Happy (BARA)

Who, Me?

Ara's POV

The weekend in Boracay, if summed up in one word, was awesome. We took the flight back to Manila yesterday, Monday. We couldn't extend our weekend vacay kasi andaming meetings that couldn't be neither cancelled nor postponed. Kaya now, its back to work, and back to reality.

It's a Tuesday, and its 9:00am already pero wala pa si Bang. The Executive Committee meeting will start at 9:30am. I need to meet up with the senior vice presidents and vice presidents to boost operational efficiency to increase productivity.

I wanted Bang to join the meeting kasi I value her inputs, kaso 9:35am e wala pa rin siya. Si Kim and si Mela, nasa loob ng conference room. Kahit di sila mga boss e uma-attend din sila bilang part ng Secretariat. Pumunta nako sa conference room at 9:40am. 

"Good morning" bati sakin ng mga ka-meeting ko pagpasok ko ng conference room. Mga 20 rin silang officers ng kumpanya. One of the SVPs jokingly said, "This is new, you've never been late."

I smiled back at him, "I'm not late, you simply arrived too early." Then with a serious tone, "Let's now formally start our meeting, our agenda please?"

Tas nagtuloy-tuloy na ung meeting. 10:30am nang dumating si Bang. Pagpasok niya ng conference room, nakayuko siya kasi nahihiyang pumasok ng late. Umupo siya sa bandang likod, malapit sa pintuan. May upuan ang executive assistants ng bawat SVP sa gilid ng conference room. 

"Ms Bang, may you please take the seat here (pointing to a seat na bandang malapit sakin)." pag-invite ko kay Bang na umupo malapit sakin. Dun ko siya pinaupo sa tabi ni Mela. 

"Girl, di kita magising kanina, kaya sinabi ko kay Manong Driver na antayin ka nalang magising kasi nagpasundo ako kay Kim." rinig kong bulong ni Mela kay Bang. Nahihiyang nag-smile si Bang. Sumensyas pa ng peace sign sakin. Cute.

Pinag-report ko ung marketing head para sa proposed lay-out, contents, and cost-benefit analysis ng hiring big talents para sa ilalagay naming advertisement na billboard sa labas ng building ng SM Megamall, facing EDSA.    

Buti ung presentation e naka-flash sa 70" tv screen on the other end of the conference table, opposite sa upuan ko. Lahat sila nakatingin sa screen kaya walang nakakakita sakin na nakasilip sa peripheral vision ko sa right, kung saan nakaupo si Bang. 

Hindi nako gano nakapakinig sa report, naisip ko kasi na ang ganda at ang bait ni Bang. Siya ung ideal girlfriend. One would find all the characteristics you could ask for in a significant other. Sobrang lucky ng taong makakakuha ng 'yes' ni Bang. 

Biglang lumingon sakin si Bang. Shocks, nahuli niya kong nakatingin sa kanya. Seryosong bumalik ako ng tingin sa nagre-report.

I interrupted the marketing head and said, "Why spend so much on popular faces? We're not selling beauty products nor are we promoting movies. We're an IT company selling hardware, software, and most importantly, advancements in technology. We don't need expensive endorsers. We just need attention, that's all. All we need is put a face up there that would turn heads during traffic. A pleasant face that can radiate brilliance, intelligence, sharpness, and one which can put a smile on one's face."

Nag-agree ung ibang officers. Pumayag ung marketing head, at mag-o-open daw sila ng auditions. Tumayo ako at naglakad paikot ng conference room. "Auditions? What for?" sabi ko. "That's time-consuming, and would entail unnecessary expenses." 

"My dad built this company by investing on the most precious resource this country could offer. Like my dad, I highly value our human resources. We don't need to look outside for our advertisements. We have our own gems." Sa ngayon, napapatango na silang lahat, showing that they agree with my brilliant plan. Pero di pa ako tapos. "We don't have to look far!" sabi ko.