Love At First Sit

by Ysa Arcangel

  She walked into the locker area and greeted everyone as she always did. She went to the pantry to pour hot coffee into her tumbler. Roxanne wasn’t quite herself until she had her coffee. Luckily, there was an unlimited supply for call center agents.

  “Hey Roxy, coaching later, okay?” said Mina in a low voice.

  She knew that Mina will only use their Aux[6] time to talk about what had happened the previous night.

  Logging into the company’s phone system, Roxanne put on her headset and remembered her mantra: Empathize with the customer and smile.

  “Thank you for calling East Coast Health Insurance Center, this is Roxanne, how may I help you?” Roxanne greeted, delivering her opening spiel in a cheerful tone.

  It wasn’t where Roxanne wanted to be, but the job paid the rent and expenses. As the sole provider for her children, Roxanne had to shove her dream of being a teacher far into a corner.

  It wasn’t an easy job either, but Roxanne was good at it. Many of her colleagues started with the intention to leave eventually, and there were some who stayed, like her Team Manager and friend Mina, who recognized the opportunity to climb the ladder of success.

  Roxanne was still aiming to set out once again to bag her degree. The call center job was just a pit stop for her. She only needed to buy time and money.

  She’d been trained to learn the American accent and humor to better adapt to customers’ needs. She was one of the company’s best agents.

  “Hello, Roxanne, this is Philip Schuster. I need to know why I received this bill? Shouldn’t the insurance cover this for me?” She had come across this problem many times. Most elderly folks calling in about the same problem.

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Mr. Schuster. Let me go ahead and check that for you,” she acknowledged him, and processed her first call of the night.

  “Thank you,” mumbled the caller politely on the other line.

  “For security purposes, please verify your policy number.” Roxanne started the verification process, or else she’d get an auto-fail on her quality assurance score if she continued the call without doing so. “Thank you for that information, sir. Let me place you on hold for a minute or two as I check on your account.”

  “Go ahead, sweetie.”

  After two minutes on hold, she went back to her customer. “Thank you for holding, Mr. Schuster. Based on our records, the amount billed to you is the 20% coinsurance amount that you are responsible to pay, since East Coast Health Insurance, which is your part B medical insurance, pays 80% of the Medicare-approved amount.”

  “You mean I need to pay for this?” The caller cleared his throat.

  “Yes, sir.” Roxanne felt bad for her caller. She knew how stressful bills could be, especially if this elderly is relying on only his insurance to cover his medical expenses.

  “I don’t have the money to pay this,” he uttered in a defeated voice.

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Mr. Schuster.” The line went silent for a moment. “Is there anything else I can—?”

  The caller didn’t allow her to even say her closing spiel as he hung up. Met with a dial tone, Roxanne took a deep breath and sipped her coffee. It was going to be a difficult night.

  She had a few escalations and two supervisor calls. Sighing, she dropped her headset and got up from her seat to take her first fifteen-minute break.

  “Roxy, manong guard is looking for you,” called Mina from her elevated post, which was situated at the end of their cubicle bay.

  “Huh? Why? Did I do something wrong?” She asked with a trembling voice, knuckling her fingers.

  “I don’t know.” Mina’s brow crunched up. “Ask manong.”

  “Shit,” she cursed under her breath. “Lend me your access card. I forgot mine.”

  “Oh...that’s why you’re panicking, huh?” Mina teased her, holding her access card out of Roxanne’s reach.

  “Wilhelmina.” Roxanne glared at her.

  “Okay, okay,” Mina chuckled. She really liked annoying her friend.

  Roxanne grabbed the card and tapped it on the reader. She could feel her heartbeat quickening and fear rushing through her veins. She went down to the lobby, praying that the sanction wouldn’t be that grave as she walked up to the guard’s perch near the entrance.

  “Manong, sorry. I just had to get in. I really didn’t mean anything by it. I’m sorry. Did the CCTV catch me—?”

  “Hey.”

  Roxanne’s head snapped in the direction of the voice.

