The Fine Print on Me and You

1

It would seem like Cleo always gets the leftovers. She's the youngest of five Martel sisters. Sabi nila, ang bunso daw madalas ang lumalaking spoiled sa pamilya, pero kabaligtaran iyon sa kanila. Ang panganay ang lumabas na spoiled dahil sa tuwing darating ang mommy nila ay si Cassandra ang unang tinatawag para pumili ng gusto nitong pasalubong, at laging huli ang turn nya. But if that had the other Martels feeling that Cassandra is the favorite child, Cleo didn't mind. Naisip nyang bata pa naman sya at hindi kailangang sa kanya ang pinakamagandang damit o gamit. What mattered was that their mom always makes sure everyone gets something.

Kahit saan sya mapunta ay handa syang magpahuli. She loved waiting for her turn. She didn't think being competent meant being competitive but having the drive, focus, determination, and discipline. She may often get the last one of fives, dozens, or hundreds but she doesn't waste what she got. And she believes that's the reason why she probably never was front and center but she led a life that's peaceful and almost drama-free.

She was nineteen when the Martels moved to the metro. Doon na nya itinuloy ang pag-aaral nya at dala nya pa rin ang ganoong disposisyon sa buhay hanggang nang magsimulang makipagsabayan sa mga graduates na katulad nya sa paghahanap ng trabaho. Where nearly everyone else around her tried their best to outshine the others to get the job, she was at the back, nowhere looking like the other applicants who are dressed for success, but had with her all that she thought was necessary like the knowledge and the skills and the can-do attitude and the documents required for onboarding. And perhaps it was just her luck or she's just really that competent that she's never experienced meeting an employer who didn't think she is the one or one of the candidates they're looking for.

But then she felt like the universe had about enough of her enjoying a drama-free life when she turned twenty-seven and she waited hours and hours just to be told that all the positions had been filled and she could no longer proceed to the next phase which was supposed to be the final interview and because the boss just hired a fresh graduate who arrived an hour ago and that they're sorry she had to wait for nothing.

Well, of course they didn't tell her that it was a fresh graduate who arrived an hour ago, but she shared a taxi ride with the fresh grad and that's how she found out why she had to wait for nothing.

The young woman asked her if she's working for the giant firm or if she just got herself a job. But clearly, she had been a little too excited to share how she got hired, she didn't bother waiting for her to enjoy her cold sandwich before answering her question. She said the boss recognized her as that Instagram model and that he had her skip all the other steps which he thought were redundant so she could advance to the final step which was the final interview. And then she went on telling her how he asked her to stay in his office a little while longer to have coffee and a slice of pie after getting her to sign the contract because anyway, he already told his secretary to have all the listings closed and he had nothing left to do.

The girl can't believe how lucky she was, having been made to realize that there was just one position left to be filled and that he just practically handed that to her. Cleo sat there feeling like she's getting indigestion, wondering if there had been a mistake and the model didn't actually get to see the boss but somebody else. But then she told her his name and well, that was the person she waited to see.

She can't believe she just made probably the biggest gamble of her life so far, leaving the company she worked for for three years to work for the Kevin Romero and that she actually had to miss dinner just to finally meet him only to have that conversation in the taxi.

It's not like she's not gonna find a job elsewhere and that she needed to get a new one a.s.a.p but hearing all of that just did something to her and she didn't know she could get so hot headed but that's what happened. She wasn't one not to let people know she'd be coming home late but instead of doing that, she found herself drinking at a bar and having yet another conversation with a total stranger, that being the bartender, and just venting her frustration.