Programmed Wife

Chapter 31

"Narinig mo na ba?"

"May bagong chika? Ano na naman?"

"Hinaharot na naman daw ngayon nitong si Leyla si Shawn! 'Di na nahiya, pagkatapos sa boss natin na may girlfriend na, talagaung aatake pa sa best friend niyang artista!"

"Ay shuta! Ang landi naman pala talaga noong bagong secretary! Kaya ako duda ako noong unang pasok niyan dito eh. Kawawa tuloy si Shiela, nakita mo na ba kung gaano siya kalungkot lately?"

"Gag* ka teh, malamang! Ikaw ba naman ang harap-harapan na pagtaksilan ng long time boyfriend mo dahil lang may bagong secretary siya!"

"Ehem ehem," Leyla cleared her throat at the doorway of the office pantry. Sa kalagitnaan ng mainit na tsismisan ng mga katrabaho niya, pinili niyang ipaalam na narinig niya ang lahat.

Three of her female co-workers gasped and quickly acted as if they're talking about something else. But there's no way that she would let it go this time. To her, it's just too much and she needed it all to stop.

"Hi, I am Leyla. The secretary you've been talking about, what's up?" she asked in her signature sweet voice. Her angelic face showed a cute little smile but something in her aura makes the other girls feel afraid for some reason.

"Ah- hehe, Hello. I'm Daniela," the one who proudly presented the fake information awkwardly introduced herself.

"Daniela, nice name. I wouldn't think that you'd be saying such disgusting tales."

Nanlaki ang mga mata nila dahil sa simpleng paninindak nito. They did not expect this from her.

"See, ngayon ipinapakita na niya ang totoo niyang kulay sa inyo. Mabuti naman at hindi ka na nagtatago sa pa- sweet at pa-cute mong image!" Shiela came in just at the right moment. Sakto lang para makisali sa usapan nila.

"Shiela, hindi ka pa ba napapagod? Ilang beses na ba tayong nakapag usap? Hindi ka pa rin ba nagigising sa sarili mong kasinungalingan?"

Slowly, people have been gathering to watch the two talk. They have been waiting for this action. Half of the people have the underlying feeling of Shiela just faking all of it, but they did not dare to go against it. Leyla was the first one.

"Shut the f*ck up you homewrecker!" Shiela screamed at the top of her lungs. Talagang tinodo na niya ang pagganap sa imaginary role niya.

"What's happening? Bakit ang ingay yata rito?" they all stopped as Shawn casually went inside the room that's currently in heat. "Kailangan pala dito ako lagi sa tuwing day off ko, mas ma-drama pa yata rito kaysa sa mga shoot." He's wearing a plain white shirt together with his loose sweat pants.

Obviously the girls immediately shifted, from crazily eavesdropping to acting all cute and pretty. But not Leyla, she's not affected by his perfect visuals, she is on a mission. To clear her name.

"Mr. Shawn, it's great that you are here. What a coincidence!" she greeted the man standing behind Shiela who's face turned pale.

"Oh Leyla hi, hi! Anong meron? Do you guys need me here or something? Akala ko may away," natatawang sagot ni Shawn. Immediately he could sense the scandalous looks, closely examining his actions towards the secretary, "Okay, tell me about it."

Leyla smiled and turned to look at Daniela who's visually sweating bullets, "Mr. Shawn I am so sorry that I needed you to clarify this but, have I tried to flirt or get in a relationship with you?" she straight up asked.

"Ha? 'Yon ba ang pinag uusapan nin'yo? Akala ko pa naman kung anong tsismis," dismay was apparent in his voice. "Sorry mga Marites, wala kaming relasyon ni Leyla. I just met her recently and she's pretty cool. But no, we have nothing."

A bunch of gasps and whispering filled the room.

"Will that clear it up?" Leyla innocently smiled at the girls and gave Shiela the sweetest one. "I'm so sorry Mr. Shawn."

"It's okay, I'm glad I could help clarify things. Pero nakakadismaya ha? Akala ko pa naman natsismis na kayo ni Rui!" Once again the crowd turned silent, only Shawn's clueless laughter was heard. Seconds later he finally read the room, "Oh- may tsismis nga kayo?"

Leyla awkwardly nodded. And as Shiela was about to slowly disappear and run off, Shawn asked a question that has been in his mind.

"Actually I have heard rumors for a while now, may girlfriend daw si Rui sa office? Sino?" he asked. The employees shifted their eyes towards Shiela. "Oh, was it you?" he directly asked her.

