One: Chance Encounter

[Barcelona, Spain]

"Ilegas tarde!" Catalina snapped at me the moment I stepped inside the kitchen.

I was late for the event so she's obviously mad at me.

"I know, Catalina. Lo lamento," I said sorry as I hurried to put on my apron.

She was telling me instructions in Spanish; I kept nodding while I fixed myself.

"Go!" she said as she gave me a little push on my waist without having to wait for me to get totally ready.

I had no choice but to get out of the kitchen right away.

"Oh, you're here!" One of the bartenders, Sebastian, said in his thick accent when he saw me.

"I was five minutes late, Catalina was basically fuming!" 

"She's basically mad at everyone. That doesn't make you special!" He winked at me before he handed me a tray full of drinks. 

I chuckled. "Well, I guess you're right. Gracias, Sebastian!" I grabbed the tray from the counter and spun around to start working. 

I squeezed myself in among the crowd. The venue was jam-packed with guests of different nationalities. Service crews like me were everywhere, serving food and drink of all sorts.

Everyone was all eyes on the man who was talking in front. He looked like he was presenting something. 

He looked noticeably handsome even from afar. He was tall, probably a six-footer. He's wearing a fitted, white turtleneck shirt topped with a blue overcoat. His hair was neatly combed. It was toffee-brown colored, which I think is not natural, because he looked Asian. But it looked good on him nonetheless. 

He looked young. Like probably in his late twenties. And he looked like he smelled so good. 

I lightly shook my head to drive the crazy thoughts away. Why would I describe someone that way, right? Crazy. 

He's wearing a pair of glasses which, surprisingly, do not give him a nerdy look. It actually made him look hot.

And the way he cracked jokes every now and then is something, too. Like everyone at the event looked so dead serious. But the man on the stage is different. He would crack a joke once in a while which would make everyone laugh. He's definitely a breath of fresh air in this well, uhm, boring event.

Well, for all of these tech-savvy people here, the event is far from being boring. We're at probably the largest app design and development conference in the world. App designers and developers from all parts of the world gather to talk about the most incredible and innovative applications. Which I couldn’t understand for most parts. It's like they're speaking a different language.

I went on with my task of handling everyone’s finger food and drinks. I did nothing for the next two hours but to smile at random guests and hand them something to eat or drink. 

I watched as speakers took turns getting on stage to present their respective apps. I had lost sight of that good-looking speaker earlier. I am not even sure if he was still at the venue.

My feet and arms started to feel sore after more than two hours of nonstop serving. It must also be a factor that I came here straight from my classes.  

I had a busy day at university today. My schedule was full but I just couldn't say no to this part-time job offer. It's a shame to pass it up, especially since I am saving for my tuition.

I was carrying a tray of drinks when someone bumped into me. The person just came out of nowhere. It happened so fast, I didn't see him coming. Before I knew it, he had already bumped into me, which made me spill the drinks (on the tray that I was carrying) on his clothes. 

On his expensive clothes. Shit.

The sound of the glass crashing on the floor barely registered in my mind as I was busy staring at his soiled clothes. 

"Fuck." I heard him mumble.

I gasped when I realized that it was the same man that caught my attention earlier. That tall, handsome and I’m-gonna-bet-my-bottom-penny-he-smells-so-good looking man I saw doing the presentation earlier. 

Well, it looked like I wasn't wrong after all. He, indeed, smelled so good. He smelled so expensive and so manly. He must be wearing a very expensive cologne.

But his cologne brand is the least of my priorities right now, I realized as I stared at his clothes in horror. I was internally cursing at myself as I looked at his now stained shirt. 

Shit. 

He was holding his phone right next to his ear. He was probably busy talking to someone when he accidentally bumped into me.

"I'm so sorry," I said as my eyes kept going back and forth to his face and his wine-stained clothes.

He threw me a darting look before he said to whoever he was talking to on his phone, “No, no. I wasn’t talking to you. Yes, I’m fine,” and left. Just like that. Without saying anything to me. 

I was relieved. I know it was his fault for not paying attention to where he was going. But still, I was still expecting that I’d get an earful from him or something. It’s a relief that aside from throwing me a deadly glare, he didn’t actually do, or say, anything to me. 

"Are you okay?" I heard one of the other waitresses ask me. 

"Yup, I'm good. Don’t worry about me," I said as I bent down to clean up the mess on the floor. Spilled drinks, broken glass, and all. I started to feel the curious gaze of the guests. 

One hour later, I excused myself for my much-needed bathroom break. I felt like my bladder was about to burst already. 

I was on my way back to the event when I suddenly felt dizzy. I had to stop walking and brace myself against the wall. I leaned against the wall and slowly slid myself down until I was crouching on the floor. I then leaned my head against my knees and stayed in the position for a while, waiting for the dizziness to subside. 

I barely slept last night because I had to study for an exam. And after attending classes for eight hours straight (with a 30-minute break, which is not even enough to grab some decent lunch), I had to come straight here for the event. Now tiredness and having no decent meal for the day were catching up on me. 

I took some deep breaths to calm myself down. I massaged my sore legs a bit, too, before I pulled myself up. I think I’m good to go now. 

I was about to leave the area when I heard someone talking aloud from somewhere. I couldn’t really see the  owner of the voice but it was definitely owned by a man. It's low and deep and somehow familiar. But I couldn't really remember where I heard it before. 

"Are you serious? Did they actually do that? Fuck. Sa tingin n'yo ba mapapauwi n'yo ako sa ginagawa n'yong 'yan? What were you thinking?"

Oh. He said something in Filipino. That automatically caught my attention. I got curious. 

I mean, it's not everyday that I hear someone talking in Filipino here. Hearing someone speak my native language brought a different kind of comfort and excitement to me. 

Curiosity got the best of me. Before I knew it, I was already taking small steps toward the direction where the voice was coming from. I was just planning to take a peek. I have no intention of approaching the voice's owner or whatever. 

But before I could do that, the voice's owner came round the corner of the hallway. I had to automatically step back the moment I found myself face to face with him. 

"I told you, I won't ---" He stopped mid-sentence the moment our eyes met. 

I was caught off-guard. I immediately felt guilty for getting caught eavesdropping. He looked surprised, too. Mad, even. 

But what shocked me more was the fact that he was the same man I bumped into earlier. He had now changed his soiled shirt into something equally fitting, boasting a very defined chest underneath it. 

"Who are you?" he asked while holding my gaze. "No not you," he then said to whoever he was talking with on the phone. "I need to go. Will call you back later." And he slid his phone into his pocket.

"Who are you?" he asked me again.

I don’t know if it’s because of his tone or the way he glared at me that caused my knees to shake for an instant. The man has this intimidating aura in him. It was like he could eat me alive if he wanted to. 

"S-sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just excited to hear someone speaking in Tagalog," I said in a shaky voice. 

"You're a Filipino?" he asked. Brows furrowed. 

I excitedly nodded. I thought he'd be happy to meet another Filipino at the event. But I guess I was wrong. It made his brows shoot up in an instant. I guess he’s not happy to meet me after all. 

And to my surprise, he suddenly grabbed both of my shoulders.

"Are you following me? Who asked you to follow me? Tell me.” He was holding both of my shoulders firmly.

I was taken aback. Scared, even. 

"What are you talking about?" I snapped back at him, shocked.

But to surprise me even more, he suddenly grabbed me by the wrist and started to drag me somewhere. 

***