Romancing A Banking Magnate (Published!)

Chapter 1

Xavier drank his bottle of beer in one gulp. Madilim ang bukas ng kanyang pagmumukha. He was agitated. Nag-away sila ng nobya kanina at hindi maganda ang kinahinatnan niyon.

Napapikit siya. Frustrated. Napapangiwi siya kapag naaalala ang naging reaksiyon ni Janine at ang ginawa nitong pagwawala kanina. He knew he had disappointed the woman, but it wasn't intentional. Ewan nga ba niya pero nitong nakaraang mga araw ay nagkakaproblema siya.

His eyebrows cocked in frustration. Damn! He didn't want to entertain the idea, but as days passed by, he couldn’t help but notice that he was starting to have a problem - a big, BIG problem in particular.

“Hey, bro, what's up?”

Napapitlag siya at nilingon ang katabi. One of his best buddies, Nikolas, was looking at him thoroughly. Pero hindi niya ito sinagot. Instead, he took another bottle of beer, and drank it again like a thirsty buffalo, consuming the bottle of beer in one, long shot.

“Looks like you have one hell of a problem there, bro,” seryosong komento ni Nikolas. “You are not in your usual self tonight. Nag-away ba kayo ni Janine?”

Marahan siyang tumango. Isa sa mga gusto niya sa kaibigan ay ang kaalaman na madali nitong nababasa ang laman ng kanyang isipan. But he hated it some other times. “That bitch just dropped a bomb on me hours ago as if World War III is coming.”

“Why?”

He swallowed hard. The monosyllabic question of Nikolas drilled inside him like a hammer, taunting his already bruised, male ego. Napabuntong-hininga na lamang siya. “Ano kasi…” Shit! Nahihiya siyang magsabi ng problema niya sa matalik na kaibigan! Alam niyang pagtatawanan lamang siya nito. Kahit siya nga ay gusto niyang pagtawanan ang sarili sa nagiging takbo ng mga pangyayari nang nakaraang mga araw.

“Anong ano kasi?” his friend goaded.

“Nevermind!” kaagad na iwas niya.

“Baka naman puwede kitang tulungan sa problema mong ‘yan, Xavier? You’re one of my best buddies, along with Kiehl, Tristan and Benjamin. The five of us are like brothers already. We will always be here for each other during difficult times, right? And I won’t hesitate helping you to the best of my abilities, you know.”

Tinapik niya sa balikat ang kaibigan. “Thanks, bro. Pero nakakahiya kasi ang dahilan nang pag-aaway namin ni Janine. It’s so petty,” he chuckled. Kapag naiisip niya ang naging dahilan ng away nila ni Janine, napapailing na lamang siya.

“You won’t be affected like this if it’s not a big deal, Xavier. I know you,” seryosong wika ni Nikolas.

Muli siyang napabuntong-hininga. Pagkatapos nilang mag-away ni Janine kanina sa condo unit niya at galit na umalis ang babae, tinawagan niya si Nikolas at nagyayang mag-clubbing sila. He was so frustrated, and he needed a diversion.

Hindi na niya inabala pa ang iba pa nilang mga kaibigan. As far as he knew, Kiehl got his own affairs, and so were Benjamin and Tristan. Si Tristan ay bago lamang nag-asawa at busy ito kay Naya. Altesia also occupied most of Kiehl’s time. He knew that Nikolas was the only one among his peers whom he can grab for a drinking session tonight, so he called him instead. He really had the urge to drink, to find an escape for a moment so that he could stop worrying about his dreaded problem.

“I hate to think about it as a big problem, Nikolas,” he whispered carelessly, and toyed with the bottle of beer. It really shouldn't be a problem in the first place.”

“Now you got me there, Pare. Come on, spill it out,” panggagagad nito. “I know you, Xavier, when you act like you don’t care, it means that it’s bothering you a lot.”