“Believe what you want. What makes you think I’ll do what you want? And it’s not like I can control what he does. Whatever you feel for him is none of my business. But remember this – I know Tope. He would never fall for someone with such a rotten attitude, Marga.”
Daniela ranted on and on about how the smell of Romina’s cooking was stinking and bothering her. Marga came into the room and asked her if she really had to sleep in the guest room. Daniela told her that she had to for now. Marga then suggested that they go on a vacation since she wanted to meet up with Nica and the others in New York.
“I don’t think it’ll fit in my schedule,” Daniela said. “I’m the CEO of the company and I have a lot of responsibilities. Romina is trying to ruin my name. Marga, do you want her to steal the position from me?”
Marga shook her head. “What about daddy? Maybe we can go there first and then you can follow later.”
“We can’t just leave without planning things first,” Carlos said.
“Your dad has things to work on,” Daniela added. “He’s building his career.”
Marga sat down, dejected. “Okay.”
“Even though we’ll be staying here this summer, I’ll make sure that this is your best Summer yet. I’ll give you anything you want.”
At Camila, some co-workers asked Jepoy to leave everything to them and focus on getting well. “Don’t take too long though,” cautioned another worker. “I’m worried we won’t get along with your replacement.”
“Do you know who’s replacing me?” Jepoy asked.
“He already worked here before. You might even know him. Alvin Mangubat.”
Jepoy looked shocked. “I heard his brother Hector will be working here too.”
At Hectors place, an HR rep from Camila told him over the phone to bring the essential documents for his and his brother’s employment. Alvin came in and Hector told him that they now had jobs. “Told you I had Daniela wrapped around my fingers,” Hector bragged. “She’s all bark and no bite.”
“So your business idea’s a go?”
“Yeah. Everything’s starting to fall in place now, so you gotta focus on being father of the year to your fake daughter.”
“I think she’s still mad at me for ruining her interview.”
“Am I supposed to do everything for you? Use your head. The kid thinks you’re her father so she can’t do anything if you wanna be around her.”
“What if her real father shows up?”
“That kid’s filthy rich. Do you think the girl’s real father doesn’t know what’ll happen if he reveals himself? He’ll be put in jail for räpë.”
The partner of Robert’s former investigator told Romina on phone that he would need to bribe people at the clinic to get information about Daniela. Mina told him that she would let him know once she had the money. Bonita came into Mina’s office and she told her about the situation and how she didn’t have enough money at the moment to give the investigator. “How come?” Bonita asked in disbelief.
“I can’t use mine and Robert’s money. All my assets are frozen. The money I earn from the company is my only source of income.”
“Do you want me and Jepoy to ask around for you?”
“No, it’s too much trouble.”
“It’s not. We’ll just be asking around.”
Mina smiled. “Alright. Thank you.”
The secretary then came to inform Romina that Daniela wanted to see her in her office. A moment later, Daniela engaged in a battle of words with Romina in her own office. “Is that how an employee speaks to her superior?” Danny girl asked. “Have some respect for your boss.”
“And why would I do that? You don’t even know what self respect means, Daniela.”
“I’m offering you an early retirement.” Daniela threw a file toward Mina. “This is the early retirement package I want to give you.”
Romina laughed. “Oh my gosh. I thought it was a joke. You’re the CEO now, but you seem so threatened by my presence. I’m just a mere employee, Daniela.”
“Who’s side will the board choose after all the trouble you’ve caused? You’re trying to ruin someone’s reputation without concrete evidence. How low can you get?”
“I won’t let someone like you run this reputable company. My husband worked hard to build it, and I won’t let you grind it down.”
“I am my father’s daughter, Romina. I have the right to run this company. I am related to him by blood, and not just by name. My father rescued you from the trash you call home, and how did you repay him? You k!lled him. You are completely rotten to the core.”
At the mansion, Marga ordered the maids around as they attended to her by the poolside. She asked one of the Mondragon’s maids to bring her an umbrella, saying that her skin was getting burned. The woman however told her that she was only supposed to serve Romina and Cassie.
