Napatingin tuloy si Susannah sa tunog ng boses ni Gabriel. Ganun pala ang boses nun? Ang lalim at parang may konting accent...lalaking lalaki! Medyo natulala na si Susannah kay Gabriel. "Ah, po? Opo," she fished in her huge tote bag for the folder kung saan nakalagay ang mga documents na hinahanap nya. Nagpagawa na sya ng fake clearance at kung ano pa ang kakailanganin nila Gabriel at Ella. She handed him the paperwork.
"What do you think, Gabe?" Ella asked Gabe who was busy perusing through her documents.
"Hmm," was all he said.
"Innah, like I said, I like you. I think you're perfect for the job. Unang kita ko pa lang sa yo, I knew that you would be perfect to carry this through...that is, if you're willing to accept the job."
"Yun nga po eh, medyo naguguluhan ako. Ano po ba kasing trabaho ito? PA nyo po ba?" she asked Ella curiously.
"Sort of, pero hindi," Ella laughed.
Naguguluhan man si Susannah ay nginitian nya na lang ang babaeng tumatawa sa harap nya. "PA po ni Sir Gabriel?" she looked at the straight faced man na ulit.
"Hindi," he answered her flatly before leaning back on his chair and crossing his arms.
"Innah, huwag kang magugulat ha?" Ella leaned over and reached for one of Susannah's hands. "I need you, Innah. I need you desperately."
"Ano nga po yun?
"Kasi kailangan kong magkaanak," Ella explained slowly.
"Ay, kailangan nyo po ba ni Sir Gabe ng nanny?" she pointed from Ella to Gabriel. Nagulat na lang sya ng tumawa ng malakas si Ella.
"Ha? Ako, maybe yes, in the future, pero Gabe has nothing to do with my needing a child."
"Po?"
"Ella is my stepmother," Gabe stood up from his chair and walked over to Susannah's seat. He rested a hand on the back of her chair and loomed over her. "She cannot bear children so she needs you to be her baby's surrogate mother."
"Ano po?! Stepmother nyo si Miss Ella?" tanong ni Susannah kay Gabe. Hindi sya makapaniwala. Alam nyang naglalampungan ang dalawa bago kumatok ang waitress kanina.
"Innah, please, get on the same page already," Gabe drawled. "One million pesos. We'll pay you one million pesos to carry Ella and my father's baby."
***
"Great choice, di ba, Hon?" Ella sat on Gabriel's lap after Susannah left.
"You liked her. It was really up to you."
"Mukha kasi syang mabait..."
"Desperate. She was desperate for money," Gabriel corrected. "Mukha syang pera."
"Grabe ka naman magsalita!" Ella chided him. "Alam mo, we all have struggles in life...we can't judge her kung napa-oo natin sya with the help of one million pesos."
"And she gets a monthly allowance on top of that..." Gabriel said in disbelief.
"Hon, hindi madali ang magbuntis. Syempre, she has to get proper nutrition so I want her eating organic and healthy food. She also needs pre-natal vitamins and maternity clothes when her belly starts to show...and tama lang naman ang one million pesos in surrogate fees."
"I still think it's too much money."
"Eh bakit mo ba pinoproblema yun? Ang daddy mo naman ang magbabayad sa kanya eh."
"I just think she knows something's up," he sighed.
"So?" Ella rolled her eyes.
"So? Mukha syang observant na tao."
"Wala naman syang nakita eh," Ella shrugged and then began nuzzling Gabriel's jaw.
"I think it's best that we stay away from each other for a while."
"What?!" Ella stood up from Gabriel's lap.
"Habang nagbubuntis itong surrogate mo. Para less complications."
"She won't talk. We're paying her one million pesos, for crying out loud!" Ella placed her hands on her hips. She couldn't imagine staying away from Gabriel.
"Ella, it's for the best."
"You can stay away from me for nine months?" she began unbuttoning her blouse and straddled him.
He didn't answer and just let her take control, his eyes seeing Innah's doe like questioning eyes all the while in the back of his mind, even this beautiful woman sitting on top of him couldn't distract him from one Innah Guzman.
Innah Guzman.
Innah Guzman.
Innah Guzman.
He couldn't stop thinking about her even after Ella stood up from his lap and fixed her clothes. Hindi nya alam kung anong meron itong si Innah Guzman at parang wala na syang nagagawa kundi ang titigan na lang ito whenever she was around him. Hindi naman sya kagandahan dahil wala nga itong make up at simple lang ang damit; kung tutuusin, mas maganda naman si Ella kay Innah dahil ito ay isang mestisa beauty, pero ang amo kasi ng mukha ni Innah at parang laging nagtatanong ang mga mata. Had he been so used to Ella and her straightforward ways na parang naninibago lang sya kay Innah?
Sana nga tama ang desisyon mo, Ella, he thought to himself. Alam nyang pasimple lang syang inoobserbahan din ni Innah. She disarmed him when she looked at him and his lips upon entering his office. Parang feeling nya na ang sama sama nyang tao with the way Innah looked at him; which, sa totoo lang, masama naman talaga syang tao dahil kina-kama nya ang asawa ng daddy nya. Innah made him feel guilty, and he didn't like that feeling.
I'll be watching you, Innah.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even realize that Ella had kissed him on the cheek and bade him good bye until he heard his office door close with a bang.
Meant To Be
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