KABANATA 06

Azzurro' s POV,

Paika-ika akong naglalakad pagpasok sa main hallway ng kompanya na pagmamay-ari ko nang makarating ako. Tinawagan ko yung isa sa mga henchmen ko na sunduin ako sa hospital na pinagdalhan sakin nung dalawang babae. Sayang di ko na sila naabutan dun.

"S-sir, sandali lang po." Inis kong binalingan ng tingin yung guwardiya na nagbabantay.

"What?" I responded coldly causing him to back away slightly and tremble with fear.

I'm a feared man in this company, no one dares to speak to me sensibly. Everyone here is afraid of my presence, because I control them inside this building.

I only talk when I like someone, the one who can match my intelligence and abilities. Kinakausap ko naman ng pabalang gamit ang malamig na boses ang mga taong hindi marunong makaintindi sa isang salita.

I prefer being strict to everyone, to speak formally when it comes to work and no intimate relationship involved with imployees inside my building.

I don't like seeing anyone dating while working, I hate it. Last time I caught two employees kissing in the restroom, I had them fired immediately. I may be strict but that is part of my rules.

"S-sir, i-ibibigay ko lang po ito sa inyo." Saad niya sa nauutal na boses at nanginginig ang kamay na inabot sakin ang isang wallet.

I took the wallet from his hand and checked what was inside to make sure it was mine. The other day I couldn't find my wallet when I got home. I thought it fell somewhere. I wanted to look for it but I didn't know where it fell. So I just decided not to look for it since there were no contents except for the credit and debit cards inside.

Pero mukhang mapaglaro ang tadhana at naibalik ang wallet ko. Kumpleto rin ang mga cards sa loob, nandun rin pati yung black credit card ko.

My eyebrows rose. Weird. Usually kapag may taong nakapulot ng ganito lalo na't puno ng credit card and debit card ang wallet ay hindi na binabalik. Kukunin nila iyon at gagamitin sa mga pangpersonal na interes. I was amazed and amused to the one who returned this.

"Do you know who gave this to you?" I ask out of curiosity.

"Hindi po, Sir eh. Tinanong ko siya sa pangalan niya pero di niya sinabi. Nagmadali pa nga siyang umalis eh." Sagot niya sakin.

That's sad. I would like to thank that person for returning my wallet. I'm not that ruthless enough, I still have conscience to those people with kindness. But unfortunately, It looks like I won't be able to see that person to thank them personally.

"Alright, you can return to your duty now." Hindi ko na siya pinagsalita pa at pumasok na.

Hindi ko na pinansin ang tingin na binabato ng mga mga empleyado habang naglalakad ako, I'm sure they've noticed why I walk like this.

"Everyone get back to work." I ordered that makes them all looked away from me and returned to their respective tasks.

Upon entering the elevator, I waited a few minutes before getting out as soon as it opened on the 4th floor. I went to my office and ignored the stares of the other employees working in the area.

When I entered the office, I immediately sat down in the swivel chair at my desk. I leaned my back against the backrest and closed my eyes for a moment. This day was tiring, a lot of unexpected things happened.

Habang nakapikit ay biglang sumagi sakin ang pamilyar na mukha ng babaeng dahilan kung bakit ako napuruhan sa kabilang paa ngayon. Sariwa pa rin saking alaala ang mukha niya habang tinititigan ko siya kanina.

I can still feel her hand resting on my chest and back while supporting me, her smell like a delicate flower, her hair. I couldn't take it. She's like a goddess, so small and... Beautiful.

When we're like that, I just want to stay by her side. To hold her close. To sniff her smell, I like her smell. Kahit na ganun ang klase ng pananamit niya, mas nangibabaw ang natural na amoy ng kaniyang balat. I don't know what's happening to me, but I really like her presence.

And her sweet voice added to my arousal, it makes my denim jeans between my legs tightened.

Fuck! Iniisip ko pa lang ay ramdam ko na naman ang paghigpit ng denim jeans ko ngayon. I am really turned on just thinking about that girl.

I don't know why I'm feeling like this, I've never felt this way. Not even to the person who was part of my life before and shared the same roof with me.

