Chapter 4 - Sounds of Thunder

TALA

Tala sat on her dining table holding a mug of coffee on one hand and a manila folder on the other. To her surprise, Noli couriered the inheritance documents to her the following day, a signature required as she instructed. She half expected that he would try to keep the case, since it seemed he'd been working with her parents since before she was born. 

She's stared at the folder, unopened, for the last few days.

Just as she was about to open it, her phone rang; Adam was calling. Adam Rays had been Tala's best friend since they started working together. They both started on the same day, though different departments, and had been inseparable since.

"Hey, what's up?" She answered.

"Hey, are back to work already?" Adam asked, half whispering.

"Why are you whispering?"

"Are you or are you not back to work?"

"No, I'm still off for another week. Why?" Mirroring Adam, Tala subconsciously started to whisper as well.

"Sis, she has been up in arms all fucking morning asking where you are." Adam paused, as if someone walked by, "She's been looking for you since she walked through the doors."

"Who? Who's been asking for me?" Tala asked, though she knew as soon as she asked it.

"Who else? Maya." Adam answered.

"Oh my god, she gotta be fucking joking. I'm on bereavement for god's sake."

"Oh, I know. She almost took my head off when I told her." Adam scoffed, "She said she's going to be calling you."

Impulsively, Tala said, "The fuck she is. I'm heading over there now."

It's only a short ride from her condo to the office, but Tala took her sweet time frolicking down the park, stopping to watch the dogs at the dog area. She even took ten minutes to buy herself a bouquet of flowers from a lady at the farmer's market. Before she actually started heading towards her office, she also stopped for an iced coffee, just to top it all off.

If she was going to confront Maya, it was going to be fashionably late, with a bag of flowers on one hand and an iced beverage on the other.

When she arrived at her building, she gave Adam a call. 

"Hey," Tala said, her phone to her ear, "Just so you know, I'm about to walk in."

Adam audibly choked on whatever he was eating, "You're what?"

"I'm about to go see Maya. If you want to see it all happen, you better drop that burrito."

Adam paused, "How the hell did you know I was eating a burrito?"

"It's Wednesday. That cute guy always works the Wednesday lunch shift." Tala rolled her eyes, "You're not exactly subtle you know."

"Bitch." He said, "Okay but wait, Maya is in a meeting with Roger right now."

Tala laughed, "Oh shit, that's even better."

She greeted the receptionist, Kenneth, on her way in, leaving him just absolutely baffled. Kenneth was only a few days into the job before Tala took bereavement, so he wasn't quite familiar with Tala's face. Before he could even process the random lady with a bag of flowers who just happened to have access to the suite, Tala was already halfway down the office, tunnel-visioned on Maya's office.

The suite wasn't big; Tala's company shared the floor with two other tenants. Right off the elevators, the company's glass double doors were the first thing anyone would see. Kenneth sat right past them, stationed in front, ensuring all guests were properly checked in. 

Off to the east side, lining the windows, were a row of seven offices and another conference room at the very end. The rest of the right side of the floor were made up of two conference rooms and thirty benching workstations, mostly assigned to Finance and Human Resources. 

West side of the suite was the larger part of the office; it had the kitchenette, two four-person huddle rooms and forty benching workstations. That side also had six offices that lined the window, one of which was Maya's. 

As Tala made her way to the fourth office from the left, she pretended not to notice the dozen pairs of eyes that tracked her, whispering whatever gossip they might have speculated. The entire office knew she was still on bereavement, thanks to Adam's earlier announcement, so it wasn't so surprising that they were all just as confused and baffled as Kenneth as they watched her walk by.

Just before Tala entered Maya's office, Adam extended his arm, "Sis, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Wanna grab dinner after work? I have a feeling I'll be free later."

Adam laughed as he made his way back to his workstation. Tala, meanwhile, made herself at home.

Maya may have noticed an increased number of side-eyes towards her as she walked back to her office, but if she stopped to care for every little thing, people might mistake her for a sympathetic individual. She had planned to give Tala a call after the meeting but, to her surprise, she found Tala sitting comfortably in front of her desk, sipping on an iced coffee.

She slowly closed the door behind her and greeted Tala, "Well, this is a surprise. How are you, Tala?"

Tala didn't turn around and waited until Maya sat down on her chair, "Hi Maya. I'm doing alright, considering my dad just died."

Silence.

Maya cleared her throat, "And so how is it going…with…your bereavement? Have you…buried your father yet?"

Tala couldn't hide the utter repulsion brewing in her body. What kind of question is that? 

"Yes." She said, with a slight frown and her brow raised.

Maya nodded slowly, "So, what brings you in the office?"

Tala sat up straight, "I heard you were looking for me. So, here I am."

Maya's eyes quickly darted past Tala, to the growing crowd outside of her office. "Really? Who told you that? Adam specifically said you were on bereavement today."

"Not just today, Maya. I've been on bereavement for a week now and I'm still on bereavement for another week."

