CHAPTER 2

Nauna na akong lumabas nang elevator. I stopped and looked in awe. Elouise already walked passed me. I immediately follow him and let my eyes wander again.

Habang naglalakad, halos mabali na ang leeg ko kakatingin sa paligid. Wow. This is amazing.

We stopped infront of a huge office. My mouth gaped open when Elouise knocked and just went in! Nag antay s'ya sa hamba ng pintuan habang hawak ang door handle. Nang napansin n'yang nagdadalawang isip pa ako kung papasok ba o hindi, tinaasan nya ako ng kilay.

What the hell?! Napaka walanghiya ng lalakeng ito! Kahit sobrang kinakabahan, wala akong choice kung hindi ang pumasok. Ta-da! And we just entered the C.E.O's office!

At ng walang pakundangan!

Still in daze, we greet our boss. 

"G-good morning, Sir..." nahihiya kong bati.

"Good morning, Sir..." Elouise said cooly. Napataas ako ng kilay doon.

Mr. Peter Quiambao, the C.E.O of NPC nodded, then smiled at me and Rius, "Hello, good morning.. Please take a seat.."

Sumandal ito sa sariling swivel chair habang pinagmamasdan kaming umupo. 

He fixed his specs first then, interwined his hands while waiting for us to settle down on our seats. He looked intently at Elouise. I wonder why? Maybe he find Elouise Paz as attractive and just a damn hot man? hhmm.. I think Mr. Quiambao doesn't swing that way. He's so handsome after all. Maybe they are familiar to  each other already? Or maybe not.

Napatuwid ako sa pagkakaupo nang magsimula nang magsalita si Mr. Quiambao.

"You can roam around so that you'll be familiariazed here hija.." aniya at tumingin sa akin. Ha? ako lang? ba't ako lang? hindi ko kasama si Elouise? Maybe he just forgot that Elouise is here with me.

Tumikhim ako para magtanong. "Uh, ako lang po?" I asked with a hesitation. I felt Elouise stiffed at my question.

Natigilan naman si Sir Peter. "I-I mean, you guys can roam around here so that you'll be familiarize." He said then turn to Elouise.

Elouise glared a bit at our boss. They shared a knowing look. What the hell? They must know each other?

Nakipag-kamay kami kay Sir Peter at tumayo na, "Sir?" nahihiyang tawag ko.

"Yes?" 

"May I know, nandito po ba si.." I am now hesitating to ask, "Mr. Darkheart po?.." 

Nakita ko kung paano mabilis na umiwas ito ng tingin at may kinalikot sa phone, "I'm sorry, Miss. Minsan lang siyang narito. Either he's gonna sign his books o kapag magpapasa ng manus," sagot niya.

Dismayado man, ngumiti pa rin ako at magalang na nagpaalam.

Our boss dismissed us and let us go.

After a moment, we found ourselves roaming around the office. Namamangha ako sa mga cubicles and tables. Wow. Ganito pala itsura no'n? Tao na'ko. Naks naman.

Habang namamangha ako sa nakikita ko, tahimik namang naglalakad ang isang Elouise na 'to sa tabi ko. I stopped for a bit. Nakapameywang ako ng hinarap ko s'ya. I raised a brow.

"Bro, mukang malalim iniisip mo ah is there something wrong? You can always share it to me." wika ko habang tinataas baba ang aking kilay.

He mumbled something that I couldn't hear. "Nothing, just continue walking, little girl." El smirked.

Wait— what? did he just call me.. Nagpantig ang dalawang tenga ko roon ah! "What, who's the little girl? Me?" Turo ko pa sa sarili ko.

"Yeah, and so?" He looked at me having a good time at my reaction.

I immediately fired back. Hey that's a bit below the belt! Aba't sinusubukan ako nito ah.

"Hey! that's not true! I am a woman now, bawiin mo 'yon, you liar!." I hissed.

He only chuckled at my violent reaction! What's so funny?!

Our little argument stopped when a beautiful woman in her corporate attire, maybe just in her mid 40's stopped infront of us.

"Hi, I am Mrs. Constancia Alba," she smiled at me "I'm Sir Peter's secretary. He inform me to guide you into your designated table." Wow looked so professional with her hair in a bun and because of her eye glasses she looked so strict. 

