Chapter 1 - On First Meeting

The hotel is packed with random people from all walks of life. The place is always busy because of the touring agents, business tycoons and hotel chain owners. It is at its hundred times where employers check in for their 3-day business trips in the hotel to conscript applicants that they are to sponsor for a certain job position in the United States if deemed qualified; physical therapist that is.

Monday morning, exactly 10 a.m., the call time for the initial and/or final interview of applicants that had been previously notified by e-mail.

It gets Andie very nervous that it’s where her future lies on. For her, it’s all or nothing, she can get it or screw it. She doesn’t know her fate at the moment.

The hotel lobby is where businessmen usually meet for some informal meetings. They’d spend time boasting about stuff they own, stock markets, assets and liabilities over cups of coffee.

It’s already 10:30 a.m. when Andie came running toward the lobby. She’s late for the interview, she said. This time she really screwed up. While she runs fast not looking on her way, she suddenly bumps into a man who is somewhat 5’8” tall, a bit firm looking. She didn’t really notice how the guy looks as her brain is stuffed with the fact of being late.

“Oooppss!” She just said after she bumps into the man.

A couple of books and some of her documents in the folder were scattered all over the floor. It annoyed her so much that it adds to her late call time for the interview.

The man kneeled down and looked at her in a bit curious manner while trying to pick up some of her things. The man didn’t say any word and get up after she piled up all her stuff.

He then walked past her to follow the direction of the crowd toward the exit. She is really annoyed that the man didn’t even apologize for bumping her, or at least say any words that could reduce her exasperation, even if she’s not really sure whose fault it was. She’s just preoccupied by the thoughts of her interview with the Americans.

She then rushed toward the lobby, turning her head around the place and wondered where could possibly the employer be.

She asked the usher if he knows where the interview is being held. The usher directed her toward the tall American man sitting in front of two ladies at the right corner of the lobby in a blue corduroy-covered couch. She thanked God for saving herself from trouble, that the man is still interviewing some applicants. But it gave her the notion that the employer might not entertain her at all because she’s late.

She thought of some idea on how to get the attention of the American. She couldn’t think of any and was forced to wait for the interview to end.

Finally, the two ladies stood up shaking each other’s hands and said goodbye to the American. Good thing it is only herself at the moment. As the American is moving up from sitting, she then rushed toward him and introduced herself.

“Hello, I am Andrea Dancel, I am one of the applicants whom you notified for the interview, I supposed you’re Mr. Stevens?” Andie told the American.

“Yes, yes, I’m Mr. Stevens, how’re you?” Let’s sit. He added.

Mr. Stevens is somewhat 45 years old, 6’2” tall, with Caucasian features, slightly balding on frontal head.

She then introduced herself and stuffs she does, her intention to work abroad, and how far her process has gone. She told Mr. Stevens that she already passed the TOEFL/TSE for Visa Screening (Test of English as Foreign Language and Test of Spoken English). Her credential evaluation is already on the process in supervision of FCCPT. Mr. Stevens is amazed by Andie’s wit and politeness. He saw her smiling all the time and sees her willingness and aggressiveness to work with his company. Just before they end up talking, Mr. Stevens finally gave her an offer. They even bargained for her rate at work, her relocation fees, and sign-on bonus if she already finished the process.

Mr. Stevens is amazed that it’s one of the longest talks he had for the interview. He just gives at least 10-15 minutes for each interview he makes, but not with Andie. He then told her to start the process at once so they could hire her direct in the soonest time possible. She’s really glad about the outcome of her interview.

She felt her intestines are already battling, so she signaled Mr. Stevens if he would like to eat lunch already. Mr. Stevens then told her that she can go and eat, as he’ll be waiting for his companions for late lunch. She then stood up and shook Mr. Stevens’ hand.

Andie went directly to the church to thank God that she didn’t screw up and she got the slot. She’s now ready to start the process and then eventually work in New Jersey where, hopefully, her place of employment would be.

