EverLUSTing Love

*15*

*15*

I was on the way to his condo when I received a text from my best friend, Sairene.

From: Sai

Hey! Dice and I are going to have dinner outside later. Sama ka?

I instantly sent her a reply.

To: Sai

No thanks. May appointment pa ‘ko with my boss. At gagabihin din ako nang uwi. Thanks, anyway. Enjoy!

Isinilid ko na ‘yong phone ko sa bag at bumaba ng d’yip.

Three days had already passed since that night, when you-know-what happened. Medyo nakahalata nga sina Sai na may kakaibang nangyari pero s’yempre, hindi ako umamin. And as usual, Jace acted as if nothing happened. I did the same, so. Akala ko may magbabago pero nagkamali ako. He was still the same, cold Jace. He was just my boss, after all. I owe him big time and I was just returning the favor. Ang masaklap pa ro’n, mas lalo pang nadagdagan iyong mga trabahong pinagagawa niya sa ‘kin. (Those paper works, power point presentations/visuals, and such).

At kanina lang, bago ako umuwi, he gave me another task. Sabi niya, pagka-uwi ko, pumunta raw ako sa unit niya at ipagluto siya ng kaldereta. See? Pati ba naman ‘yon, ipinagawa niya! (Ang sabihin niya, na-miss niya lang iyong luto ko! Paborito niya pa naman iyong kaldereta ko). And that wasn’t even related to my work and my profession as his secretary! Out of bounds na nga ‘yon e! Too bad, I had no choice but to obey his commands. As what I had said, malaki ang utang ko sa kaniya. Maliit na bagay lang naman ito kumpara sa lahat ng naitulong niya. Nakakahiya naman kung tatanggi pa ako. Kaya naman bago ako dumiretso sa condo, dumaan muna ako sa pinaka-malapit na grocery at namili ng mga sahog/rekadong kakailanganin sa pagluluto.

Nang makarating sa top floor ay lumabas na ako nang elevator. Ilang hakbang lang at nasa tapat na ako ng pintuan no’ng unit niya. Inilapag ko muna iyong mga pinamili ko saka ko pinindot iyong doorbell.

Ilang segundo lang at bumukas na iyong pintuan. There stood Beatrice, his cousin, wearing plain white shirt and maong shorts, her hair tied up into a messy bun. Nakalimutan kong she was staying in his condo nga pala!

“Err…hi?” bati ko sa kaniya with an awkward smile. “And’yan ba si Jace sa loob, Bea?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said, “And buti naman nakilala mo na ako, Ate Ai.” she added with a smirk.

“Oh, sorry about last time nga pala,” I apologized. “Ang laki kasi nang pinagbago mo, e. Kaya hindi kita nakilala. You look fabulous,” pamumuri ko sa kaniya.

“That’s okay. I’m the one who should apologize. And thanks for the compliment, anyway,” she beamed, “Pasok ka.”

She gave way and so I went inside, my hands clutching the plastic bags containing stuffs I had bought.

“Lagay ko lang ‘to sa may kitchen, a.” I said pagtungtong ko sa living room.

“Sure. Go ahead.” she answered as I walk towards the kitchen.