Chapter 12

"Can we talk for a second, please?" Simon walked toward him, almost dragging himself in Titan's direction, while the other board members left.

When they were alone, Titan looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think this conversation is necessary," he said in a cold baritone as if he wasn't talking to a friend.

Simon gulped and flicked his head down before he pulled his face up to look at Titan. "It isn't about business. It's about you and Stephanie." He pressed and licked his chapped lips. His body was still trembling from what happened at Titan's office earlier that day. "I'm sorry about earlier," he said almost stuttering. He pulled his face down again, trying to avoid looking into Titan's eyes.

Titan felt his chest tighten when he heard Stephanie's name. But he remained silent as he began to relive the events that had taken place in his office, recalling how she had acted at the time and how his wrath had exploded and spiraled out of control.

Then, he also remembered what Helga had told him about the tragic incident ten years ago, which made his gut feel twisted, uneasy, and angry. He was adamant that he didn't do anything wrong despite his sister's strong accusations.

How could they simply point fingers at him, when they didn't even know what truly happened? Titan pondered without losing sight of Simon's worried face.

"I was wrong to point fingers at Stephanie when I should be the one thanking her for what she has done for us," Simon almost stuttered as he tried to explain his side. He sighed and placed his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry."

"You should be saying that to Stephanie and not to me."

"But still —-"

"You're talking to the wrong tree, Simon. I'm not the right person for your apology," Titan interjected.

"I know you hated the decision to have her involved in this. Yet, I forced it on you when I shouldn't have done it." His tears started to build up around his eyes.

"Whatever you say, it doesn't matter anymore," Titan replied.

"I know. There's no turning back now. Because of me, your life is in chaos," Simon paused when his eyes glued to Titan's collar. He was staring at it as he continued, "And now, you're tied up into something you shouldn't have." This time, he mustered enough courage to pull his face a bit up and look at Titan.

"Then, tell me why you're so angry when she did the mistake?" Titan sputtered and hissed. "You could have said something else than your complaints when you knew who's to blame here," he paused and gulped, "Anyway, Stephanie will continue working here under my supervision. So, you better thank me for saving your face, Simon."

Simon scoffed and let out a soft laugh. "Should I thank you for keeping Ms. Gonzales after that mistake? Because you know what, it doesn't make sense to me. This isn't the Titan Sandoval I know."

That made Titan silent again as he already asked the same question earlier. He tried and tried just to find any sense for what he did. Yet, he gave up on that. So, all he could do is stare at Simon's eyes and say nothing.

"And why did you decide to have Stephanie as your intern? I don't get that one, too." This time, Simon's eyebrows knitted, wondering what Titan's true intention was. He sighed. "You didn't like the idea of having her watching you all the time. Then, why are you doing this? Are you trying to punish her?"

"You saw what happened there, Simon. I don't think I have to explain that to you at all."

"But, I'm your best friend. Why won't you tell me something? Don't you trust me?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"If you tell everything to me right here, right now, I would know how to handle the board…" Simon pointed his index finger at the swivel chairs, as he continued, "Everyone who's been concerned about you. But, right now?" Simon paused, shook his head, and scoffed, "No, unless you tell me every shit you're doing and explain what happened that night!"

"Anyway, I've got to go," Titan said as impatience swallowed him as he started walking to exit the meeting room.

"Are you trying to run away?" Simon demanded.

Titan stopped walking and sighed and turned, facing Simon once more while his eyes landed a piercing gaze on an old friend.

Simon's chest felt constricted when he saw Titan's menacing stare. He gulped and looked away to ease himself and pressed his lips. "I'm just concerned about you. That's all." He paused and flicked his head to check the windows and see the dark skies, seemingly worried. "And I think it's going to rain hard tonight. You can't be roaming outside, Titan."

"I don't give a damn about the rain."

"Why wouldn't you care about the rain when cats don't like to hang out wet? You know, you can't just go somewhere without telling me. Not until you're free from this damn curse, Titan!"

"It doesn't matter, Simon," Titan sputtered as he turned to face him.

