Begin Again

November 15th 2017

"This is your first day Rose as the acting Manager of this branch. I trained you well enough so you can handle this big responsible..." Since the position is vacant and the company didn't had the time to hire for a new manager for some unknown reason , Miss Moira as my real boss —the current Vice President of the McKinley Group of companies , Taguig branch—appointed me in this position. She said, she personally choose me —her former secretary —and present my résumé on the board .

Hindi naman 'to pang habang-buhay kaya tinanggap ko. Higher position means more work for me, na pabor sa akin. Not that my family needed it. Lahat kami ay nakapag tapos at mayroon ng mga kanya-kanyang magagandang trabaho. We even bought a land and built our mom's dream house.

At isa pa, dagdag rin 'to sa credentials ko for applying abroad. Miss Moira promised me too na after this year , pwede na akong ma'transfer sa main branch nila sa New York.

"If you're still in doubt or you might find it hard ...you can call me and ask me anything Rose..." She held my hand and gave me a reassurance smile. Para ko na rin siyang nakatatandang kapatid kung tutuusin. We share some problems, some jokes and we even spending our time having a coffee or shopping. At madalas, sa'kin humihingi ng rescue kapag pinapagalitan siya ng kanyang ama—which is the President of this branch. The CEO is their grand father that based in the US.

"Are we clear, Rose?"

"Of course ma– I mean Moira,"

Pumalakpak pa siya at excited na inakbayan ako palabas ng kanyang opisina. The staffs welcomed me with their applause as their newly-temporary manager.

"Congrats Rose– ay, ma'am Rose pala! Tuloy na tuloy na talaga ang iyong road to New York !" Lahat kami natawa sa tinuran ni Bertha.

"Guys... Alam kong nasanay kayo kay Rose na bilang kaibigan ninyo...but I want you to know that we have to address her with respect not that it's because I told you but it's part of the Etiquette too , sooo.... I hope you understand ."

Lahat naman ay naging maayos kaya natapos agad ang munting pagpapakilala.

"Balita ko Miss Rose , nakita raw ni Martha si ...you know?" Lunch break ngayon at halos lahat ay nasa pantry na piniling doon kumain.

"So? Ano naman yun ngayon kay Rose? " pagtatanggol ni Greg.

"Wala lang natanong ko lang...you know, just a rain check...." Jenna said as she defend herself.

Lahat ay napatingin sa'kin . Hindi naman lingid sa iba—na naging kaibigan ko na dito—ang nakaraan ko. It was my small mistake before to blurt it out while I'm drunk . That's why kilala rin nila ang mga former co-workers ko noon.

"Wala.." Sabay nguya ng carbonara na nabili ko sa canteen .

"Alam niyo, based from my experience...the success on how move on is to ignore them and never look back! " sabay taas ni Chyna ng kutsara niya sa ere.

"Sus...kyeme niyo lang 'yang mga babae! Ang totoo, nasasaktan rin kayo kapag nakikita niyo si ex na may kasamang ibang babae! Kunyare pa kayong 'who you siya sa'kin '—"sabay kembot kuno, "sabay lait sa present ni ex, kaya maraming nagkalat na mga ampalaya sa paligid e..." sabi naman ni Greg.

"Ang sabihin mo...hindi lang mga ampalaya ang nagkalat kundi mga makahiya rin! Mga torpe!" sabay tawa nilang lahat sa hinirit ni Melanie.

Hanggang sa nagpa tuloy sila sa pangangantyaw sa isa't-isa. Hindi na ko naki sali pa at nagmadali na rin akong bumalik sa aking opisina.

Nang makaupo ako sa couch ng temporary office ko ay huminga ako ng malalim at napatulala sa puting kisame.

"May trabaho pa ko sa labas , Philip ..." I groaned and leaned my head on his couch . I really hate it when he uses his power over my work!

"I needed you here , Fen..." I felt his arm being tangled on my waist as he sits beside me. He sniffed on my hair and kissed it repeatedly. Ano naman kaya ang gagawin ko rito sa loob —ng opisina niya !

