Chapter 4

["Oh, kumusta unang araw mo as personal maid?"] tanong ni Kathleen sa kabilang linya. 

Malakas akong napabuntong hininga. "Wala namang nangyari. Literal." 

Pinatay ko na ang apoy sa stove dahil luto na ang sinigang. 

"Buong akala ko magiging personal maid ako ng bata, hindi ko naman alam na matanda na pala ang apo ni Madam!"

["Ay, oo nga pala,"] Alanganin siyang tumawa. ["Nakalimutan kong sabihin sa'yo kung sino ang apo ni Madam."]

Kumunot ang noo ko habang tinitikman ang niluto ko. Hindi dahil sa lasa ng sinigang, kundi dahil hindi sinabi sa akin ni Kathleen na kilala niya pala kung sino ang magiging amo ko. 

"Bakit hindi mo sinabi?"

["Eh kasi hindi ka naman nagtanong?"] Maliit ang boses na sabi niya. ["At saka isa pa hindi ko naman akalain na hindi mo pala kilala kung sino siya. Famous kaya 'yon! Si Archer Valle, kilalang business man and CEO ng sarili niyang kumpanya at nag-iisang tagapagmana ng multi billionaire na sina Cecilia at Santiago Valle. Patay na ang mommy niya, nagpakamatay. Habang ang daddy niya naman ewan kung nasaan. Pero ang balita ko eh hiwalay na sila ng mommy ni Archer. Mula nang mamatay si Miss Cassandra, apelyido niya na ang ginamit ni Archer, which is Valle. In terms of lovelife naman, wala pa akong nabalitaan na nagkaroon siya ng girlfriend, pero maraming nali-link sa kaniyang mga modelo at artista. Oh ayan complete details na." ]

"Wala akong pakialam sa talambuhay niya, ang akin lang sana man lang nalaman ko kung anong klaseng tao siya, hindi 'yong mabibigla na lang ako kasi hindi pala siya 'yong inaakala ko."

["Eh, sorry na nga, ito naman. Next time kasi magtanong ka din. Maiba tayo, kumusta naman siya? Maayos ba pakikitungo sa'yo?"]

Napatigil ako sa pagsandok nang maalala ang nangyari kahapon. Kung paano dalawang beses kaming muntik nang magkahalikan. At ang mga rules niya. Psh, as if naman mai-in love ako sa kaniya. 

Nagki-cringe ako kapag naaalala ang ginawa niya kahapon. 

"Ayos naman."

["Pinagluluto mo ba siya? Sinusunod ang utos? Pinapaliguan? Binibihisan?"]

"Bihisan? Ano siya, bata? Kahit nga five years old marunong maligo nang mag-isa, siya pa kaya?" Kinuha ko ang mangkok na may lamang sinigang, lumabas sa kitchen, at ipinatong sa mesa sa dining room. 

["Eh, kasi naman si Archer na 'yon!"]

"Oh tapos?"

["Siyempre! Hindi mo man lang pinagnasaan?"]

"Kung wala ka nang importanteng sasabihin, tatapusin ko na 'tong tawag." 

["Wait, wait! Ito naman! Nga pala binisita ko mga kapatid mo kanina. Aba napagkamalan ba naman akong maniningil ng utang!"]

"Alam mo bahay namin?"

["Oo, sinabi mo sa'kin address niyo 'di ba?"]

Kumunot ang noo ko. Hindi ko maalalang binigay ko sa kaniya ang address ko. "Talaga?"

She scoffed. ["Makakalimutin 'yan girl? Ilang beses mo nang sinabi sa'kin kung saan kayo nakatira. Anyways, 'yon pagdating ko sa inyo akala nila maniningil ako. Madami ka ba talagang utang?"]

Kaibigan ko si Kathleen pero hindi ko sinasabi sa kaniya lahat ng nangyayari sa buhay ko, at ayokong sabihin sa kaniya 'yon. Hindi ako komportableng sabihin sa iba ang mga ganap at naganap sa buhay ko. 

["Bayad bayad din minsan girl ha,"] pabiro niyang sabi. 

Mahina akong natawa. "Tss. Wala ka bang pasok?" Kumuha ako ng plato at sumandok ng kanin. 

["Meron, pero wala pa naman ang teacher."] May narinig akong nagsabi ng "Good morning" sa kabilang linya. ["Oh, andito na pala! Sige tatawagan na lang kita mamaya. Babu!"] Hindi niya na ako hinintay na makasagot. Binaba niya na ang tawag. 

