Miggy's POV
"Bro, look who's here," Meynard whispered, nudging me with his elbow as we stood side by side. I had just finished talking to one of our bosses before he was pulled away by another guest.
"Huh?"
"To your right," he muttered again, casually sipping his wine.
I turned my head—and there she was.
"Wow," I breathed before I could stop myself.
"Calm down," Meynard chuckled under his breath. "Don't make it obvious you're drooling. It's shameful. Especially when someone sees you ogling like that in front of a—"
I elbowed him hard. "Shut up."
He winced. "Ouch! That hurt!"
I shot him a warning glare.
"Alright, alright. I'll behave," he said, but the grin on his face was impossible to miss.
"Sir!" Neri called as she approached us. My stomach flipped, already wound up from seeing her.
"Yes, Neri?"
"Gabie and Jhay are here. You'll handle introducing them to the bosses, right?"
My heart skipped. Finally, a chance.
"Hi!"
"Good evening, sir!" they greeted in unison as they walked up to us.
"You look lovely tonight, Gabie," Meynard chimed in quickly before elbowing me subtly.
She smiled shyly. "Thank you."
"Jhay, maybe you'd like some wine? I'll show you what I'm having," Meynard offered with a wink. "Sir, do you want a refill too?"
"Sure, sir," Jhay replied politely.
"It's just Meynard," he chuckled. "You'll make me feel old. I'm not used to being called sir."
The two of them walked off, leaving me alone with Gabie. I noticed she looked just as nervous as I felt. Her eyes flickered around the room, hands fiddling with the strap of her clutch.
"You, okay?" I asked gently.
"Huh? Yeah, yeah. Just… not used to events like this. Feels weird."
"Relax. You looked completely confident earlier. In front of the camera? You were a natural"
"Luh! I was shaking inside!" she laughed lightly. "But, you know, you do what you have to do."
"Well, whatever you did worked. It didn't show. You looked great—and the commercial looks amazing, by the way."
She smiled, this time more comfortably. "Thanks."
"And you don't have to say 'po' with me. I'm not that old. I mean, I might be older than you, but it's not by much."
"Okay… noted," she said with a playful nod.
"Thanks. You can call me Miggy, by the way. I'm twenty-five. You?"
"Twenty-two, turning twenty-three."
"See? Just a couple of years difference," I said with a chuckle. She laughed with me, the tension between us slowly easing.
"Alejandro Miguel!"
I turned to see one of our bosses approaching. "Sir! Good evening, Mr. Lopez."
"Good evening," he greeted warmly.
"Sir, I'd like you to meet Gabie—our new product endorser."
Gabie offered her hand politely. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."
Mr. Lopez smiled as he shook her hand. "I've heard good things about you. Looking forward to seeing what you bring to the campaign."
"Gabie, Mr. Lopez is the president of the company we're working with," I added quickly.
"Well then, welcome aboard," Mr. Lopez said before glancing at his watch. "The program's about to start. Enjoy the rest of the evening. Miguel, you take care of them for now."
"Of course, sir," I said as he gave my shoulder a pat and moved on.
Gabie exhaled sharply. "Whew."
"You'll be meeting more VIPs later, so get used to it," I said, trying to sound lighthearted.
"I'll try. Sorry—I can't help being nervous."
"Don't apologize. You're doing fine."
"Besh!" Jhay called out as he returned, carrying two glasses of wine.
"You were gone forever," Gabie teased.
"Sorry! Meynard had a lot to say," he joked, handing her a glass. "Here, drink up. This'll help."
"Cheers!" I said, raising my glass.
"Cheers!" they echoed in unison, clinking glasses before we all took a sip.
Minutes later, the program began. Our company president delivered his speech, followed by one of the bosses from our client company.
"Here's to many more years of working with EAL Advertising Agency!" said Dra. Hayvie Bella, one of the top executives of Bella Medical Group.
As she stepped down from the stage, the lights dimmed, and a spotlight focused on the widescreen set up at center stage, serving as the backdrop. A voice-over introduced the next segment — the commercial our agency produced, starring Gabie.
The room erupted into applause when the commercial ended. Gabie was then invited on stage to officially introduce herself as the new face of the facial wash she endorsed.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on her, admiration clear on their faces. Later, photos were taken with the top bosses from both companies.
"She's really beautiful," someone whispered nearby.
From the side, I heard Jhay quietly say, "Wow, my best friend really made it."
Meynard nodded, still focused on the stage. "It's her thing—she's stunning."
I watched Gabie as she shook hands and smiled politely with the VIPs.
Jhay leaned over and whispered, "She didn't want to audition at first—wasn't used to it—but because of her thesis, she got encouraged."
