Chapter 12

I met Sir Kartik and he was so nice to me. In-introduce niya rin ako sa iba naming colleague. Kabang-kaba naman ako dahil hindi ko sigurado kung anong magiging perception nila sa akin. So far, sa lahat ng mga nakilala ko ay wala naman ang binigyan ako ng masamang tingin. All of them were good. I hope not to meet someone who would just get on my way and make my dreams shattered into pieces.

"So, tell me, how was the few hours of your first day?" Raj asked.

Obviously, we both got lunch together. Kasama sana namin ang ilan sa mga katrabaho niya, but he opted to have his lunch time with me. Sinabi ko pa sa kanya na hindi naman niya ako kailangan samahan, but he knew making friends around would be a little hard for me, especially for someone who's starting to work here. Niyaya rin naman ako ng mga ka-teammate ko, pero nauna akong imbitahin ni Raj kaya sa kanya ako unang pumayag.

"It was good. I had a good first meeting with my supervisor. He was nice and approachable. He told me why I applied to this company where I can use most of my knowledge with my degree in pharmacy. Though I took no offense since there was stigma with my role so I understand where he was coming from, but getting a job in a corporate setup was best for me."

"Hm. . . I see. Sometimes, Kartik was brutally honest with his words so you have to prepare yourself for whatever he would say to you," he reminded. "I think the last team member he had resigned because of him. Though he was nice, just at some point, he could get bossy and annoying. We all do. This is corporate. We would be annoying at some point."

"Yeah, he can match my mood so whatever."

"Also, I got news from my manager. The summit leadership in Chennai would happen in the next two days. I don't think I could get you to come with me. Since you're not under my team, it would be hard to get Kartik's approval, but if he decided for you to get a long with me, it would be so much cool."

"It's okay if I couldn't come," I told him. "What matters to me now is I've got work and I will do my job first."

"Sure. . ." tipid nitong sagot at kumain sa chicken fillet niyang lunch. "Anyway, one more thing. I'm sorry if I'm putting you into a lot of situations, but I hope you got to keep up because I'll tell you, everything here comes like a flash so don't walk, just run."

I didn't get what he said kaya tumango na lang din ako. Pinagpatuloy ko na lang din ang kinakain ko.

"I didn't get to my point, did I?" he realized, chuckling. "Well, my father wanted us to have dinner with them tonight. They want to meet you formally. Is it okay with you?"

Kinuha ko ang baso ng tubig at saka uminom. Tuluyan ko namang ininom ang tubig at bumaba ang nakabarang chicken fillet sa lalamunan ko.

"I'm okay with it. . . Will they question me or what?"

"Probably," he answered. "We'll talk about it later. We just have to make sure that we will be aligned to whatever we would say to them. I can't let them know that you're not really my wife—not even a girlfriend."

"If you don't mind me asking. . ."

"Yes?"

"Why do we have to pretend at all? Was it just because you don't like to get married with Noor or there's more to that?"

"Nah, I just don't want to get married yet," he said, plainly answering my curiosity, but didn't satisfy me. I wanted to follow up on another question, but it seemed like he wasn't interested in giving me more substantial information and he was only telling me what he wanted to tell me.

If this fake marriage wouldn't set me up into bad light, okay lang para sa akin. Walang problema. Sumasahod pa ako sa kanyang monthly for doing this pretending. At the end of the day, sumunod lang din naman ako sa kagustuhan niya. There should be no attachment or anything. Kahit crush ko si Raj, I don't think we'll ever be in that situation in real life. Malayong mangyari.

Nang matapos kaming kumain ay nilapitan kami ng mga katrabaho ni Raj. He introduced me to them. Nang mapansin nila ang singing na suot naming dalawa ay nagulat sila sa nalaman nila. It wasn't known that Raj and I faked a marriage so it was a surprised for everyone who got to discover it. Hindi naman namin ipinamumukha sa kanila dahil ayaw namin maging over portrayal na ang ginagawa namin.

Raj and I thought they believed in it. At that point, we knew his plan worked out perfectly, pero hindi lang namin sigurado kung magwowork din iyon kapag kaharap na namin ang parents niya.

Pagkabalik namin sa aming mga desk, ilang saglit lang ay tinawag ako ni Sir Kartik. I was so worried when he called me up. Wala akong ideya kung para saan iyon. I only think in a way na may gusto siyang ipagawa sa akin. Feeling ko tuloy ay intern niya lang ako rito, but doing this was enough for me imbis na wala akong trabaho.

"I have to tell you something interesting," he started. Kinakabahan pa rin ako kahit na ang ganda ng mga ngiti niya sa akin. "There will be a leadership event happening on Wednesday in Chennai and I'll be going there. I want you to come with me so you can immerse yourself in these events. Are you free to join us this Wednesday until Friday?"

Nang maalala ko ang sinabi ni Raj na mahihirapan siyang maisama ako ay hindi na niya kailangang gawin 'yon. Kartik was already offering it to me.

Dali-dali rin naman akong tumango. "Yes, sir. I'm free and I would love to come with you."

"Alright! That's good. I'm excited for you. I will just connect with HR so they can expedite your itinerary as well."

"Thank you, sir. . . Is there anything I can do for now?"

"Nothing yet," he said. "I will let you know. This is your first day, Miss Rashmi. Don't stress yourself out."

I smiled, nodding my head confidently. "Alright, sir. Thank you. . ."

When I left his desk, I was pretty relieved about it. Agad-agad ko rin namang tinext si Raj sa ibinalita sa akin ni Kartik dahil alam kong sabik na sabik din 'yong malaman ang pagsama ko sa Chennai. I would want to make it a surprise for him, but it would somehow stress him out kaya sinabi ko na rin nang maaga.

He couldn't help himself. Tuwang-tuwa naman siya kaya ngayon ay isang bagay na inaalala niya.

The only thing I wished for was to have a situation where I didn't have to pit myself on both sides. Nasa neutral lang dapat ako at walang pinapanigan. When I delivered to my parents about the good news I received ay gusto ko lang ipagpatuloy iyon. If all things come down the line, I'm not sure how can I make it, but for now, I'll do what I can to make myself happy and beyond.

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