Chapter Ten
RONNIE
I didn't have work today and Donny told me that Wyatt had gone to a meeting so I decided to take advantage of the swimming pool he had in his unbelievably huge backyard. He had this Roman style swimming pool with gold and cream colored Italian faience tilework, brass rails and around it were exquisitely carved columns and marble sculptures. It was impressive. Just standing there made me feel like a Roman goddess. It was purposely impressive I guessed because this was where the Sybarite parties take place.
In my white two piece swimsuit, I laid on the neoclassical style chaise chair. It looked like the kind of chair Cleopatra would sit on while her slaves feed her grapes. I surrounded with the finest things growing up but this kind of luxury was overwhelmingly excessive. This was a pool made for five star hotels. I had the chance to roam around the backyard earlier. If you walked to the far right, you'd see a sunken space the size of a professional court. It had two basketball rings in it and in the middle was a tennis net, I assumed he uses it for both depending on his mood.
"Ronnie." I heard a voice call my name as I was about to drift to sleep while I was sunbathing. Bumukas ang mga mata ko and I could see through my sunglasses Donny staring down at me.
"Hey, Donny." I sat right up and took off my sunglasses. Donny had toured me around Sybarite earlier and boy, was it huge. Mabilis naman napalagay ang loob ko sa kanya. He was a very likeable man and I knew we'd get along just fine.
"Hindi ka naman naiinip dito?" He asked, sitting on the chaise chair beside me.
"Hindi naman. Ngayon na nga lang ulit ako makakapag-relax pagkatapos ng mga nangyari." Napabuntong-hininga ako.
"Grabe ang tatay mo, ano? Akala ko imamassacre na kami kagabi." Natatawang sabi niya.
"Pasensya na kayo sa ginawa ni Dad, ah. Ganon lang talaga yun palibhasa nasa male menopausal stage na." Naiiling na sabi ko.
"Okay lang. Ganon naman siguro talaga pag tatay pero grabe ang takot ko, halos maihi ako sa salaw."
"Natatakot ka dun, eh isang Phoenix Cordova lang ni Mama natataranta na yun." I chuckled.
He laughed along with me and after our laughter died down he asked me, "Kumusta kayo ni boss? Mukhang okay na kayo."
I shrugged. "Syempre, pag umattitude pa ako baka palayasin ako nun."
"May payakap-yakap pa kayo kagabi, akala mo yung sa teleserye na tinakwil ka ng tatay mo kasi sumama ka sa lalaking hindi niya gusto para sa'yo."
Sumimangot ako. "Tigilan mo nga ako, Donny. Tumatayo balahibo ko sa mga sinasabi mo."
Wanting to dip into the pool, I grabbed the sunscreen sitting on the end table next to my chair and began coating my body with it while we talked. There was just something about Donny that made me feel at ease. We were already best friends in just a matter of days.
"Don, palagay naman ng sunscreen sa likod ko." I asked him as I couldn't reach my back.
He did as I asked him to do. I untied the string of my bikini top so as to even out the lotion on my back while I hold on to the cups in the front.
"Ang kinis naman ng kutis mo, Ronnie." He commented. "Ano'ng ginagamit mo?"
"Wala. Mama and I just go to spas a lot and I exfoliate every once in a while." I answered and then thought for awhile. "Nasaan na ang pamilya ni Wyatt? I haven't heard or seen him with his family. I don't even see pictures of his family anywhere."
"Hindi ko din alam. Hindi naman nagkukuwento si boss tungkol sa pamilya niya."
"Kahit yung tungkol sa impakta niyang madrasta?"
"Wala naman din siyang nababanggit."
"I see." Tumango-tango ako. "Paano ba kayo nagkakilala ni Lazaro?"
"Bellboy kasi ako sa hotel nun. Madalas ako naghahatid sa mga chicks niya pag nagchecheck in siya. Ang gaganda ng mga bebot, di mo aakalaing mga escort. May mga lumalabas pa nga sa TV at nagbebeauty queen."
"He hires prostitutes?" I asked, my eyes widening.
"I wouldn't call them prostitutes. I have high standards. I give them what they want in exchange of what I want." Said a smooth velvety voice.
We both turned our heads to see Lazaro standing there with hands in the pockets of his trousers, one corner of his lips twisted into a smirk. "What's wrong with prostitutes anyway? I see women with power. Women who owns their bodies and aren't afraid to use it."