"Why not?" Simon replied in a louder tone.

Titan looked away as his face started to flush in anger. He scoffed and looked at Simon again, raising an eyebrow. "Because I am Titan Sandoval. I'll do whatever I want."

"Aren't we best friends, are we?" Simon answered.

Titan stepped closer to Simon. "We may have been friends for a long time, but I don't think I could trust you enough." Without waiting for Simon's reply, he walked out instead, leaving Simon alone.

As Titan left the meeting room and Simon watched him walk away from him, something in Simon's heart suddenly lit.

He had no idea what it was, but he knew it was quite unsettling. And the longer he continued to stare at Titan, as he gradually faded from view, the more this strange feeling began to engulf him.

Simon asked himself while feeling guilty and embarrassed for how he behaved earlier at the same time. His anger boiled him up that he landed a punch on the desk in the meeting room.

With his eyes closed, he suddenly rubbed his face to ease himself when he remembered how he was screaming at Stephanie and how Titan addressed it to him.

He then had a sudden gut punch and felt uneasy as his mind became overloaded with numerous queries to which he had no solutions. He felt more and more absorbed by the events as he kept recounting them.

He put his hands on the table, confused, and his eyes began to slowly get bloodshot and teary. He sighed and shook his head as he walked out of the conference room.

***

"Meeting adjourned!" Simon yelled as he got up from his seat and grabbed his phone out of his pocket. He repeatedly checked to see if Titan had left a message or if a call had been missed. He looked through the notifications, but his best friend hadn't left any.

"Hey, Simon," Mr. Altman, one of the board members, approached him, tapping Simon's arm.

Simon looked at him while trying to keep himself calm despite the reservations he may have for Titan's current situation. "Yes, Mr. Altman?"

"What's going on with Mr. Sandoval? Isn't he supposed to be here discussing with us this project with us? Lately, he seemed to be disinterested in fulfilling his promises with the governor, or is he?"

Simon shook his head in response. "No, I mean, it's his priority. That's for sure. It's just that, uh," he paused as he tried to find reasonable excuses, "he has an emergency."

"Emergency situations probably didn't arise as regularly as he does with his absences," Mr. Altman replied nonchalantly and clucked. His eyebrows furrowed as he continued staring at Simon. "Is there something going on underneath the table that we don't know about?"

Simon shook his head once more. "Nothing, it's just he has a lot going on in his personal life right now," he paused and gulped, "And I don't think it would be your business as well. Or, is it?"

Mr. Altman let out a chuckle. "Sure, just remind him that he still has a lot to do here. I just want to make sure that he's present in our meetings as much as possible. The governor wanted him to finish this Art Gallery as soon as possible. The faster, the better."

"Yes, I'll make sure Mr. Sandoval will know that."

"You have to make sure he's going to do that. Otherwise, we've got a problem. Alright, gotta go," Mr. Altman said as he turned his back, exiting the room. But, he suddenly raised his arm, pointing his index finger up, as he turned to Simon once more. "By the way, the governor wants to meet him anytime soon. So, you better make arrangements with that."

"Why?"

Mr. Altman sighed as he tucked his hand into his pocket. "Well, he simply just wants to see him and talk about his plans about the project personally, I guess. However," he paused and pressed his palm on Simon's shoulder and his eyes widened as he pulled his face up to look at Simon's eyes. "If he's not going, I think you should be the one who should be leading this and not him."

Simon winced and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

Mr. Altman nodded and smiled in response as he turned his back and exited the room.

When he was finally alone, he tried to call Titan once more just to make sure. However, there was no answer. "The number you dialed is out of reach," the voice operator said.

Simon thought that his best friend might have been in danger as he was giving up. His legs grew weaker as a result of thinking about that. On the other side, he pondered what Mr. Altman had told him moments ago.

As a friend, he didn't want Titan to experience the same thing that did when they were younger. He couldn't afford for him to go through that once more.

Simon began to go back to the first time he saw Titan change into a cat ten years prior as soon as he sat in his swivel chair. He leaned against the leather surface and pressed his index finger on his temple, reliving the old memories with his good, old friend.

