Programmed Wife

Chapter 3

One year later...

"Albert are you f*cking serious? You never told me about you moving to the US?" Rui rested his head on the palm of his hand while sitting on his swivel chair while Albert placed a folder in front of his desk.

"I did tell you this last year, if I remember it correctly I even sent you a file and you signed it." Naiinis na napakunot ng noo si Rui, hindi niya inaasahan na totoo ang sinasabi ng sekretarya niya. He signed it jokingly. Who the hell writes a resignation letter one year in advance?

"Last May 08,2020 you signed my resignation letter that is going to be effective one week from now May 08,2021."

"I didn't even take that seriously! I didn't think that something promised for a year later would turn out to be true! "

"I mean, when did I lie?"

"You're absolutely insane, do you know that? I haven't even started looking for anyone that could replace you." 

Albert tapped him in the shoulder, his bright huge smile irritated his good friend and boss more than anything. Rui has been depending on him too much, he has been his secretary and a close friend for so long. He knows everything about him, that makes everything a lot easier for the two of them.

"Come on Mr. Andrews, hindi naman kita pababayaan ng ganoon nalang. Kaya naman nilinis ko na 'yong schedule mo and may mga applicants na darating ngayon! I already screened them so 'yong mga napili ko sure na sure, kaya nila 'yong trabaho ko!" It's nine in the morning and he already caused his boss to loosen up his tie and mess up his own hair out of frustration.

"Boss, I have to tell you something tho..."

"Please don't give me more stress Albert."

"I chose three very suitable ladies as your secretary!" Parang nangaasar pa na pumalakpak si Albert habang pinanlalakihan siya ng mata ni Rui.

"Do you want to die?! You know exactly why I chose a crazy person like you as my secretary for this long!" He slapped the hand that was tapping him by the shoulder.

"Boss, I know your situation very well. Pero 'di ba wala namang kaso sa'yo kung may babae sa kumpanya natin?"

"As my secretary? Are you on drugs or some sh*t? That's basically making me stick with a girl the whole day!" Tumango tango pa si Albert.

"Don't worry. Sigurado ako na makakatulong sa trabaho mo ang kahit sino sa kanila. Their table would be outside your office. You can make them stand far away from you. Gusto ko lang na bago kita maiwanan, subukan natin? For a week maybe? We haven't really tried this method of... you know what I mean?" Albert sincerely looked at him in the eyes as if asking him to try his crazy idea for once.

"Mr. Andrews, I know for a fact that you trust women who works in this company right?"

"Yes I trust them with work. But forcing me to stay close to a wo-"

"I know you hate the idea. But this is the only way we haven't tried. You never exposed yourself before, do you get what I'm trying to say? You tried everything else but facing it directly. I am just asking you to try it for a week. While I'm still here, you know I won't let you be in danger, at least not alone. If after a week you still couldn't do it, I will contact one of my friend to replace me." Panandaliang na blangko si Rui habang nakatingin sa malayo. Hindi niya alam kung kaya ba niya na gawin ang sinasabi ng kaibigan, but Albert was right. He never really tried to make himself face his fears.

"One week."

"Yes! We will start the interview in ten minutes!"

His palms are getting sweaty, this is a first for Rui. He hasn't felt this nervous when he produced his first ever movie, not even when it failed and made him lose a fortune. He raised his head as soon as he heard a knock from the door of the meeting room. Albert smiled at him and guided the first woman to seat on the chair in front of Rui and he sat next to his boss afterwards.

The woman was dressed in a bright red suit top with a matching mini skirt. She is very gorgeous with her hair up in a bun witch suits her small face. Her eyes were fierce when they landed at Rui and the big smile on her extremely red lips gave him the creeps for some reason. He felt very uncomfortable as the lady reached out to him for a handshake.

"Good day Mr. Andrews. I am April Valdez and I am twenty-three years old. I was recommended here by my previous boss Mr. Olviga from Trideven Marketing." She looked as if she was about to dive across the wide table just to shake Rui's hand. But after a few seconds of silence, she decided to slowly sit back down to her chair while smiling nervously.

"Can you follow orders quickly via phone call?" Nanlaki ang mata ni Albert habang nilingon si Rui. He was quietly signalling his boss to ask more normal and natural business interview questions. But by the look that he gave Albert back, it was clear.

