Nights Like This

CHAPTER 8

I raised my head when I heard a knock on my desk. I stretched my neck because I can feel that it's starting to feel stiff. I'm back to my daily routine and I'm already stressed about the amount of work that I have to do.

"Yes?" I asked Janine na may dala dalang folder. She placed it on my desk like how they always do whenever they're submitting papers to me. "Is this final? Complete na ba?"

"Yes Maam. Review mo na lang po and then approval ni Sir Vance," she replied.

"Okay. Idadaan ko na kaagad sa office nya after I review it. Thanks," I said, dis missing her. "Do you still need anything?" dagdag ko because she didn't move after she placed the papers on my desk.

Janine sighed. I traced her sight at naka tingin sya sa labas ng pinto ni Vance.

"Sino kaya yung kasama ni Sir Vance kahapon?" she mumbled to herself. I didn't get what she said so I crunched my forehead and then asked her,

"What are you saying? I didn't hear you," I said to her and then pinned my focus again on the work that I momentarily stopped from doing.

"Kasi Maam, chika sa akin ni Niña from marketing dept, may naka kita raw kay Sir Vance na may kasamang babae sa cinema," she said and sighed.

A deafening static sound passed through my ears while my breathing halted for a while.

"Did they saw the girl?" I asked her hoping that she would elaborate for me to confirm.

I honestly don't care about gossips in the office but this one's different because the person that they might be talking about is me. Assuming na wala ng ibang dinala sa sinehan si Sir Vance then that person is me.

"Hindi raw po yata Maam. Natatakpan daw ni Sir Vance yung babae eh. Sayang naman kung may girlfriend si Sir," aniya.

I silently breathed all the nervousness out. "Oh..."

If there's no evidence then I'm good. They wouldn't know.

I'm just relieved that we weren't filmed because if we happened to be captured together, it won't take the people a long time to realize that that was me with my boss in a public place during our day off. People might mistake that as I am having a date with him outside the office kahit na wala namang malisya yung pag sama ko sa kanya.

I don't want to be the subject of any chismis around the office as if Gabriel wasn't enough to have one and I certainly don't want another one from Sir Vance. That's just so chaotic and stressful.

I have so much on my plate right now. I certainly don't want another.

And gossip is one of the reasons why I don't really tell people which family I belong. I just want to live my personal life and stay under the radar of the media and the people that might use me to attack my family and invade my private life.

"Sino po kaya sa tingin nyo yung girl Maam?" she innocently asked.

"How would I know? I'm not really interested with our boss' private life," I said while maintaining the unbotheredness on my voice. "Aren't you going to continue your work?"

Janine opened his mouth like she's about to say something to retaliate but she probably realized that I am her boss and I'm asking her to resume her work.

She can't really retaliate that, can she?

"Sorry Maam, na carried away lang. Balik na po ako," she said while awkwardly pointed at her station.

"As you should," I strictly said.

Janine finally waked away, leaving me with all the thoughts on what she said.

Kung hindi pa nya na- banggit, baka hindi ko pa agad malalaman. Gossips like this really travels so fast among the walls of this company. There hasn't been twenty four hours when that happened but the word traveled already like a bolt of lightning.

I stopped what I was doing and then relaxed my back at the backrest of my swivel chair. My head's just full of thoughts about what happened yesterday.

Ironically, nothing much happened yesterday. We just literally watched the movie yesterday and right after it ended, we parted our ways outside the cinema. I went home and then enjoyed my time alone.

This won't do. I can't bring back my focus like how it was before Janine came to me and told me that information so I got up from my chair and walked to the pantry.

I grabbed a Nespresso capsule and then placed it on the coffee machine. I grabbed my personal mug and then put it under and waited for it to be done. I bring my own mug kahit na may mug naman sa pantry because I don't really like sharing stuffs like mugs with every person here in the office. Even if I eat out, I really bring my own utensils.

I heard footsteps at the back but I didn't mind because employees really come here everytime they need to charge the caffeine on their bodies. This is one of the places that's never vacant for too long by the employees. I can't even imagine the total of the coffee that all the employees consume everyday. That would be massive yet free for us to consume.

When my cofee's done, I grabbed it feom the machine to get some ice but as soon as I turned my body, I saw Sir Vance behind me.

"Sir Vance," I formally adressed him as we're here at the office. "Coffee?" I asked as I get my coffee an ice.

"Thanks. I'm about to make myself one," aniya ng naka ngiti. I stepped out a little bit to make room for him to move. It's wide here but I'm just maintaining the distance between us.

Sir Vance is not the boomer boss who asks his subordinated to make him coffee or do things for him. He never asked us to do something for his own favor. It's always work related and never personal. That's probably people in the office likes him too. As a boss. He just makes our life easier at the office.

He really proved that he might look too young to be the Operations Manager but he really nails his work well.

"Sir," I called him to have his attention.

"Yes?" he answered, asking. "Can you just call me Vance? It's just the two of us here."

"We're still at the office Sir," I sternly said to him.

I looked around our surroundings to make sure na there's no people that might hear what I'm about to say. I faced the doorway just to make sure na makikita ko kaagad kung may papasok while he's facing the wall while waiting for his coffee to be done.

Curiously, I asked him, "Have you heard of the rumors?"

Ibinaling ko ang ulo ko in his direction. He doesn't really have a notable reaction other than his eyebrows than went up and went down fast than a blink of an eye.

"What rumor?" he asked.

"Somebody saw us yesterday. They didn't saw me fortunately," I said to him.

Of course. What do I expect from him? If I don't really care about the rumors, mas lalo na siguro sya. Plus, he don't really go out of his office and talk to people like this. Except for me.

"Then that's not a rumor. That's true though? We were together at the cinema yesterday," he said. Naka kunot na ang noo nya. I now have his full attention because he faced his whole body to me while I remained on my position.

I sipped on my coffee and he sipped on his too.

"What makes it that a rumor is that they're suspecting that that girl is your girlfriend," I informed him. "Which is not true."

Sir Vance stopped his arms from moving up mid way as his eyes is on me. He stayed like that for a while bago nya ibaba yung kamay nya and blinked for a few times. Binasa nya yung ibabang labi nya and nods his head while he diverted his gaze on his left.

"Right. That's not true and it's impossible, right? You being my girlfriend," he said and I noticed that he looked at the floor.

I nodded to anwer him though I'm not really sure kung nakikita nya ba. "You're my boss," I told him.

"Just let those rumors fly. It will soon disappear. Besides, I could niether confirm nor deny, " he said.

Right. Tama naman sya. If he denies it, they might ask him who that was and he shouldn't name me. He can not confirm naman because that wasn't true.

"Just let it be. We know the truth," aniya. I nodded at him. Sir Vance breathed deeply. "Mauna na ako, Camila. Enjoy your coffee."

In a blink of an eye, naka labas na si Sir Vance at naiwan akong mag isa sa pantry hawak ang mug ng kape.