Impakta

CHAPTER EIGHT

WALA NA ANG KURBATA AT SUIT JACKET NANG PUMASOK SA COFFEE SHOP SI CLAY. Maddie could not suppress a giggle. Kulang-kulang fifteen minutes ang makapigil-hininga niyang paghihintay. Hindi niya alam kung ilang minuto ang dapat niyang ilaan sa paghihintay in the first place.

And then Clay arrived and she was nervous and excited like a schoolgirl. Her giggle sounded off, even to herself and it occurred to her that she never sounded that silly even as a schoolgirl.

Ewwww, get a grip, Madison. You've done it a thousand times.

Hindi si Clay ang unang lalaki na niyaya niya magkape, mag-lunch, mag-dinner. It wasn't a big deal. Really. She thought nothing of it. Asking a man out was as natural as breathing.

Until now. Bigla siyang nahihiya, kinakabahan na baka hindi maganda ang isipin ni Clay sa kanya. Silly, of course. Wala sa itsura ni Clay na manghuhusga ito sa kapwa, lalo na sa babae. Still, wala rin sa itsura ng lalaki na sanay itong maaya ng mga babae kung saan-saan, hindi dahil walang gustong mag-aya dito. Marami sigurado pero takot. Clay was dark and imposing. His clothes for the evening did not diminish his ruggedness. Mas na-emphasize pa dahil sa contrast. How he managed to make rough looked elegant was beyond her.

And she had seen him in action. Nakita niya kung paano nito binaril ang tauhan ni Senator Tiangco. Walang kakurap-kurap, walang hesitasyon, like it was just something he was used to.

And you don't ask a man like that for a night cap just like that. Unless, of course, you liked playing with fire. But she was Madison Bolin, she'd been courting disaster since her first human meal.

Inalis agad niya iyon sa isip nang maupo sa tapat niya sa booth si Clay.

"What would you have?" tanong niya.

"Ako na lang." Bumalik ito saglit sa counter para umorder ng kape.

"So, why do you do it?" tanong na ulit niya pagbalik ni Clay sa booth.

"What?"

"Spelunking."

"I just like it. There's nothing as mysterious as a cave system. Maybe I like mysteries." Tumaas ang kilay nito. Like there was something behind his words.

Red alert! Red alert! Stay away!

But Maddie stayed where she was.

"Tell me about the... ahhmm, foundation," wika ni Clay.

"Boring you to death is the last thing I want." Turan niMadison.

"You don't seem happy with your new job."

Madison was impressed, "You noticed." Ganoon ba siya ka-obvious?

Nagkibit lang ng balikat si Clay. "People think that putting up foundations is just a way for the rich people to feel good about themselves. They think all we do is host fundraisers and we never really get our hands dirty, that we're detached from what's really happening. But we know."

Ihinatid na lang ng barista mismo ang kape ni Clay sa mesa nila dahil sila lang naman ang customer doon.

"Thanks, Derek," usal ni Madison sa barista at itinuloy ang sinasabi niya pagkatalikod niyon. "It's not as easy as it may sounds. Everyday, we have to deal with the government regulations, tax laws, Philippine politics and, hundreds and hundreds of people and organizations who come to us asking to finance their heart-wrenching causes but we have to send them away empty-handed because we can't accommodate them all."