Dominic Fortejo (FortejoBastards Book 3)

Chapter 1

"SORRY na, please."

Cifi rolled her eyes. Hinayaan na lang itong paulit-ulit namag-sorry kasehodang mapaos pa ito. She exhaled and sat back. Binalingan niya ang nagtatayugang mga building na tanawmulasakaniyang condo.

Dominic was supposed to fly back to Manila last night fortheir mini reunion dinner with her college friends, but her arseof abest friend decided to ditch her last minute. Dominic stood her up—he was supposed to be her date! Nagmukha tuloy siyangtangakahihintay rito at kasasabi sa mga kasamang may tinatapos langito. She even stayed late dahil umaasa siyang darating pa rinito. Naabutan na nga siya ng pagsasara ng restaurant.

Cifi groaned, then placed her knuckles under her chin. "Pinagtatawanan na siguro ako ng mga 'yon dahil hindi kasumipot."

Dominic chuckled on the other line. "They're not your real friends then. Bummy, for once stop worrying about pleasingothersso much. Besides, kilala naman nila ako, 'di ba? Sana sinabi monalang na busy ako dahil wala ako sa Manila."

"But you promised." She pouted even if he really couldn't seeher. "You should've notified me. Ilang buwan kitang kinulit-kulitdito, Dominic."

Bumuga ito ng hangin. At the back of her mind, she couldpicture him combing through his hair with his fingers while pacingback and forth. Ganoon kasi ito kapag napu-frustrate. Alamniyangnaiinis din ito sa sarili sa tuwing nadi-disappoint siya rito.

"I know and again, I'm sorry," he muttered, sounding sincereas ever. "Hindi ko rin talaga kontrolado ang kuryente rito sa PuertoGalera. It poured hard last night, too, kaya pinigilan din talagaakong pilot ko lumipad."

"You have generators there," aniya.

"Bummy, please," pakiusap nito, "pikong-pikon na rinakosakuryente rito. Napakaraming guests ang naabala becauseourgenerators ran out of fuel, and the staffs didn't even informmethatit was already running low when I arrived here last week." Heletout a heavy sigh. "Electricity came back just this morningkayangayon lang din kita natawagan. Baka rin next week naakomakabalik diyan since may mga in-order akong bagong industrial generators and solar panels. Sobrang walang kuwenta ng electriccompany rito."

Napalabi si Cifi. Natunaw ang inis na nararamdamanniyaatnapalitan ng awa para sa binata. Although his island resort wasbooming and consistently coming up through the ranks as oneofthe most visited islands in the midwest despite being high-end, overhauling the whole place had been Dominic's main concern.

Both of them had seen it coming. Mindoro was infamousfortheir consistent power outage which, most of the time, couldlastfor one whole day, 'tapos ay araw-araw pa. Developed namannaang isla nang maipasa ang ownership niyon kay Dominic whenhisfather died five years ago, iyon nga lang, mali nito, dahil ngawalaitong kainte-interes doon, pinabayaan nito iyon nanghalosdalawang taon. The island had so much potential. Sayangkunghindi gaanong mabibigyan pansin. So when Cifi finally talkedhiminto it, he had the whole island closed for two years, haditrenovated, and then just last year, he relaunched it. He retainedthename Isla Fortejo to still honor his late father.

Hindi pa rin naman masasabi ng dalaga na fully investednasi Dominic sa isla. Hindi pa rin kasi ito maka-commit na manirahandoon dahil ang mga Mendoza ay sa Manila nakabase, plus, heowned a condo—which was right next to hers—in BGC. Mayroonpaitong townhouse sa Tagaytay na inuuwian din nito paminsan-minsan. He wasn't just ready for the island life just yet. But it was

safe to say that he's putting an honest effort to make Isla Fortejoperfect for those who seek sanctuary.

"I'll make it up to you, bummy," rinig niyang sabi nitokapagkuwan. "Kapag dumating na ang bagong set ng generatorsand napakabit ko na ang solar panels, bring your college friendshere. Sagot ko na ang one week nilang bakasyon dito sa isla, hmm?All-expenses-paid."