Chapter Twenty-One

"Where are you?"

Those were the first words I heard one Wednesday morning. I woke up to the sound of my phone. I didn't set an alarm because I planned to sleep in today. This is one of the rare occasions that I don't have classes and I'm on a day off from work on the same day.

When I looked at my phone, I saw an unknown number calling me. I had just bought my new phone yesterday and had not yet transferred most of my contacts. To my disappointment, the one calling me was an angry evil snake.

"I'm at home. Why?" I answered.

"What the f***!!?!?! You're still there! Don't tell me you just woke up!"

And first thing in the morning, she's already cursing me. What a mood changer! Haist... Why can't she be a bit more G-rated?

"Yeah. I just woke up. Actually, you woke me up."

"What!!?!!? Are you for real?!!?! Are you saying you forgot our schedule today? We were supposed to do survey interviews with the business owners. I'm already here at Roxas Boulevard!"

Survey interviews at Roxas Boulevard???... Oh, wait! Damn!

Opening my nightstand drawer, I immediately pulled out my old phone and looked at my calendar. Damn! It is today! I forgot to sync my calendar to my new phone. We were supposed to meet at 8 AM. It is already 8:11 AM. No wonder she is fuming.

"Oh! Uhm... I forgot to set my alarm. Maybe, we can reschedule it some other day." I said hoping she would accept my suggestion so I could sleep some more.

But, it seems bad luck was not siding with me today.

"You mother-" I removed my phone away from my ears. When I was certain that her curses had passed, I put it back again.

"Do not ruin my schedule any further. If you're not here at the Metro Field Park, in front of Gloria's Flower Shop, in 20 minutes, the deal is off!!!"

With that, she ended the call. Knowing how true she was with her threats, I forced myself to get out of my bed and run out the door.

15 minutes later...

After I had done the fastest bath, dress up, and drive of my life, I had finally arrived at the Metro Field Park. It is a good thing that this place isn't far from my apartment. It even feels like heaven's blessing when the traffic is very light.

After parking my car, I dashed my way into Metro Field Park. I looked at my surroundings hoping to find Gloria's Flower Shop. It didn't take long before I spotted it. The shop was across the road from the park. When I got closer, I was able to spot her. She was sitting on a bench looking out of patience.

Thank God! She's still there.

She saw me when I was a few feet away from her. She didn't look happy. But I can tell that she looked relieved to see me.

"Finally! You're here!" she said as she stood up from the bench.

I stopped running but I continued panting. That was one tiring run.

"Come on. Let's go!" she demanded.

Wait! What? As in now?

"We're going now. I just arrived and ran all the way here. Can't you give me two minutes to catch my breath?" I said barely finishing my words because of my panting. But sadly, she was not having it.

"No! You already wasted 45 minutes of my time. Let's go!" she said as she grabbed my left wrist and pulled me toward the flower shop.

I couldn't do anything. She wasn't holding me that tight. But because she is surprisingly strong, she was able to drag me across the street. Since her grip on my wrist wasn't that firm, her hand gradually slipped from my wrist towards my hand. Soon enough, her hand is holding mine.

I said it before and I will say it again. Her hands are so soft! I don't understand how someone so evil as her would have such soft hands. It doesn't match up. It's almost as soft as her lips-

Woah! Hold that thought right there, Justin!

I shook my head trying to dispel that thought in my head.

Shortly after, she let go of my hand. We have arrived at our destination. Before we entered the flower shop, she did a short briefing on what we were going to do. So to put it in a simple manner, she will do the interviews and I will take down some notes. I will also take note of the surroundings of the business. She handed me the notebook along with a pen. Then, we entered the shop.

I heard the door chimes tinged as she opened the door. The fragrant scent of the flowers hit me the moment I got in. There were no customers. But there is a guy by the counter arranging white roses in bundles. He looks like he is in his twenties.

