Right Here, Right Now (Empire #3)

Chapter 23

"DO YOU have any more questions, Miss Madriaga?"

I smiled a little before shaking my head. "No more questions, Sir," I replied.

My manager smiled back at me. "All right, Welcome to The Empress," he said before he left my office.

When my manager left, napahawak ako agad sa dibdib ko. My heart is beating so fast. Today's my first day at work and I'm fricking palpitating because of the 3 cups of coffee that Cash made me drink!

Akala ko talaga I won't make it on time! I had a good midnight talk with Cash under the stars while sitting at the beach. Kaya anong oras na kami nakauwi from Batangas, tapos inabutan pa kami ng traffic when we got to Manila. He got me back at the Empire at almost 6 AM, kaya halos 1-hour lang ako nakatulog because I didn't sleep sa biyahe kasi kawawa naman si Cash if tutulugan ko siya.

So, I slept until 7:30 AM, and then I just took a quick bath and went to work.

I didn't eat breakfast. Ang laman lang ng tiyan ko ay coffee while we're in the biyahe and then coffee again this morning. I could feel my eyes hurting and my head about to burst.

I sagged in my office chair and closed my eyes for a few moments. Sabi naman ni Sir Andres, wala pa naman akong masyadong gagawin today because it's my first day palang and he just wants me to be familiar with the employees for now. One of my responsibilities as an HR professional is to handle employee relations, payroll, benefits, and training. Kaya mas better na kilala ko talaga lahat ng employees dito sa The Empress and that's not an easy task.

The Empress is a huge company, and they have like hundreds of employees and different departments, kaya I need to get to know each one of them. Siguro sisimulan ko nalang sa marketing department, tutal nandoon si Curtis, and I also know Trent, Maddy, Brienne, and Gabe na.

I almost jumped off my seat when I suddenly heard a knock on my door.

"Come in," I said, while combing my hair with my fingers. Inaantok na talaga ako.

"Hi, Sera."

"Oh, hi Trent. That's you lang pala." I chuckled. My eyelids were drooping because of lack of sleep.

"Are you okay?" natatawang tanong niya. Lumabas iyong dimples sa magkabilang pisngi niya. He looks different now that he's wearing a suit and tie. He looks cute and neat.

I yawned. "Uh-huh. I'm sleep-deprived lang, but I'm okay." I replied while wiping the tears from my eyes.

I couldn't control my yawning. I'm really sleepy na talaga. Did Cash get to work kaya? Nag-drive pa siya all night and for sure hindi na siya nakatulog after niya akong ihatid.

"I'll be back," Trent said, and he left my office immediately. And then, after a few minutes, he came back while holding a cup of coffee.

"Here's your coffee with an extra espresso shot,"