Marga started ranting and Cassie came over and gave her a piece of her mind. “Why don’t you find something better to do?” Cassie said. “Instead of bothering people here. Or maybe that’s become your hobby nowadays.” Cassie turned to the maid. “Let’s go, nanny. You don’t have to put up with Marga.”
Cassie went job hunting with Kristoff, who told her not to give up even though they had not received any callbacks from the companies they had submitted their resumes to. “I suddenly remember mamma,” Cassie said. “If I’m having a hard time looking for a job, what about mamma? She may have a job but she’s dealing with tons of problems in the company.”
“That’s why you’re lucky to have her.”
“You’re lucky to have your father too. They both provide our needs so we have to repay them for all their sacrifices.”
“That’s more reason for us to not give up. I’m sure we’ll find jobs soon.”
Kristoff then took a selfie of themselves and Cassie spotted a restaurant/diner nearby and suggested that they submit their resumes there as well. “Who knows?” Cassie said. “We might get hired this time.”
“That’s the Cassie I know,” Kristoff teased.
“Cause someone told me to never give up. I figured I’d take his advice.”
Kristoff smiled. At the mansion, Esther asked Marga to help her with redecorating the place but Marga refused to, saying that her mother would get mad if she helped her redesign the house. Esther stared at a cufflink which Robert wore in the portrait hanging on the wall. Meanwhile, Marga browsed through her phone and saw the photo Kristoff had taken with Cassie a while ago.
“Where’s Cassie?” Marga asked Esther.
“She’s looking for a summer job so she’ll be able to save up. Why?”
In Romina’s office, Mina told her brother and Bonita about the offer Daniela had made, adding that she wouldn’t give Danny girl what she wanted. “But she won’t get off your back,” Bonita worried.
“After everything I’ve been through, I won’t let someone like Daniela bring me down. Even if she keeps harassing me, I will never stop looking for evidence regarding Robert’s dëäth. I will clear my name, and I will not go back to jail.”
Jepoy came in just then. “Romina, there’s something you need to know.”
“What?”
“Alvin will start working here again, along with his brother.”
Mina looked surprised. “Who in their right mind would wanna hire those two in their company?” Neil said.
“I hear they’ve got a backer,” Jepoy added.
“It’s Daniela,” Mina declared. “We have a strick hiring policy so I’m sure someone influential is backing them.”
“But why would Daniela let them work here? There are lots of companies out there, so why here?”
“This can’t just be a coincidence. This just proves that they really are conspiring together. I can use that to my advantage. I can investigate them more closely.”
Cassie arrived home and Marga started ranting about how she was taking everything from her, even Kristoff. She then accused her of trying to get closer to Kristoff with the pretence of looking for a job. “If that’s what you believe, then there’s nothing I can do,” Cassie said. “All I know is, I’m just doing what makes me happy.”
“And do you think Kristoff will make you happy? Stop using your getting a job as an excuse.”
“Believe what you want.”
“I warned you. I told you…”
“What makes you think I’ll do what you want? And it’s not like I can control what he does. Whatever you feel for him is none of my business. But remember this – I know Tope. He would never fall for someone with such a rotten attitude, Marga.”
Carlos bought an auto repair shop and Kulas suggested that they get rid of the old tools and get new ones. Carlos told him that he didn’t have enough money for all that. He suggested that they use what they had now and buy more later. Kulas suggested that he ask his wife for help but Carlos told him that he didn’t want to depend on her.
At the factory, Hector and Alvin were slacking off and watching as the other employees worked. Hector suggested that they go out for lunch since he was getting bored there. “We’ll use this job to help our business. If we end up in trouble, no one can touch us here, thanks to our backer.”
Romina came over. “What are you two doing?”
“Working,” Hector replied. “We don’t talk about you all the time, you know?”
“Hmm. Working, huh? It doesn’t look like you’re doing much work at all. It isn’t even break time.”
