10 years older than her

Chapter 2

7:50 pm na nakarating si Jia sa Raccini-Montero Inc. kung saan sya may interview para sa inapplyang trabaho.

Dumeretcho sya kaagad sa front desk at nag tanong kung saan ang interview para sa stay in maid position.

"One moment lang, ma'am. May tatawagan lang ako." sabi ng kausap ko. Tumango lang ako at umupo sa lobby.

"Ms. Jia Samonte?" agad akong napatayo ng biglang tawagin ang pangalan ko.

"Hi. Ako po yun."

Ngumiti naman yung babaeng nag assist sakin. "Identification nyo nalang ma'am. Also, mag register po kayo dito sa computer and biometrics for your pass."

Agad naman akong nag bigay ng ID at nag register and scan ng face recognition at index finger. After 5 minutes tapos na ko. Itinuro naman sakin kung paano ako mag sscan ng mukha para sa main door ng bawat floor at pag scan ng index finger sa mga room.

"You may proceed to 27th floor, ma'am. Please look for Raquel."

"Thank you po."

Nang makarating ako sa 27th floor, nag scan ako ng mukha at may front desk ulit pag open ko sa main door. "Hello. I'm looking for Raquel."

"You must be Jia. Hi." Inabot nya sakin ang kamay nya at agad kong tinanggap. Ito siguro si Raquel.

"Please go to Banawe room. Diretcho then kaliwa. Sa pinaka dulo nandon yung office ni Sir Tammy."

"Thank you, Raquel."

Hindi naman mahirap hanapin yung opisina kaya agad akong kumatok nung nasa labas na ko ng pinto. It was an automatic door without the finger scanner kaya inantay ko ang pag bukas non.

I was confused for a second nang babae ang makita ko. Tama naman ang pinuntahan ko diba? Napalingon lingon pa ako para lang masigurado.

"Hey. I'm Monica. I am the secretary of sir Tammy." Napansin siguro nyang naguguluhan ako sa set up. "Pasok ka na sa jan." Sabay turo ng nag iisang pintuan sa opisina na yun. "Boss, papapasukin ko na ha."

When I received the go signal, pumasok na ko. Tumambad sa paningin ko ang napaka classic na opisina. It's like an office inside of an office. Glass wall, isang mahabang lamesa at sofa na may malaking in-door verranda. Napaka ganda.

"Hi, Jia. I'm Tristan Montero. Call me Tammy. We spoke earlier on the phone."

So hindi pala kasambahay ang nakausap ko kanina. Ito palang gwapong lalaki na 'to.

"Hi sir Tammy."

"Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable."

Agad naman akong naupo at inihanda ko ang hard copy ng resume ko.

"Upon seeing your email and resume I must admit, it was very impressive.  What makes you decide to apply as a stay in maid?"

"The offer, sir. 60k is actually a big help to pursue my studies and finish my degree."

Tumango tango naman ito. "It was also stated here that you are a part-time worker in your school. What do you do?"

"I'm a part time librarian practitioner, sir. I also do book keeping and catalogue tasks."

"For how many hours of being a part timer are we talking?"

"4 hours a day."

"Introduce yourself to me, Jia. Bakit ka naging working student and why should I hire you?"

"Jia Samonte. 19 years old. 2nd year college taking up Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication. I lost my parents in a fire accident 2 years ago. I have an older sister who's pregnant and married that's why I need to work and I need to be hired. Ayokong maging pabigat sa kapatid ko kaya pinili ko maging working student. I also do baking as a side hustle."

Tumayo si Tammy sa upuan nya. Nag lakad sya papalapit kay Jia. "I must say that you are very direct and articulate. Why do you think we offer 60k as a monthly salary being a maid who will only work for 5 days a week?"

Inihanda na nya ang sarili nya para sa tanong na ito. Sa totoo nyan nasa bahay pa lang sya e madami na syang naiisip na rason bakit ang laki ng magiging pasahod pero kahit isa e walang sense. Unless, may illegal itong ipapagawa sakanya.

"I'm not sure why you offer that much, sir. Siguro dahil sa kaya nyo lang mag pasahod ng malaki sa mga kasambahay nyo?"

Tumawa naman ng malakas si Tammy. "That's true but no."

"What's the catch, sir?"

"You need to be a personal maid of my younger brother. That's the catch."

Nakahinga naman sya ng maluwag. Akala nya ay kung ano na ang gagawin nya bilang katulong. Kung sya din naman na mayaman e mag hahanap ng personal maid ng nakakabata nyang kapatid e hindi sya magdadalawang isip mag bayad ng malaki lalo na at kapatid nito ang dapat alagaan.

"I can do that."

Tammy smiles. "He's 29 years old."

"Ha?" gulat na gulat si Jia sa narinig nya.

"He's 29 and I'm looking for his personal maid to babysit him for 8 hours a day until I came home."

"B-but why? Babysit a 29 years old, sir? May sakit ba sya or a person with autism who needs constant care?"

"No. But he's a pain in the ass and I need a human cctv to monitor him."

"Pero sir paano ko naman babantayan ang kapatid nyo kung he is 10 years older than me?"

"That's why 60k ang starting salary na inooffer ko. You take it or no?"

Kailangan ko talaga ng pera. Bahala na.

"I'll take it."

"Congrats! You're hired."