Chapter 3

For the first time, the moment she’d heard his voice, she felt something stirring inside her just by hearing how deep and bold the sound of his voice.

Aiesha shook her head and looked at him with defiance, “Sir, with all due respect, no matter what your position is here in the company, you can’t be just rude to your fellow employees. You must at least be nice and kind. Only then you can be treated with mutual respect and professionalism.”

Marahan na saad ni Aiesha sa nakatungali, ngunit natawa nalamang ng malalim yung lalake. It was sarcastic and bitter. As if he has some certain beef with her.

“Why are you standing up so much for that, Cobalt? Why? Gusto mong sumama sa kanya sa labas?”

Hearing this, Aiesha was left speechless, not positively, but negatively.

“W-what? Sir… aren’t you being unreasonable? It’s only normal that I’d speak up for my fellow employee because your treatment is unjust and unfair to him. Why do you have to order him to get off when we could all share this elevator? Even if you have a high position or not, ordering people rudely won’t get you anywhere.” lakas na loob na saad ni Aiesha, not knowing who she was speaking plainly to is the exact man that she’d long been getting away from.

And the man who all has the rights to order people around inside his company.

Natawa muli ng mapait yung lalakeng nasa tabi niya, “I don’t share what’s mine… Atty. Jimenez.”

Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Aiesha sa pagtataka hanggang sa magbukas yung pinto nung elevator saka nauna yung lalake na lumabas. She was confused, but most of all, she was wondering why the hell he knows her surname and her profession.

Susundan niya sana yung lalake kaya kumaripas siya ng lakad palabas ng elevator, only to be stopped by one of the men behind him.

“Atty. Jimenez, please follow me. The Chairman asked me to take you to your office. This way please.”

Because of what the guy said, her eyes widened. Chairman?!

“C-chairman…? H-he’s the chairman?” gulat na tanong ni Aiesha saka tinuro yung lalake na nakatungali niya sa loob ng elevator just now. The man nodded and was gesturing his hand to a direction where her office could be. But Aiesha’s eyes remained fixated at the man who she’d just scolded, opposed, and spoke defiantly.

It turns, it was her boss.

Great! Unang araw ko palang, parang masesante na ‘ko!

When Aiesha was guided to her office, she observed the workplace where she will be staying from now on. The interior looks expensive. That was the first thought she had the moment she saw how exquisite and beautiful her office was.

And on the desk was plaque of her name. Atty. Aiesha Alize Jimenez, CPA.

Upon seeing it, she felt proud of herself. She already reached this far, so she will reach far more.

“If there’s anything you need, Atty., feel free to page me through the intercom on your desk.” the man said. She nodded, but before he could leave, she called out to him.

“Uhm, may I ask what’s your name? It’s my first day today, and I barely knew everyone—if you don’t mind-”

“I’m Argon Helius, Atty. Jimenez, Chairman’s secretary.”

Her mouth formed an ‘o’, and nodded.

“Oh, alright, nice meeting you Argon. Uhm, you can just call me Aiesha or Alize—any of the two. Let’s drop the formalities since we’ll be co-workers from now on.” Aiesha casually said as Argon only nodded politely and was about to step out when she called him again.

“Oh, Sir Argon! Ahm, one more thing… about what happened on the elevator. Can you tell the Chairman that I didn’t mean to-“

“It’s nothing Atty., Chairman would prefer of you’d tell him what’s on your mind.” saad ni Argon na ikinataka ni Aiesha. She tilted her head in confusion as Argon just smiled faintly and left her new office.

Kumawala ng hininga si Aiesha saka napaisip-isip. Tell him what’s on my mind? What a first day for her. Nonetheless, Aiesha went around her new offfice to see some documents and files—works that were left to her for her to work on.

Maliban sa pagsusuri ng mga dokumento ay nag-ayos din siya ng opisina niya according to her likeness. And since she liked the color red, she brought some of her red folders, pens, clips, highlighter, and everything that she’ll be needing for her work.

May inilagay rin siyang photo ng golden retriever niyang si Red sa desk niya na sa ngayo’y kasama yung parents niya sa London. She missed her family so much but she knows that they’d be together again in a few months.

Babalik din yung parents niya ng Pilipinas, nauna nga lang siya ng balik kasi maaga siyang natanggap sa SRC Corp. And her presence was needed asap.

“Hmm… these Financial Statements seemed suspicious.” Aiesha sighed as she put the files down on her desk and tried to observed them well. Even though her forte was law, she still was capable and efficient of doing proper accounting. After all, she was first a CPA before becoming a lawyer.

“I need to speak with this company’s accountant. These statements don’t sit right with me.” Aiesha examined the documents carefully and immediately noticed something was off. The numbers didn’t align with the company’s annual budget. Not only that, but when she reviewed the ledgers, there were no proper reference numbers—almost as if they had been added hastily to cover up what was missing.

She was about to go out and look for the accountant, but before she could leave her office, she first thought of consulting the secretary of the Chairman. Pinindot nito ang intercom saka tinawag yung sekretarya.

“Uhm, hello. Sir Argon, I would like to request a consult.”

“Yes, Atty. What is it?” Argon was quick to respond.