Tuesday mornings in Villareal Corporation always felt colder than usual. Maybe it was because everyone looked stressed before nine in the morning. Or maybe dahil lang ayaw ko talaga ng Tuesdays.
I stepped out of the elevator with my coffee in one hand and my ID lace loosely hanging around my neck. Maaga pa, pero marami nang tao sa office floor. Phones ringing. Keyboards clicking. Conversations mixing together like background noise I’d gotten used to hearing every day.
“Good morning, Serene!”
Napalingon ako kay Karen na nakangiti habang may dalang folder.
“Morning.” normal na saad ko.
“Uy, nakita mo ba email kagabi?” Tanong nito at kulang nalang lumingkis sa akin.
“Which one?” Tanong ko at sumimsim sa hawak kong kape.
“About an executive meeting.”
I frowned slightly. “No.”
“Required daw ang mga department na mag-report today. Personally reviewing them ni Mr. Villareal.”
That caught my attention for half a second. Personally? Usually, department heads lang ang involved sa ganon.
“Bakit daw?” tanong ko habang naglalakad kami papunta sa area namin.
Karen lowered her voice dramatically. “Maybe because he’s finally taking over everything directly.”
“Wasn’t he already the CEO?”
“Girl, you know what I mean.”
Not really. But before I could ask more questions, dumating si Trisha hawak ang malaking iced coffee niya.
“Emergency!” Sambit nito na natataranta.  
“Ano na naman?” tanong ko.
“Confirmed. Nasa building si Jackson Villareal.”
I stared at her blankly. “And somehow that’s an emergency?”
“Yes.”
Karen laughed beside us. “Grabe ka talaga, Serene.”
I ignored them and sat down at my desk.
Honestly, hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit sobrang big deal ng dating ng bagong CEO. People acted like celebrities every time powerful men walked into a room.
Maybe because money made people interested or intimidating.
Maybe both?
I opened my laptop and started reviewing the financial report assigned to me yesterday. Numbers were easier to deal with than people anyway. Predictable, organized. Walang mixed signals. Unlike humans.
“Uy,” bulong ni Trisha habang nakasandal sa desk ko. “What if mapansin ka niya?”
Hindi ko man lang inangat ang tingin ko.
“What if gawin mo trabaho mo?” medyo inis kong saad.
“Ang sama ng ugali mo kanina ka pa, ah?.”
“Hindi ka pa ba sanay?”
Narinig ko silang tumawa ni Karen bago tuluyang bumalik sa kani-kanilang desk.
The next hour passed quietly.
Checking emails, creating reports, checking for corrections, and attending meetings. Like now, I’m currently in a meeting to discuss some reports. 
Everyone is talking and complaining about work. Until the atmosphere changed.
Hindi ko agad napansin sa una. Pero isa-isang humina ang usapan sa paligid. May mga biglang tumayo nang maayos. Yung iba, mabilis inayos buhok nila o damit.
Then, footsteps echoed faintly across the floor. Lahat napatingin sa pinto ng office. I looked up and saw him. Jackson Villareal, our CEO. For one second, parang bahagyang bumagal ang paligid.
He walked beside several executives, dressed in a dark gray suit that looked expensive enough to pay my rent for months. Every movement controlled without looking forced.
But it wasn’t his appearance that caught me off guard.
It was his presence. Some people demanded attention loudly. Jackson didn’t have to. The room adjusted around him naturally.
Conversations softened. People straightened unconsciously. Even the air somehow felt heavier.
Weird. I looked away first, because I'm nott interested.
“Holy shit…” mahinang sabi ni Trisha. “Okay, gets ko na.”
Ako, hindi ko gets.
“Calm down,” sabi ko habang pilit binabalik ang focus sa monitor ko.
“Hindi ka ba naaapektuhan?”
“No.”
“Sinungaling.” Napailing ako.
“Hindi ako tulad mo,”
Maybe I was lying a little. Because for some reason, there was something unsettling about him.
He's just difficult to read I think. Parang may invisible distance siyang nilalagay sa sarili niya kahit hindi siya nagsasalita.
