BEHIND the SCENES (DarLentina version)

Chapter 33: Heated conversation

"Hi, Noah." Sinagot ni Regina ang tawag habang inaayusan ang sarili sa salamin.

"Are you busy?" He ask her in a sleepy tone.

"Hmmm. Just got home from work? Narda's throwing a welcome party for me. Hopefully i'll get to see some old colleagues there."

"Yeah, i'm so tired. Wait, what? Narda? As in Narda Custodio your ex? I thought you'd be working with Bratty Manila?" Parang bigla itong nagising sa narinig mula sa kanya.

"Unfortunately she's the CEO of Bratty Manila." Sagot n'ya habang naglalagay ng lipstick sa labi.

"Hmmm. So what are your plans now?" She heard him yawn.

"Honestly, I don't give a damn about meeting her here casually. But her, being my boss is another story. I can't just ignore her even if I want to."

"Hmmm... You don't want to ignore her in the first place really. Tulak ng bibig,  kabig ng dibdib." She heard him chuckle.

"You brute! Stop teasing me! How's Jenny?" She tried changing the topic.

"She's fine. Jeno's fine as well."

"Good to hear. But so much for the chitchat. Do you need anything? May problema ba?"

He laughed. "You know me very well. Well, I don't know if it's really a problem but your dad called me earlier. Tinanong kung nasaan ka. I told him you're back home."

"No! You didn't! Tell me, you are joking, right?"

Bumuntong-hininga ito sa kabilang linya. "Hanggang kailan ko ba kailangang magsinungaling para sa'yo,  Regina?"

Itinigil n'ya ang ginagawa at nangalumbaba. She blankly stare outside the window. "Alright. Haharapin ko na s'ya.  But I need you to come with me. We'll do this together."

"Wtf, Regi!"

"Please? I need you with me, Noah. Please."

He let out a series of unmuffled curse before getting back at her."Damn! Okay. Okay. Give me atleast 3 days to fix everything here. Susunod agad ako d'yan."

"Thank you, Noah. I love you."

He sighed before ending the call.

Ipinagpatuloy na rin ni Regina ang pagbibihis at tinitigan ang sarili sa salamin. Admiring the red orange dress she's wearing... on how it hugs her curves and on how it accentuated her pearly white skin.

Natigilan s'ya ng maalala si Narda. Kung gaano kalaki ang pinagbago ng ugali nito.

"You've turned yourself into an emotionless,  ill-mannered and careless terror boss, Narda."

Maalala palang n'ya ito parang nababahag na ang buntot n'ya. Parang ayaw na n'yang gumalaw sa kinatatayuan n'ya and she hate that feeling. Hirap s'yang magfocus lalo na kapag nasa paligid ito.

"Galit ka sa kanya, 'di ba? Galit ka sa panloloko n'ya sa'yo dati, 'di ba? So don't fuck up now!  You've changed yourself because of her. Show her the new Regina. Remind yourself that she has Elle now. Wala ka naman talagang space sa buhay n'ya kaya huwag kang gaga. You're here for work, Regina. Only for work. 6 months lang. Tiisin mo ang presence n'ya sa loob ng 6 months. Focus, Regina, focus!" paalala n'ya sa sarili.

Huminga s'ya ng malalim. "I hope it'll be easier for me to ignore your presence tonight, Narda. Lalo na sa mga susunod na araw."

Aminado s'yang hirap s'yang magbehave sa harap nito lalo na't pinagkakanulo s'ya ng sariling katawan at damdamin kahit pa pilit s'yang sinasaway ng kanyang utak.  She naturally throw herself at her without even thinking about it.