Five

I could not help but laugh at how I imagined Elisia’s face to be because her thoughts went like, “What in the damn hell are you doing, Leon Constantino? Oh, my Theo, I don’t know what this guy is on. I want to slash his throat.

“Stop glaring,” he said as he led our way with his free hand was like, but not really, on Elisia’s waist. “I’ll let you know once we reached our table.

“Why did you pick the farthest one?” I asked with gritted teeth.

He did not answer but carefully laid the tray down. He even pulled a chair and helped me in.

“You’re creeping me out, Mr. Constantino. Spill the beans,” I said with crossed arms.

He looked around before letting out a long sigh. “First and foremost, I want you to call me Leon for now but it’s not like what you think.

“You don’t even know what I’m thinking,” came my retort.

Just like Elisia, I’m starting to hate how he smirked at me. He leaned back in his chair then said, “That’s easy. You’re probably thinking about me setting an eye on you, sorry to end your dream, but it’s not like that.

Asdfghjkl.

I suddenly remembered the first time I got on this scene that Elisia got so mad, but all she could do was to reach her head and massage the forming creases.

“Let’s calm down. Let’s calm down,” I chanted. When she got a hold of her most calm, lowest, and slowest voice she was capable of, I said, “You know what? Fuck you.

Maybe it is not every day that Leon got sworn by someone that all he could muster up was a frowning face and, “Ha?

“Don’t play dumb or else, I’ll lose my temper,” I said, holding back my laughter while she tried to maintain her poise and composure. “I don’t like you, not even a teeny tiny bit. Now, tell me, what’s your reason for dragging me here before your face meets this tray?

“Do you want to go upstairs so you can shout at me? This version of you is scarier,” he said.

Elisia closed her eyes, then rubbed her temples harder this time. In a few seconds, she told him, “Just answer me, Leon Constantino.

“I guess we have to-”

A smack on the table interrupted his words as I said, “No.

“If you say so.” He paused and looked around once again before continuing, “You see, there is this random old hag that’s picking up on me.

I nodded for him to go on.

“I need you to stick with me,” he

“Why?!” I exclaimed.

“I don’t know. You’re the first one I saw when she came to the hall, plus it’s easy for us to be mistaken as a couple since we’re staying in the same room-”

“But we’re not!” I continued to roar that he had to put his finger on his lips to hush me down. “We’re not a couple.

“Did I say we are? Of course, we’re not. I just want to get rid of her. Don’t you think it’s,” his words fell, probably thinking if he should continue or not but did anyway, “isn’t it gross?

“I don’t know. I can’t see any point why I need to help you with that,” I replied.

Pussyfooting.

“If you don’t want it, just decline so it’ll end,” I tried to voice my thoughts but was not able to.

Leon could not make a proper response, either. He just wanted to get rid of the woman without thinking about the other party. He reasoned, “For common good?

“Common good your face. No, I’m out. It’s not my problem-”

“Hey, it’s the pretty boy. Hello, my dear!” greeted an aged lady, maybe around fifty. In the early morning, she got heavy make-up perfect for parties.

I could see how she smiled at Leon and how he tried to get away from her.

“You want to be my partner for the outdoor activity later?” I heard her asked.

“Oh, that means she’s with our group,” Elisia realized then began munching on the food. She watched how the lady opened new topics to talk to Leon while he unsuccessfully tries to get out of it.

Both of us wanted to laugh at him but held it in.

“Funny how my food suddenly tastes incredibly good,” she thought as the spoon and fork stealthily moved while taking glances at Leon and the woman.

She is having a good time until a foot kicked under the table that made her curse and their eyes focused on her.

Another smirk from Leon got her irked up as he asked, “Oh, babe, are you okay?

She glared at him but he was winking non-stop as if encouraging her to go with the flow. I wanted to burst and laugh while she said in her mind, “Duh. As if.

“Ma’am, you see I’m with my girl here,” he whispered loud enough for everybody to hear, “and I guess she’s pretty jealous right now.

“No, I’m-” was my unfinished response as the lady walked away with heavy stomps while looking daggers at me.

A familiar tune then resounded in my head as I could hear Elisia’s voice fade.

The sound continued to echo around my tiny room. With eyes closed, I searched for my phone. I swiped up but failed to turn it off so I had no choice but to look at the screen.

My lazy lids sprang in a bolt when I saw ‘Manager Poon’ flashing before me.

“Good morning,” she greeted the moment I answered it. “I called to remind you that we will be having the meeting at eight and I don’t want you to be late, Ms. Dy. Remember, this is for your promotion. We don’t want to waste all your efforts and wait for next year.

When I assured her that I’m awake and would be preparing for work soon, she ended the call.

I’m the only new hire and this would be my first appraisal meeting after completing a full year. Manager Poon is known to be strict, but I like how hands-on she is with her people that most of my teammates are top performers in the company.

My mind focused on the thought that my presentation would change my salary for next year that I had forgotten to write down the dream.

“Shoot,” I said with a groan. “I’d been a while since I had that and it’s making me feel even more queasy inside with this appraisal thing.

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