The story of how JP and I met was actually very interesting. It was at the Avanade office in Cybergate 3. I was a Team Lead working for a short-term project and would spend most of my days corresponding to our US counterparts, resolving issues and making coffee at the pantry. Every now and then, I would break my routine and buy some snacks at the Ministop or the cafeteria downstairs.
One afternoon, a girl from Helpdesk Support approached me asking where a certain Mr. John Pope Fabrero was. Having no clue about the person she was referring to, I had to ask her to repeat the name for me. She repeated the name but added this remark, "Sya po yung nakaupo sa tapat ninyo." Puzzled with that piece of information, I blurted out, "May nakaupo pala sa tapat ko?!" I then stood up and walked over to the other side of my cubicle. It did seem like someone should have been sitting there.
The girl left and I went back to work.
Two or so days after, the same girl came back and once more asked where Mr. John Pope Fabrero was. She seemed desperate and added that Mr. Fabrero had a support ticket opened and she needed to see his desktop. At that point, I volunteered and told her that if I ever saw Mr. Fabrero, I will inform him to call and follow-up with the Helpdesk Support team.
A few days passed and one early afternoon, a man carrying a bag that seemed more like an army sack quickly rushed in, dropped his bag at his cubicle and walked out again as swiftly as when he came in. Suspecting that this was the Mr. Fabrero that Helpdesk girl was inquiring about, I ran towards him and called out his name. He seemed to have heard me and stopped, leaning against the wall of the hallway.
I asked, "Are you Mr. John Pope Fabrero?"
He smiled and said, "Yes?"
"Huy, panagutan mo na yung naghahanap sa 'yo. Ilang beses ka na kasi hinanap ng Helpdesk eh." was my response but in my mind I was thinking... Cute naman ng smile nito.
Ever since that day, we became friends. I learned that at that time JP was on bench and would normally go to the gym or join the sports activities sponsored by the company. In any case, he began to be more visible from that day onwards. We would go to the cafeteria together for lunch, at McDonald's to take our afternoon break, the Ministop to buy Yakult, the grocery to buy mineral water. I would get Absolute. He would get Wilkins. We would also sometimes hang out with my teammates after work hours. One time we went to the Accenture gym together. We were getting to know one another until one day, less than one month after, we decided to become exclusive.
I became his Bebe. And he became mine.
P. S. The story of how JP first met me was equally interesting. He told me that he had seen me and had noticed me even before, perhaps almost a year earlier. It was in a different Accenture building while he was deployed to a different project. I was wearing a brown dress. He told me he remembered me and would notice me such as when I would prepare my coffee at the pantry.
P. S. S. I do not normally wear a dress to the office however, that night when JP saw me, I just came from a wedding reception which ended earlier than I anticipated. Since the wedding reception was less than 30 minutes away from Makati, I took a bus and decided to visit some friends whom I met in Chicago at their Accenture office. One of my friend was actually JP's Team Lead back then.
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