The Egoistic Bastard

Chapter 3 - The New Boss

(Julian's POV) 

Marami akong koneksyon. Kaya ginamit ko yun para imbestigahan si Honey. Naintriga ako sa kanya. Matagal ko na siyang napansin sa bar, at nagtaka lang ako dahil hindi siya umiinom ng alcoholic drinks at hindi rin siya sumasayaw. And what's even weirder is she was just staring. She was spacing out. Weird. 

Matapos ko siyang mahalikan, which gave me a very ecstatic reaction coming from her (note the sarcasm), I left the bar and told my bodyguards to follow her. 

Ugh, bakit ko ba ginagawa 'to? Dahil ba hindi siya affected sa kagwapuhan kong 'to? Siguro nga. Sakit sa ego eh. And now, here I am, drinking all by myself. 

*bodyguard calling* 

I answered. "Yeah?" 

"Boss, may nakuha na kaming information dun sa babae." 

"She has a name. Now spill it." 

"Full name, Honey Ramos. 26 years old, single, nakatira sa isang condo sa Makati, kapitbahay ang bestfriend niyang si Elise, nagtatrabaho sa Disney PH." 

Disney PH? That caught me off guard. Sa pagkakaalam ko ay kabibili lang namin ng Disney, which means...

THE NEXT MORNING 

(Honey's POV) 

OH GOD. Hangover alert. 

JOKE LANG!!! Di naman ako uminom kagabi, pano ako magkakaron ng hangover? Puyat ako. PUYAT. Nyeta kasi yung lalakeng yun. 

Ugh. Di ko maalis yung kiss na yun sa isip ko. Kahit hindi ako nagrespond, aware naman ako ng malambot ang lips niya. 

Wait, what? I DID NOT JUST SAY THAT. 

Pwe! Kadiri ka. Bumangon ka na self, late ka na sa work.

OFFICE 

Here I am, in my safe haven. Where no one can beat me and my good mood. Sa office ko, kung saan nandito lahat ng mahalaga para sakin. 

Drawing materials, tabs, frames, and other gadgets for animation. Yes, I am an animator sa Disney PH. Senior Animator, to be specific. But I'm not that old!!! 

Nandun na yung favorite milk tea ko, brought by my secretary, and the newspaper. I looked at today's paper and my heart stopped. 

Headline: "ARANETA BUYS DISNEY PH, GRANDSON TO MANAGE THE INTERNATIONAL COMPANY" 

Damn, should I be happy with this? Araneta just bought the company I'm working in. Which means I have a new boss, courtesy of his grandson, and my salary may or may not be affected. 

Teka, ba't hindi ko alam 'to? No one informed me of this! 

Tumakbo ako (wa poise!) sa office ni Janine, isang friend ko from high school na senior animator din. 

"JHAAAAAAAAA!" sigaw ko pagpasok ng office niya. 

And to my surprise, she wasn't surprised by my sudden outburst. Was she expecting me? 

"I know, I know. No one informed you that we have a new boss. Neither was I." 

Huh. Ano 'to, joke? Bakit biglaan kase? 

Biglang may nagsalita sa intercom. 

"All employees proceed to the lobby now. Mr. Araneta has arrived." 

TUMAAS ANG KILAY KO NG BONGGA. Bakit may grand entrance? 

"I guess we need to meet the new boss." Janine said. 

And then we went to the lobby.

LOBBY 

Andaming tao. Bakit parang kinikilig pa sila eh lolo na nga yung boss namin? Diba? 

"Bakit-" Janine cut me off. 

"Araneta's grandson. Apo niya ang boss natin, which means he's young and probably single." 

"Or gay." I said. I think Janine has mind-reading powers. Weird. 

"Hahahaha! BAKLA, mygosh. Pwede rin." tawa niya. 

And then everyone went silent. Anyare? Anjan na ba si Obama? Pacquiao? Si Shamcey? 

That's when I saw the cause.

HOLY SHIT. MALAS BA TALAGA AKO OR WHAT?

Bakit siya ang boss ko? Bakit?!?! Mabait naman (yata) ako ah, bakit ako pinaparusahan ni Lord ng ganito?!

My boss was staring at me. Of course I stared back.

"Nice meeting you here, Honey." he smirked. 

Ano bang pwede isagot na hindi ko ikatatanggal sa trabaho? 

Isip, isip. 'Am I dead already? 'Cause you look like devil himself.' NO! THAT WILL SURELY GET ME FIRED.

Ugh. No choice. Nag-smile na lang ako. 

Which earned me a few looks from the girls and some curses, too. 

If only they knew how much I wanted to switch places with them right now.

Staring contest lang kami ng aking so-called boss. Ayoko maunang mag-iwas ng tingin, he might think I like him. Such a big head. And my pride's at stake here, people. 

And then after what seemd like forever to me, he finally spoke. 

Still wearing that smirk, he said to me, "Please go to my office at lunch, Miss Ramos." 

And then he left with a few nods here and there.

ANYARE?! CAN I JUST SKIP LUNCH FOR THE FIRST TIME? PWEDE BA? UGH.