4

MARIS

“Nakuha natin! Nakuha natin yung project ng Montenegro Holdings!”

Yung sigaw ni Miguel ang gumising sa akin agad-agad kinabukasan.

“Talaga ba?”

At the same time, kinabahan ako nang husto. Hindi nasayang yung lahat ng paghihirap namin these past weeks. I would be able to participate in designing something that would be seen in major cities across the Philippines.

Pero noong sandaling iyon, kumirot yung tiyan ko at the thought of working with Enzo for a long time.

“Ihahanda na nila yung space for us this Monday, so doon na tayo magsisimula. May sarili akong office, pero ikaw and the rest of the team would be on the main floor.”

“Sige.”

“Nag-utos din si Enzo na makipagkita sa each of us privately this Monday.”

Kumirot na naman yung tiyan ko, harder this time.

“Pribado… para saan?”

“Wala akong idea. Pero ang payo ko, huwag ka nang magsalita nang marami at this stage. Sagutin mo lang yung questions niya, sabihin mong you were looking forward to working with him, and ‘yun na lang.”

Diyos ko, bakit kailangan naming makipagkita sa kanya one-on-one?

Mas madali sana if the whole team had been with me.

Sandali lang. Baka opportunity iyon para linawin lahat kay Enzo. I would let him know that I would not tell anyone else about what had been our… connection before.

“At Maris,” dugtong pa ni Miguel, “hindi ko na kailangang ipaalala how important this project was. Ikaw yung youngest and newest member of the team, so kailangan mong magmukhang professional at all times. And in my opinion, mas better if we did not talk about our relationship. Hindi naman kailangang malaman ng iba yung details about our personal life.”

Umikot yung mata ko quietly.

Hindi na nakakagulat iyon. In public, he pretended as if I was still clinging to him, pero noong kaming dalawa lang, parang iba na ang treatment niya sa akin.

Nung magpaalam na siya, tumayo ako and went out to get coffee while thinking about what to do next. Nakita ko si Nicole, roommate ko, na nagsasalin ng kape sa kitchen.

“Pwede bang dalawa na lang?” reklamo ko while sitting by the table, still half-asleep.

Inabot niya yung one cup and poured another for me.

“Hay naku, bakit ba ang hirap-hirap gumising in the morning?”

“Mahirap lang kasi gabi-gabi kayong nagpapalitan ng mga malalaswang pictures with your famous musician boyfriend.”

“Pangako na ‘yan,” pagwawasto niya while winking and pouring for herself.

Napatawa ako softly.

“Sisikapin kong matandaan next time, promise.”

Huminga ako ng kape while she sat across from me, the warmth already helping a little.

“Nakapaghahanap na ba kayo ng place?” tanong ko.

She was looking for an apartment for her and Paolo, her boyfriend.

“Hindi pa,” sabi niya. “To be honest, hindi ako masyadong naghanap. Marami kasing ginagawa yung banda ni Paolo right then. Pinag-uusapan nilang lumipat na permanently sa Villanueva Coast. Wala ring point maghanap there if they would just move away anyway.”

“Anong gagawin mo if that happened?”

Ngumatag siya sa lower lip niya for a second.

“We would make it work with the long-distance until we figured out the next step.”

“Hmm,” sabi ko and changed the topic. “Tumawag si Miguel earlier.”

“Talaga ba?” She was not exactly a fan of Miguel.

“Oo, and guess what? Nakuha natin yung project ng Montenegro Holdings!”

“Napakaganda niyan, Maris!” Ibinaba niya yung cup and hugged me tight. “Hindi naman ako nagulat. Pinaghirapan mo talaga ‘yan. And plus, it looked very good for your résumé.”

“Alam ko.”

“Oo, pero… may one thing lang…” Bumuntong-hininga ako. “Nakilala ko na po kasi si Mr. Montenegro before. About a month ago.”

“Sige. Nagkita na kayo before.” Tumingin siya with curiosity. “Anong problema doon?”

“Naging magkasama kami… in bed.”

Nabulunan si Nicole and almost spilled the coffee from her mouth.

“Ano yung ginawa niyo?”

“Hinaan mo yung voice mo.” Ginamitan ko siya ng signal. “Gusto mo bang malaman ng neighbors na nakasama ko in bed yung bagong boss ko?”

“Grabe, akala ko ako na yung baliw. Pero ikaw pala yung mas baliw.” Napatawa siya. “Kailan pa nangyari ‘yan?”

“Alam mo naman noong naghiwalay kami ni Miguel, ‘di ba?”

“Oo. Natatandaan kong sinabi mo sa akin ‘yon.”

“Nangyari ‘yon right after that.”

“At hindi mo man lang sinabi sa akin?” Tiningnan niya ako with shock.

“Nahihiya kasi ako.”

Tumaas yung kilay niya and bumuka yung mouth niya.

“Uulitin ko para clear. Nakasama mo in bed si Enzo Montenegro? One of the owners of Montenegro Holdings? Billionaire and now also your new boss?”

Napangiwi ako a little.

“Oo. Pero hindi ko naman alam noon kung sino siya.”

“Diyos ko,” bulong niya. “Hindi ako makapaniwala. When you finally decided to be bold, talagang pinili mo pa yung one of the richest and most desirable men in the entire country.”

“Kailan ka magsisimula?” tanong ni Nicole.

“This Monday. Lilipat kami sa Montenegro Center while the project lasted. At si Enzo… I mean, si Mr. Montenegro, wanted to speak with each of us privately one by one.”

“Naiintindihan ko. Gusto niyang welcome kayo and make you feel part of the group.” Napatawa siya.

“Huwag kang tumawa. It felt very awkward. Especially when it had been just the two of us in the room.”

Kumindat siya and raised her eyebrows suggestively.

“Baka hindi na lang usapan yung nangyari when it was just the two of you.”

Nabulunan ako sa kape na iniinom ko.

“We had gotten back together with Miguel. And plus, he was my employer, so it was not right for anything like that to happen again.”

Naalala ko yung cold stare ni Enzo when we saw each other again in that meeting room.

“Based on your story, parang hindi naman ganoon yung tingin niya sa’yo, ‘no?”

Tinitigan niya ako nang masama. He was not pleased to see me. And I thought he was also not pleased that Miguel was there beside me.

“Wala akong pakialam. I would tell him that I had gotten back together with Miguel and that we had no connection.”

“Bakit hindi ka magsuot ng something a bit more attractive para mapansin ka niya?” Napatawa siya. “Sure akong magagalit siya even more.”

Umikot na naman yung mata ko sa kanya.

Pero totoo naman. It would not hurt if I looked a little attractive when facing the man who had given me the best night of my life.