Key to You

Chapter 5

Errand Partner

I CAN'T help but notice how unusually silent our office department is. What is this eerie vibe?

Usually kasi ay may magkakape na nito sa pantry, magchichismisan sa hallway and magtatrabaho ng mga backlogs sa cubicles. But it appears to me that I'm the only one here. And to note that I'm running a bit late because of a morning meeting.

I placed my bag down on my desk and looked around. I noticed some moving silhouettes in the conference room and figured that everyone's probably there.

May meeting ba kami that I'm not aware of? Shoot.

I hurriedly went to the conference room para humabol sa meeting. It could be important.

And when I opened the door, the forlorn faces of my coworkers welcomed me. When I checked the white board, our names were there with their corresponding tasks. Above it was a headline, 'Delegation of Tasks:Draw lots Result.'

Oh no… Birthday pala bukas ng senior manager namin. It completely slipped my mind!

I immediately scanned the whiteboard to see what my luck got me.

Errand girl: Olivia Paige Herrera

Ugh tinatamad ako. I was hoping for a quiet morning and going out to buy stuff isn't necessarily part of my plan.

My instincts tell me that I gotta go. I gotta file my leave before anyone notices.

But before I could take my exit, Kriz already got a hold of my hand. Damn. Ang bilis naman ng kamay ng babaeng to.

“Good morning, Olivia kong mapagmahal!" Judging from the twinkle in her eyes, she already sensed that I'm about to escape. "Going somewhere?”

“Uh board room lang. We have a meeting today, remember?” I replied.

Sana makalusot. Fingers crossed.

"I believe tapos na yung meeting niyo. I personally went there earlier to check on you kasi." Kriz countered.

Ugh. There is no deceiving this girl. "I was actually planning on just quietly getting through the morning. Guess hindi yon mangyayari?"

“Oh, talagang hindi mangyayari.” Kriz grinned. “Especially because you, my friend, are today’s lucky errand girl. You are paired with Jake and he’s already waiting in the lobby. He already have the list of goods to purchase and the funds for it. Good luck.” she blew me a kiss.

Ugh. Tinatamad ako ngayon eh. “Couldn’t I just… swap with the ones assigned with distracting Ella?” I whispered to Kriz, referring to our senior manager.

Kriz gave me a sweet smile. “I already tried for myself. Lydia wouldn't budge. And besides I am in more need of the swap than you." She leaned in closer. "I'm assigned to cook our ulam you know?” Wow. That's a surprise.

“You’re cooking? Oh, this poor office.” I said feigning concern. “Bibili din ba ako ng diatabs while I’m out?”

Kriz feigned a dramatic gasp. “How dare you! I’m expanding my repertoire to include edible dishes now.”

"Edible for dogs, you mean?" I laughed but Kriz only glared at me. “Okay, okay, aalis na ako. Wish my feet good luck?”

Kriz patted my shoulder. “Luck? Liv, divine intervention ang kailangan mo, te.” and we both laughed at that.

“HEY, Jake!” I called out as soon as I saw him. Jake is our new hire so he's a bit shy pa. “Handa na ba ang muscles mo magbuhat ng bilihin natin?”