Hello There, Stranger

Part 18

The news about the wedding spread like wildfire in the office came Monday morning. How in the world others knew about it was beyond her. However, the responses were mostly positive compared to when the news broke about their relationship. People were much nicer to her and were greeting her congratulations.

I guess making it legal was the way to end the hate. She doesn't know. 

May halong kalungkutan sa mga mata ni Erika sa araw na iyon dahil iyon ang huling pagkakataon na makakasama niya ang kanyang mga ka trabaho. It was a roller coaster ride for her, and she was thankful for the experience. However, before she fully took a leap heading to a different path she wanted to make amends with one person.

"Noel, can I talk to you?" Erika gathered her courage and uttered. She felt that she owed him an explanation, considering that Noel was a reliable friend to her, the very first one she had in the company, and she did not want to just throw that away.

Noel momentarily paused and looked at her, but he eventually nodded. They stepped out together and headed towards the nearest cafe shop from their office building. When they made their order, they settled on a table near the window.

Erika cleared her throat.

"How are you? It seems I haven't had a conversation with you for too long" She smiled trying to break the ice.

"Yeah, things have been crazy lately" he responded and sipped the coffee after it was served to them.

"Are you mad at me?" She dared ask.

Noel stared at her again and Erika knew he would say yes but he broke a smirk and pinched her cheek.

"At first I think, I felt betrayed and hurt that there were pieces you were hiding from me knowing I poured my emotions out hoping you could accept my feelings. However, I realized that maybe it was something you didn't want people to know. I may not be aware of the extent of your story, but I genuinely want you to be happy." Noel said.

Erika felt tears threatening to fall but she kept them in place. "I'm sorry for lying to you" she replied.

His smile was strained. "I am just glad to be your friend Erika..." he concluded and touched her hand and held it for a long time.

After they went back to the office, Erika then talked to Rolly and shared with him the update of her employment, apparently Dean already gave him a heads-up the moment she said yes to his proposal.

"Is this really what you want to happen?" Rolly asked with genuine curiosity.

"I am not entirely sure, to be honest, but I also don't want to run away from this challenge." She replied.

Rolly tapped her shoulders and nodded. "You'll do well Erika; the team and I will be rooting for you" he offered some words of encouragement.

She smiled and nodded gratefully at his words.

The shift went by and before they called it a day, Rolly then recommended a quick get-together para sa kanyang despidida.

She wanted to decline but the rest of the team insisted, they went to a karaoke bar and poured all their frustrations away by belting at the top of their lungs, everyone was having a good time, and laughter echoed in the air habang may paindak-indak na sayaw pang nalalaman sina Rolly at Rocel. Erika witnessed it all and from the bottom of her heart she knew she would miss them and for that, she was thankful for the learning she garnered from all her teammates.

"Thank you everyone for all that you do." She whispered amidst the noise in that tiny room.

The next day Erika was fixing her skirt as she made her way to Dean's office. She was nervous about how this day would turn out; she had not been briefed yet on her responsibility, so she didn't have any idea what to do yet. When she reached his door, she had a few knocks before opening it fully. His office was dead silent, and she released some air realizing that he was not in yet. She wonders if it's okay for her to just wait for him inside but eventually, she decides to sit on the couch while she ready her notebook for any real-time instructions that might be assigned to her ng hindi nagtagal at bumukas ang pintuan at pumasok si Dean Gutierrez, his eyes automatically landed on Erika and greeted her warmly.