Jade's POV
Have you ever felt uncomfortable? The type that makes you want to sit by the corner and curl yourself into a ball and hope that maybe the ground would open up and swallow you whole?
Well, I have.
For all the surprises I have seen in my life, this one is far too much that it makes my knees buckle and the clogs in my head to stop turning. The only thought I could think about right now is how I want to rewind time, go back to before me and Batchi entered this room and just turn away, away from seeing this sexually charged scene with my own two eyes.
It's impossible though, I know that much. But I can't help but wish that it were possible, that technology has already made that kind of advantage, especially because I want to unsee what I already saw with my own two eyes—a scene that was meant to be hidden from our eyes, a scene that's supposed to be reserved for the safety of one's private bedroom.
Inside farther the office were two women, both oblivious to me and Batchi's arrival. Both of them were locked in each other's embrace, far too busy with each other.
And the worst part?
One of them is half-naked and lying on the desk—a woman with shoulder-length bob hairstyle, while her partner, another woman with long wavy hair, kissed the former's exposed neck. This made her partner arch her back and a giggle to spill out of her parted lips—only for what I think is a moan to follow afterward.
And I, being the ever noisy reactive person that I am, did the only thing I'm best at in a situation like this—I cursed.
"Shit." I said, maybe a bit too loud due to being unhindered by my thoughts of possibly getting caught and making my father angry for cursing, but I probably wouldn't care about that when I'm far more horrified that I said that out loud.
I instantly slap a hand to my mouth and instead, cursed in my mind several words, like a sailor.
If only there was a possibility that we could turn back time, a lot of people would've considered using it, to take back the things they said and did wrong. I'd probably one of those people waiting in line, especially when Batchi turns to look at me in wide-eye horror, as well as the other two women inside the office. One looked angry and irritated while the other one, well, I couldn't see her face when her hair's covering her face.
One thing's certain however. I feel like a deer caught in headlights, frozen from their gazes.
No sooner than a second, I watch as the other woman pushed away the other and covering herself, pulling her white blouse up to cover her exposed shoulders. I still couldn't see her face, but her face was reflecting what I felt inside:
Terror.
I try to shift away from the couple and Batchi, feeling uneasy at their blatant attention.
I feel like I've committed a crime when all I did is utter a curse. I feel that instead of being nervous about my interview job, I'm instead feeling more embarrassed and ashamed—a bit offended maybe, but what's done is done.
Just where did my manners go anyways? For a multi-millionaire heiress from a Filipino-Chinese family strict on discipline and manners, I didn't apply any of the one's I've learned: to knock and wait for permission to enter.
I should've known better to not to head inside and follow Batchi without being told to do so.
"Jade, look, I apologize for this, but please let me can explain—" Batchi starts, turning her back from the two other women to approach me slowly and carefully. I know she's trying to explain, but her words fall to my now deaf ears.
I feel nauseous.
I shook my head and ran my hand through my hair, stumbling back. I could feel my body becoming heavy, as if I'm not in control of myself anymore, especially when my headache came back in full strength.
All the noise around me, even Batchi's voice, became nothing but muffled noises and static in my ears. Everything's becoming a blur. I didn't even realize that the two women had already separated from one another or that Batchi was already by my side, holding on both of my shoulders and talking to me, but I don't hear anything.
I didn't even notice that the two women already separated from one another. It was as if my sense of hearing and awareness were slowly shutting off one by one. Nothing went through me anymore and the world around me felt like it was closing down on me. It's almost exactly the same kind of same feeling as when I first discovered about Paul and his assistant in his car before.
I take a deep shaky breath to try and compose myself, I tried to swallow the lump that formed in my throat, but I find myself with my throat dry and parched. To think that just earlier I had finished a bottle of water earlier.
I'm not supposed to be nervous, but I am, I just am and I'm dead scared. I can't stay in this room anymore. I don't think I can handle being in this suffocating situation any longer.
This is too much for me.
I clutch the strap of my purse, as tightly as I can and ignoring the prickling sensation of pain in my palm. I shrugged off Batchi's hand and took a few steps away from her, my eyes still focused on the floor.
"I'm sorry...should go, no...I—I have to go." I told her and started to briskly walk away while Batchi tried to call me back, but I didn't stop to look back.
I just kept going, as fast I can, out of this room and away from that scene.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Back to 3rd POV
"Jade!"
"Please wait! Hear me out!" Batchi shouted after the other woman and tried in vain to follow Jade, but the Tanchingco heiress wouldn't listen to her pleading and immediately entered the elevator and closing it shut before Batchi could even reach the escaping heiress. This left Batchi standing in front of the closed elevator to scratch her head and release a loud exasperated sigh.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
They already had talked it through after getting a call from the heiress' older brother. They were supposed to receive Jade properly and conduct her job interview without a hitch, fair and square, and Althea was supposed to make sure of it!
"Althea, seriously, I thought you already got a grip of yourself earlier..." Batchi lets out a long groan, arms dangled limply on both of her side as she re-entered her best friend's office.
