Nephtali still held the rose Joyce had given him, the events of that night replaying in his mind. The day of the outing had arrived, and the entire group had the resort to themselves. Laughter and cheer filled the air.
"Where's Boss, Dave?" Jerry asked, pointing to a full bottle of beer. "He hasn't touched his drink. He's probably thinking about his wife again."
"He's been over there for a while now, all by himself," Gadriel said, nodding toward the man.
Dave looked over at Nephtali, who was lost in thought, and walked over, offering him a drink. Nephtali shook his head.
"I told Kaye to find Joyce and bring her here," Dave said, his voice low. "But she said Joyce wasn't at home, and they don't know where she went. What do you want me to do? Just beat me up to get all your anger out."
"Just leave me alone," Nephtali said. "I want to be by myself."
"Are you a teenager again, Neph?" Dave shot back. "Get a hold of yourself before they notice. They're already wondering what's wrong with you. They'll start thinking all sorts of things, especially if they find out you have a thing for Joyce. It'll ruin your reputation and your family's name."
"I don't care," Nephtali said. "Just don't involve Joyce."
"She'll still get involved even if she does nothing wrong," Dave said. "You know how people are. They'll find something wrong with you even if you've done nothing. Do you want Joyce to get caught up in this?"
"If they ever involve her," Nephtali said, his eyes turning to ice, "I won't hesitate to take back this town, especially if they ever say anything bad about her. Now leave me."
Dave was about to walk away but froze when he saw Joyce and Jessa approaching.
"Are you sure you want to stay here?" Dave asked Nephtali.
Nephtali stood up in frustration, ready to leave, but he stopped when he saw Joyce. Her friends happily greeted her, a wide smile on her face.
"You said you were staying here," Dave said. "Don't move until this day is over, or I'll push you into the pool."
"What did you do?" Nephtali asked, a newfound spark in his eyes.
"I found out Jessa stayed behind to wait for food," Dave said. "So I told her to bring Joyce here. I didn't want you moping over here while we're all having a good time."
"You really are my best friend," Nephtali said.
"Don't start," Dave said. "Don't give anything away. Remember what I told you."
Nephtali happily watched Joyce from a distance as she talked to her friends.
Later, the coordinators, along with some priests, were drinking. Nephtali stood among them, and Joyce and Kaye approached.
"Joyce, come over here so you can meet the other coordinators," Jerry said. "You wrote the concert flow, but you haven't met them. Sorry for taking it, by the way. I didn't know you wrote it."
"It's fine," Joyce said. "I've written other flows like that. To be honest, that was just a scratch paper, and I was going to throw it away, but I guess it fell into my book without me noticing."
"That's why it was so hard to read," Ram said. "It's a good thing Boss could read your handwriting. We couldn't understand a single word."
"That's just you," Dave said. "I could read some of it. Joyce, this is Ram Marcial. You know his family owns most of the pharmacies in the province. He's also the most talkative among us."
"Nice introduction, Dave," Ram said. "Who's the gossip who always brings us the latest news?"
"My voice isn't as loud as yours," Dave said. "This is Gadriel Lozana, who runs his family's gas stations and is building the biggest hardware store in the province. And this is Police Inspector Dranreb Vasquez, who's about to be the Chief of Police."
"And Dave Nolasco, who owns most of the department stores in the province," Jerry added.
"Who's the one who owns all the boarding houses in the city?" Dave shot back. "I'm only renting a few properties from Boss; you have more."
"We're both just renting from Boss," Jerry said.
"Joyce, you know Boss, don't you?" Dave said. "He's Nephtali Gonzaga. He's the one who paid for all of this. It's like a farewell party for him since he's leaving tomorrow."
Joyce froze, her eyes widening as she looked at Nephtali. He noticed her reaction, especially after Dave's last words. Nephtali threw a towel at Dave to shut him up.
"I'm just telling the truth," Dave said. "Why are you getting angry?"
