Chapter 5

I feel like I am floating in nothingness as I stare at the very familiar man in front. I unconsciously pinch my left arm just to make sure that this is not a dream. While doing this, someone else is pinching my other arm as well. I turn my gaze and find Pam as the culprit.

“What is wrong with you, Betsy?” she whispers. “Why are you self-abusing?”

I try to open my mouth but no words come out. My emotions are a mess. I try to speak once more but is only interrupted when our supervisor starts giving his announcement.

“Excuse me, everyone! Finish your current calls and then take a short break,” Benny announces in a formal tone.

Everybody nods and acts normal. It’s as if a bucket of cold water with an ice from Atlantic Ocean poured into me.

I am even trembling in fear. Without putting my thought into it, little by little I squeeze myself into Pam who is standing next to me. She is busy gawking at our guest. I bow my head and try to hide myself away from the man’s vision. After a few seconds, Pam notices me.

“What’s happening to you? Are you cold?” she whispers in astonishment.

I shake my head in panic as I squeezed myself more into the mattress- I mean my best friend! She regarded me with a curious look. After a moment, she goes back to staring at the visitor. Benny whispers something to the man and then the man nods his head. He looks around. His gaze is critical as he throws a quick glance at my colleagues.

Fortunately, Pam’s body is covering me from the man’s gaze.

Stay full, bestie! I cheer on.

Benny starts to talk again. “Hello, everybody! I’d like to officially introduce to you the founding partner of Global Bank, Mr. Jack Wills!”

A round of applause breaks out in the entire room. My legs have gone wobbly.

It really is him!

“Mr. Jack Wills will be staying with us for a week to check our operation in here,” Benny adds.

There is a series of nods. My heart starts to thump, and I shrink into Pam more and more.

“Let’s show Mr. Wills how hardworking we are in this branch!” Benny continues to cheer us on.

Jack Wills clears his throat and it got everyone’s attention. “Thank you, Benny. I’ll be hanging out in here so don’t mind me. Just pretend I’m a bug.”

Nobody laughs at his attempt for a joke. My colleagues keep on staring at him. There is a long pause follows by an awkward silence.

Benny gestures to Patrick who is just in the corner. Pat immediately understands what our supervisor wants. He quickly takes some action and takes one of the swivel chairs in the corner. He is obviously struggling carrying the chair. I’m sure the weight of the chair is heavier than his.

 There is a deafening silence. We only hear the sound of Pat’s struggle. I feel like we are watching some cartoon show. Jack Wills must have felt that Pat’s about to die. He sighs and goes to help him. He is able to lift the chair without any difficulty.

The silence of the surroundings is deafening. Everybody is sitting upright. Everyone’s looking at one other. We are not expecting him to stay inside for a long time. It’s as if a principal has come for an observation.

“You may continue taking your calls now,” Jack orders after sitting comfortably on his chair.

We resume our work. Even my lips are trembling in fear. I can’t help it but secretly glance at his direction. I can see him having an intense conversation with Benny. He nods as he listens to whatever my supervisor is telling him. I notice that our supervisor is gradually getting closer to Jack as he speaks. Jack sometimes interrupts whatever he is saying.

After half an hour, Jack gets up and finally leaves the office with Benny. I give a sigh of relief. That’s it. He did not see me. I’ll live.

Oh boy was I wrong. Because a few seconds later, a notification pops up in my work email. A departmental memo. Conference room with Jack Wills in ten minutes!

I become uneasy. While Pam busily talks with a client on the other line, I decided to mute mine. I keep staring at my computer willing it to swallow me whole.

Six minutes.

Seven minutes.

Eight

Nine –

“Hey, Betsy! Come on,” Pam calls me.

I blink a few more times as I look up at my friend who is currently standing beside me. She is frowning at me.

“W-Where?” I stutter.

“In the conference room, of course!” Pam gestures to my computer and she raises an eyebrow. “Haven’t you received the email?”

I am dumbfounded. Jack will definitely catch me. I am sure he will kick me out of his company. What will happen to me? I can’t lose my job! My face floods with color. My entire body is prickling. A lot of worse scenarios are running through my mind.

I stick my ass on the chair I am sitting on.

“What is happening to you? You’ve been acting strange,” asks Pam, giving me an odd look.

I stare at her desperately. “I think I’ll . . . I’ll stay here.”

I tighten my grip on the backrest of the swivel chair. It’s like my life depends on it.

“You can’t stay here.” Pam ignores my desperation and holds my arm, pulling me.

“I’m not going!” I say in a shrill voice. “I think I’m having a diarrhea. I need to go to the toilet!”

I know I am causing a scene. Our colleagues are looking at us. In fact, they are actually looking at me as if I am losing my mind.

Pam gives me a dubious look. She reads my expression. “I don’t believe you. I may be fat but I’m not stupid. That is not how you look when you’re about to take a shit.”

“Huh? What do you mean? How do I look then?” I ask, still with a tight grip on my seat. It has become my lifeline.

“Like this . . .” Pam closes her eyes and let out a deep breath as if she is giving birth. Her face turns red as she fills her mouth with air.

