Tease Me, Bella Beatrice

23:

"Jackson, right?" Nakangiti kong sambit saka iniaabot ang kamay ko sa lalaking nakaupo. He immediately got up with a smile on his face and gladly shake his hand with me. "Pierce. Pleased to meet you."

"Jackson po." He said. "Direk have told me a lot about you."

Sabay kaming sumulyap kay Gigi na nasa tabi ko. Tumango lang siya nang marahan saka ngumiti para sabihing sumasang-ayon siya sa sinabi ni Jackson.

"Really? I hope they are the good things." Pagbibiro ko pa saka inalalayan sa pag-upo si Gigi. "Right, baby?"

Natawa lang si Gigi at naupo na rin. I did the same as we start to break the ice. Narito kami ngayon sa office ni Gigi. The same place where we held the audition for the leading lady role and today is the day we will proceed to manuscript reading. Kaming tatlo pa lang ang magkakaharap sa mesa habang ang ibang staff ay may kaniya-kaniyang ginagawa. Nafinalize na namin pareho ni Gigi ang manuscript kahapon. Lahat ng detalye ay plantsado na. Buong araw kami kahapon na pagod sa kakabrainstorm and kakalabas ng ideas.

It was a fun day. Kahit anong araw naman ay fun day kapag si Gigi ang kasama. We had a lot of laughs like always but we were more professional on the afternoon. Para kaming mga business professionals na nagmemeeting sa bahay. Mabuti na lamang ay kaya kong makipagsabayan sa kaniya at sa kaniyang mga ideya. Educated women with opinion is not for the weak, I tell you.

"I heard from my manager na si Bella Beatrice ang leading lady ko rito. The same Bella Beatrice on the book will do the acting herself." Mayamaya ay sambit ni Jackson saka sumimsim pa sa kaniyang cold coffee. "That's cool."

Prenteng-prente lang ito sa pakikipag-usap sa amin. He must be this comfortable because he is an actor and his nature of work makes him comfortable on talking with people. Sanay na sanay na itong makisalamuha sa iba't ibang tao at iba't ibang personalidad. It must be a collective skill he picked up in this industry. He is not even afraid to make eye contact. The fact that I only met him today makes it awkward for me. His comfortable conversation with me is what I mean.

"Yeah. She will." Si Gigi. "That's actually so cute for me."

"Talaga, direk? E hindi ba at ex-girlfriend ni Mr. Zurita si Bella Beatrice? Kaya nga nabuo ang librong iyon, e. The media knows all about it. That is really cool. I think wala naman na iyon kay Mr. Zurita since he is now happy with you." He said. "I know Ms. Beatrice through social medias and she is pretty wild and high maintenance. My manager tried to contact her but she didn't even respond. Sounds unprofessional but siguro natabunan lang sa emails niya. She is a high-profile actress after all. Her name is on the news these days. Nalaman na ng media na narito siya sa Pilipinas, e. Kind of entertaining na siya ang leading lady ko. It's not my first time to act with an international star but I am kind of nervous. You know her name. Masyadong maraming kasamang issue."

Natawa siya nang bahagya habang ako ay tumatango-tango lang nang marahan. Tama naman talaga siya dahil totoo naman. Her name have a lot of issues with it. Lahat siguro ay alam iyon at ang mga kalokohang nalink siya. All the boys and beef with co-stars. Hindi na ako magtataka kung bakit tuwang-tuwa ang media rito sa Pilipinas na sundan siya at gamitin ang pangalan sa mga balita.

"By the way, have you met my new gem?" Si Gigi na excited pa. "She's pretty and young."