Undaunted Love [R18]

Kabanata 10

"Ma'am, all of the perfume sets you purchased are already prepared," sabi ng Manager sa Perfume Store ko. Dahil VIP naman si Xeres ay talagang si Zhay na ang umaasikaso kapag may sadya siya rito.

"Bumili ka? Para kanino?" tanong ko sa kaibigan ko.

"We have an event this coming Tuesday, and I'm planning to give our guests your perfume as a gift," she casually said.

I grinned wider. "Thank you. Should I actually hire you for marketing?"

Nakita kong umikot ang mga mata niya sa sinabi ko. "How I wish na makalaya ako 'di ba?"

Noong maisalansan na ni Zhay at ni Dante ang mga pinamili ni Xeres ay iniwan na nila kami sa aking office para magkaroon ng privacy.

"So, how's the date?"

I knew it, there was no way she wouldn't ask me about that. Bumalik naman ang excitement ko dahil juicy ang ikekwento ko sa kanya. "You're not going to believe this! Do you remember Mr. Ramilo?"

"Oo naman. 'Yong gwapo sana at medyo bata dahil late 40s pa lang, pero may sabit dahil kasal na?"

"Mismo!"

"What about him?" naiintriga niyang tanong.

"I ran into him at the restaurant where Tank and I had our date."

"OMG." Kasabay ng pagbilong ng bibig niya ang mga mata niya. "Don't tell me that he humiliated you in front of Tank. Wait... does Tank already know?"

Umiling ako bago magsalita. "Hindi niya ako pinahiya. At hindi pa alam ni Tank na dati akong Sugar Baby. Pero, apparently, Tito niya si Mr. Ramilo."

My friend's eyes widened again. "What the f... As in magkapatid ang parents niya?"

"Hindi. Asawa raw ng pinsan ng tatay niya."

Upon receiving the news, Xeres fell back in amazement and reclined back in her chair. Even I was having trouble believing it at the time. Is the world really that small?

"So, what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?" I asked Xeres.

"Kung malaman ni Tank na sugar baby ka dati?" Nakatingin lang siya sa akin ng seryoso habang tintanong sa akin iyon.

"Hmn..." Napaisip tuloy ako. Ano nga ba? "Hindi ko naman tinatago pero hindi ko rin naman bino-broadcast. Kaya hindi big deal kung malaman niya o hindi. Tsaka alam mo namang hindi ako naghahanap ng pangseryosohan."

"Ay ang taray mo girl, nagtanong lang ako kung ano gagawin mo umabot tayo sa seryosohan." Natawa siya.

"Eh, kasi... maapektuhan lang naman siya in a negative way na sugar baby ako kung seryoso siya. Eh kung hindi rin naman siya naghahanap ng seryosohan, for sure wala siyang pakealam sa past ko. It's not a big deal. Year 2024 na, halos matatanda na lang ang karamihang close minded."

She nodded. "You've got a point. But what happened between you and Mr. Ramilo?"
"He made me another offer. Then, out of nowhere, Tank showed up. He caught us talking."

"Ohh... and then?"

"Tinanong niya lang kung kakilala ko si Mr. Ramilo, umoo naman ako."

Bumuntong-hininga si Xeres. "Nakakapanghinayang naman. Hindi pa nabubuo ang ship ko sa inyo ni Tank, ligwak na agad siya dahil connected siya sa past mo."

I smiled faintly. "But we can still be friends." I was surprised when Xeres suddenly burst into laughter. "Loka, bakit bigla ka na lang tumawa-tawa dyan."

"You said you didn't want anyone else in your life, and now you're talking about how you can still be friends with Tank? What kind of friendship are we talking about? Friends with benefits?"