"Why her thesis?" Meynard asked, intrigued.
"She has to do it next semester. She realized it's not easy to manage expenses since she doesn't have many projects now. Plus, she's worried about money," Jhay explained quietly.
"So, she's the only one supporting herself?" Meynard asked, and I listened closely while still watching Gabie on stage. It was hard to look away.
"Yeah. She doesn't want to make life hard for her mom—she's an orphan, you know. She has a scholarship, but it doesn't cover everything. Because of me, she became a print ad model for some local brand clothing, accessories, bags and shoes. When school's less busy, she does photo shoots, but lately she's been on duty for her internship. Thankfully, it;s over, so I pushed her to audition," Jhay said.
"That's amazing! She's not just beautiful, but smart and strategic too. An ideal girl!" Meynard praised. I nodded, agreeing.
"Yeah, but her love life is practically non-existent because she's so focused on her work and studies. Weekends are spent helping her mom's shop and arrange products for their online business. It's not easy, and she doesn't have many friends. That's why we're close—we're always together at work. I've been her manager since she started modeling," Jhay added.
Meynard glanced at me and smiled knowingly. I immediately understood what he was thinking.
"She's going to be even busier next semester because of her thesis," he whispered, though it sounded like a teasing complaint.
"You really said everything! And of course, Madame was right there while I was spilling her whole biography. She even gave me that look!" Jhay laughed.
They both burst into laughter as I stood quietly, watching her walk toward us.
"Well, if it isn't my famous bestie!" Jhay greeted her with a wide grin.
"Oh, stop it! Your mouth is so loud!" Gabie scolded; her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. It was obvious she wasn't used to the attention.
"Come on, besh! There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Look at you—you're glowing! Starting tonight, you're going to be on TV multiple times a day!"
"Stop it already. This is really embarrassing," Gabie muttered, grabbing a flute of champagne from a passing waiter's tray.
"Hey! Don't get drunk—you're not used to drinking," Jhay warned her.
Meynard and I exchanged amused looks as we watched the two of them banter.
"I'm not drinking to get drunk. Just a little something to ease the nerves," Gabie said with a small smile.
"Please, behave! I'm the one Aunt Beauty will scold if something happens to you," Jhay said, clearly worried.
Gabie lifted her flute and examined it. "I don't think I'll get drunk off something this small."
Jhay turned to me. "Sir, is it easy to get drunk off this?"
I replied, "Not really, but it depends on a person's alcohol tolerance."
"There! You heard that," Jhay said, pointing at her. "And since you're not a regular drinker, your tolerance is probably low. So please—don't overdo it."
I cleared my throat before speaking.
"It would've been better if we'd eaten first before just standing around. We actually have a table reserved—let's go."
I changed the subject quickly. Jhay looked like he was dealing with something heavier than the rest of us, and I figured food might help distract him.
When we reached a round table, Jhay offered to carry Gabie's plate so she wouldn't have trouble with it. While eating, he and Meynard continued their animated conversation. I was nearly done when someone called out to me, pulling me away from the group.
"I could've had the chance to talk to her. He actually called me—wrong timing!"
I spent the next hour talking to different "personalities," introduced one after another by our boss to prospective clients. Still, I kept glancing back at Gabie, where she sat with Jhay and Meynard. I saw people occasionally approaching her too—probably introducing themselves, judging by the way she politely shook their hands.
Eventually, the VIPs started to say their goodbyes. As soon as I was free, I returned to our table and found them laughing at something.
I headed straight for a glass of water, taking a long gulp.
"Oh? What happened?" Meynard asked.
"Nothing. Just... exhausting talking to people like that all night, you know."
"You're a manager so it's your job!" he teased.
"Luh! First time I've seen an employee talk like that to their manager!" Jhay laughed. "Sir, I can't believe you haven't fired him yet!"
"Any day now," I joked.
"Sure, like you actually could." Jhay raised an eyebrow, clearly calling my bluff.
"Wow, you're really confident!" I shot back.
"Because I know you won't do it. You can't function without me." He said it with a grin, half-joking, half-serious. And honestly... he wasn't wrong.
"This is just how we talk when we're not at work," I explained, noticing their amused expressions. "Actually, even at work—if it's just the two of us. We've known each other for years. He's the son of my old nanny. We basically grew up together."
"Ah, that explains it! You're so lucky!" Jhay said, chuckling.
Before we could go any further, Andrew and Neri joined our table.
"Sir! What's the plan for the afterparty?" Andrew asked.
"Nope, not coming. You guys go ahead, just make sure no one's hungover tomorrow," I said.
