Chapter 28 – Chocolate chip cookies.

"Ms. Rodriguez, in my office now. Bring my coffee," Nate said via intercom.

Tinanguan siya ni Sarah and Hannah obeyed as she was told.

Since their workstation was one floor down from the GM's, hindi nila nakikita ang pagdating nito as he was using the elevator directly to his floor. Nate would usually announce his arrival by asking for his coffee.

Umakyat si Hannah sa penthouse dala ang kape nito gamit ang hagdan na nag-uugnay sa dalawang palapag.

Sliding the keycard, Hannah realized her hands were shaking and keeping the coffee still was a struggle.

Nininerbiyos siyang makaharap ulit si Nate. It took her a lot of effort to make herself appear relaxed when she knocked on the smoked glass door of his office.

"Come in," he said and Hannah wanted to slap her face for shaking even more at the mere sound of his voice.

"G-good morning, Sir," she greeted when he came into view. And she almost gasped. Ang gwapo ni Nate kahit hindi pa ito nag-aangat ng paningin. Lumapit siya at iniabot ang kape nito. "Your coffee."

"Put it right there," he gestured to the left side of his large desk na hindi masyadong natatambakan ng mga papel.

Atubili siyang sumunod. Medyo dismayadong hindi man lang siya nito tinitingnan.

"Ahm– is there anything else you'd like me to do, Sir?" Tanong niya matapos mailapag nang maayos ang kape nito which she considered a great achievement lalo na at nanginginig ang mga kamay niya.

"Yes..." sa wakas ay iniwanan nito ng tingin ang laptop nito at tiningnan siya. It wasn't cold anymore but professional. Gayunpaman ay tagos kaluluwa pa rin ang simpleng tingin nito. "Arrange these files according to client name," itinuro nito ang mataas na paper stack sa kanang bahagi ng mesa nito. "Pull a chair–" tumigil ito at medyo yamot at nakakunot noong tiningnan siya. Paano hindi kasi siya gumagalaw which maybe made him think na hindi siya nakikinig. "Are you listening?"

"Huh? Y-yeah! Yes. Of course," she stammered. "I- I just thought, well, Sarah told me to never ever touch your desk–"

"I'm asking you to do a simple task Ms Rodriguez!"

"I'm sorry," pinilit niyang magconcentrate sa sinasabi ng binata.

"I said pull a chair," ulit ni Nate pero ito naman ang tumayo para hilahin sa tabi nito ang upuang orihinal na nakapuwesto sa harapan ng mesa nito.

Gusto niyang sabihin na hindi na nito kailangang ilipat pa iyon sa tabi nito. Pero kaysa masabihang mahirap siyang umintindi ng utos ay nanahimik na lang siya.

"Do it like this. Sort it out alphabetically too," and on he went to give her further instructions.

As soon as he was done talking, na-dead air na sila. Hindi lang basta dead air. Awkward din. Because they were merely inches away from each other and yet they were both too silent for their own good.

Kung sana may pwede silang pag-usapan. Elisha perhaps, kaso baka magalit ito kapag nagtanong siya tungkol sa bata.

Hannah found it hard to focus when all she wanted to do was stare at Nate's handsome face. But she could only watch him through her peripheral vision. Sobrang busy nito at tiyak na kabaliktaran niya ay napaka-focused nito sa ginagawa. Samantalang siya ay super distracted.

Hindi naman naglaon at na-absorb na rin siya sa ginagawa niya. Nakuha lang ulit ni Nate ang atensyon niya when he began typing furiously on his laptop. Tapos isinara nito iyon bago tumayo.

"Ms. Rodriguez, check my schedules with Sarah. Tell her to cancel all my appointments from ten AM to two PM," he said approaching the glass wall at hinawi ng remote control ang kurtina niyon, revealing a breathtaking view of the clear sky.

She watched him curse under his breathe na tila bad trip na bad trip ito. At kahit gusto niyang tanungin kung bakit, she maintained her silence.

"Get ready. We're leaving in ten minutes," sabi nito bago siya nakalabas ng opisina nito.

"Huh?" Aalis sila? Kasama siya?

"You're coming with me. To take minutes," paliwanag nito and she just nodded.

-----

Nakipagmeeting si Nate sa isang Chinese Investor sa isang primyadong restaurant. Medyo mainit ang usapan pero hindi niya maintindihan dahil Mandarin ang salitang gamit ng mga ito. So, hindi niya ma-gets kung paano siya magmi-minutes ng meeting na in the first place ay alam ni Nate na wala siyang maiintindihan. Unless he assumed na marunong siya ng naturang lenggwahe.

But Nate speaking in Mandarin was quite cute. First time niyang marinig ito na nagsasalita gamit ang isang foreign language and Hannah wondered kung ano pang mga salita ang alam ng binata.

