Mystery Santa

I. The Boss

I. THE BOSS

Lavelle's view

Tinignan ko kung may bagong email ba ako,pero parang kagaya lang din sa mga nakaraan oras walang bagong notifications. I sigh and spin my chair in boredom. December is the most booring time, lahat ng advertisement na tinatapos namin para sa christmas ay tapos na, and so this month is just number checking basically.

I stop spinning around my little cubicle and grab one of my books from my stack on my desk to start reading. Wala akong natapos ni isa sa mga binasa ko, pero malay natin,bigyan natin ng chance.

Just as I am about to flip the first page, someone sneaks up on me and yell, "Lavelle! Have we really resorted to reading again?"

Lumingon ako at ngumiti ng makita ang kaibigan ko na nakatayo sa likuran ko. "I'm so bored" Sabi kong tumayo at niyakap si Iza.

"So am I, which I have escaped my cubicle from the other side of the room and have come here to gossip with you," she replies cheerily taking a seat on my desk.

"Mukhang magandang chismis yan ah, sasabihin mo ba sakin yan ngayon?" Sabi ko na hindi makapaghintay sa chika.

"Well, Narinig ko na si Simon, yung isa sa tatlong cubicles sa baba ay magiging ama na raw," sabi nya.

"Well that's slendid news for him and his wife," I say happily

"Alam mo... hindi naman kasi yung asawa nya ang buntis," bulong ni Iza sakin.

"Ay wee?," di ko makapaniwalang sabi.

"Si Mary, yung intern natin sya yung nabuntis," dagdag pa nya.

"Oh my god, nalulungkot ako para sa kanyang asawa," I say.

"Sa totoo lang eto ang ikinaganda ng chika, Mae and Sarah saw the intern and Simon's wife kissing goodbye before the intern entered the office,"

"Ano!?? Hay nako etong chika mo ay nakakabaliw habang tumatagal,"  I reply astounded.

"Naririnig ko kayong nagchichismisan imbes na mag trabaho," announces the head advertisement director Raquel.

"Sorry boss, I was just taking a water break," Iza says getting off my desk.

"Yan... sge now that I have both of your attetion there is a staff meeting in thirty minutes. Wag ma late ha, at sana wag ko na kayo makita na nagchichismis ulit imbes mag trabaho," sabi ni Raquel bago sya umalis.

Wala akong ibang nagawa kundi tignan sya at ang kanyang napaka-sexy na katawan palayo samin.

Then all of a sudden bigla akong hinampas ni Iza ng mga notes na hawak nya,Tinignan ko sya ng masama.

"May crush ka kay Raquel no!?" Pang-aasar nya.

"Walang katotohanan yan, parang isang masamang panaginip ang babaeng yan. Puro nalang sya trabaho nakakalimutan na nyang sumaya," I reply.

"Yung totoo? You're always mesmerized by that woman, kahit nga ang sungit nya minsan," di parin sya tapos sa pang-aasar.

"Wala nga, wala akong crush dun," I say through gritted teeth.

"Sino niloko mo? Syempre crush mo sya, She's exactly your type. Tall Brunette with brown eyes and with some attitude," Iza adds.

"Ganito ha! Marami pang mas better sa kanya, at oo matangkad nga sya, but her hair is auburn and comes into beautiful beach curls that makes you want to run your hand through her hair. At yung mata nya parang light honey brown color na ang cute lang tignan. And ang bossy nya masyado na apaka sungit, pero hindi sya attractive para sakin," I blurt out making Iza look at me in amusement.

"Ang lalim nun ha!,"

"Whatever! Kaninong bahay ang pupuntahan mo sa pasko?" I ask trying to change the topic.

"Oh right, about that. I'm actually travelling to Zambales with my family this christmas. Yung grandparents ko ang nakatira dun at gusto ni mama na dun kami mag pasko," she replies.

"HA! KELAN?" Tanong ko.

"Mga three days siguro nakakuha ang parents ko ng chance passenger na tickets eh. Meron kasing nag cancel ng flight nila kaya mapapaaga kami ng pag-uwi sa Zambales.

"Sandali, so ibig sabihin magtatrabaho ng two weeks mag-isa kung aalis ka," I say sadly.

"I'm sorry, Lavelle, this was last minute thing. I know we always spend our vacation together," she replies.

I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder to stop her. "It's okay, I understand,"

"Baka pwede ka naman mag pasko kasama pamilya mo imbes mag papasko ka mag-isa," mungkahi nya.

I look at her in disbelief, "I take as a no. Is your mom still expecting to see a guy come over and you telling her you quit your job?"

"Yes. She is a pain. No wonder I hardly spent time with her other than at holidays," I reply.

"Cheer up, buddy. She might have changed this time around," Iza suggest, pero duda talaga ako.

Samuel pops his head around and ask, "guys punta na ba kayo sa meeting?"

"Hala oo nga! Muntik ko na makalimutan, salamat samuel," sabi ni Iza habang pinapatayo nya ako

Nagmadali kaming pumunta sa conference room at napansin namin na ang lahat ng boss ay nandun. So napapaisip kami kung anong meron.

"Welcome Everyone; it's so nice to see you all. You might be wondering why I am here, but it's because I wanted to congratulate all of you on how hard you worked these past few months. I'm so proud of you all. So,  this year there will be a Christmas party and Mystery Santa!" The boss says enthusiastically