(Jay's POV)
I never thought coming back home to Philippines as a big-shot CEO. The media in London called us the "CEO Couple." In private, we were just two goofy people in love.
Our first big move as CEOs was Project Janus. It was a massive business merger between our two companies. Since our families lived in the Philippines, we had to fly back to Manila to launch it.
The flight home on the Watson private jet was supposed to be peaceful. It was not. I was sitting at the sleek wooden table, staring at a giant folder of business charts. My brain was frying.
Keifer walked over, gently closed my laptop, and took the pen out of my hand. He replaced it with a glass of juice.
"Rest a bit, Wifey," Keifer said. He smiled and pulled me against his chest. "Manila is waiting for us. We need our star boss with full energy."
I sighed and let my head rest on his shoulder. "I am just so nervous, Hubby. Leaving for London was easy. Coming back home to face everyone as the new big boss? I feel like a kid wearing her dad's oversized shoes."
Keifer laughed, and the sound vibrated against my cheek. "You passed with the highest honors, Jay. You are more than ready. If anyone doubts you, I will just stare at them until they cry."
"You cannot scare our future investors, Keifer," I giggled.
"Watch me," he whispered, kissing the top of my head.
When the jet finally landed at the private hangar in Manila, the thick tropical heat hit us like a warm wall. But the heat was nothing compared to the loud chaos waiting for us on the tarmac.
The doors opened, and I barely had time to adjust my sunglasses before a blur of bright brown hair rushed past the security guards.
"Oh my gosh, Jay! You are finally back!"
It was Kiara. She did not care about the professional camera crews or the serious business vibe. She threw her arms around my neck, nearly knocking me off my high heels.
"Kiara! I missed you so much!" I gasped, hugging her back tightly.
Right behind her stood Keifer's mother, Serina, looking completely flawless in a white summer dress. She watched us with the soft eyes.
She came forward and hugged me. She asked," How was your flight my daughter?"
Suddenly Keifer sighed and said, " Okay so I am invisible now I guess!"
Chaos came next. Meaning of chaos? Keigan and Keiren.
Keigan gave Keifer a strong fist bump and then gave me a respectful nod. "Welcome back boss and Ate Jay. I hope Kuya wasn't clinging you whole time in the flight."
Keiren, could not keep his mouth shut. He looked at our matching black suits and smirked. "Look at the power couple. Do we have to bow when you walk by now, Kuya? Do we call Ate Jay 'The Supreme Ruler'?"
Keifer put a heavy arm around my waist, pulling me close to his side. "To you, she is still Ate Jay. But if you mess up her business files, I will make you do a hundred push-ups in the sun. Show some respect to my wifey."
Keiren rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.That evening was the grand homecoming gala in Bonifacio Global City. The room was filled with huge crystal lights, flowers, and the richest people in the country. It was supposed to be a serious, high-class corporate party.
Then, my family arrived.
Demon in Angel's body, Angelo, walked into the ballroom looking sharp in a suit, but he had a bright yellow diaper bag slung over his shoulder. I am seriously? He has lost his terrified personality after becoming dad.
Behind him, Ion, was holding his hand, looking beautiful but very tired. Balanced on Angelo's arm was their three-year-old baby girl, Amara.
"Look who it is, Amara," Ion said, pointing at me. "It is your Tita CEO."
Amara blinked her huge eyes, saw my shiny necklace, and reached out her tiny sticky hands. "Tita Jay! Up! Up!"
The reason Amara recognized me so fast was because every week she would call Me and Keifer and complaint about someone in her baby language. It looked so convincing like she was some kind of professional lawyer.
My heart melted into a puddle. I forgot all about my speech, company and everything. I forgot about the news reporters outside. I walked right over and took Amara into my arms.
Immediately, Amara grabbed my hair and smeared something sticky—probably mashed mango—right onto my shoulder pad.
Keifer walked over and leaned in close. He tapped Amara gently on her little nose, making her giggle. Then he whispered in my ear, "Don't get too distracted by the baby, Wifey. We still have to charm the old, grumpy investors tonight."
"Hush, Keifer, " I whispered back, trying to pry my hair out of Amara's fist. "Family always comes first."
Why would we forget, Horoscopic brother, Aries. He walked over next with a proud smile. Beside him was, Ella. Ella gave me a warm hug, carefully avoiding the mango stain on my shoulder.
"You looked amazing on the global news, Jay," Ella said. "The whole country is talking about you two."
"Thanks, Ella," I said. "We are trying our best."
I handed Amara back to Angelo, who was currently trying to find a lost pacifier inside his suit jacket.
From the comfortable lounge chairs near the stage, my aunt, Tita Gemma, and my Lola were watching us. Tita Gemma was loudly blowing her nose into a tissue, crying happy tears. Lola was just nodding her head with a giant smile, looking at me like I had just won the lottery.
The party was going well until the business presentation started. My dad, Jaspher Mariano, stood on the stage and raised his glass.
After at all, he was also visiting Phillipines after so many years.
"Tonight, we do not just celebrate a return," my dad announced into the microphone. "We celebrate a new era. Mariano Corporation and Watson Enterprises are joining together. I give you our new leaders, Jasper Jean Mariano and Mark Keifer Watson!"
The crowd clapped loudly. Keifer took my hand and led me toward the steps of the stage. But just as I was about to step up, my heel caught the edge of a long tablecloth.
I did not fall. Instead, I accidentally yanked the tablecloth, which caused a large bowl of fancy shrimp balls to slide right off the table.