"It's one of the most evident features of the lack of equality between men and women." I said as I was tying my bikini top together.
"I have more respect towards women who doesn't give a way for free what she could make good money out of. It only means they know what they are worth and they don't come cheap, I tell you." He grinned like the devil.
My jaw dropped at what I was hearing. It repulsed me to the core. "Are you serious?"
"It's an example of women's empowerment. Imagine having so much control over a man with your pussy alone."
"Women aren't just giant pussies, you do know that, do you?" I could feel the heat from my chest travelling to my face. "We are living, breathing human beings. Sex industry exists not because women choose to do it but because of men's choice and women's lack of choice. This is not empowerment. Just because you have mommy issues, it doesn't give you the right to treat women like sex objects."
"Mommy issues?" He cocked a brow.
"I'm a social worker. I've come across enough men like you to know an asshole with mommy issues when I see one. You are a sexist scum of the lowest order." I threw a robe over to my body and began walking away.
WYATT
I had walked in on Donny rubbing lotion on Veronica's back while she barely had her bikini top on. I could see that they were growing closer to each other. It probably had to do with them being together the whole day. I honestly felt left out. I took her into my home, i fetched her after she was robbed, I even stayed to comfort her and what do I get? Hostility.
I wasn't trying to be an asshole. I guess it just comes out naturally or whenever she was around. We were already getting along yesterday but now it was as if we were back to being nemesis. There were just a lot of things we couldn't agree with. Our view were the polar opposite of each other which made her even more interesting to me. Of course, I wanted to get along with her but I could not, for the life of me, hold my tongue to appease her self-serving beliefs.
"So, what have you and Veronica been up to? Ano'ng ginagawa niyo?" I pried while we played pool in the entertainment room.
"Pinasyal ko lang siya sa buong bahay, boss, katulad ng bilin mo tapos nag-usap kami ng konti." Donny answered.
"Mukhang close na close na kayo." I grinned. "May gusto ka sa kanya, 'no?"
"Ito talaga si boss." He shook his head, smiling. "Friends lang kami ni Ronnie. Mabait lang talaga siya saka masarap kasama."
"Ano naman ang pinag-usapan niyo?" I curiously asked.
"Marami. Madalas niyang banggitin yung mga pamangkin niya."
"I see. Buti naman at nagkakasundo kayo at nakakausap mo ng matino ang babaeng iyon. Sa tuwing ako ang kaharap niya parang palaging bubugahan ako ng apoy. I can't believe that woman. I was her knight in shining armor yesterday." I shook my head.
"Baka naman, boss, may crush sa'yo kaya ganon. Nagpapakipot lang."
I tilted my head and crossed my arms over to my chest. "Si Veronica Cordova? Impossible..." I said and paused for awhile before I spoke again. "What made you think that? May nabanggit ba siya sa'yo? Has she mentioned anything about me?"
"Nagtanong siya tungkol sa'yo."
"Ano'ng tinanong niya?" I curiously asked. Some ego feeding wouldn't hurt, would it? I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if I find out Veronica has a little crush on me. I couldn't blame her. If I were somebody else, I would have a crush on me too.
A smile broke from his lips. "Bakit, boss? Type mo rin si Ronnie, ano?"
"Type? Are you kidding me?"
"Bakit? Chicks naman si Ronnie, boss."
"Hindi ko magugustuhan yun. May topak ang babaeng iyon pareho sila ng tatay niya." I sneered.
"Excuse you! Lalo naman hindi kita magugustuhan!" The woman barged into the entertainment room. Veronica was already dressed in a blue cotton top and white shorts. I knew she was fresh from the shower as the smell of lavender and honey had gotten stronger as she walked towards me.
"At huwag mong mainsu-insulto ang Daddy ko!" She jabbed her finger against my chest." All you ever do is make fun of me and what matters to me the most. You know men like you disgust me to the core. You look at women as vending machines who dispense sex once you put enough money."
I let out a laughter which baffled her.
"W-what's funny? Sa tingin mo nakakatawa iyon? I work everyday with women and children who has gone through unspeakable abuse and you're laughing like it's funny? You're unbelievable, Lazaro."
"The problem with you, Veronica, is that you take anything that doesn't agree with the way you think as a personal affront. I admire what you do. I really do. No sarcasm. I've followed you since your first movement. They say the best kind of art are the dangerous kind. The one that says something to society that society isn't ready to hear. You do a lot of those shit." I chuckled, bending over the pool table to position the tip of the cue to the ball.
