Chapter 2

“Kaella, ikaw na bahala sa bagong trainee,” utos ni Ms. Delos Reyes, ang HR Head, habang nagmamadali papunta sa meeting room.

“Wait, what?” Kaella’s brow arched. “Ako na naman? Ma’am, last week lang ako nag-train ng dalawa—”

Pero huli na. Naiwan siyang nakatayo sa hallway, clutching her clipboard, habang si Jerome Roque—na sa ngayon ay kilala lang bilang Jerome the trainee—ay nagmamasid na parang tourist sa loob ng opisina.

“Hi, Ma’am Kaella!” Jerome greeted with that innocent grin, his tie slightly crooked and ID card still tucked into its plastic sleeve. “They said you’re… uh… my mentor?”

She crossed her arms, giving him her signature don’t mess with me look. “Trainee, unang-una, huwag mo kong i-Ma’am. Kaella lang. At pangalawa… ayusin mo yang tie mo. Hindi ito field trip.”

Jerome chuckled softly, fumbling with his tie. “Sorry po—este, sorry. First day nerves.”

Kaella rolled her eyes but handed him a company manual. “Fine. Basahin mo ’to, cover to cover. Kung may tanong ka, itanong mo… sa sarili mo muna. Busy ako.”

Pero habang naglalakad siya papunta sa desk niya, she couldn’t help but glance back. Jerome was squinting at the manual upside down. Upside. Down.

Kaella marched back, snatched the manual, and fixed it. “Seriously? Basic pa lang ’to. Baka sa snacks department ka pa ma-assign, hindi sa daycare.”

Jerome raised his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, give me a break. I’m just trying to fit in.”

The next few hours were pure chaos. Jerome almost spilled coffee on the sales reports, sent an email blast without the attachment, and called a major client by the wrong name. Kaella’s blood pressure was practically a stock market graph.

“Jerome!” she hissed, grabbing the phone from his hand. “That was Mr. Santos, not Mr. Sarmiento! Kung hindi ko na-correct, baka na-cancel na ’yung six-month contract natin!”

Jerome’s face turned crimson. “I’m… sorry. I’ll fix it.”

“You’d better. Kasi kung hindi, you’ll be the shortest-lived trainee in Roque Snacks history.”

Pero habang nagkakagulo, something unexpected happened. During a tense meeting with a demanding supplier, Jerome suddenly suggested a clever workaround—an idea so simple yet effective, na kahit si Kaella ay napanganga.

“Wait,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “Did you just… solve a logistics problem na pinagpuyatan namin for a week?”

Jerome scratched his neck, smiling shyly. “Uh… lucky guess?”

Kaella tried to hide her amazement but failed. “Hmph. Okay, fine. Not bad… for a rookie.”

For a brief moment, their eyes met. There was something about the way Jerome’s grin softened, the way his gaze lingered—a quiet spark she hadn’t felt in a long time. Kaella blinked, shaking it off. No. He’s a trainee. Off limits. Period.

The day wound down, and Kaella stayed late to finalize the weekly sales report. Jerome, instead of clocking out, hovered by her desk.

“Need help?” he asked, leaning on the partition.

She didn’t look up. “Nope. Go home, rookie. You’ve caused enough disaster for one day.”

“Come on, Kaella,” Jerome teased. “Don’t tell me you’re always this strict. Wala ka bang soft side?”

Kaella froze for half a second before retorting, “Kung meron man, definitely hindi para sa’yo.”

Jerome grinned wider. “Challenge accepted.”

“Excuse me?” Kaella finally looked up, only to find him closer than she expected. Too close.

“Nothing,” he said, but the twinkle in his eyes said otherwise. “Goodnight, mentor.”

Jerome walked away, leaving Kaella staring after him, her heartbeat annoyingly unsteady.

She tried to focus on the spreadsheet, but her mind kept replaying that grin… and the surprising competence he’d shown earlier. “Ugh, Kaella, get it together,” she muttered.

The office was quiet now, except for the hum of the aircon. Kaella sighed, stood to stretch, and accidentally knocked over a folder. Papers scattered across the floor. As she knelt to pick them up, she noticed a small slip of paper that hadn’t been there before—a rough sketch of the Roque Snacks logo with a clever marketing tagline scribbled underneath. Jerome’s handwriting.

Her brows knitted. Why would a trainee doodle something this good?

At that exact moment, her phone buzzed with an unknown number. She answered cautiously.

“Ms. Ponce?” a deep, unfamiliar voice said. “This is about Jerome. There’s something you need to know—”

The line suddenly went dead.

Kaella stared at her phone, her pulse quickening. “What the hell was that?” she whispered.

Outside, unseen by her, Jerome stood by the building’s glass doors, his phone in hand, eyes shadowed with something he wasn’t ready to reveal.

Was Jerome’s slip of brilliance just a lucky moment—or is there a much bigger secret he’s hiding that could change everything for Kaella?