They stayed in the restaurant until lunch time. All the while ay pinapanood niya lang ang dalawa na magpalitan ng salita na minsan ay matataas ang tono like they couldn't agree on something. Hindi niya maintindihan pero base sa mga facial expressions ng mga ito, halatang hindi sila magkasundo.

It was already past twelve noon nang mag-order na rin sila finally ng pagkain bukod sa drinks na nasa mesa nila. Doon na lang itinuon ni Hannah ang pansin habang ang dalawa niyang kasama ay patuloy pa rin sa seryosong usapan. Mag-aalauna na nang sa wakas ay ngumiti sa unang pagkakataon si Nate, he looked like he won over the old man he was talking to.

Back in the car at almost two PM, Nate announced na hindi na siya nito mababalik sa hotel.

"I'm running late. Just come with me to my next meeting."

"You can just drop me off the nearest bus station, Sir."

"No, I need you to–"

"To take minutes?" Putol niya sa sasabihin ni Nate. "English this time?" Nakangiti niyang dagdag.

"Yes," he suppressed a smile, marahil na-realize rin nito how lame it was to ask her to record his first meeting.

"Good."

They drove in silence once again.

His next meeting was with a middle aged Filipino couple na Board of Directors ng NS Hotel. Sa magandang bahay ng mga ito sila nagpunta.

"We are not expecting the General Manager to bring a date today," nakangiti siyang kinamayan ni Lucas Mejares.

"Indeed. And such a beautiful woman, honey," sabi naman ng asawa nito na si Martha na niyakap siya.

"She's my assistant," ulit ni Nate sa pakilala nito sa kanya kanina.

Ngiti lang ang tugon ng dalaga habang kinakausap ang sarili na bawal mamula.

'Act cool, Hannah.'

"Oh, Martha is my former assistant!" Inakbayan ni Lucas ang asawa at kinindatan pa. "Right, honey?" Hinalikan nito sa noo ang asawa.

Hannah giggled at the couple's sweetness. Si Nate pormal lang as he attempted to start the discussion.

"I already talked to Mr. Sy–"

"Nathaniel, dear, I believe the Board will be very pleased to see you settle down," hirit pa rin ni Martha, hindi ito natatakot sa medyo nakasimangot ng si Nate which made Hannah wonder kung sino ang mag-asawa sa buhay ng binata bukod sa pagiging direktor ng mga ito sa NS Hotel.

"There is this perception that a married man is better in handling business," dugtong ni Lucas. "That could mean more opportunities."

"I've nothing to prove, Mr. Mejares," seryosong pahayag ni Nate.

"Well, I agree. But still, we'll be happy to see you get married, Nate. You're so ready to be a husband, son."

"As I was saying, Mr. Sy and I already talked," Nate answered instead and Lucas just shook his head before putting on his serious face as well.

"Hannah, let's leave the business with the boys," Martha whispered bago ipinagpaalam siya kay Nate at hinila na siya palayo.

Sa kusina sila tumuloy kung saan ay may bini-bake raw ito. Pinaalis muna nito ang maid na umaasikaso roon habang wala ito kanina.

"Business bores me big time," she added habang chini-check ang oven. "I'm baking chocolate chip cookies. Nathaniel's favorite."

"You seem to know him a lot," she smiled at how Martha calls Nate by his first name.

"Oh," napangiti rin ito. "That boy, of course, I have known him ever since he was a kid. His mother is my cousin."

"So you're his Aunt?"

"Yup. When he came back from the States, sa amin siya tumira," naupo sila at binigyan siya nito ng cookies na natapos na nito.

"This is good. Thank you," puri niya nang matikman ang gawa nito.

"Explains why Nathaniel loves it so much?" Martha chuckled.

"Yeah. It's perfect!" Natutuwa si Hannah sa kaalamang chocolate chip cookies lang pala ang paborito ni Nate. There's still a boy inside the mighty Nate Sarmiento.

It also explained to her why Elisha loves the same cookies so much. Mana ito sa ama nito. Hannah made a mental note to ask Martha some for Eli.

"So how are you coping up as Nathaniel's new assistant?" She looked at the old woman questioningly so she added. "I know you, Hannah. I mean, not from the disturbing news about you months ago, I know you as my sister's assistant and Elisha's mother."

"Your sister? H-how?" Confused niyang tanong.

"Rebekah Everett."

"She's your sister?" Hindi makapaniwalang pagkukumpirma niya. Now she remembered kung kanino niya unang narinig na tinawag si Nate sa buong pangalan nito, kay Mrs Everett.

"Can't see the resemblance? I knew it, her serious face already made her ugly," she laughed. "She's our eldest. Guess who our other sister is?"

"Who?" Clueless niyang tanong.

"Sarah."

"You're kidding! Mas lalong hindi n'yo siya kamukha!"