"And besides I'm your boss and all the unanswered calls will go and will transfer through my intercom..." He said proudly as he showers me a small kisses on my cheek. I leaned on his chest and hugged him back .

Ang landi talaga ng sir ko!

A small knocked interrupts me so I decided to stand and opened the door . Isang bouquet ng flowers ang bumungad sa akin pagka bukas ko ng pinto.

"Ben?" I moved some flowers to see his face while he still holding the bouquet . Ben is the oldest brother of Miss Moira. So may ideya na kayo kung anong ugaling meron 'to.

"Congratulation Fenylyn!" He was beaming and handed me the flowers . He even gave me a kiss on my left side face.

"Ano na namang paandar 'to?" Ben is not based here. He was based in the US as a soon-to-be COO of the company , sabi niya he's only here to 'visit' this branch . Buti pa 'tong isang 'to , pa gala-gala na lang.

"Oh? Hindi ka ba masaya na may nag bigay sa'yo ng bulaklak? " ayan na naman siya siya sa pagiging isip bata niya. Minsan nga nagtataka ako kung paano siya naging susunod na COO kung ganito iyong ugali niya?

"Hmm! Hindi 'yan tatalab sa'kin !" 'kala nito?

Pinapasok ko na siya sa loob total mukha namang hindi papayag ang isang 'to na maiwan sa labas. Tumawag ako ng helper para manghingi ng vase para sa bulaklak .

"Nice office... Ikaw ba nag design nito?" Naupo siya sa swivel chair at pina ikot ito.

Naka pamewang kong simpleng inilibot ang paningin sa kwarto. Peach wallpaper ang buong paligid pwera lang sa isang glass wall na kitang-kita ang nagtatayuang mga building sa Taguig. I placed a wooden staircase style na ginawa kong book shelf sa tabi ng white cream colored na velvet couch. The center table is made of plastic na color white .My office table is made of glass plus my white swivel chair . A very minimal style. Ayoko rin naman pahirapan pa iyong magiging manager kung sakaling makahanap na ng panibago. Mas madali niyang mapapalitan ang design ng kwarto.

I switched at Ben's direction na nakatingin na rin sa'kin . I gave him the 'what' look.

"Let's celebrate your promotion ? " I didn't answer so he just continued .

"After work. Sa Ayala triangle...I heard there this new restaurant ..." I wasn't able to catch up with him after he mentioned the name of the place.

While I'm too busy admiring the new renovation of the whole place, Philip was just following . Maya-maya he tugged my hand so I stopped. He intertwined our hands and kissed my right temple then we started to walk again.

Napatingin ako sa aming mga kamay na magka hawak ngayon. Hanggang ngayon kasi kinikilig pa rin ako kapag ginagawa niya ito.

Sa araw-araw na magkasama kami, parang laging kulang ang oras . Sa office kasi hindi namin magawa or maipakita ang sweetness sa isa't-isa. Dito , sa mga ganitong oras lang namin 'to nagagawa.

Philip likes intimate. He always like hugging . Kissing . Holding hands. And hugging . And kissing. He always like to smell my hair too. Minsan nga nako-conscious ako o kaya baka may masinghot siya na balakubak ! Buti na lang wala! Alaga ko na nga ang buhok ko lalo e. Lahat naman alaga ko ever since we started dating hanggang sa naging kami.

He's not boring. He always like to talk about what's on my mind. What I feel. And what I want for my future.

And as days passed , natuto na rin ako sa mga likes and dislikes niya. Kahit ang little mannerism niya na pag kalabit niya sa tenga kapag natutuwa siya ng sobra . Kapag galit siya well galit talaga siya .

He's easy to read. Like he's an open book. He's a book that I'm not willing to share to the world .

I smiled when I caught him gazing at me. I leaned to his strong arm and squeeze our hands . Then he whispered a sweet message in my ear while we continued walking.