Nakarinig ako ng yabag kaya umangat ang tingin ko pero kaagad ding ibinalik sa pagkain nang makitang si Archer pala. 

Tumikhim si Archer pero hindi ko siya pinansin at nagpatuloy sa pagkain. 

Tumikhim ulit siya pero nagkunwari akong walang naririnig since siya mismo ang nagsabi na 'wag ko siyang pansinin. Baka pagsubok pala 'to at sinusubok niya lang kung susunod ba ako sa mga rules na binigay niya. 

Kung sakali palang bumagsak ako sa pagsubok baka magalit siya at paalisin ako, pag nangyari 'yon edi mawawalan ako ng trabaho, sayang ang kikitain kong 30k dito. Wala akong perang maipambabayad sa mga utang ni nanay, dagdag pa ang mga gastusin sa bahay at eskuwela nina Amber at Andler. Malapit na din ang exam nila Andler at kailangan ng pambayad sa tuition. 

"Ehem!" Mas malakas na tikhim ni Archer.

Para siyang nagpapapansin kaya't inangat ko ang tingin sa kaniya. 

"Are you bingi?" inis niyang tanong. "I've been trying to catch your attention yet you're sitting there as if you can't hear me!"

Inirapan ko siya. "Sino ba ang nag set ng rules at nagsabing hindi natin i-acknowledge ang presenya ng isa't isa? Ako ba? Sa pagkakaalala ko kasi ikaw. Tapos ngayon kung makapagsalita ka parang kasalanan ko pa!"

Nanatiling tikom ang bibig niya habang matalim ang tingin sa akin. Ilang sandali pa ay kumuha siya ng plato at sumandok ng sariling kanin at ulam. 

Akala ko pupunta siya ng trabaho? Nakasuot ng suit eh. 

Umupo siya sa kabilang dulo ng lamesa, habang nasa kabilang dulo naman ako. Limang upuan ang pagitan naming dalawa. 

'Tong lalaking 'to, mag-isa lang pero anlaki ng lamesa. 

Nagsimula na siyang kumain kaya't nagpatuloy na din ako sa pagkain.

"Did you cook this?" 

Napatigil ako sa pagsubo at lumingon sa kaniya. 

"Hindi, ikaw." Napatigil din siya sa pagsubo at nilingon ako. "Malamang ako! Sino pa bang ibang pwedeng magluto niyan maliban sa'kin eh tayong dalawa lang naman ang nandito sa bahay. Maliban na lang kung may nakikita kang hindi ko nakikita."

Inirapan niya ako. "Tss."

"Common sense din kasi minsan, BOSS." Diniinan ko ang pagsabi ng huling salita na halatang iniinsulto siya. 

"Rule number six, when I ask you a question, answer me directly. 'Wag kang pilosopo, hindi ka si Plato."

Sarkastiko akong natawa. "Hindi mo nga nasunod ang rule number two mo tapos dadagdag ka pa?" 

"Eh kung palayasin kita dito?"

"Eh kung isumbong kita sa Lola mo?"

Hindi siya nakasagot. Kung nakamamatay lang ang tingin kanina pa ako nakahandusay dito.

Tsk. Lola's boy. 

 Pero hindi ako natatakot sa kaniya, lalo pa't alam kong bilin sa kaniya ni Madam na 'wag akong paalisin. 

Nagpatuloy ako sa pagkain nang hindi pinapansin ang matatalim niyang tingin. Ilang sandali pa ay tumayo na siya at nag-marcha palabas ng mansyon. 

Hindi ba muna siya magto-toothbrush?

ARCHER'S POV

Fuck that woman! If only I could drag her ass out of my house, I already did. But Lola strictly told me to let her stay. What does she think my house is? A home for unwanted and unfortunate women?

Personal maid my ass. What am I? A five year old? When I was five I didn't need a maid to help me with anything. I can do anything all by myself. I've been taking care of myself ever since, and now, suddenly, Lola thought of sending a personal maid like I am someone in need of care.

Everybody greeted me when I entered my building. Lahat sila napapahinto sa ginagawa para batiin ako, pero ni isa wala akong nilingon o binati pabalik. Diretso lang ang tingin ko hanggang makarating sa elevator. 

My office is on the top floor and is only accessible by my personal and VIP elevator. I swipe the card beside the elevator before it opened. Only the head of each department has the privilege to have a golden card, and my grandparents and secretary, of course. 

