Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Pagdating namin sa company, tulad ng dati, halos lahat ng babaeng empleyado ko ay todo-pacute. Mas madaling sabihing nang-aakit!

May mga ngumiti nang makita akong bumaba sa sasakyan. Ang iba naman ay kunwari abala sa kanilang trabaho, pero halatang naghihintay lamang na mapansin ko sila.

"Good morning, Sir Asher!" sabay-sabay na bati ng mga ito.

I gave them my usual charming smile.

"Good morning."

Simple lang iyon, pero para bang may nagpasabog ng fireworks sa buong lobby.

"Oh, my God! He smiled at me!" bulong ng isang babaeng empleyado.

"Excuse me! Sa akin siya nakatingin!"

"Talaga? Eh, bakit ako ang nginitian niya?"

Napailing ako habang naglalakad papunta sa elevator.

Same old routine.

I was used to it. Sa bawat kompanyang pinupuntahan ko, may babaeng gustong makuha ang atensiyon ko. Hindi ko naman sila masisisi. After all, I had the looks, the money, and the power.

Ang hindi ko lang maintindihan ay kung bakit may isang tindera ng talaba na tila immune sa lahat ng iyon.

Damn it!

Bakit ko na naman siya naiisip?

"Good morning, Sir Asher!" bati ng personal secretary kong si Vanessa nang makapasok ako sa executive floor.

She was wearing a fitted blouse and a skirt that ended just above her knees. As usual, maayos ang make-up niya at nakalugay ang mahaba niyang buhok.

"Your ten o'clock meeting has been moved to ten-thirty. The investors are already on their way, and I've prepared the documents you requested."

"Good. Put them on my desk."

"Of course, sir." Ngumiti siya bago bahagyang lumapit. "By the way, sir, are you available for dinner tonight? I know a new restaurant that just opened. I could make a reservation for two."

I stopped walking and looked at her.

"Is that a business dinner?"

Bahagyang namula ang pisngi niya.

"Well... not exactly, sir."

I smirked.

"Then I'm afraid I'm busy."

Nawala nang kaunti ang ngiti niya.

"But, sir, you haven't even checked your schedule."

"I don't need to."

I continued walking toward my office, leaving her standing there.

Hindi ko kailangang maging bastos sa mga babae para maintindihan nilang wala akong interes. Besides, I never promised any of them anything serious.

I enjoyed their company, but marriage?

Love?

Commitment?

Those things had never been part of my plans.

At sa totoo lang, hindi ko nakikitang magbabago iyon anumang oras.

Pagpasok ko sa opisina, nadatnan ko sina Lucas at Daniel na naghihintay sa sofa.

"Finally!" sabi ni Lucas. "Akala ko ba may meeting tayo? Bakit parang ikaw pa ang late?"

I loosened my tie and sat behind my desk.

"I'm the owner. I can be late if I want."

"Wow! Napakagandang example sa mga empleyado mo!" pang-aasar niya.

"Do you want to be my employee instead of my friend?"

He immediately shook his head.

"No, thank you. I prefer being friends with the devil I know."

Daniel laughed.

I opened the folder on my desk and began reviewing the documents.

"By the way," sabi ni Lucas makalipas ang ilang sandali, "about that woman..."

I slowly raised my eyes.

"What woman?"

He stared at me in disbelief.

"Seriously? Are you going to pretend you don't know who I'm talking about?"

I leaned back in my chair.

"Lucas, I have a company to run. I don't have time to think about some random woman selling seafood."

"Of course." He nodded seriously. "And that's why you've been staring at your phone every five minutes, waiting for me to give you information about her."

I immediately placed my phone face down on the desk.

"You're imagining things."

"Sure, boss."

I glared at him.

He grinned.

"By the way, I found something interesting."

That caught my attention.

I tried to keep my expression neutral.

"What?"

Lucas reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Your precious Precious..."

"Lucas!"

He burst out laughing.

"Okay, okay! I'll stop. But seriously, Asher, are you sure you want to know more about her?"

I narrowed my eyes.

"Why wouldn't I?"

His expression turned slightly serious.

"Because you might discover that her life isn't as simple as you think."

For some reason, those words made me pause.

I remembered the way she had looked at her phone earlier, her smile fading for just a second before she returned to shouting at customers.

There had been something in her eyes.

Something I couldn't quite explain.

I tapped my fingers against the desk.

"Just tell me what you found."

Lucas glanced at Daniel before looking back at me.

"Well, boss, it looks like your little oyster vendor has a rather difficult life."

I said nothing.

For the first time that morning, I wasn't thinking about how to make Precious fall for me.

I was wondering what had made a woman like her work so hard just to survive.

And why, despite everything, she still managed to smile.