Pieces Of You

Chapter 4

Patricia

By one-thirty in the afternoon, my lunch was already thirty minutes late.

At that point, I was starting to think my food had officially given up on me.

The steady hum of the air conditioner filled my office while sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind my desk.

Sa ibaba, bumper-to-bumper na naman ang traffic.

Meanwhile, ako?

Hindi pa rin nakakakain.

Makukutusan na ako ni Mama nito.

My stomach chose that exact moment to remind me of its existence.

As if on cue, a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened and Vanessa stepped inside carrying a paper bag.

The smell hit me almost immediately.Food!

Hindi kung anumang emergency snack na nakatago sa drawer ko.

"Sa wakas."parang naghugis puso ang mata ko pagkakita sa pagkain.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow.

"You're welcome."hindi ko na siya pinansin.

I reached for the paper bag.

"Akala ko nakalimutan mo na ako."

"Unfortunately, responsibility won't allow me."

"Ang sweet naman."

She look at me flatly.

"Huwag kang masanay."

Natawa ako at inilabas ang Food Container mula sa bag at binuksan ito.Pagkakita ko sa ulam bigla akong naglaway.Parang ang sarap kasi ng pagkakaluto ng chapsuey.

Kasama nito ang isang maliit na container ng fruit slices at bottled water.

Napailing ako.

"Thank you Van" iniripan niya ako at umiling.

Aba't nakalimutan niya yata na boss niya parin ako kahit magkaibigan kami.

Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay.

"What?" Inosenteng tanong niya.

"Ang sungit mo."

Vanessa dropped a folder on my desk.

"Last week, dinner mo crackers."

Napangiwi ako.

"Grabe. Hindi mo pa rin nakakalimutan?"

"Hindi."

Napakamot ako sa leeg.

"One time lang iyon."

"Tatlong beses."

"Okay. Hindi mo kailangan maging specific."

A faint smile appeared on her face before she sat down across from me.

Minsan feeling ko achievement na iyong mapangiti si Vanessa.

Nakakatatlong subo palang ako when my phone vibrated.

The screen lit up with a familiar name.

Jez.

Napabuntong-hininga ako.

Vanessa immediately noticed.

"Problem?"

"Depende."

I answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hi,are you busy?"nakarinig ako ng kaluskos sa kabilang linya.

Napapikit ako.

That tone never led anywhere good.Nilunok ko muna ang kinakain bago siya sinagot.

"Ano na naman?"

"What if I move to another country?"

Binaba ko ang kutsara.

"What?! Bakit?."

Across from me, Vanessa quietly opened her tablet.

Mukhang ayaw niyang madamay sa kung anumang drama ang dala ni Jez ngayon.

Smart woman.

"My mother scheduled lunch tomorrow i meet ko daw yung anak ng kaibigan niya."

Narinig ko ang buntong hininga niya sa kabilang linya.

"Lunch lang naman pala."

"Patricia." I heard his warning tone.oooppss

"Yeah?."

"Can you please be supportive for once?"

I leaned back in my chair.

"Jez, hindi mo pa nga nami-meet."

"I don't want to."

"Malay mo naman."

"I don't like where this conversation is going."

Natawa ako.

Outside my office, someone hurried down the hallway while a nearby printer continued its endless battle against paperwork.

Meanwhile, Jez was considering exile because his mother wanted him to meet someone's daughter.

"You'll survive."

I heard him groaned.Tinawanan ko siya.

"Kung ituloy nalang kaya natin ang kasal?"

"What a bounce back." Nagsalubong ang mga kilay ko, smart ass.

I heard his manly chuckle.

"Sorry."

"Hindi ka mukhang sorry."

"Because I'm not."

His offended noise made me laugh.

The moment I ended the call, medyo naging tahimik ulit dito sa loob ng office ko.

Well.

May tumutunog na telepono sa labas ng pinto ko.

Sa kabilang side ng floor, may natawa sa isang bagay bago agad humingi ng paumanhin dahil medyo napalakas.

The steady clicking of keyboards continued in the background.

