Play Pretend

Chapter 7

#OLAPlayPretend

Chapter 7
Ten Million

"Zoe Bautista?" I echoed her name as I stared at her with my eyes wide open.

Tipid siyang ngumiti at tumango sa akin bago binawi ang kanyang kamay. She stood straight and raised her chin, looking more elegant. I almost found her intimidating as well, pero dahil halos araw-araw akong may kasamang mas nakaka-intimidate pa kaysa sa kanya ay naging balewala na lang sa akin 'yon.

"You must be wondering why I know your name," Zoe said, still wearing a gentle smile.

Hindi na ako sumagot dahil mukhang alam ko na kung kanino niya 'yon nalaman. She didn't need to tell me anymore.

"I asked Tita Mira kung may kalapit na babae si Xaiver aside from Hariette. She said he's close with you," pagpapatuloy ni Zoe kahit na hindi ko naman tinatanong. She then eyed me quickly before smiling again. "I initially thought you were my rival... But it turned out you're just his secretary."

"You're wrong."

Napatalon ako nang madinig ko ang baritonong boses ni Xaiver na sumingit. I sensed him coming closer and before I could turn around, he was already standing beside me.

"Xaiver!" Zoe enthusiastically mentioned his name.

Kita ko ang pagningning ng mga mata ni Zoe nang makita siya. She looked like a fangirl who unexpectedly crossed paths with her idol. She was over the moon that she didn't seem to get what Xaiver had just said.

Like he was deliberately ignoring her, Xaiver turned to me. He scanned me from head to toe, then asked, "Are you okay?"

Napaawang ang aking mga labi. Ilang segundo rin akong napatulala bago tumango-tango. Nang ibinalik ko naman ang tingin kay Zoe ay nakakunot na ang kanyang noo. She stared at me and Xaiver suspiciously before she recovered from that and put on a huge smile on her face.

"Xaiver, hi!" Zoe moved a step forward to come close.

Galing sa akin, unti-unti siyang nilingon ni Xaiver. You could easily see it in his face that he was unwilling to entertain her. Ganoon lagi ang itsura niya sa mga babaeng pinapakilala ni Mrs. Dela Vega. He was always cold and indifferent.

Usually, women would back down once they found him uninterested, but some were really persistent. I couldn't blame Xaiver for losing his interest even more because of that.

"You are?" Xaiver asked, making Zoe's jaw drop in disbelief.

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko. Tiningnan ko ang ekspresyon ni Xaiver at seryosong-seryoso lamang siya habang nakatingin sa babae. Despite that, I knew he was just bluffing. There was no way he wouldn't recognize her, lalo na't nadinig niya ang mga sinabi nito kanina.

"Z-Zoe Bautista..." Zoe was flustered that she somehow lost her confidence. "I'm sure your mother has mentioned me to you already. We were supposed to meet last time for lunch, pero may bigla ka raw appointment na kailangang puntahan."

I pursed my lips tight. It seemed like Mrs. Dela Vega had to make up an excuse not to embarrass Zoe. Nandoon ako at saksi ako sa mga nangyari.

Xaiver was also looking forward to having lunch with his mother after being away for a month-long business trip, but as soon as he knew his mother planned to trap him in a blind date, he didn't think twice. Agad siyang umalis kasama ko. He didn't want to meet her. More so, date her.

"Oh, right..." Xaiver flashed a mocking grin. "Sorry about that. My mother has introduced me to a countless number of women already this year. I can't possibly remember everyone's names, right?"