Maya, surprising even herself, couldn't help but react to that, "Another week?"

Unamused, Tala's demeanor changed. Her breathing slowed and her eyes criticized every word that came out of Maya's mouth. In the background, the clouds began to congregate, dimming the office. 

Maya continued, dangerously unaware that Tala's patience had run thin, "Tala, I'm sorry about your dad's passing, but I've been managing the new client we onboarded last month and as of yesterday, they have yet to receive a draft of their Workplace Standards from you."

"What client?"

"The biopharma client, Tala."

"That client was not assigned to me." Tala crossed her arms, seemingly to keep herself from flying off the handle.

Incredulous, Maya replied, "Of course it was. They requested services to oversee their Workplace Standards Guidelines – you were tasked to create a draft of it. They were onboarded a month ago and there still hasn't been any activity."

Tala uncrossed her arms, placing them on her thighs and leaned closer to the desk, "Maya. I was not assigned that client. Penny has that client. She was assigned that project because she's actually worked with them before on a smaller set of guidelines in the past. Roger assigned it to her."

"You were assigned this client."

"No, I wasn't!"

"Tala, that client was assigned to you. I know your father just died, but you cannot just leave your responsibilities to others."

Tala's patience had run out completely, and she was in a deathly calm state. Without emotion and in a deadpan tone, she replied, "It's not my client. You need to discuss this with Penny. This was assigned to her way before my leave."

"Your father's death is not an excuse." Maya said, shaking her head, "I have experienced parental death myself and never, not once, did I ever leave my work to others. This is inexcusable behavior. I expect you back on Monday to resolve this matter with the client. I am sure the past few days have been sufficient for your grieving."

The skies turned unnervingly dark, as if a harbinger of death. Sounds of thunder began to crackle, catching Maya's attention. Lightning brightened the dark gray skies and thunder echoed for miles. Seemingly contrast to Tala's exterior, which was stone-faced and blank, the weather was livid.

But it wasn't such a contrast to Tala's true feelings. While she had an apathetic front, she was turbulent inside. Quickly filling with rage and frustration, she fought hard to steady her breathing and not completely lose her composure as she tried to make Maya understand her situation.

"I have familial matters to address after burying my father. I can't return to work on Monday."

"Tala, I just said—"

"I know what you said." Tala snapped, "And I think you're a load of shit, Maya. Whatever unhappy phase you're experiencing in your shitty life – it doesn't need to be spilled to me."

Maya sat speechless and with her jaw slightly dropped. 

Tala continued, "First of all, that biopharma account was signed on three months ago, you oblivious bitch. Second of all, I never pass my work onto others just because I have an emergency. And lastly, don't you ever breathe a single thing about my father or my family ever again or I swear I will absolutely lose it on you."

An intense strip of lightning flashed outside followed by a deafening crack of thunder. A few squeals came from the employees who were continuing to snoop by the door. 

The minute silence that followed seemed to last an eon.

It was Tala who broke it, "If it wasn't already clear – I'm resigning. Effective this very fucking minute."

Adam and Tala met at a local tavern for dinner in the West Loop, and Adam couldn't stop howling in laughter as he recounted what happened earlier.

He was mid-bite when he burst into laughter again. Tala handed him a napkin, "Jesus Adam – you're going to choke on your pasta."

"I wish you were there to see the aftermath, sis," Adam said wiping his mouth, "it was just fucking incredible."

Tala laughed, "I saw Roger on my way out."

"Oh, oh my god. He was livid." He was shaking his head, twirling his fork for another mouthful, "Apparently he heard everything."

"How? He sits in the last office."

"Because he sat in the office next to Maya." He laughed, "He was so nosy, he decided to sit right next to her office to see if he could hear anything. He heard a fucking lot."

They were both in such hysterics, a few tables glanced over at their table.

"He called Maya into his office and just ripped her a new one."

Tala cringed, "Yikes. I doubt he'll fire her though."

"Maybe, maybe not." Adam shrugged his shoulders, "Honestly, I think it's a bigger punishment to keep her, knowing not a single person respects her."

"I swear I thought I was going to uproot the whole damn building."

"Yeah, that lightning show was kinda freaky, not gonna lie." He nodded, "So what's going on? How are you doing?"

"You know," Tala shrugged, as she ate a forkful of gnocchi.

"I don't know. You didn't even tell me when the funeral was."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I honestly just didn't even think about it. No one was there, really. Mostly my dad's friends."

"Oh, you do not need to explain yourself to me, ever. I wasn't going to impose on you."

Tala smiled sincerely at Adam; he always knew what to say and how to say it. 

"I found out a little something though."

"What, what?"

"I found out about an inheritance…"

"Oh I expected that from Theo, duh."

"…from my mother."

A noodle slid through the prongs of the pork and splashed just a tiniest drop of sauce onto Adam's shirt. He didn't realize, or care, "From your mother?"

Tala nodded once, twice. 

He finally set the fork down and placed his right elbow on the table, his hand covering his mouth. Tala nodded once again, sharing the same disbelief. 

