Love in All the Right Places (Chick Lit bundle) (3 page)

Chapter Three

GIO MADE some headway on the Anding Torres exhibit the next day. Still not back on track, but it was progress nonetheless. He was just getting ready to leave the next afternoon when he got a call from Sir Frank. “Just heard from the Koreans,” he began without saying hello. It wasn’t that Frank was deliberately rude or ignorant; it was just he didn’t have time for anything else but his own affairs.

“And what did they say?” Gio asked, a feeling of dread pooling in the pit of his stomach, something he knew didn’t come from the shrimps he had for lunch.

“They wanted to thank you for your help,” Sir Frank replied. “Well, the museum, of course. But they said you were very accommodating.”

“I was?” Gio said dumbly. “I mean, they did?”

“Yeah. Good job,” Sir Frank told him. “They said you helped the model a lot. She sounded charming.”

“I did?” Was this a trick?

But it didn’t seem like it was. Sir Frank continued to commend him, before moving on to another topic. Gio wasn’t really concentrating because he was still trying to figure it out. Now he felt guilty for not being as nice as they had made him sound. In fact, he was still feeling a little guilty minutes after the call ended, when a voice interrupted him. “Sir, will you be closing up?”

Gio looked up to see the security guard Yeban standing by the door. The resort rotated three guards everyday, and Yeban was the closest to him in age. Gio wasn’t sure about the name though. He just assumed that it was the guy’s surname sewn onto his patch so that was what he started calling him. He never found an opportunity to ask.

“Yeah, I’m about to go,” Gio replied. He gave the ground floor one final look, making sure everything was in order, before walking to where the guard stood. “You?”

“Still staying, sir,” Yeban replied. “Shift ends at 10. Then I’m covering a few extra hours for Legaspi.”

He nodded. Yeban always made small talk in the afternoons, probably the only one in the resort who tried. The other staff members preferred to keep their polite distance. “Did you need anything else?” Gio asked.

Yeban shook his head. “Was just going to say have a good night, sir.”

“Uh, yeah, you too,” he replied, before heading towards the beach.

Gio pocketed the keys. He had left on time today, mostly because 1) he didn’t want his grandmother to worry again, and 2) he still had to get those calamansi muffins that he had promised his mother. It was still early and the afternoon sun didn’t look like it was about to set any time soon. Gio could afford walking to White Beach instead of getting on a tricycle.

Thankfully, there was a fresh batch of muffins when he arrived at the small café. Gio knew that sometimes it was difficult to get an order without calling ahead. But with the island’s peak season over, there weren’t that many tourists around. Gio’s mother liked citrus things; these smooth and dense muffins with a rich dose of Philippine lime were some of her favorites.

Gio decided to walk all the way to D’Mall. After all, he was feeling pretty lucky today.
Pasalubong
, check. Work progress, check. Going home early, check. The sun was now closer to the horizon than when Gio started out, and a few blue-sailed
paraw
sailed across, as if someone was orchestrating a postcard-perfect moment. On days like this, a walk could only do him good. The narrow sandy path took him close to resorts, restaurants, and cafes on one side, the inviting sea on the other. Most of the buildings didn’t have doors or walls facing the beach, so patrons got an unobstructed view. At night, the place would be lined with seaside buffets and acoustic guitar singers. But on this afternoon, it was peopled by tourists trying to catch the last rays of sun or enjoying the sunset over some early drinks.

Gio had no problem slowing down to a more leisurely pace. He didn’t know why the Koreans didn’t tell Frank of the slight disagreement he had had with one of them. He had tried to help them as much as he could have, but Min Hee didn’t particularly strike him as someone who was going to leave well enough alone. Still, he was grateful that she hadn’t complained to his boss about him.

In fact, he was still thinking about Frank’s phone call—and trying not to feel so guilty—when he saw a pair of creamy shoulders hunched over at a crepes place. Gio recognized Min Hee’s profile. She was seated at the open bar and looked to be doodling on something. As a server approached to bring her order, she looked up. He didn’t know why he stopped by the road. He was just a few feet away from her, and he could hear every bit of their conversation.

“So, ma’am, how long will you be in Boracay?” the young server asked, obviously looking to impress. Gio couldn’t blame him.

“A few weeks more, maybe a month,” he heard Min Hee reply. She had a big smile on her face, open and animated. Maybe she wasn’t as bad as he had imagined her to be.

The server was impressed. “Ma’am, you must be rich to have a very long vacation.”

Min Hee laughed then leaned forward. “Don’t tell anyone, but I have a sister who took over the family business, a huge chain of hotels. I’m here in the Philippines to plot my next move.”

The server looked even more surprised—and even a little nervous at this admission. “Maybe you’ll put up a hotel here in Boracay someday?”

Min Hee gave him a conspiratorial grin. “I’ll have to get the company from her first. One step at a time.”

