Invisible Line in Between

Chapter 34

Fortunately, Mrs. Molina finally arrived. She jokingly chased away the men trying to give me company before she invited me inside her office.

"Pasensya ka na sa mga 'yon," natatawang paghingi ng pasensya sa akin ni Mrs. Molina nang makapasok kami sa kanyang opisina. "They're just really friendly."

I timidly smiled and said, "Okay lang po."

Ngumiti naman siya pabalik sa akin at saka inilahad ang upuan sa harap ng kanyang lamesa habang binubuksan ang inverter. I sat quickly on the chair and watched her as she set the temperature of the aircon to 18 degrees.

When I saw her bickering and joking around with her subordinates, I could tell that she's very friendly. I suddenly thought that I was lucky for having a kind supervisor. I was expecting a strict one, so I already considered myself very lucky.

"By the way, you're Zendaya Gregorio, right?" she suddenly asked as she sat in front of me. "Baka kasi mamaya ay nagkakamali ako."

"Ako nga po."

"Okay..." she trailed off, while she got busy scanning over my papers. "Hmm... Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead po," agap ko.

"You're a Political Science graduate," she said, then looked up to me. "The HR must have asked you this already during the interview, but why did you apply for the position?"

"Uhm, honestly, I really want to be a reporter, but I thought starting off as a journalist is a good foundation," I told her my reasons. "And I'm interested in entertainment, so I ended up applying."

She nodded her head. "That's understandable." She brought the papers down and picked up the intercom. Ilang segundo rin siyang naghintay bago nagsalita. "Lina, nandyan na ba si Lucas? Okay. Pakisabi namang pumunta siya sa opisina ko. Okay. Thank you."

Mrs. Molina informed me that she'd introduce me to my senior since she wouldn't directly supervise me as a junior journalist.

Almost a minute had passed when the door opened. A tall and good-looking man entered the office, wearing a black polo with sleeves neatly folded up to his elbows. Just one glance at him, he looked mature, quiet and serious. He seemed like the type of person who's very dedicated to his job.

"Pinapatawag ninyo raw po ako?" bungad niya kay Mrs. Molina gamit ang isang medyo baritonong boses.

"Lucas, this is Zendaya. She'd be under your supervision," Mrs. Molina introduced me to him, so I stood up in courtesy to properly greet him. "Zendaya, this is Lucas Daniel. He was just promoted last month as a senior entertainment journalist, but you can definitely rely on him."

My eyes widened a bit when his name rang a bell. I had read his articles about New Classic. Most of his published articles online were also the most top-voted. Personally, I love the way he writes. It's actually an honor for me to be supervised by him.

"I'm Zendaya Gregorio. Nice to meet you." I smiled, formally introducing myself and offering my hand.

He turned to my side and faced me. His eyes traveled to my hand hanging in the air. I thought he wouldn't take it, but he shook my hand a bit.

"Lucas Daniel," he simply said, then let go of my hand.

Nang nilingon namin ulit si Mrs. Molina ay nakatayo na siya sa tabi naming dalawa. She was smiling widely, which made it seem a bit creepy.

"Ilang taon ka na nga, Zendaya?" bigla niyang tanong sa akin.

"Uhm, twenty-one po," sagot ko.

She clasped her hands happily. "Tama! I'm sure you and Lucas would get along together," she said. "He's the youngest senior here in our company. He's only three years older than you."