Pagkatapos ay iginiya nya kami sa isang magkatabi lamang na table. Bale, tig isa kami ng table ni Elouise. Panandaliang tinignan naman ni Mrs. Alba si Elouise, "She must be looking at you because you are ugly," I teased. Tiningnan lang ako ni El ng masama.

Dati tuwang tuwa pa ako pag magkasama kami pero ngayon.. I think I will be pressured. I know I'm not that good.

Neverminding my negative thoughts, umupo na ako sa swivel chair ko at ininspeksyon ang mga nasa lamesa ko.

My mouth formed an 'O' the moment I saw my company I.D and calling cards. Wow. Just wow. Everything was neat and porperly arranged. I bet days after I used this table, all of my things would be a disaster.

Tahimik namang umupo si El sa table nya. Parang hindi na nagugulat pa sa nakikita n'ya. He looks so professional. I wonder why. He looked so fit here.

Napatigil ako sa pag iisip nang ilapag ni Mrs. Alba ang makakapal na bondpaper sa table ko! Kada makapal na bondpaper ay naka fastener o di kaya'y naka yarn para hindi magkahiwa hiwalay. I bet those are different Manuscripts. Naisip ko tuloy kung isa rito yung manuscript para sa Book 3 ng Seasons of April ni DarkHeart!

"These papers are the manuscripts of  different writers. Kindly sort it out and review each manuscripts. After you checked it, we'll have a meeting so that we can discussed the flaws with the Author of the story." She smiled then turned her back against me and start to walk back to her table. Tumingin ako sa mga nasa kabila pang table. They look so professional. And, masaya silang nagtatrabaho. Gulat kong nilingon muli ang makakapal na papel sa lamesa ko. Too much paper work for a newbie like me.

Still shocked, napatitig ako kay Elouise na chill lang sa kabilang table habang nagta-type sa kanyang laptop. Tila ba sanay na sanay. He looked cool tho.

Bagay sakanyang maging author ng isang book. I know he'll be great. He has this defined jaw line, matangos na ilong, plump lips that were made perfectly for kissing, his eyes.. His deep blue eyes were so hypnotizing. Including his masculine body.

Kilala ko katawan neto. May abs 'to. His girl would be very lucky to have him as her man. He's one of a kind. That was proven and tested because, he gave me the love and care as his friend for the past years. But unfortunately, we're just friends. I'm just his companion. Nothing more, nothing less. And it should stay the same. I reminded myself.

Nang napansin nyang nakatitig ako, lumingon sya sa gawi ko habang nakataas ang isang kilay. He pursed his lips just to hide a smirk.

"What? ngayon ka lang nakakita nang Anghel?" Elouise said. Boasting.

I rolled my eyes at him. "You know? you are so full of yourself, I am staring at you because you're so ugly."

"Really? coming from you huh? Why can't you accept that you have a handsome bestfriend," he emphasize the word, 'bestfriend'.

Pagak akong natawa sa sinabi n'ya. This man. He needs to learn his lesson. Ang maging humble.

I stand up from my seat and go to his. He looked so shocked at first. But now, he looked amused for something I couldn't name. Mariin kong hinawakan ang gilid ng lamesa n'ya. He looked at me. Amused. Magkapantay kami ng tingin dahil matangkad siya.

Nagtaas s'ya ng kilay sa akin, "Now, now, what do you want, little girl?"

Little girl huh? Inilapit ko ang mukha ko sakan'ya. That's where his eyes widened. 

"W-What a-are you.. d-doing?" 

I smiled wickedly.

"Hey, why is your face like that?" I guessed he sensed that I am gonna do something.

Makahulugan akong ngumiti sakan'ya at umiling-iling saka muli ng umayos ng pagkakatayo.

"Nothing.. Why?" I said innocently and go back to my seat gracefully. That's what you get for teasing me! 

While sitting on his swivel chair, he moved beside me and point his finger at my face. "Talaga ba? May naiisip ka nanamang kalaswaan 'no?" He was chuckling as I hear something from his side.

Napapikit ako nang mariin saglit at naiiritang binalingan s'ya.

My eyes widened and my breathing hitched because our faces were too close! His lips almost touched mine. 

W-What the.. hell?