The Girl at 829 (girlxgirl)

Chapter 57

(Knock on the door.)

"Excuse me po Mam, may naghahanap po sa inyo," bungad ni Anna nang pumasok sa office ni Jane.

"Sino raw?" tanong naman ni Jane.

"Atty. Ignacio daw po, importante daw ang sadya niya."

"Atty. Ignacio?" bakas sa mukha ni Jane ang pagtataka kung sinong Atty. Ignacio ang maaring maghanap sa kanya at ano itong importanteng sadya nito. "Sige, papasukin mo na lang siya dito sa office. Dito ko na lang siya kakausapin—By the way Anna, na-confirm mo na ba 'yong flight ko? Itatawag ko kasi kay Eric mamaya para maayos niya 'yong sched nila ni Nadine."

"Yes Mam, ipi-print ko na lang po 'yong itenarary tapos ibibigay ko na lang sa inyo mamaya."

"Okay, salamat Anna."

Maya-maya din ay nakarinig na naman ng katok sa pinto si Jane. Isang morenong lalaki ang pumasok sa opisina niya. Mataba ito at suot niya ang isang makapal na gradong salamin, may dala-dala itong itim na attaché case at isang folder. "Good Morning, Ms. Jane Marie Mercado-Villafuerte," nakangiting bati ng lalaki. Dumerestso ito sa table ni Jane at mabilis na inabot ang kanyang kanang kamay, "I'm Atty. Vicente Ignacio."

Inabot naman ni Jane ang kanyang kamay at siya ay bahagyang ngumiti, "Good Morning. So, what can I do for you, Atty. Ignacio?—Please take a seat.

"Thank you. Well, I'm actually here for my client, Ms. Marsha Julia Santos."

"Marsha?" Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Jane at kita ang takot sa kanyang mukha, "What happened to Marsha?"

"No—No, calm down po Ms. Villafuerte. My client is currently in Australia and she's in the process of a Hysterectomy procedure," mahinahong paliwanag ni Attorney.

"Yes, I am aware of that. So with all due respect, can you please go to the point of this very short-notice meeting? I'm sorry, but you are making me nervous."

"Oh, I'm really sorry kung naging biglaan itong pagpunta ko dito. I was supposed to call you and meet you some time next week. But my client called me the other day, just before she got admitted and she wants me to set a meeting with you as soon as possible. Well to put it bluntly Ms. Villafuerte, she wants this settled just in case (knocks on wood) her operation went unfavorable." Binuksan ni Atty. Ignacio ang kanyang attaché case at kinuha ang ilang papeles mula sa loob nito. "These are the documents stating the full transfer of ownership of Ms. Santos' house in Tagaytay. You just need to sign all the pages, ako na din ang bahalang magpa-notarize. You can take time to read the documents if you want. But basically, it just states that you are the new owner of the property."

Inabot ni Atty. Ignacio kay Jane ang mga papeles. And Jane browsed through the pages quickly. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to sign this. It's hers at ang pagkakaalam ko 'yan lang ang property niya dito sa Pilipinas," sabay usod ng mga papeles na nakalapag sa kanyang desk pabalik kay Atty. Ignacio, "Please tell your client to re-consider it."

Itinulak naman muli ni Atty. Ignacio ang mga papeles pabalik kay Jane, "Ms. Villafuerte, I know that this may look and sound so sudden for you but the documents has been drafted a year ago as requested by my client. Kumbaga, this is her will. So there's no use contesting it—Please Ms. Villafuerte...Please sign the documents. I am certain that you are very much aware that Ms. Santos is seriously ill, and stressing her over this matter would be the last thing we can impose on her at the moment. Besides, I'm sure Ms. Santos will be more than happy to know that you have already signed the documents."

Kinuha muli ni Atty. Ignacio ang mga papeles at inabot ito kay Jane, kasabay ng isang Parker na ballpen. Hindi na nakipagtalo pa si Jane at kinuha na din niya ang mga dokumento at isa-isa niya itong pinirmahan.

Tsinek isa-isa ni Attorney ang mga papeles at pagkatapos ay ipinasok na muli ang mga ito sa kanyang attaché case. Tumayo na siya sa kanyang pinagkakaupuan at nagpaalam na kay Jane, "Thank you, Ms. Villafuerte. It was a pleasure doing business with you. I'll just have my Secretary send you the copies of the documents after we have notarized it. By the way, here is my business card. I will advise you kung pwede na kayong lumipat sa property."

"Sure, no rush at all. Thank you also."