EXACTLY A MONTH after my first day, it seemed like everything was going according to my plan, except for that one pest labeled as our principal investigator in the market research unit and also my immediate supervisor, Koa.
"Kumusta namang boss yung nasa unit niyo?" Tita Ressa, the secretary at the marketing department, showed curiosity towards my work. Bata pa lang ako ay nagtatrabaho na siya para kay Dad kaya naman palagay ang loob kong makakwentuhan siya. Sa totoo lang, natuwa nga ako nang makita siya at magkamustahan kami.
I hummed, indicating uncertainty. "Medyo mahangin lang sa office kapag pumapasok siya." I chuckled. "Hindi ko gusto ang hilatsa ng mukha," dagdag ko pa.
"Naku. Balita ko naman ay gwapo ang batang 'yon?" she opposed me, "Syempre, boss mo pa rin 'yon, dapat kahit sinong makakasalamuha mo rito ay pakikisamahan mo pero may limitasyon ang pakikipag-kapwa tao sa kanila. Basta sabay ka lang pero huwag kang papaapi o papasakop," and gave me a lecture.
I couldn't object on what Tita Ressa. She had a point, except noong sinabi niyang gwapo ang ex-boyfriend ko. Well, I just smiled at them before asking permission to leave. It was after lunch, puro routing ang ginawa ko. Sa trabaho na ito lumalabas ang pagiging time conscious ko lalo. Most of the higher ups were only available in the morning. Kaya tuwing umaga ako nag-iikot at sa hapon ko ginagawa ang mga trabahong nasa office lang ako, either pag-organize ng files o paggawa ng letters na kailangan para sa annual market research na ginagawa ng opisina.
That's why I needed to befriend almost everyone that I will encounter. May mga oras na may prejudice talaga ang mga tao depende sa first impression nila sa 'yo. Kaya naman hangga't maaari ay tinatantsa ko ang ugali ng mga taong pipirma sa mga papeles namin. It may be a cause of delay if papers were not signed on time.
My heels stopped clicking when I had a sight of my Dad and Koa as I sashayed my way back to the office. Medyo malayo dahil halos kalalabas ko lang ng elevator, kaya naman hindi nila ako napapansin.
I tried looking intently at how they talked to each other and noticed that they seemed casual. Nagtatawanan pa sila habang malayang nagkukwentuhan. My brows creased when a question suddenly popped out from my mind.
Paano kaya nakapasok si Koa sa company namin? Out of all businesses na kailangan ng commerce graduate student, bakit dito?
Hindi ako nakahanap agad ng sagot hanggang sa bigla na lang silang nawala sa hallway. They turned left, where market research unit team was residing. Agad din naman akong naglakad para sumunod na rin at may gagawin pa ako.
When I entered the room, I noticed that they were all looking for me. Bigla silang natahimik lahat hanggang sa tumikhim si Koa para kunin ang atensyon ni Dad na mukhang may ina-announce sa opisina.
"As I was saying, market research was given a new project. Since J&J hardware offers home decorations, we want to include some showrooms and renovate the whole third floor of our store. We have new sets of furniture and we want to launch it creatively. Your team will receive a MOA that has a duration of three months. Everything you would probably ask would be included in the term of reference. Alright?" After Sir Philip explained, everyone agreed and showed gratitude for being here as he personally deliver the message to us. Probably because of his closeness to Koa.
Akala ko ay aalis na si Dad pero bigla ulit siyang humarap sa amin matapos ang ilang hakbang palayo. He raised his right hand. "By the way, Sembrano," he called my ex-boyfriend's surname. "You need a partner to lead this project. Hindi pwedeng ikaw lang. So, who would it be?"
Lumingon-lingon pa siya sa aming lahat kaya naman pakiramdam ko ay ito na ang oportunidad na hinahanap ko nang magtama ang tingin namin ni Dad. My mind immediately went to survival mode so I raised my hand.
But as expected, my colleagues pointed their finger to the person who they thought deserved that position, and that's Nola. . .