  “Ma’am, your friend is looking for you.” The guard pointed at the man standing outside the building.

  Roxanne was met by a pair of tantalizing eyes and corn silk-like hair flapping in the breeze. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and his dimples peeked out.

  “Wish?”

  Chapter Four

  Mr. Right

  “H-hey...” She said quietly. “What are you doing here?” There was a twinkle in her eye that said she was surprised to see as she stepped outside the building, walking toward Wish.

  “Hey Foxy,” he said softly, matching her tone. One corner of his mouth twitched up. He walked up to her, a takeaway cup of coffee in one hand and her ID holder in the other. “I came to give you this.”

  Roxanne’s eyes went wide. She immediately grabbed her IDs from his hand and stuffed them into her blazer’s side pocket. She slightly pushed him away from the gawking security guard.

  His eyebrows quirked in amusement.

  “Thank you,” she said, glancing sideways to manong guard.

  He shook his head at her, bemused.

  “I noticed employees here use their IDs to get in. How did you—?”

  “Ssh!” Roxanne covered his mouth with her hand. “I had to be resourceful, okay?” She removed her hand.

  He smirked at her over the rim of his coffee as he took a sip, but he could see the lines of tension around her mouth.

  “What time do you get out?” he asked, all seriousness.

  There was a beat of silence. He met her gaze steadily, dropping the jovial attitude.

  “6 A.M, why?” Her heartbeat started to skip.

  “Would you like to have some breakfast when you’re done?”

  Another question asked. Another heartbeat skipped.

  For the first time ever, someone genuinely approached her and asked her to go out, despite the fact that he knew someone like her could have demands.

  Roxanne always felt unworthy to date, because of the “baggage”, as some have put it.

  But to Wish, she was Roxanne. Not a girl with a history of a relationship that didn’t work out.

  “Breakfast?” she repeated.

  He bit his lip. “Yeah.”

  Roxanne felt like just a look from him was enough to unravel layers of self-doubt, fear, and insecurity.

  She thought he was a wonderful man. He was charming, handsome and everything she should’ve wanted in a guy. There was just one problem. She was in love with someone who had disappeared from her life.

  She was immune to men in bars because of him, Chris, the guy she couldn’t get out of her head. Her first love and the father of her children. But he’d left her. He didn’t want her...didn’t want them. It was the uncertainty that hurt the most; everything that had once felt so right now seemed almost imaginary. Regardless of the fact that nothing would come of mourning for someone she’d never really had, she couldn’t bring herself to forget Chris.

  “Wish, I-I can’t keep you waiting,” Roxanne shook her head. “I still have two more hours to go. Look at you. You look sleepy.”

  “I’m willing to wait.”

  “No, you don’t have to.” Roxanne shook her head. “Thanks for dropping by and bringing back my ID. I really appreciate it.”

  Someone who had her trust issues wasn’t going to take a chance with anyone. Joining the speed dating event was just for fun. She couldn’t afford the risk in her life right now.

  “Remember, I’m trying to delay the inevitable. So
don’t spoil it. Not now. Not yet,” Wish said, seriously.

  Suddenly, Roxanne’s phone rang. She furrowed her brow as she went to answer it. “Yes, Mina?”

  “Roxy, where are you? You’re ten minutes over break,” her TM said on the other line.

  “Shit, I got stuck in the elevator,” she immediately formulated an alibi.

  A taho[7] vendor happened to pass by shouting “TAHO!” at the top of his lungs.

  “So manong magtataho[8] got stuck in the elevator too?” Mina scoffed.

  “I’m on my way,” she told Mina and hung up. “I have to go back inside, Wish. Thank you for this.” She indicated her IDs. “I’ll see you around.” Roxanne hurried back inside the building. She got on the elevator and let her thoughts drift as she watched the floor numbers increase.

  The moment she stepped on the production floor, Mina’s scrutinizing eyes landed on her.

  “Mina, I swear I was stuck, sorry.”

  “Okay, fine.” Mina raised her hands defensively.

  Roxanne turned on her heel and walked past her friend to her desk.

