Sumandal si Vince sa upuan at saka tumingin sa suot na relo. Mag-aalas dose na pala. He intertwined his hands at his nape and stared at the ceiling. Saka siya bumuntong-hininga.

"I'd rather not talk about it," was her answer to his question earlier. Moira quickly changed the topic. He knew that it made her uncomfortable, kaya hindi na niya ito pinilit pa. Lampas alas nwebe nang bumalik sila kanina sa office. Marami pa ring tao, so wala silang choice kundi pumila ulit.

Fortunately, their morning was off to a lazy start. Walang masyadong ginagawa ng umaga. All he needs to do is to prepare for the presentation with the board the next day. Nakakalahati pa lamang siya roon dahil nasa bahay siya nina Red during the weekend. Kylie made it hard for him to focus on work.

Idagdag pa ang walang habas na pangungulit ng mag-asawa sa kanya tungkol kay Moira, muntik na siyang walang magawa. Kinailangan pa niyang magpuyat para may matapos man lang. Pero sobrang dami ng reports na kailangang i-summarize at gawan ng slideshow. He gave Moira the task to make the presentation habang siya naman ay paunti-unting sini-send dito ang summarized reports na kailangang ilagay doon.

Nagpa-order na lang sila ng lunch since sira pa rin ang elevator at hindi rin naman sila makatayo sa dami ng ginagawa.

Kahit abala ay hindi pa rin niya maiwasang isipin yung muntik nang mangyari noong isang linggo. Ano nga kaya ang mangyayari sa kanila ngayon if they kissed that night? He'll never know now. All he could do is wonder because he didn't take that chance.

--

Moira was still embarrassed about it. She was embarrassed how she made it known that she wants to be kissed and that it almost happened, but it didn't. Kung alam lang naman niyang ganoon ang mangyayari, e di sana hindi na lang siya nagsalita.

When Vince ordered food, inaya siya nitong mag-break muna sa ginagawa para kumain. Pero tumanggi siyang sumabay rito, saying that she still has a lot of things to do, na totoo naman. But she could also take a break. She just chose not to.

Halos alas sais na nang mapulido nila ang presentation. They went through the slides several times. Puro senior executive ang kasama sa meeting, including Vince's father kaya sobrang ingat nila sa pag-aayos ng reports. Everything needs to be aligned.

Vince made a few extra copies. Isi-nend din nito sa email niya ang presentation para may backup sila. Meron ding isa na nasa USB.

"Nadala na ako sa nangyari sa thesis namin noong college," paliwanag nito.

"Ay, oo, I remember that." She regretted saying the words. Napaghahalataang stalker noong college. She gave him a sheepish grin saka siya bumalik sa pwesto niya.

Nice move, dummy. Remind him more how much you were once obsessed with him!

"Do you want to get some dinner?" pag-iiba nito ng topic.

"Hindi na. Sa bahay na lang ako—"

"I insist. I just want to thank you for helping me out."

She wanted to say no—no, scratch that. She wanted to say yes, but like always, she's afraid that one thing will lead to another, and that there'll be no way out for her.

"Okay." Nahiya naman siyang tumanggi. He's just being nice, she told herself. Besides, deserve naman siguro niyang mailibre dahil sa pagtatrabaho niya buong maghapon.

--

"I really think that this is a bad idea."

Pagkaalis na pagkaalis nina Vince at Moira para mag-dinner, nagpunta naman sina Red at Vico sa area ng mga ito.

"Relax. It's fine," Red assured Vico.

Naupo siya sa chair ni Moira at saka binuksan ang computer nito.

"Alam mo ang password nya?"

She nodded and typed K3lv1nT3$la. Moira mentioned it before. It's a good thing na hindi pa iyon napapalitan.  

"Kelvin Tesla? Who's Kelvin Tesla?"

Nagkibit-balikat siya. "Beats me." Employees usually change some letters into keyboard characters for their passwords. And as usual, alpha numeric dapat iyon para tanggapin ng system at dapat ay minimum of 8 characters.

Hindi naging mahirap ang paghahanap ng files na kailangan niya dahil naka-open ang location noon. They must have been working all day. Naka-open pati ang excel files, reports, summaries at powerpoint presentation.

"Red, Vince is going to kill us!" warned Vico.

"Not if he doesn't find out," she told her cousin. She highlighted the files and pressed Shift+Delete. She also checked the recycle bin para makumpirma na wala na nga ito roon.