She immediately went home to tell her family that she got the slot. All she had to do is to pass the NPTE (National Physical Therapy Examination) or stateboard exam, that’s why she enrolled for a local review class of 3 months’ duration and will also be attending an NPTE review class following that. But because of her perseverance and intelligence, she is confident that she can pull through with it.

“I am going to the states, I am going to the states!” Her brain is singing with her.

It’s already 9 p.m. when she receives a call from a nicely spoken accent from the other line.

“Hello?” she said. “Uhmmm hello, Ms. Dancel?” The man asked. “Yes, this is Andrea Dancel, who’s calling please?” she said politely. “This is Mr. Stevens, I am sorry to give you a short notice and a late call, but I was wondering if you can come by the hotel tomorrow at 10 a.m., please? “My colleagues want to meet you and talk to you about our offer of employment,” he added.

Andie is getting so nervous about the way their talk is going but she straightforwardly asked the American, “Do I still get the slot, don’t I? Nervous about the answer would be, but she couldn’t care less.

“Oh no, no, it is really your slot. I just told my colleagues how interesting our conversations went, so they want to meet you up and maybe they could offer you more. “You’re going to meet Ms. Emily Taylor and Mr. Daniel Anderson with me,” he added.

“Oh, umm sorry to get so anxious. Okay, Mr. Stevens, expect me to come by the hotel lobby at 10 a.m. tomorrow, and thanks for the notice, really appreciate it, bye.” Then they hung up the phone.

It gave her a good relief after she heard what the man said. They’re going to offer me more than what I can get from Mr. Stevens? “Wow! I can’t believe it. I’m more like a celebrity, they’re haggling on my talent fee, oh yeah!” she boastfully teased herself.

She then prepared everything that night. She must wear a comfortable outfit so she can converse with them easily.

She wrote everything on her notebook, which is more like a bible or a diary for her. She always puts everything into writing on that notebook. She practiced speaking in front of the mirror so she can be more than prepared when she speaks in front of them. Her mind tells her to impress them but she knows she need not to, she just needs to be herself so everything will come naturally.


“I’m tired man, I need to go home already!” Josh told his friend, Miggy, as they went out from the bar after drinking barrels of beers that night. Before that, Josh already lost 50,000 from the casino. It was already 3 a.m. when Josh decided to go home. He’s still driving to Valle Verde for 15 minutes from that bar in Bel-Air, Makati.

The guard opened the gate for him and so he swifts toward the garage to park his car. He then went straight to his room to freshen up and get rest. He only has short hours to rest, as he will be having another meeting in the hotel at 9 a.m.

Andie woke up early to avoid getting late for her appointment again. After she finished breakfast, she then gets dressed, fixed her hair and put some light makeup on, which she normally does. It’s already 7:30 a.m. when she finished everything up. She then got out of her house to travel toward the hotel.

It annoyed her that the traffic is so heavy along the Commonwealth area. She thumped her fingers on the window shield of the FX to release her tension due to heavy traffic that she’s been battling every time she passed by that area. She finally reached Quezon Ave. MRT station, but the growing lines toward the card counter seemed endless.

“Why is it everything seems like taking me so long to get to the hotel?” she mumbled.

It’s almost 9:30 a.m. when she arrived at the Pasay/Taft MRT station. She thinks she can still pull through and will not be late for her appointment as she still has 30 minutes to go.

It’s already 10 minutes later when she arrived Pasay and still couldn’t get a ride toward the hotel. Not willing to do so, as she is afraid, she finally decided to ride a cab instead to save her time. She told the cab driver to hurry up and bring her to the hotel before 10 a.m. The driver just smiled and told her to relax. She finally arrived at the hotel at 9:55 a.m., just 5 more minutes, but she still has to walk fast to get to the lobby. She doesn’t want the Americans to wait for her.

As usual, the hotel is packed, good thing she doesn’t need to ride the elevator and go to the 30th floor for that matter.

The people around are so busy walking and some are waiting for the next elevator so it blocked her way toward the alley going to the lobby.

She run as fast as she could again, but she seems lost, she forgot where she should pass as the cab driver dropped her on the other side of the hotel. She turned around looking for a sign of entrance toward the lobby. She spoke to the usher, who seems to be busy escorting some guests, but then attended to her.

