Chapter 144 - The Deepening Mess (2/2)
Claire makes a nervous laugh, and glances at Gabriel.
”Thank you for coming, Mary,” Gabriel says, saving the day. Then addresses the crowd. ”Thank you, everybody, for this selfless gesture. I deeply appreciate it. I don't know how I can repay you.”
”Sir, Mrs. Gomez said we can take the rest of the day off,” someone at the back yelled.
”She what?”
”We can take the rest of the day off,” Mary offers as she stands nearest them. ”Mrs. Gomez said that. She said to treat this as a special holiday.”
”Oh,” Gabriel mutters. ”Okay.” He looks around at the expectant faces. The presence of so many people from his company has turned the corridor into some sort of a standing-only conference. Gabriel sees they're starting to affect the traffic of medical personnel and patients. He claps his hands. ”Alright, thank you, guys. Sure, take this as a special holiday, paid holiday. And to make it even better, when you return to work tomorrow, there will be a special buffet spread at the employee dining room. It will be like Christmas.”
The people cheer; there's a lot of excited chatter going on.
”But first things first. Please proceed to that area over there to get tested. I'd also ask not to choke up the hallways as we don't want to cause inconvenience to others. Please be mindful of the hospital's policies. And again, I appreciate your help. Thank you.”
The crowd disperse, and yet, Mary stays standing there, gazing at Claire's face.
”Miss Claire, I feel like I've known you all my life.”
Claire laughs meaningfully. ”Me, too, Mary.”
Mary gazes at her, as though she has no plans of going to the hospital lab. Gabriel, watching this all happen before his eyes and knowing the real reason why, taps Mary on the shoulder. ”Mary, let me walk you to the testing area, please.” He winks at Claire, as though saying, I got this.
Claire, meanwhile, does not forget that she needs to get in touch with the company's public relations team. She quickly walks over to one of the hospital's phone booths, realizing for the tenth time that morning that she really should start carrying her own mobile phone. She'll ask Gabriel about it. It's really uncharacteristic of her to insist not using a phone in this day and age. And besides, she has growing responsibilities; she's no longer just living for her own sake.
The phone rings only twice when the other end picks it up. ”Catherine Buenavista's office,” the cheerful voice on the other end says. ”Hello?”
”Hi,” Claire says, introducing herself. ”I need to speak with Catherine, please.”
”I'm sorry, but Catherine's going out for a meeting and—”
”Tell her this is coming directly from Gabriel Tan.”
”Oh.”
Claire hears muffled voices. ”Hello, Claire?” Catherine's voice, like all PR practitioners, is too saccharine to be genuine. ”What can I do for you today?”
”Catherine, I know you came in late. So I don't take it against you if you don't know yet what happened with Gabriel and Miguel. But I need you to come down here at the hospital. I need to brief you on an emergency press release.”
”Oh, my God!” Now, the shock in Catherine's voice is finally genuine. ”What happened with the brothers? Are they safe?”
”They're safe. But their reputation is at stake. So what time can you come here?”
Catherine pauses. ”I'll be there maybe in an hour.”
”Take out the 'maybe'. I need you here in fifteen minutes,” Claire says, finally with that don'[email protected] tone. ”And bring your entire team.”
If Catherine Buenavista is shocked by the tone of Claire's voice, she doesn't get the chance to express it, as Claire already hung up. ”Who does she think she is?” Catherine mutters. Before her, her five-person public relations team await her word. She sighs; this is, after all, Claire Monteverde, Gabriel's fiancée. They're all going to have to live with her presence in the company moving forward.
”Pack your stuff. Bring your ŀȧptops,” she says to the team. ”Something terrible must have happened with our boss. We're all going to that hospital.”
Catherine Buenavista, one of Michelle Alcantara's friends, is already out the door before her team could react.