“I’ve got them!” Gabriel sprung up from his chair like a mushroom, making Ate Tiana jump in surprise and turn to the little brain trust that had gathered around the pan de sal and spread. Her brow rose at the sight.
“This is a bakery and a sweets shop. What are you doing with Ton-Ton’s tinapa spread?” she asked, taking the seat Gabriel graciously offered, as Santi passed the bread and spread to his cousin, who made herself a sandwich as well. One does not simply ignore tinapa spread.
“We needed brain food,” Santi explained. Then Kira jumped in and told his cousin about everything that happened with Lolo Vito, and why they were stuck at the moment. Santi was actually tired of rehashing and reliving the story over and over, out loud and in his head, and was grateful that Kira jumped in when she did.
But when she finished, they were met with a confused stare from Ate Tiana, who looked at Santi like she was surprised he hadn’t come up with the answer yet.
“Hoy,” Ate Tiana said, making herself another sandwich. This spread really was addicting. “Have you really not talked to Lally?”
Kira’s and Sari’s heads shot to Santi, and he very much felt like a mouse caught in a corner, or the first time he saw the Cat walking into his kitchen (she wasn’t his cat, therefore Santi couldn’t call her anything else, despite her living with him for the last week) and she’d been completely surprised that he lived in it.
“What does Lally have to do with this?” he asked.
“Dude.” Ate Tiana rolled her eyes. “Kaya pala, she’s been bugging me to talk to you. She got an offer for Hotel Villa from the Marbella Hotel and Resorts. Apparently your Tita Ria called her, and she’s married to—”
“Johnny Marbella.” Santi’s brow rose. The Marbellas were Carlton’s biggest competition, just because they had partnered with the Langbourne Hotels from England and had the backing to run smaller, boutique hotels. That they were interested in Villa made sense, as it fit in perfectly with the brand, but... “Is Lally interested in selling?” Santi asked.
“Yes!” Tiana exclaimed. “She just has to terminate her lease with you to do it.”
“Lease?” Sari echoed. “Santi, you didn’tbuyVilla?”
“No, I rented it from my grandmother,” Santi explained. From the way Kira and Sari exchanged shocked looks, it seemed the gossip circles had gotten something wrong. Santi would have laughed, but he was too stuck on his grandmother wanting to sell her hotel. “It was the smarter choice.”
“It was his exit strategy, because ofcoursehe has an exit strategy,” Tiana said by way of explanation, which was true.
When Santi took over the hotel, he’d promised his Lally two things—that he would restore the hotel to its former glory, and that he would never take it away from the Villas. Everyone had just assumed that Santi bought it, but it hadn’t felt right, completely taking it from them. His company held the usage rights to the land and the hotel, as well as the Hotel Villa name. It was Santi’s company that held the franchise agreement with Carlton.
“Yes,” he agreed. “But I didn’t want to terminate the lease because Gemini was at stake. Lally could still say no.”
“Oh. Oh!” Kira exclaimed, because of course she understood. This was her job, after all. “If you convince your Lola to pre-terminate the lease, all she has to do is return your deposit—”
“Made with Lolo’s money,” he pointed out.
“And Vito won’t have any say in the hotel anymore. Then she can sell to the Marbellas if she wants!”
“Which she already said she wanted to do, which you would have known if you actually went toseeher, Ton-ton.” Tiana rolled her eyes at him. “God, you aresowrapped up in your own problems sometimes.”
“I didn’t want to bother her,” Santi argued. “She’s 85! She must have other concerns.”
“She’s only 85, and her main concern has been you, especially when everyone heard your Lolo was coming back and taking over the place,” Tiana explained.
Santi sighed and immediately recalled his grandmother’s stern face, how she thinned her lips when she was annoyed. He hated that the next time he saw her, it was to ask her to give up the lease with his company. Another reason why he hadn’t wanted to take this exit strategy.
“She’s rich, thanks to you, twice over. The improvements you made to Villa increased its value ng bonggang-bongga, and that fund thing you put her deposit in, earned way more than she ever thought she needed.”
From the counter, Gabriel chuckled as he waited for the cookies to finish warming up. “Damn, Santi,” he said. “Do your hands itch, likeallthe time? Money just walks up to you, no?”
“I placed her deposit in a bond fund that matures this year.” Santi shrugged. “I thought it would be better for Lally if her money worked for her. It’s easier if you do your research.”
“Wow,” Sari said, shaking her head before she turned to Kira. “What’s it like to live with a peak Atenista, bro?”
“Pare naman. First of all, Gab and I are Ateneans andwedon’t talk like that.” Kira chuckled, ignoring Santi’s frown while he muttered, “You do, a little.”
“Second of all, he doesn’t just talk like an Atenean, he talks like a guy in School of Management that wears boat shoes, a polo shirt and khaki shorts to school every day.”
“A mood,” Gabriel concurred from behind the counter. Sari the UP grad was almost rolling on the floor laughing.
“Third of all,” Kira added further. “He’s generous and lovely, and he’s really good in bed. He’s stubborn, and a pain in the ass sometimes, but he’smypain in the ass, and I love him.”
