RISQUÉ 1: Forbidden Temptation

Chapter 1

"ACCIDENT?!" hindi makapaniwalang tanong ni Cormac nang marinig ang impormasyon mula sa kanyang sekretarya. If he was unable to spare Gio a single glance while he recited his tiring schedule for tomorrow, now his eyes were visibly widened in surprise. "What the..."

"I'm afraid that's what the report I heard from Mabini General Hospital, Sir," seryosong sagot ni Gio at malungkot na ngumiti. "Mr. Flores was caught in an accident on Mabini this afternoon while coming to fetch you today."

Cormac gaped at the unexpected news but he tilted his head when a wonder suddenly crossed his mind.

"I am saddened by this terrible news and I hope my personal driver was all right, but I couldn't help but wonder why... Why Mabini, Gio? His route was to Lipa and Manila only, right? There was no need for Mike to go to Mabini to fetch me."

Hindi agad nakasagot si Gio at unti-unting bumakas ang bahagyang pagkalito sa mukha nito. "That Sir is the question I couldn't answer. Siguro may dinaanan lang na importante pagkatapos nitong umuwi sa Castellano Estate para sa urgent matter na kailangang nitong atupagin kanina gaya ng paalam nito. But worry not, Sir, because I will drive you home starting today until our HR find someone to relieve Mr. Flores's job."

"Alright..." ang tanging sagot ni Cormac bago bumalik sa ginawa na tila hindi pa nawala ang pag-aalala sa sistema.

Cormac was so occupied of the monthly report of Castellano wines that he had not notice that it was already time for him to clock out, not until Gio reminded him about it. 

Hindi na siya nag-aksaya ng oras at naghandang umuwi. Habang nasa byahe, naalala niya na naman ang kanyang personal driver at ang kalagayan nito.

"Doesn't Mike have a wife?" Cormac asked as he pinned his eyes outside the window.

"You are right, Sir. He has one," agad na sagot ni Gio at nakita niya sa kanyang peripheral vision ang saglit na pagsipat nito sa kanyang direksyon gamit ang rearview mirror. "May I know why do you ask?"

"Well, now that I think about it... I was basically the reason why Mike got into an accident. The least I could do was to visit him and apologize to his wife personally," pagbibigay-alam ni Cormac sa secretary. "Assure her, of course, that their hospital expense will be covered by Castellano Wine Corporation and Mike would still be paid despite his absence."

"That was very thoughtful of you, Sir. But you are busy as you are now, and I don't think squeezing that into your schedule is a good idea," pagtutol ni Gio sabay umiling. "I'm pretty sure it's not your fault and Mr. Flores doesn't blame you for his accident. It was called an accident for a reason."

"Well, Mike would never blame me, that's for sure, what I'm uncertain is the wife..." ani Cormac sabay napangiwi. "Wife are scarier more than you think, Gio. Kahit na hindi ko pa nakikilala ang asawa ni Mike ay sigurado akong masama ang loob nito dahil sa nangyari."

Saglit na natahimik si Gio bago ito muling nagsalita. "I think I understand what you mean, Sir. Do you suggest to cancel all your schedule for tomorrow then?"

Itinukod ni Cormac ang siko sa gilid ng upuan bago tumango. "It's Sunday tomorrow, so why not? Besides, I wouldn't wish to spend time with my insane friends after what happened to us last week. Damn. They are such a pain in the ass."

Gio rolled his eyes. "Since when they are not?"

Natawa na lamang si Cormac sa sekretarya dahil iyon naman ang katotohanan. Now that he survived a terrible hangover last week, there's no way he would want it to happen again. Well, at least not so soon.

Alas-otso na ng gabi nang makarating si Cormac sa kanyang masyon sa Batangas. Dahil nakaramdam na rin siya ng gutom kaya agad na dumiretso siya sa hapag kainan at kinain ang Adobo handa ni Aling Nene, ang tagapag-alaga ng kanyang bahay.