Owned by the Devil

Chapter Ten

"It was Mayor Cabanacan—Joseph Cabanacan."

If there was something that Kieth could rely on quickly with his cousins, besides getting any kind of help that he required, it was to get any information that he needed. Sino pa nga ba ang nag-udyok sa kanyang malaman kung anong nangyari kay Jeanna kung hindi si AD? Mabuti na lang talaga at nakinig siya sa dalaga.

He was going to let it go. When Jeanna called and it seemed to be that her restaurant was in a rush hour, he was simply considering that it was bad timing for them to meet. He felt weird because not seeing Jeanna, when they scheduled it well, did not sit well with his peace. Nadagdagan pa iyon ng sabihin ni AD na hindi normal ang 'rush hour' sa isang restaurant na kailangan ng reservation kung malaking party ang magaganap. She also pointed out that Jeanna could only 'appoint' a meeting with him if she did not have a prior important schedule in her own restaurant.

It did not take Francis long enough to give everything he needed to know. Nalaman din niya na hindi ito ang unang beses na ginawa iyon ng politikong iyon sa restaurant ni Jeanna. Mahilig itong magmagaling na i-bypass ang reservation regulations ng restaurant. He did it multiple times, but it was the second time that it was handled alone by Jeanna. Other times were handled by Jeno.

"Wasn't he the one with a cheating scandal last year?" Tanong niya kay AD.

Tumango ang dalaga. "Yeah, and with multiple harassment complaints too. Lahat nagawan niya ng paraan para i-cover up."

As much as they were concerned, politics is a whole other world that they are not very keen on keeping tabs very closely. They have people for it, but, personally, it does not concern them to the point of knowing every single thing. Kaya lang pamilyar sa kanila ang punong bayan ay dahil sa may-bahay nito. The mayor's wife's side of the family are business people that often jive with their own businesses.

"Francis sent another file." Sabi ni AD at inubos muna ang laman ng water bottle nito bago nagbasa. "Apparently, this guy feels entitled for whatever he thinks the De Lara siblings owe him. Wala namang utang na loob ang dalawa kasi wala naman silang ibang kailangan sa bwisit na iyon kung hindi proper business permit."

Doon kumunot ang noo niya. "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard."

"'Di ba?!" Umayos ng upo ang dalaga. "Get this too, ang party na na ginanap sa restaurant ay birthday party talaga ng kabit niya. Of course, Jeanna and her staff did not have a single clue about it because it was fronted as a simple 'lunch party'. Sabi pa rito, he already threatened to remove the restaurant's business permit if she doesn't handle his whims."

The disrespect on Jeanna and Jeno was so hard on this one that Kieth found his fists tightly clenched. Kaibigan niya at ng buong pamilya niya si Jeno, and now Jeanna is the current focus of his hyperfixation—it truly does not sit well with his peace that these two people are being disrespected by a random swine.

Noong tumawag ang dalaga, buong akala niya ay basta na lang canceled ang pagkikita nila. Matter of fact, he was so ready to take AD somewhere else to eat because he did not think that Jeanna would even have the time to prepare anything for them. Not that she was required or something of sorts, he just genuinely believed that she would be too busy for him today. Wala naman sa dadalin ng dalaga ang concern niya. With lunch or none, he was just a tad disappointed that he would not be seeing her as he looked forward too.

Hindi naman niya alam na kaya naman pala tumawag ang dalaga dahil literal na nasa assistant na niya ang pagkaing hinanda nito. There was even a note written for him, telling him how sorry she was that she had to bail at the last minute.

There was enough food for three people that he even had to share it to his assistant like what Jeanna advised on her note. Pambawi raw na hindi ito tumupad sa usapan nila.