"Why don't you finish your beer and be quiet?" Nephtali said, a hint of a smile on his face.
They all laughed at Dave, who was now being silenced by Nephtali.
"It was a pleasure to meet you all," Joyce said. "Thank you for inviting me, even though I didn't do anything for the concert."
"We couldn't have done it without the concert flow you wrote," Nephtali said. "We should be thanking you."
"It's nothing, Boss," Joyce said.
The group fell silent, their eyes on the smiling girl. They looked at each other, confused.
"Kaye," Joyce whispered. "Did I say something wrong?"
"They're the only ones who call him Boss," Kaye said.
"What's wrong with Joyce calling me Boss?" Nephtali said. "She's my friend. It's fine with me. You're all acting like children."
"Sorry," Joyce said. "It won't happen again."
"Don't listen to them," Nephtali said. "I'm telling you it's fine with me. You're the only one who can call me that besides these guys."
They all fell silent, with Jerry and Ram exchanging confused looks.
"We have to go now," Joyce said. "We'll see you later."
Nephtali watched them leave. He noticed some boys eyeing Joyce, who looked beautiful in her outfit. They were laughing and whistling when Nephtali turned to them, his gaze making them stop.
"You'd better start cleaning up your mess," Nephtali said, his voice cold. "And stop disrespecting the women here."
"We're not doing anything, Sir Nephtali," one of the boys said.
"What do you want us to do with them, Boss?" Ram said, walking up to Nephtali with Dave.
Everyone stared at them, and Joyce saw the fierce look on the men's faces.
"Make sure they clean up every piece of trash," Nephtali said. "Or I'll make them eat it."
He walked away, leaving everyone in a stunned silence.
"Did you hear what Boss said?" Dave said. "What are you waiting for?"
The boys immediately started cleaning. Joyce watched Nephtali walk away.
"I was so nervous," Kaye said. "Sir Nephtali is scary when he's angry, but he's also so kind. When we were standing there, it felt like I was being doused with cold water. We were standing in front of the most influential people in this town, with Sir Nephtali as their Boss."
"Then why do people say bad things about him?" Joyce asked. "He's not a bad person. It's not his fault he had two wives and children with them, is it?"
"That's just how people are," Kaye said. "If a girl talks to him, they'll immediately say they're in a relationship. He's a Gonzaga, a powerful man. It's only natural for people to be jealous. I can't believe he was okay with you calling him Boss."
Joyce thought about everything she'd just learned.
The girls were taking a picture by the pool when Jessa accidentally dropped Joyce's phone in the water.
"Joyce, I'm so sorry!" Jessa said.
"Get it, Jess!" Kaye said.
Joyce stared at her phone as her friends tried to dry it. Ram, who saw what happened, approached them.
"What happened?" Ram asked.
"I dropped Joyce's phone in the pool," Jessa said. "Can it still be fixed?"
A tear rolled down Joyce's cheek, but she quickly wiped it away. Ram noticed how sad she was.
"I'll see what I can do," Ram said. "I'll take care of it. Don't cry, Joyce."
Ram stared at the soaked phone, which was beyond repair. Dave and Nephtali saw him.
"Ram, no matter what you do, it won't work," Dave said. "It's already short-circuited. Whose phone is that?"
"It's Joyce's," Ram said. "Her friends accidentally dropped it in the pool, and I'm trying to fix it. She was crying earlier."
"She cried?" Nephtali asked, a worried look on his face.
"Yeah, Boss," Ram said. "It must have been important to her."
"Take the sim card and the memory card out," Nephtali said. "Throw the phone away but keep the case. Dave, come with me. Give me the car keys."
Dave was confused but followed him anyway.
"You're going to buy a new phone and give it to Joyce as if nothing happened?" Dave said. "You're a real superhero, Boss."
"I just don't like seeing her sad or crying," Nephtali said.
"This feeling of yours is getting scary," Dave said. "What if something happens to Joyce? Will you lose your mind?"
