Kiss Me, Cole (Part 1) [IN EDITING ]

Cole (48)

The tall, red-haired woman on our branch's unknowing black book accountant's arm looks at the elder gentleman with the pride of a mother proud of her son. That's an odd impression to get given that the woman is plainly at least a decade younger than Tito Victor.

Tito is talking to a client, and that man looks over at the woman with interest, but her eyes is fixed on Tito. She must have felt the other man's eyes on her and she glanced back at him briefly, smiled politely, and returned her focus Tito. It should have appeared endearing and romantic, but it just rubs me wrong.

I sipped my champagne while continuing to observe the woman, trying to figure out what it is about her that bothers me.

She is the famous and mysterious Maeve. Ga-graduate na lang kami pero ngayon lang ito nagpakita. I have yet to meet her one-on-one. Every time I see her, she's either with Tito Victor or Orianna. Or, if the Amador family is invited to one of our parties, she's around my parents or Tito Fedya or Tita Leine.

Isang beses niya pa lang yata akong tinapunan nang tingin. Iyon ay nang minsang itinuro ako sa kanya ni Orie. Nginitian niya ako noon. I can't remember if I reciprocated.

Probably not. She might have my kiska's face, but she makes my skin crawl whenever I see her.

Every time she looks at or touches Orianna, I have an inexplicable desire to grab my kiska and hide her somewhere that incredibly attractive woman can't find or reach. She might be Orianna's mother and my kiska obviously craves her company, but...

Napabuntong-hininga na lang ako.

She keeps my kiska quiet. Too quiet. Hindi ako sanay. At hindi ko iyon nagugustuhan. It feels that Orianna is dimming her light in order for Maeve to shine. I definitely don't like that.

Katatapos lang makipag-usap ni Tito Victor sa isa na namang kliyente. Mayor naman ngayon. That politician and his young son watched as Tito shuffles his small family towards my parents.

They looked at the two women flanking Tito on both sides with speculating interest. I don't care about the mayor. His eyes are on Maeve. His son, on the other hand, is drooling over Orianna. I memorized his face for future reference.

I'm reminded again that Victor Amador shouldn't really be doing the business socializing tonight. He's too naive and clueless for tonight's polite-on-the-surface crowd. It's Fyodor Devin's job to keep these predators in line. Pero may ibang trabaho ang brigadier ngayong gabi.

An important job involving a different mayor. A mayor who thinks he has enough clout to run his drug enterprise in one of our territories.

Nalaman ko lang ang tungkol doon mula kay Theo. Again, Daddy doesn't talk shop with me that much these days. Lalo na ngayong birthday celebration ko.

Nagpaalam ang kaibigan ko na male-late ng dating sa party. Nang tanungin ko kung baki, nakatawa siyang sumagot. "Isasama ako ni Papa. We're going to introduce God to some people tonight."

His mirth didn't reach his eyes as he snaps on black gloves around his wrists. He inspected his two navy knives, fastened to his hips at the 9 and 3 positions. He also tightened his arm wraps and checked that his long sleeves covered them. Finally, he leaned down to fix the cuff of his pants, taking care not to expose his boot clips and the knives they contain.

"You guys love the wet work too much. Guns are faster and cleaner." Hindi ko maiwasang ikomento habanag pinapanood ang ginagawa niya.

Ngumisi siya. "There are going to be guns, vor. Lalo na kung hindi marunong magdasal ang mga bibisitahin namin. Still, it doesn't hurt to bring knives to a gunfight. It could be the edge you need. A sniper like you wouldn't understand that."