We had several sex and intimate time together but I've never felt aroused around her, not how like I felt right now. What we shared is just a plain sex for me, and nothing more.

I groaned when I heard my phone vibrate in my pants pocket. I was temporarily distracted from thinking about the woman earlier, so I felt relieved when my phone rang.

"What is it?" I asked as soon as I answered the call.

"I told you not to use that tone when you talked to me. I am your brother, not your employee in your damn company." I can feel how irritated he is right now. But I don't care about his tantrums.

"Just spit it out now. I know you have something to tell me." I simply said in a bored tone.

"I just wanted to let you know that I have found the woman you are looking for. I already have a copy of her information and where she lives." Paliwanag niya.

Right, I almost forgot that I ordered him to find the woman named Agathe. The woman that I got an interest in when I was in high school. My first love.

We are in a same university but she's still in grade school at that time. She was still young but she already caught my attention.

Hindi ko alam kung bakit ko siya pinag-aaksayahan ng panahon noong mga oras na iyon, pero habang lumilipas ang mga araw ay namamalayan ko na lang ang sarili na sinisilayan siya sa di kalayuan.

Why not? Despite her age and young features, her face is beautifully shaped. Tanda ko pa noon ang bilugan niyang mga mata at maputing balat na kapag nasisinagan ng araw ay kumikinang.

I tried to remind myself not to be attracted to her, she's still young for god sake.

Until one day, I never saw her again. I haven't seen her going to school anymore. Then I just found out from the school principal who is in charge that the girl left with her parents for personal reasons. And they will never come back.

When I was in college, I tried to have the private investigators I hired find her and the location of where they lived. Pero ni kahit isa sa kanila ay walang nakalap na impormasyon.

Sa panghihinayang at kawalang pag-asa na makikita ko pa siya ay itinigil ko na lang ang paghahanap sa kaniya. I thought maybe she wasn't the right person for me. I also thought that one day my feelings for her would disappear. After all, she was just a child at the time. She has never met me or even known I exist.

"Good. Just send it to my email, I'll check it later." Seryoso kong saad. Ibababa ko na sana ang phone nang marinig ang paghirit niya.

"Huyy, hindi yan libre ah. Ilang oras at araw ang inilaan ko dyan. I stayed up late every night and used several gadgets and computers to search for information. And I spent a lot of money on the internet." I clicked my tongue inside my mouth in disbelief.

"Tang-ina mo talaga Ettore, napakaburaot mo talagang kapatid kahit kailan."Mura ko sa kaniya, "Have you run out of millions of dollars already? Information at location lang ang pinapahanap ko, yet you're already asking for a change. You're unbelievable."

"Come on. Don't you love your brother? It's just a penny, hindi ka naman mauubusan." Tumaas ang kilay ko sa naging sagot niya.

Penny his feet. If I knew, he would ask for thousands of dollars, No—it could be millions.

I sighed, tumayo ako sa swivel chair at naglakad hanggang sa tumigil ako sa may glass wall kung saan kita mula rito ang mga nagtataasang building sa labas at mga sasakyan. Dito ko sa Taguig itinayo ang kompanya ko para malapit lang sa bahay na pinagawa ko for my future family.

"How much?" Walang pagdadalawang-isip kong tanong. Isinuksok ko pa ang isang kamay sa bulsa ng pantalon ko sa harap.

"20 million." I knew it.

Puta, gusto kong magmura.

Napapikit na lang ako ng sariling mga mata. He's really getting on my nerves, so annoying bastard.

"That's too large of amount." Bawi ko rito, ayaw kong magpatalo sa gung-gong na ito.

"Arghhh! Fine. 18 million pesos."

"Still huge." Narinig ko pa siyang may binulong. Minumura na niya ako sa isip niya, I can tell that. So do I.

"What?! Binabaan ko na nga eh." Reklamo nya. Hindi ako sumagot, and he knows why. "15 million then."

"10 million." I said.

"What? That's too small! Anong klase kang kapatid? Hindi yan kakasya sa mga bibilhin kong bagong materials—"

"Then I will make it 5 million—"

"Fine! Alright, 10 million then. It's a deal. Baka mamaya maging piso pa yan." Sumilay ang isang nakakalokong ngisi sa gilid ng aking labi dahil sa tagumpay.