“That way ma’am, go straight toward that alley and then turn right.” The usher said.

“Okay, thanks!” she said.

Just before she could run fast toward that direction, acting a swift motion, she again bumped into someone so hard. She was thrust to the side carelessly throwing her stuffs on the floor again.

Good thing she didn’t fall back or front. She’s just worried that her things are spread all over again. This was the second time around that happened to her for two consecutive days. Amazing! What a disgrace! It seems like the luck is not on her side that day.

“What the heck?” she said in an angry voice. “Uhmm, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…..”

The sound of a masculine voice lingers into her ears but she didn’t care much thinking that she’s going to be late if she didn’t recover quickly. She just looked at the person who bumps into her again when his scent disorients her. It seems like she already seen him but not so sure where. The guy is sure though that it’s her who bumps into him the second time around.

After picking all of her things, she then rushed toward the alley. She’s breathing fast when she saw the Americans walking down the stairs. She then hurriedly checks on a place to stay. She spotted vacant couches then positioned herself comfortably to pacify her breathing.

After regaining his composure, Josh saw a blue notebook on the floor near his way back. He thinks it’s from her, but when he turned around, she’s already gone. He doesn’t know where he could leave the thing. He’s sure not to leave it to the usher thinking that they won’t give that thing back to her.

Reluctant of the idea, he went out with the notebook with him. He’s thinking of giving it back to her the following day and meet her up again in that hotel for that matter.

“Hello, Ms. Dancel.” Mr. Stevens greeted. “This is Ms. Emily Taylor and this is Mr. Daniel Anderson,” he added.

“Nice to meet you both, you can call me Andie,” she said in confidence. They’re all delighted with their conversation and they’re convinced that they had a good time talking.

Andie is surprised when Ms. Taylor offered her a good deal. She thinks about the idea but then again took the offer. She knows she can do better and she can learn everything from the new position they are offering her. She’ll be working as a therapist in a Sports Medicine Clinic, plus they’re going to subsidize her schooling for masteral and eventually for DPT if her performance is outstanding. They said that they’ll stay in touch with her on a regular basis to keep them all posted. The meeting then ended nicely. The Americans went back to their hotel rooms and Andie went home.


“Uhmm, can we have a break for a minute?” Josh told the lady who’s caressing him at the VIP room of some famous bar along Quezon Blvd. Josh and his friends frequent that place on a weekly basis to satisfy their urges. They would spend 30,000 php for one night for drinks and girls. Josh normally pays the bill for them.

For the first time, it bored Josh and it even bored the stripper named Natasha.

“What’s up with you?” Natasha asked.

“Yeah, what’s up with you man?” Miggy asked.

“Nothing man, let’s go home, I’m dead tired,” he added.

But for him, it’s not the real reason. He just, for once, felt really, really tired and bored.

The guard was awakened by the sound of Josh’s angry horn. He seems like in a hurry going inside. The guard just raised his hand up to greet him. He just shook his head then quickly run the vehicle toward the garage.

He couldn’t sleep that night. He then went to his office room with the notebook. He slides it on his office table then he brewed some coffee beans. After a few minutes, he poured the coffee on his cup. He turned to the side and slid his behind to sit on his chair. His eyes looked straight to the notebook carefully checking it. He couldn’t resist himself to inspect what’s written on the notebook.

As he opened it, he immediately saw a photo attached on the top left corner of the notebook where her informations were written below it.

PERSONAL MEMORANDA
Name: Andrea Ventura Dancel
Address: #24 North Fairview, Quezon City
Nick name: Andie
Age: 22
Birthday: Sept. 8, 1981
Phone: (02) 939-xxxx/0917-xxx-xxxx

Her whole name was printed, as well as her number and her home address. He wants to call her to tell her that he got her notebook, but he’s not so sure if he can do it that moment. He then inspected the other pages. Her review class schedule was also printed as well as some notes on her review.

“What’s this review for?” he whispered.

As he progressed on the other pages, he was surprised to read that the notebook seems like a little diary. She wrote the things that happened to her before and after her interview in that hotel.

