Shirley (Lesbian Story)

Chapter 2:Claustrophobic

Of all places kung saan ako magkakaroon ng panic attack, it had to be in an elevator.

At sa lahat naman ng taong makakawitness ng moment na iyon, it had to be Liezl.

Yes. Kilala ko siya.

Ang totoo, I make an effort to know everyone who works for Lumis.

It was my uncle's idea na kilalanin ko kung sino ang mga nagtatrabaho sa company not only by name but also to know at least a bit about their lives.

Hindi kami blood relative ni Mr. Perez or Tito Eddie.

He was my father's childhood friend and siya mismo ang nagrecruit sa akin to work for his company after I graduated from university.

Marami akong offers from other companies na mas established pero my father encouraged me to try working for Tito Eddie's start-up.

"Walang mawawala sa'yo, Shirley." Payo ni Daddy.

"Besides, malaki ang tiwala sa'yo ni Eddie at think of it as a way of paying it forward."

By that, he meant his utang na loob.

Tito Eddie helped him when he had his heart attack.

I was in high school then at akala namin, that would be his end.

He needed bypass surgery at hindi alam ni Mommy kung saan kukunin ang pera for the operation.

Tito Eddie paid for the procedure bago pa man sila humingi ng tulong.

When we had the money to pay him back, hindi naman nito tinanggap.

Lagi nitong sinasabi na part na kami ng family niya at dapat daw, hindi kami magdalawang isip na lumapit sa kanya kung kailangan namin ng tulong.

"Carlos is like a brother to me," Kwento sa akin ni Tito Eddie when I showed up for an interview which was more like a chat dahil dinala niya ako sa paborito niyang restaurant where we had lunch and coffee.

"Dahil diyan, mas gusto kong ipagkatiwala ang negosyo ko sa mga taong kilala ko na at alam ko na mag-aalaga dito."

I thanked him for his confidence pero hindi ko alam kung nahalata niya how nervous I was that day.

Ibang usapan kapag pinagkakatiwala ang malaking investment tulad ng negosyo.

Tito Eddie, being the playboy that he was, was still single.

His aging parents decided to settle permanently in California.

During vacations or business meetings abroad, lagi siyang dumadalaw sa mga ito.

Ang dalawang kapatid niyang babae who are older than him are all married with kids at wala namang interest sa negosyo.

It was him who inherited his parents knack for business at ng maisipan ng mga ito na magretire na sa ibang bansa, pinagkatiwala nila ang pagmamanage ng mga restaurants kay Tito.

Pero ang hilig niya ay technology kaya naman naisipan niyang magtayo ng sariling negosyo na may kinalaman sa hobby niya.

Alam niya na bata pa ako, mahilig na din ako sa computers at gadgets.

Protégé ang tawag niya sa akin.

Everytime na umaalis siya for conventions abroad, lagi siyang may pasalubong sa akin na mga gadgets.

He even gave me a laptop, a MacBook Pro, when I graduated from high school.

Spoiled ako sa kanya at kahit sinasaway siya ni Daddy, hindi naman mapigil.