Rui's eyes couldn't even look at the lady's direction. Ever since this April girl showed up, his foot hasn't stopped tapping against the floor, his hands kept on fidgeting on the end of his tie. Albert knew what was happening, his gaze turned to April who is now smiling at the boss even if he's expressionlessly starring at the folder he was holding.

Napailing nalang si Albert. Hindi naman siya nagtataka, hindi din niya masisisi si April. No one could resist looking at such a beautiful man up close. This is one problem that Albert forgot to anticipate. He forgot that his boss has this crazy effect on women, now this got a lot more difficult than he thought.

Nagsisimula nang pumungay ang mga mata ni April at nakakalimang ayos na siya ng kan’yang buhok habang nakatulala pa rin kay Rui. She's long gone, Albert thought.

"Miss April, Thank you very much for your time. Please just wait for our call."

"Ha?"

"You may leave now. Thank you."

"Ha? Teka, ano po 'yong tanong nin'yo kanina?" Nagising ang babae sa pagkakatulala ngayong pinagtatabuyan na siya ni Albert. Sa wakas ay nakahinga nang maluwag si Rui at sumandal sa kan’yang upuan. He closed his eyes while massaging his temple.

"Her resume is really spotless. Nakalimutan ko lang na mukha kang artista." Rui glared at him while forcing a smile.

"Wow, thank you for the complement. What is this sh*t Albert? I asked a simple and specific question but she just stared at me while creepily tucking her hair behind her ear, she doesn't even have any lose hairs!"

"Nagpapacute 'yong tao hayaan mo na ha, may dalawa pa naman. Sandali lang tatawagin ko." Rui watched Albert quickly call for the second applicant. As soon as he walked back in, bahagyang maasim ang ekspresyong ipinakita niya kay Rui.

Behind him entered a tall woman wearing a dark blue, short, off the shoulder dress. She looked very stunning in it. It showed all her curves, a little too much perhaps. She pushed her long straight hair to her back which showed her very revealing top and slowly swayed her hips while walking.

There were a lot of questions that immediately popped into Rui's head..."Does she have her hips broken? Why is she walking like this? This is a little too much... Is she dancing right now?" He honestly couldn't tell if she was walking normally.

Kinabahan si Albert ng biglaang yumuko ang dalaga para abutin ang kamay ni Rui. Muntik na siyang mapadasal ng tahimik, inisip din niya kung tatakpan ba niya ang dibdib ng babae gamit ang folder sa harapan niya. He thought that her dress might be a little too low to be doing this. But based on her expression, she for sure knows what she was doing.

Halos sampung segundo na ang nakakalipas pero masayang nakayuko pa rin ang babae habang halos dumapa na sa lamesa para lang iabot ang kan’yang kamay kay Rui. He wasn't even looking at her. Her red lips curled up in a very seductive smile as she looked up and down at Rui.

His furrowed brows and annoyed look made her even want his attention more. She cleared her throat and spoke in a very seductive voice.

"Hello Sir, my name is Mariposa Altenada, I am twenty four years old. Of legal age-"

"Leave"

Napahinto sa pagsasalita ang babae na hindi pa rin tumatayo ng maayos. Dahan-dahan niyang binawi ang kan’yang kamay at kalmadong umupo sa kan’yang upuan. She made sure that all of her hair is at her back to show her hot figure. Nagkunwari siyang walang narinig at inangat ng kaunti ang kan’yang damit na konting konti nalang ay mahuhulog na.

"I graduated from-"

"I said leave." Hindi pa rin sumusuko ang babae. Ngayon naman ay bahagya niyang iniangat ang laylayan ng kan’yang damit para ipakita ang makinis at mahaba niyang binti. Napangiti siya sa sarili. Ngunit hindi nagtagal ay nawala ang ngiting iyon ng mapansin niya na walang ekspresyon si Rui na nakatingin sa kan’yang cellphone.

Albert was already beside her ready to guide her out the door. Hindi lubos akalain ng dalaga kung ano ang nangyayari ngayon. She knew who Rui was, this was her chance to get herself a handsome CEO! But she never expected that her charms would totally fail her. Defeated, she was forced to walk away.

