Broken Trust

-Chapter 07-

Seven

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth...with a twist"

Tinignan niya ako na parang tinubuan ako ng dalawang ulo at buntot. He can't blame me though. That news was a huge blow for me. Sa lahat ng bagay na pwedeng mangyari sakin dito, ni hindi sumagi sa utak ko na sa iisang building lang kami titira ni Ash.

Second day ko pa lang dito sa Cyrea pero parang lahat ng sakit ng ulo na pwede kong maranasan sa isang buwan ay naranasan ko sa dalawang araw lang. Not to mention na nagsisimula pa lang ang second day ko.

Pero si Ash parang wala lang sakanya. Nakatayo lang siya malapit sa balcony. Ni walang expression ang mukha niya. I wonder what he's thinking though. Napakahirap niyang basahin. Para siyang isang morse code na ang hirap idecipher. The probability of reading his thoughts is near to impossible, really. Yung mga gestures lang yung nakakapagsabi sakin yung ano minsan ang nararamdaman niya. But with his eyes? I wish you luck with that, mate. Parang abstract painting na hindi mo maintindihan ang meaning.

"So what time are we gonna meet your manager?" Pag-iiba ko ng usapan. "Eleven, you say?" Hindi ko ipapahalata sakanya na naapektuhan ako dahil dito siya nakatira.

Inayos niya ang buhok niya bago tumango. Napairap ako sakanya dahil sa obsession niya sa buhok niya. Typical Ash.

Magaalas onse na ng makalabas kami ng Avenida towers.

Ang Avenida towers ang tinuturing na pinaka exclusive at pinakamahal na condomium sa buong Cyrea. Kagaya ng sabi ko, dito nakatira ang halos lahat ng mga artista at mga business tycoons. Technically, lahat ng mga taong humihilata at ginagawang confetti ang pera.

Mahahalata mo naman sa pagkakagawa ng building na ito. Mula sa sahig hanggang sa kisame ay mararamdaman mo ang pagkaelegante ng lugar. Nakatayo lang siya pero parang ipinagsisigawan nito na pangmayaman ang lugar na'to. Highly secured ang avenida kaya walang dapat ipag-alala ang mga naninirahan dito.

Masasabi kong napaka-organized ng bansang Cyrea. Madalang ang mga krimen na nangyayari dito siguro ay dahil sa mga nakakatakot na parusa. Sa Cyrea, once na napatunayang nagkasala ka sa batas. Kung ano ang ginawa mong violation ay yun din ang matatanggap mong parusa. Yun nga lang mas malala dahil doble ang ipapataw sa'yo. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth...with a twist.

Papunta kami ni Ash sa FH entertainment.

Ang FH entertainment naman at ang Moon Productions ang sentro ng Cyrea. You'll noticed that these two buildings were the highest structures ever built in this country. Why? Dahil gusto nilang bigyan ng emphasis na sila ang sentro ng bansang ito. Sa gitna ng dalawang buildings ay isang malaking orasan na hugis G-clef. Nasabi ko na bang ang Cyrea ay isang bansang pinatatakbo ng Musika? Well, now you know.

Dito, kapag may talento ka sa pagkanta o pag-arte, pag-aagawan ka ng dalawang stations na ito. Kaya sila ang sentro ng Cyrea. Swerte mo na lang kung galing ka sa pamilya ng mga musicians at celebrities. Dahil sila ang may pinakamataas na sweldo sa buong Cyrea.

"So will someone explain to me what am I doing here at," I glanced at the wall clock hanging near the door. "11 am?"

Mr. Perez cleared his throat to get my attention. No need to do that though, he has my full undivided attention, I glanced at Ash's direction who's been laughing while fidgeting with his phone the moment we arrived in this office, or maybe not.

"So as I was saying," You're not saying anything since I arrived here. I raised my eyebrow. Unfortunately, he found my gesture less intimidating. I sighed. "The contract includes designing and making his clothes for the next few months. There were also times when you have to style him when were on tour. So expect that you'll be joining us. "

"As for the pay, Chairman Hastings and I will be talking about it later. I'm pretty sure that he'll pay you handsomely. Anyway, iba rin naman ang ibabayad ni Ash so kayo na lang ang mag-usap." He said while I was scanning what was written on the contract.

The contract will be valid for 1 year. Any form of disloyalty will be----

My eyes widened in surprised. I didn't continue what I was reading. The first sentence is enough to make my eyes pop-out of their sockets. 1 year? That's too long for me.

"Are you shitting me?" I shrieked.

"Is there any problem, Ms. Hastings?" Mr. Perez asked in a worried tone while Ash is still laughing his ass out. I wonder if he knows what his manager and I are talking about.

"Nobody mentioned that I'm tied with Ash for one whole fucking year!" Tumayo ako at binitawan ang kontrata sa mesa. Huminto sa kakatawa si Ash at napatingin sakin.

"Is that a problem for you?" His brows turned to a crease.

"Of course, Mr Perez. I don't want to limit my choices. When my dad--- I mean Chairman Hastings said that I'll be working as the company's official designer, I thought that I'll be working with different artists, not just Ash!" I said.

They stared at me like I lost my eye or something. Yeah, maybe there are lots of designers out there who wants to work with Ash because he's one of the highest paid actor in Cyrea, but I'm not one of those designers. I want to gain experience from different celebrities. I want to deal with different personalities. Not just with this suck up douchebag. I'm sensing that if I work with Ash for less than a year, I would end up in a mental hospital wearing a straight jacket.

Mr. Perez cleared his throat again. "Okay. I'll talk about it with the Chairman. I will try to retract the contract for 6 months and ask for your freedom to work with different celebrities if that's what you want. Are you cool with that?"

"Fair enough." I stated with a straight face.

"Fair enough? But there's nothing fair about all these shit!" Ash freaked out. His tone is furious. I was shocked that he knows what're topic is. He's clearly not paying attention ten minutes ago. And now he's freaking out because everything wasn't fair enough. Jerk.

"No buts, Ash. We don't want to lose this young lady so we have to abide her conditions." He said as he kept the contract in his briefcase.

****

"So is this all your schedule for the week?" I asked Ash, who's still furious about our argument. His manager left him with me so we can talk about our oh-so-called 'future plans'. Future plans their ass. I don't have any future plans though. If you can call putting a cockroach inside Ash's suit so he'll freak out infront of his fans as one of my future plans then so be it.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that I won't be asking Ash's opinions on the clothes I make. I'm the designer here so I know what's better.

He nodded.

So his schedule is tightly packed. I wonder if he ever had the time to do his hobbies. Anyway, why do I care?

I glanced at my wrist watch. 1:30. So I've been in this room for two hours and a half.

I stood up and offered my open palm to Ash. "I hope we'll be fine with those... arrangements."

I waited for 5 seconds and he's not accepting my hand. When I decided to drop it, he took it and shook it gently. He said, "Of course, Fierce. We'll be working unbelievably fine."

He totally made it obvious that his statement is dripping with sarcasm.