A Certain Perchance

If You Don't Want to Lose Her, Go and Get Her

If hibernation can be done in the office, it would most likely be how Cyd successfully made herself almost invisible at work for the last six working days. She was in the office but did all she could to go unnoticed, especially by a certain senior associate. She burrowed herself in the library, worked mostly in Kevin's office, volunteered to do search errands at the public library, and did just about anything possible to stay away from the office's common areas. Kevin was away, visiting his children in Singapore and thus, Cyd temporarily claimed his office as hers and did most of her thinking away from distractions. She was able to work with no interruptions while sorting her feelings out.

It was almost a week since that fateful day when she nearly barged into Ben's room and made a fool of herself. Damned that dream and herself for wandering outside the boundaries of order and reality. She had almost calmed down and just begun to feel confident that she would be able to forgive herself for her, uhm, transgression but she also knew that she had to understand why it even happened to her at all. Soon, she thought. Soon.

She was sorting out some files when she heard a soft knock on Kevin's door, and before she could even answer, she saw Caren's head peek inside.

“Girl! Been looking all morning for you. Why are you all holed up in here? Creepy."

“Creepy? It is three in the afternoon. How can you say creepy when this is the best place to be in this office? No calls, no Kevin, no interruptions whatsoever!"

Caren's face turned serious and sat down across her. She looked at Cyd's face, took both her hands, and spoke softly, “Girl, I need to tell you something. Promise me that not a word of this would come out, especially to Kevin."

Cyd searched Caren's face for any sign that she might be joking but saw that her friend was dead serious.

“Whoa, Girl! What's the matter? And yes, I promise. Not a word to anyone."

Caren leaned closer.

“I have been offered a job at Datin Junaidah's law firm, as Head of their Conveyancing Department! I'm going to have my second interview with the other partner, Josh Ong, later tonight!"

“Girl, you have not accepted the offer, right?"

“Not yet, but I'm going to!" Caren exclaimed. “This is one opportunity that I'm going to grab with both hands!"

“Oh.... I am so happy for you but gosh, just thinking about it made me miss you already!"

Caren's face went serious.

“Tonight, I will know the terms of the offer, and if nothing is out of the ordinary, then I will go for it." Caren smiled. “Sonny and I have discussed this and after seven years of working here, maybe I am ready for this change… and promotion!"

Caren laughed and Cyd joined her while feeling her sadness engulfing her. Cyd suddenly felt alone.

-----

The next day, feeling ready to burst with curiosity, Cyd went to look for Caren around the office. She wanted to know what happened during her interview the night before. Somehow, she found the thought quite depressing. She was happy for her friend and knew that whatever decision her friend makes, would be the best one with all matters taken into consideration. And yet, her heart sank at the thought of her leaving the firm.

She was deep in thought while walking when she had to stop abruptly. Standing a couple of meters away from her was Ben. Oh, shoot! She thought.

“Look who decided to come up for air," Ben drawled.

“Good morning to you too, Ben," Cyd responded, ignoring the obvious jab in his greetings.

Ben stepped closer and absentmindedly took the papers that Cyd was holding.

“When did Kevin leave for Singapore?" Ben asked while browsing through the documents he took from her.

“Monday, last week. Right after the merger's meeting."

“When is he scheduled to be back then?"

“Day after tomorrow. Uhm, did you need him for anything? You know, you could have just called him. Kevin would take a call even in the middle of the night."

Ben looked up from reading the papers, handed them back to Cyd.

“You have a minute? Can I see you in my office?

Now, what? Cyd sighed. Really? Am going back into the lion's den?

As soon as Cyd closed Ben's office door behind her, he turned around, faced her, and with obvious displeasure in his tone, began talking.

“Kevin has been gone for more than a week and like, I saw you only today. Isn't that a bit irresponsible, Cyd? You did not even share your schedule with me and I was looking for you the whole time? Do you just report to Kevin? What about me? I mean… my work, does it not matter?

Taken aback by the tone of his voice, Cyd suddenly felt that she may have taken her week of 'self-analyzation' a bit too far.

“I'm sorry, but you know that we have already started work on the merger and Kevin left instructions of what I need to do while he's out. I– I, uhm, I thought that since Jenny was around, she could attend to you while I was getting the documents ready for Kevin's return. Uhm, was there a problem with Jenny? Or Lily?"

Ben tried to take a step closer to Cyd but stopped as if he changed his mind and instead, went around his table and sat down. He tried to massage his neck and ended up scratching the back of his head.

