The Ideal Brew

Chapter 5

When in doubt, ask Ryan. That's what I always did and when he said almost the exact same things as Ms. Amanda, it made me feel a bit silly for even thinking that they were being bribed. But then again, I never mentioned that I saw Kuya Ernie hauling boxes of so-called tokens to the trunk. I decided to let it slip. It's just coffee. Maybe Ms. Amanda ordered some personally.

Still, I couldn't shake the feeling of doubt. I knew I had to be certain to keep my peace of mind and when Sally noticed how dubious I was of everything, she managed to talk me into "investigating" it personally. I agreed with her right away. I wished I should've asked more about this investigating thing because as it turned out, investigating personally translated that I would ask Mr. Sol himself!

I wanted to smack myself for agreeing to this ridiculous idea. What in the name of roasted coffee beans was I thinking traveling all the way to Villa Del Sol, not the one in Makati Or Quezon City, but the main café itself in Tagaytay! I was still contemplating on whether I'd smack Sally too for talking me into this. It was too late though, we were already heading south when I figured out where Sally was taking me.

"It's for your peace of mind, Jazz," Sally laughed when I still glared at her over the top of the menu. "Besides, this place is amazing." She beamed outside the window her where neat rows pineapples were planted on the side of the café. A mini organic farm abundant with various herbs and vegetables occupied the rest of the property before it ended in a wall covered in vines which marked the boundary of Villa Del Sol estate.

"How did you even know he'd be here?" I asked her. It still surprises me how Sally managed to stalk the guy. All that I knew about him was that he owns three branches of the café plus some small hotel in Tagaytay, nothing more.

"It's all thanks to the power of Twitter and Instagram," Sally smiled wickedly.

"And you're unbelievable stalking skills," I added, pondering over the nice selection of menu that Villa Del Sol offers.

Sally pouted at me. "For your information, Mr. Sol is slightly popular. He's been featured in several magazines and lifestyle blogs. Besides, he is bestfriends with the Bryce Javier."

"Oh," I replied, frowning slightly. I had no idea who this Bryce Javier was and why Sally was emphasizing him. Sally gasped and looked at me astonishingly.

"Please don't tell me you don't know who Bryce Javier is," she said without missing a beat.

"Okay, then I won't tell you I don't know who Bryce Javier is," I answered.

"No way!" she shrieked. Several of the people sitting near us all turned to look us. One of the café staff craned his neck in our direction to see what the problem was. Sally looked at them apologetically while I buried my face in the menu.

"Stop making a fuss! Mr. Sol might think we're here to stir up some trouble or something," I whispered at her while sipping the cucumber water served to us earlier.

"Sorry, it's just unbelievable that you don't know -," Sally's eyes widened.

"OMG, That's Bryce!"