Juan Miguel et Céline

“Why Cinderella? Are you even a prince?”

Once again, that girl named Marga managed to steal Auguste’s concentration. Truth is, since last night Auguste can’t keep her out of his mind. He was actually thankful, because if she did not suddenly arrive he would have stayed in that dinner with his friends pretending he could eat properly when all he feels is shame and awkwardness.

Yes, he felt embarrassed with what the prince did last night. He apologized to him! Maybe to some people that is splendid, that he should be thankful that the prince apologized to him and tried to settle things between them. But to him, it was very humiliating. Like all his pride was attacked by the exuding humility of his royal highness.

Maybe he never would have felt like that if the prince decided to reconcile with him secretly, when it was just the two of them talking, or maybe with Astrid. But doing it in front of their friends last night, it felt like he was just putting up a show. Like he wants to show others he is diplomatic and sympathetic and, well, charismatic. Auguste does not want to question the authenticity of his apology, but because of the venue where he did it, he can’t avoid but suspect.

His thoughts were cut off by Robert who just entered his office.

“Sir, here is the payroll for this cut-off. For your approval.” He put the folder he was carrying on Auguste’s table.

Auguste opened the folder and read the contents. He first saw the payroll expense for the rank-and-file staff and those employees included in the operations. Then the management and officers’ pay, which includes Geoffroy’s salary as the company’s COO.

“Remove Geoffroy’s pay.” He looked at Robert.

“Sir, it’s the semi-monthly allowance of your brother,” Robert reminded him. “Since your father is already retired, he cannot share his salary to him anymore, so Sir Geoffroy is given a salary as the COO of the company.”

“I know. That’s why I asked you to remove it,” Auguste said. “From now on, Geoffroy will not receive any free money from the company or our parents. He has to earn every money he will be receiving by working here in the office.” He wrote some notes on the paper for the exclusion of Geoffroy’s salary.

“Noted on that, Sir.”

He next saw Iñigo’s salary, making him remember what happened last night. “Is Iñigo in his office now?”

“He’s out, Sir. I think he has a meeting with a client this morning. Do you need to speak with him?”

“No.” Truth is, he is just wondering why up until that point, his cousin still has not yet come to his office to bug him about what happened last night. “I just want to make sure that he’s really doing his job as the Marketing head of the company. Check if he really meets clients whenever he goes out of the office or comes in late.”

“Will do, Sir.”

He handed back the folder to Robert. “Take this back to Finance to remove Geoffroy’s salary, then give it back to me.”

Robert nodded as he took back the folder, then went out of Auguste’s office.

*************************************************************************************

Well, Iñigo really did meet a client that morning. But after the meeting, he decided to visit the house of his uncle Juan Miguel Ortega. That time the Chairman of the Ortega Group is having lunch with his wife Céline.

“Iñigo! Bonne après-midi!” Céline greeted him.

Iñigo realized she meant good afternoon. “Good afternoon, Aunt Céline.” He kissed her on the cheeks. Then he went to Juan Miguel and shook his hand. “Uncle.”

“Hi! Come join us,” Juan Miguel said.

“I won’t decline that offer, Uncle, because I know Aunt Céline prepared only the best dishes for lunch.” He sat down on Juan Miguel’s left, opposite Céline.

“I’m glad you like my cooking,” Céline said. “You should visit here more often.”

“Well, I’m quite busy, Aunty,” Iñigo said. “Actually, I just met a client not far from here, so I decided to drop by and come see you.”

“That is also what your mother tells me when I ask you from her,” Céline said. “She said you’re very busy that sometimes, you can’t be with them as well.”

Iñigo just smiled.

“You also need to take it easy, you know. Go out once in a while with your friends. Enjoy. Work is not everything, you see,” Céline continued.

“I guess I just want to imitate Uncle’s dedication to work,” Iñigo said as he glanced at Juan Miguel.

