GIRL FRIDAY (Completed)

Chapter 3 - Coffee Talk

Hello beshies, wish your daddies a Happy Father's Day for me:) It's a great day to celebrate and be with family, so take time to enjoy the day with your fathers. Sometimes it's harder to say "I love you" to our parents, because most of us are not used to being verbal about our feelings for them. But I guarantee that they will feel good being told that they are loved. Masarap magpasaya ng magulang with just simple gestures, it will never grow old. 

Anyway, here's a daddy who will go to great lengths for the welfare of his son. Richard Sr. has a plan and it will involve Maine. But before that plan gets revealed, read on about Chona (may ibang ibig sabihin ba ang name na Chona at aliw ang iba sa name na 'to? Hahaha, di ako aware mga Betty, share naman)  and how her animosity builds against Maine.

I'm glad you're all liking the flow of the story, sana masustain ko. Feel free to chika below, ok?

Richard Sr. was observing Maine from afar. She was helping out their messenger Billy, photocopy all the documents they needed to distribute to clients. This wasn't really part of her job but the girl refused to be idle, and it pleased him that she was a gem of an employee. Just the other day, she was helping another secretary with creating pivot tables on an excel file for a board meeting. She helped anyone whenever she had time to spare, was always smiling and cheerful even on days when Chona gave her all the dirty work to finish beyond their 8-hour workshift.

Barely a month after her being hired, she already endeared herself to almost everybody in the office, that is everyone except Chona. It was really a mystery to him, for some strange reason, Chona was immune to Maine's charm. She tried to hide it, but it was plain as day that there was something about Maine that rubbed her in the wrong way.

Lately, she has been calling in sick and this entailed Maine having to double up her duties, handling even Chona's responsibilities. Thankfully, Maine was efficient to a fault. However, Richard Sr. felt it was unfair to dump everything on Maine while she was still new on the job and earning much less than Chona's salary. This was the reason why he requested for a coffee meeting with Chona.

Richard Sr. was well known for his coffee meetings. These were meetings held outside the office, usually at the Starbucks outlet at the ground floor of their building or in the Coffee Bean outlet in the building beside theirs. These meetings are usually called for to relay good, bad or sensitive news, all of which he likes to convey outside the office to be on neutral ground, with respect to the employee's feelings.

He motioned for Chona to sit after getting her ordered coffee. She was looking defensive even before she sat down.

"Hi Chona, long time no chika. Kumusta na ba?"

Chona shrugged with matching irap at him. "Not so good sir."

"Ows? Bakit naman?"

"May tampo ako sa inyo, sir."

"Tampo? Ano na naman yan?"

"Sir, why did you get a Girl Friday? Am I not efficient enough for you?"

"Don't you appreciate the extra pair of hands helping you out?

"Sir, ang tagal ko nang Executive Assistant ninyo. Naka-survive ako ng walang katulong."

"Chona, hindi ko gets kung bakit ikinasasama ng loob mo ang pagkuha kay Maine. She's very efficient for somebody who has no work experience. Yung times na absent ka, nakakaya niya yung work kahit mag-isa siya. Which reminds me, halos every week nag-aabsent ka. Hindi pwede yan."

"Kung hindi na po kayo happy sa trabaho ko then magreresign na lang po ako."

His face suddenly changed from being amiable to serious. He hired a Junior Secretary because Chona was forgetting to do some tasks he asked her to do, and he attributed it to the workload probably being too much for one person only. Maybe the people around him were right, he spoiled his Executive Assistant, turning her into a diva of sorts. People have been complaining about her attitude lately and he had to do something about it.

"Chona, I think I've been a good and generous boss to you. I don't see anything wrong with hiring someone to help you out. Ibabalik ko sayo yung sinabi mo. Kung hindi ka na happy sa trabaho mo, then feel free to resign."

Chona's face flushed a deep red. In the ten years she worked for Richard Sr., he never spoke to her this way. He was always the cool and level-headed partner among the Execom, and she actually liked working for him. It's just that working with Maine curtailed some of her activities, because she was no longer in full control of things anymore.

"Look, you have a right to use your vacation and sick leaves. But taking a leave every week is not the way to do it. And after this talk, I don't want people coming up to me, telling me how you're making things hard for Maine. Team kayo eh, dapat magtulungan. Stop taking advantage of your seniority over her."

-----

Chona went back to the office in a bad mood. It did not help that she arrived to see Maine seated in her table, answering a phone call. She shot dagger looks at Maine and motioned for her to stand up.

"Ms. Chona, may mga calls na pumasok while you were out. Heto po yung listahan, sinabi ko na lang magre-return call kayo sa kanila."

Maine tore a post-it note from her pad and gave it to Chona but her hand was rudely shoved away.

"Ay, hala. Ms. Chona, what's wrong? Meron ka? Gusto mo kuha kita ng meds sa clinic?"

"Huwag mo kong kausapin ha, baka hindi ako makapagpigil, masaktan kiya. Bumalik ka nga sa lungga mo."

Hay, galit na naman si ate sakin. She stuck the post-it to Chona's desk and went back to her cubicle, working on the memos that needed to be released before the day ends.

Chona was seething inside. She was barely back on her seat when Maine approached her again.

"Ms. Chona, kailangan po ni Billy ng pera pang-gas ng motor niya, magdedeliver po siya ng documents sa Makati."

"Ay nako, sabihin mo naubos na petty cash, wala ako mabibigay sa kanya."

"Ms. Chona, kaka-bigay lang ng replenishment natin kahapon."

"Eh sa naubos, anong magagawa ko? Sabihin mo abonohan niya, reimburse ko na lang siya. Bumalik ka na sabi sa lugar mo, mainit ulo ko."

Maine left Chona and went back to her seat. How could ten thousand pesos worth of petty cash be consumed after just one day? She smelled trouble but kept silent. It was best for her to mind her own business and focus on her work.

An hour before the close of business, Chona left, claiming she had a headache. Maine checked Chona's table for anything needing Richard Sr.'s signature. She took several folders containing checks and documents for signature and arranged them in his desk, making sure that those marked urgent were on top.

As she was about to leave, her eyes settled on the photograph of Richard Sr.'s son. Approaching it, she took the frame and ran her hands over it, her index finger lingering over his dimple on the left cheek. She started talking to the photo, unaware that Richard Sr. was already in the room.

"Grabe kaguwapuhan mo sir, nakakatulala ka. Kelan kaya kita magkikita ulit? Maghahanda ako ng maraming checks for signature, para mas matagal tayo magmoment. Nabitin ako last time—"

"Ahem."

Startled, Maine dropped the photo frame and scrambled to pick it up. In her haste, she bumped her head on the corner of the table, the sharp corner hitting the side of her head.

"Si-sir......Kanina ka pa po diyan?"

"Hija, ano ba yan, konting ingat. Kumusta naman, sumsagot ba anak ko sayo? "

"Sir, sorry po, pampaalis pagod lang. Sorry....."

"Let's have coffee tomorrow."

"Sabado po bukas?"

"Yes, hindi ka ba pwede?"

"Po? Pu-pwede po...."

"Sige, 2:00 PM Coffee Bean sa tabi natin."

"Ok po."

Was he mad at her? She was shaking with fear, it was her turn to experience the dreaded coffee meeting.

Patay ka Menggay ang harot mo kasi.