Could Have Been Better (Crush Series #2)

Chapter 40

"Good morning," Constantine answered in a straight voice.

Three of the girls ogled at him and greeted him using their sweet voices. Saka ko lang napagtanto na ang mga babaeng ito ang nakasalubong namin kahapon nang sumakay kami ng elevator ni Constantine.

"Hi, Con," anang isa sa kanila. "How are you?" she asked. I couldn't ignore the way she looked especially because of her ash gray hair. Pwede pala ang ganitong buhok sa trabaho?

"I'm good, Draina. Thank you for asking," aniya.

"Ang tagal mong hindi pumasok, a. Mula nung nag-resign ang huling editorial assistant natin," anang isa pang babaeng kasama roon sa tatlong nagpapa-cute sa kaniya.

Hindi naman pinansin ni Constantine ang sinabi nito. Instead, he looked at me. "Open the file, please, Elaine. It's in the 'Montecarlos' folder," aniya sa akin.

Tumalima ako at hinanap sa kaniyang laptop ang folder. Binuksan ko iyon at nasa loob nito ang isang powerpoint presentation.

In my peripheral vision, I could see the three girls staring at me. Hindi ko lang malaman kung paano nila ako tinitingnan. If they really are the girls that I saw yesterday, I think I already have a hint of how they are looking at me right now.

Nagtataka lang ako kung bakit silang tatlo lang ang ganoon. Ang dalawang natirang babae ay tahimik lang na naghihintay.

"Any news about the Montecarlos project, dude?" the man asked. Hindi ko pa alam kung anong pangalan niya.

Nagkibit ng balikat si Constantine. After a few moments, one of the sides of his lips curved up.

"Oh, yes! You got it?" tanong nung babaeng nakilala kong si Draina.

"We just had our meeting yesterday. He said yes. Tito wouldn't reject me especially because he's dad's best friend," aniya na may kakaibang himig.

"That's great! So, is it our agenda for this meeting?" tanong ng lalaki.

"It is, Royce. I'll present to you my plans for the Montercarlos project," aniya sa mga ito. "But before that..." Constantine continued while walking beside me. "This is Elaine, our new editorial assistant," pakilala niya sa akin habang ang isang kamay ay nasa aking braso.

Nabigla ako roon ngunit tumayo rin naman agad ako upang magpakilala sa kanilang lahat.

All of their attention were directed to me especially Royce's. Ang tatlong babae ay nakahalukipkip. Magiging problema ko ba sila rito?

"Good morning, everyone. I'm Elaine Joy Mendoza," I introduced myself. "I genuinely look forward to working with all of you and I'm excited of the projects that we will be working together in the future," sinserong utas ko sa kanilang lahat.

Malakas ang palakpak ng ilan sa kanila habang ang tatlong babae ay mahihina at mababagal lamang na parang tinatamad sila.

Lumunok ako at kinabahan sa magiging pakitungo nila sa akin. If they are acting this way in our first meeting, how would they act when we are already working together?

Tiningnan ako ni Constantine. There was a hint of smile on his face. He nodded his head once as a sign of approval.

Isa isa naman niyang itinuro sa akin ang mga miyembro ng aming team.

"This is Royce, our art director," aniya. Lumapit si Royce sa akin at nakipagkamay.

"It's nice to meet you, Elaine. I also look forward to working with you," usad niya habang nakangisi sa akin.

I smiled shyly.

"And these are Draina, Pen, and Glaze, the designers. They work under Royce," patuloy niya sa pagpapakilala sa tatlong babaeng kanina pa ako pinadidilatan ng mga mata.