Beautiful Dreamer

8. Red Handed

Ari and Ray looked at each other, surprised, for none had expected the other to be burning the midnight oil. It was one of those awkward moments that Ari had wished never to experience. She advanced towards the left, Rey mirroring her act, then to the right, and Rey followed in her direction once more. After several failed attempts, Ari decided to end the embarrassing moment.

"I'll move to the left; you stay where you are."

"Yes, branch manager."

Upon successfully passing through, Ari stiffened her back and walked away; however, her heart was beating too loud, and his vision blurred, so she prayed not to miss a step and fall to her shame.

'I've been avoiding him for a while... Whatever is he doing here at this time of the night?'

"Branch manager, may I have a word?"

Ari stopped and was tempted to turn Rey down but decided against it. She didn't want to give herself away than she already had. Her palms felt sweaty, and listening to Rey's voice only gave her shakes and shivers she couldn't ignore.

'So all that effort was for nothing. I'm still trapped by this old and pointless feeling, panting after him just as Mun had put it.'

"I won't take much of your time, branch manager," Rey said upon noticing the hesitancy from his superior.

"How may I best assist you?" Ari inquired as she turned to face Rey. She still wanted to maintain a professional atmosphere between her and this subordinate. "I'm in a hurry so make it brief."

"I was hoping to catch you before you left. Team leader Mun informed me you will be away for some time..."

"Get to the point," Ari spoke impatiently.

"Ah... Of course..." Rey replied, feeling a little anxious. He'd pondered over having a word with Ari, but the project had kept him tied up for the last couple of weeks that he hadn't had time to clear his name. The first time they met was awkward, and the atmosphere around them had remained pungently tensed and bitter. Thankfully, Mun had been the one to remind him to man up to his responsibilities.

"This is work. Put aside your prejudices and perform. At the end of the day, Ari remains your superior and if you need this job as much as you've told me, then perform. That is all that's expected of you."

Mun was right. He might disagree with his superior's personal lifestyle and preferences, but he wanted to set the record straight. As freaked out as he was the first time, it didn't matter anymore. They had to get along as subordinates and superiors as long as they were both in a working environment.

Additionally, Rey had come to admire his boss' work ethic. As it seems, Ari had so much respect and admiration from the young and old staff. Most of her work, if not all, was praised for being impeccable, not to mention that many clients would come in only seeking to have an audience with her and her alone. It was only while overwhelmed that she'd delegate her duties to other departments or colleagues; however, the final verdict always remained with her.

"I wanted to thank you for taking down my resignation and dissuading me from resigning. The past few weeks have given me a learning opportunity to grow in my career and improve. Additionally, despite working in a different environment from my original one, I find the energy of teamwork still the same with all colleagues. Of course, with your management, this has been achieved repetitively. I am also apologetic for not seeing the opportunity presented before me as I should and lying about my reason for resigning too."

Rey added, unable to maintain eye contact, "Earlier, I was taken off-guard by your confession. That is why I didn't know how to react when I met you here..."