IN LOVE WITH A SOLDIER - SEASON 9 EPISODE 8

Overhead lights flickered to life, casting the corners in shadows as Lawrence entered the room. Realizing that Bill and Lily had already gone to bed, he decided to go up directly to his room. Looking around the familiar place, he noted that the layout had not changed and nothing seemed out of place. But the textbooks were no longer where he left them and that his cartoon quilt had been replaced by a solid colored one.

Shrugging off his jacket, Lawrence sat at the foot of his bed. Deep in thought, he decided to call Mike, not realizing how late in the night it already was.

“Ring.. Ring.. Ring..” The sound of the phone ringing shrilled through the quiet night. “Hello? Lawrence?” Mike drowsily answered.

“Mike? Did I wake you?” Lawrence asked, sounding alert and awake despite the hour.

“Yes, Lawrence. I’m trying to catch up some sleep, heck I was already dozing even before I arrived home. Our long flight was exhausting. Partly because unlike you, I wasn’t able to rest on the plane. I was rather busy getting to know a beautiful girl,” Mike replied.

“Drop by my house early tomorrow morning. Let’s go to the JC Group together,” Lawrence curtly replied, directly going straight to the point. Hearing Mike sound so worn out, he didn’t want to keep him up further.

“Oh! Uhm, Lawrence, why are we going to the JC Group?” Mike asked, sounding upset and surprised.

“Assuming office,” Lawrence decidedly said.

“Huh? Now? So quickly?” Startled, Mike bolted up in surprise, “Didn’t we agree to have a short holiday first before we start working there? Oh well, we came back earlier than expected anyway. But your father and the top executives of the JC group aren’t aware that we’re back, yet.

So what’s the rush? Why do we need to go there early?” Mike asked as he laid back comfortably.

“I am gonna have to take over the entertainment business sooner. Uncle Mond promised to hand over all the management rights of his entertainment business to me,” Lawrence calmly replied. He decided to be transparent with Mike with regards to all business matters.

Mike, who was starting to slowly doze off, was instantly awake upon hearing what his friend said. “You mean you’re planning to block her?”

“Maybe,” Lawrence coldly replied. He had not forgotten what happened and he had no plans of letting it go. He would never forget how Rebecca’s deception caused his sister’s accident. He deeply felt sorry for Violet and he could not just let Rebecca off the hook for that.

“Lawrence, let it go. Let her go. It wouldn’t help to keep haggling over her affairs,” Mike slowly replied. He was trying to persuade his friend. Rebecca also rubbed off him in a bad way, but they did not need to keep meddling with her matters.

Lawrence did not reply. Mike could hear him breathing over the line so he knew Lawrence heard him.

Lawrence glanced to where Mike was looking at. He saw Tim, he knew him because he had him investigated.

Silence. Mike decided to not push Lawrence and waited for what his friend had to say.

“Good night, Mike. Have a good rest and see you tomorrow morning,” Breaking the silence, Lawrence hung up the phone without waiting for a response.

Amidst the chaos of their preparations backstage, Alice was busy delegating tasks. Models were getting dressed and their make-up artists were trying to decently retouch their already made up faces. Clothes and cosmetics were all over the place. Assistants were busy doing last minute preparations.

“Put this there. Clear that area. Fix those,” Alice frantically instructed while walking.

“Okay, okay,” was all the assistant could say, also in a hurry.

“Get ready, everyone! The show is about to begin,” Alice exclaimed to everyone backstage.

Looking at everyone and everything once more, she made sure everything was in place before retreating to a quiet corner. She took out her phone and called Lawrence.

“Lawrence, are you already here? Is Mike with you? Where is he?” Out of breath, Alice asked in a rush.

“Hi, Alice. Yes, we’re already here. He’s with me. We’re about to park. Coming in soon,” Lawrence explained.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Mike heard Lawrence say Alice’s name. He snatched the phone and said, “Hi, Alice! Did you miss me?”

“You are so full of yourself. I do not miss you at all. Why would I miss you? I only missed Lawrence,” Alice jokingly replied. Mike never failed to make her smile, he hadn’t changed at all.

“Ouch! You don’t miss me? Even just a little? No one likes me, I am hurt,” Mike said, laughing.

“You know what, I don’t have time to talk right now. My show is about to begin in a few minutes. Hurry up, you two!” Alice said.

“Okay. See you in a while,” Mike hung up the phone and handed it back to Lawrence. They both quickly got off the car.

Lawrence calmly walked towards the elevator without saying anything. Mike, on the other hand, kept on fidgeting. He kept on fixing his already perfect hair. He also couldn’t stop pouring over whether he’s appropriately dressed for the occasion or not.

Alice’s show was on the eighteenth floor. Their elevator suddenly stopped at the twelfth floor.

The elevator door pinged open and Ivy Li entered, carrying several plastic bags overflowing with clothes.

Overloaded with clothes, the plastics Ivy were holding were in a total mess. She could not properly contain all that she’s carrying, hence she accidentally bumped in to Lawrence and Mike.

“Oh sorry! Sorry,” Ivy immediately apologized. She was very busy running errands, she had no time to fix herself. The rubber band she used to tie her hair up started to get very loose. She looked like a mess, she was sweaty and disheveled. She felt tired and looked drained.

Ivy did not look up at the people she shared the elevator with. She just noticed that they were both wearing suits.

“Isn’t this the VIP-exclusive elevator? Is a charlady allowed to take this elevator? Why are you here?” Mike loudly asked her. He assumed she was a charlady cause she looked like such a mess.