My office is vast, obviously. An ordinary looking office will greet the person who reached this floor, but behind the walls of my office lies the secrets only those closests to me know. 

Well, it's not THAT secret, I just don't want people who aren't close to me know about it. Behind the shelf is a secret door, behind it is a room. A room where I can relax when I'm stressed with work or if I'm too busy to go home. 

A bed, kitchen, mini bar, an indoor pool and garden. That's not all that's inside the room, but you get the idea of what I mean about the 'secret room'. 

My secretary was already waiting for me in the office when I entered. He was standing beside my table. His face is void of emotion, but I can sense that he's bearing bad news. Kyle doesn't come here this early unless it's urgent, and urgent is often equal to bad news. 

"What is it this time?" I asked as I sat on my leather office chair. 

"Sir, our client in San Rafael sent a complaint about the building being substandard. They said two months after they occupied the four-storey building, it collapsed," Kyle said calmly but in a serious tone. 

My brows furrowed. "We don't use substandard materials. In our years of service, we've never encountered a complaint, until now," I said under my gritted teeth. Only one thing is coming to my mind right now, there's a mole in my company. 

A traitor, a spy. Someone who wants to ruin the company's name. And who would've thought of ruining my name aside from our most beloved competitor? No one. 

Ever since the company's name bloomed not just in the Philippines but also in Asia, Sese Builds has had their eye on us. And knowing the owner of that company, it's not surprising that she's behind all of this. She wanted to ruin my name, my reputation, the company's reputation. But I won't let her, not even in her wildest dreams. 

And what angers me more is the thought that a woman dares to challenge me. She doesn't know who she's dealing with. 

Ever since the engagement was cut off, Sese Builds, owned and managed by Rylie Sese, declared a silent war between the two companies. I guess she took it far this time. Aside from she doesn't know how to choose a good and catchy company name, she's also petty in some sort. Or maybe in all sorts. And I say, let the war begin. 

I scanned the folder that Kyle gave me containing the pictures of the building that collapsed. It was like a magnitude 8 earthquake hit the building and the building alone. 

Tsk, tsk. I need to talk to the engineer. 

"Who was assigned to this task?" I turned to Kyle who was, until now, standing. It's like his way of showing respect, to not sit unless he was asked to. 

"Engineer Manuel Calixtro. Should I bring him here?" Kyle really knows how I want to play my game, but I furrowed when he mentioned a name I'm not familiar with. 

"Manuel Calixtro. His name doesn't ring a bell."

"He's a newly hired engineer. He was endorsed by one of the board members."

"Who among them?" I didn't notice how tight I clenched my fist until I felt my nails digging painfully on my palm. 

"Caius Manolo."

Caius. That guy really gets on my nerves. If it wasn't for his father, who is my lolo's friend, I wouldn't allow him to invest even a cent in my company. 

The ever jealous Caius. I heard he's obsessed with Rylie. There's no doubt that he teamed up with her. 

"For now, let's investigate the incident and find out the root of this mischief. Talk to our client and tell them we'll rebuild the establishment, this time, I'm in charge."

"I already investigated the incident. Hindi sapat ang mga materyales na dapat ginamit. Hindi din maayos ang pagkakagawa. Aside from that, one of the workers confessed about Manuel sabotaging the project. They were paid to sabotage the project."

Ah, Kyle always proves me right for choosing him. He's useful and reliable. He never, even once, failed me. 

"And he, alone, was behind it?"

"No, he has communication with Ms. Sese. And I presume she's his boss. I've seen them meeting secretly. And also. . ." Kyle handed me another folder of stolen pictures of Rylie and a middle-aged guy mostly in a restaurant. In the same folder were screenshots of the exchange of messages between two people. ". . . I hacked Manuel's phone and found strong evidence about their plan."

Just as I thought. Very predictable.

I smirked as I stare at the photos. Tsk tsk. I hate it, yet it amuse me, when people try to defy me as if they weren't aware of what might happen if they chose to get to my bad side.

Even I don't like to see myself mad. I couldn't control the demon that takes over whenever anger engulfs me. 

"Let's pay Manuel a visit, shall we?" I grinned as I lifted my gaze to Kyle. The latter nodded then bowed a little before heading outside. 

I stood up and fixed my coat before marching outside. My eyes are piercing as if it would kill anyone that stares at it. 

I would've wanted to have a drink first but I need to take care of this. Business before anything else. 

Manuel, you should start praying. Because the devil is coming to redeem your soul.