"Your mother?" Adam repeated, "Are, you, like, sure?"

Tala laughed, "Yeah, dummy. Want to know her name?"

"Tell me. I just know it's going to be glamorous as fuck."

"Armia Lamiking." Tala said, slowly and, to the best of her abilities, in the same accent as Noli said it.

"Armia. Goddamn it sounds like a rare jewel or something."

"She left me some money…and land in the Philippines."

Adam raised a brow, "And land? Oh my god. Holy shit."

"I know, I know. It's all kind of insane, really." Tala began to ramble off, "I met this lawyer who apparently has been working with my parents since before I was born and he told me about it all and now I have to claim the land but I have to be a Filipino citizen, but I am a Filipino citizen and—"

"Whoa, whoa." Adam said, "Okay, first, take a breath. You're turning purple. Second, you're a Filipino citizen? Since when?"

"Apparently since I was born!" Tala shook her head, shrugging her shoulders disbelief, "I don't know. I feel like I should just give the land up."

"Give it up? What? Girl are you insane?" Adam laughed, "You finally get some information about your mother, and an inheritance no less, and you just wanna give it all up?"

"Adam, there's just so much to think about, things I don't know. Like, I thought she died giving birth to me but Noli said that they registered my Filipino citizenship together."

"Who is Noli?"

"The attorney."

"He sounds cute. Noli."

"Adam. Focus."

He nodded and jumped back into the conversation, "Okay, so did you ask him if she actually died at childbirth?"

"Yeah!"

"And what did he say?"

"He just said that there were complications after my birth." Tala shrugged, taking a sip of her drink.

"Okay…and then what happened?"

"Then I told him to send the remaining paperwork to me and that I'll figure it out myself."

Adam looked horrified, "You fired him?!"

Tala looked around, surprised by the volume of Adam's voice, "Shut up, holy shit. You're going to get us kicked out."

"Did you fire him?"

"I mean, yeah, I guess I did." She took another sip, avoiding Adam's incredulous gaze, "But it was more like, I removed myself from a situation."

"The situation where you were going to find out more about your mom?"

Tala paused; she hadn't thought of it that way.

"Hello, earth to Tala. Did you not think, 'hmm, this is the perfect opportunity to find more about my mom.'?"'

"I just…I don't know. He said he would recommend going to the Philippines."

Adam just continued to stare at the dark-haired girl in front of him, wondering how she could be so smart yet so clueless. 

"So go to the Philippines." He replied, as if there was no other answer, "Why aren't you already on your way there?"

"Well, cause work, you know…"

"Well now you don't have work." Adam laughed, "So go back to Noli with whatever paperwork he gave you, go to the Philippines, claim your inheritance and maybe, just maybe, you might find out even more about your mom."

Adam always knew what to say and how to say it. Tala nodded in agreement, feeling a bit more empowered to pursue the inheritance and much more excited at potentially learning more about her mom, Armia, the rare jewel. 

The next morning, Tala found herself in front of the building where Noli's office was located. 

She hadn't planned on going so soon, in fact she didn't even bring the paperwork with her. On a whim, she just started to make her way to Noli's building. She planned to show up unannounced, meet with him, ask a few questions about her mother and if she liked how he responded to them, then she would return with the intention of pursuing the inheritance with him as the attorney. 

But only if she liked how he responded. If he became too cryptic, it would be over, and she was okay with the idea of not knowing more about Armia. 

She proceeded up the stairs to Noli's floor when she heard a thud from above her. A small whine followed, much like the sound of a hurt puppy. 

"Be quiet." A female voice said. Her accent was similar to Noli's, and her voice wasn't quite raspy, but almost. Then she continued in a language that Tala didn't understand, "Nasaan si Noli?"

Noli – that's a word Tala understood. She quietly crept closer, careful not to make a sound off the wooden stairs. 

A different female voice answered the question, "He's not here. Please, Erina."

Eleri. It was Eleri. 

Unsure where the urge came from, Tala blindly ran up the stairs, catching the attention of both Eleri and the other woman named Erina. 

"Get away from her!" Tala screamed. 

Erina, dressed in black with her curly hair loosely up in a bun, whipped her head towards Tala, her eyes widening. It was as if she had seen a ghost. She stumbled back a bit, allowing Eleri to quickly crawl towards Tala. 

"What—Maria?" Erina managed to say. 

Her stunned demeanor lasted for only that second. In an instant, she took an aggressive stance, how a predator would stalk its prey. Her eyes turned vicious and red. 

Then she charged for Tala.

It was all happening in flashes and Tala could only brace for the impact. But it never happened.

Inches away from Tala, a hand took hold of Erina's neck and began to push her backwards, choking her. Tala hadn't realized it, but she was shaking in fear, so much so that Eleri had to catch her as her legs gave out. She was sweating profusely, her heart beating out of her chest. 

Before she fainted, Tala looked towards the window. 

Noli, she thought.