“I assume you two already know each other?”, Mr. Gonzales started our conversation when we settled on the table. Apparently, the old man already planned how our dinner would go about the whole course.
“Ms. Lopez, this is my son Daniel. Many people know him as Zeo”, he smirked at me. My skin crawled in anger. His declaration and introduction of the man should not surprise me because it was one of the things clearly written on the files Gino handed me about Zeo. Nevertheless, it shocked me until now, I hoped it wasn’t true.
Tiningnan ko si Zeo. Nakatingin sya sa akin na ibang-iba ang ekspresyon nya kumpara sa mga nakikita ko mula noong magkakilala kami.
“Yeah”, I answered honestly, watching and waiting for Zeo to answer, too. But he just dragged his eyes away from me and drank form his glass of water. I didn’t know if he was guilty or simply didn’t want to be here.
“I already talked to my son about our agreement, Ms. Lopez. Should I call you Ms. Lopez or can I call you simply Cresia?”
“Cresia will do, Sir. At wala akong natatandaan na pumayag ako sa kahit anong kasunduan”
Lumagpas ang tingin ng kausap ko sa akin. I knew exactly who he was looking at. Gino was standing an inch away from me.
“Hindi yata tayo nagkakaintindihan, Cresia?”, he leaned in front with his hands laced together like a mobster. I raised my brow at him trying to cover up for the fear he was inflicting in me. “You know what I can do”
He had a hold on me. As long as he had that, he would always had a hold on me.
“And I told you I will think about it. Give me some time. Hindi ko pa po nakakausap si Dad”, dahilan ko kahit wala naman talaga akong balak na ipaalam ito sa ama ko. I just needed more time to solve this.
Tumalim ang tingin nya sa akin. Rinig ko ang malkas na buga ng hangin galing sa ilong nya.
“And do you think I would really give you time? Kung hindi mo nalalaman, I am not that kind”, may banta sa bawata salita nya. It built the tension inside of me. I felt Gino moved from behind me at his threat. The atmosphere around us went heavier. I could almost taste it.
“Stand down, kid”, he warned Gino.
“Let us talk, Sir”, Zeo finally spoke up. Our eyes went instantly to him. His father’s eyes narrowed on him.
“You really think you can do that job? You fail me many times, bastard”
I flinched at his words. Anak nya sa labas si Zeo pero ang ipamukha nya ito ng harap-harapan ay masyadong malupit para sa akin. I could see they were not close, not even close to a father-son relationship. They looked business.
I watched them minding that no one was here besides us and a couple of body guards, and one of them chose that time to walk closer to Mr. Gonzales and whispered something to him. Whatever it was earned a frustrated sigh from the old man.
“I’ll leave you two. It seems the situation goes onto your liking, Daniel”, he stood turning his eyes from his son before landing it to me, “Ms. Cresia, I will leave you with my son. Enjoy your evening and I hope to hear some good news when we meet again. Don’t disappoint me”, his last sentence sounded like he intended it for Zeo. And with that, we were left alone on the table.
“Care to explain to me everything, Zeo? Or Daniel?”
“But this whole thing doesn’t seem to shake you too much, Cresia. Your body guard snooped around like a dog?”, he smirked and I noticed how similar it was with his father. I did not like the sound of his tone. As much as possible, I would like to keep Gino out of this not because I was protecting him but because he had nothing to do with this. I was tired of them leaving a constant stain in my life. I was working out to get rid of him also.
