***** Chapter 3 *****
Halos hindi makagalaw ang lahat ng directors sa loob ng conference room pagpasok ni Alden. Even though he's young, he had proven a couple of times how competent of a leader he was. Because of that, he was both respected and feared by his colleagues.
Wala naman pakialam diyan si Alden. Infact, he was silently enjoying the attention until he passed by Jhake and smelled a familiar sweet scent off him. Kumunot agad ang noo niya at mas na-tense tuloy ang mga tao sa loob.
"Let's start with the progress," anunsyo niya agad pagkaupo.
As the meeting progressed, he tried to push the thought of the girl from the elevator and her sweet scent at the back of his mind. Pero sa tuwing napupunta ang tingin niya kay Jhake, naaalala niya ang babaeng nagngangalang Dei.
Who is he to her?
Mas lalong lumalim ang tanong niyang ito nang kausapin siya ni Jhake pagkatapos ng meeting. Kahit mabait ito, hindi pa rin nito ugali ang kausapin siya para lang depensahan ang empleyado nito. They have proper rules for that.
"They're not just your employees," he told Jhake, his jaws clenching. "They're mine too."
"Iyong sekretarya na nakasabayan mo sa elevator kanina..." Oh she's his secretary, "... she's a good employee. She's the best secretary I have and I am ready to use our friendship if you decide to fire her."
Biglang kumulo ang dugo niya. Parang sinabi na nito na mas pipiliin nito ang sekretarya nito kesa kanya. Wala naman siyang pakialam kung gagawin man nito iyon, basta ba sa ibang babae, hindi dun sa sekretarya nito.
What?
He gave himself a weird look. Kung makapag-react siya sa sarili parang may karapatan siya dun sa sekretarya ng kaibigan. Infact, Jhake has all the rights to do this.
Mababaliw ata ako kapag nagpatuloy pa 'to.
Kaya tinignan niya ang kaibigan. "I am not going to fire her for lying to me if that's what you are worried about."
"She asked me to send you her apologies-"
Nagliwanag bigla ang pag-iisip ni Alden. "She better do that in front of my face."
Surprisingly, he did not welcome the thought that he was excited to see Dei again. For him, he has better things to think of than her. Una, kakabalik lang niya sa kompanya. Pangalawa, hinahanap pa niya ang babae'ng ipapakasal sa kanya. He needed to find that girl and end their wedding arrangement. This is not the right time for him to flirt.
He told Jhake about the arranged marriage and he particularly liked a line that his friend said, "If only that girl's my secretary then that can be easily resolved with money."
He was never fond of materialistic girls but he did date a few of them.
But, jeez, Alden really welcomed the idea of having Dei as his fiancee even if she turned out to be a woman lusting for money.
Jhake, I will not fire you secretary. But can I steal her? he wanted to ask.
*****
Sino'ng kinikilig sa pa-POV ni Mr. A? Patingin uli ng kili-kili? haha...
THANK YOU PO for reading and re-reading this story. Ang daming nagsasabi na nami-miss niyo ako kaya iisahin ko na lang dito. I MISS YOU EVERYONE!
Pasensya na at ang tagal kong nawala. I think I mentioned this before that I have issues with my hand. I would have to undergo therapy for it once a year. Kaya nawawala po ako bigla and would take time to come back. Don't worry po, I am totally fine. Happy-happy lang po tayo!
Alagaan niyo po ang kalusugan niyo. Kapag sumakit ang mga mata niyo sa pagbabasa, ipikit niyo na lang. MDG will still be here. Haha... Chao!
