"What's my schedule for today, Mherlyn?" tanong ko sa assistant ko habang abala sa pag-iscroll sa phone ko.
Nakita ko siyang napaayos ng upo sa gilid ng mata ko. She then adjusted her circular eyeglasses at tiningnan ang dalang tablet. "You will present your design proposal at ten this morning with the board, ma'am. You will also meet a client at six in the evening, and a dinner date with Mr. Chavez."
I stopped scrolling to look at her. "That's all?" tanong ko. Tumango siya kaya binigyan ko siya ng maliit na ngiti at bumalik sa ginagawa.
Not a moment later, nakarating rin kami sa kompanyang pinagtatrabahuan ko. Nang pagbuksan ako ni manong driver ng pinto ay lumabas na ako sa kotse. I flipped my long, straight hair and adjusted my wayfarer before strolling my way inside with Mherlyn tailing me.
I was greeted by the employees and my team. Binigyan ko lang sila ng tipid na ngiti bago tumuloy sa opisina. Tinanggal ko ang suot na wayfarer at inilagay iyon sa table. Binalingan ko ng tingin si Mherlyn na ngayon ay naghihintay lang kung anong iuutos ko.
"I want a coffee and please tell Cedric to come in my office," I told her as I dropped myself on the swiveling chair. Kaagad naman siyang nagpaalam upang sundin ang pinagawa ko sa kaniya.
Mayamaya pa ay dumating din si Cedric. Dala niya ang mga papel na naglalaman ng designs na ipe-present namin sa board mamaya.
"Did you check everything, Ced?" I asked him as I accepted the papers and began flipping the pages.
"Yes, Architect. Naayos na rin po ng team ang mga pinoint niyo na dapat ayusin."
Pansamantala kong itinigil ang pagchecheck sa mga designs upang bigyan siya ng ngiti. "Thank you so much, you can now leave. Please tell the team to prepare for the presentation, later."
"Yes, Architect. Excuse me."
Pagkaalis niya ay itinuloy ko ang pagrere-check sa mga designs namin. Sinigurado kong wala nang mali sa mga iyon. Our company's now working on a big project and it will be an honor kung ang team namin ang mapipili na magdedesign nun.
"Impressive presentation, Architect Samonte. Wow. And your designs were great. Deserve niyo talagang mapili ng board." The man in his mid-twenties smiled at me. "I'm looking forward to working with you. I'm Engineer Manase, by the way. I'm the Engineer in charge of this project."
I accepted his hand for a handshake. "Thank you so much, Engineer. I'm looking forward to working with you, too. I would love to have a chat but..." I gave him an apologetic smile as I looked at my team who's now standing at the door, patiently waiting for me.
"Oh, of course." He chuckled. "A successful presentation calls for a celebration. See you around, Miss Samonte."
Pagkaalis ni Engineer Manase ay siya ring pagdumog sa akin ng team ko. They were happy, ofcourse. We all worked hard for it and we got the project.
To celebrate our team's success, I treated them to lunch outside. They decided to drink and they even asked me to take a shot but I declined since I'll be meeting a client later.
It was nearly five when I told them I'm going home first. Maliligo pa kasi ako para sa kikitain kong kliyente mamaya. Hindi naman na nila ako pinigilan. When I got home, I saw Lukas with his friends at the living room. They were practicing again.
"Lukas," I greeted my younger brother who gave me a small nod but didn't say anything. Patuloy lang siya sa pag-strum sa guitar niya. He's twelve now and he grew up silent and distant. We seldom talk kahit na nasa iisang bahay lang kami. Kahit kay Kuya ay ilag siya.
