"boss"

come in.

"here."

what's this?

he flipped thru the folder that leo handed.

"pwede ka ng makahinga ng maluwag"

when did this happen?

"yesterday night. he's still lucky they only found 2.8 grams of cocaine which means life imprisonment. more than 3grams, dude that's death penalty in singapore"

i thought he's in malaysia?

"arrival in malaysia departing in singapore. base on the report, he's part of a drug organization, he's under surveillance before you put an eye on him, he's under the watchlist for six months already medyo madulas lang daw. they just got fortunate last night, he probably might have forgotten that he has spare. luck is indeed on your part."

she's safe.

"yes boss, she is. now let's go to the other conflict"

his forehead creased.

and that would be what?

"might want to switch with WHO boss"

huh? 

"bianca."

she would never be a conflict.

"the property?" leo continued

i told you to cancel it. kung hindi ko pwedeng isama si nico sa meeting wala na tayong pag-uusapan. is that it?

"rj, we know how important that property is to you"

nothing's more important to me than nico. end of discussion

"boss hindi yun ang ibig kong sabihin. i think fren— YOUR french fries would agree how significant that property is to you."

so pumayag ba si bianca for a meeting with me and my future wife?

"i already rai— wait— what? teka lang boss, future wife?" he just wanna make sure he heard him correctly

you heard it. i proposed she said yes. so i think i can claim that she's now future mrs. faulkerson.

"bago ako magpatuloy boss, congratulations dude! tangna! finally may babae ring nakasungkit ng apelyido mo!"

leo reached out and shook his boss's hand then tapped his shoulder.

thanks man. i would beg for her to accept my last name if i have to.

"kingina ka boss! daig mo pa yung teenager. but still i'm happy for you both."

thanks

"ano pwede na tayo dun sa isang agenda natin?"

go ahead. did she agree?

"i told her you're only interested for a business meet and that you are bringing along your significant other. hindi ko kasi sigurado if i can disclose maine's identity."

that's fine. go on.

"she said she'll agree to set the meeting with you only. so after we talked i told her you canceled. assumption lang boss, i can tell she was shocked when you canceled. she offered an alternative though"

which is?

"either me or je can go with you."

still a no.

"consider this, let's meet her at lunch today. five minutes, kung talagang hindi ka komportable we'll
go"

i need nico to know

"she trusts you" leo rebutted

and i'm not going to compromise that

"you'll not. trust me. not as your executive committee but as your friend. i got you both, hindi ko to gagawin kung maaagrabyado si french fries MO"

why are you pushing with this. i can let it go. but not nico

"boss i've seen how it went the last time you tried to buy that property. makabawi man lang ako sa init ng ulo mo at sa ginawa nya sa atin nung mukha tayong tanga na naghahabol sa kanya para lang mabili natin yung bahay. tangna boss, i never saw you that frustrated and disappointed."

he sighed. leo's right, that property became his solace when everything around him was in chaos. yung pagdesign ng bahay na yun ang dahilan kung bakit nalampasan nya yung pinakamadilim na parte ng buhay nya. he would never stand down... but he would gladly send the white flag if it will cause him his future wife.

i get your point. lunch today. somewhere near.  five minutes. that's what i can give.

"done. i'll set up the meeting."

i'll just call nico...

^^^^^^^

on the other side of the building...

       calling.... 💞 my nuggets 💞

hey handsome

tagal ka pa love?

yun na nga po. pwede po ba na sumama kay cleng? may meeting ka naman di ba? please po?

ahmm... ok lang naman love but i—

yeeyy!! ang bait talaga ng nuggets ko. o sige na go on with your meeting. i love you.

i love you. ahmm love one mo—

let's talk later ha sasamahan ko lang magpalit ng damit si cleng. love you love you love you love you! bye!

she looked at the two pairs of eyes looking at her accussingly with raised eyebrows when she ended the call

what?!?!?!

"i saw what you did there - talaga ba french fries? magpapalit ng damit? layout na po ito wala pong pictorial. hmmmm.... and lunch????"

ahmm... yep lunch tayo ulit. my treat.

"ah teka lang french fries, bakit ba kasi ayaw mong samahan si boss na makipagkita sa ex nya? paki-explain" tanong ni je.

she sighed, because i know how important that property is to him. at alam ko na he would give up everything for me. and believe me i would do the same, but i want him to fight for what is rightfully his.

"so pababayaan mo na sila lang dalawa ni rj ang mag-usap? kasi ayaw makipag-meeting ni bianca na kasama ka?" chloe asked

she nodded

"at kaya ka nagdahilan kay boss para mapilitan siya na pumunta sa meeting para mabili nya yung property?" paglilinaw ni je

she nodded again

"girl, clearly may intensyon si bianca kay rj. o ngayon pano ku—"

may tiwala ako kay nuggets. i know he'll not allow things to go out of hand. mahal ako ni jay then she moved to raise her hand

"OH MY GAHD!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!" at niyakap siya ni chloe

"kaya naman pala humindi ka sa girlfriend eh! nyemes ang bilis ni faulkerson ah! pa-misis na agad! congrats french fries!" bati naman ni jerome

thank you guys. but just so you know, we'll be at the side lines

"huh? what do you mean?" tanong ni chloe

let's just say, if bianca does something that may be out of proportion, she'll have a better understanding of newton's third law of motion then she smirked while chloe giggled

"teka, cleng mahina ako sa physics, please expound" baling ni je kay chloe

"for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" chloe said while grinning at maine. she gets it. girls...

"at dahil mahina din ako sa english, sige basta support lang din ako" je just agreed

je, mamaya magte-text sayo si leo kung saan sila magmi-meeting. dun tayo magla-lumch

"got it. uhhmmm.... matanong lang ha may aawatin ba akong cat fight?" kinakabahang tanong ni je

"oh no je" chloe answered with a sly smile plastered on her lips, "i guess it's best to call it - a confrontation between two blonde Valkryies" then maine and chloe hi-fived

once again, the gentleman in the room was lost, nagkamot na lang ito ng ulo

"mas lalong hindi ko na-gets"

ahhhmmm how about this - patriarchal attempts to undermine female bonds

"i give up... basta suporta na lang ako sa gilid" pahayag ni je

nagtawanan naman ang dalawang dalaga. on maine's mind, she'll give the girl the benefit of the doubt BUT if bianca crosses the line, she can replace the notion of 'sisterhood' with competitive individualism...

^^^^^^^^^

inside rj's office...

leo sent a quick message to je about the location of the meeting. when he got a confirmation that they're on their way he asked his boss to prepare to leave.

"boss, let's go"

leo, sigurado ka ba dito? hindi ako nakapagpaalam sa magiging misis ko. wag na lang kaya

"boss konti na lang lalagyan na kita ng logo dyan sa baba ng CEO title mo, Coward Engaged Officer" sabay tawa nito

GAGO! ayoko lang bigyan si nico ng rason para tanggihan yung apelyido ko! singhal nito sa kaibigan

"boss tangina! ang keso mo dun ah! pero sa tingin mo ba papayag ako na mangyari yun? boss tiwala lang oh"

he still hesitated. but seeing the sincere look on his friend's face, he knew he can trust him.

leo handed over his phone to his boss where a call was already initiated

"hello?"

bianca, it's rj. we're on our way to giovanni's...

***********