Out of the blue, Roca popped up beside Leyla. "Shocks, masusugod na 'yong ilusyon ni Shiela! Nakakainis late ako," she whispered.

"Guys, come on. 'Wag niyong idamay itong si Miss... anong pangalan mo?" he asked Shiela.

"Shiela," she shyly whispered.

"'Wag niyong idamay sa tsismis 'tong si Shiela, ako dapat ang tanungin nin'yo. Hindi siya girlfriend ni Rui, trust me," Shawn actually believes that he just saved Shiela from the issue and from her co-workers gossips. Little did he know, that he just crumbled her whole lie.

"Hopefully soon ako na mismo ang makakapagbalita ng tsismis sa inyo kapag may nalaman na akong kaharutan niya," he wiggled his brows while directly looking at Leyla as if giving her a hint. "So... okay na ba? Bisitahin ko lang 'yong boss nin'yo ha?"

Well that did it. Now Shiela is getting all the attention, just as she wanted to, but not in the same way. Ang mga kanina lang ay kakampi niya at masama ang tingin kay Leyla, ngayon ay diring- diri na sa kan'ya.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry, but you kinda did it to yourself," Leyla whispered before leaving with Roca. She can finally walk around the office freely, "Ikaw naman Roca, may ganoon lang tapos bigla kang sumusulpot, talagang ang lakas ng pandinig mo sa tsismis!"

"Hahaha! Talaga no! 'Wag mo akong isumbong kay Sir Rui, babalik na ako sa puwesto ko!" she almost rapped at how fast she said those words by quickly running back to the front desk.

Leyla knocked at the door of Rui's office. Alam niya na nandoon ang kaibigan nito sa ngayon kaya naman hinintay niya muna na papasukin siya ni Rui bago niya buksan ang pintuan.

"Come in," he loudly said.

Inside she was greeted by Rui who's seriously staring at her as Shawn was just freely laying down at the couch.

"Leyla, what happened outside?" he asked almost immediately.

It gave her chills down to her spine but she managed to act normal and smile, "May commotion lang po Sir, oh sorry I forgot the sugar."

"Sugar?" tanong ni Shawn with his eyes still closed.

"Ah yes, naubos na po kasi 'yong asukal dito."

She couldn't see but Shawn raised his brow because of her casual response, "For what?" he asked.

"Uhm, for... coffee."

"But Rui drinks black, no?" instead of an answer, narinig niya ang pigil na pagtawa ni Leyla.

"He hates it-"

"Leyla, what happened outside?" putol ni Rui sa usapan nila.

"Oh Sir, nothing. I just had to clarify the gossip that have been going around for a while now. Buti na lang nandoon si Mr. Shawn para makatulong sa akin," sagot niya.

Nakita ni Leyla ang remote ng air conditioner sa table na nasa harapan ni Shawn and he was surprised to see her pick it up and put it on Rui's desk. Next she walked over to the mini fridge to get Rui's tumbler. But before she gave it to him, she mixed in half a cup of warm water from the electric kettle.

"Why did you not tell me about it? You've been bullied-"

"Woah Sir, excuse me, bullied ka d'yan. They could never!" she joked. "Don't think about it, tapos na. And you know I will never let them bully me, come on Sir."

"She knows him too well, pati kung paano niya sagutin si Rui. She knows what he wanted to hear," Shawn thougt. "She knows that I turned the temperature too high, Rui easily gets cold. And she knows that he hates cold water but also dislikes it warm."

"Gaano kayo ka-close?" Shawn blurted out of nowhere.

"Oh- I'm so sorry. Have I joked a bit too much? I didn't mean to-"

"No no, hindi Leyla. Nagtataka lang ako, mukhang besties na kayo ha?" Shawn teased.

Shawn saw Rui glance at the pen on his desk but Leyla took it so fast. Paabot pa lang si Rui doon para sana ibato kay Shawn.

"Woah! You just saved me!" Shawn screamed.

Masamang tumingin si Rui sa babae na kaagad niya lang sinuklian ng ngiti, "Sir this pen is your favorite personalized pen. You can't just throw it like that," she whispered.

Rui pulled the drawer of his table, "Sir, stapler would hurt and leave a mark on his forehead. You can't do that."

"He listens to you?" bulong ni Shawn.

"Shawn cut it out. Para kang nabibilib sa aso na marunong makinig."

"Exactly! Kailan ka pa natutong makinig?"