That One Match

Chapter 01

Fuck, I am late for today's meeting.

Sa lahat ba naman na araw ay ngayon pa talaga? The company I'm working at is known as one of the emerging tech companies in the Philippines. Pagmamay-ari ito ng byudang si Ma'am Fany and guess what, I am her secretary for almost five years.

Hindi ko naman masasabing naging madali lang ang pagiging parte ko ng kompanya niya dahil kilala nya ang pamilya ko. Well, I hate to share this with people but I may have my surname ... parte man ako ng mayamang pamilya pero I don't belong to the family anymore. I did something terrible when I graduated college and guess what, I kicked myself out of the house.

Anyway ..

Today marked the first official meeting of the company with the biggest company in the Philippines, ang kompanyang pagmamay-ari ng mga Alfonzo. The family owns a lot of buildings and lands in Luzon and Mindanao. Sa Visayas naman, mayroon din pero mas tanyag ang kanilang pangalan sa Luz-Min.

"Nandyan na ba ang mga Alfonzo?" I asked one of the staffs when I reached the top floor.

"Nasa conference room na. Oh eto, ikaw na magdala nito. Inutos yan ni madam."

I took the tray of coffee from her and made my way to the conference room.

Nagtatawanan sina Ma'am at Mr. Ruben Alfonzo nang pumasok ako. I greeted them and they smiled back at me.

"Ruben, this is my secretary." pagpapakilala ni Ma'am Fany. I extended my hand for a shake.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, sir. I'm Pentaliticia."

He was nice. For a business man of his age, he looked so prim and still oozing with appeal. Magkapareho sila ng awrahan ni ma'am Fany.

Sabagay, age is just a number. Hindi lang naman edad ang nagsasabi ng awrahan eh. Kung bata ka at di ka marunong umayos, magmumukha kang matanda. The same goes when you're old pero marunong kang magpaganda, you will look younger. 

My boss and Mr. Alfonzo may be older than I am but if you look at them, parang nasa 30's lang sila.

Before the meeting started, he introduced me to his secretary. We exchanged contacts for future purposes which is beneficial for both parties. We did some casual conversation until we decided to start our meeting's agenda. 

Our bosses talked about the investment of the Alfonzo's in our company. It's like a merging. Parehong magbe-benepisyo sa dalawang kompanya.

Our company will provide systems and gadgets that they need and in return, they will invest on us and be our partner.

Hindi naman naging 50-50 pa ang deal na ito dahil mukhang nagkakaintindihan naman sina Ma'am Fany at sir Ruben.

Everything went smoothly with all the procedures done. Naging abala kami sa Tech-Com for two months para sa parating na big day. Kaliwa't-kanan ang mga conferences na dinaluhan ko kasama si Ma'am Fany. Sobrang naging busy man pero lahat ay natapos ng matagumpay.

Not until I realized something fishy about my boss and sir Ruben.

Nang palapit na ang okasyon para sa pormal na pagsarado ng deal ay hindi sinasadyang nadatnan ko ang dalawa sa opisina ng aking boss.

It's a disgusting scene for me kasi alam ko na pamilyadong tao si Sir Ruben and although my boss is a widow, she has her son and daughter.

I wanted to keep the secret a secret forever— tipong hindi ko ipapaalam kay Ma'am Fany na nahuli ko sila but she already found out.