Taped-Up Heart

XLI. Heart Burned

Chapter Forty One

Heart Burned

Four years after...

"Engineer Dela Cuesta," Engineer Randillo called.

I looked at him. Tinitingnan ko ngayon ang planong ibinigay sa akin ng Architect. I'm focused on figuring  out what material I should use for the cantilever in the design. Nandito siya ngayon sa office ko. "What is it?" I asked, still looking at the plan.

"New project," he simply said.

Tumango lang ako. It's nothing new. Ever since I graduated and topped the board exams, marami na ang kumukuha sa akin. Of course, sino ba naman ang may ayaw na makatrabaho ang top one sa board exams, right?

I chose to work for one of the biggest architectural firms here in the country. Bukod sa kilala ko ang head, mas komportable rin ako dito. Two years pa lang ako dito pero pakiramdam ko naka-ten years na ako sa dami ng project na gustong ipagawa sa akin.

Tiningnan ko ang mga files na nasa sahig at nasa table ko, halos wala ng space para sa bagong project. "Can't you give that to another engineer?" I asked. May right naman siguro akong tumanggi, hindi ba?

Sa totoo lang, hindi ko naman kailangan ng pera. Nagtatrabaho lang ako kasi ito talaga ang gusto ko ever since. Pangarap ko na 'to simula pa lang nung bata ako. Kaya hindi talaga pera ang habol ko, kung hindi 'yung satisfaction at happiness na nakukuha ko everytime I finish a project.

"Engineer Dela Cuesta, this is the biggest project of the firm, and they personally requested that you handle it. They won't proceed with this project without you," he said.

Ibinaba ko ang draft na hawak ko. I mean... we're all great engineers here in the firm. Ganoon ba ako ka-importante na hindi nila itutuloy ang project ng wala ako? I'm just lucky because I topped the boards exams, but aside from that, we're all the same. We're all great engineers here.

"Who's the client?" I asked.

"Confidential," he said. "They want to speak with you personally."

Napataas ang kilay ko. This is a first time, huh. I know sikat ako sa field na 'to, pero this is the first time na naka-encounter ako ng client na hindi talaga papayag na hindi ako ang hahawak sa project nila.

I stood up. "I'll talk to Percy," I said.

Lumabas na ako ng office ko at nagpunta sa office ng Head Architect ng firm. I knocked on the door before entering. May kausap siya sa telepono kaya umupo na lang muna ako silya sa harapan ng table niya.

After a few minutes, the call finally ended. "I see, alam mo na," he started.

"Who's the client?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know either," he said. "It's marked as confidential for now, not until they meet you."

"Baka naman scam 'yan, wala palang mukha."

"Nope," he said. "A friend of mine knows them."

"How much?" I asked.

"One hundred billion," he said.

Parang tumigil saglit ang puso ko sa pagtibok. Was this serious? This could be the biggest project we would ever handle.

"Naniniwala ka ba talaga?"

He nodded. "Yes. The source is trustworthy."

"When's the scheduled meeting?" I asked.

Sumandal siya sa swivel chair niya bago siya ngumiti sa akin. "You decide, Engineer Dela Cuesta."