Every day since they signed their exclusivity contract, he has found every reason imaginable to spend time with her. He made sure to sync his schedule with hers and she spent the majority of her days off glued to his side.
People started noticing the changes in him almost immediately. He started laughing again. The perpetual crease between his brows took an indefinite vacation. Nobody missed it. Not even him.
She was more effervescent than before. People found it impossible to have even a shadow of a bad mood whenever she was around.
His team has consistently topped in team stats and as a result talks of a promotion were a-buzz. He was hopeful.
She was so proud of him.
She was approached by the Training Manager for a spot on the coaching team. She was ecstatic.
He was happy for her.
Things were definitely on the up and up.
"When do you officially start training for your erm... training position?"
"Next week pa naman but pulled out na ko from prod this week pa lang. Shadow calls daw muna ako with the SMEs."
"Sa SMEs? Bakit sa SMEs? Diba Language Coach naman yung position mo? Anong kinalaman ng SMEs sa language? Asan si Garcia?"
She gripped his arm before he could whirl around and get out of his chair.
"Hey. What's wrong? You and I both know na kahit Language Coaches need to know more than the basics. Kaya sa SMEs ako magshashadow calls. May problema ba?"
He stood up and motioned for her to follow him into the closest vacant conference room.
"Alam mo we really need to stop commandeering empty conference rooms just because you want to kiss m--- huy, what's wrong? Ay o. Ayan na naman yang kunot sa noo mo. Ugh. Bakit pinayagan mong bumalik yan?"
"Dei... you know I lo-- trust you with my life right?"
She sat down and remained quiet despite feeling as if her heart would beat out of her chest right that second.
"Pero kasi... alam ko na galawan ng mga SMEs na yan eh. No girl is safe from them. Lahat nabibiktima ng style nila."
He had more to say but she already stood up and walked to the door. Before she stepped out, she looked back at him with tears in her eyes.
"How can you say you trust me with your life when you don't even trust me with mine?"