Scripted Relationship

Chapter 39

Lola’s American maid was already finished preparing the meals in the table when I arrived. There were only two viands in the table: adobong baboy and adobong manok. Surely, Lola knew that adobo was my favorite dish so she got it prepared for me. But to my surprise (as I sit myself on the other side of the table), the maid went out again and put on the other side of the table a vegetable dish good for one person. I got curious so I asked the maid.

“Who’s food is that?”

“For the visitor, sir,” the maid politely replied. I simply nodded as she left the room. I thought, the visitor might be a vegetarian. I simply waited for Lola to come in the dining area instead.

After a few minutes, I heard Lola came in. I stood up.

“Erik, I think you already know her,” Lola said to me as she entered to room. I smiled at her in order to welcome the visitor. The visitor’s a woman then, I thought.

Much to my shock, I felt my stomach squeezed itself as the girl entered in the room. She was wearing a red dress as if going to debut or a formal party. Her hair was still the same pixie cut. She looked at me and I saw her blue ocean-colored eyes. And above all these, she smiled at me. My jaw might have dropped unconciously that I didn’t notice that it left my mouth half-open.

“I didn’t know that Andrea still surprise you this much,” Lola said to me as a joke while Andrea giggled at her side.

I came back to my senses and immediately helped Lola take her seat. I didn’t bother helping Andrea. She can manage herself for sure. But Lola had something else in mind.

“Wouldn’t you help Andrea as well?” Lola asked me. “I’m sure she is still a lady who needs your gentlemanly ways.”

With hesitation and irritation (I didn’t let it show though), I helped Andrea took a seat.

“Thanks,” Andrea said to me with a smile. I forced a smile and immediately went back to my seat.

We started to pray for the food before eating. Since we are all Filipinos here, there is a bowl of rice of which I took a cup and proceeded to eating without a word. It was only when Lola started talking that the awkward silence ended.

“Erik, you might be wondering why Andrea is here?” Lola asked me. I didn’t reply but I looked at her. “Andrea will be our endorser for the next two year. Your mom already mentioned that she signed a contract with our company .”

What? Endorser? She will be working for the company? Why suddenly I found myself in a series of bewilderment?

“Yes, Lola. She told me during her birthday that we will be having a new endorser,” I replied. “But she never told me that it would be ‘her’.” There was an emphasis on the word ‘her’. I saw Lola looked at me pryingly. She might took it as sarcasm. It was actually.

“Well,” Andrea suddenly interjected smilingly. “I am here and I hope we can be good partners in this endeavor. Now that you are the Senior Vice President.”

“Not yet,” I quickly said. “I will be appointed SVP after I get back in Manila.” I looked at her rather blankly. Maybe even coldly. And you know what? Andrea just smiled back at me. I thought of pissing her off instead.

“Good partners, you say?” I rhetorically asked her afterwards. Why did we not do that when we were together? Or should I thought, why did she not do good when we were together?

“Yeah,” Andrea (again smiling) answered. Wow! She answered my rhetorical question, I thought.

“I have a lot of ideas to—“ I interrupted her.