Play The King: Act Two

CHAPTER XLIV: United Front (Castiel)

She will be fine. I limped my way back to my cubicle. I left the television on so there would be some white noise in the background. Bago ako dumeretso sa aking area, huminto muna ako sa cubicle ni Tabitha na abalang nagta-type sa desktop computer niya. Nakakunot ang noo niya at halos nagsalubong ang kilay na parang may pinoproblema.

I knocked twice on the panel. "You okay?"

Her annoyed gaze flicked up to me. "Do I look okay? You asked me to do another round of audit again, but lahat na ng student orgs this time. Do you know kung gaano katrabaho at katagal 'yon? 'Di bale sana kung puwede kong i-clone ang sarili ko para mas mapabilis ang work."

"If I only know how to audit, I would have done it myself," I told her. If only I could execute the duties and responsibilities of every position in the council, I would not have asked for anyone's help. Ngunit kailangan kong humingi ng tulong lalo na sa mga bagay na wala o kaunti ang alam ko. I could not risk doing a half-baked job especially now that the stakes were this high. I would be a laughingstock if I suspended most of my officers then begged them to return because I could not do it alone.

There's some merit in admitting that we could not do things alone, but there must be no shame in it.

"Just prioritize the CSCs and scrutinize every number and every detail. For the rest, just half-ass the review—"

"No." Her fingers paused from typing. When our eyes met again briefly, she glared daggers at me. "Paano kung may makalusot? Sino ang makaka-experience ng embarrassment? Me. My neck is on the line here, Cas, not just the USC."

Whoa. I did not expect that she would take this task too seriously. Alam kong gusto niyang madali at kaunti ang kaniyang ginagawa. She would not do it unless it was absolutely necessary and it was explicitly stated in her job description. My bad. I was wrong to misjudge her.

"Thankfully, I found the template that Sab used last time," she went on. "Do you know how many students organization there are in this uni? One hundred and forty-three! I'm going to email 143. Pray na wala akong mistake dito."

I would have asked Daphne, our interim secretary to do the email. But that task was so crucial, we could not leave it in the hands of a newbie. Kahit alam kong maiinis sa akin si Tabitha kapag ibinigay ko sa kaniya ang task na 'yon, ipinagkatiwala ko pa rin sa kaniya.

"I will buy you a cup of matcha tea latte from Astra Blend Cafe every day," I said before making an about-face turn. My left hand put my cane forward. "Just let me know what you need—"

"I should have suweldo in this job!" pahabol niya.

Iniwan ko na siya at nagpatuloy na ako sa paglalakad pabalik sa cubicle ko. I walked past Daphne's area. She was busy compiling the documents of our USC scholars. It's almost time for the renewal of their scholarships. Among them was Fabienne Lucero. If she would choose to get in my way, I would not think twice of revoking our grant to her. Kaya mas mabuti kung mananahimik siya sa isang sulok at hayaan akong gawin ang dapat kong gawin.

I was just a few steps away from my desk when Reginald ran toward me and blocked my path.

"Reg," I called him as I came to a sudden halt. "Is there a problem?"

"Not a problem, but an opportunity," answered Reginald, our interim coordinator. I gave him most of the duties of a chief-of-staff. Unlike Mignonette and Daphne, I could not bestow him the interim chief-of-staff title because first of all, I could not determine yet if he could be fully trusted. If I were to officially appoint my right-hand person, I would ensure that they got my one hundred percent trust and confidence. Second, he could not be superior to any of his peers.