"Well, just a half-sister. My mother died when I was four years old. My father remarried two years later and they had Sarah. She got her features mostly from her mom," paliwanag nito. "So there, that explains the hindi pagkakamukha. Although sa aming tatlo, itong si Sarah ang talagang na-attached kay Nathaniel. Ginawa na niyang anak," she chuckled. "She never married. And when he put up the first humble version of NS Hotel, lagi ng nakaalalay si Sarah. She had always believed that there's a great businessman inside him waiting to be unleashed."

"She was right."

"Indeed... That boy is very hardworking, he deserves everything he has now. But we really wish, he'd settle down so that there'll be someone to take care of him," bumalik ito sa oven para kuhain na ang mga cookies.

Hindi siya nag-comment. Didn't they know that he's got Olive to take care of him?

"When Olive left him, mas natuwa kami. I know she's your friend but sorry for the word, we don't like her. She ruined our nephew. Ang ginawa lang niyang maganda ay ang pagsasabi ng tungkol kay Elisha but sorry that you have to lose your daughter."

"She's not my daughter," she managed a smile na hindi bitter but just sad at the thought of her baby again. "The three of them deserved to be together."

Tiningnan lang siya ng kausap pero hindi nag-react sa sinabi niya.

"Anyway, we met Elisha last month. Nathaniel brought her here. She's so adorable. Thank you for raising her well, Hannah," sincere nitong sabi. "And thank you for returning to Nathaniel's life."

"T-that's so kind of you, Mrs. Mejares, but I'm not back for good or for any other personal reason. I'm working for him so he won't close down Mrs. Everett's company," she said, reminding herself as well kung bakit siya 'andoon. She was thankful that she was able to help her co-workers.

"Hannah, did you honestly think he would have the heart to disemploy everyone in his Aunt's company? He just wanted you to come running back to him," natatawa nitong paliwanag.

"He's mad at me. He even bought my apartment so I will lose a home."

"Explained by the well furnished hotel room you have back in NS Hotel."

"But–" she was confused even more, ang ibig nitong sabihin planado lahat ni Nate ang lahat? But he denied sending her away from her apartment the way she was thrown out of it.

"He's not mad at you, Hannah. Maybe madly in love with you. Believe me. I know that boy—"

"What are you telling my assistant?" Nate interrupted his Aunt who pretended to be busy with her cookies while stifling a smile. Nasa pintuan ng kitchen si Nate at nakasandal sa door frame habang naka-cross arms pa.

"It's a girls' talk, Nathaniel. You shouldn't be interrupting like that. It's rude," galit-galitan ng tiyahin nito.

"Because you kidnapped my assistant. How is she supposed to take minutes if she's here with you?" he frowned at his Aunt.

"Ipinagpaalam ko siya sa 'yo, Mr. Sarmiento," she reminded him. "Besides, have mercy with the poor lady, mabo-boring lang siya sa mga usapan n'yo." She rolled her eyes.

"I brought her here to work."

"It's barely ten minutes that she's out of your sight and yet you already missed her," Martha teased, making Hannah's cheeks burn.

"I didn't say anything like that," mas lumalim ang pagkakaunot nito ng noo. "Ms. Rodriguez, back to work," baling nito sa kanya.

"Yes, Sir," agad siyang tumayo before murmuring a sorry to Martha who just rolled her eyes again.

Madilim na sila nakaalis sa bahay ng mga Mejares dahil hindi sila agad pinakawalan ng mag-asawa. Tinukso sila nang tinukso hanggang magsawa ang mga ito dahil hindi sila pinapansin ng binata.

"They're too conclusive. Don't mind them," sabi ni Nate habang nagmamaneho.

"I know," tipid niyang tugon, duh, he needed not to remind her na hindi ito interesado sa kanya.

Silence.

"You didn't tell me that Mrs. Everett is your Aunt–" basag niya sa katahimikan bago marealize na walang obligasyon si Nate na sabihin iyon sa kanya.

"You didn't ask," he answered, so at least they're talking now.

"And Sarah too."

"They're my family here."

"They're wonderful, Mr. Sarmiento," she commented.

"They are."

Hannah smiled at herself. At least, hindi ito nagsusuplado. She was thinking of the things Martha told her. Totoo kaya ang mga iyon? Did Nate just want her back in his life kaya nito nagawa ang mga bagay na ginawa nito? But what's with the cold treatment? The pretense of not knowing her?

"We're here. See you at work tomorrow, Ms. Rodriguez."

Hannah snapped out of her thoughts at narealize na nasa tapat na sila ng NS Hotel. Inayos niya ang mga gamit at iniabot sa binata ang box ng chocolate chip cookies na nasa lap niya.

"It's for Eli," she told him to answer his questioning look. "See you tomorrow, Mr. Sarmiento." Bumaba na siya ng kotse nito bago ito makasagot.