Wright Kind of Rome

Romina ‘Rome’ Santos’ Point of View Present Time and Date Hinilot ko ang sentido ko habang pinagmamasdan ang maraming papel sa aking mesa. These are debt collection letters. Mostly are from the finance team or department of other businesses and some of them were from different local banks. Hindi ko inakala na sobrang dami at sobrang laki ng utang ng kompanya namin, at mas lalong hindi ako makapaniwala na nagawa ni Dad na magpatalo ng ganito kalaking halaga sa casino. I just came back from Italy yesterday, the place where I peacefully lived my life for three long months. Tapos ay ito na agad ang bubungad sa akin. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang gagawin ko. Paano ko pa isasalba ang kompanya na halatang wala ng pag-asa? Ni hindi ko nga alam kung paano makakapagbayad ng utang namin. Hindi ko alam kung saan at paano magsisimula. I closed my eyes real hard out of stress, and all of the painful and harsh words that Dad threw me from before suddenly flashed at the back of my head. “You are worthless!” “Girls are good for nothing.” “Compared to your brother, you are completely nothing.” “Wala kang mararating sa buhay, Romina, kaya kung ako sa ‘yo maghanap ka na lang ng lalaking mayaman na magtatiyaga sa ka-bobo-han mo.” I sighed heavily and stared blankly on the ceiling of my office, well, this isn’t really my office. Office ito ni Kuya Aries pero nagpasya akong gamitin na muna dahil hindi pa naman siya makakabalik sa trabaho. I can’t help but to wonder why we have to keep on proving ourselves to other people who were obviously just playing blind to see our worth. Ilang beses ko na bang sinubukan? Ilang beses na ba akong hindi nagtagumpay? Ilang beses na ba akong nasaktan? Hindi ko alam. Hindi ko na rin mabilang. At hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit nandito pa rin ako hanggang ngayon, sinusubukang isalba ang kompanya naming lubog na lubog na. I also can’t help but to ask myself if why I am still doing this. Puwede namang hayaan ko na lang para hindi na ako mahirapan. Well, maybe I am only doing this to again, prove my worth to my father. That’s the only thing that I have ever wished for. I want him to see my worth. I want him to recognize my hard work. I want him to treat me equally. At bukod sa lahat, gusto kong maramdaman na may ama ako. Gusto kong maramdaman ang yakap niya, gusto kong marinig ang tanong niya kung okay lang ako, kung kumusta ang araw ko, o kung kumain na ba ako… Iyon lang. But why do I always feel like it’s too much to ask? Biglang may namuong luha sa mga mata ko nang mapagtantong imposible ang gusto kong mangyari. I have lived on their shadows for twenty two long years, and he chose not to look at me even when he had the chance. Pinunasan ko ang mga luhang pumatak mula sa mga mata ko at huminga ng malalim. Hindi ito ang tamang panahon para maging mahina. Sa tingin ko ay ito na ang tamang pagkakataon para patunayan sa kanya na kaya ko. But how will I do that? Should I start by cutting off employees? Napabuntong-hininga ako sa naisip. I don’t want to remove some employees here but I also think that it’s going to be the best first step for a new beginning. Akmang hahawakan ko na ang teleponong nasa mesa para tumawag sa HR at hingin ang listahan ng empleyado namin, maging ang performance card nila sa kompanya nang biglang bumukas ang pinto ng opisina ko. I was startled as I saw how Elliot walked his way inside with so much grace. Elliot. Ako lang ang tumatawag sa kanya no’n, ang pamilya at malalapit na kaibigan niya ay Hans ang tawag sa kanya. Prente pa siyang umupo sa silyang nasa harap ng office table ko at nagtaas ng isang kilay sa akin. Hindi ko alam kung ako lang, pero parang mas gumwapo pa siya. Baka naman nasasabi ko lang ito kasi tatlong buwan ko rin siyang hindi nakita? Ewan! He’s wearing a white long sleeve polo matched with a black slack and a top sider shoes. Naka-ulma ang kagandahan ng katawan niya sa kanyang suot. I also like his tanned-color-skin. Ang mga mata niya ay mapupungay at tila ba laging nangungusap. He also has a perfectly-shaped nose, firm jaws and cherry red lips. His hair is a little bit messy but it looks so good, it’s added to his prominent manly features. How can he possibly be this drop-dead-gorgeous? “How long will you keep on staring at me?” bigla akong bumalik sa reyalidad nang itanong niya iyon. “W-What do you need?” hindi ko alam kung bakit nautal ako nang itanong iyon. Gaga! Malamang dahil may kasalanan ka sa tao. Singhal ko sa sarili ko. “I came here to offer business,” sagot niya, nagtaas pa siya ng isang kilay at bumaba ang tingin niya sa maraming mga papel na nasa mesa ko. “What business?” tanong ko naman, ngumisi siya sa akin at hindi ko maiwasang makaramdam ng kaba dahil doon. “I’ll pay all your debts, but I’ll make SSL as my company’s offshoot. Meaning, you have to work under my supervision and do as I say,” napasinghap ako sa narinig. It actually sounds tempting, but I don’t have a good feeling about this. I mean, if I accepted his offer, then I won’t have to cut employees off. Hindi ko na rin kailangang ma-stress kakaisip kung saan kukuha ng pera na ibabayad sa mga utang namin. But I’m having a second thought because it’s just too good to be true, I’m pretty sure that he’s into something more… “A-Ano naman ang makukuha mo rito?” ang nalilitong tanong ko. “Three things,” sagot niya. “First is, I don’t have to pay a large sum for every shipping of the products that we are exporting abroad, second is, your brother is my friend, so you can just take it as if I’m helping him, and lastly, I want to get what I want,” dagdag pa niya habang nakangisi. Nalito ako sa huli niyang sinabi. Hindi ko alam ang gusto niyang iparating pero hindi ko maiwasang makaramdam ng kaba. Bukod do’n ay hindi rin ako kumbinsido sa dalawang naunang dahilan niya. “A-As long as you won’t take it personal and against me,” hindi ko alam kung bakit iyon ang naging sagot ko. Humalakhak naman siya na para bang nagpapatawa ako. “Oh, don’t worry, Miss Santos, I am professional. I won’t waste much time and energy to good-for-nothing people like you,” maanghang na sagot niya. “So tell me, why would you think that I’ll take this business personal and against you? I mean, you are not special,” nakaka-insulto pa siyang humalakhak nang idagdag iyon. Napalunok naman ako sa narinig. Damn it! His words sting a lot. I really don’t have a good feeling about this. Hindi ko rin alam kung bakit handa pa rin siyang tulungan kami pagkatapos ng ginawa ko sa kanya. But I have to swallow my pride, and if this is the only way to start anew and to prove myself to my father, then I’m willing to risk it. “Okay, I’ll ask my secretary to schedule a meeting so we can have a further discussion about the terms and agreements.” Nang magtama ang mga mata namin ay mabilis akong nag-iwas ng tingin. I hate to admit this but yeah, I missed him so much.