Walang nasabi si Rui sa lahat ng nangyari. He was honestly so scared of that lady. She gave him too much anxiety. Kitang kita kasi na gusto siyang akitin ng babae at hindi niya iyon nagustuhan kahit kaunti. Albert looked at him from the door and bowed down a bit, as if apologizing. He signalled with his pointer finger that he has the last applicant. Tumango si Rui habang binubuksan ang bottled water niya.

He was taking his time drinking and calming himself. The sound of the door closing made him look up to that direction. And there he saw a lady politely smiling and looking up at Albert as she thanked him for letting her in. She wore a black suit and pants together with a small black purse and black heels that aren't that high. Rui wasn't expecting her to look at his direction from the door and it was too late to look away as their eyes met. She then politely smiled and bowed down.

Her long wavy hair smoothly moved with her. She stood up and walked towards the table to seat in front of Rui.

Albert was beyond surprised to see Rui looking at the lady from the door to the chair. This is the longest that he saw Rui look at a girl. He sat beside him and got a better look at the lady and his mind went blank. Now he knows why Rui acted that way. The lady has a cute small face with big eyes and very long eyelashes which complements her cute little pointed nose and full lips. She's very beautiful.

"Good morning po, Ako po si Leyla Ayasya Cruz nice to meet you." She bowed down once again and smiled at them but fixes her eyes at Albert. Napangisi si Albert dahil nakikita niyang nakatulala pa rin si Rui sa mukha ng babae. This is a very different experience. His eyes doesn't show any fear and surprisingly no signs of anxiety. Sa tingin niya ay hindi makatingin si Leyla sa boss niya dahil sa direkta itong nakatulala sa kan’ya.

Albert cleared his throat and it somehow made Rui sit back and look away.

"How old are you Leyla?" Albert asked.

"I am twenty-three po."

"Based on your resume, you don't have any experience am I right?" Napahinto si Rui sa paminsan-minsang pagsulyap kay Leyla at napatingin kay Albert. He looks like he was asking him, "No experience? Are you serious?" But Albert responded by opening up the folder of Leyla's resume.

"But you graduated from a very well known University in UK as an honor student while taking up Business Management." Rui checked the resume and sure enough it was written in there, he didn't notice how his eyebrow raised as he read it.

"Yes, I studied thr---" Leyla was stopped by the loud screaming from the door and seconds later a lady in her fifties furiously entered the room. She looked like a foreigner and Leyla confirmed it when the woman angrily started screaming in Korean.

"Madam Lee, What is happening?" Albert stood up to greet the lady but she just shouted more Korean words at him and started pointing at Rui from across the table. Everyone was very confused as to what was happening. There were also a lot of people that are watching from outside the door but all they could understand from Madam Lee was "Rui". Albert not knowing what to do, helplessly looked at Rui but he was just focusing on looking at the floor as he aggressively taps his foot on the floor.

"Nega mwonde? Neo mwohanya!" Madam Lee was angrily pointing at Rui who clearly don't understand a thing. He couldn't look at her even if she sounds like she was cursing at him in a different language. His anxiety kicked in so he just sat there trying to stop overthinking the situation and calm himself down.

"Annyeonghaseyo Madam Lee, je ileum-eun Leyla ibnida. " Everyone got silent in an instant as the applicant calmly stood up, bowed down and spoke in Korean to Madam Lee. She smiled at the woman that was just cursing everyone moments ago but now she is looking at Leyla quietly.

The silence didn't last long as Madam Lee started to complain at the only one that can understand her. Leyla was attentively nodding while Albert and Rui exchanged meaning full looks.

Madam Lee still hasn't stopped talking, at this point Rui wasn't sure if this little lady in front of him understood a single word. He spoke in a low voice…

"Naiintindihan mo ba talaga?" Without looking at him, Leyla showed him a thumbs up and pretended to clear her throat while slipping a few words.

"Hmm I gotchu dude" Albert secretly giggled with their interaction. He was impressed at how Leyla responded to the intimidating CEO in a funny way and Rui couldn't do anything about it.

Dahan-dahan na namang tumataas ang boses ni Madam Lee habang nagkukwento kay Leyla. Maya-maya ay dinuduro na naman niya si Rui na walang kaalam-alam sa nangyayari pero kalmadong hinawakan ni Leyla ang dalawang kamay nito habang kalmadong nagsalita na naman sa lengwahe na si Madam Lee lang ang nakakaintindi.

