“Hey, Shaina!”
Napalingon ako sa aking likod nang marinig ang boses ni Kleo. Papasok ako sa aming trabaho, bitbit ang aking hand bag ay humarap ako sa kaniya.
“Okay ka lang? Bakit bigla kang nagmadali kahapon?”
Worried was visible in his face. I looked at him from head to toe before shaking my head off, hindi ako umimik at tinignan lamang ang kaniyang mukha. He awkwardly nodded his head making me turned my back at him, rinig ko ang mga yabag niya habang sumusunod sa akin.
“Bakit nga ba tayo pinapasok ng maaga?” tanong ko.
Kanina, pagkagising ko pa lamang ay rinig ko ang tunog ng aking cellphone at nakita ang mensahe galing sa aming editor na pinapapasok kami ng maaga. I planned not to obey them but I was curious, this is the first time they asked me to work early.
Kleo just shrugged his shoulders, sumabay siya sa akin pumasok sa loob at kita ko ang paninigas ng katawan niya nang makapasok. I looked at him confusedly and looked at the direction he was looking at. Mayroon lalaking nakasuot ng isang itim na suit at mayroong itim na hat, it was the publishing house’s president.
“Finally, you both arrived!” aniya na masama ang tingin sa amin.
Kleo greeted him but I only looked at him. His presence annoyed the shit out of me, he's too loud and obnoxious.
“Good Morning, President, what brings you here?” ani Kleo at mabilis na pumunta sa kaniyang lamesa.
Doon ko rin lamang napansin si Mira at Aliyah na nakaupo sa kani-kanilang mga lamesa.
“Oh, ikaw?”
Napatingin ako sa kaniya ng tawagin niya ako, he gestured me to sit making me rolled my eyes at him. Naupo ako sa kaharap na upuan ni Aliyah at kita ko ang pagiging tensado ng kaniyang mukha.
I smiled. Ah, it is really sweet whenever I see someone anxious.
“It’s about your book, Mira.” Lumapit siya sa aming lamesa at itinukod ang kaniyang kamay.
“What about it?” ani Kleo sa isang kuryosong boses. Dahan-dahan siyang nilingon ng presidente at nginitian.
Ngunit ang kaniyang mga ngiti ay mabilis na naglaho at malakas na hinataw ang lamesa.
“Mayroong putanginang nagsasabing ninakaw mo ito! mayron siyang pruweba!” his voice thundered around.
Kita ko ang panlalaki ng kanilang mga mata, Kleo immediately stood up and faced the President.
“What book?” aniya, rinig sa kaniyang boses ang pagpipigil.
Ramdam ang galit sa kaniyang boses nang lapitan niya ang presidente, he's mad and it was understandable because Mira’s book was also his, karamihan sa kaniyang nailathalang libro ay silang dalawa ang sumulat.
“Book of Death—” aniya at pinantayan ang tingin ni Kleo “— she has a proof, she has documents! Naroon lahat, drafts, outlining and even plotting for every chapters!”
Napako ang aking paningin kay Mira, I saw her eyes watered but her eyes was raging mad. Nadako ang aking paningin kay Aliyah at kita ko rin ang pamumutla ng kaniyang mukha, Obviously, because we were talking about plagiarism.
“You saw us planning every details of that book!” sigaw ni Kleo sa mukha ng presidente, kita ko ang pagkairita sa mukha niya at hinarap si Kleo.
“Hindi ko sinasabing naniniwala ako sa babaeng ’yon pero ikasisira natin ‘to!” he shouted back.
I breathed heavily and roamed my eyes around, kahit ang iba naming ka-trabaho ay pare-parehong nakayuko at takot na makisali. I rolled my eyes and went to the pantry, nagtimpla na lamang ako ng kape at naupo sa isang stool kung saan hindi ko rinig ang kanilang sigawan.
BINABASA MO ANG
One, Two, Three | Published Under PaperInk Imprints
Mystery / Thriller#4 | WICKED WRITERS SERIES | A COLLABORATION. A book wherein all characters have vanished in real life, who's next? One, Two, Three, a book that was published on some site, that book is all about woman with their names who suffers from depression an...