Next, she looked through Moira's emails. Knowing Vince, he'd sent her a copy of the presentation. Nang makita ay binura rin niya iyon.

She rechecked a few times just to make sure that she's done it. Saka niya hinila si Vico papunta sa office ni Vince.

"Look into the drawers," sabi niya kay Vico. "Lahat ng makikita mong USB, kunin mo."

"Red, seriously, let's just go home."

Sinamaan niya ito ng tingin. "Vico, we need to do this. Okay?"

"He already told you to not meddle, so bakit ka pa rin nangingialam?"

"Because he needs my help! Now, if you don't want to help me help him, then just go home. Pero alalahanin mong magtatampo ako sa 'yo. At matagal akong magtampo."

Vico rolled his eyes. "Fine! But if something goes wrong, you'll take all the blame."

"Fine!"

Nang sa wakas ay matahimik na si Vico, she punched in the password on Vince's computer, which was given to her earlier by Rose. Alam kasi ni Rose ang mga passwords ni Vince. Hinanap niya ang mga files for tomorrow's presentation, at saka niya iyon pinagbubura. Then she deleted all the sent emails with that file. It's a good thing na kina Moira, Rose at Troy lamang iyon naka-send. Rose already deleted her copy, as instructed. Si Troy naman, kakausapin niya pag-uwi niya ng bahay.

"Ano, nakita mo na?"

Tumango si Vico at saka ipinakita ang hawak na USB. "Iisa lang ang nandito."

"I'm sure that's it. Let's go."

--

Moira wasn't expecting a lavish dinner, in a four-star restaurant. Akala niya ay sa malapit lang na fastfood chain sila kakain. Matagal-tagal na rin siyang hindi nakakakain sa isang magarbong restaurant. Her parents love fine dining. Pati ang ate Monica niya, mas prefer iyon kaysa sa simpleng hapunan lamang.

She's the odd one out. And not just with dinners, but with a lot of other stuff. Sa mismong pamilya niya, there's no sense of belonging. That's why she's thankful for Neri and Jo. They've been more like a family that her own true family.

Halos dalawang oras din silang nag-dinner. Pasado alas otso na nang makabalik sila sa office. Vince told her to check the presentation again before going home, which she did and she was so horrified that her copies were gone.

"Vince, nawawala yung files ko," sabi niya rito.

"Ha? Check your email. I sent you a copy."

Umiling siya. "Deleted. I don't know who did. Bigla na lang nawala. Pati yung nasa hard drive. Lahat deleted. Pati summary reports, yung graphs sa excel—"

"Relax, Moira. I still have plenty of copies here."

Naupo siya habang chini-check ni Vince ang mga kopya nito sa sarili nitong computer. She put her mind at ease. Vince is a reliable. Surely, he'd have plenty of copies.

But she began worrying again when he frowned.

"Fuck."

Napapitlag siya nang ihampas nito ang mouse sa lamesa.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Nawawala rin ang files ko," tiim-bagang nitong sagot. Then he pulled one of his drawers at napapalatak na naman ito.

"What?"

"My USB's missing."

Nanlaki ang mga mata niya. "P-Pero—bukas—"

"I know," he said coldly.

Mukhang galit na galit ito. Kahit naman siya, magagalit. Buong araw nilang ginawa yung presentation. Na-delay pa yung ilan nilang trabaho dahil iyon ang inuna nila. This wouldn't have happened kung hinatian siya ni Vince ng trabaho last week. But she guessed that it was too important for him to share to her. And now this, wala lahat ng files nila.

Iisa-isahin na naman nilang i-collate ang mga data from different departments. Hahanapin na naman niya ang mga emails, susumahin, gagawan ng graphs... god knows how long it will take to make another presentation.

"Maybe we should call some employees to help," she suggested.

"No. May mga confidential files tayong iha-handle. Employees on certain levels are not allowed to even see those files."

"Okay, then I'll stay for a couple of hours."

Bumalik na siya sa pwesto niya bago pa ito makatanggi. Kagagawa lang naman ng presentation so fresh pa rin sa utak niya ang mga dapat gawin.

Mas mabilis na ang pagtatrabaho niya kaysa noong unang beses niyang ginawa iyon dahil gamay na niya kung paano. Earlier that day, she still gets confused with the macros and the formulas.

"Moira?" maya-maya'y tawag ni Vince. "Hindi ka pa ba uuwi?"

"Matatapos na 'ko. Konti na lang."