Time seemed to slow down. The bowl flipped through the air. Keifer, being his usual self , dove forward to catch it. He caught the bowl, but three round, sauce-covered shrimp balls flew out and landed directly on the head of an old, very serious investor who was sitting in the front row.
The entire ballroom went completely silent. The old man sat there, frozen, with a piece of green onion resting on his bald head.
I gasped. My face turned as red as my red-bottom shoes. I looked at Keifer, who was still holding the empty silver bowl like a football.
I wanted to laugh out so loud seeing that investor's head! I just couldn't control. But I have to be serious. Get a grip Jay!
Keifer did not lose his cool. He stood up straight, handed the bowl to a passing waiter, walked up to the old investor, and smoothly took the shrimp off the man's head with a napkin.
"Sir," Keifer said into the room's microphone, his voice completely calm. "Our company believes in delivering results fast. We also believe in sharing our food. Please accept our deepest welcome."
For three long seconds, nobody breathed. Then, the old investor started to chuckle. He laughed so hard his stomach shook. Soon, the whole room erupted into cheers and laughter.
My dad laughed from the back of the room, shaking his head. I took a deep breath, stepped up to the microphone, and looked at Keifer.
He gave me a quick wink. You've got this, Wifey, his eyes said.
"As you can see," I started, my voice clear and loud, "Project Janus is all about making a big impact. Let talk about our financial goals."
The rest of the speech went perfectly. We signed the papers, the press took photos, and the merger was officially alive.
The next day, our families decided we all needed a break from the city. Kiara and Keigan had secretly organized a surprise trip to a luxury beach resort in Batangas to celebrate our engagement and the successful merger.
We arrived at the beach in a long line of cars. The resort was beautiful, with white sand and clear blue water. But keeping our two wild families in one place was harder than running a global business.
By noon, the beach was a comedy show.
Tita Gemma had put on a giant sun hat that was so wide she kept hitting people in the face whenever she turned around. Lola was sitting under a big umbrella, eating fresh watermelon and yelling at Keiren to put on more sunscreen.
"Keiren! You look like a ghost! Put more white cream on your nose!" Lola shouted in Tagalog.
"Lola, I already put three layers on!" Keiren complained, his face completely painted white.
Meanwhile, Angelo and Ion were chasing baby Amara, who had discovered that sand was fun to throw at people. Aries and Ella were trying to set up a beach volleyball net, but the wind kept blowing it over.
Keifer and I were sitting on beach chairs, finally relaxing. He was wearing shorts and a loose linen shirt, looking way too handsome for a beach.
"This is nice, Keifer ," I said, sipping from a coconut.
"It is perfect, Wifey," he said, holding my hand. "No reports. No meetings. Just us."
Suddenly, we heard a loud scream from the water.
We looked up. Kiara was running out of the waves, splashing wild amounts of water everywhere. Right behind her, swimming at a surprisingly fast speed, was a giant sea crab.
"It is a monster! It wants my toes!" Kiara screamed, running straight toward our chairs.
Keigan, who was trying to look cool in his sunglasses, stood up to help. "Don't worry, I will handle it!" He grabbed a plastic beach spade that belonged to baby Amara and marched toward the crab.
The crab did not care about the plastic spade. It stood up on its back legs and snapped its big claws in the air. Keigan stopped moving. He looked at the crab. The crab looked at him.
Keigan slowly turned around and walked back. "The crab wins. I am not losing a finger today."
Keifer groaned and stood up. "Move over, little brother. Let a real man handle the seafood."
So everyone, It's
Day 1 of learning to how to control a crab!
Keifer grabbed a large empty bucket. He walked toward the crab with slow, confident steps, like he was approaching a rival CEO in a boardroom. The crab snapped its claws at him. Keifer waited for the perfect second, then popped the bucket right over the crab.
He flipped the bucket over, trapping the crab inside. The family cheered.
"My hero," I laughed as Keifer walked back, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Just saving your best friend, Wifey," he said, looking very proud of himself. "Though I think the crab just wanted to talk about business."
Oh wow , he just accepts that Kiara is more my best friend and less his twin sister.
Later that evening, the sun started to set, painting the sky in deep shades of orange and purple. The resort staff had set up a long wooden table on the sand for our family dinner.
Mom Serina and Kiara were busy organizing the plates, making sure everything looked perfect. Dad and Aries were talking about basketball, while Ella helped Lola walk over to her seat.
We all sat down, and the table was covered in amazing local food—grilled fish, chicken adobo, fresh fruits, and garlic rice.
My dad stood up and raised his glass of water. "I want to say something. I am a tough man. I spent my whole life building my company. But seeing my daughter lead it, and seeing her with a partner like Keifer, makes me realize the future is safe. To Jay and Keifer."
"To Jay and Keifer!" the whole table shouted.
To be honest, I actually really don't like these type of shout outs but I think I have to be habitual of these from now on.
We all started eating, laughing, and passing the food around. Amara was sitting next to me, successfully dropping rice all over my lap, but I did not care.
Keifer leaned close to me, his shoulder brushing against mine. He looked at the noisy, messy, beautiful family surrounding us.
"We have a lot of work to do when we get back to London, you know," Keifer whispered. "The global market is waiting for the CEO couple."
"I know," I said, looking into his warm eyes. "But right now, I don't care about the market."
"Me neither," Keifer smiled. He lifted my hand and kissed the engagement ring on my finger. "I love you, Wifey."
"I love you too, Mr. Watson," I replied.
We had corporate empires to run, massive mergers to build, and families that could turn a fancy gala into a food fight. But as I looked at Keifer, I knew that no matter how crazy the world got, we would always be the ultimate team....