Like someone used to carrying too much alone.
I hated that I noticed that. A few moments later, dumaan sila malapit sa department namin. Everyone greeted him politely.
“Good morning, sir.”
“Morning, Mr. Villareal.”
He acknowledged them with small nods, calm and professional. Then, unexpectedly his gaze landed on me. I froze for half a second when our eyes met.
There was no reason for it to affect me. It was just eye contact. But somehow, it felt too quiet inside my chest the moment he looked at me.
I forced myself to nod politely. “Good morning, sir.”
His eyes stayed on me a second longer than necessary. Then, he gave a small nod back.
“Good morning.” He continued walking afterward. Naiwan ako na parang may kung anong hindi maipaliwanag na biglang gumulo sa isip ko.
“Okay,” bulong ni Trisha pagkadaan nila. “That was weird.”
“What?”
“He looked at you.”
“So?” kunot-noo kong saad.
“The point is… wala siyang tiningnan sa buong floor except you.”
“You're imagining things kakanood mo iyan ng drama, eh!” Naiiling na saad ko.
“Hindi, ha.”
I ignored her and returned my attention to the spreadsheet in front of me, though mas mabagal na ang paggalaw ng cursor ko ngayon.
Why was I even thinking about it? It meant nothing. Rich men looked at people all the time. That didn’t mean anything.
Still… there was something strangely familiar about the way he looked at me. Not familiarity exactly. More like recognition. As if matagal na niya akong kilala kahit hindi naman.
Ridiculous.
-
Lumipas ang tanghali nang hindi ko na siya ulit nakita. The office eventually returned to normal, though mas maingay ang usapan ngayon tungkol sa CEO.
“He’s stricter than his father.”
“Pero ang bait sa employees.”
“Nakita mo suit niya?”
“Single pa ba siya?” I tuned all of it out.
Pagdating ng hapon, halos sumakit na ulo ko kakatingin sa reports. I decided to stay a little longer matapos ang office hours para tapusin lahat nang sabay. 
Around seven in the evening, halos wala nang tao sa floor. Mas gusto ko ang ganitong oras. No unnecessary conversations. No pretending.
I stood up to stretch slightly before heading toward the pantry for coffee.
Pero pagbalik ko… someone was standing near my desk. I slowed down.
Jackson Villareal.
He was looking down at the printed financial report I submitted earlier. My heartbeat strangely stumbled.
“Sir,” bati ko habang lumalapit.
He looked up at me. His eyes look so tired despite the calmness on his face.
“Ms. Valdez.”
The way he said my name caught me off guard again. Too familiar for someone I barely knew.
“I reviewed your report,” he continued calmly. “You’re thorough.”
I blinked once. Compliments weren’t exactly common in this company.
“Thank you.”
“You noticed errors everyone else missed.”
“It's part of my job, Sir.” saad ko at awkward na ngumiti.
A faint expression crossed his face. Not quite a smile. More like amusement.
“Still,” he said, “most people don’t pay attention that carefully.”
Hindi ko alam kung bakit parang biglang naging mas tahimik ang paligid. Or maybe aware lang ako masyado sa presence niya.
There was something oddly comforting about his voice, and that made absolutely no sense. Because men like him should’ve made me cautious and not comfortable.
“Do you always stay this late?” tanong niya.
“Usually po,”
“You work too much.” That almost made me laugh.
“People here say the same thing about you.”
For the first time, I saw the corner of his lips lift slightly.
“Fair enough,” he said quietly.
Then his phone vibrated. The softness disappeared from his expression almost instantly as he glanced at the screen.
“I should go,” he said.
I nodded politely. “Good night, sir.”
But before walking away, he looked at me one last time.
And for a second his eyes softened in a way I couldn’t understand.
“Good night, Serene.”
Not Ms. Valdez. Hearing my name from him felt strangely warm. And I hated how my chest tightened because of it.
Because he was unfamiliar. A stranger.
Someone completely outside my world.
So why did his presence feel safe?