“Pam, let it out. You may get a cancer,” Tony teases as he is passing in front of us.

Pam lets me go and uses her hand to choke Tony. He turns pale as he struggles for air. Before it gets even worse and my friend becomes a killer, I stop them.

Pat, our head, notices the chaos. He comes over and clearly looks pissed at us.

“Why are the three of you still in here? The others are already inside the conference room!” he sharply asks. His nostrils flared. “What are you waiting for? Christmas?!”

We all look at him with a shock expression. It annoys him even more. “Move!” he shouts.

We quickly run out of the office, leaving him. I can’t take my chances and die on his hands. I’d rather die facing Jack Wills.

We are the last ones to enter the conference room. Patrick was right, all of our colleagues are already inside. All are presently sitting comfortably. Well, except for Sue who took a leave of absence. She said she has the flu when the truth is, she is actually busy auditioning in Hollywood.

We take our seats. I continue clinging to Pam. We could even pass as conjugal twins because we are sitting very close to each other. I gather my wits and nervously glance at the people in the room. They’ll probably be witnessing my death later. I notice that Jack Wills is not inside yet.

If I only knew that he would be the visitor, I would have done some make over. I would have gotten myself a nice haircut with a matching fringe bangs for him not to be able to recognize me. What if he sees me and then remembers the fiasco I had done back in New York? Anxiety fills my mind as I keep on thinking about it.

A few minutes later, the door suddenly opens. Benny, Patrick, and of course Jack Wills walk in.

He looks up and meets my eye. He stops. My blood runs cold and whole body froze. The look of surprise is clearly painted on his face. It is only for a few seconds since he is able to recover quickly. He resumes walking like nothing happened. He slightly shakes his head.

The entire room turns silent. When he sits on his chair, he gives a quick glance at my direction. His direct gaze fixes on me for a few seconds. I can no longer avoid the trembling of my knees. I swallow hard. Jack Wills acts normal and effortlessly averts his eyes and turns to the employees around the huge desk.

“I apologize for this inconvenience. I requested a conference to assess any difficulties you have in some areas,” Jack says frankly and continuously.

He turns quiet as if waiting for our reactions. He probably realizes that none of us are going to say anything, he continues to speak. “Are you always this quiet? Don’t worry. I don’t bite,” he says pleasantly and winks.

Everybody laughs this time. Except me. It kind of reduced the feeling of nervousness they have. Except mine.

“Ha!” I join in. Trying not to be suspicious. And since it’s obviously a forced laughter, it rings out in the whole room. Everyone’s attention turns to me. I close my mouth and slump on my seat even more.

Ashley suddenly raises a hand and speaks. “I have some concerns, Mr. Wills.”

From me, Jack swiftly shifted his gaze at Ashley’s direction. He gives her a friendly smile. “Oh. Please just call me Jack. And you are?”

The queen bee- I mean to say, Ashley giggles. She even has the audacity to pretend to pinch a crooked hair behind her ear even though nothing is out of place because her high ponytail looks tightly done.

“I’m Ashley,” she sweetly says. “You can call me anytime- I mean, Ash.”

Jack nods once at her before his gaze runs over the entire desk. “Well before we do that, I want to know everybody’s names first.”

I feel hot. I feel like I am on fire. This is the end of me.

“I think we should start with the head of the department.” Benny suggests. He is standing like a guard dog by Jack’s side.

Jack spares him a glance and nods. Then Benny looks at Pat’s direction.

“Hi, Jack,” starts Pat. “I am Patrick Gomez, the head of this department.”

I feel weird seeing Pat showing a wide grin. It looks really awkward on him.

Tony, who is sitting with a straight posture next to Patrick, follows. “I’m Tony Belford, Mr. Wills. It’s a great honor to finally meet you! We all know that you are a legend in the world of business and truly, I am so-”

Tony stops blabbering due to Benny violent intentionally cough. Our supervisor points a finger at the next employee.

“Jerry Lee,” his direct introduction.

The introduction goes on with the rest of the employees. I am horrified to hear Pam introducing herself. I will be the next one. I would have felt embarrassed with the way she introduces herself as I listen. It is so pretentious and trying to be modest at the same time.

“And you are?”

I shudder, hearing Jack’s undeniable baritone voice.

When I finally look up, his blue eyes are so focused on me. His gaze does something to my system. There seems to be a bolt of electricity flowing from my toes to my knees. I slowly look down the desk only to find an unplugged charging device. Gosh!

I look up again. My cheeks burn when I see Jack’s gaze remains on me. I am so lost for words. I throw a panic glance around the room. Everyone is staring. I’m hot with embarrassment.

“What’s your name?” he asks again. There’s a spark of amusement in his eyes.

Fuck.

“I’m Betsy Miller,” I manage at last. My ears are sweating.

“Betsy . . . Ah.” It’s as if he is trying to familiarize my name. He runs his index finger down his chin.

I can’t seem to look away. I have accepted my fate and just waits for his verdict. Maybe there is still a chance that he doesn’t remember me. Maybe-

His eyes twinkle. “So, Betsy . . .”

I swallow.

“- what are your thoughts about Japanese?”

He remembers. Shit. I’m dead.