TWO

The Beggar

"I expect positive results and good statistics to be presented. Meeting dismissed," I command the committee leaders before adjourning the discussion. Everyone took their papers and cases with them before leaving the boardroom.

"Here's the material for you next meeting," Ana tells me timidly before handing out three folders. I have another meeting in three hours.

Ana has been only working for me in three days but she is so efficient.

"Oh hey, Freak. How's it going?" Jack Hyde, my best friend and the executive secretary of my company smirks at her with those familiar eyes. Oh, not again. I know that look on Jack's face. He is up to making fun of her again.

Despite Ana's silence, he continues, "How have you been since high school, huh? Did spooky ghost send you to live somewhere? Did scary ghosts stop you from going to college? Or were you finally treated in an asylum." Jack guffaws and my fist turned to a ball.

"Jack, will you please stop the unprofessionalism? My assistant here is working well and I don't appreciate you talking down to her."

He snickers, "Whoa! Chill, bro! Don't you have some fun at all? The Freak is here and I think it's pretty impressive that she even got the job."

As I look at Ana, I could tell how affected she is of these inappropriate comments. Her eyes are piercing blue, the kind when the ocean faces a cyclone. Her lips are pursed and I know that she's just trying to stop malicious words from coming out.

I turn to look at Jack and tell him in a professional manner, "Mr. Hyde, your behavior could count as a form of harassment and I could easily report you to the HR. The only thing holding me back is knowing that if I do that, your job might be at risk and who else could support your seven first-borns?"

He looked as if I slapped him in the face. Jack almost opened his mouth to say something.

"Mr. Hyde, you are my best friend but we are in my boardroom. I am your boss within the vicinities of these halls. If you ever talk down to Ana again, I'll make sure you'll be suspended."

Jack rolled his eyes and folded his arms, looking humiliated of what I just did.

Well, he should not act this way at all. In fact, I should have done this for a long time now. If only I wasn't so concerned about my popularity then I would have stood up for Ana in all those years of torturous experiences in high school. Now that I think back about it, I feel that sudden disgust to myself.

I turn to look at Ana and she gave me a shy smile.

For some reason, I found myself smiling back at her.

- A Kiss in the Wind -

"Hey, what was that for, Man? You really embarrassed me in front of The FREAK?"

We head out of the office to eat lunch at a nearby Greek restaurant to meet up some clients. Jack emphasized on the 'F' word knowing that Ana can hear it as she's walking behind us. That easily agitates me.

"I told you not to call her that."

"We are not in the boardroom anymore so I can do what I want, Boss."

He sounds so sarcastic and I roll my eyes at him.

"Listen, Jack, we're not in high school anymore, okay? I don't know about Ana's 'ghostly' experiences in high school, but what I know is that you are acting like a child. What you're doing is wrong, Jack. It's fucked up, Man."

He almost rebuts when a woman suddenly bumps into him.

"Hey!" He growls in anger.

The woman suddenly trembles and her eyes glisten as she fears for her life. My immediate reaction is sympathy. She's clearly homeless. She's full of grease and her clothes are all dirty and tattered. I see her everyday here, but I cannot make the time to pass by and talk to her.

"Jack, let's go."

"No, she has to pay for this. Don't you know how much my suit costs? How could you, a lowlife, destroy it? Now give me your money so I can take it to the laundry shop!"

Is he insane?

"I-I don't have money," the woman says with the littlest voice.

"Oh, right because you are a lowlife who burdens the society with your sob story. Okay then, kneel in front of me and give me your biggest apology. Do it or else I'll call the cops on you."

Enough is enough! I take a step to defend the woman but Ana beats me to it.

She stands in front of the woman and touches the woman around her shoulders, not caring that she's dirty.

"No, she won't kneel down to you," Ana's voice is soft but firm.

"Excuse me?"

"Who are you to have the right to ask her to kneel down?"

"I am Jack Hyde, the Executive Secretary of Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc."

"That doesn't change the fact that you are the lowlife here," I found myself smiling at Ana's words.

But that smile suddenly changes to frustration.

"Freak, get out of here. Let me deal with this."

"No, Jack. This woman has been searching for her son for many years now. Her child is missing, okay? Leave her alone!"

Then, all of us turn silent at that. Even the beggar stares at Ana incredulously.

"You know that my son is missing?"

Ana turns silent at that while Jack bursts out laughing.

"Always the Freak, huh? Always the Freak!"

"Enough! Jack, you're officially suspended until further notice. You better come up with a good excuse to the mothers of your children. Leave the woman alone or I'll terminate you. We may be outside the office, but you're still representing my company. Your actuations violate our corporate values. You're suspended. Leave now."

"Are you serious, Man?"

