veinte

Risa was enjoying a rare moment of peace—coffee in hand, half-finished reports on her desk, and no one barging in to harass her about certain office scandals.

Then Loren strolled in, looking way too smug for her own good.

"Ma’am," she started, plopping into the chair across from Risa’s desk. "Did you know there’s a betting pool on you?"

Risa paused mid-sip. "I beg your pardon?"

"Oh yeah," Loren continued, completely unbothered. "The whole office is in on it. They’re betting on how long you and your mystery lover can keep your relationship a secret before you get caught."

Risa blinked. Slowly. "What."

Loren leaned forward, grinning. "I put 500 on next week, but Sam from Marketing bet on this week, and honestly? I respect the confidence."

Risa set her mug down, inhaling deeply to keep herself from committing murder. "How—how does this even happen?!"

"Well," Loren mused, "maybe because you suck at being discreet?"

Risa glared. "I do not—"

"You made out with someone in your office." Loren raised an eyebrow. "And I walked in."

Risa’s face burned. "That was an accident."

Loren grinned. "And it was very educational. I had no idea you were capable of that level of passion."

Risa groaned, rubbing her temples. "Diyos ko, Loren, stop talking."

Loren cackled. "Anyway, people are talking, ma’am. And you know how this office is—one whisper turns into a full-blown chismis session by lunchtime."

Risa exhaled sharply. "Punyeta."

Loren nodded sagely. "Finally, you’re catching on."

Just then, her office door opened again, and Mika strolled in, looking equally amused.

"Ah," Mika said, nodding. "So you do know about the betting pool."

Risa buried her face in her hands. "Oh my God."

"Yeah," Mika continued, sitting on the armrest of the couch. "It’s getting intense. Sam tried to jump-scare Alice into outing herself earlier. It was beautiful."

Loren gasped. "Did she scream?"

Mika smirked. "Almost spilled her coffee."

Risa groaned again, slumping back in her chair. "You’re all insufferable."

Mika and Loren shared a look.

"Ma’am," Loren said, grinning, "we’re just invested in your love life."

"Like a teleserye," Mika added.

Risa shot them both a deadly glare. "Get out of my office before I fire you both."

Loren cackled on her way out. "No need to be shy, ma’am! We love a romantic lead!"

Mika just winked. "Rooting for you, Ms. Hontiveros."

As soon as the door shut, Risa dropped her head onto her desk with a heavy sigh.

This office was going to kill her.

Alice didn’t bother knocking. If the entire office was going to place bets on their sex life, she figured she was well past the point of formality.

Risa looked up from her desk, already exhausted. "Let me guess—you heard."

Alice shut the door behind her, locking it for good measure. "Oh, I heard, alright. Half the office is apparently waiting for us to slip up, and the other half is profiting off it."

Risa groaned, rubbing her temples. "It’s insane. I can’t even get through one goddamn meeting without someone giving me that look."

Alice smirked. "That look?"

"You know. That look. The ‘I-know-you-got-your-back-blown-out-last-night’ look."

Alice burst out laughing. "Oh, putangina mo, Risa! That’s so specific!"

Risa shot her a glare but couldn’t hide her smirk. "I’m serious! I walked into the break room earlier, and Mika winked at me like we have some unspoken understanding." She sighed. "We’re screwed."

Alice grinned, stepping closer. "Well, technically, I’m the one getting screwed."

Risa pinched the bridge of her nose. "You cannot say that while standing in front of me. In my office. While I’m trying to be professional."

Alice leaned in, resting her hands on the desk. "And yet, you’re blushing."

Risa exhaled sharply, gripping her pen like she was about to snap it in half. "Alice."

Alice tilted her head, voice dropping to a whisper. "Should we give them something real to talk about?"

Risa’s breath hitched, her eyes flicking to the locked door. "Alice…"

Alice smirked. "Relax. I’m kidding. Mostly." She sat on the edge of the desk, crossing her legs. "But seriously, what are we gonna do about this bet?"

Risa leaned back, arms crossed. "Nothing. If we deny it, they’ll just dig deeper. If we admit it, we lose."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "Lose?"

"Yes," Risa said, determined. "I am not letting these chismosas win."

Alice chuckled. "So what’s the plan? Keep sneaking around?"

Risa smirked. "No. We act so painfully normal, they start doubting themselves."

Alice laughed. "You think that’ll work?"

Risa shrugged. "I mean, if we really wanted to throw them off, we could start fake flirting with other people just to mess with them."

Alice’s smirk widened. "You’re evil."

Risa shrugged. "Desperate times."

Alice leaned closer, brushing her fingers against Risa’s wrist. "You know, we could just make out in front of Loren and tell her she won the bet."

Risa rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide the way her lips twitched. "Tempting. But then she’ll never shut up about it."

Alice hummed, fingers teasing along Risa’s forearm. "Fine. We play the long game. But if they keep this up…"

Risa swallowed as Alice’s fingers traced slow circles against her skin. "Alice."

Alice grinned. "All I’m saying is, if we’re gonna be the office’s favorite scandal, we might as well earn it."

Risa exhaled sharply, gripping Alice’s wrist before she could push any further.

"You," she said, voice dangerously low, "are going to be the death of me."

Alice just smirked. "You’d love it."