The Blind Young Master [Published under PopFiction]

Kabanata 7

"Ela...hey Ela. Are you still here?" Binawi ko ang pagkakatitig ko kay Gael. I really hope he didn't realize it was me he's staring at, because if that's the case I'll be forced to talk to him and ask him a favor not to reveal my real identity.

"Yes po Young Master Dric." Bumuntong hininga ako at tinuon ang tingin kay Dric.

"Follow me then to my office." Tumango ako. Napahanga ako nang hindi niya kinailangan ng gabay ko patungo sa kanyang office.

I look around at his office. It's a simple black and white interior design. Every detail of the office tells that a powerful man is owning it. "I need you to check all the files on my table." Mabilisan akong tumungo sa kanyang table. There were over 10 folders on his table.

"I'm sure you know your work already." Aniya. Medyo kabado ako dahil sobrang naging formal ngayon si Dric. I mean he's always formal but not this formal, you might think he isn't blind the way he stands and speaks to me right now.

"The first folder was about the new logo of ViC for it's 100th anniversary." Naglakad siya palapit sa kanyang table kaya naman ay inilapit ko ang swivel chair sa kanya.

"Thanks." Aniya. "What about the new logo?" Nakakunot ang noo niya.

"The first logo, looks like the old one Young Master, they only added up a crown over the lion and tiger's head." Natigilan ako nang mag-angat ito ng tingin sa akin. For some reason I feel like I'm the only he's looking at whenever he does this, kahit hindi niya naman talaga ako nakikita.

Napalunok ako, tsaka inayos ang salamin ko, hindi pa rin talaga ako sanay magsuot ng salamin. "So what does it represents?"

"It says here that, since it's the company's 100th anniversary, it's like ViC is conquering the whole country by being the Kings as it was symbolized by the Lion and the Tiger. Lion for leadership and Tiger for power." Pinatong niya ang kanyang baba sa kanyang palad. Nakikinig sa sinasabi ko.

"I like your voice. It seems like you've studied English language back then, so well." Napakagat ako ng ibabang labi ko.

"Young Master yung logo po." Pagbabalik ko sa usapan namin. Sumenyas siyang ipagpatuloy ko. "The other logo is they turned it into gold, from silver to gold. The third one was the lion's and tiger's head had one body."

"What about this kind of logo? Hmm... Since it's the 100th anniversary of ViC, let's have the lion's and tiger's head in one body, in gold. Still, the lion symbolizes leadership and tiger symbolizes power. The crown will be shared by both lion's and tiger's head as a sign of cooperation and unity." Habang tuloy-tuloy siyang nagsasalita ay hindi ko maiwasang hindi humanga nang sobra sa kanya.

"We're going to build a new whole face for ViC for it's 100th anniversary." Ngumiti ito.

"Noted po Young Master." I typed all his ideas in the laptop. "Next folder po?" Tumango siya. Pinasok ko muna sa kanyang drawer ang folder para sa logo.

"The second folder was about the 5-star hotel that ViC is planning to open." Natigilan ako nang makita kung sino ang head engineer nito. Written in bold letters was Eng. Gael Santos. "Hmm...ano po..." Napakunot ng noo si Dric sa akin. "Sorry po, nagulat lang ako na pati 5-star hotel ay kasali sa ViC plans. Nasanay lang po ako na tungkol ito sa food and beverages."

"We need to expand Ela. On our 50th anniversary, the ViC hospital was open to public. We know it's a very rare case to have ViC plan a hospital. How could a food and beverage corporation actually run a hospital? We're gonna lose it, but we proved them wrong. We can't just stay not growing at all." Aniya.

"So what about the 5-star hotel?" Mabilisan kong binasa ang tungkol dito.

"It was signed by Mr. Villangco already." Marahan niyang pinadaan ang kanyang daliri sa kanyang ibabang labi. It's like he's thinking so deep. "Sign niyo na lang po Young Master ang kulang."