"Good morning, I am Reinn Kylie Rivera. I was instructed to go here at exactly 9 am," sabi ko sa nasa information ng building ng publishing company.
I used to work as a news producer when I was in the Philippines three years ago. Dito, isa akong literary agent. Basically, I will deal with an author's novel. I neee to convince an author to sign a contract with us, and to publish his works. Kapag pumirma siya, I will be editing the manuscript at ima- market iyon sa target readers.
This is a change of job though nasa iisang field lang naman kaya madali pa ring mag- adjust.
"Oh, it's you, kindly go to the 7th floor. Miss Fernandez will be there in a few minutes," I smiled at her then proceeded to the elevator. Sa loob ng building ay may mga naka- frame ng enlarged book covers ng mga sikat na libro.
Pagkaakyat ko ay pinapasok ako sa library. Punong- puno ng libro roon, may mga journals, emcyclopedias, novels, at iba pa. Sa kabilang side ay may stall kung saan pwedeng kumuha ng coffee and dessert. Marami ring couch at table sa paligid.
I took out my phone from my pocket to capture the view. This is heaven! I love being surrounded by books. Dahil 30 minutes pa naman bago mag 9 am, pumunta ako sa shelf ng novels at nagtingin- tingin doon.
My attention got caught by a book entitled, 'If Only'.
"Mist," I said as I read the author's pseudonym. I flipped on the pages. This must be a romance story.
"Miss Rivera?" a voice called from behind kaya napalingom ako. "Good morning, I am Miss Fernandez," a woman said as she stretched her hand. Tinanggap ko iyong handshake niya. She motioned me to take a seat.
"Good morning, miss," I said. "I am Reinn Kylie Rivera and I have received your email offering me the literary agent position in this publishing company," sabi ko. Sobrang kinakabahan ako dahil ngayon lang ulit ako magta- trabaho. Three years is too long!
"That's right. We have read your credentials and we think you qualify for the job, congratulations,"
"Thank you, miss,"
"By the way, do you know how to speak in Spanish?" she asked. Lalong bumilis ang tibok ng puso ko dahil hindi pa ako gaanong marunong magsalita ng Spanish kahit na tatlong taon na ako rito.
"Oh, don't mind that question. We will be using English most of the time and your first task is to convince a Filipino writer," pagpapatuloy niya.
"Filipino?" I had to ask again dahil hindi ako makapaniwala. Do I need to go back to the Philippines?
"Yes," she said. "It's the author of the book you're holding," I realized na hawak ko pa pala iyong libro. "Mist, he is a self- publishing author based in the Philippines. His books are totally hitting the market and based from our sources, he declined all the publishing companies,"
"He only uses his pseudonym?" she nodded. The author must be mysterious for not revealing his real name. She gave me a folder of the files related to the author. Itinuro rin niya sa akin kung saan ang office ko.
Noong nakaupo na ako ay binuksan ko ang libro.
When you see this, I hope you realize that this is for you.
These were the words written on the first page. Isinara ko ang libro. Pagkauwi ko na lang iyon babasahin. I opened the folder at nakita roon ang ilan pang novels ng author. All have painful titles. Is she a man or a woman?
I will only find that out if I will try to ask. Buti na lang may email na nakalagay doon. I started to type on my computer.
Hi, Mist.
BINABASA MO ANG
Behind Every Regret (The Untold Tales Series #1)
Romansa(The Untold Tales Series #1) Reinn Kylie Rivera. She once believed that it is better to bid goodbye to love before it could even say the same thing to you. She doesn't like taking risks because she's afraid she will be falling for the wrong person...