He spotted us. But by the direction of his gaze, he seems to be eyeing the one beside me. My assumptions were confirmed when he flashed a flirty smile.

Oh, God!

"Hi, Miss Beautiful! What can a guy like me do for you?" he said to her while wiggling his eyebrows.

I wanted to puke. Why do guys do this every time they see this evil snake? They are so quick to flirt with her. I know she's beautiful but they didn't have to be so shameless. The most bothersome part of all was that they were so haste to believe that she was interested. I wonder how they would react if they found out she's a lesbian.

"Kuya, is Mrs. Gloria Almanzo here?" the evil snake asked ignoring the flirtatious comment.

"Yes, Miss Beautiful!" the guy replied, staring at her unashamedly.

This guy is so unabashed. If the evil snake is made out of ice cream, she will melt with his heated gaze. Frankly, he isn't even good-looking and he's so short. Even the evil snake is taller than him.

He still had his eyes fixated on her. I doubt if he even noticed my presence. I was planning to make my presence known. But then, this happened.

"Kuya! Kuya! Wake up! I need to speak to Mrs. Almanzo ASAP." the evil snake said while irritably snapping her fingers in front of the guy's face.

The guy woke up from his trance.

"Okay, I'll get her," he said.

He left immediately and went to a nearby door. A few moments later, the guy returned. This time, a middle-aged woman appeared from the door with an eager smile.

"Hello! Are you Justine Claire? Wow! You look so beautiful in person." the woman said who I assumed was Mrs. Almanzo. The older woman even kissed her on the cheek as a greeting.

"Thank you. Nice to officially meet you, Mrs. Almanzo," she said with a pleasant smile.

"The pleasure is mine, Dear."

Mrs. Almanzo noticed me and smiled wider at me. I smiled back at her.

"Oh? Who is this cute guy with you? Is he your boyfriend?"

I heard the sound of something breaking. At the same time, my heart and sanity fell when I realized what Mrs. Almanzo said.

BOYFRIEND!!??!???!???!!!!

"What on earth is that, Hubert?!?! Be careful with those pots. They are very fragile." Mrs. Almanzo said as a reprimand to the guy earlier.

"I'm sorry, Madam. I will clean up now," said Hubert who quickly picked up the broken pieces of the pot. But before he left to throw the pieces out, he took a glance at me. He eyed me from head to toe which ticked me off.

Yes! I may not be handsome but I'm more good-looking than you!

"Oh my! I'm sorry about that. How about we go to my office to talk?" Mrs. Almanzo said as she guided us to the door where she had come in earlier.

We entered the door and were met with a hallway. There were doors from each side. We followed Mrs. Almanzo to the furthest door. She opened the door revealing her office and asked us to get in and make ourselves comfortable.

Her office looks like a very typical one. She had some filing cabinets, a couch set, and a work desk with a computer and a lot of papers on top. She asked us to sit on the couch while she took the single armchair. We both sat on each of the edges of the couch. There was a wide space between us that could fit two more people. This was noticed by Mrs. Almanzo.

"Oh! You didn't have to be shy in front of me. It's normal for couples to sit close to each other."

What have I got myself into? Before I could even say a thing, the person beside me decided to take the matter into her hands.

"Mrs. Almanzo, we're not dating. He's just my partner for this project."

Mrs. Almanzo looked both embarrassed and surprised by what she heard.

"Oh my! I'm sorry. That was so embarrassing for me to assume. It's just that you two look so good together. Why are you not together? Don't you have even a bit of attraction toward each other?"

I can feel my face heat up with embarrassment. Mrs. Almanzo is so straightforward! I wanted to disappear from the scene so badly. I need to end this conversation now.

"Uhm... No, Ma'am. We're really just partners for this project." I said with a tone of panic.

"Oh really? What a waste! Anyway, I think we should start the interview now. So, what do you want to ask me?" Mrs. Almanzo said changing the topic at last.

Thank heavens!