"So, where did that cockblocking companion of yours went?" A woman remarked from behind Batchi, heels clicking on the floor as she approached closer and closer, and much to the short-haired raven's displeasure, the new comer did not appeared remorseful and instead seemed angry for the interruption she and Jade had not intentionally wanted to cause.
"She's gone." Batchi sighed and walked closer to the couch before throwing herself into it, letting the material under her protest with a squeak due to her weight.
"And you let her? Why didn't you stop her? Isn't she an important worker-client, or whatever you've been telling me earlier?" The other woman raised a brow.
"Her brother's a longtime client to us, he wants her to get a job here, so yes she is important, but I couldn't stop her. She practically left like her life depended on it. I doubt she'd appreciate it if I dragged her back here while you and Althea are busying yourselves with each another like rabbits in heat there earlier." Batchi stared into Wila's eyes and defiantly answered her friend back.
"It's not my fault that you guys did knock! And seriously, can't you pick a better time to appear? We were already having fun, I was already near to making Althea forget and you two just had to show up!"
"Oh wow! So now it's my fault?" The short-haired raven pointed at herself in disbelief, eyes wide comically before she shook her head and scrunched her nose, staring at Wila like a mischievous child.
"Blame it on the innocent person who also happens to be a victim of your thirst! I did nothing! You did!" Batchi let out a short chuckle and tried to sit properly to look at her companion with this certain all-knowing look on her face that Wila wasn't sure she's found of seeing at this current moment, knowing that Batchi would decide to take her revenge on her by being an infuriating tease.
"Never knew you were this desperate to get laid with my best friend. At least add some kind of sign outside of the room? Actually, you know that's the reason why we have locks for our doors, maybe you should try locking next time!"
"Oh shut up!" The long-haired vixen hissed, her face reddening probably from embarrassment, a reaction which made Batchi laugh even harder.
"Yeah, yeah, be like that!"
"Next time don't bring your thirst for my best friend when you come over! Keep it to your bedroom and dreams!" Batchi snickered and blew raspberries at the other woman, breaking down into another set of laughter when Wila only eyed her in disgust and pure irritation. If they weren't actually friends, Wila was sure of it herself that she'd push Batchi off that couch right about now just to stop her from laughing.
Thankfully enough, the laughter subsided and the short-haired raven was now reduced to a smiling mess, slightly teary-eyed due to laughing excessively at Wila's expense.
"By the way, where's Althea?" Batchi asked, wiping a happy tear off the corner of her eyes, eyeing Wila curiously when the said woman took a seat on a nearby loveseat and rolled her eyes, looking even grumpier with the way she furrowed her brows together.
"She stormed into her bathroom after you and that cockblocker left us alone." Wila spoke in obvious displeasure, her body gesture also hinting her irritation when she crossed her arms and stared at Batchi unkindly from her position near the door frame.
"Ohh! I get it, so that's why you're this angry! You didn't get satiated! Poor you!"
"Will you just shut up, Batchi?" Wila hissed, eyeing the butch dangerously. But Batchi continues on, much to Wila's utter displeasure.
"Never! I'll never let you live it down! Besides, it's your fault in the first place!" Batchi grins impishly.
"Oh, why you—!!"
Wila pushed herself off from her leaning position and was about to approach Batchi, arms spread wide and hands prepared to strangle the laughing short-haired raven when all of a sudden, a woman dressed in white blouse and black slacks exited from the other room.
"Where is she?" The woman curtly asked, eyes shifting around the room, tense and anxious. Batchi slumped back into the comforts of the soft cushions and the couch backrest.
"Who?" Batchi asked, a brow raised up and head tilted to the side. The action only served in setting off the other woman's patience.
Taking the hint of the sudden mood shift from Batchi's side, Wila cautiously took a step back and sat herself near a chair, watching the scene unfold from a safe distance from the two best friends.
"Batchi this isn't the time to play around! I'm serious here!"
"Riiight. But earlier you found the time to play around." Batchi sarcastically quipped, "Sad to say it though, but she already left. Didn't want to stick around and wait for you to finish."
"What?" Althea stared at Batchi in disbelief, unbelieving that her best friend and childhood friend.
"Why didn't you stop her? You know she's an important figure!"
"Chong, did you see her reaction earlier? I doubt she'd agree to stay even if I asked her to." Batchi explained, sitting up straight to look at Althea straight in the eye.
"I'm sorry. I tried, really. But she didn't want to be followed, Althea. I couldn't stop her." Batchi apologized, expression melting from the irritation and annoyance to sympathy when she clearly saw the distress in Althea's face.
She felt bad for her best friend, but there was nothing she could do about it. Jade obviously didn't want to be followed nor did she want to listen to Batchi. It might have been from shock, but Batchi didn't want to seem optimistic to think that it might just be that.