  “You’ve got a lot of Wish tale to tell, Roxy,” she whispered, then shouted, “Roxy, we’re on queue, go manual in. Guys, five calls waiting!” Mina was back in TM mode.

  “Psst,” Angelica, a colleague who sat beside Roxanne nudged her. “Hey, who’s that guy you were talking to outside? Could he be Mr. Right?” Angelica teased.

  Roxanne blushed. “What are you talking about? He found my ID and was just kind enough to give it back to me.”

  “Hey, Angie, fill me in? Rox has a new suitor?” Carly, who was sitting behind Roxanne asked in full volume.

  Her colleagues started to tease her and together they sang to the tune of a popular song, “Siya na ba si Mr. Right?” That made her blush even more.

  “Guys, EOP!” Mina shouted across the floor—which stood for English Only, Please—and the mocking subsided.

  “Hey Rox, I have a customer on the phone who’s asking to speak with you. Can I transfer?” Sandy, one of her teammates, asked.

  Roxanne did not hesitate. She was used to having customer’s call back in and ask for her again. Before she even had time to pull up the customer’s account, her phone rang.

  “Thank you for calling East Coast Health Insurance Center, this is Roxanne, how may I help you?”

  “Hi, Roxanne, I spoke with you earlier. This is Coreen Leonard.” The voice on the other end of the line was calm and collected.

  “Hello, Ms. Leonard. It’s nice to talk to you again. How can I help?”

  “Can I talk to your manager? I wanted to commend you for a very good service you provided me earlier.”

  “Sure.” A big, warm smile graced her face. “I’ll let you speak with my manager.” She pressed the mute button and yelled, “Commendation!”

  Mina took the call and recorded all the praises that the customer said about Roxanne.

  “Good job, Roxy,” Mina patted her shoulder.

  At six o’clock on the dot, Roxanne logged out.

  “Bye, guys,” she bade goodbye to her co-workers.

  “Bye, Rox. Next time, you should introduce to us your Mr. Right, ha.”

  “Huh! You wish!” Roxanne headed over to the locker area to collect her stuff.

  She put her shades on as soon as she was out of the building. Adopting vampire hours had its social and health costs.

  The smell of fresh espresso brewing and baked pastries wafted through the air. She followed the scent and turned the corner.

  She was surprised to see Wish leaning on the wall.

  “Good morning,” he beamed.

  “G-good morning,” she stammered, not taking away her gaze on his sleepy eyes.

  “Coffee?”

  She nodded robotically. He’d made an effort to bring back her ID. He’d waited for her outside the building. What was that supposed to mean?

  Wish grabbed her bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Let’s get you some breakfast.” He cocked his head for her to follow him to the coffee shop.

  As if under a spell, she followed him without ifs or buts.

  Chapter Five

  Chemistry

  “Are you yawning?” Wish smirked at Roxanne from the across the table after she laughed at one of his cheesy jokes and stifled a yawn.

  “I can’t help yawning myself every time I see you yawn, even if you turn away to do it,” she giggled, another small yawn escaping her lips once again.

  “Damn, you are tired,” he whined playfully. “Am I that...” a wide yawn twisted his features, “boring?” They both laughed.

  She shook her head. “It’s been a long night. And no, you are not boring at all.” Roxanne tipped the mug of coffee against her lips.

  He felt his stomach flutter at the sight of her smiling, and quickly looked away when she caught him staring.

  They ate in silence, no weather on which to comment and no bothersome toll of traffic to talk about for a few minutes.

  “You don’t eat breakfast often, do you?” Wish broke the silence, giving Roxanne a sideways look.

  “Of course, I do!” Roxanne took a bite of her sandwich and a mouthful of pasta while Wish’s eyes focused on her. “With my friends, after our graveyard shift is over, we usually head out to Top Grill or Prov.”

  “That’s not breakfast.” He continued to stare at her. His eyes were analyzing her, reading her body language.

