Catch Me If You Can

Prologue

It was a beautiful sunny day. The sky was clear and blue. The birds were chirping happily above. Lysander slowly leaned back on his seat while sporting a huge grin on his face.

He had just successfully won the contract of a big project na matagal din niyang pinaghirapan. Months and months he waited for the other side to give in at ngayon ay napapayag din niya ang mga ito para makipag-deal sa kompanya nila. It was not easy because they had a lot of competitors.

He took out his wallet and put a considerably large amount of tip on the table. Walang masyadong tao sa coffee shop kung saan sila nagclose ng deal. Ilang minuto na rin ang lumipas matapos silang magpirmahan ng kontrata ng bagong ka-sosyo nila. Umalis na rin ang mga ito.

He was a coffee man. Hindi nakukompleto ang araw niya hangga't hindi siya nakakainom ng kape. But because it was a special day, bago siya umalis ay nag-order muli siya ng coffee.

He smiled widely at the cashier when he told her his order. The poor woman flushed and took longer than usual to write his order down. But he didn't mind. Nothing could make him down today. He owned the world.

Taking his order, he gave her the payment. "Keep the change," he said and winked before turning around to leave. He looked down at the tissue and wasn't surprised to see a cell phone number written in the back of it. He just shook his head and put it inside his pocket, thinking that he'd give it to one of his male employees.

Nasa may pintuan na siya nang i-angat niya ang kanyang ulo at saka niya lang napansin na may babae pa lang papalapit. The lady didn't notice him because she was also preoccupied with texting. Pero masyado nang malapit ito kaya hindi na siya nakaiwas at nagkabunggu-an sila. Natapon ang kapeng dala niya at tumilapon sa sahig, pati ang suot niyang three piece suit ay hindi nakaligtas.

"Oh, my God, I am so sorry," apologized a soft and husky voice. He thought it was the sexiest one he'd ever heard that he forgot about his drenched suit.

The woman picked up a tissue from a nearby table and was now busy wiping the coffee off his clothes. Pero nakatingin lang siya sa kamay nito. His annoyance from earlier now gone. Her hand looked so delicate and smooth. She was wearing a hat with slight brim though kaya hindi niya makita ang mukha nito. He wanted nothing else now than to see the owner of that wonderful voice.

"It's fine," he said in an attempt to halt the woman's actions. Patuloy pa rin kasi ito sa pagpupunas ng suot niya.

"No, it's not," she replied, still not looking up much to his disappointment. "Look at your tie, it's coffee-colored now. Why am I so clumsy?"

Talking to herself? Cute, he thought. "Really, miss, okay lang," sabi niya lang ulit habang pinipigilang mapangiti.

This time, the woman looked up at him and he was greeted by a pair of mesmerizing blue eyes. When he saw her face, his breath caught. Lord, she was gorgeous.

"Look, I'm just gonna pay for your coffee pati na rin sa suit mo na nabasa," she said in that enthralling voice. "And again I am so, so sorry. Really, I do not know what is wrong with me. Sometimes, I just feel like I am better off as a lamp post or something. Because if I were a lamp post, people just have themselves to blame when I accidentally bump on them."

Lysander couldn't help but be charmed. Every second with her was getting more and more interesting. First she was impossibly beautiful, the next she was hilariously funny. Ano naman kaya ang susunod?

"It's good that you're not a lamp post though," he said, smiling. "It'd be a sure waste of your exceptional beauty."

The woman blushed and laughed a little. Would there be anything she'd do that wouldn't be appealing to him? "Wow, I don't know what to say," she said. "Thank you, I guess."