so he thought again.

Mrs. So was not as calm.

“Alvin So, get your buŧŧ back here at home right this instant! You have a lot of explaining to do!”

Alvin sighed. At least his mother getting mad was better than her having a heart attack.

“Yes, yes, I’ll go now,” he said and his parents quickly ended the line.

He dragged himself back to the parking lot and drove to his parents’ place which was not that far away. He lived in Xinyi which was Taipei’s equivalent to Times Square in New York, while his parents settled into a huge mansion in the area of Danshui, a suburb.

Normally, it would take him thirty-three minutes to drive there, but he arrived at his parents’ place in twenty-five minutes. It was a good thing that it was already late at night. He owed his speed to the very light traffic else he’d be forced to run on red lights. Knowing his mother, she would make it more difficult if he made her wait longer.

“You’re here,” his father commented as soon as he appeared in the house.

“Er… Hi dad, hi mom,”he greeted blandly, obviously trying to pout, but he was ignored.

“Hi your face. Sit over there and tell us everything,” his mother ordered and he laughingly obliged.

By now he was completely relaxed seeing as instead of anxiety and anger, his parents looked more excited.

“You look happy,” he commented and his parents looked at him as if he was insane.

“Are you kidding? Of course! We actually have something to tell you later too. But it’s better if you speak first. We need to get this thing all sorted out. Sammy is already seven!”

Alvin’s heart lurched as a familiar pain throbbed in his heart. Yes, his son’s already grown and he had always regretted not knowing about him earlier. If he had, he would have come back sooner.

“Spill…”