His eyes widened when he read that she wrote something about a guy she bumped into yesterday. He’s sure that she is talking about him.

At first, he smiled when he found out about it but suddenly he frowned when he reads, “It annoyed me much when this guy bumped into me, so careless that foolish guy, he didn’t even ask for apology.”

But she then complimented him when she wrote that, “it was the scent of the guy that I loved smelling the most, I wonder who that guy was?” And he must be in shape because I felt a firm masculine body when he bumped into me, (***giggles***).” Josh smiled after reading it and shook his head in satisfaction.
d
He felt a guilt feeling after learning that he has just read the lady’s diary, so he stopped there and went to his bed. He left the notebook on his office table. He is decided to give it back to her the following morning on the hotel.

Andie woke up a little late, making up to her two consecutive days’ morning wakes. She then decided to get up when she felt that her stomach is making a funky sound.

After breakfast, she went back to her room to check her notebook. To her surprise, her notebook was not in her bag. It’s not even in her shelves or cabinets, or even in the computer stand. She’s so worried that her details were written on that notebook and she couldn’t afford to lose it as she had written most of her writings there. She felt sad that she doesn’t know where could she have left it.

At 10 a.m., Josh is already posted on the reception area near the entrance where he could easily see people coming in and out. He waited for long but he didn’t see her. He couldn’t walk around as he might lose her out of sight. After two hours, he decided to go upstairs to check but he didn’t see her either. He went to the lobby but he didn’t see even her shadow. He then decided to go out to his frustration. He went to check his other business. After that, he stopped by the restaurant for lunch with his friends. As usual, he pays for the tab.

His friend, Miggy, asked him to come with him at the casino and the bar again that night, but he’s not in the mood to go bar hopping he said. It surprised Miggy that he passed for the first time. Sometimes he even begged for them to come with him on a bar and pay for all the bills himself just to have a companion.

“What’s wrong with you, Josh?” Miggy asked. “You’re acting a little weird lately, why is that?” he added.

“I don’t know, I just get tired of all this, for the first time, I felt I need to rest,” he said then he drove his car and turned to leave.

He already arrived home and went straight to his office carrying the notebook again. He’s just worried that he hasn’t returned the notebook to her yet. He could at least call her but he was reluctant to do so, for some reason, he doesn’t know.

He stared at the notebook blankly but the urge of inspecting it again came upon him. He checked the last page he had scanned and then turned to the next one. He’s surprised to read that it’s like an article, an article about dating.

He smirks when he read the first line of the article.

“Dating comes in different packages. You can choose to look at it like intimacy in teenage couples; the day out with the ones you loved in family dates; feelings of belongingness in friendly dates; and the start of something good like getting into the next level in date dates or serious dates. Ah I wish I had that last one!”

Then he read the whole part. It’s just a two-paged article but it illustrates the deeper meaning of one of the most important things on Andie; about getting to know the people through dates, which never occurred to Josh even before, as he never had serious dates and relationships ever, not even once. He’s getting interest on the writings in that notebook. He couldn’t wait turning to the next page while scanning the writings.

He also read poems, which amazed him so much. “I didn’t realize how intellectual this lady was,” he said. “But she must be boring, all these stuffs, wheew,” he added.

It sure will make him bored to death as he never even realized going out with a lady who is conservative or only knows how to write boring stuffs and not even entertain fun things after all.

As he went pretty far on the pages, he felt there’s something in her he must discover. It mesmerized him that the writings didn’t bore him at all.

He saw folded parts, which talked about the sequel of dating also. Seems like she’s talking about her personal experiences in dating before. She detailed the writing from her idea of a trouble-free date that may lead into serious level if it only progressed. She also wrote her terrible date experiences. This made Josh laugh so hard. “I didn’t know that this lady can be so cruel also.” The notebook itself seems to mirror her personality, which gave Josh an advantage to get to know her in a fast mode even before he’d met her.

He felt so tired but the thoughts of her still linger in his mind. It also adds up the articles he read from that notebook. Now he is sure he wants to meet her again even in a strange situation like bumping on her.