Fine Line

September 7-8, 2023

Teddy Baguilat has worked with Leni since they both started their internship at the same company. They were 22, bright-eyed, aspiring to change the world. He found her intimidating from the beginning, only to be proven wrong. Leni easily became one of his constant companions at work.

He never knew too much about her. Enough to be her friend, but not as much as Kiko knew her. Teddy knew what Leni liked, what she hated, how her moods would change every now and then, how she worked. He knew of her relationships (since the year they started working to present time), but he knew nothing about who Leni was before they met.

For years, the more he got to know her, he noticed how expressive she actually was — in contrast to how the other people in their workplace saw her. When there was someone new in her life, she'd have an imminent glow. The kind where it was obvious her days were brighter than usual, she probably had a great night, and even with stress from work, she seemed not stressed at all.

Breakups and fallouts weren't as easy to spot at first, but after Leni got cheated on by a lawyer from the other firm, Teddy effortlessly noticed the heartbreak on her face. She was as focused as usual, as professional and as good as usual, but there were bags under her eyes, Kiko took extra care of her, she was the first to arrive in the office in the morning, and last to leave at night.

The first time Leni saw Risa again, seated at the conference table at their office, right before Franklin announced that they were working together on a project, Teddy saw the recognition flash across Leni's face.

"Everyone, this is Risa Hontiveros. She was sent by the company abroad that we'll be working with for the project," Franklin introduced. Then he turned to Leni and said, "Leni, this is Risa. Risa, this is Leni Gerona. I assigned her to be our company's representative. The two of you will be spending a lot of time together, so I hope you get along."

"I'm sure we will, Sir," Risa laughed then smiled at Leni, her voice becoming a little softer. "Hi, Leni."

"Hi, Risa." Leni replied, a smile on her face unlike the ones she's ever had before when previous project partners were introduced to her.

He observed their body language. Guarded still, but not as much as before. Leni was as reserved but not like with other project partners in the past. Risa wasn't as frightened as others when it came to telling Leni "I think there's a better way to go about this problem than the one you already had in mind."

When they were about to present the entirety of the project plan to Franklin and the rest of the executive board, Risa sat at the head of the table with Leni on her right. When she crouched down to reach for the pen she dropped on the floor, Leni's hand immediately went to the corner of the table ready to prevent Risa from hitting her head. Risa thanked Leni and they proceeded as if nothing happened.

Teddy also began noticing patterns. One of which was something that occurred almost every morning, in the same setting, said in the same tone, involving the same people. The very first thing that Risa would ask Leni when she would arrive at the office wasn't work related. It was "kumain ka na?" then Leni would respond before asking Risa if she had her breakfast already. Without missing a beat, their morning conversations would almost always end with "coffee isn't breakfast" and smiles on both their faces as if it was an inside joke they've shared before.

Of course, at that time, Teddy thought he was only imagining things and he started to "ship" them. He thought that since Leni never liked dating anyone she was working with, maybe they'll hit it off when the project finally ends. And when he saw them getting a little cozier than usual at a nearby table that one night, he did a fist pump of victory in the air. "I knew it! They like each other!"

Turns out they were exes and everything seemed to make a lot more sense.

"Bakit hindi mo sinabi na ex mo pala 'yun?" Teddy asked Leni during their lunch break.