Basta't Kasama Kita

5

Ito na ang pangalawang araw ng brainstorming nilang dalawa pero hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin sila nagkakasundo sa kahit anong konsepto. Sandra was being her usual workaholic self while Greg was trying really hard to be the serious guy she wanted. He was trying so hard to impress her that it seemed like he was imposing his idea. At dahil sa pressure sa nararamdaman nila sa trabaho ay unti-unti bumalik ang dating lagay ng kanilang pagkakaibigan – ang pagkakaibigang puno ng pagbabangayan.

“Paano tayo makakatapos nito eh we can’t even agree on anything? Umpisa pa lang hindi na tayo magkasundo,” she said.

“Ikaw kasi palagi mo akong kinokontra,” ang angal naman ni Greg.

“Hindi naman sa kinokontra kita. May flaws lang talaga sa mga ideas mo.”

“Flaws? Eh halos wala nang matira sa concept ko kung himayin mo yung mga sinsabi mong flaws.”

“Eh sa that’s how I see it.”

“So paano nga tayo makakatapos nito?”

They fell silent for a little while and then she spoke, “Alam ko na. Let’s just make 2 separate concepts tapos we’ll both present it. Bahala na kung anong piliin nila. That way may mararating tayo. Hindi katulad nito na parati tayong nagtatalo.”

Nag-isip munang maigi si Greg bago sumagot. “Sige but let’s make this interesting. Let’s make a bet,” ang paghahamon ni Greg.

“Game!”

“Kung kaninong idea ang mapili will be the winner. The loser will be the assistant for one whole month.”

“What do you mean assistant?”

“Assistant… whatever an assistant does. Make schedules, take notes during meetings, make coffee, sumama sa lahat ng presentation, those kinds of stuff. Kahit anong ipagawa sa assistant pwede.”

“For one whole month?”

“One whole month.”

“Kahit ano?”

“Kahit ano.”

“You’re on!” sabi ni Sandra sabay lakad palayo kay Greg. But she had to stop and tell him something, “I-ready mo na ‘yang sarili mong maging assistant ko. I’m a slave driver.”

Nang makalabas ng office n’ya ay napangiti ng malaki si Greg. “Yes! This is going to be perfect. Win-win situation for me kasi kahit anong mangyari, we will be spending time with each other. But I’m gonna make sure that she wins this bet so I can be the assistant. You will see Sandra, I will treat you like a queen. I am willing to be your slave, Baby, if it means there’s a chance that you will fall in love with me.”

********

Nagdaan ang mga araw na halos hindi na nagkikita ang dalawa. She was so busy ‘perfecting’ her presentation while he, well, planned on how to make Sandra fall for him during the one month that they will be working closely together. Natapos na kasi n’ya ang kanyang presentation – ginawa lamang n’ya sa loob ng isang araw. He didn’t put too much effort into it dahil wala naman talaga s’yang planong manalo sa bet.

Dumating ang araw ng kanilang presentation. Fred, Sandra and Greg were already waiting at the meeting room for the clients. Si Sandra ay nagrereview ng kanyang presentation habang si Greg naman ay nakikipag-usap kay Fred tungkol sa kung anong bagay na hindi naman related dito.

She rolled her eyes nang nakita n’yang nagtatawanan ang dalawang lalaki. She said to herself, “Tignan mo ang hambog na ‘to. Parang wala man lang pakialam kung anong mangyayari ngayon. Nagpapakacool lang. Pero pabor sa akin ‘yon. Bahala s’ya sa buhay n’ya kasi aalilain ko s’ya sa loob ng isang buwan.”