"good morning, boss and good morning to the boss of my boss" je greeted the couple who just came in with intertwined hands.

good morning, je. she greeted back but when jay didn't respond, she gave her a slight tug on his side.

uhmm... hey good morning dude

"hmm rewind muna. boss, nag-greet back ka ba talaga?" panunukso ni je.

batukan kita eh

"ay ms. maine oh, narinig mo yun? napaka-bayolente ni nuggets oh"

hayaan mo na je. mainit lang ang ulo. tsaka di ka nag-iisa pati sa kin masungit yan. she whispered to his friend

"naku ms. maine anyare? tsaka sayo talaga magsusungit? di naman ako maniniwala dun" anas ni je

in case you don't realize, i'm hearing you both. and love, hindi naman talaga kita sinusungitan. i'm just taking necessary pre-caution kaya isinama kita dito. kung inayos ba naman kasi ni je yang meeting na yan dati di sana it won't be necessary for me to attend this one. singal nito sa kaibigan

"bakit ako? di ba si leo dapat ang naghahandle ng schedule mo? boss naman... bakit ako damay?" reklamo ni je.

kasi kung inayos mo yung presentation mo hindi na sila magrere—

hep! tama na po... nuggets, i won't argue anymore, sumama na nga ako oh... wag mo ng idamay si je and wag na po mainit ang ulo mo. please?

one plea and one touch of her hand on his face, that's all there is to calm him down. he heaved a deep sigh then held her hand and kissed her forehead.

hindi na. ok na po. ayoko lang naman kasi na iwan ka mag-isa sa condo. i'm not going to take any chances risking your safety.

ok na po. nandito na ko oh. gusto mo ba i-handcuff mo pa ko sa sleeves ng polo mo?

"ay naku! gusto mo ba talagang malaman ang sagot ms. mai— ARRAYY!!! faulkerson nakakarami ka na ah!" je complained

maka-aray! ballpen lang binato ko sayo ang arte mo ha!

"boss ballpen nga lang mont blanc naman! ang bigat oh! bakal yan eh!" reklamo ni jerome

bahala ka sa buhay mo! love, halika na, sa office ka na lang muna. you can do your proofreading there, isang meeting lang naman kailangan ko tapusin eh although, after lunch pa ako matatapos. gusto mo papadeliver na lang ako ng lunch mo?

nuggets pwede bang si je na lang kasama ko mag-lunch mamaya?

oo naman. oi je, samahan mo si french fries maglunch ha?

"ay boss yan di mo na kailangan iutos. kasama si nuel at cleng, ok lang ba?"

love ok lang ba sayo?

oo naman, kilala ko naman si nuel eh.

"ay ms. maine si cleng, girlfriend ni nuel, mabait yun, magkakasundo kayo"

ok lang je, as long as ok sa kanya

that's settled then. je, kung saan gustong kumain ng mahal ko bahala ka na ha

"ay boss basta may basbas mo sa corporate card nanginginig pa! kahit nga sa france pa gustuhin ni ms. maine maglunch eh, sigurado ako aprub!" je teased

ewan ko nga sayo! basta siguraduhin mo lang na sakin na ang mahal ko by dinner.

at nakuha pa talagang ngumiti ng nakakaloko ng mokong

nuuggeeettsss!!! nakakahiya!!! ano ba!!!!

"boss ang harot mo sa part na yun ah!"

mahal ko eh bakit ba!

"kingina ka faulkerson ang landi mo!!! malala ka na. bawasan mo katamisan mo baka maumay sayo si french fries"

ANO?!

"MO boss! sumisingit ka kasi agad eh FRENCH FRIES MO boss rj. paka-possessive!" reklamo ni je

sorry je, i have sweet tooth

"ay iba! eh di kayo na ang may masaganang love life! ako na ang inggit! umalis na nga kayo nang-aano kayo eh!"

sige na. office lang kami. pagdating pala ni leo, sabihin mo kelangan ko na yung list of properties na pinapaasikaso ko sa kanya.