Nephtali thought about his friend's words. He bought a new phone to replace Joyce's.
"Why did you buy her a new phone?" Dave asked. "Her parents can probably buy her one. You didn't have to go through all this trouble."
"Joyce wrote the concert flow by listening to songs on her phone for hours," Nephtali said. "It was important to her."
"What about when you're gone?" Dave said. "Who will protect your princess? Don't you ever think about what will happen to her here when you're not around?"
"I wouldn't call you my friends if you didn't do this for me," Nephtali said. "I'll talk to you all about this later."
"Are you crazy?" Dave said. "You're going to trust them with your secret? What if they tell someone else? Neph, think of another way."
"Why don't you trust our friends, the ones we grew up with?" Nephtali said. "If they're really my friends, they'll support me, just like you and Mike have."
Joyce was packing her things when Ram approached her and gave her her phone, which was now in good condition.
"Don't be sad anymore," Ram said. "Boss fixed your phone."
"Boss fixed it?" Joyce asked. "Where is he?"
"He's on the phone right now," Ram said. "Don't take pictures by the pool anymore. There's a good view of the fields over there. Just take pictures there before we leave."
"Please tell Boss, thank you so much," Joyce said.
Nephtali looked at Joyce, who was smiling at her phone. Joyce was surprised to see a new number with the acronym "NG." She wondered who it was, and then she saw Nephtali. They looked at each other from a distance.
"I'll just call you when I'm in the office," Nephtali said, ending the call.
Joyce called the new number, and Nephtali's phone rang. He hesitated but answered it, as Joyce was still looking at him.
"Don't be sad anymore," Nephtali said. "Your phone is all fixed."
"Boss?" Joyce asked.
She smiled, and he smiled back at her.
"Thank you so much," Joyce said. "You always make me happy when I'm sad."
"Because you look beautiful when you smile," he said.
Joyce was stunned by his words.
"Take care, Joyce," he said. "I'm happy I met you. This is the happiest vacation I've ever had in this town. I'll never forget it."
"Are you really leaving, Boss?" Joyce asked. "Will we ever see each other again?"
Nephtali noticed how sad she sounded.
"We'll see each other again, but it'll take a while for me to come back," he said. "I heard from your friends that you're sick. You should take care of yourself. Don't get too tired."
"From what you're saying, it sounds like it'll be a long time before you come back," Joyce said. "I wanted to get to know you more, but you're leaving."
"Are you crying?" Nephtali asked.
"I'm just sad, Boss," Joyce said. "Don't worry about me. You take care, too."
Joyce hung up and looked at where Nephtali was, but he was gone. She suddenly felt him grab her hand and lead her to the back of the building, where they were hidden by tall plants.
"Why are you crying?" he asked. "I'm coming back. We'll see each other again."
"I can't help it," she said. "I've always been a crybaby."
He gently wiped her tears, and she looked at him.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.
"What they say about you isn't true," she said. "You're a good friend. You're not selfish, and you have a clean conscience. Since we met, you've always made me happy. You're like my guardian angel. I don't know why, but I feel so comfortable around you."
"I feel the same way about you, Joyce," he said. "Thank you for trusting me. Your words give me so much courage. I don't want you to get caught up in the things they say about me, which is why I brought you here. I also don't want your friends to say anything if they see us talking. Please don't tell anyone we talked."
"But what if I want to talk to you?" she asked.
"Just call me or leave me a message," he said. "Don't ever hesitate to call me. Even if I'm far away, I'll always be by your side. I'll protect you from now on. No one will ever hurt you or make you cry again."
"Why are you saying all this, Boss?" she asked.
"Because you gave my life a reason again," he said. "You brought back the happiness in my heart that I had long forgotten. You gave me hope just by smiling. Let me take care of you and protect you. I'm not asking for anything in return. It's enough for me to see you happy and safe."
Tears streamed down Joyce's face as Nephtali wrapped his arms around her.