“Well, if you can find a good wife like your Auntie, then I guess being workaholic is just good,” Juan Miguel told Iñigo.

“Oh! But how can he find someone to date if he doesn’t even have the time to mingle?” Céline said to her husband. “He’s just like our Auguste.”

Iñigo looked at Céline. “But Auntie, Auguste has a Cinderella already.”

“Cinderella?” Céline asked.

“I’m sure you saw that post on Tarlac Elite. The mystery girl he met at the bar. No one knows about her, so they called her Cinderella,” Iñigo explained.

Céline and Juan Miguel exchanged glances.

“It seems like someone finally caught my cousin’s attention,” Iñigo continued.

“But he said it was just a one-time thing,” Céline said. “That he did not meet her again, not talked to her again.”

“Auntie, last night when we had a dinner with our friends, Cinderella came. And Auguste called her like they know each other very well already. In fact, he left with her. I mean, he walked out of the dinner with her, like she’s the only one he wants to be with.”

Céline was surprised at what Iñigo said. Even Juan Miguel stopped eating and just looked at his nephew, his interest obviously piqued.

“And take note, Astrid was there with his fiancé, the prince of Xeglington. But no, that did not distract Auguste as he went to that girl named ‘Marga…’ Yes, I guess that’s her name. He grabbed her hand and they left.”

Céline did not answer, but she is obviously contemplating on what she just heard. Even Juan Miguel seems like he’s pondering. Iñigo’s lips started smirking. It seems like his plans are working.

“Could it be that Auguste already found another love again?” Iñigo asked the couple.

“It’s too early to say that,” Juan Miguel said as he continued eating. “You might just be mistaken.”

“I think it’s true, Uncle. Why don’t you ask Auguste about it?”

“For sure he will not say anything. He might even get mad at us for asking,” Céline said.

“What’s there to be mad about?” Iñigo asked. “Marga seems to be a nice person. And do you know? She happens to be Fatima Velasco’s executive assistant.”

“Fatima Velasco? Le beau Timmy?” Céline asked.

“Yes, Auntie. She's her assistant and Tim said she’s a very efficient one.”

The couple looked at each other again. Iñigo smiled as his plans seemed to be working very well. For sure the Céline Brizuela-Ortega will not let her son get paired with just a Cinderella from the middle class. If she’s even in the middle class. What if she belongs to the lower class, the poorest of the poor? That would be more humiliating for her.

After eating, Iñigo left and went back to the office. The couple were left in the dining room for their after-lunch coffee and tea.

“Do you think what Iñigo said was true? Does Auguste really like that girl?” Céline asked her husband.

“You know Iñigo only wants to taunt you,” Juan Miguel said. “He thinks you would not approve of your son dating some girl from the lower class.”

“You think so?”

Juan Miguel took a sip of his coffee before answering. “We’re both aware that Iñigo has that indifference to his cousin. Actually, if only not for the respect he has for us as his elders, he might also be as cold and even callous.”

“That might not be the case,” Céline opposed.

“Hon, I was the reason why his father died. His mother might have accepted that easily, but Iñigo surely didn’t.”

Céline held her husband’s hand and gave him a consoling smile. Juan Miguel reciprocated.

“Anyway, I hope you are not thinking what Iñigo thought you do.”

“Oh, certainly not! I will be the happiest if our Auguste has fallen in love again, regardless if the woman is an executive assistant of a family friend. To me, his happiness is what matters.”

Juan Miguel nodded. “Our family is not concerned about social status anymore. That ended decades ago, when my great-great-grandfather married the daughter of their employee.”

“And I don’t care as well about social status,” Céline said. “But the character is what I want to be assured of. As long as the woman is kind and someone who will love our son not because of what he has, then I'm good with that.”

Juan Miguel nodded, signaling the end of their conversation about that topic. But it continued to linger on Céline’s mind as she thought of how she can meet this Cinderella girl named Marga.