***WRITTEN IN TAG-LISH***Hotel magnate LUCKY DE ANGELO is wealthy, influential and drop-dead gorgeous. He can take his pick of any woman he wants, but he only wants one woman. The one he can't have.
KATE DELESTE is Lucky's best friend, his princess...
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HANGANG-HANGANG IGINALA NI KATE ang mga mata sa paligid. Nagpasama siya kay Lucky para bisitahin ang construction ng kanyang boutique.
"Well?"
"I love it, Aris! Ang bilis naman ng construction. Wala pang two weeks ganito na agad ang natapos? Nakikinita ko na ang finished product. It's going to be beautiful! I'm so impressed!"
"I'm glad na nagustuhan mo sa far ang trabaho, Kate. I don't ever want to disappoint you."
"How can you possibly disappoint with this turn-out? Napaka-efficient ng mga tauhan mo. Bilib ako, sobra. Parang magic lang. Last week wala pa lahat ito. Now, it's almost finished. 24/7 ba kayo nagtatrabaho?"
"Yes. Rotation sila ng shifts. They are all experts in their fields. I employ nothing but the best."
"Wow, no wonder!"
Pumasok sa loob ng shop si Lucky. Lumapit ito sa kanila. May tumawag dito kanina kaya nagpahuli itong pumasok.
"Aris," bati nito.
"Hey, Luck. What do you think? Okay ba?" tanong ni Aris dito patungkol sa progress ng construction.
"Maganda, pare. Ang bilis ah. Mukhang ahead ka sa schedule mo."
"Tatapusin ko talaga on sched ito para mas maraming panahon si Kate sa pag-furnish at pag-decorate nila ng designer niya."
Tumango-tango si Lucky. "Mabuti kung ganoon. Great job, pare."
Maya-maya'y tumunog ang cellphone ni Lucky. Lumayo ito sa kanila upang sagutin iyon.
"Say, Kate...are you busy next weekend? Saturday evening? It's weekend naman, gusto sana kitang imbitahing mag-dinner. Casual lang. Kung wala kang prior plans."
Natigilan siya. It was clearly a date he was asking. Aris had no idea of his arrangement with Lucky. Sa paningin nito ay available naman siya. At talaga namang available siya. Wala naman silang relasyon ni Lucky. She could go out on a date with anybody if she wanted to. Except that she didn't want to. Pero ayaw naman niyang mapahiya si Aris, lalo't napakabait nito sa kanya. She knew that building her boutique was a huge favor Aris was doing for her. Batikang arkitekto ito at matataas na buildings ang dinidisenyo nito pero pumayag itong gawin ang boutique niya na small-time lang naman kumpara sa mga ibang projects nito. Sobrang makakadagdag sa branding niya na si Aris ang gumawa ng boutique niya. Nahihiya siyang hantaran itong i-reject, because in truth, she really liked him. Kung wala lang si Lucky sa buhay niya ngayon...
"I'm sorry, Kate. Forgive me. We're working with each other right now, and I don't want to be unprofessional. It's just that...I...God, I'm such a dork." Namumula na ito sa hiya.
Naawa siya rito. "You know I'd love to, Aris, but I'm not really sure of my schedule next weekend. Can we save this dinner for when we are both free to go out? I just don't know when that is?" napapangiwi niyang tanggi sa imbitasyon nito. At least, hindi naman outright rejection iyon.
