The Empire Series 5: Vanna Lei Shrewd

Chapter 4: Her Disguise

Vanna was putting the double lock on her apartment door when she smelled a familiar scent. Napakurap pa siya. That same scent filled her nostrils last night during the car ride.

Hindi niya naramdamang may taong lumapit pero imposible namang guni-guni niya lang.

She slowly turned around. She was right. Clyde is standing three feet away from her.

Her heart beats a litte faster than the usual. Iba talaga ang pakiramdam niya sa lalaki. Kapag ibang tao kasi ang papalapit sa direksyon niya ay nararamdaman agad niya ang presensya ng mga ito. Only skilled people could just walk towards a person, especially to a trained agent, without being noticed. Isa nga iyon sa inaral nila noon sa academy. Even Cloud couldn't apply that skill to her. She knew whenever he's approaching even if he sneaks in like a pro.

Huminga siya ng malalim at tumingin sa gate.

Hindi na niya ipinagtaka kung paano ito nakapasok, malamang ay pinagbuksan ito ng mga tenants malapit sa gate. Nakita kasi ng mga ito noong hinatid siya kagabi. Puro mga babae ang tenants doon. Clyde was friendly enough to greet them when they passed by.

May limang hilerang studio type apartment ang compound. May laundry area ang pagitan ng bawat apartments kaya hindi dikit-dikit. May pathway sa harap ng mga units papunta sa gate na nasa dulo. Sa gitna ang unit niya kaya maglalakad pa ng ilang metro papunta sa gate.

"Baby."

Napakurap siya nang magsalita ang lalaki. Kasabay ng pagrehistro ng sinabi nito ang pagkunot ng noo niya.

He's making it a habit to call her baby and she doesn't like that. Pero hindi rin niya alam kung paano ito sawayin. She didn't want to annoy him. Baka iyon pa ang maging mitsa ng misyon niya.

"B-bakit mo ba ako tinatawag ng baby, sir?" She almost cursed hearing herself stammering when he met her gaze.

Bahagyang umangat ang sulok ng labi nito. His lips were pursed. It could have been insulting if he didn't look handsome doing it.

"Don't you like it?" tanong nito. Humalukipkip ito bago ngumiti ng matamis.

"I don't," she said averting her gaze. Pakiramdam niya ay pinamulahan siya nang tumawa ito ng mahina. She glanced at him causing her heart to jump for a nanosecond. Nakatitig pa rin kasi ito sa kanya at nakaramdam siya ng pagkaasiwa.

"You look naïve and innocent, bagay sa 'yo ang baby," nanunudyo nitong saad. Huminga siya ng malalim. She has to maintain her composure.

"Technically, employer ko po kayo, SIR. Hindi po yata okay na tawagin niyo ako ng kung anu-ano," she said calmly but emphasizing the word sir. She also met his gaze.

Ngumiti naman ito.

"Okay if you don't want me to call you baby, don't call me sir neither," tugon naman nito. There was something mischievous with his grin but she dismissed the thought.

"Call me Clyde instead, anyway, just like you, I'm also 28," dagdag nito.

She inhaled deeply. The bargain was good enough so she ended up nodding.

"Okay, Clyde then," she muttered. Ngumiti naman ang binata pagkarinig sa sinabi niya.

"That's better, honey," he grinned. Hahawakan pa sana nito ang baba niya pero mabilis siyang lumayo at naglakad papunta sa gate.

She wanted to protest but maybe it was really his personality to tease people. Ibang-iba kay Klein. In-expect niya kasing magkasing-ugali ang dalawa base sa larawan nito na mukhang seryoso sa buhay. Maybe photographs really lie most of the time.