The Art of Persuasion

With Me

With Me

It was always a war between me and mornings. I hate them and my body clock's not helping at all. Usually I wake up around 9 am pero heto ako ngayon, 7:30 palang ay nasa opisina na. I got a hang of it but still, my hatred for mornings will never be gone not unless I have a motivation or also known as teasing the hell out of Caleb.

I was massaging my temples as I typed Caleb's mixed up appointment schedules. Kapag nga naman mamalasin ka at alam mo pang may galit sayo ang boss mo, he knew that his appointment in Cebu will be this coming Friday pero ngayon niya lang sinabi. 2 days from now ay Friday na at I still have to contact the investors na kasama niya for Cebu. What made it even worse is that he fired her secretary as well which makes me her associate slash secretary. Is this the promotion he's saying? Well great, okay sana if he would give me a raise but knowing him, he won't even think about it. He hates me that much.

I dialed the investor's company number on the telephone at buti ay mabilis silang pumick-up. I told their secretary about the rescheduled date of their trip to Cebu and we got it all settled. I heavily sighed at pinahidan ang mumunting pawis sa noo ko.

I also called the other investors that unfortunately, Caleb decided to postpone their meeting this weekend since three-days siya sa Cebu. Good thing I'm really good at persuading at nakumbinsi ko silang pumayag sa rescheduled date dahil tambak ng mga meetings si Caleb ngayon. It's about Crescendo's expansion, marketing ang main nila dito sa Manila pero gusto ng mga Fuego na pasukin pati ang Hotel & Management kaya they have set up a partnership with an investor sa Cebu.

You convince them and make them put their trust in your bare hands. That's the art of persuasion, persuading someone isn't that easy at ito ang lamang ng Crescendo compared to other companies. Marunong silang mangumbinsi at manguha ng tiwala. Most of the time, I think this corporation really suits me.

Sa dami ng inayos kong schedules at proposals hindi ko na namalayang it's 12 noon. Kaya naman pala tumatahol na ang tiyan ko sa gutom. I decided to leave my computer for a while and arranged the papers on my desk at puntahan sa kabilang floor si Portia para isabay maglunch sa labas. I'm not fond of eating at the Pantry because for one, Caleb's going to be there for sure. Mahilig siyang makihalubilo sa staffs and employees niya except sakin. Ganun talaga yon, walangya. The second one is that baka bwisitin ako ni Johan doon or be distracted with all of his girls.

You see, Johan's safe haven is the Pantry. Madami kasing babae kaya ayon, here comes his flirting skills. I bet I'm the only one who despise him because of his charms. Hindi siya kagaya ni Caleb na responsible. I locked my office and headed towards the elevator to fetch Portia pero pagbukas palang ng elevator ay napataltak na agad ako.

"Hi Cil, you look delightful!" Bungad ni Johan habang naka-cling ang isang babae sa braso niya. He whispered something to the girl and the girl hurriedly ran away irritated. I chuckled, typical Johan indeed.

"What are you doing? Na-insecure tuloy yung babae mo." I uttered and walked passed him. Well, knowing Johan it's in his system to follow me around like he's some pet of mine. I pressed the sixth floor while he calmly placed his hand inside his pocket and looked at me.

"I was wondering if I could eat with you." I scoffed at his statement. I raised my eyebrow and looked at him as a smile formed on his lips. I looked away thinking it's awkward for me to stare that long.

"You're really that confident huh? After what you said last night, I'm never going out with you. You're not my type, Johannes-just ew." I said and acted like I was a teenage girl and he laughed hard. His hand was placed on his stomach and I saw little tears coming out of his eyes. My heart stopped as I looked at him. His face was magnificent while he's laughing. His laugh is as masculine as Caleb's but damn, his strong jaws are intact together with his evident Adam's apple.

"For a lady who doesn't like to go out with me, you sure stare a lot." I was automatically back to my senses and saw how he grinned. Inirapan ko na lang siya dahil I don't even know why I was stunned by his happy self.

The elevator opened at laking gitla ko na lang ng si Caleb ang ibinungad noon. I try not to be affected by his presence but Caleb's such an attention-seeker even if he doesn't try to gain any interest at all. I maintained my poise and was about to head out and just walk to Portia when suddenly, Caleb's hand held my arm that made me still at hindi nakalabas ng elevator.

I gulped three times. I gazed at him looking at his infamous cold eyes. My eyes were asking questions but he just blankly stared at me and pressed the 15th floor. Johannes looked at Caleb and so does he that made them create a tense atmosphere. Para silang naglalaban ng titigan and as for me who's in the middle, I just stared at them dahil hindi magprocess ang utak ko. I guess I have to cancel lunch with Portia, then.

"Kuya! You look really-" He paused and sneered. I chuckled because of Johan's gesture. Mannerism na talaga niya ang laging ngumisi. "-you look really frosty." He said teasingly at napataas naman ang kilay ni Caleb. They're like children, Johannes being the playful one and Caleb being the snob. I coughed o emphasize my presence and they both glared at me.

"Excuse me but I still have to take my lunch and apparently, someone's waiting for me." I explained to the both of them and decided to go out once the 10th floor opened. Caleb held my hand and intertwined it with mine and who would have thought I am capable of not breathing normally?

"You're not going out with someone." He said with power and accentuate the word 'someone' as he looked at Johan and continued his sentence. "You're going out with me." He said and pulled me out of the elevator leaving Johan all alone.

Kinaladkad niya ako sa hagdanan pababa sa main entrance ng Crescendo and I can't help but to feel infuriated. Gusto niya akong kasama tapos kakaladkadin niya ako? Ano akala niya sakin kaladkading babae na lang?

I used my full force to stop and good thing he noticed it. His forehead crinkled and I automatically rolled my eyes. For a handsome gentleman like him, he's one hell of a date.

"Si Portia ang kasama kong kumain, Caleb so please let me go." I tried to get out of his hands but unfortunately, he didn't even budge. He's too strong compared to me, kitang-kita ko na 'yon sa mga braso pa lang niya.

"Cecily don't make this hard for me." He said and for the first time after 2 years of persuading him, he gave me a new expression. The thing you called 'begging'. "Just this once, I need you." And right with those words he got me hard. So hard that I forgot how I should be the one playing and not him. Sana nga lang, hindi na 'to laro-just this once Caleb, just this once.