"yes boss! tsaka boss si bert na pala bahala dun sa IDR corp. nakausap na daw nya yung COO"

that's good.

"ahm ms. maine, coffee po?" alok ni je sa dalaga

ako na lang je, may pantry naman si jay sa office nya. ako na rin gagawa ng coffee nya. salamat

"haayyy.... sana araw-araw ka nandito, ms. maine"

mukha ngang ganun ang mangyayari, je. sabay ngisi nito sa kaibigan.

love let's go. i'm dying for that coffee.

"hoooooh! style mo faulkerson! gusto mo lang masolo si ms. maine eh. wag ka nga!"

and so? hindi naman siguro masama kung gustuhin kong masolo ang mahal ko di ba?

"naaakkksss! ang tapang na ah! samantalang dati ni ayaw umamin!" panunukso pa ni je

huy tama na yan je, baka mapikon na naman ang baby boy ko

he saw richard grinned at him. oh well, his boss is really in deep.

"ay woooowww! iba yung baby boy ha! ang keso! pero sige na carry on lovebirds! ms. maine dial mo na lang extension ko pag gutom ka na ha"

sige je, tawagan na lang kita

he was grinning from ear to ear looking at the lovely couple. he has never seen his boss/friend this happy. he has never seen him hold a girl's hand as sweet as this. he has never seen him smile with twinkle in his eyes. he knew from the start she's different. even when rj told them they were just pretending, all of them concluded his was never a pretention. he's deeply inlove with her. and they will always be grateful that maine came in. for all that rj went thru in life, he deserved this kind of happiness. they both do...

^^^^^^^^^

how's your coffee?

dito ka na lang araw-araw

he said this while pulling her hand so she gets to sit in his lap

hay naku nuggets! para-paraan ka eh

not really. at least until we have a concrete proof na lulubayan ka na ni lukas.

i'm sorry...

hey... wala kang kasalanan. ayoko lang maulit yung nangyari.

i've been drawing you to a lot of trouble, am i?

i'd be willing to go thru all those troubles basta nandito ka. if chaos means i can be with you i'd love to be part of that disaster, basta magkasama tayo. i love you

i love you. what did i ever do to deserve you?

the question goes to me, love.

she kissed him sweetly. then wrapped her hands on his shoulders while his hands snaked on her waist. they were at that moment when his office door opened

"oh shit! sorry boss!!!"

she immediately disentangled herself and stood behind his swivel chair that caused him to grunt.

really leo? you don't know how to knock?

"boss sorry. french frie— ms. maine. ms. maine, sorry" leo, his long time executive committee apologized

that's ok. nagulat lang din.

jay stood up and guided nico to sit on his chair instead.

what brought you here leo?

"sabi mo daw kasi kay je, i need to bring the listing asap, here you go. shorlisted ko na yan"

he flipped the pages that leo brought. and stopped at one particular page.

leo, tell me, am i seeing this property for real?

"fourth page? yep! re-opened listing. sabi ko na interesado ka pa rin eh"

did you contact the broker?

"that's the only problem, boss" leo eyed rj, as if asking permission if he could continue.

what's the problem? is it the bid?

"not exactly, boss, they don't have a broker." he told his boss which seemed to get what he is trying to say

set up an appointment

"are you sure?"

very. nico's coming with me.

"aahhh... i see. got it boss. i'll send you the details once i get a confirmation"

thanks leo.

"welcome boss. fren— ahmm, ms. maine, i'll go ahead. again sorry for the interruption. but fair warning, as a friend, next time, you two please naman proceed with caution. atat lang sa momol? sara-sara din ng pinto pag may time" leo chuckled while closing the door which made the couple blush

nuggets... kalma muna tayo ha. nakakahiya sa mga kaibigan mo

he leaned his face to hers and kissed her ear.

not gonna happen. first, i can't get enough of you. second, i'm still the owner & CEO. so practically, sila ang mag-adjust. he said with finality then captured her lips and continued what leo interrupted.

                                 *****************