Rosamia: When Petals Speaks

CHAPTER 5 THE SAVIOR

“Hmmm…” I groaned as the blaring alarm from my phone yanked me out of sleep. I forced my eyes open and blinked at the screen.

7:56 A.M.

My heart skipped a beat.

Oh no… I’m late!

I scrambled out of bed and rushed straight to the bathroom. On my way, I caught a glimpse of Dad in the kitchen, busy cooking breakfast. I barely stayed under the shower for six minutes before throwing on the first decent outfit I could grab. When I emerged, Dad was waiting by the counter, holding a plate.

“Eat first, Teyang,” he offered warmly.

Teyang. He was the only one who ever called me that.

“I can’t, Dad... I’m already late. I’ll just take something with me,” I said breathlessly, grabbing the packed food he had prepared. He gave me a small smile, the kind that always made me feel guilty for rushing, but he handed it over anyway.

“Fine, but don’t skip meals.”He said.

“I won’t. Thanks, Pa!” I called as I bolted out the door.

As soon as I stepped outside, a bus screeched to a stop right in front of me. Perfect timing. I hurried up the steps and scanned the rows of seats. And there he was...

Joaquin.

Sitting on the fourth row, glancing at his watch before his gaze flicked to mine.

So I wasn’t the only one running late. he's late too.

“Thea, sit here with m—” He didn’t get to finish because I had already slid into a seat on the second row, pretending not to hear.

My chest tightened. I just… couldn’t. Not today. Not when the memory of last night still burned so vividly in my head.That kiss.

My first kiss.

I gripped the strap of my bag, heart pounding as I tried to focus on the window instead of him. The city blurred past, but inside, my thoughts refused to settle.

What am I supposed to say to him now? Pretend nothing happened? Pretend my heart didn’t skip a hundred beats when his lips touched mine?

I bit my lip and shook my head. No. For now, space was safer. Space meant I wouldn’t make a fool of myself. Behind me, I could almost feel Joaquin’s eyes. Silent. Waiting.

When the bus finally stopped, I crossed the pedestrian lane and walked straight toward the company building. Right at the entrance, I noticed a small group being scolded for coming in late, and among them was Joaquin.

“Oh, Ms. Villanera, you’re late as well?”Our sales department team leader pointed out the moment he spotted me. “You’re the only one late in our depart~”

“She’s not late,” Cobe cut in smoothly before our team leader could finish. He raised the cup in his hand. “I asked her to buy this for me.”

“Oh, I see, sir,” the team leader stammered, his tone instantly shifting to meek respect. He even bowed slightly, like a scolded lamb.

“You can go to your desk now, Althea,” Cobe said, flashing me a quick smile. I couldn’t help but smile back. I'm saved again.

Nice one, Cobe. You're my savior huhu...

I sank into my desk chair and pressed the power button of my PC. The low hum of the CPU filled the quiet room, and the monitor flickered awake with a soft glow. Okay, Thea. Time to prove yourself. I opened my browser and typed: appliance stores wholesale Philippines. The search results loaded instantly, filling the screen with names, numbers, and websites. My fingers flew over the keyboard as I jotted down ten stores into a neat list. Ten opportunities. Ten chances to make this work.

I picked up the desk phone, took a deep breath, and dialed the first number.

“Good morning, this is Althea Villanera from Dyson. May I speak with your purchasing manager?”

Almost immediately, a flat voice replied, “Not interested. We already have a supplier.”

Toooot

I stared at the receiver, blinking.

They hung up that fast? Okay, Thea. Don’t panic. Nine stores left. Focus. Keep going.

I typed the second number into the phone and pressed the dial button.

“Hi, this is Althea from Dyson. I’d like to introduce—”

“Sorry, we don’t carry premium brands. Too expensive for our customers.”

Toooot

I exhaled slowly and pinched the bridge of my nose.

Two down. Don’t lose focus, Thea. One yes is all you need.

I straightened in my chair and dialed the third number.

“Hello, this is Althea from Dyson. We’re currently—”

“Already contracted with another company. Thanks.”

Toooot

Three rejections. My shoulders sagged. And it wasn’t even 10 AM yet.

Should I even keep trying? Yes. One of these has to work. One might say yes.

I sank back into my desk chair, dialing the next number on my list, when I caught snippets of whispers from the corner of the room. My eyes flicked over, and I realized it was the interns from the Accounting department, three girls huddled together, glancing at me and giggling.

“Lucky she got a client the first time, huh? Thinks she can get another one just like that,” one of them muttered.

“Yeah, totally,” another chimed in, smirking.

“And she’s cozying up to the CEO’s son too!” I froze for a second.

Excuse me?

“Buying her coffee and everything....so flirtatious!”

Heat crept up my cheeks. My fingers hovered over the phone, unsure whether to shout back or just ignore them.

Focus, Thea. Don’t let them get to you.

I pressed the receiver to my ear and took a deep breath. Let them whisper. Let them judge. They had no idea how much effort it took just to get a foot in the door.

I leaned closer to the monitor, ignoring their snickers and the pointed looks, reminding myself: today wasn’t about proving them right, it was about proving me capable.