The Other Daughter

Chapter 8 : No Sweeter Regret

Krystal and her workers hauled up the sign of the hotel as they kicked out the Lotus sign. She got up happily as she banged the sign with her hammer.

A genuine smile slowly lit up on her face.

It is now called the "Monsoon Inn".

"Dedicated to all the monsoons I had here", she thought to herself.

"Yes!" She yelled out while she looked proudly at the sign.

There was a journalist there taking pictures of the newly launched hotel and resort.  It was early in the morning before the sunrise.  He wanted to avoid the crowd and he believed it was the perfect shot to show that the Lotus from four years ago had changed drastically.

"Miss Tanchingco, pose lang po tayo by the sign," the man said as he started signaling for Krystal to come closer.

Krystal dragged Mang Ben and the other hotel workers with her. Manang Irene, now with her in the hotel, even joined in. It looked like it was a big class photo.

"Para sa Monsoon," Krystal yelled out as everyone said it in unison.

Krystal Tanchingco had come a long way from her past.

She was now CEO of Monsoon, a new hotel she would want to focus on. Soon, she started buying more land hoping she could build a franchise with her theme for homespun hotels around the provinces.

———-

The morning had a buzz to it as the workers were boisterous and in a fun mayhem in the industrial kitchen. They moved around with their big pots and pans steaming throughout the whole area. Their main chef was working the lines like he had an army.

Manang Irene, Krystal's yaya, was now the head manager for the hotel restaurant.

She was bossing all the kitchen people around as they started to keep pace for breakfast.

"Ang babagal ninyo, malapit na yung brunch!" Manang Irene yelled out.

"Manang, high blood po ninyo," Krystal joked as she took another sip from her cup of espresso.

"Krystal! Batang 'to! Tigilan mo nga ako," Manang Irene said as she lightly hit Krystal on her arm.

"Tita —- tama na po yata yung timpla arroz caldo," a young woman said gently. 

"Ano ka ba Nanette ... kanina mo pa ginagawa yan," Manang Irene said to the girl.

Nanette Camitan or as Krystal fondly insults her as the "kid"— was Manang Irene's niece.  She was young and took a Hotel and Restaurant Management course at a small college in Tarlac.

Through some pleading, Manang Irene got her niece to work for Krystal's hotel. 

Nanette always was a permanent fixture around the kitchen. Krystal observed her silently as she saw the girl concentrating on the boiling pot of chicken and rice.

She was always enthusiastic and had bursts of innocence as she walked around in her sous chef outfit.

Krystal always remembered her as she had known her since she was sixteen when she would visit Manang Irene in Manila.   She would also bug Krystal everyday in her bungalow.

Nanette was hard to miss as she distinctly had thick eyebrows and a pixie-like face.  She also was hard to forget as she always had Krystal taste test her cooking. She also constantly joked around with her snobbish boss.

Nanette's elfin eyes darted at Krystal who was watching her in the corner.

"Krystal... nandyan ka pala. Halika rito," Nanette said with a bright smile.