Fran was midway through her hot latte when a male voice interrupted her reverie.
“May I?” Gavin gestured to the empty seat across her, a cup of coffee in his other hand.
It took a second before it registered in Fran’s brain that he was actually asking permission to join her.
“Ah…sure, sure.” She nodded, eyeing him with suspicion. “Are you okay?”
“Of course. Why do you ask?”
Fran shrugged. “Nothing really. I’m just used to the Gavin who …jumps in without permission.”
“Ouch!” Gavin held his chest, as if in pain. “Ganyan talaga ang impression mo sa ‘kin?”
Fran couldn’t help smiling. “Totoo naman di ba?”
He took a long sip from his cup. “Technique ko lang yan to…..intimidate the opponent.”
She lifted her brows in surprise. “Opponent? Kalaban ang tingin mo sa ‘kin?”
He smiled apologetically. “At first, yes. That’s how I treat everyone who’s new to the company, especially if he or she occupies an executive position.”
“And then…?”
“When I see that they’re on the level… trustworthy…..then I ease up.”
Fran stared at her cup for a moment. “So now….I’m trustworthy?”
“Of course.”
She stared at her cup again, her mind dwelling on a memory --- a reason to possibly lose his trust.
“--Fran? Are you okay?”
She gave herself a mental shake. “Ah… oo naman…..you were saying something?”
Gavin’s brow slightly furrowed. “I was saying that I’ll be leaving for Hongkong tomorrow.”
“Business?”
He nodded. “The usual…trying to close another deal…I’ll be there for 3 or 4 days so if you need anything, I’m just an email or text away.”
Fran eyed him closely, noticing that he looked tired. “Okay…ingat ka na lang dun.”
Gavin plunked down onto his bed in his hotel suite in Hongkong. He stared at the ceiling, his mind going over the events of the past two days since his arrival.
Meetings for hours on end. Negotiations. Haggling. Brainstorming. Closing the deal.
The sweet smell of success.
He had worked hard for this. He finished his MBA with flying colors, worked for a multinational company before joining LHC. At LHC, he started from the bottom, worked as a trainee for several months at each department until finally finding his niche at Sales and Marketing. There was nowhere to go but up. Being the president’s nephew only pushed him to work harder --- to prove that he wasn’t riding on his uncle’s name. And proved himself he did. If there was anyone worthy to replace his uncle at the helm of LHC, it was him.
Gavin’s phone buzzed with a reply from Fran.
Fran Chua : Sorry, late reply. Nasa meeting lang. Congrats sa deal! Ang galing, as usual. =)
He smiled and typed in a reply : Thanks.
Remembering his uncle’s words, he closed his eyes and sighed.
