Between Hate and Love

Chapter 13

It had been a week since we met Mr. Aziz. I initially wanted to talk things out with Khal, but he was always stopping me from speaking about it. The last time, he even threatened to fire me if ever I spoke about it again.

Wala ako’ng masyadong alam sa nangyari. Basta, ang alam ko sinuntok ni Khal si Mr. Aziz. But, Mr. Aziz did not press any charges. Wala rin ako’ng natanggap na reklamo via e-mail mula kay Mr. Aziz. Instead, I received a list of all the lands that the board approved of. Also, there was something about budgetary plans and further details about the construction of oil refineries and refiling stations.

“If ever Mr. Aziz would try to contact you, inform me at once.”

Those were Khal’s words. Iyon lang ang may kaugnayan kay Mr. Aziz na sinabi niya sa akin. At sa tuwing mapag-uusapan na si Mr. Aziz, kaagad niya ako’ng tinitingnan nang masama.

What I got from what happened was the idea that Khal surely still cares for me. Sa tuwing mapapatingin nga ako sa sugat niya sa mukha ay parang tanga ako na napapangiti. Naiintindihan ko naman na mali ‘yung nagiging pagtingin ko sa bagay-bagay dahil doon, pero it added fuel to my burning hope.

It was lunch time. Maraming inaasikaso si Khal, at sinabihan niya ako na magtanghalian na muna bago tumuloy sa iba ko’ng mga ginagawa. So, when I was done having lunch, I immediately brought lunch for Khal.

I was happy and my mood was really good. Kahit papaano ay maayos na rin ang tulog ko. Sa nagdaan na isang Linggo, medyo nabawasan din ang katarayan ni Khal. Siguro dahil mas tambak siya sa trabaho at madalas din siyang wala sa opisina. Although he had me as his assistant, hindi ako madalas na nasa tabi niya. I didn’t know if it was normal. Nasanay lang siguro siya na gawin ang lahat ng mag-isa. I tried to offer some help, but he wouldn’t allow me to.

Dahil may dala ako na tray ay hindi ko mabuksan ‘yung pintuan. Kumatok ako ng tatlong beses habang nakangiti pa. Inaasahan ko na si Khal ang magbubukas ng pintuan pero si Sarah ang bumungad sa akin.

“Oh. Your assistant’s here! Finally, I could have someone na uutusan. Akala ko, you drowned in your lunch na,” Sarah greeted to me.

She did not even opened the door widely for me. The door almost hit the tray, so I immediately used my feet to push it away from me.

“Come on, girl. Move! Then, get me my usual drink. Tapos, throw all those food away. Khal would have these instead.” Sarah rasied the paperbag she was holding then handed it to me. I looked at Khal, pero mukhang sobrang busy siya, so I did not get any response from him.

Diskumpyado ako na bumaba muli, dala ‘yung tray. Tapos ay hinanda ‘yung pagkain na dala ni Sarah. Grabe ‘yung pagtitimpi na ginawa ko dahil hindi ko talaga gusto ang babae na ‘yon. Kung makapag-utos siya, akala mo siya ang boss ko. But I still have some respect, kaya naman hahabaan ko pa ang pisi ko hanggang sa kaya ko.

I brought the food back to Khal’s office. Nang malapit na ako sa pinto ay dinig ko ang komosyon. Sarah, with her thin voice was overpowering Khal who was telling her to leave.

“I already told you, I have a meeting within an hour. You have to leave,” Khal frustratedly explained.

Hindi ako sigurado kung totoo ang sinasabi ni Khal. Kasi nga, siya lang ang may alam ng buong schedule niya. Ako lang yata ang assistant na hindi nag-aasikaso sa schedule ng boss niya.

“I might be on the way. Please, I’ll come with your, or better yet, ihatid mo na lang ako,” Sarah suggested, having a sudden jolt of energy.

“No. It’s out of the way. Also, I can’t bring you to the meeting.”

Marami pa’ng sinabi si Sarah, but Khal answered her with the same words. Alam ko’ng ayaw na ayaw niya na paulit-ulit siya sa words niya, pero ngayon kaya na niya na magtimpi.

Ilang segundo ng katahimikan ang naghari sa loob kaya naman nagdesisyon na ako na kumatok. Pero bago ko pa mabuksan ang pinto ay bumungad na sa akin si Sarah. She immediately rolled her eyes at me at binunggo niya ako, causing the food on the tray to spill on me and on the floor.

“What the…” muntik pa ako’ng magmura dahil sa nangyari. She brought soup. Out of all the days na magdadala siya ng soup, ngayon pa talaga? Parang sinadya niya. And since I heated the food, mainit din ang sabaw na dumaloy mula sa dibdib ko hanggang sa may tiyan ko. Pati paa ko ay natapunan. Nabasag din ang dala ko na tasa, kasama nung bowl na may sabaw.

Sarah only stopped to look at me, roll her eyes, then she walked away.

Khal was also taken aback by what happened. He quickly moved away all the shattered pieces of porcelain glasses and took the tray away from me. “Are you alright?”

I did not respond.

I was definitely not alright.

“That girl…” he muttered and shook his head. He took his phone and called Rebecca, asking her to get some help to clean up the mess on the floor. Then, he brought me inside his office.

Pinanood ko lang siya habang iginayak niya ako sa couch. He texted someone as he proceeded to get the first aid kit.

“You should remove your clothes immediately later and —” Khal told me and that was everything that I heard. I was wearing a yellow peplum dress, and now the stain from the coffee, the tea, and the soup was on it. I feel like my chest was burning. May sasabihin pa sana siya nang kaagad ko hubarin ‘yung top ng dress ko. It was buttoned, sleeveless, and v-neck top. Kaya ko’ng tanggalin pansamantala ‘yung top, while keeping the skirt part of the dress.

“I… I’ll go and leave. Rebecca will take care of you. Take the rest of the day, and message me whether you can go to work tomorrow or not…” Khal stated.

I only realized that I was now only wearing a tube in front of him, when his eyes tried to avoid the gazes from my chest. My brows aligned, looking at myself, and understood completely how stupid I was.

Nahiya ako bigla sa ginawa ko, kaya tumalikod ako sa kanya agad-agad.

“S-sorry…S-ir,” I muttered, unsure what to tell.

Hindi ko siya narinig na sumagot, ang narinig ko lang ay pagbukas ng pintuan, hudyat na lumabas na siya. Napalunok ako.

I wasn’t feeling too hot because of the spills anymore, but rather, on something else.

Oh. My. Gosh.