Fridays With You

Chapter 15

Deanna ---

Nasa basement parking na ako.

I am 25 minutes early to my interview so makakapagrefresh pa ng kaunti. I spray some perfume and fixed my hair before I took my folder and went out of my car.

I fixed my tops muna and checked my reflection on my car window. Afterwards, I approached the lift.

Relax Deanna. You can do this.

"Anong floor po ma'am?" Tanong ng operator.

Shit. Anong floor ba?

"Uhm. Manong di ko po sure e. Pero sa Megawide po." Sagot ko.

Badtrip. Wala naman kasi sa email. Di ko din naman napansin sa website kanina.

The door was about to close nung may narinig kaming sumigaw ni Manong.

"Wait!" I placed my hand in between the doors to avoid it from closing.

"Thanks! Sorry Sorry. Manong, 8th floor po." Pagpapasensya na babae at hingal na hingal pa.

"No worries." Nginitian ko naman to.

The lift stopped at 8th floor and the girl went out first.

"Ma'am, dito na rin po kayo." Nabigla ako kay Manong. Nagpasalamat na lang ako dito at saka dumiretso na ako sa receptionist.

"Hello, Good afternoon. I am Deanna Wong from Gonzales and Gonzales Engineering Services. I have a scheduled interview with Mr. Apacible." Bati ko sa kanya.

"Okay ma'am, may I please ask for your ID na lang po then pa-scan na lang po ako ng fingerprint for logs." Inabot ko ang Driver's License ko and scanned my fingerprint.

"Thank you ma'am. Kindly relax po muna kayo sa couch, tawag lang po ako kay Sir Derek." The receptionist instructed me.

As I approach the couch, I look over the office and it was such a nice place. The infrastructure, the furnitures all over. Sophistication at it's finest! Well, it is Megawide nga naman.

The offices all over are divided by glass walls. Iilan lang ang mapapansin mong may pintuan. Openness and transparency. Okay...

Napansin ko yung babae na nakasabay ko sa lift na may kausap na lalaki. I think it's Mr. Apacible. Oh, yes. Siya nga yun.

After a few moments, lumabas na din yung babae at umupo sa couch sa tabi ko.

"Hi." Pagsasalita nito.

"You talking to me?" Tanong ko.

"Yes. You. Hello. Thanks ulit kanina ha. Naiihi na kasi ako kaya minadali kong umakyat. Hehe." Kwento nito. Haha. So may utang na loob to sa akin?

"Oh. I see. Umabot ka ba? Hahaha." Pagbibiro ko dito.

"Yeah. Buti na lang! Hahaha. By the way, I'm Arki." she offered her hand.

"Hi. I'm Deanna. You work here?" I graced the hand shake.

"No. I just went here for a surprise dun sa Head ng Engineering department. Ikaw, do you work here?" Masayang pagkkwento nito sa akin.

"Ah, no. I'm from a different company. Just here for an interview. Hopefully maconsider. Hehe. You said Head of the Engineering Dept? I didn't see her dun sa website ng company e. But I think she's awesome! Look those trophies oh. Her name's on them." Turo ko sa mga trophies and awards na naka-display.

"Oh, yeah! She's just really brilliant. You wanna see her? I have a picture!!" She pulled her phone and opened it.

She started to scroll on her gallery and..

.

.

.

"Excuse me, Ma'am Deanna? You can proceed na po to Mr. Apacible's office. Please approach this hallway, turn left po then yung first office nandoon po siya. Thank You." I stood up and followed her instructions.

Sayang di ko nakita yung pictures.

"Good luck! See ya." pahabol naman sa kin ni Arki and I just waved at her.

I knocked on the glass to get Mr. Apacible's attention. He's doing some paper works. As soon as he noticed me, He stood up and smiled.

"Come in. Hi Good afternoon. I'm Derek. Deanna, right?" Bati nito.

"Yes Sir. Good afternoon. Pleased to meet you." Pagbati ko dito.

"Have a seat, Architect. Oh, by the way. Quit addressing me "Sir". Masyadong formal. Haha. Derek would be fine." Okay, he's trying to light the conversation up. Tumango na lang ako.

"You have such an impressive folio, I must say. For a 25-year old, you've achieved so much." Panimula nito.

Straight forward. Maybe that "Quit the Sir" was already the rapport. Phew!

"Oh yeah. But I think more than the tangible infrastructures I have designed in the last 4 years, it's still the experience that I value the most." Sagot ko dito.

"Well said, Architect. I want to hear more about that statement." He said.

"There are fundamentals that we follow in Architecture. From the plan, the architectural designs, renders etcetera. But I think what makes an Architect exceptional is he is able to draw different inspirations in every plate. And for me, I draw stories in every infrastructure I design. Not to mention the people I work with in my previous projects, I've learned a lot from them. So yeah.." pagku-kwento ko dito. I can see him really interested with what I am saying.

"Good. Very Good, Ms. Wong. Uhm. Good inspiration from your father.." Wait. Hold on there.

"To be honest, I don't want to be associated with Mr. Dean Anthony Wong when it comes to work. I mean, I want to create my own trademark. I want my own legacy and I am really working hard for it." Pagtatapos ko dito.

Tumayo siya sa kinauupuan nya and he approached the door.

"Come follow me." Paga-aya nito sa akin.

We went to a different office. On the top of the table, I saw his name. So ito talaga yung office nya.

Pinaupo nya ako at may folder na kinuha sa drawer niya.

"This is the approved proposal for the Bataan project. Read it and send me an email or give me a call whenever you need anything." Inabot nya sa akin ang folder at ngumiti sa akin.

"You mean -- " Tanong ko dito.

"Megawide never settle for less lalo na sa tao. We want brilliant minds. But we need exceptional hearts. I think you are the perfect one for this project. Congratulations!" He smiled at me and offered for a handshake.

"Thank you, Sir! I'll do my best for this project." Sagot ko dito.

YEEEEESSS!!!

"Ano ka ba, ayan ka na naman sa Sir e. Ms. Wong, Derek na lang. Don't call me Sir. Kasi Sir din ang hanap ko. HAHAHAHA. But kidding aside, from now on you'll be working close with me and some of my team members. You can always communicate to me thru email, text or call. Communication is the key." Pagpapaliwanag nito.

"Noted, Derek. Uhm. Please don't address me as "Miss" din, okay lang?" Nagtaka naman ito sa akin.

"Kasi Miss din ang hanap ko e.." Sabay peace sign ako at nagtawanan na lang kaming dalawa.