A Sulawesi Romance

Chapter 6

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Mark's POV

When I stepped out of the shower and stepped back into Gun's room, everything was quiet, although the bedroom light was still on.

I walked over to the bed and peered into Gun's face. I had to crane my neck a little because his back was to me. His eyes were close and he was snoring softly.

I could not find it in me to be upset with him.

I realized that his duties here at the villa were mostly physical labor so he must have been exhausted at the end of the day. Still, it stung a little that he didn't seem to be excited about, or care for my company, enough to wait up for me to be able to say good night to him and he to me.

I could tell that he wasn't used to physical labor. I could tell that he had had a sheltered life. I had a feeling that he had run away from home and that he wasn't going to be here for long. Once whatever the reason for his running away got resolved, I was sure that he would go back home.

But in the meantime, I wanted to find out what that reason was. I wasn't sure though that he was the type to confide in people. Maybe I should try to earn his trust first before coaxing his secret out of him.

With a heavy sigh I settled on the bed that I had pushed beside his and closed my eyes.

Dawn was just breaking when I woke up.

I am an early riser but I also retire to bed early. I am a staunch believer in the motto "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

I quietly got out of bed, taking extra caution not to make any noise and movements that might awaken Gun. I picked up my clothes which I had discarded before stepping into the shower room last night and headed out the door of Gun's and Berkah's room.

One of the housekeeping staff had also just stepped out of her room from across the courtyard. Her eyes widened when she recognized me. She politely bowed to me and I nodded back to her to acknowledge her greeting.

I hoped against hope that she would not spread the word around that she had seen me coming out of Gun's room in the early morning. If the gossip reached my father's ears I knew for sure I was gonna get called into his office for some serious interrogation.

I stopped in the middle of the courtyard, raised my face to the sky, took a long, deep breath and exhaled slowly.

Okay, Mark, I told myself, you better get your act together. No more mixing business with pleasure. Focus on helping your parents run the resort business. From now on you will treat Gun like any other employee. You will treat him in a kind and gentle but business like manner.

With that resolve, I made my way to my own room to get my own work day started.

I made myself busy going through the inventory of the villa's supplies, checking which department needed replenishment of materials. I consulted with each department head to find out if they needed new materials or if there were any problems that needed fixing. If there were problems that I could not personally resolve, I turned them over to my father.

My work day went quickly enough. From time to time, my mind would wonder where Gun was and what task he was performing at the moment, but then some urgent duty of my own would make me forget about him.

Near the end of my work day, I received a call from my father.

"Yes, father," I said respectfully.

"Son," my father began. "Your mother and I have been thinking of taking a brief vacation in Thailand."

"How brief is brief?" I asked, feeling a little anxious.

"Two weeks at the most," my father replied. "You can manage the villa for two weeks, right, son?"

I was beginning to get upset that my parents did not think of inviting me to join their vacation, but then again I realized that we could not all go together and leave the villa unattended. One of us had to remain and see to the administration of our resort business.

"Sure, father," I replied, suppressing a sigh.

"You wanna come up to our private dining room and join your mother and me for dinner this evening?" my father offered.

I hesitated. I had been thinking of joining the employees in the employee lounge and mingling socially with them to make them feel that they were part of our family.

"I have asked the chef to serve us Poached Chicken Breasts with Blackberry Cabernet Sauce," my father said, his voice sounding hopeful that I would accept his invitation.

I was very tempted to accept my father's dinner invitation, but the yearning to see Gun whom I had not seen the whole day was more intense than enjoying my father's special chicken dish.

"I would like to join you, father," I said, making my voice sound as regretful as I could, "but I have some pressing matters to attend to."

Thankfully, my father did not ask me to elaborate on what pressing matters I was referring to.

"Very well, son," he said. "I appreciate the fact that you are very dutiful. All your efforts will of course not go unrewarded."

I knew what he meant by his statement about appreciating my efforts. He never said it in clear terms but I knew that whenever he talked about my diligence in carrying out my responsibilities, he would remind me that he would be passing on the family business to me.

After respectfully saying good bye to my father, I headed for the employee lounge. The employee lounge would usually be buzzing with excited conversation among the employees. This evening things seemed to be quiet when I opened the door to the employee lounge.

I saw right away why the employee lounge was quiet. It was practically empty except for two people. Berkah and Gun.

There was really nothing wrong with the scene in front of me. Berkah was just in the middle of feeding Gun with something from his plate. But why was Berkah covering Gun's hand with his other hand?

I stepped inside the employee lounge and shut the door with a loud bang that reverberated throughout the walls of the lounge.