Gio could almost imagine it. Min Hee being driven up in a golf cart, then walking through the polished lobby of a fancy hotel overlooking a golf course and a faraway beach. He could see her smiling confidently at some business associates, just as her prim-and-proper older sister stepped out of an elevator in surprise. It played out just like some TV drama. He shook his head in amusement but was unable to contain his curiosity any longer. “And the photo shoot from yesterday?” he asked.

Both Min Hee and the server turned to him. The younger guy gave a nod and backed away into the kitchen, while Min Hee kept the smile frozen on her face. “Ah, Mr. Museum. Sneaking up on me?” she asked, a tiny bit of annoyance in her voice.

Gio flushed. He hadn’t meant to get on her wrong side again. He started over. “Sorry, I just saw you and thought that I should come over to say hello. And to thank you for saying nice things to my boss. And uh, to make sure you’re enjoying the place.”
And apologize for yesterday
was the more appropriate thing to say, but Gio just couldn’t bring himself to admit it. He wasn’t convinced he was entirely wrong.

She raised an eyebrow. “And eavesdropping on my conversations was the way to do it?”

“Sorry about that,” he said. “You were close to the road, I couldn’t help but overhear.”

Min Hee held out her hand. “Apology gift.”

“What?” Gio responded, surprised.

“Apology gift,” she repeated patiently. “It’s customary. Anything will do. I can take that in your hand.” She pointed to the red box of muffins.

Gio was beginning to regret taking that walk down the beach. He should have grabbed a tricycle back at the muffin place. “I can buy you—” he began to say, then changed his mind. This was not going as he had hoped. He really had meant to make nice with her. Besides, he could always head back to buy Mama a new batch of muffins. “Here then,” he said, handing her the box. “I’m sorry for yesterday. And today.”

But Min Hee was already opening them, her own plate of crepes forgotten. “What are these anyway?”

“Calamansi muffins,” he replied. It felt awkward to be standing by the road while she was still seated on a bar stool. Granted, they were only a few feet apart, but Gio decided that taking a seat next to her might make things less uncomfortable.

“Calamansi?” Min Hee asked, taking one and biting into it. Her phone made a small little sound like a high-pitched hiccup, but she ignored it and kept right on eating.

“
Citrofortunella microcarpa
,” he answered, glad to volunteer some information. “You might call it a Philippine lime. It’s small and is often used as—”

Min Hee placed a hand over a mouth. “Please, Mr. Museum. No lectures. Besides, this is really good!”

“Not too sour for you?” he inquired politely.

“Not at all,” she replied. “Just a bit, but I like it.” She set it down on her plate.

Gio could see what she had been doodling on a napkin. He pointed to the caricature of the server. It was a good likeness; Min Hee had emphasized the server’s wide eyes and comb-over. “So is that what deposed CEOs do in their free time?”

Min Hee’s lips stretched in a small smile. “Everyone needs a hobby. Hostile takeovers can be so stressful.”

“And yesterday’s shoot? What was the cover story for that?”

“I have a grandmother who thinks I’m dead and Da Kyong is sending her proof that I am alive and well,” she replied with a perfectly straight face.

“You’re a good liar,” Gio told her.

Min Hee rolled her eyes. “I don’t know if you just complimented me or insulted me. Have you always been this sensitive?”

Gio shook his head vehemently. “No, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you, really I didn’t.”

“And have you always been this gullible?” She grinned. “A word of advice for you, Mr. Museum. You’re actually not bad if you stop being boring. I think we can even be friends. Lighten up!”

Gio thought about how to respond. Should he protest being called boring? Should he agree that they could be friends? Should he tell her that he wasn’t really gullible, just polite? “If this is your way of being friends, I’d hate to get on your wrong side,” he ended up saying. Damn, that sounded better in his head. Or at least, better if he had said it quicker. Then he composed himself. He had to get going soon anyway. Polite and composed. “Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of the island. We can’t afford hoteliers like you to be disappointed around here,” he added, teasing her a little. There.

Min Hee made a face. “I’ve done everything I want to do. Now I’m just bored out of my mind.”

Gio, who was about to get up, turned to face her instead. He had a feeling she meant that just as an expression, but it got him really defensive. Again. “But there’s so many things to do here,” he told her.

“I’m telling you, I’ve done everything,” she says. “Pub crawls. Banana boats. Massages. Kite surfing. Helmet diving. Parasailing. What else is there?”

“Island hopping?”

“Done.”

“Sunset sailing?”

“Done.”

“Nature hikes? Skimboarding?”

“Done and done. Believe it or not, I even went to a museum to learn about the culture,” Min Hee joked. Then she turned serious. “Look, don’t get all touchy! I’ll still be staying here for a while. If you can find me something I still haven’t done, then I promise I won’t complain.”

“You just need to see things from a different perspective,” Gio told her.

“Maybe I need a local to show me around,” she said.

“Right,” Gio agreed.

“Because that really ought to give me the right perspective.”

“True,” Gio said.

“So you’ll be my guide?” she asked.

“Of course,” he replied, not thinking.

Min Hee’s eyes lit up. “Perfect! You’ve got a deal, Mr. Museum.”

