Chapter 14
"Need anything else?" I asked the two kids, refocusing my attention on them. Francis, meanwhile, remained tethered to his laptop, his fingers dancing across the keys in a blur. He'd been like that all day, practically fused to the screen, while I was relegated to entertaining his nephews. It was nearing five o'clock, and their ride was still a no-show, so I was doing my best to keep them from descending into boredom. Thankfully, Xia's spirits had rebounded, and she was now happily playing with her brother.
"Daddy..." Xia suddenly tugged on Francis's sleeve, drawing him away from his digital world. She held up a drawing of a flower, her eyes sparkling with innocent expectation. "What color should I make it? Pink or red?" she asked, her voice filled with childlike wonder. I waited for Francis's response, but he seemed to hesitate, as if grappling with a complex decision. "Uh... what color do you want to make it?" he countered, avoiding a direct answer. "But I want you to choose," she insisted, her lower lip jutting out in a slight pout.
Francis cleared his throat, his hand instinctively adjusting his necktie. "Ah... Xia, I think you should decide... what's your favorite color? Red or pink?" he reiterated, still sidestepping the issue. Why couldn't he just pick one? He was making it unnecessarily complicated for the poor kid. Xia's face clouded over with a hint of frustration at her uncle's indecisiveness.
"Red is better," Chian suddenly chimed in, his voice quiet but firm. He was sitting next to me, diligently working on his own coloring project. Francis nodded in agreement, effectively ending the debate and leaving Xia with no choice but to return to her seat, a touch of disappointment lingering in her eyes.
"Why couldn't he just pick one?" I muttered under my breath as I began tidying up the scattered art supplies on the sofa. "Daddy Francis can't see colors," Chian suddenly revealed, his words causing me to freeze mid-motion. I slowly turned to look at Francis, who was already watching Xia from across the room. Our eyes met, and he quickly averted his gaze, a flicker of something unreadable passing across his face.
"Really?" I blurted out, unable to contain my surprise. Chian looked up at me, nodded, and then returned his attention to his coloring. Francis couldn't see colors? How? His eyes seemed perfectly normal. Did he have some kind of vision impairment? The questions raced through my mind, but I decided to keep them to myself, respecting his privacy.
It was five o'clock when the kids' father called to say he was on his way to pick them up, so I busied myself with organizing the coloring materials they'd been using. A few minutes later, the door opened, but the person who walked in was the last person I expected to see. Carl! The same man I'd seen with Francis in the elevator, the one I'd jumped to the conclusion was my boss's boyfriend. And now, here he was, sweeping the two children into his arms. So Xia and Chian were his kids.
"Thank you for taking care of my kids, Ms. Magsandingan," he said, offering a warm and genuine smile before gathering their belongings. I stood there, rooted to the spot, until they'd left the office, my mind a whirlwind of confusion. Was I really that prone to overthinking? Was this the inevitable consequence of letting my imagination run wild? It seemed like every assumption I'd made had been completely and utterly wrong.
On impulse, I pulled out my phone and called my cousin. "Oh, you're home already?" she answered, her voice bright and cheerful. "Remember when I told you I thought Sir Locan might be gay?" I asked, cutting straight to the point. "Yeah, why? Wait, is it confirmed? Is it actually true?" Her voice perked up with undisguised excitement. "Well... I was wrong... the guy I saw him with in the elevator was his cousin," I admitted, biting my lip in frustration. "There you go again, overthinking everything... what if Mr. Locan finds out you've been spreading rumors about him being gay? You're going to be so screwed, haha," she said, laughing as if she hadn't been equally complicit in the gossip.
"Wow, thanks for the support... I just thought--" I began to protest, turning towards the door, but I stopped short when I saw my boss standing right behind me, his expression unreadable. I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my chest. Crap! How much had he overheard? "Hey, you still there?" my cousin's voice boomed from the other end of the line, causing me to frantically end the call.
"Sir Locan, I didn't realize you were there," I stammered, my eyes fixed on his face, trying to gauge his reaction. "So, I wasn't aware that you were discussing my personal life behind my back, and you even think I'm gay?" He took a step closer, forcing me to take a step back, my heels clicking against the hard floor. "Answer me," he added, his voice low and laced with a dangerous undercurrent. I stopped retreating, my back pressed firmly against the wall. "W-what? Did I say something?" I asked, tilting my head up to meet his intense gaze. "Really, Ms. Magsandingan?" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He took another step forward, and I instinctively took another step back, feeling trapped. "Hey! Why are you so fidgety?" I blurted out, attempting to lighten the tense atmosphere.
"I need an answer, right now," he said, his eyes boring into mine, leaving no room for evasion. He stopped moving, leaving only a few inches between us, the air crackling with unspoken tension. "You kind of look gay to me," I muttered under my breath, hoping he wouldn't hear me, but a sardonic smile played on his lips. "Is that so?" he challenged, his voice dangerously soft. I lifted my chin, meeting his gaze head-on, refusing to be intimidated.
"Yeah, so what?" I retorted, my voice trembling slightly, but determined.
"So, you genuinely think I'm gay?"
"Yes! What are you going to do about it? You think I'm scared of you getting closer?"
"Well, what if..."
"What if what?" I challenged, my heart pounding in my chest.
He stopped moving, and I instinctively stopped retreating, our bodies almost touching. Then, he suddenly lowered his head, bringing his face mere inches from mine. Goosebumps erupted all over my skin as I felt his warm breath on my ear. "What if I kissed you, just so you'd know for sure whether I'm gay or not?"
Shit! My eyes widened in shock, my breath catching in my throat. This guy was completely shameless! "Why can't you talk? Or maybe you actually want me to? Hm, Ms. Secretary?" he purred, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down my spine.
He moved his face even closer, and I think I literally stopped breathing. "Jerk!" I exclaimed, finally finding my voice, and shoved him away with all my might. But the jerk just laughed, a loud, booming laugh that echoed around the suddenly too-small office. "Do you really think I would kiss you? Hahaha. You're hilarious." He continued to laugh, and I swallowed hard, trying to regain some semblance of composure. "Very unprofessional," he added, shaking his head in mock disapproval, which only fueled my anger even further. I pushed him again, harder this time, grabbed my bag, and stormed out of the office, slamming the door with as much force as I could muster. I was so furious, I felt like I was about to explode.
What was his problem? Was he completely out of his mind? He was a giant, walking, talking pain in my life!