Hate The Game (COMPLETED)

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Naging busy ako nung mga sumunod na araw. I had to attend some hearings and submit some documents. Nakaka-pagod iyong trabaho ko at minsan, nalulunod na talaga ako sa dami ng papel na kailangan kong basahin, isulat, at ipasa, but... I love my job. For some reason, I really enjoy what I was doing. Ewan ko kung superhero complex ba iyong tawag sa ganito, but so far, sa lahat ng naka-usap ko, they're trapped in a bad marriage. I felt like aside from it literally being my job, that I was doing something right.

That at the very least, I was helping someone get to their happy ending.

"You can always email me kapag may kailangan," Jill said.

"Okay."

"Di ka nga galit sa akin?"

"Hindi nga," sabi ko habang inaayos iyong mga iendorse niya na kaso. Hindi na kasi siya tumanggap kasi kapag tinanggap niya, bibitbitin niya papunta sa G&Z. At least naawa naman pala siya sa amin kaya dito na lang iyong ibang case.

"Okay," she replied. "Sabi mo, e." I got a paperbag from under my table. Inabot ko sa kanya. "Ano 'to?" she asked.

"Farewell gift."

"Para namang hindi na tayo magkikita," she said.

I shrugged. "Malay mo naman?"

"Galit ka nga—"

"Hindi nga," sabi ko. "But I sincerely hope na mag-enjoy ka sa G&Z," I told her because kung ako lang? It's a resounding no. Ayoko sa ganoon kalaking kumpanya. Too much pressure. Pakiramdam ko ay doon na iikot ang buhay ko.

"I will," she replied. "I'll endorse this firm whenever possible."

"Kung nandito pa 'yung firm."

Umirap siya. "Nega masyado."

"Sino may kasalanan?"

We ate lunch together, kaming lima sa firm. Hindi pa naman last day ni Jill, but we're all busy at hindi na rin namin alam kung kailan kami magkikita ulit na magkakasama.

Nung hapon, nagpahinga lang ako dahil fortunately, walang naka-schedule na kailangan kong puntahan. I'd just catch up with my paperworks. Ayoko kasi talaga ng natatabunan. I mean, regular occurrence naman na na natatabunan ako, but at least, I was trying to... slow that down. Kahit mukhang impossible because family law's like 75% paper works.

Around 4PM, natapos na ako sa ginagawa kong draft. I looked at my calendar. Nakita ko iyong pangalan ni Shanelle doon. Dapat ngayon ay may draft na ako sa annulment nila. Seriously... paano ko gagawin iyong trabaho ko kung parang may tinatago siya sa akin? Hindi naman ako mind reader—I actually needed her to help me. Hindi naman ako iyong kasama sa kasal nila para malaman ko kung ano ang nangyayari doon.

"Punta lang ako sa client," sabi ko sa paralegal namin. "Baka hindi na rin ako bumalik."

Dumiretso ako sa sasakyan at saka inilagay sa waze iyong address ng workplace ni Shanelle. I researched. It's a part of my work... or maybe that's just something that I needed to tell myself because it felt wrong na magtanong ako tungkol sa kanya. I didn't want to be curious about her, yet here I was.

She's Shanelle Nuevas. Graduate ng Brent. Valedictorian ng batch nila. Two-times nagtake ng BAR—not that it mattered. In the end, she's still a lawyer just like the resto of us. Like me, she worked in a firm but resigned and built a firm with her friends.

We're more alike than I thought.

I didn't know if I like the idea.

Huminga ako nang malalim bago lumabas ng sasakyan. Her firm was in a ten storey building... mas maganda sa building ng firm ko. I groaned. Why was I comparing? I hated that I was comparing. Kailangan kong itigil 'to.