“You just got here but you’re already pissed off. Who are you to talk to us that way?”
“Your boss. From now on, I’ll be the plant manager at this factory, so you’ll report to me.”
The Mangubat brothers glanced at each other. Daniela walked by Romina’s office, glad to see that she was no longer there. Thinking Mina had taken her offer, Daniela was trying to remove Mina’s nameplate from the wall when Savannah told her not to stress herself out. Daniela then suggested that she bring her husband along so they could celebrate.
“You didn’t let me finish,” Savvi admonished.
“What?”
“I heard that Romina didn’t accept the early retirement package you offered. She just asked to be transferred.”
“What? Where is she now?”
“At the factory, but it’s only temporary. That’s where the problem started so she would try and fix it first. World War 3 erupts whenever you see each other. So should I book reservations for four people? The date with our husbands?’
“Shut up, Savannah.”
Back at the factory, the Mangubat brothers were sitting idly and laughing when Romina approached and told them that there was time for joking around as well as a time for working. “There are a lot of responsibilities we expect of you,” Mina scolded. “But here you are, joking around.”
“Why are you calling us out again?” Hector asked. “Is that the only thing you know how to do?”
“Romina…” Alvin began.
“Mrs. Romina,” Mina corrected.
“Mrs. Romina, we started working here at the same time. You may have risen the ranks, but we both started at the bottom.”
“But that doesn’t mean you deserve the positions you have now. I worked hard to be where I am now, so you both need to prove to me that you deserve the positions that were simply handed to you. Is that clear?”
“We get it,” Hector teased. “We’ll get right back to work… ma’am.”
The manager of the diner told Cassie and Kristoff that they had impressive resumes and excellent performance in school. He then said that they might find it difficult taking orders since they hadn’t been raised that way and they both went to the prestigious Maxwell school. “I’m not rich, sir,” Cassie said. “My dad is. I also wasn’t raised by my parents to rely on others for everything. I actually do house work and I can do the same here.”
“Sir, as you can see, I’ve had a job before,” Kristoff added. “And it was part time too, so you won’t have to worry about any problems with me. With either of us.”
“A lot of customers come in here,” said the manager. “I need people who can focus on their job. Kids nowadays have short attention span. I don’t think you’ll be able to focus. You might even quit early when it gets a little tough.”
As Cassie and Kristoff were leaving, a customer’s plate accidentally fell and they both hurried over and helped her. A moment after they left the diner, the manager came over and asked the woman what happened to her food. “I accidentally pushed it from the table,” the woman said. “Don’t worry. Those two children from earlier helped me out.”
The manager stared at the direction Cassie and Kristoff had gone. “Such wonderful kids,” the woman added. “They managed to help me even before the service could.”
Daniela went to the factory and started mocking Romina. Mina asked whether she was there to check up on her lackeys or ruin her employees’ day.
“I want to see you Romina,” Danny girl said. “I want to see just how far you’ve fallen.”
“To me, there’s no such thing as an insignificant job, Daniela. I’d rather work hard and earn a living than get a high ranking position I don’t deserve.”
“It doesn’t matter what you’ll say. I am still on top.”
Romina laughed. “Yet whenever you want to see me, you still have to bend down.”
Daniela grabbed a tray of sardines. “I can also do this…”
Mina snatched it and pour the sardines on her.
“Romina. Ugh!”
Mina laughed again. “I guess the sardines have decided who they’d rather swim over, huh? So swim with the fishes, Daniela.”
Danny girl glared at Mina. “You will pay for this.”
“No, Daniela. You will pay for it because you just wasted fish we could have sold. Just ask my people about the proper process. Okay, sweetheart?”
Daniela fumed as Mina walked away. “Ugh!” She turned to the employees who were staring. “What you looking at? Get back to work!”
