On one Sunday morning, Dawn decided to take a break from dusting off the cabinets in the attic to open her Twitter account, one that she made in order to stop her daughter from complaining on how often she reads from her Twitter timeline for updates. Today is no ordinary day. She feels like she was taken back to 1996 yet again as she reads all her mentions.
SGSince89: Ano kayang say ng "pambansang panira" sa IG post ng ShaGoms? Ha ha ha! Remember yung "rebound" days mo, neng? sincerelydawn
She tries to shrug them off like she used to twenty four years ago. Twenty four years ago... she was brought into a completely different world she was never prepared for.
-
1996
"Goma, ayusin mo 'yang sarili mo then go to my house," were the last words he heard last night before he drifted off to sleep.
At 8 AM, he started prepping up for his meeting later that morning with Armida Siguion-Reyna, an industry leader who was pretty much close to his heart - his Tita Midz as he used to call her.
He was then greeted a "good morning" by his Mama Lydia, the only woman who currently mattered to him at the moment.
Coffee, french toasts, and broadsheet were his usual morning essentials. His Mama Lydia tossed a rolled tabloid newspaper to this direction, "Oh, Ma, naubusan ng broadsheet si Mang Pancho?" he asked.
He took a sip and reached out for the newspaper on the table.
KONPIRM!!! SHARON AT ROBIN, SILA NA! (Tignan ang mga litrato ng surpresa ni Binoy sa pahina 6.)"
He quickly set aside the paper and tried to shrug off what he head just seen. "Apo, mahaba pa ang araw. Smile lang." His Mama Lydia never failed to make him feel better. She was his anchor, his go-to person, & the only person who was keeping him up together.
-
"Good morning, Tita Midz!" She asked him to sit on the couch as she did, too.
"I have an offer for you. If you'd agree, ang role mo dito ay isang lawyer..." Armida continued on explaining his role, how the plot would go, & such things.
Richard instantly agreed without thinking otherwise & Armida was elated to hear his response. "Kayang-kaya ko 'yan, ako pa ba?"
"Hoy, bata, heto pa. Diba sabi ko sayo this will be one of the biggest movies this year, you really have to work hard & go to an intensive practice. Act like a true lawyer —"
"Sus, 'yun lang naman pala, eh."
"With the help of a lawyer!" Looking at him across her desk, Armida knew the things that were running on his mind. Undoubtedly, he is one of his generation's most premiere actors, but isn't it that learning is a never ending process?
"I already talked to my friend Mandy from Reyes & Rivera Law Firm & he already agreed with it."
"Tita..."
"Nako, Goma, tigil-tigilan mo 'ko. On Thursday, you need to be at his or her office and meet the lawyer at 9 AM - sharp! Huwag mo akong ipahiya sa kanila."
He had no choice. Whether he liked it or not, he needed to consider it more of an opportunity rather than a monkey wrench thrown into his gimik plans.
-
She was nearly drowning with the paperwork brought in today by her assistant when her telephone rang, "Atty, pinapatawag po kayo ni Mr. Mandy sa office niya."
Dawn suddenly felt anxious. She initially thought that this sudden meeting would be about her promotion to partnership - only to be proved wrong when she sat across Mandy, the firm's managing partner.
"First things first, congratulations! The firm - I am truly grateful for having you here," he said as Dawn listened closely, "- and now I know that you are still working on the Sengco Inc. case but I'd like to ask you a favor." She nodded as he continued.
"Actually, this favor is from my friend, Armida. They're working on a new movie — a legal thriller, as far as I know." Dawn looked at him confusedly, "I apologize but why should I be concerned about it?"
"The actor's asked to work with a litigator and I chose you. You are the one of the best litigators we have here." Is this some kind of a joke? She thought.
She's still got a lot on her plate - not to mention the pending cases that await her this week. She just can't...
"Mr. Mandy, I am flattered but I still have so many things to do."
"It's just a one-day work. It will be this coming Thursday na."
Dawn sighed in defeat. She needed to impress her boss, so she had to do this.
They shook hands and before she could forget, Dawn asked the question she's been itching to ask.
"And the actor would be?"
"Richard Gomez."
-
After the not-so-significant meeting, as she considered it, Dawn informed Pilar, her secretary, about her upcoming consultation with Richard Gomez on Thursday. She also asked her to reserve Court Room 1 on the aforementioned date.
Walking out of the elevator later that day after her lunch break, she raised her eyebrows at the sight of almost all of the eleventh floor secretaries swarming right of in front of the receiving area of her office.
"Uy, alam niyo ba usap-usapan na pupunta raw dito si Richard Gomez?"
"Sinabihan daw si Gary ng secretary ni Sir Mandy na i-ready raw yung back gate kasi dadating daw si Goma."
She sighed in relief as she saw Pilar who was just listening and trying not to spill anything about her appointment with "the" Richard Gomez to her fellow secretaries.
"Nay Pilar, in my office, now."
Dawn hasn't even settled herself on the couch when Pilar eagerly threw her series of questions.
"Atty, grabe, 'no. Richard Gomez ang kliyente mo sa Huwebes. Hindi ka ba excited?"
"Anong isusuot mo, Atty? Dapat medyo revealing. Yung parang Atty. Dawn Taleon - Sharon Cuneta version!" Dawn just let out an unenthusiastic laugh.
"Alam mo, Nay Pilar, I don't need to impress him. He's the one who needs to impress me."
They both shared a laugh before heading to the computer table. "You are indeed your father's daughter, iha."
-
Thursday...
12:30 PM.
He was late.
Dawn would have been out there, talking to Patrick, his partner for the Sengco Inc. case she was working on these past few days, yet due to unfortunate circumstances, she's still waiting in her office for Richard Gomez.