"Athena? Nola?" Dad mentioned our names, then he looked at Koa. "Sino sa tingin mo, Sembrano?" mabilis na tanong nito.
Koa was blinking as he turned his gentle gazes towards me with narrowed eyebrows. Then he spoke, "Nola would be perfect for the position." At pagkasabi niya noon, pakiramdam ko ay lumubog ang puso ko sa lupa, nawalan ng gana, at napuno ng iritasyon hanggang sa pinakadulo ng hibla ng buhok ko.
Once again. . . .disappointed, sad, and mad. At this very moment, I felt the urge to smack Koa's face and tell him I deserve to be his partner! I needed that opportunity to prove myself in every possible way! I wanted that position in hope that I could also be close with my Dad like how he was treating Koa based on what I saw earlier!
Hoo! Hoo. . . With clenched fists, I secretly heaved few deep sighs and collected myself once again. Calm down, Athena. You could never burst out in front of other people especially in this setting.
Koa annoyingly caught our attention once again after Dad left the room. He cleared his throat before giving us his instruction. "Yno and Floe would be a great tandem for technical work regarding the sample survey and our further procedures for this project." He started giving assignments. "Catherine, you would continue your work assigned to you as our only on-the-job trainee in this unit. Syempre, ikaw ang magiging front muna ng team at sasagot ng basic inquiries sa mga phone call at email. Of course, Nola, we'll talk about this project later. I just need to gather references and finish my work for today." And Koa. . . He even had the audacity to give us a very professional-looking sweet smile with his infuriatingly entrancing eyes?!
Saglit na nagtama ang tingin namin kaya naman hindi ko naiwasang taasan siya ng kilay para malaman kung ano ang papel ko rito. I felt like I only had a thin line of patience for him at the moment and my anger could burst towards him.
Koa's gazes became annoyingly gentle. He blinked once, then annoyingly appeared so innocent in front of me now. What a tactic, Mr. Sembrano. I mentally rolled my eyes as I stared at him, trying to wait for his statement. His mouth twitched. He was about to say something when his phone rang.
Mabilis niya iyong dinampot at sinagot. "Yes, this is Koa Sembrano."
"Sir. . ." I was about to demand for his attention when he raised his hand, leveled exactly in front of me.
He quickly covered his phone and faced me to speak, "Order me a drink at Starbucks." Then left me stunned.
Umikot ang tingin ko sa mga kasama ko matapos kong matigilan at alanganin din nila akong nginitian habang hindi maipinta ang tingin sa akin.
What the hell?!
I ran my way to my cubicle, open my cabinet, and grabbed my wallet. Inumin pala ha! Isaksak mo yung inuming bibilhin ko sa baga mo!
Out of irritation, my head got clouded from overwhelming thoughts, specifically rants against Koa. Hindi ko namalayan na nakabili agad ako at mabilis na bumalik sa opisina.
I confidently strode towards him and put down the drink I ordered on his desk. Hindi na ako nag-abalang lingunin siya kahit na narinig ko ang sinabi niyang "thank you" sa akin. Mabilis akong bumalik sa pwesto ko, umupo at nagtrabaho na ulit.
Mayâ-mayâ ay napansin kong may crumpled paper na nahulog sa desk ko. Surely, it came from Catherine's cubicle since I saw her hand hanging on the cubicle's wall. Napakunot-noo naman ako habang binubuksan ang pagkakalukot noon.
‘Kinilig si Sir. :)’
Felt like a spirit of inquiry possessed me so I stood up and rested my hands on the cubicle walls of Catherine.
"What?" I murmured towards her.
Catherine leaned forward to whisper. "Nag-order ka ng strawberries and cream frappuccino, naalala mong hindi siya nagkakape. Hahabulin sana kita para sabihin sa 'yo pero mukhang alam na alam mo pa naman." She tilted her head as if getting twist because of cheesiness. I didn't respond and just looked at her blankly. "Tapos ininom niya agad yung binigay mo, tapos nakangiting binabasa yung nakalagay doon, tapos. . . Ay, Sir."
