The Boss' Fault

CHAPTER 5

Nadine sipped on the strong coffee she prepared awhile ago. Puyat siya sa pagpopolish ng presentation niya nang nakaraang gabi pero di sya pwedeng antukin mamaya. She need everything to be perfect for her very first presentation sa harap nina Sir Mario.

No room for mistake, paulit-ulit niyang sambit sa isip. Lalo na nang makita niya ang pasimpleng pagsilip ni Sir Ed kanina sa office niya. Para bang tinatantiya kung gaano siya kahanda. Ito ang brother-in-law ni Sir Mario at ang uncle na tinutukoy ni Miss Penny. Palagi itong nakadikit sa boss niya kaya kitang-kita niya ang mapanuri nitong tingin sa tuwing may itatanong sa kanya si Sir Mario.

She can't even afford to be awkward with Julian. Kasama kasi ito sa meeting mamaya. Nagtataka sya kung bakit dahil pwede naman itong magpadala ng representative para sa mga minor meeting na kagaya non. Because it is considered minor compared sa mga projects at operations ng kabuuan ng kompanya ng mga ito. They're just going to discuss about the opening of five big branches of their supermarket in five distant provinces in Luzon. Since Golden Grain is one of their major supplier, they need to tackle the transport, storage, supply schedule and other relevant matters regarding the project.

Anyway, he's still not messaging her about what happened so she thinks they're cool.

Kabisado niya na word-for-word ang presentation niya dahil pang-ilang beses niya nang nareview ito. But still, she has to. Baka mamaya may nakaligtaan niya. Mahirap na.

Pumasok siya conference room 15 minutes bago ang scheduled meeting. She familiarized herself with the whole room including the projector kahit na andon naman si Alice para gawin yun. Again, hindi pwedeng matanga siya habang nagpepresent. Eksaktong 3 pm ay nagsimula nang pumasok ang mga kasama sa meeting. There were ten of them. Huminga muna nang malalim si Nadine at itinago ang kaba.

Game on.

"Any further questions?"si Sir Mario na ang nagtanong sa mga kasama pagkatapos sagutin ni Nadine ang huling tanong ni Sir Ed. She looked around the room in apprehension. Mukha namang satisfied ang mga ito.

Her heart jumped a bit when Julian gave her an approving nod and subtle thumbs up. She tried her best to smile at everyone. Bumalik na kasi ang kaba niya nang biglang matahimik ang buong kwarto. Sana naman ay wala nang magtanong kasi malapit na rin siyang maubusan ng sagot.

Bahagyang nagtaas ng isang kamay si Mr. Lazaro, isa sa mga kasama ni Julian. Oh God. She willed herself to calm down.

"Go ahead, Geoff"he urged the small man in his 40's.

"Thanks! I just would like to commend Nadine here for including points such as the repair of major bridges in the area. It's good! It's good that we're already aware of the factors that may affect our operations as early as possible. And its even better that she already presented some alternatives just in case the government won't be able to finish the roadworks in time. Ang dami niya ring dinagdag na mga bagay na madaling ma-overlook ng iba. You're very detail-oriented, Nadine. That's great. Keep it up!"

She tried to contain her grin and showed them a poised smile, instead.

Maliit na bagay.