There was a slight hint of hope when Pilar knocked on her door an hour later. "Andyan na ba? Or at least any word from his assistant?" Pilar shook her head. "Negative, Atty."
They waited for the whole day and still, no signs of him.
So when the clock ticked at 5 PM, she left the office — disappointed as ever.
"Any instruction or word if ever Mr. Gomez shows up?"
She smirked. "Sabihin mo sa kanya, gago."
-
On the following day, she told Mandy about it. She thought she was going to be relieved from the task and yet again... she thought wrong. Mandy called Armida and the latter asked for Dawn's time this afternoon. Mandy couldn't say no. And Dawn, likewise...
She went back to her office and tried to finish all the paperwork she could have done yesterday and should also be doing today - if not only for the very entitled man who was supposed to meet her.
At around 12 PM, she already ate her lunch and decided to do some retouch before her rescheduled meeting with Richard.
2:00 PM
She went out of her office and headed to Pilar's desk. "Nay Pilar, wala pa ba? Nakakainis na, ha." She was supposed to say more but stopped when she overheard something from Pilar's portable mini TV.
"So, Mr. Gomez, kamusta naman ang bakasyon niyo ni Ms. Lucy sa La Union?"
"Everything was really unplanned. Since hindi pa naman nagsisimula ang taping ko for another movie with Reyna Films and wala namang naka-line up na appointments, why not?"
He talked more about their vacation, how badly he wanted to take Lucy out for some fresh air, and how he wanted some time to think and rewind.
When asked about his ex, Sharon Cuneta, and their recent break up, he just shrugged it off and tried to put on a genuine smile.
"You seem so relax or can I say, blooming?"
"Well, what's new?" He jokingly said .
"Seriously, this quick Thursday getaway really helped a lot. I tried to forget everything and relax."
Gago.
Her annoyance grew even more when she found herself at her home - accomplishing the readings left on her folder, instead of dining out with her colleagues. Even on the Sunday night that followed, she just ordered from the nearest fast food chain to her block so she could easily get back to work.
-
Dawn woke up at around 9 AM, realizing that she was already late for work. She quickly got up and prepared for work. When she got into her building, almost everyone was trying to sneak through the glass window of her office.
"Nay Pilar, ano 'to? Bakit nagkakagulo?" Her secretary opened the door for her and there he was — sitting pretty on the couch.
He stood up and walked towards her. "I'm Richard Gomez," he stated as he offered his hand. "Alam ko," she coldly replied.
She walked past him and sat on her chair. "At alam ko rin na last week pa ang schedule mo, so, Mr. Gomez, what are you doing here today?"
"Ganyan ba umasta ang mga lawyer?"
"You want me to show you how?"
"My pleasure, Ms. Taleon."
"Atty. Taleon."
-
Little did she know, Mandy already reserved a court room for them today. Wow, it was all planned...
"So tell me, Mr. Gomez, what exactly can I do for you?"
"In this movie, there are scenes na I have to cross-examine the witnesses, Gabby Concepcion & the leading lady. I want to look like a real lawyer hindi yung katulad ng iba na hindi kapani-paniwala."
She nodded and seemed very uninterested. "Show me your lawyerly skills, Atty. Taleon."
"It's impossible to do that."
He looked at her, "At bakit naman?"
"I need someone to play as the witness."
Before she could even blink an eye, there he was — sitting on the witness stand.
-
"Mr. Gomez, you are aware, are you not, that your producer scheduled an appointment for you last Thursday?"
Richard crossed his legs, as if feeling comfortable with the situation.
"Yes, I am aware of that, Ms. Taleon."
"At hindi ka sumipot, tama ba?"
"That is correct."
"And you are aware that after failing to show up for that first meeting, your producer made subsequent appointment for you to be at my office on Friday afternoon; is that correct?"
Richard crossed one leg over the other, seemingly uninterested with her not worth bothering about line of questioning. "Yes. My management called me out for a series of meetings. A film emergency."
"Film emergency?"
"Yes, Ms. Taleon." She smirked. "Well, in that case, let me show you Exhibit A, Mr. Gomez."
"Cellphone?" he asked. "Yes, Mr. Gomez, do you own one?"
"Of course." He shrugged her off. "Do you know how to use one?" He annoyingly nodded. "By any chance, did you have your phone with you, you know, when you travel to places like La Union?"
"Anong klaseng tanong 'yan, Ms. Taleon? Of course, I do."
"If you do, then why did you not bother to return any of my secretary's phone calls? or inform us that you weren't be able to make it last Thursday and Friday, hm?"
"To be honest, I don't think it's important." He stated with an evident smug look on his face.
"Oh, I see, Mr. Gomez. You must have been so busy running around the shores of La Union - oh, I mean dealing with your "film emergency." She smirked at him as he annoyingly stared at her.
"Don't be too impressed with yourself, Miss."
"Attorney... and with that, I have no further questions, Mr. Gomez."
Without waiting for him to get off the witness stand or saying any formal goodbye, she immediately walked toward the exit door until Richard called her, "No goodbyes? Bale, magkikita pa naman tayo next week."
She was taken a back, "Anong sabi mo?"
Now, it's his time to smirk. "Tita Midz wanted to personally meet you. On set. Next week."
He walked toward her and stepped outside the door, "And oh, please don't be late."
________
1/3 chapters. This one shot, particularly this chapter, is heavily inspired from Ms. J. James' book which I loooove so much. Pero the next chapters are entirely different from that one na. Rest assured that the next two chapters will be uploaded within the quarantine period. Kung mayroon man pong magbabasa, thank you so much po! Let me know your thoughts! chz!