CHAPTER THREE: MEET THE KINGS

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“After your lunch meeting later, sir, the madams will be here. Miss Angel follows up about the coffee date she’s insisting. Also, Madame Jane has called three times this morning asking if you’ll be home on Sunday. This evening—”

“Cancel all my remaining appointments after my cousins. You can also leave early today.”

“Err… ahem… Of course, sir. Shall I bring the applicants’ resumés now?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Miguel watches his assistant slash secretary, Sixth, leave before sighing and sitting again on his swivel chair. The day has barely started and he’s already not in the mood for anything. Knowing that his mother already called three times in a row, and it isn’t even lunchtime yet, makes his head hurt. He hates starting his day like this. Especially that he doesn’t exactly have the best nor even the slightest civil relationship with his mom, so no one can really blame him for feeling this negative all of the sudden.

He huffs. When is he ever in a good mood? He always looks like he’s not in the mood even if he is, so maybe there’s really no difference whether his mother causes him headaches or not.

Should he take a vacation? A day off?

Damn. He wants to laugh at himself. Is he hearing himself right, just now? What’s gotten into him all of the sudden? Vacation? Day off? Seriously? Is he actually sick that he’s thinking and using those words right now at the same time?

He never wants to take any day away from his work for the years he’s been the CEO—why now?

Ah, yes. It’s their upcoming family reunion on Sunday. He couldn’t think of any other reasons why he would suddenly want to leave and just get away from work aside from that.

It would have been better if it was just like their previous reunions where his mom didn’t nag him to go nor even bother to call to ask if he’s going. It would have been the best if his auntie, his father’s sister, decides to go again but that would be the most impossible thing—his auntie has already vowed to never set foot to this country ever again.

Why does his family have to be this complicated again? He doesn’t even know himself why.

He’s still contemplating whether to really file a leave or not when his office’s door opens. It’s his secretary again with the files he asked for. Time to distract himself with those files and maybe this is a better option than filing his first-ever leave.

“Sir, here are the documents, and the HR Department is asking if you’ll be in the interview with us.”

Miguel taps his chin and looks at Sixth. “Should I take a leave?”

“S-Sir?”

He almost grins with his secretary’s surprised expression.

He almost forgets why he hires this man to be his secretary and it’s actually because he likes how young he looks. Of course, the man is at his best of abilities, but what sands him out most is that this man is older than him by eight years and still manages to look sixteen years younger than his actual age. Sixth looks only twenty years old despite being thirty-six.

Out of all the people in the world, he even expects his secretary to be the most surprised one with his news of taking a leave. Why wouldn’t he be? He’s the only person who can prove to everyone that he doesn’t have “leave” or even “day off” in his vocabulary.

“What do you think?” Finally grinning, he also chuckles. “Maybe I should just really leave and then appoint you to be the acting president.”

“Will you please stop harassing your poor assistant, Miguel?”

It’s his eldest cousin, Maria Olivia. Obviously, his other elder cousins Maria Victoria and Maria Anastasia are already here, too. He doesn’t even notice them enter.

His assistant excuses himself and his three cousins immediately occupy his office’s sofas. He sighs. He was just having fun and these three will never let him. He didn’t get to answer Sixth’s question if he’ll be in the interview or not.

Their company, The House of Kings, will not live up to its name without them four. Especially these three women who are the executive designers of the company and the main reasons why he is here. He would’ve been doing something else with his life but these three decided they don’t want anything to do with handling the management of the company hence having him as the big substitute in the position of CEO.

Maria Olivia King-Sylvania, Maria Victoria King-Hernandez, and Maria Anastasia King. They take their surname King as their last name because these three’s mom, his auntie, Maria Clarita, never marry their father. Like what he has said, his family is complicated. The three are best known as Madame Via, Madame Ria, and Madame Sia. These names are also what they prefer to be called with.

Via, despite being the oldest, is the shortest in height but has the longest of hair. She also has a noticeable mole under her right eye and is often labeled as the strictest lady King. She’s often in charge of the overall designs but prefers more on the clothes for males. Ria, being the middle one and the tallest, is the unique one who chose to have a pixie hairstyle like the actress Mandy Moore from the movie Ghost. Her main focus is in the bold couture, she designs mostly their “sensual” clothes. Of course, last but not least, Sia. She has her shoulder-length hair which is currently dyed violet. He prefers working with women’s design in general.

“What are you doing here anyway? Aren’t you supposed to meet me after lunch?” He asks.

Sia, who’s older than him by a couple of months, grins. “Because we want to meet you now? Come on, Miguel, it’s not like we can’t meet you whenever we please.”

