Sa Akin Siya (The Mistresses Series #4)

Chapter 2

Sabi nila, masaya maging mayaman. Masaya magkaroon lahat ng mga bagay na gusto mo. Well, that’s true because I live in that kind of luxury. But you know, having that amount of fortune doesn’t mean it will be forever. Hanggat may mga tao na mapanlinlang.

Ang bilis ng mga pangyayari. When I came to our office, it was a mess. Mom was crying, and everyone was stressed. And my father…

“Wait! Where are you taking my dad?” tanong ko habang sumusunod sa mga pulis na may hawak kay Daddy. Nakaposas ang dalawang kamay ni dad patalikod at may nakahawak sa dalawang braso niya na mga pulis. Mabuti na lang at na abutan ko sila sa parking lot. Tumigil sa paglalakad si dad at tumingin sa akin. He smiled.

“I’m sorry, princess. Dad was not careful. I trusted the wrong person,” malungkot na sabi niya. Kitang-kita ko sa mga mata niya ang lungkot at pagkadismaya.

Lumapit ako kay dad. “What… what happened? Why are they taking it? Why–”

“Princess,” pigil ni dad sa akin. I look at him with confusion. I don’t know what is happening, and my head is still hurting. “Go to your mom now and talk with her. She needs you.”

“But dad.” Nangilid na ang mga luha ko. I’ve been a daddy’s girl since then. Yes, I am a spoiled one. But only dad who can understand me even though sometimes he’s making me things I cannot do, like working for this company.

“Kailangan na po nating umalis, sir. Mas mahihirapan tayo kapag andito na ang media.”

Nawala ang atensyon ko kay dad noong magsalita ang pulis na katabi nito. Pagtingin ko sa ‘di kalayuan ng parking lot ay may nakita akong van ng puti. Napailing na ako and my tears fell. “Dad.”

“Go to your mom,” sabi ulit ni dad, then he nods to the police officer.

I panicked when I saw him walking again. I tried to stop them, but dad just told me to go back. Wala na rin akong nagawa dahil pumara na sa tapat ko ang mga van ng tv networks. Umiiyak na bumalik ako sa loob ng building. Sa office ni daddy.

“What happened?!” I asked mom as soon as I entered dad’s office. Nakaupo pa rin siya sa swivel chair ni dad at umiiyak. Naglakad ako papalapit doon at saka ipinatong ang dalawang kamay sa lamesa. “Why did they take dad?”

Mom took a deep breath and looked at me with her teary eyes. “H-Hindi ko alam, anak. Everything went too fast. We were about to go to have our breakfast. Pumunta lang kami rito dahil may kailangan siyang daanan na papeles. The next thing I knew, there were a lot of investigators and police officers in the office. They are… they wanted to take your father.” Tumigil si Mommy sa pagsasalita at biglang humagulhol.

“But why?” nagtatakang tanong ko pa rin. Pakiramdam ko bigla ay nanghina ang mga tuhod. Umupo ako sa upan na malapit sa table at tulalang napatingin sa glass wall ng office ni Dad. The sky is gray, same as my feeling. Sakto naman na may pumasok sa loob ng opisina. Dumating ang secretary ni Daddy at lumapit sa table kung nasaan si Mommy.

“Mrs Lopez. We now knew why the authorities took Mr Lopez,” bungad ni Leah. Ang babaeng sekretarya ni Daddy at personal assistant. “Someone was stealing from the company, and all the evidence are pointed to him.”

“What?” puno ng pagtatakang sabi ko. Kinuha ko ang papel na inilapag niya sa lamesa at tiningnan iyon. “Are you saying that my dad stole a money from his own company?”

Tumingin sa akin si Leah. “Yes.”

“That is bullshIt! Bakit naman gagawin ‘yon ni dad? He owns this!”

“But that’s not what the boards see. You know that we have stockholders in this company. Isa rin sila sa mga may-ari rito.”

Fvck! Umupo ako sa sofa at napatitig sa glass wall. Kagaya ng nararamdaman ko, parang nakikisabay ang langit. It’s gray and looks like about to rain. Hindi mag-sink in sa akin ang nangyari. My dad stole a money in his own company. Unbelievable!

The next day, all our questions were answered. My dad was scammed by a man named Rick, and no one knew about him in the company. Dad invested a lot of money in that Rick’s company- not knowing that it was just a play. And because of the politics, the shareholders blame my dad. Nalaman din kasi naming na may problema sa company kaya kinailangan na mag-invest ni dad. But sadly, like what he said. He trusted the wrong people.

Wala na rin akong nagawa kundi kuhain ang posisyon ni dad. Ayaw ko sana dahil I’m depressed. I want my dad out in the jail. Pero nakiusap sina mommy, especially, dad. Sabi niya sa akin may mga kalaban daw kami. And we can’t let them get our company. That’s why I don’t have any choice but to accept handling the company. Marami ang hindi nagustuhan ang pagtanggap ko bilang CEO ng company namin. But because I am the only daughter and I also have a share in the company. I got the position. Mom also gave me her shares too.

Honestly, I also don’t know what I will do in this company. I mean, I know. I studied well. Iyon lang naman ang ginagawa ko noon. But in the field, I never had any experience. Tapos nalaman ko pa na may malaking problema ang kompanya.

“You mean we are losing money?” disappointed na tanong ko kay Leah. Nakaupo ako sa swivel chair habang nakatitig sa mga papeles na inabot niya sa akin kanina. Naglalaman iyon ng report na unti-unti nang nalulugi ang company. And we have a lot of projects to do!

Malungkot na tumango si Leah. “We can’t find sponsors. Pagkatapos nang nangyari kay sir Lopez, a lot of our sponsors withdraw their money. Marami ring mga writers ang hindi na tinuloy ang pag-publish ng libro sa atin. Even our best-selling writer.”

“Then report them! That is a breach of contract! They can’t withdraw their stories from us!”

“Miss, they haven’t even signed a contract yet to us. Plus, Miss Sanchez’s contract just ended last month. Inaasikaso na sana ang pag-renew ng contract niya but she just called that she will not sign it anymore.”

“Fvck!” inis sa singhal ko. Isinandig ko ang likod ko sa sandalan at napahawak sa ulo. Marahan kong hinilot ang sentido ko. Noong bahagya akong kumalma ay muli kong hinarap si Leah. “Then what should we do?”

Napatitig lang sa akin si Leah at alanganing ngumiti. Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay at sinenyasan itong sumagot. “U-Unless we found a sponsor that will cover all our needs. Pwede tayong mabawi.”

I roll my eyes and wave my hand. Nagmamadali namang lumabas si Leah sa opisina ko. Everything changes in the company. Naririnig ko nga sa mga employee namin na masyado raw akong istrikto. Nasanay kasi sila kay dad na sweet at mahilig mag-joke. Kaya ganito ang nangyari sa amin. I’m not blaming him. But people always take you for granted if they saw that you are vulnerable.

I don’t want to be like that. Mas gugustuhin ko pang makilala nila akong masungit na leader. Those writers who withdraw their stories to us. Akala ata nila wala na kaming makikitang ibang writers. Duh? I’m not that dumb. Once I find a sponsor, they will see that they are wrong! But for now…

Kinuha ko ang cellphone ko na nakapatong sa lamesa and dials Glen’s number. I need to remove my stress. Ilang buwan na akong bahay at opisina lang.

“Hey, miss CEO! How are you?” bungad agad sa akin ni Glen pagkasagot niya ng tawag ko.

I took a deep sigh. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Me? Nothing.”

“Great. Let’s go out.”

It’s a great time to lose some stress tonight.