"Oh, come on, sir! Again?" he whined.
"Come on, sir!" Neri added.
"It's just not my thing," I replied with a small laugh. "Enjoy yourselves, but don't get wasted. We still have work tomorrow."
"How about you guys?" Neri asked Jhay and Gabie.
"We'll pass. Gabie has school tomorrow," Jhay said.
"Okay. Next time, okay? We'll go ahead then. Don't miss us too much!" They waved playfully before leaving.
The crowd was thinning out. Only a few people remained, still deep in conversation.
"So... we'll go ahead?" Jhay turned to Gabie.
"Okay, sir, we'll head out now," Jhay said politely.
"Are you heading home?" I asked.
"Uh, we're not going home just yet. Gabie has a room booked under her name here. She came straight from school. Neri convinced her not to cancel it, so we'll just staying the night."
"That's smart. Traveling at this hour isn't safe anyway," I said.
"It's fine, we're used to it. Some shoots end really late," Gabie replied.
"Really? And then you still go to school the next day?"
She just shrugged, giving a small smile.
I nodded. We started walking out of the function hall. Meynard and Jhay walked ahead, while Gabie and I trailed a little behind them.
"You tired?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
"Not really. I'm used to staying up late."
"Um… would it be okay if I invited you for coffee?" I said, almost nervously. "Anyway, we're not heading the same way as the others. Meynard and I checked in here too, since we needed to change earlier."
She looked a bit surprised, then smiled slightly. "Okay."
"YES! This is it!" I celebrated in my head.
"Nard! Let's have a coffee first!" I called out, trying to keep it casual—so it wouldn't seem like I only wanted Gabie to come.
"Sure!" Meynard replied without even turning around.
Gabie's POV
"Is this real? Did he really invite me for coffee? OMG!"
I wanted to scream. But no—I couldn't let him know. He couldn't find out I had a crush on him. He didn't know that the reason I'd been so jittery earlier was because he stood too close, and I could smell his cologne.
We entered the coffee shop attached to the hotel. It was just a short walk from the main hall. We chose a table by the window with a view of the highway.
The four of us sat down. Jhay sat beside me, and Meynard sat beside Miguel. A waitress approached to take our orders.
Miguel ordered first, clearly used to this kind of setup. Meynard followed smoothly, like they had a usual routine.
"What would you like? You can order food too if you want snacks. Don't worry, my treat," he said, looking at me. I suddenly felt self-conscious. "Had he caught me staring?"
"I'll have the same as they'd order," Jhay answered.
"S-Same here," I stammered.
"That'll be all, sir?" the waitress asked. Miggy nodded, and she repeated the order before leaving.
Our food arrived quickly. We started chatting about school and work. Meynard would occasionally tease Jhay, who played along, and we all laughed at their banter. It was clear the two were close. For the first time, I heard Meynard call him brother instead of sir. Apparently, that only happened outside the office.
I also found out that Miguel was an only child, just like me. Meynard, on the other hand, had two siblings—one of whom was graduating college soon. At first glance, you wouldn't peg Meynard as the responsible type, since he joked around so much, especially with Miggy.
Suddenly, Miggy turned to me.
"Do you have any plans after graduation?"
"I'll start looking for a job," I replied. "And if I have time or get offers, I'll keep doing photoshoots."
"How about commercials? Like the one you did for us? You might get more offers soon—especially now that people are starting to notice you."
His question made me pause. "Yes? No? How would that even work? Would I accept it?"
"Well, it depends on my schedule—and whether I can meet their expectations," I answered simply.
"What if they offer lingerie, omg! I could never endorse that!"
He explained, "Some clients, when they like a previous commercial, request the same model again. Especially if they're regulars with the company. Sometimes they request a mix of print ads and commercials—just like the one you did."
"We'll see. As long as it doesn't affect my schoolwork, I'm open to it. But I don't accept lingerie endorsements—I really can't do that. Clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, sure. But this facial wash gig? It's my first time doing something like this. If Jhay hadn't pushed me to audition, I wouldn't have done it."
He nodded in understanding, as if he got that I wasn't comfortable being sexy on camera. Even "Mama said it was okay, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I wasn't ready to be that exposed—not just physically, but emotionally. The idea of being seen like that made me feel small, not empowered. And it's not about the money. I'd rather take smaller gigs that respect my comfort zone."
I once got an offer from a well-known brand to model lingerie for their catalog, but I turned it down. I just couldn't do it. I don't care if the pay is higher for those kinds of gigs. I'm okay with smaller jobs, as long as there are projects coming in. That's enough for me—I'm not chasing anything big.