Tinapos ko ang pagkain at inabot ang water bottle.

Across from me, Vanessa was still reviewing something on her tablet.

"Please tell me tapos na ang lunch break."

Hindi man lang siya tumingin.

"Kanina pa po Ma'am."

Napasimangot ako.

"Ang higpit mo para sa taong hindi ko naman nanay."

"Someone has to be."

"Ang sakit mo magsalita."

Vanessa ignored me again.

At this point, feeling ko talent na niya iyon.

A knock sounded against the door.

This time, Benjamin stepped inside.

One look at his face and alam ko agad na hindi siya naparito para makipagkuwentuhan.

May hawak siyang folder.

At base sa experience ko, nobody carrying a folder ever brought good news.

"Sabihin mo sa akin na hindi na naman ito problema."

Grabe ha.

Quota na ako sa problema ngayong araw.

Benjamin walked toward my desk.

"Depends."

Napapikit ako.

"Ayaw ko talaga sa sagot na 'yan."

"So do I."

He placed the folder in front of me.

I glanced at the cover.

Cebu Integrated Development Project

Bigla yatang nawala ang gana kong mabuhay.

Amazing.

"What is it now?"

"The investors requested another review."

Napasandal ako sa upuan.

"Obviously."

Inipit ko sa tainga ang takas na hibla ng buhok ko.

Benjamin pulled out a chair and sat down.

Neither he nor Vanessa looked surprised by my reaction.

Mga traydor.

I opened the folder.

Several pages of reports.

Updated projections.

Budget summaries.

Then a name caught my attention.

Napahinto ako.

The same name appeared more than once.

I frowned before looking up.

"Who's Ralf De Guzman?"

Benjamin's expression barely changed.

Which was never comforting.

Because Benjamin usually looked that calm kapag may sasabihin siyang makakadagdag sa trabaho ko.

"CEO ng De Guzman Development Corporation."

I looked back at the document.

The name appeared again.

And again.

And again.

Either sobrang importante ng taong ito.

O sobrang hilig ng investors na banggitin ang pangalan niya.

Neither possibility impressed me.

"And bakit kasama siya rito?"

Benjamin crossed his arms.

"The investors requested his company to oversee part of the development."

That got my attention dahil bihira mangyari iyon.

Normally, investors cared about results.

Not specific people.

I flipped through another page.

The company profile wasn't exactly modest.

Several large-scale developments.

Commercial projects.

Mixed-use communities.

A few international partnerships.

Impressive.

Pero matagal ko nang natutunan na magkaibang bagay ang magandang portfolio at magandang katrabaho.

"Have you worked with him before?"

Benjamin shook his head.

"No."

"Met him?"

"Once."

That made me pause.

"And?"

A small smile appeared on his face.

Hindi ko nagustuhan iyon.

"Benjamin."

"What?"

"Ano'ng klaseng smile iyan?"

"Nothing."

"Sinungaling."

His smile widened,definitely a liar.

I closed the folder.

"Ano ba talaga?"

Benjamin leaned back slightly.

"Let's just say... may sarili siyang paraan ng pagpapatakbo ng kumpanya."

Napasimangot ako.

"That tells me absolutely nothing."

"It'll make sense tomorrow."

I hated answers like that.

Outside the windows, the sky had started turning shades of gold and orange as the workday slowly wound down.

A few employees were already heading toward the elevators.

Others were still glued to their desks.

Meanwhile, my schedule had apparently decided it wasn't complicated enough.

"He's arriving tomorrow morning."

I closed the folder and slid it across my desk.

"Okay."

Benjamin raised an eyebrow.

"'Okay'? That's it?"

"What exactly do you want me to say?"

"I don't know. Something."

I shrugged.

"He's a CEO."

"So?"

"So I'm surrounded by CEOs every other week."

That earned a laugh.

I pointed toward the door.

"Labas."

"You're very welcoming."tsk.

"At ikaw ay nakakaistorbo."

Still laughing, Benjamin headed toward the hallway.

The door clicked shut behind him.

I ran my fingers through my hair and stared at the folder resting on my desk.

Ralf De Guzman.