Back at the diner, the manager came out of the restaurant and told Cassie and Kristoff that he was going to give them a chance. Cassie thanked him for employing them while Kristoff asked why he had suddenly changed his mind. “A customer told me she was assisted by two wonderful kids,” said the manager. “And they took care of the mess before the service could.”
“You mean the woman?” Cassie asked.
“I’m talking about my mom. She’s the elderly lady inside the diner.”
“Thank you sir. We’ll do our best. Sir…”
“Wacky Dumagat. But you can call me Sir Wacky. I’ll let you know when you can both start.”
“Thank you so much, Sir Wacky,” Cassie and Kristoff chorused.
“Welcome to the diner.”
After Sir Wacky left, Kristoff gave an excited Cassie a bear hug. When he pulled away, they both started acting all nervous and awkward. Hector met up with Daniela, upset that she had assigned Romina as the new head of the factory. Daniela told him that Mina had asked to be assigned there. She asked Hector to leave the factory, saying that she was sure Mina was up to something. Hector didn’t budge and Daniela told him to be careful so Mina didn’t find anything she could use against them.
Hector scoffed. “You think we’re new to this? My brother and I do our jobs well. She won’t find anything against us, so don’t worry. We won’t get in trouble.”
During dinner at the mansion, Cassie told her mother and uncle about how she and Tope had almost given up job hunting and how the manger had changed his mind and hired them at the spot. Mina told Cassie that she was proud of her for taking up responsibilities at such a young age. Cassie was excited when Neil called out for a maid to bring some ice cream so they could celebrate.
“You spoil her too much, Neil,” Mina teased as Marga watched from up the stairs. At Camila the next morning, Romina told Bonita about the clinic Daniela had done the DNA testing. She gave her a document containing the clinic’s logo. Bonita wondered out loud why Daniela had done that and who’s DNA she had tested, and Mina told her that she believed it was related to everything which had happened so far.
Alvin stood by the door to Romina’s office, listening in. “And for her to try to destroy that document,” Mina went on. “I’m sure it had very important information on it.”
A moment later, Bonita noticed that she was being followed as she made her way out of Romina’s office with some documents. She bumped into Alvin and dropped the documents. On the pretense of helping her out, Alvin saw the logo of the clinic Daniela had conducted the DNA test in one of the files. At the diner, Cassie went to take a customer’s order. She was surprised to see that it was Marga. She asked what she was doing there and Marga started bïtçhiñg. Cassie asked for her order and Marga told her to bring her a glass of water since she hadn’t decided yet. Cassie brought her some water and Marga said she didn’t want cold water.
“You didn’t specify,” Cassie pointed out.
“The customer’s always right,” Marga said. “I want lukewarm water.”
“Right away, miss.”
Cassie brought her another glass of water and Marga deliberately spilled some on her before giving her order. After a while, Cassie brought Marga her order and started walking away. “Wait,” Marga said. “You got my order wrong. I said waffles.”
“You changed your order to pancakes,” Cassie pointed out.
“No, this isn’t my order. Where is your manager? Are you sure you can do your job at all?”
“Marga, stop making a big deal out of this. You know very well that you got exactly what you ordered.”
Marga bitçhëd some more. “Where is your manager?”
“Marga, stop it.”
“You won’t tell me? Fine. Then you can have my pancakes then.” Marga threw the pancakes onto Cassie.
Kristoff came over. “Cassie, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Cassie replied. “You should ask if she is though. She feels happy whenever she hurts other people.”
“Marga, tell me,” Kristoff began. “Did you come here to dine or to pick on Cassie?”
“Of course. I just came here to eat,” Marga claimed.
“That’s not what I’m seeing. You better leave now or else I’ll call security.”
“Fine.” Marga dumped some money on Cassie and walked out.
Alvin met up with Hector and told him about the file he had seen with Bonita earlier, worried that Romina might start suspecting him and test Cassie’s DNA. Hector blamed him, saying that they were getting suspicious of him because he didn’t even make it look like he was Cassie’s father and neither did he visit her. “What will we do now?” Alvin asked.