"LEAVE!" I yell at him and he finally takes a step back.

"Fine!" He stomps his way to his car before leaving.

When he's clear out of view and I'm sure that he won't hurt the beggar, I turn to Ana and demand her that we leave already.

"He-help me find him! Help me find him!"

We ignore her before we got inside my Lexus. She's banging on the car window and my heart constricts at that sight. I shake my head. Ana couldn't have been right. High school rumors are just rumors. Ana doesn't see ghosts.

- A Kiss in The Wind -

Ana and I didn't speak the whole time in lunch. She clearly knows I am pissed off by what she did a while ago.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Grey. But we have to go."

"Thanks for your time. Appreciate it," I reply.

We all shakes hands before they leave the restaurant. I am glad that they are fond of Ana too in a professional sense. Well, I am not really surprised since she's always been so smart in high school and add to that, she is beautiful too.

Wait, what? Whoa. I did not just think of that.

"Christian, uhm . . . why did you order six meals when there's just five of us?"

I don't answer. I gaze at her angrily and speak, "Ana, why did you do that a while ago? I am happy that you stood up for the perfect woman, but must you make up a story that will encourage Jack to berate you even more?"

Her face hardens as she answers, "I was telling the truth."

I don't believe her.

"Okay, fine. If you're telling the truth, then you must have thought about Jack's reaction. I wanted to prove him wrong about you and those ghost stories, but you have encouraged him to believe those rumors are true. The problem here is that you don't even help yourself prove that you're not the paranormal girl they say you are."

She turns to look at me coldly when she utters, "Christian, the real problem here is you're still friends with him."

That silences me.

She clears her throat and straightens her back. She gets all of the folders and leads me out of the office, reminding me of tons of virtual client meetings I have to attend to.

Ana always has ways to tie my tongue.

- A Kiss in The Wind -

We return to my office with the extra meal I bought. I had the server pack it for takeout.

The car stops in front of my office, but I don't head to the entrance. Instead, I march my way to the side of my building.

"Christian, where are you going?"

I don't answer Ana.

"Where you going, Christian?"

She stops asking when I finally find who I'm looking for. The beggar sits right next to the trash bin, taking a bite of the nearly rotten apple. Ana and I stare at each other and our eyes are mirroring the same amount of pity.

I bend down so our faces could level.

"Ma'am, I am Christian Grey. I am so sorry for what happened awhile ago. I apologize for the action of my . . . employee." After what Ana said, it doesn't feel right to declare him as my friend anymore.

The beggar is silent.

I continue speaking, "I bought you a meal today. Please take it."

She doesn't.

I don't know what to do. She's so thin and I know she's been out here for years. I just want to help her out, but she seems more depressed than she already was in our earlier encounter.

I finally ask, "Are you trying to find your son?"

The spark resurrects in her eyes and she holds on to my arm, "Help me find him, Sir. Help me please. I have been trying to find him for ten years." Tears start streaming down her cheeks while I don't know how to feel. Ana is . . . not wrong?

I glance at Ana and she looks down so sadly.

"Ma'am, I'll help you out, okay? I'll hire an investigator to find your son. But please accept this meal and take shelter in one of my corporate partners. We're associated with Hearts House, an organization that takes care of the homeless. I'll recommend you there. They'll be here soon."

"Okay. Find my son?" She utters like a child.

"Yes," I make a solemn promise.

It doesn't take long before she accepts and devours the food I brought her. I call up the organization to pick her up and she seems pretty cooperative. Although she asked for millions of times and I promised her again and again that I would find her child, it doesn't annoy me. She's a mother and the worst thing a mom can experience is to have her child missing.

She leaves with the people from my organization.

"Christian?"

I turn around to face Ana.

"You believe me now?"

"No," I answer without hesitations.

Yes, Ana is right about the beggar and her missing child, but that doesn't prove that she can see ghosts. Who knows? Maybe Ana and the woman knew each other way before she became my assistant? There are tons of reasons in the world. The answers may be a mystery but it's never paranormal.

I can see her facial expression change and her demeanor radiating disappointment.

"Ana, look, I do not believe the stories they say about you. I have never believed that you've seen ghosts. Whatever it is, it has to stop, okay? What matters now is that I find her son. She needs my help. Now, let's go. We're already late for the meeting."

We don't leave before she says, "You will believe me soon, Christian. You will."

I don't say anything.

There's no way. There are no such things as ghosts. Not even the bride in my dream. She's just a subconscious effect of this curse.

Ghosts do not exist.

Thank you for reading. I appreciate the excitement you felt during the first chapter. I love hearing about your responses to the story and it's much appreciated. Your reading my story is enough blessing.

Who else doesn't like Jack?

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