Saving Harper

Don't Dream of Me Too Much

"What do you mean you forgot?! You don't just forget a scheduled meeting with an author's agent Daisy! You have a fucking calendar and a planner so ano pang saysay if you don't use it?! And why didn't you even send me a reminder? You had a fucking week to tell me! Ano ba naman kahit post-it nag iwan ka dito sa lamesa ko?! Post-it nalang yan ha! Or even send me a text since you're always on your damn phone! Pati ba yon hirap na hirap kang gawin??? Do you know what this can do???" I said aloud as I massaged my temples. It's taking a lot of my strength not to hurl something at Daisy, my assistant who was standing in front of my desk.

I've been having a stressful day already but my patience took a nosedive when she just informed me NOW of a missed important meeting with an author's agent this afternoon that she forgot to remind me this week. It was only Tuesday and I felt like ending the week already. I swear tumatanda ako ng maaga dito sa assistant ko.

"Paulit-ulit na tayo dito, Daisy! This is the third instance in the last 2 weeks you failed to remind me either of an important meeting or a communicated message. That's like the basic requirement of your job. And you don't learn a thing! Wala ka kasing ginawa kung hindi mag Instagram!" I stared at my incompetent assistant who was already in tears. 

Sa totoo lang, wala nakong awang mabibigay. Ako yung mawawalan ng trabaho if I keep tolerating this. I've had enough. I don't have any patience for this level of inefficiency. To think na scheduling nalang ang pinapagawa ko sa kanya. Ni hindi ko na nga sya pinapasama sa meeting at pinapareview ng manuscripts kasi baka pati yon hindi nya magawa. Well, for sure, hindi nya magagawa yon. 

"You're fired." I finally said.

"Ms. Javier, please..." She started to appeal to me I silenced her with a deadly look. She knows well enough not to try and reason with me anymore. She hurried out of my office and I glared at the door as she left. Swerte pa sya na gabi ko sya pinaalis. Hindi sya mapapahiya sa harap ng madaming tao dahil wala na din halos tao dito sa office. 

Remorse would be the last feeling I would have for her. In fact, I should've fired her a long time ago. As I've said, It wasn't the first time this happened and pinalagpas ko lang yung mga nauna kasi nagawan ko din agad ng paraan. But potentially, this careless mistake could lose one particular author my boss wanted me to acquire. 

I threw a manuscript I was reviewing at the wall sa gigil. I massaged my temples again, while thinking of a way to save my assistant's—former assistant's—costly blunder.

I dialed the agent's number, hoping against hope he's in a good mood to accept my apology and would still agree to schedule a meeting with me. Again.

"I just saw your third assistant for the past two months running away while crying. Anong nangyari?" Franco Alturas, the head of Creatives Department here in Carte Publishing House where I work as a Managing Editor, entered my office right after my conversation with Jeremy Angeles the agent of the author my boss kept raving about.

He picked up the manuscript I threw against the wall and smiled mischievously. Alam na nya kung paano ako mang gigil and it wasn't the first time he picked up things from the floor of my office. He placed it on my table. May idea na sya kung anong nangyari at nawalan nanaman ako ng assistant.

"Tanga grabe! She forgot to remind me of the meeting with Jeremy Angeles this afternoon! She was the one who placed the appointment in the calendar last week tangina." I pinched the bridge of my nose. I can feel a migraine building up. Franco took a seat on my couch. Amused at my usual rant about my assistant.