My Boss is a Freak (Published under Pop Fiction)

22: Vren

Growing up, I only feared two people – Dad and Mom. I never dared defy my parents out of my respect for them.

So when Dad told me, then a guy in his early twenties, that he'd be passing the ownership and leadership of Medialink to me, I was like, "Sure, no problem." Even though deep inside, I was terrified.

What do I know about running an entire freaking company? I just passed the CPA board exams! I'm still planning to go to law school!

When I was younger, I wasn't this miserable. I was actually a happy-go-lucky type of guy. I was always laughing, always up to the gimmicks my friends drag me into.

I was in love — madly in love.

Pero parang sinadya ni Dad na ipasa sa akin ang kompanya noong mga panahon na halos mawala na ang lahat ng ipinundar niya rito sa Medialink. Simply put, the company was spiraling down — investors were threatening to pull out their money, creditors were demanding for payment – everything was in turmoil.

Alam kong ginawa ni Dad 'yon para mapatunayan ko sa kanya na may ibubuga ako. He wanted me to prove that I wasn't just born to party with friends. He was challenging me to follow his footsteps. After all, he was frustrated with my older brother, for the latter's refusal to accept ownership of the company. Mas pinili ni Vince na sundin ang passion niya, at sa huli ay wala na rin namang nagawa si Dad. Desidido ang kuya ko na ituloy ang pagdodoktor niya.

Because I really wanted to gain Dad's approval, I did everything I could to save Medialink. I was driven. There were even periods when I'd stay overnight in the office, racking my brain for sound plans to win back the trust of our stakeholders. I wasn't going to let Dad's decades-worth of effort go down the drain.

And I succeeded.

Medialink is in glory once again, and I intend to keep it this way for as long as I can. I surely made my parents proud — especially Dad.

But my success came at a price.

When I finally learned the ways and turns of running Medialink, I realized I turned into someone I never knew before. I was no longer the happy, carefree person I once was. In between saving the company from going bankrupt and still finding time to attend law school, I lost myself.

And losing my old self wasn't the only cost of this success. I lost my circle of friends, too. They said it was too late to catch up — that I'm already a stranger to them. That's what I thought, too. It felt like I barely knew them, the first time I tried hanging out with them again. I, once the leader of the gang, became an outsider in my own group.

And that — my lack of time — was also the reason why she left me.

Before long, I started shutting everyone else out of my life.