Akala niya siguro mabubudol niya ako. I'm an expert person and I know how to handle this kind of job. And I know my brother too much, pero mas kilala niya ang isang tulad ko.

"I'll send it to your account later." Binaba ko na kaagad ang call at nilagay ulit sa bulsa ng pantalon ko ang phone.

Tiningnan ko ang palagid mula sa labas. Sobrang payapa lang tingnan at hindi maingay kung wala lang glass wall ang nakaharang. Malapit nang gumabi dahil dumidilim na ang kalangitan sa labas. Makikita mula rito ang paglubog ng araw. Maya-maya lang ay papalit na ang buwan at iyon naman ang sunod na magbibigay ng liwanag sa madilim na kapaligiran sa labas.

Tumalikod na ako sa glass wall at nagtungo na sa desk ko. Marami pa akong mga papeles na aasikasuhin at sa susunod na mga araw ay may mga dadaluhin akong mga importanteng meeting mula sa mga maimpluwensya at kilalang shareholders ng iba't ibang company.

From the swivel chair I was sitting on, in-on ko na ang laptop ko at nagtipa. I transferred the money to my brother's account. Then I also sent a message to let him know.

After that, I picked up the folder that was on the desk. Maybe my secretary just put the folder here so I can look at it when I came. Binuklat ko ang folder para tingnan ang mga nilalaman.

Makalipas ang ilang segundo ay muli kong narinig ang pagtunog ng phone ko sa bulsa ng pantalon ko. It was just a notification.

I saw my brother's message but there was another notification of another message from someone else. Inuna ko na lang yung kay Ettore.

Ettore:

Thanks. But next time I ask for payment, please make it full. Nahahalata kang kuripot, Kuya eh.

Napailing na lang ako sa message niya bago ako nag exit at tiningnan ang kasunod na nagmessage. When I saw the familiar name on the screen, I knew who it was. None other than my ex-wife. I just tapped the name to read the message.

Zephryne:

Hello, honey. How are you? I miss you a lot. Anyway, I sent you a message to let you know that I'm back in the Philippines. I hope you have time to meet me and so we can talk. After all, may pinagsamahan pa rin naman tayo. See you soon, honey! I love you!

That's it. Napabuga ako ng hangin sa bibig matapos iyong sabihin. I almost forgot that we're not divorced yet since nagkaroon ng problema sa pagproseso sa annulment paper namin. Hanggang ngayon ay pinaayos ko pa rin sa kinauukulan para tuluyan nang mabitak kung anuman ang namamagitan samin dati.

She makes me like a fool. When I saw her, akala ko siya na yung babaeng pinapahanap ko. And thanks for her good acting, she succeeded in her plan to manipulate me thinking she's Agathe. Hindi ko alam kung paano niya nalaman ang tungkol kay Agathe and how did she found out that I'm looking for her. Pero magaling siyang magpaikot ng mga tao sa mga palad niya at pati ako ay nabiktima ng pang-sscam niya.

And would never forgive her for what she did. Pinalagpas ko iyon at binigyan siya ng pagkakataon na huwag magpakita. But damn her, bumalik pa talaga.

Pinatay ko na lang ang phone ko at nagfocus na lang ulit sa folder na tinitingnan ko. Nadistract naman agad ako at nagpatuloy lang sa ginagawa.

Habang nakafocus sa folder ay biglang sumagi sa isip ko yung dahilan ng pagtawag ni Ettore. Kaagad kong binuksan ang laptop ko para icheck kung may nag email na ba sakin mula kay Ettore. Pagbukas ko nga ng email account ko ay may notification nga mula kay Ettore.

Kaagad ko iyonge binuksan and there. Full information of my woman's personal life. There's a familiar photo of her, nangunot pa ang noo ko dahil pamilyar iyon. Di ko sure kung nakita ko na ba. Medyo blurry kasi ang nasa litrato. Si Ettore naman, magbibigay na nga lang ng information blurred pa ang litrato.

Full Name: Agathe Phanie Collins

Age: 22

Location: Segovia St. Sitio Eldorado Brgy. San Jose Antipolo City