"Alas onse na."

"Ha?" Napatingin siya sa relo. "Oo nga, 'no. I thought it's still early."

"Go home. Ipahahatid kita sa driver."

"Tatapusin ko na 'to. Malapit naman na akong matapos," pagpupumilit niya.

Vince sighed. "All right. O-order ako ng pizza. Ano'ng flavor ang gusto mo?"

She smiled at the mention of pizza. "Bacon supreme, please."

Tumango ito at bumalik sa loob ng office.

Thirty minutes later, dumating na ang pizza na in-order nito, along with two canned sodas. Vince took two slices of pizza back to his office and left her alone to continue working. Naka-tatlong balik pa yata ito.

"Tapos ka na?" tanong nito.

"Oo. Isi-send ko na yung last."

Pasado alas dose na. Naka-dalawang tawag na yata si Neri sa kanya. Kanina pa ito nagtatanong kung anong oras siya uuwi para masundo ni Joem, but Vince already said that he'll have his driver take her home, so iyon na lamang ang sinabi niya sa pinsan.

"Ikaw, anong oras ka uuwi?" tanong niya rito.

"I don't know. I still have a lot of work to do."

"Tulungan na kita," presinta niya.

"There's no need—"

"There is. Kaya nga may assistant ka, di ba, para may kahati ka sa trabaho. Let me help."

Bumuntong-hininga ito. "Okay. I guess I need it."

Pagka-send niya ng files kay Vince, may ibinalik naman ito sa kanyang slides. May format na roon to follow. Saka kung ano ang mga dapat ilagay. She'll focus on two topics while he'll focus on the rest.

--

May hinala na si Vince kung sino ang nagbura at nagnakaw ng files nya. He just doesn't want to confront her. Red did this kind of thing back in college. He almost failed a subject because of that. Lucky for him, paborito siya ng professor at alam na matino syang estudyante so he was given another chance.

After so many years and after they reconciled, he never imagined that she'd do it again. At kung bakit, hindi niya alam. Ang alam lang niya, sila ni Moira at nagdurusa ngayon dahil doon.

He checked on her again. Pasado alas dos na. It's been almost twenty minutes since her last email. Pagtingin niya, nakasubsob na ito sa desk.

Nilapitan niya ito at tinapik ang balikat.

"Moira."

"Hmm..."

"Moira, wake up."

Umungot ito at saka tumunghay. Umayos ito ng upo, but then she winced and rubbed her belly.

"Sinisikmura ako."

"Ha?"

"Sinisikmura ako kapag madaling-araw. Sumasakit ang tiyan ko," paliwanag nito. "Sorry, Vince. I think I really have to sleep."

"It's okay. Gusto mong ipahatid na kita pauwi?"

Umiling ito. "Maya-maya na lang kapag mag-u-umaga na. I'll just sleep here."

Sumubsob itong muli sa lamesa.

"Moira, may tulugan dito sa office. Doon ka na lang."

Itinayo niya ito at saka inalalayan papunta sa tabi ng conference room B. May kwarto doon na may dalawang bunk beds.

"What time will I wake you?"

"Mga 4:30 siguro," she answered sleepily. She removed her shoes and climbed up the bed. Saka ito nahiga at pumikit.

"Good night, Moira," he whispered before going back to his office. He continued working until the damn presentation's finished. Inabot siya ng alas singko ng umaga. Nakalimutan tuloy niyang gisingin si Moira.

So right after finishing his work and making too many copies of it, pinuntahan niya ito at saka ginising. He called his driver and instructed him to take Moira home.

"Okay lang kung magpa-late ka mamaya," sabi niya.

"Ikaw, hindi ka uuwi?"

"There's no time. Eight am ang meeting. I'll just stay here."

"Pero wala ka pang tulog."

"I'll be fine," he said. He turned to the driver. "Manong, pagkahatid nyo kay Moira, dumaan ka sa bahay at pakikuha ako ng damit. I'll need it before seven."

"Opo, sir."

"Hindi ka na maliligo?" tanong ni Moira.

"Of course, I'll take a bath. I have a shower here."

"Pero magdamag nang babad ang mata mo sa computer—"

"I'll be fine," pag-uulit niya. "Thanks for the help."

He walked away and boarded the elevator. He's not fine. Antok na antok na siya. Nakailang kape na siya kanina pero ayaw pa ring matanggal ng antok niya.

He figured that he'd just get a quick shower and then it will go away. Bahala na nga.