Ria nods and even crosses her arms on her chest. She looks the youngest of all of them despite being three years older than him.

“Stop being such a meanie and just accept that we’re already here, and cancel your appointments starting now.” Via, who’s five years older than him, demanded.

When is he ever going to get used to these women’s whims? He can never win against then and even if he doesn’t want to cancel his lunch meeting with some of their investors, he already called his secretary to do so. He was about to tell him also about him catching up for the interview tomorrow if he has the time but Ria already pulled the phone away from him.

“Now, what are you women up to today?”

The three women grin and he immediately knew he’s in trouble.

- - - - - - - - - -

Sixth is standing between the Three Kings and he never felt so small like this in his entire life. With the thirty-six years of his existence and his almost seven years in this company—this is the first time he ever had this intimate moment with the four Kings. Whatever is happening right now feels so private and it feels wrong that he is here right now.

Their CEO, the billionaire “ice” king, the man they fear most—

Never in his life, has he even dared to imagine that he would see the one and only Juan Miguel King modeling the Three King’s designs like this.

“What do you think, Sixth?” Madame Sia asks.

What does he think about their boss?

He thinks he’s often mistaken to be “just” a cold boss and he believes that he isn’t. He may be more known to be ruthless and distant to his employees, but that’s really not the case. He’s just a very hands-on boss and he knows exactly what is better for the company, that’s why he’s best to be called “strict” rather than “ruthless”. He also thinks that their boss doesn’t really know to smile—but when it comes to grinning? Hell may freeze and their boss will still have the most “teasing” grin in the world.

Sixth almost says everything out loud when it occurres to him that what Madame Sia is asking about is about what he thinks right now. As in, what does he think of their boss modeling their men’s clothes and not his opinion about the guy himself?

“W-Were you a model in your past life, sir?”

The women laugh but he isn’t any bit joking when he says that. He’s a man but the fascination of how beautiful this man is something unquestionable. He isn’t even smiling but still! He still feels he shouldn’t be here but damn—almost seven years in the service and he gets to see their big boss actually posing? He never really even imagines this day would happen or even exist!

Madame Ria grins. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, Sixth, make sure you remember this.”

Remember this? This is forever engraved in Sixth’s memory.

- - - - - - - - - -

Miguel doesn’t want to do it but it is easier than listening to his cousins’ nagging for hours. Even his assistant sees him and it is better than anyone else. Damn. Once is enough and he’ll never do it again.

He pulls his necktie and unbuttons his shirt down to his chest. He hasn’t done anything productive today except feeding his cousins’ craziness and whims.

He doesn’t really hate doing it—spoiling the three like kids. Sometimes, he would really let them do whatever they like to do to him and that’s because they are like little sisters to him. Yes, given that they really are biologically older than him, he still likes to think that they are his younger sisters. Two of three already have their husbands but can still both act like a child. They really are his younger sisters.

Now, the folders in his table caught his attention.

The interview is tomorrow and he hopes they could immediately find their newest social media manager. Their former one left because she got pregnant and wanted to focus on motherhood, and it was something he wouldn’t even question. When she wanted to resign, he immediately signed it and didn’t even ask her to stay until they found someone new even if it was stated in their contract.

Motherhood. He hopes that the employee of theirs becomes a great mother. Something his own mother has failed to become.

“Sir, I’m going now.”

He doesn’t even notice that Sixth knocks with his thoughts about his mother. He simply nods and before his secretary can go— “Did mom call again this afternoon?”

Sixth smiles. “She did, sir, but I told her you weren’t available.”

He nods again and watches his secretary leave.

He sighs and distracts himself by opening the folders in front of him and scanning their applicants’ resumés. He doesn’t want to think about his mother but he can’t get her out of his mind right now. He hates the fact that he’s wasting his energy thinking about her like this.

He suddenly remembers why he wants to take a leave and that leave is still something he’s considering up until this hour. He didn’t want to go home nor even face their relatives. Maybe he should really just appoint Sixth to replace him for the time being.

Sixth is a very great employee and he’s the most efficient of them all. He’s sure he could handle the company without him. Out of the people in this company, he can only trust him with their whole company. Of course, his cousins wouldn’t want the management duties so they would agree to him if he let Sixth replace him.

Damn him and his thoughts. He’s really ready to leave everything now to his secretary. If that man actually decides to leave them, he doesn’t know what he will do.

He is on his seventh folder and is about to stop scanning when the next applicant’s name catches his attention.

Not only his attention but his whole being. He feels something tug in his heart.

“Luis Ashley Manalo…”