Rainbow Connections [feat. RaMen]

Chapter Three

The second Lui's toes broke the surface of the steamy water, she felt that her stress began to melt away. She sank into her prized claw foot tub and let her eyes fall closed in meditation for several peaceful minutes as the lavender bubbles closed in around on her drained body.

After her meeting with Iggi, she was whisked to two other meetings, followed by a late lunch with her parents and Luis, a phone interview with a national news network, and was finally able to retreat to a quiet dinner in her townhouse in Tagaytay. The place was silent save for Pio, Sam and Martee. When Martee mentioned that she had a headache and took her dinner to her room, and Sam had to go to one of their other residences down the block to talk to the other security members, she wound up inviting Pio to dine in with her but the latter politely declined as he still had to do things. Not long after, Lui found herself scrolling through her contacts and looming over Iggi's mobile number before she decided to finally give her a call. When the call ended, there was nothing but a triumphant smirk painted on Lui's face as Iggi accepted her invitation.

Half an hour later, Iggi arrived. She was right on time as Lui finished the pesto sauce she was making. They settled and savored a modest meal of grilled chicken, risotto, and pesto pasta, they were able to put work aside and touched base with Iggi's childhood, her former job, and discussed trivial things like television shows, books that she would recommend, and current events. They even resorted to a few rounds of checkers before Iggi went home as she still had an early meeting the next day. It was a simple game, but one of strategy, and the initial way they bonded and simultaneously unwound while they were flying round the country. Lui thought that Iggi could see the stress and rigidity dissipate from her body after a long day as she slid her pieces down the board into position in order to gain kingship. While they both grew competitive during the game, Lui thought that Iggi would just let her win from time-to-time. Again, the woman was very smart. She couldn't even.

"Don't flatter me, Lui, I just don't think that I've ever been that good. I'm too impulsive. Isang araw, hayaan mo, matatalo rin kita, paulit-ulit pa. Kung 'yun talaga ang gusto mo," Iggi's eyes sparkled mischievously as Lui pulled a double-jump stunt on her pieces. Iggi was attentive and active while they played, Lui can see that the latter was tired but nonetheless, the woman made for great company. Lui got more comfortable as minutes passed by, she ended up finding herself just being her, and not the persona of a woman with the weight of a title on her shoulders. In turn, she noticed that Iggi's professional demeanor disappeared while her charming manner came out to play with her. She was grateful for her company as she helped her unwind, in hopes that she did the same thing for her. Iggi was gracious enough to make them both two big cups of chai latte which Lui found really sweet of Iggi.

Now, Lui found herself growing drowsy under the heady smell of the lavender, and eventually reached over the side of the tub to grab up the copy of the book Iggi had let her borrow. She knew she needed sleep more than anything, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the soothing water just yet.

"It's nothing intense or terribly thought-provoking, but maybe it'll give your brain a break from your rigorous schedule," Iggi stated as she handed Lui the fiction thriller she had with her in her bag. To reciprocate, Lui gave Iggi an option between a presidential biography or the recent book she was reading, a romance novel which she considered one of her guilty pleasures. Iggi chuckled and raised a brow at her as she willingly chose the love story. Lui then stood up and grabbed one of her recent romance novels from her collection which sat on one of the night stands in her bedroom. As Lui handed the book to her vice president, her VP's eyes widened in surprise, and Lui blushed at the comment the latter made before she could even sit.

"I didn't peg you for someone who'd read this but... anyway, I should go, may meeting pa ako ng maaga tomorrow e, thanks for this. I shall read this in private," Iggi stated with a wink then giggled.

At the memory, she released her novel back on to the tiled floor beside the tub and slid under the water letting the warm water and bubbles close in over her head.

She was beginning to over-analyze every little encounter they've recently had and she knew now that it would drive her mad for quite a while.