Although their country has become tolerant with their kind, not all of the Filipinos took it kindly and Jade might be one of those people whose vehemently against them, considering she came from a strict Filipino-Chinese family that's bound to rules and traditions.
Althea let out a tense exhale and stomped her feet in frustration, heels clicking noisily in contact with the floor, with her teeth gritted tightly. Both of Althea's brows were furrowed together, one hand massaging her temple. The brunette could already feel the headache she previously had earlier before lunch break, resurface again.
Panic was already starting to take over her and she could already feel her breathing accelerate. Althea could feel anxiety hit her hard, just like how the glass of whisky she downed earlier hit her.
This isn't like her at all.
She isn't always nervous and unsure of herself, but the woman with Batchi earlier is a very important figure. Not just that, the heiress is a relative of one of their longtime clients and a part of a prestigious Filipino-Chinese family—the Tanchingco family responsible for the JLT group of companies and the owners of the numerous malls built throughout the country.
If words spread out of what the heiress saw about her and Wila from little scene earlier, it would not only ruin her reputation as the president of her company, it might also turn-off other potential business partners in the future, considering how everyone of them were keen on reputation and keeping a respectable face.
It would totally ruin her, but not because she's caught with another woman. She's already long been out to people as a lesbian, especially to her business partners, but news of her doing inexplicit stuff in her office and the heiress of the Tanchingco's stumbling on them?
That one would definitely ruin her.
No, it would definitely be the end of her.
"Can you just calm down for a second, Althea? You're going to set down some heel tracks on your floor from pacing around." Wila said, angrily scratching her head furiously, already finding Althea's pacing around infuriating. It drove her crazy since the other woman obviously didn't seem to notice what she's doing.
Althea stopped her unconscious pacing and turned to look at Wila, looking at the other woman as if she grew another pair of head on her shoulders, "How can I just calm down knowing what might happen if word comes out of this? Of what she saw?"
"I can't let that happen! I'll be in trouble if that happens!" Althea angrily responded to Wila, making the other woman clamp her mouth shut and further slump into her seat, arms crossed and eyes averted from Althea's heated angry gaze.
Sensing her best friend's temper heighten, Batchi approached Althea and tapped her by the shoulder, although the gesture itself was awkward considered that she's shorter than Althea and her best friend's wearing 5-in heels today. The gesture was enough to fully get Althea's attention when the taller brunette made eye contact with her.
It was undeniable even for Batchi to deny the fear that she could see along with the worry in Althea's eyes behind the seething anger that her best friend showed on her face. She and Wila knew why Althea's reacted this strongly, why she seemed restless, scared and alarmed like a child backed to the corner. And the reason behind it did not embody well.
"Althea, I agree with Wila, you need to calm down, we need to act calmly. I'm sure she couldn't have left this building that fast. I'll try calling the reception area right away and ask them to look out for her, okay?" Batchi offered, giving her best smile in hopes that it would raise her best friend's mood.
After she giving one last comforting squeeze to her best friend's shoulder, Batchi releases Althea to approach where Wila sat from a safe distance from them, and without as much as a warning, Batchi tugs her by the arm, much to Wila's surprise and chagrin.
"What are you doing? Hey!"
"Come on Wila, just stand up and help me out!" Batchi said, while still tugging Wila, hard enough to force her out of her seat. Thankfully Wila complied and stood up herself, but not before shrugging off Batchi's hands off her arm.
"Alright! Geez! No need to pull me!" The other woman hissed in response, running her hand through her long curly tresses. Batchi only scrunched her nose and went ahead of Wila and Wila followed after her, rolling her eyes and grumbling under her breath.
Althea watched them leave her office, but even with the reassurance Batchi gave her, she still couldn't calm herself. She also has to act too, she couldn't just let her friends solve her problem when she's in the center of it.
Althea didn't want to put her guard down—not when there are eyes watching her, waiting for her to make a mistake and for those mistakes to come out in public.
With a firm nod, Althea went back into the other room and went straight to her desk, snatching her phone that lied just near her iMac computer. She went through her list of contacts and made a call.
"Hello? This is Althea speaking..."
———
A/N: And here's chapter 2! Sorry for not updating quickly, was busy with juggling school, not only that, I had to revise and delete a lot of parts from this chapter because they didn't fit well. I had to take out 800 words off and that was painful for me because I had to do quotations and contract exercises, 3D modelling activities, portfolio complication and branding work because of school. I did do updates for Oh stars, shine brightly on me, so check those shots out when you have the time and don't get angry at me? XD
Now I wonder, did you catch the implication I placed here? Althea's scared, but why exactly? And who did she call? Can you guess?
Also before you ask me the question. No, I won't be sticking to switching 1st and 3rd POVs, I just had to put Jade's POV up there because I wanted you guys to see her internal thoughts and feelings clearly. I wanted you to see Jade panic just like how she did when she caught Paul for the first time. I hope it went through though.
See you guys update.
Please keep on voting for Team RaStro on Bloggers' Style Camp. :)