01

"Have you met Levi yet?" Dara asked me as she stood at my side. I was so busy with my work that I did not try to look at her.

"Who is that?" I asked, not interested.

"Your new estimator!" She said, almost a shout. The rest of us in the office kept looking at us.

"Ah. I see," I answered.

Martin, my partner estimator, has a replacement right away every time I handle a project.

"What did I see you there. Where were you before? You've always been missing lately."

"At the Pre-qualification meeting with the client." I answered.

I'm an Engineering Technical Staff in a quadruple A construction firm and as a Technical Staff, I am responsible for the bidding documents of a project our company wants to join.

He nodded. "But you must meet him now. He will handle the sewerage project in Antipolo if we ever pass the Pre-qualification," she said.

I immediately turned to her. "Immediately?" I asked.

That's the project I'm currently working on.

I'm not the type of person who invalidates someone's abilities and capabilities, but hearing that from here — a newbie holding a billion worth of project — I can help but to feel doubtful.

Dara nodded again. "Well, apparently, Levi has mastery with his job and of course, Sir Albert has tested him until proven competent. Besides, Sir Bert won't pair him up to you if he didn't see him as your applicable partner." She said and I rolled to that.

Everyone, even our manager, in our department knew that I easily get irritated when I get to be paired with someone who's hard to work with — who wouldn't though. But again, I was not a judgmental kind of person but having a responsibility to millions or billions worth of projects makes me the least person to like.

And none can disagree with that, because when everything fails, the questions and blame will be pointed at the Technical Team; because we were the ones giving the instructions and compiling all the documents of a project before submitting it to the client. I had experienced that failure and I don't want that to happen again.

I sighed. "I'll meet him later. I'll just finish this checklist," I said.

Dara nodded and had a suspicious grin on her face. "What else would you say?" I asked. I know exactly when she's acting like this.

She leaned on me and whispered the words I'm expecting to hear from her. "Handsome, tall and fragrant."

I rolled my eyes and leaned on my chair. "So what?" I asked.

I already know this. They are always like this whenever there is a newcomer to our department; map-whether female or male. Seems like not seeing a new person.

She shrugged. “Maybe you can type,” she said.

I rolled my eyes again. "I'm not interested" I said and went back to my work.

"Asus. Look first before you speak." She said and nudged me.

"That's what you said to Martin before, nothing happened because first, I'm not really interested and second, I'm also looking for a man," I replied.

"So, are you still disappointed?" She teased. I rolled my eyes again.

"Asa. Go away, go back to your place," I said and even pushed her a bit.

It really happens every time we have a new member in the department. I don't know what's on the minds of my companions but every time a newcomer is a man, automatically, they will tease it to me. Just like fools.

Laughing, Dara went back to her table but it didn't stop teasing me. It chatted with me in a Hangout about Levi. That he was so handsome, fragrant and yet smart; that surely, I can type your man.

[I'll block you if you haven't stopped. You're annoyed.] I chatted back.

I heard the laughter of the witch behind me. [Bet that, Sheen. I know your type, that's how it is with Levi.] He replied in the chat.

I chose not to reply to her and instead, I blocked her. It's up to him to come to me when he needs something, he's still lazy to stand up.

That I'll meet him later did not happen that day nor the next day. Because apparently, I was so busy with the pre-qualification requirements of the project I am handling to even go to the estimators' office — their office is separate from ours. They are with the Vice President of Engineering while we are with the Manager.

And besides, I won't need his cooperation until we get passed to the pre-qualification and given a pass to proceed to the bidding of the project.

"Have you been there yet?" Dara asked me three days after we first talked about Levi.

I shook my head. "I'm busy, Dara. Next time only," I replied.

"Three days already!"

"What? Will he die if I don't go?" I asked. "And if what you're thinking is yours on the project, it's not necessary to talk to him personally, we can communicate through email." I added.

That's how it really is, because communication is through emails for a receipt of a work activity.

"You know, you'll be a really old virgin in what you do," he said. I scolded him.

"Are we here to flirt? It's not, is it?" I spoke. "And please, stop playing the role of cupid. It doesn't matter to you," I added.

I don't know why they bothered so much in my love life, especially Dara. Eh, I have a body, just relax, they just chill, it's like their goal in life is to find me a boyfriend when I clearly said that I'm not interested in being in any romantic relationship. For me, career improvement is more worth the time than that.

But then, the day everyone in our team has been waiting for has come, because standing in front of me is the Levi they have been talking non-stop, looking at me with that unfathomable eyes.

I arched brow.