Ten years ago, Titan was getting ready to take over the company under his father's supervision as they both entered young adulthood. Simon, though, was occupied assisting his family's art exhibition.

Right up until the night of the event, everything was going smoothly. The $500 million racetrack was built under the supervision of The Sandoval Group.

Titan understood that he would have to drive and compete against other racers for the purpose of representation. He considered it a dream come true to be allowed to operate a race car on a legitimate race track.

As the car pulled into the parking lot, Titan wanted to test it out. He was so eager to get behind the wheel of the car. Unfortunately, there was a lot of rain that night. In the midst of the race, he pressed on the pedal because he was so competitive, and the automobile sped up so much that he lost control and hit the post.

The young Simon jumped up from his seat in a panic, his eyes widening, and he hurried to the racetrack to see his friend sobbing. He noticed Titan unconscious as he walked up to the wrecked car.

Agitated, he went closer and tried to shake him a bit. "Titan," he whispered, hoping Titan would answer him. But there was no response. "Shit, this isn't good," he sputtered as he pulled away to grab his phone and called for an emergency.

But then, Titan's body was suddenly glowing so bright that he winced. When he dropped his arm to check on his friend, he saw Titan's clothes falling on the surface and his body was nowhere to be found.

"Fuck, Titan!" he kept screaming as he walked around the car and the venue where they were, looking for him.

Giving up, he cried and fell to his knees, facing up the dark and rainy skies. He screamed for feeling responsible for Titan's fate. The raindrops met his tears as they crawled to dampen his face. "Where the fuck are you, Titan?"

Then, something caught his attention. When he flicked his head in the car's direction, he saw the cat hopping off the seat where Titan was sitting before.

"Meow." The cat hopped off the wrecked car and walked in his direction.

That made Simon suddenly confused, but he still let out a smile as the cat got closer to him. "Hey," he paused to grab the cat and grunted as he stood up and hugged him to protect it from the rain. "Why are you here? What are you doing here? Where's your owner?" he asked in a high tone.

The cat pulled its face up and looked at Simon's eyes. "Meow."

It was then Simon realized that he was looking at the same sunset-colored eyes as Titan's. He was so shocked that he almost dropped the cat. His body was stiff and couldn't move an inch. His eyes widened, and his jaws dropped.

"Fuck! Titan? Is that you?" he sputtered, stuttering.

"Meow," the cat replied.

When he was done remembering those events, Simon was still trying to reach Titan one more time, hoping he would answer his phone call despite his reservations. "Come on, Titan, please answer it," he whispered, gritting his teeth and clucking.

Simon couldn't help but worry for Titan even if he refused to talk about what happened that night. Despite his concern, having Stephanie on board was a fantastic addition to the squad, he thought.

She was only an intern, though, and knows nothing about Titan's past other than what she could learn from the news. He couldn't rely at all on what she could accomplish for Titan because she has only been employed by The Sandoval Group for a month.

As hard as he tried to brush the thought aside, it was what his instinct was telling him. Simon was certain that something had recently occurred, and Titan would not provide any further details.

He knew in his heart that Titan needed Stephanie's assistance to uncover the solutions that would enable them to understand the situation and set his closest friend free from the curse. The question is, where and how do we begin?

Simon pressed to end the call as he removed his phone from his ear. He wanted to give up on trying to get in touch with him. Knowing Titan, he knew that no matter how much he tried to get him to spill everything, he wouldn't speak a single word. Maybe he was keeping his distance to calm his mind.

His phone rang just as he was going to put it in his pocket and start walking. He pulled out his phone once more and glanced at the screen, assuming it was Titan. But then, he received a call from Helga.

Before he answered it, he closed his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh as he pulled his face up in confidence. "Hi, Helga. What's up?" he uttered and sighed once more, flicking his head down while feeling a little bit uneasy and distraught. "Sure, we can meet tomorrow at Serendipity."

Simon stood, put his hand in his pocket, and stared off into the distance as he continued to listen to Helga on the other end of the line.