  “Well, that’s what call center agents call breakfast: cold beer, videoke, cigarettes.” She shrugged. Roxanne took a short pause and stared into space quietly before zeroing back in on the face in front of her. “I-I’m not quite sure how this works. This whole eating with a guy is strange to me.”

  Wish chuckled. “I’ve only known you for a couple of days, but I can tell you’re too uptight.”

  “You are nosy.” She arched her eyebrows.

  “Because you share a lot when you drink too much,” he shot back. “So let’s make a deal.” Wish leaned forward. “If you’d stop being so uptight, I promise to chill out a little.”

  “Seriously?” Roxanne demanded. “What’s that supposed to mean?” The other customers and the staff of the coffee shop turned their heads at them.

  Wish eyed her over the rim of his coffee cup and managed a smile. Her eyes, they were breathtakingly beautiful, dark and expressive. He swallowed and looked away, feeling the warmth that briefly flowed in his stomach. A warmth that he wasn’t sure was brought on by the coffee or something else that she sparked inside him.

  Wish had never had this experience before. Spending time with someone he barely knew - and enjoying it. He was mostly used to having sex at first sight. He didn’t have to explain himself, or the situation, and it wasn’t the beginning of a relationship. The women in his past knew there was no possibility that he might have real romantic feelings.

  It was unfamiliar. He wasn’t sure if he could deal with it. He hadn’t felt that for a long time.

  “I don’t like complications,” Roxanne blurted.

  “You’re allowed to have a personality,” he stated.

  “Do you want me to give you a rundown of why men should not date a single mothe—?”

  “You’re oblivious to the way men look at you, Foxy.”

  Roxanne’s lips turned up in a begrudging smile. Wish may have seen a slight blush rise on her cheeks.

  She took the sandwich to her mouth. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

  “Trust me, I know.” He focused on her dark eyes and his cocky smile widened. “Guess what? Connie showed the result of the speed dating. You’ve got the highest number of ‘hell yes’es.

  She laughed softly. “Because they don’t know anything about me. All they know is that I am a twenty-five-year-old bachelorette looking for fun and adventure. They’re clearly missing something. If they knew about my children, they’d run for the hills, for sure.”

  “Or step up their game. You’re a tough cookie, you know that? But a little too bitt
er and resentful...and full of self-doubt.”

  Roxanne’s jaw dropped. “First, I’m not a cookie, and stop calling me Foxy, okay?” She straightened in her seat, twirled the fork into the noodles, and took a big bite. She swallowed before speaking again, “And I’m telling you, you’re making a complete fool of yourself.”

  “You’re being rude.” He had to admit she was cute when she was annoyed.

  “You’re the one who called me bitter and resentful.” She cut her eyes into him.

  Wish chuckled. “Life is short; it’s okay to have fun.”

  She frowned at his words. “No,” the word flew from her lips quickly. “Not when you have mouths to feed. You won’t understand, Wish. “

  “Then help me understand.” Wish searched her eyes.

  “Just shut up. Quit while you’re ahead. Go home before one of your friends finds you here...with me.”

  “This is just breakfast, okay? No big deal.” But it was. “We’re just two night-owls who happened to have breakfast together. Feel better?”

  She blinked at him a few times, hoping she could come up with some rebuttals.

  He didn’t even care that he was looking at an overworked and stressed version of Roxanne, unlike the alluring and fresh-looking face she wore during the speed dating event.

  When she said nothing in response, he sighed as his form slumped in the chair, defeated.

  “I could handle friends. Not complications,” Roxanne said.

  There was a glimmer of dejection in his eyes. He could have any woman he wanted. Women would line up for a chance to have breakfast with him. Why her? He wanted to pursue her, despite everything he knew.

  “Sorry if I’m a little too cranky. I’m in a complicated situation, Wish, and I don’t know how this would go. Even though it’s just friends.” She bowed her head in apology.

  Their connection had been obvious since the first time they’d spoken, and he didn’t realize that things could escalate so quickly. He didn’t want to rush it.

  It was the first time in ages that Wish had been rejected, even for the friendship he was trying to offer.