Love For Sale Book 1 (Self-published)

CH 6: You're Crashing But You're No Wave

Hindi ko alam kung tatawa ba ako o mananampal ulit. I mean, was he for real? I wanted to believe that I've matured and that the spoiled brat who was used to getting her way had blossomed into a level-headed woman. But, as I was looking at Barry who seemed pleased with himself, I was finding it hard to quell the urge to grab him by the hair then repeatedly slam his face into the ground.

I rose to my feet.

"Where are you going?" he asked but I ignored him. "Claire, saan ka pupunta?"

"Away from you, Satan," I replied.

I heard him laugh. "Napakapikon mo 'ka mo."

"Are you aware that what you said earlier could be construed as sexual harassment? You do know what sexual harassment is, right? Mukhang may pinag-aralan ka naman."

"Why, are you going to sue me?"

"Do you want me to sue you?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to kick you in the face."

He laughed out loud. "I was kidding, Ms. de los Santos."

"I wasn't. I really want to hit you right now. And that's the sad part, laro lang 'to sa'yo, biro lang, samantalang para sa akin, hanapbuhay ko ang nakasalalay rito."

"Look, Claire—"

"It's Ms. de los Santos, Sir. Stop calling me, Claire, as if we're friends and are on a first name basis. 'Tsaka, awat na sa pag-pa-power trip kasi ako nagtatrabaho ako nang maayos para sa pamilya ko samantalang ikaw ay hindi naman yata seryoso d'yan sa posisyon mo. Na okay lang naman sana kung hindi mo lang ako idinadamay sa pagiging walang kuwenta mo. Ngayon, kung wala kang balak paalisin ako sa trabaho dahil gusto mong may mapaglaruan ay sana mamatay ka na, 'di ba? However, if you realize that you're being unfair because you're singling out a hardworking employee like me ay tantanan mo na ako at h'wag mo akong takutin na tatanggalan ng trabaho."

"When did I ever threaten to remove you from your post—"

"You didn't but it is implied. Siyempre, ano bang bilang ko? Isa lang ako sa libo-libong empleyado ng kumpanyang ito samantalang ikaw ay mataas ang ranggo. Ako, kayang-kaya nila akong palitan kaagad dahil lagpas hanggang dulo ng MRT ang pumipila para sa trabahong ito. Kaya wala akong choice kundi ang lunukin 'yung tsismis tungkol sa akin dahil pinanghihinayangan ko itong trabahong ko. Wala akong choice kundi ang yumuko kapag sinabi nilang 'yan, 'yan 'yung babaeng pumatol sa OM kaya na-regular. People are not going to see how hard I am working because they all think that I slept with you and my vagina is what deserves the credit."

"I'm sorry—"

"No, you're not. You're not sorry. Kasi hindi ikaw ako. You're not sorry because no matter what kind of gossip goes around this office, hindi ka apektado. Lalaki ka, eh. OM ka. Who gives a shit if you're fucking agents' brains out and they're letting you? Meron ba? Wala. Baka isipan pa nilang napakapalad ng babaeng 'yun dahil pinatulan mo s'ya. O sila. Makapangyarihan ka, eh. Pero, ako, kahit tsismis lang at walang katotohanan ang tsismis na 'yun ay huhusgahan nila ako, pag-uusapan, tatawaging pokpok, tatawaging gold-digger, gagawing tampulan ng biro. Ahente lang ako, eh. Babaeng ahente."

" Claire—"

"As I have said, it's Ms. de los Santos, Sir. At sana po ito na ang huli nating pag-uusap dahil ang tagal po bago ako nakahanap ng trabaho and it is such a waste of opportunity to earn money for myself and for my family if I'll be forced to leave this company for a bastard like you."

He stared unblinking at me for seconds before he pushed to his feet. I watched him walk to the door to open it implying that he was asking me to leave.

I was taken aback. It wasn't as if I wanted to stay and chat.