“Just focus on Cassie,” Hector replied. “Get closer to her until she stops being suspicious of you or we might not get our hands on her cash. Do your job and act like the father of the year.”
Daniela asked Savannah whether there was any update concerning the factory. Savvi told her to chill, saying that nothing new had happened and neither was Romina plotting anything. Daniela was worried that she might get dragged into the Mangubat brothers and Romina’s issues. “Romina is sharp,” Danny girl said. “I knew I shouldn’t have hired those two. I’ll be dragged down with them if she digs up dirt on them.”
“What are you so worried about?” Savvi asked. “If Romina finds out that you were the mastermind behind what happened to her, Alvin wouldn’t be able to prove it.”
Marga had set up the dining table for herself and her parents when Carlos arrived home and told her that her mother would be coming home late, adding that he had brought her favorite food. Cassie sat at the other side of the table and Carlos invited her to join them. Cassie told him that she was okay because her uncle was preparing their meal. Marga bitçhëd and then asked her father to go and see a movie with her the next day. Carlos told her that he was busy with some things. Neil brought Cassie her food and apologized for making her wait. “So how was your first day at work?”
“It went pretty well. It’s just a little bit tricky dealing with all kinds of customers.”
Neil made a face. “I know what you mean. Some of them act so entitled.”
“Excuse me, are you talking about me?” Marga asked.
“Says who?” Neil taunted. “My niece and I are just chatting, Marga.”
“I’m sure she just made up a story about me again.”
“Marga, what do you mean?” Carlos asked.
“I went to her diner, and she was all rude to me. She even messed up my order.”
“You were the one causing trouble while I was doing my job,” Cassie pointed out.
At the factory, Hector was scolding the workers to do their jobs properly when Romina came in and scolded him as well to talk to his subordinates in a proper manner. “Are you serious?” Hector asked. “They’re part of my team, that’s why I’m able to order them around.”
“Order them around? Like some sort of tyrant? People don’t work hard here to make your life easier.”
“That’s harsh, ma’am. Here we go again. You always single me out. You humiliate me infront of my team.”
“I’m just correcting your mistakes. That will help both you and other people.”
“There are lots of workers here. Why is your attention always focused on me?”
“It’s not just on you. I’m watching your brother too. Where is he? Is he slacking off again while everyone else is busy working?”
“Alvin’s not feeling well. When I tried waking him up, he said he was sick. I think he’s overworked.”
“Then he needs to submit a medical report to HR so we can be sure he’s not faking it.”
Hector had a phone call after Mina left. “Why are you calling me? I’m at work.”
“This is about work too,” said the guy who stood at the gate of the factory. “Come out. I’ll show you the items we’re going to smuggle.”
Alvin went to the mansion and Esther started bombarding him with questions, asking what he was doing there and how he had gotten in. “I told the guard that I’m Cassie’s father,” Alvin said. “So he let me in. Is she home?”
“She went out. What do you need from her?”
“I just wanna visit my daughter.”
“Does Romina know about this? You should ask her permission first.”
“But she’s my daughter too,” Alvin argued.
“Even so. She isn’t home right now so you can just leave.”
Alvin glanced at Robert’s portrait on the wall. “I bet if I was as rich as Mr. Robert, you would treat me a little better.”
“Please don’t try and compare yourself to him. You two are very different.”
Alvin stared at Robert’s portrait and noticed a cufflink he wore. It was similar to the one he had found at the cabin years ago.
“Is there a problem?” Esther asked.
“Those things on Mr. Robert’s shirt. Where’d he get them?”
“The cufflinks? Why?”
“Nothing, they just look cool.”
“They were a gift from Mrs. Camila and Daniela.”
“Where did they buy them?”
“Those particular designs are unique. They were customarily made for Mr. Robert by his then wife. Why do you seem so interested?” Without answering, Alvin stared dumbly at the cufflink in Robert’s portrait, flashing back to the identical one that had been in his possession before. He looked on in shock, finally realizing what it meant.