"Pero wala ka naman pakialam dun, hindi ba? You don't listen because it won't benefit you." She put her hand over her hip.
"I listen. I love hearing your thoughts. I don't agree with most of them but I love hearing them. But you can't stir society towards your own morals, Veronica. You don't think of the world outside of yourself."
My mouth gaped. "You really think this is about me? Everything I'm doing is about me? Have you thought that maybe the world is just becoming more considerate and aware of inequalities and disadvantaged women?"
"I think you're wasting your time trying to convince everyone that you're right. There's nothing wrong with being sensitive to what's going on but the problem is what you do about it. Why can't you and I have a conversation about something and not convince each other that one person is more right than the other?"
"Because you don't see the reality of what's going on, of what's outside your modern day Sodom and Gomorah! Bakit hindi ka kaya sumama sa trabaho ko so you know what I'm dealing with on a daily basis, maybe then you'll understand." She said and then paused for awhile. "You know what? That would be a good idea."
"What?" I furrowed my brows.
"Donny, can you get me a cue stick?" She asked with an amused glimmer in her eyes.
Kinuha naman siya ni Donny ng cue stick.
"You want to play with me?"
"I'm going to make a deal with you. If I win, sasama ka sa akin sa trabaho ko. You're going to work at the women and children's center para kahit katiting man lang you'll get a slap of reality." She said.
"Interesting." I said, genuinely intrigued. "And if I win, what do I get, Veronica?"
"What do you have in mind?" She asked.
I rubbed my chin, thinking for awhile.
"You will be one of the Sybarite show girls at the annual party and you have to wear the sexy burlesque costume my girls wear. I would love to see you in it, I think it will suit you perfectly." I said, staring at her from head to toe. Everything she wears would suit her with that hourglass figure. Damn! She'd be the center of attention. I could already picture those ample breasts filling her corset top. She had one of the best, if not, the best breasts I had ever seen and touched. They were as naturally and real as it could get, which was really rare in this field I was in. I still hated the fact that those beauties were already making rounds in the internet when it should have only graced the glossy pages of my magazine. "Do we have ourselves a deal?"
"Of course." She answered. "And also, I want you to be my bitch."
"Ano?" My eyes darted towards her. What the hell does that mean?
"You're going to be my bitch boy, Lazaro." She laughed in a villain-y way. "You're going let people know that you're Ronnie's bitch after this. It's going to be on your magazine. Wyatt Lazaro, CEO of Sybarite House and Ronnie's bitch."
"The hell?" I looked at her like she was crazy. I mean I'd always known she was crazy but she took this to a whole new level. That was just plain ridiculous.
"What? You don't like the taste of your medicine? Are you going to chicken out?" She asked and then made a mocking chicken sound.
"Okay, deal." I finally said, my ego letting me get the best of me. But more than that, I trusted myself. I'd win this. I have always loved pool and even though I wasn't a professional, I knew I was good at this. "After this game's over, I'd have you in your little burlesque costume to savour my win."
"We'll see." She smiled.
The game started and I let her go first, believing this was a sure win. But boy, was I wrong. Donny kept our scores while we were playing and there were only three words I could think of over and over althroughout the game, 'what the fuck'. This woman's pool skills were impeccable, superior than mine. I could feel my nuts shrinking with each strike she makes.
Inevitably, she won the game.
"So, bitch boy." She grinned, still holding her cue. "Say it."
"Say what?" I frowned.
"I am Ronnie's bitch."
"This is ridiculous." I shook my head.
"We had a deal." Ngiting asong sabi niya. She crossed her arms over to her chest, waiting. "Say it, Lazaro. Come on, you agreed to this, didn't you? How would you feel kung magback out ako sa photoshoot ng Sybarite? You'd be disappointed too, right? But I wouldn't do it because I keep my promises."
"Fine." I took in a deep breath. "I am Ronnie's bitch."
Napuno ng tawa ni Veronica at ni Donny ang buong kwarto. My jaw clenched and my shame and annoyance was redirected to my PA.
"I will remember this on your 13th month pay." I told Donny.
He paused, swallowing his laughter in. "Boss, wala naman ganyanan."
"I just want you to know that we have work on Monday, Lazaro. Nice game." Ronnie patted my shoulder.
I massaged my temples, wondering what I had gotten myself into.
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