Be Mine

39

"Dad! Clara!"

Lia heard Gary call them out from where they are standing. She sensed that he is also in disbelief. She took a deep breath and then a few steps to get out of the elevator and faced Clara. She tried to ignore the older Jimenez even though she can feel the stares that he is giving her, and it is piercing through her skin. She gives an immediate fake smile. "Hi, Clara!", she initiated and gave her a buzz on the cheek. "How are you?"

"I'm good!", Clara answers and obviously still in shock. "What are you doing here, Lia?"

She tried to muster up as much confidence as she can just to prove to herself that she will survive the current situation she is in.

"I visited Caloy. Dinalhan ko siya ng lunch. Nagkataon naman na nagkasabay kami ni Gary pababa. I forgot that Gary works here nga pala.", she smiles, but she tightens the grip on her bag as if her life depended on it.

"Awww. That's so sweet.", Clara says. "By the way, Lia, I would like to introduce you..." Clara faced the older Jimenez. "This is my father-in-law, Daddy Greg."

She faced Mr. Jimenez with a smile. "Nice to meet you again, Sir.", she says. She saw Greg give him a slight nod, but she is sure that he is not happy to see someone like her inside his building. She gave Gary a glance, who is just beside his father, maybe confused what is happening in front of him.

This is what complicated means, Gary. She wants to tell him.

"Oh yes. I remembered you met nga pala when Dad ordered a cake for our anniversary, right?", Clara asked, and she just nodded.

"Um... Clara, aakyat ba kayo?", Gary finally spoke.

"We were supposed to, Baby! Akala kasi naming matatagalan ka pa, but you're here na.", Clara answered her husband.

"Okay. Let's go?", Gary says. She feels that Gary wants to finish this unexpected reunion.

"You want to join us, Lia?", Clara asks her. "Lunch? Malapit lang dito."

She shakes her head. "Sorry. I have a client meeting. Dumaan lang talaga ako dito for Caloy."

"Oh. Okay. Next time, message me if pupunta ka. Maybe we can have a double date.", Clara suggest.

"Sure. I will let you know if I drop by again. Biglaan lang talaga yung ngayon. Anyway, I will go ahead. Enjoy your lunch."

"You, too. Ingat ka, Lia!", Clara says and gave her another buzz on the cheek. She glanced at the men and gave a fake smile before walking away towards the parking lot. She finally let out another deep sigh, thanking the heavens that she survived that ordeal. She needs to make a mental note not to go back unless necessary.

At three in the afternoon, Carlos is now in his office, sipping his second cup of coffee for the day. He felt sad that when he got back from his meeting with Mr. Alabastro, Lia is already gone. There was a part of him that is hoping she would stay and wait, but he needs to consider that she has a café to run. He ate the pasta that she gave for lunch and shared the two boxes of brownies to his staff.

He knew that their talk was not enough, but he could sense from Lia that they both want to fix whatever happened between them. "Hindi kayo pero may LQ na.", his mind says which made him smile.

He finished his coffee and went back to work. He has a dinner meeting and he wants to finish that as early as he can so he can personally talk to Lia. He doesn't want to end the day without settling things between them. He can't take it anymore. He is focused too much on his work that he didn't notice that his office door opened and heard someone clear his throat. He looked up and saw the boss of his boss, Mr. Greg Jimenez. He immediately stood up to acknowledge him.