Ace's POV
I didn't know that Engr. Salazar has an amazing talent for drinking.
After I urged her to have coffee, as a concerned boss to his employee, she said she'd go to the comfort room first. Then when she got back, she acted like she was not totally drunk anymore. Tipsy but not as wasted as earlier.
I could not do that!
"Are you sure you can drive home by yourself now?"
Nakatanaw lang siya sa kalakihan ng BGC dito sa balcony ni Anton. She's having coffee while I'm eating my late light dinner.
She looked at me after a while and nodded, "Yes, Sir."
"Where do you live by the way? You can leave your car here and I can drop you off," I offered because I totally couldn't imagine she would be able to drive with such level of alcohol.
"It's okay, Sir. I can assure you that we can still have that meeting tomorrow morning."
I sighed. Hindi ko alam kung paano ko siya papapaniwalain na genuine ang pag-apologize ko sa kanya kanina.
I cleared my throat, "Look, Engr. Salazar. I realized I was wrong when I told you about overseeing the Design team's job. I know you're doing your work and for that again, I'm sorry."
"It's okay now, Sir. It's actually nice to be reminded once in a while," she said and smiled a little. She went back to watching the city lights over the balcony railings.
I was drinking my coffee now when I heard her take a deep breath. I saw her closed her eyes.
Maybe it's time to call it a night?
"Do you know Sir that we still have a Senior Engineer in the CM Department that you haven't personally met because he's on leave?"
"Yeah. I reviewed the HR's files. He's in charged with the Cebu project bidding, just like you?"
She smiled slightly and nodded, "I hope he gets back as soon as possible so I can relay that the Bill of Materials should be updated. We have to canvass ourselves from the accredited suppliers that we have because the QS runners could not visit them due to pandemic protocols. We will be delayed from the expected schedule."
I grimaced unintentionally when she explained further. Hanggang dito, trabaho pa rin ang iniisip niya?
"You know what? I don't like making my employees exhaust themselves. I was promoting work-life balance when I was in Boston. It's really late to tackle about work."
She chuckled, "Sorry, Sir. Hindi ko kasi maalis sa utak ko. Kailangan ko rin puntahan first thing in the morning yung QS team to consolidate before yung meeting natin bukas."
I shook my head. "What can I do to make you forget about work kapag nagku-krus ang landas natin dito sa bar ni Anton? Honestly, we can't deny it. We will see each other very often here. Anton is a close friend, that's why I'm frequent here."
"You can call me Curt when we are here as a start, Sir."
"There you go. You can call me Ace as well. I do mind it when some people call me 'Sir' outside of work because it reminds me of being an older professor."
I saw her pursed her lips to what I said. Then she laughed.
She actually is fun to be with. I could say that from a few encounters, sa office man o dito sa bar, na genuine si Curt. What you see is what you get from her.
Anton told me earlier that she is a good person at hindi naman ako nahirapang paniwalaan yun. I shrugged the thought. Perhaps, tama rin si Tanya na maging mas considerate kasi baka naman may pinagdadaanan din siya gaya ngayon tapos naging insensitive ako.