Nakita ni Rui na tumango ang babae sa kung ano man ang sinabi ni Leyla at ibinaling niya ang tingin dito na saktong tumingin din sa kan'ya.

"Mr. Andrews may alam po ba kayo na Korean drama series na See You There and title tapos binenta raw ni Madam Lee 'yong rights sa inyo for release?" Sandaling nag isip si Rui bago tumango.

"Yes, anong problema?"

"Kasi po ang napagkasunduan niyo raw po ay ipapalabas na 'yong series simula kahapon sa national T.V. pero hindi raw po natuloy and wala din daw po sa online site ng Phoenix. Kaya po nagagalit si Madam Lee kasi po, hindi raw po niya alam ang nangyayari. Ngayon po iniisip niya na binili niyo lang po 'yong rights no'ng series na produced niya para hindi mapunta sa ibang agency pero hindi niyo po ibibigay 'yong payment na based sa ratings and views since hindi niyo po binigyan ng slot."

Rui finally understood what was happening. He scrolled through his phone to find a certain email and showed it to Leyla.

"This was the email I sent last week to her assistant who handles the deal with us and is also her translator. Napag usapan namin na madedelay ng two weeks ang release dahil may patapos na series sa kabilang station. That one's very popular. Sigurado ako na hindi mapapansin ang See You There kapag sinabayan namin sila and her assistant clearly agreed to it as you can see on the email." Tumango si Leyla at ininguso niya ang lamesa kay Rui na nilapag ang phone para makita rin ni Madam Lee ang email. Hawak pa rin niya ang mga kamay ng ginang habang mabagal na pinapaintindi ang nangyari.

Panandalian na namang natahimik ang ginang na ngayon naman ay nakitaan ng lungkot ni Leyla. Madam Lee started to tear up as she heard and saw everything.

Hindi alam ni Rui at Albert ang nangyayari kaya naman naguluhan sila ng biglang maluha si Madam Lee at niyakap siya ni Leyla habang tinuturo kay Albert ang box ng tissue sa likuran niya.

The poor lady struggled to talk while drying her tears with the tissue. Pagkatapos ng lahat ay malungkot na humarap ang dalaga kay Rui.

"Mr. Andrews, 'yong translator and secretary raw po niya ay totoong kapatid niya. Silang dalawa raw po 'yong bumuo ng See You There. Noong huling nakausap niyo raw po 'yong kapatid niya, hindi raw po nasabi sa kan’ya 'yong changes at hindi niya na din daw po nakausap kasi naaksidente raw po 'yong kapatid niya at ngayon wala na siya. Ngayon po naiintindihan niya na po lahat ng nangyari and she's apologizing for the trouble. She's also very thankful that you did it for the success of their last produced Series." Malungkot na ngumiti ang ginang kay Rui.

Madam Lee bowed to Leyla and turned to Rui who politely stood up and bowed to her as well.

"Please tell her that I am so sorry for her lost and that I promise that I would take care of their masterpiece." Leyla nodded and translated it in Korean for the old woman. Even if there's tears in her eyes, she finally showed a sincere smile and bid farewell but the three of them insisted on seeing her out.

This wasn't the job interview that Leyla was expecting. That was definitely more than just a roller coaster of emotions and now as she watched Madam Lee drive away, she wasn't sure of the next move. Albert was standing beside her and Rui was behind them, she instantly felt nervous.

Bumalik sa ala-ala niya ang kalokohan niya kanina sa loob habang nagiinit ang mga kaganapan. "I gotchu dude? Are you serious Leyla? Why did you say that?" She started to mentally hit her own head. She did not dare look back out of pure embarrassment. Alam niya na naiintindihan ni Albert ang iniisip niya ngayon dahil sa biglaang pagpipigil niya ng tawa habang nakatingin ito sa ekspresyon niya.

She got here acting all professional and stuff but she's afraid that she ruined everything just because of that single word. Napatingin nalang siya sa sahig sa kahihiyan dahil parang nakipagusap lang siya sa tropa niya kung makasagot siya kanina. Everything around her stopped as she saw a pair of large black shoes appear on her other side.

"You can start tomorrow."

 His deep voice made her look up to him but he quickly turned around and Leyla was left to watch Rui walk away.