Sa mataas na pagbanggit noon ni Catherine habang pinapakinggan ko ang mahina niyang mga sinasabi, syempre ay nabigla ako. Sabay kaming napabalikwas! Nang mabilis din akong tumalikod para tingnan kung saan maaaring nandoon si Koa ay nawalan ako ng balanse!
I was out of balance and my reflex immediately told me to hold onto something that could support me. Unluckily, my hand landed on Koa's arm.
Sobrang lapit namin sa isa't isa. Kaya naman mas lalong umapaw yung nararamdaman ko matapos kong makita nang malapitan ang nakakainis niyang pagmumukha. That dazzling smile from his pouty lips, those gentle gazes from his deceiving eyes, his chiseled pointed nose, his well-defined jaws. Napakapangit ha! Paulit-ulit ko siyang minura sa isip ko.
I heard his chortle. "Tumatanda na tayo, ha? Mahina na ang tuhod?" Rinig na rinig ko ang pang-aasar sa tono ng sinabi niya kaya naman, mabilis ko siyang nilingon nang masama.
Napansin niya siguro iyon, tapos hindi pa ako nagsalita. So he decided to clear his throat and speak with his lower tone in modulated volume. "Anyway, Athena. . . We need to talk."
I collected myself as I cleared my throat as well. "What is it po?" Then faked a smile.
"To the stock room," he suspiciously demanded.
Napataas ang kilay ko pero hindi na ako nakaangal, dahil mabilis na siyang pumunta sa isang maliit na kwarto sa loob ng opisina.
Napatigil akong saglit at nag-isip kung susunod ba ako roon, pero dahil mukha namang wala na akong magagawa, I just shrugged and followed him.
Naabutan ko siyang nakapamaiwang habang naghihintay sa akin. He walked closer to me so my body automatically leaned farther than my position. "Ano ba 'yon?" My voice turned shaky when I felt like the door clicked already.
"Gusto kong ipaalam sa 'yo na ikaw ang i-assign ko as my partner to lead this project." He paused, continuously bobbing his head as if he had a dealt conversation within him. "Nola has valid personal reasons to decline the offer. I just have to consider that. Isa pa, mas matutulungan mo ako, as my assistant for bench markings and trips."
"Anong personal reasons?" Doon ako unang na-curious, kaya naman iyon ang unang lumabas sa bibig ko.
Koa's brows suddenly flinched. "I can't tell you." He sounded like he was protecting Nola and he was doing her a huge favor with this one.
I pursed my lips. "So bakit kailangan pa nating magtago rito?"
His gentle gazes suddenly vanished. His eyes became uneasy as they consistently shook while he was biting his lips. It took him a minute or so before giving me another look at my face. Muli niyang ibinalik ang malumanay na tingin sa mga mata niya na may kasamang maliit na ngisi sa labi.
"Ow. . . Well. . . I just want to ask. . . Kumusta ka na?"
"Okay naman. . ." I tried to sound like I never wanted to talk about it. Still, my voice sounded so unsure. Medyo nautal ako habang malikot din ang mga mata ko.
When I heard him chuckled, there was something on me that felt so annoyed again. Was he consciously trying to catch me off guard?
Tinitigan ko siya at sinubukang basahin ang mga tingin niyang parang nilalaro ako. Nakaharap sa akin ang mukha niya pero ang mga mata niya ay biglang napunta sa drink na binili ko para sa kanya. Nakataas ito na halos kalebel ng mga mukha namin.
"Orpheon," Koa stated, as if talking to his Strawberries and cream frappuccino. "You remember that I like putting my second name on my drinks?" he even added.
His question just made me blink a couple of times without uttering a word. Walang kibo, walang lingon, walang kilos. Pakiramdam ko ay inaabangan niya ang susunod kong gagawin kaya medyo nabahala ako. My breathing suddenly became uneasy as well.
And without giving any response, Koa initiated to continue talking as he inched his way towards me, "Are you teasing me, Ms. Jocson?"