Mr. Perfect

Prologue

OST: Waiting For You - Seal
—

How long was I sleeping? I hit snooze for the nth time as I try to roll over to the other side of my bed. Saka may biglang umakap sa akin. I blinked twice before I recognized who she was. Si Jinky pala. I can't remember taking her home with me.

I groaned before I stood up. I need a morning jog. Mahirap nanamang takasan itong si Jinky pagkatapos nito. Dahan dahan akong bumangon saka ko hinanap ang boxers ko. Bahala na siyang magbihis mamaya at umalis. Sanay naman na siya sa akin.

I changed to my running clothes before I headed off to the nearest park. I was close to running a mile when I received an email from mommy.

From: Mommy
Heath baby, I will be celebrating my birthday at Manila Pen just in case you forget. And it would be nice if you'll bring a date. A real date. Love you always. Mom

I rolled my eyes. Una dahil hindi pa rin nawawala ang signature opening remarks ni mommy na "Heath baby". She has been typing those words ever since I can remember. Pangalawa, she's still bugging me on bringing a date to her birthday party. I rather go alone, who will I pay this time? Wala pa naman akong nakikilala na pwedeng dalhin sa party na hindi magiging clingy sa akin pagkatapos. I am Heath Laurent Ongpauco and I don't do relationships. Because the last time I did, I lost a part of me. At ayoko ng mangyari ulit yun.

Nagpapahinga ako sa may harap ng isang bench ng bigla nanamang umilaw ang Blackberry ko. Sheryl ang lumabas na pangalan. Napaisip ako sandali kung sino si Sheryl.

From: Sheryl
Mr. Ongpauco, are you still going to push through with your 9am interview appointment with Miss Lastimosa? It may inter cross with your meeting regarding the New York Opening Week with the British Partners - scheduled at 9:15am.

Ah, si Sheryl. Isa siguro sa mga reception girls. I can't even tell them apart. Pareparehas sila ng itsura sa paningin ko. And wait a minute, why do I have a fucking interview appointment?! Hindi ko maalala na nagschedule ako ng ganoon. I skim through my sent mails until I saw the culprit to this suck up interview.

To: Sheryl
Sheryl, I want you to set up an interview with the first person on file at the HR. 9am sharp tomorrow.
Sent: 11:57pm

I ran my fingers through my hair. Si Paulo ang may gawa nito! Siya ang naaalala kong huling humawak ng BB ko kagabi! Sira ulo talaga ang pinsan kong iyon!

I angrily dialed his number. Matagal siyang sumagot. "Heath what now?" Medyo iritable ang tono ng boses niya. May hang over siguro, mahina naman kasi talagang uminom itong si Paulo pagkadating sa hard.

Kagabi nagparty kami, nakailang labas ng Jack Daniel's at Blue Label yung bartender. Scotch na yun na paborito ko pero tinamaan pa ako, hindi ko na nga maalala na inuwi ko si Jinky. Si Paulo pa kaya.

"Paulo what the fuck did you email my secretary? And how the hell did you know she was one of my receptionists?"

Yung inis sa boses niya napalitan ng mahinang tawa. "What? I asked for your permission to send it last night and you nodded. Can't blame me for that. And it was a lucky guess, trust me." Hindi ko na siya sinagot. Basta binaba ko na lang. The fuck Paulo. Really?! Kahit kailan ang hilig mo akong tikisin!

I emailed Jen to send me the resumé of the person who had booked me, the very busy Heath Laurent, for a 9am interview.

From: Jenny
Mr. Ongpauco, below is the attached resumé.

It took a few moments to load before the file revealed a woman in her mid-20s. 26 to be exact. She has long brunette hair and a very contagious smile. Sandali akong napatitig sa kanya. She can't be this pretty in person, malay ba natin kung photoshop ito. But she better be damn interesting! She gate crashed my busy schedule.

I checked my watch and it's already quarter to 9. It won't take me long to jog back to the penthouse. And I know Jinky will be long gone too. Sanay naman siyang umaalis ng penthouse ng walang paalam. Sana lang hindi nanaman siya nag-iwan ng kung anong gamit niya doon. I really hate it when she does that and she thinks it's cute. Leaving your panties or bras on someone else's unit after a night of fucking may mean alot of things, but it's definitely not cute.

I took the free will to run across the pedestrian crossing, beating the stop light before it turned green. Pero bago pa ako tuluyang makaalis may isang itim na Altis ang kamuntikang makabangga sa akin.

Nauntog pa nga ata yung babae sa manibela niya ng napaapak siya sa break at napapindot ng matagal sa busina. Is she going to ruin my ear drum? I can sue her for this! Napahampas ako sa hood niya, yung sorry na nababasa ko sa mukha niya ay napalitan ng inis. Halatang halata ko dahil hindi tinted ang windshield niya.

Pumipitada na rin ang sasakyan sa likod niya ng iniwanan ko siya at nagpatuloy sa pag-jojog. Pero hindi ko maialis sa isip ko ang itsura ng babaeng iyon. I went directly on the pent and changed to my business suit.

Pagkababa na pagkababa ko sa 16th floor sinalubong ako ng receptionists. Madami pala sila, I didn't even remember hiring too many of them. They flutter their eyes at me as they greet me with a squeal. "Good morning Mr. Ongpauco." Sabi nung isa pero hindi ko na siya nagawang sagutin. Hindi ko nga alam ang pangalan nila.

Napasimangot ako ng hindi ko nakita ang folder ng resumé sa opisina ko. Now I have to go down to the HR office. Nagulat naman silang nakita nila akong bumaba sa floor nila. I don't usually go roaming around my building.

"Where's the resumé?!" Galit na sambit ko ng nakita ko ang HR Manager ko. What's her name? Actually, now that I noticed, mukhang 80% ng nagtratrabaho sa akin ay babae.

Nataranta naman silang kunin yun at nanginginig na inabot sa akin. Agad akong umalis at nagtungo ulit sa opisina ko. Umaga pa lang badtrip na ako sa kanila.

I breathe three times before I opened the folder that is now sitting neatly on top of my mahogany desk. Alam kong hindi ako nagkakamali. I am always right about things. At alam kong siya ito.

Antoinette Louvelle Lastimosa

I grinned while I ran my fingers on my chin. "Antoinette." I love the feel of her name on my lips. I grinned again; this is the woman who almost bumped me. Hindi ako nagkakamali. "Well Antoinette, I can't wait to meet you." And then I closed her folder saka pumasok yung isa sa reception girls para tawagin ako sa meeting ko.