Chapter Four

GIO SCRAMBLED out of his seat. What just happened? “N-No, I don’t mean I’ll show you around. I just meant it’s better if someone local did. You know, to give you more than the ordinary tourist experience. I’m not even from the island.”

Min Hee pouted. Gio had a feeling that she practiced this frown in the mirror a lot, because somehow even with her features all scrunched up like that, she still looked—dare he say it?—cute. “But you just said you would. You can’t back out of a promise now! Besides, who better to show me around than a guy who knows all about the local culture?”

“But I’ve got all that stuff to do back at the museum,” Gio explained. He took a deep breath, racking his brain for contacts. “I can refer you to someone else. I know some people who might know some good tour guides.” Min Hee frowned even more so Gio added, “And they might even do it for free!”

Min Hee waved her hand. “I’m not after the discount. You know all about this stuff so I might as well learn from you, not from some tour guide who’s memorized what he has to say. And you can talk about your citro whatever. But you know, if you’d rather not, I’d just go on doing the same old stuff. No harm done.”

“Some tour guides can actually be just as informative—” he began to say, but thought against it. He decided to try another tactic. “But I’ll be really busy at the museum. I’ve got an exhibit to mount in less than a month. I don’t have time to show you around.”

Min Hee thought it over. “Two days then. You show me around for two whole days and I might even help you with whatever it is you need to do.”

Gio tried not to look too amused. The thought of Min Hee helping around with something as tedious and serious as his cataloguing system made him smile. He doubted if she would end up helping him anyway, so that part of her proposal wasn’t the one that gave him pause. But… two days? He supposed he could spare two days to show her around the island. It would be a great opportunity to teach her that there was more to life here than what she expected. Maybe not just Boracay, but the rest of his home province as well. He could even consider it his civic duty.

“All right,” he said finally. “Two days.”

Min Hee smiled. “Deal.”

Her phone gave that high-pitched alert again and Gio expected her to answer this time. Instead, she took out another phone from her beach bag. It was an older model, an entry-level phone whose only similarity to the smartphone on the table was a purple cellphone charm. Must be her temporary phone, Gio concluded, though he had to admit he was a bit curious why she wasn’t answering her other phone. “What’s your number?” she asked him.

Gio recited his number and she keyed it in then took his phone to enter hers. While she was occupied, Gio grew aware that a pair of Korean girls had come closer to where they were. One of them said something to Min Hee, and she turned in her seat. He couldn’t follow their conversation, but Min Hee just smiled politely throughout the short exchange. She had her back to him and he noticed how rigid and tense her shoulders seemed.

“Friends of yours?” Gio asked once the two girls had left.

Min Hee turned to him with a nonchalant smile. “No, they work for my doctor and they wanted me to know that I have a brain tumor and I only have six months left to live.”

Gio shook his head. “Do you take anything seriously?”

She laughed. “I take plenty of things seriously! Like our upcoming tour,” she said. She picked up the rest of her calamansi muffin and bit into it. Gio suspected that she did it so that she could avoid elaborating her reply, but she looked as if she sincerely enjoyed eating it.

“All right then,” Gio said. “When you have time, let me know and we can agree on a date.”

“A date? You work fast, Mr. Museum,” Min Hee teased.

Gio blushed. “No, I-I meant fix a date on that tour.”

Min Hee laughed. “I know. I was just teasing you.” She gave the name of a small hotel along Station 1, nothing too fancy but still quite private. “That’s where I stay so we can probably meet in the area. And it’s not far from your museum.”

“I actually thought you’d be a Regency type,” he said, naming the largest hotel on White Beach. It was very popular with Asian tourists, especially Koreans.

“I like things private,” she retorted. “Good for corporate takeovers and dealing with brain tumors. Not that it’s any of your business where I’m staying.”

Gio nodded, schooled. “Right.”

Then his phone rang, mercifully saving him. He excused himself to answer it. It was his mother, asking what time he was coming home and where he would be eating. Gio assured her that he’d be home soon and then hung up.

But when he returned to the bar, Min Hee’s seat was already empty. Had he really pissed her off again? He looked around before asking the server, “The girl here earlier, where did she go?”

The server shrugged. “Sorry, sir. She just paid and left. I think I saw her heading that way.” He pointed towards the direction Gio had come from.

“Oh.” Then Gio realized that she had left the calamansi muffins she had insisted on getting. The box still contained all but the one she ate. He took out his phone, ready to call her, when he saw that that wasn’t the only thing she left behind. Peeking underneath the red box was the napkin she had been doodling on earlier.
I was just kidding about the apology gift
, she wrote.
I made that up. But the muffin was really delicious.

Below her note was a caricature of him: glasses larger than usual, hair sticking out—he consciously patted it down—and wearing a huge frown. Is that how she saw him? Still, he figured that meant that she wasn’t mad at him. She had written in a speech balloon coming out of his mouth:
Min Hee is smarter than me!

Despite himself, Gio grinned.
Min Hee, 2. Gio, 0.
He took his box of muffins and after a moment’s thought, pocketed her doodle of him and left.