Continued ...

“Okay. I’ll wait for you outside. Make it quick.”

“Okay.”


Bryan was the last person to step out of the packed elevator. He sauntered through the ground floor’s marble-tiled reception hall and took a quick glance at the wall clock. 7:23 PM. Damn, he thought.

The evening dusk had begun its regular onslaught. Gray clouds partially swathed the half moon from the shady skies. Northern winds blew cold gales and acacia trees swayed and rustled their defiance amidst the endless cacophony of car horns in the evening rush hour.

Bench didn’t see Bryan descend from the condominium’s front steps. She was facing eastwards, at the partially-finished skyway being constructed at the corner of Escario Street and Archbishop Reyes Avenue, just a mere block away. She stood unmoving, except when she shifted her weight from one foot to another. She held a cigarette in her left hand, her right hand easily tucked beneath the opposite forearm. She looked like she was in deep thought. She wasn’t wearing her jacket. She threw the used stick carelessly on the trash bin as Bryan approached.

“You said ten minutes,” said Bench.

“Sorry, got hung up by Ellie,” Bryan replied, “you know Ellie.”

“She can’t touch you, Bry,” she sniggered, “you’re the copywriter, remember?”

“I don’t want to end up like Ken, Bench. You know what happened to him.”

“Bullshit. Ken deserved his suspension. You’re not like him. Everyone knows that.”

“Tell that to Ellie.”

Bench murmured something as she took the last stick from her pack and lit it.

“You’re already pushing seven months, right?” Bench asked.

“Eight.”

“You like the work?”

“Yeah. Hell, it isn’t easy but it sure isn’t boring.”

“You really are at home in the firm now.”

Bryan laughed, detecting the faint sarcasm.

“I know it doesn’t earn much but at least it isn’t as hard as my last job.”

“Oh?”

“Back at the PR agency, I had to do everything. Now, I’m just busy with the writing. And I’m okay with that.”

Bench just nodded wordlessly.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Bryan asked.

She didn’t reply. Bryan shifted in his feet at the uneasy silence.

“You want out,” he finally said.

“Yeah,” she was slow in replying.

“That explains everything. The sudden irregularity of your attendance in the last two months.”

Bench laughed weakly.

“Does Noel know?” Bryan asked.

“I talked to him last June, actually. I told him I wanted to resign effective by end of August. I didn’t even cite some concrete reason, just told him I want out, to explore other options, stuff like that. I told him two months should be enough notice for him to find a replacement or to train Ellie to take my place. Well, you know him, he wouldn’t hear any of it. I wasn’t backing out of my decision, either. I told him out I’m out before September starts. Period.”

“But you’re still here.”

“Well, that’s because Anne intervened. She asked me if I could stay for a while, at least until the Caravan is over. She said backing out would be a mistake for me because Noel was considering me for partnership in the agency and accordingly, HR would be reconfiguring my salary. That’s what they told Jong back in 2003 but it never happened. Lucky for him, he still got the Dubai job one year later. Besides, I’ve seen the company books and the numbers don’t look pretty. But I said yes anyway. The thing is: I owed Anne big time. She once did something important for me back in the days and I’ve never repaid her for it. She begged me to do this for her and we'd call it quits. She made me promise I’d stay until the end of the year. I couldn’t say no. That’s why I’m still here.”

“No shit.”

“But there’s no way I’m staying beyond November, that’s for sure. Noel is already bugging me for updates on December and January deliverables and like hell I’m going to commit on those. If I do, I’m never getting out, never. That’s why I need your help.”

“What?”

“From here on, Noel isn’t going to listen to any bullshit from me about changing my mind on the deal and leaving the company because of this reason and that. Hell, I could even tell him that I got a contract for a Houston job and I’ll be flying off to Texas before November ends but he’s not going to buy it, I know he won’t. I need another fool-proof reason. And this is where you come in.”

“You want me to think of a reason?”

“No, Bry. Listen, everyone in the office knows we get along really great with each other. You know me — I’ve had rows with Ellie, Ken, Kyla and even Noel. But I’ve never had a quarrel with you, not only because you’re such a nice guy but because you’re actually pretty cool. Now, what if we give them the idea, the illusion if you will, that we got something going on that’s more than just the usual “we’re just buds” shtick? You know what I mean, right?”

“But you’re not into guys — ”

“I know, I know. But none of the office people know that except you, Bry. Listen, what if we give them the idea that I’m going AWOL because we’ve had an affair gone sour?”

“My God, you’ve lost your mind.”