“Cyd, look… can we agree that moving forward, you need to let me know where you are and the work that you're doing. I do not need to worry about you on top of the other things that I am doing, right? Can we agree on this, please?

Cyd nodded slowly as if she understood what he just said but at the same time, totally confused with what she just heard.

“Like I need to report to you as well, besides Kevin?"

“Like, I just need to know where you are and what you're doing. I mean, what you're currently working on. And if that sounded like I need you to report to me as well, then yes, let's do that. I want you to report to me the same way you do with Kevin."

"I don't report everything I do with Kevin; you know." Cyd slowly muttered.

Ben was holding a pen but he threw it down at the desk, indicating his frustration at her response.

“I don't care. I just need to know where you are without the need to wait for a week before you'd decide to show up. I don't care if that is not how you work things out with Kevin. This is how I want things to work between us."

-----

“Were you even listening to me, Girl?" Caren's excited voice cut through Cyd's thoughts.

Ben's words were still ringing in her mind and though she can't seem to wrap her head around it, she was not able to shake it out of her mind… and heart.

“Of course, I was… when would you be signing your contract with Datin, then?"

“Thursday evening, right after work." Caren stopped, shivering with excitement but turned pensive and lowered her voice a bit.

“Well, actually, it's a promotion because I will be head of the Conveyancing Department, but the salary adjustment is not that great. It's only a few hundred dollars more than what I'm currently getting here." Caren paused, obviously disappointed but quickly regained her optimism.

“And this is exactly what you want, right? You're looking forward to this big move, right?"

Caren nodded vigorously.

"Girl, am happy for you but when are you planning on telling Kevin and everyone about it? Kevin is going to be heartbroken; you know."

“I know. Honestly, I feel that this firm has seen me evolved so many times that I am a completely different person from when I first came on board seven years ago. And now, I feel that leaving WALP is going to be painful as well."

Cyd went over and hugged her friend.

“It's going to be okay, Girl. We'll do just fine and you're going to wow them there!"

Cyd closed her eyes, hoping that she could also believe what she told Caren, that she would be just fine without her.

-----

Thursday morning and all signs showed that things were back to normal. Kevin was back in his office and Cyd was back in hers.

It was also the day Caren was scheduled to sign her employment contract with the other firm. She noticed that Caren was dressed in a business suit and had long hair tied in a bun. They exchanged secret winks whenever their paths crossed.

She's not just going to wow them over there. Cyd thought with a smile. Caren is going to dominate over them mere mortals there!

Later, just before 5 pm, Caren sent her a text saying that she would go ahead and just update her later after the contract signing.

Cyd sighed. Go get them, Girl!

Later after office hours, Cyd walked into Kevin's room with the files that he requested. He was so engrossed in his reading that he did not even look up when she walked in. Cyd then noticed the pewter plaque where the words 'Best Lawyer Ever, Kevin Chan! from the Partners and Staff of Winicker, Ayliff, Loh and Partners, 2001' was inscribed, sitting proudly on the table behind him.

She heard that the plaque was a birthday gift to Kevin, years before Cyd joined the firm. Kevin would fondly tell the story to anyone who would comment on the plaque. It was that day that everyone came to his office and greeted him. He would add to his story that it was Caren who organized the whole shenanigan.

Cyd remembered that Kevin told her once that he would accept a letter of resignation from anyone who would want to leave the firm, regardless of whether that person's departure would cost them an arm and a leg. That he would never stop anyone from leaving. Ever.

But what if he gets to know that someone is leaving even before the letter of resignation is submitted? What if that person's departure is going to cost more than an arm and a leg? Would that person be worth fighting for?

She looked at the plaque again, made a quick decision, and cleared her throat.

“Ahem. Uhm, Kevin?"

Kevin stopped reading and looked at her.

“I'd be damned for what I'm going to say next, but as we speak, Caren is about to accept and sign an offer from Datin Junaidah's firm." Cyd's throat went dry but she continued, “You told me once that Caren is the very core of the Conveyancing Department and that this firm cannot afford to lose her."

Kevin slowly stood up.

“You don't have much time. If you don't want to lose her, go and get her… now."

Kevin took his phone and started walking towards the door. Cyd moved to the side to allow Kevin to pass. They looked at each other silently and Kevin was gone, almost running towards the lift.

Cyd leaned against the door as she suddenly felt her knees wobbling. Her last thought before she left the office that night – 'Hell of a price to pay later, but definitely worth it!'