Chapter 11
Breanne was definitely on the mend and Zandro was now taking the time to acknowledge what his actions over the past week meant. Aside from family he had never before looked after another the way he had with Breanne. Of course anyone would have done the same thing particularly since she was a guest in his home. It was naturally his responsibility to look after her. It didn't explain though why after all of these years he had disclosed his upbringing. He was not sure how he felt about someone else knowing the deeper him and understanding who he was. She had a shared empathy with him, being one that had also taken on her share at an early age.
He didn't feel totally uncomfortable with her knowing more about him but it certainly did not mean that they should change the rules of engagement. It simply added a bit more depth to their liaison and as long as Breanne could cope with that and not become all starry eyed then he would be happy to progress with their friendship with benefits. Zandro pushed away niggling thoughts and prepared for the day ahead. They still had a few more days left to complete their work and then they would be heading back to Australia.
Breanne prepared for work. She was still a little tired from her illness. She had convinced Zandro to allow her to do a half day so that she wouldn't go stir crazy around the house. They would both head into the office and then he would continue working from the apartment in the afternoon. Breanne was not looking forward to going back to Australia. She loved her home but she wasn't quite sure what would happen to the tentative connection they had made. She wished she were feeling brave enough to be direct about it and simply ask him his intentions. She would give him a bit more time and hopefully he would propose an ongoing relationship with her. If he didn't bring up the conversation then she promised herself she would broach it before they landed back in Australia.
With the week coming to an end Breanne had to start thinking about whether or not it made good business sense to outsource in part or full to the Philippines. She took the time to put together her proposal and felt satisfied with her recommendations. She wanted to do some research on companies that had outsourced and find out the effects to their business. She also wanted to do a survey of LSS customers to find out what their thoughts were as based on her findings so far she simply felt that she did not have enough information to base a decision on. Breanne put together a list of pros and cons to date and after formatting the document into what she hoped was a professional looking proposal she hit the send button to forward the document through to Zandro.
It was important to her that he consider her work seriously. She hoped that just because their relationship had become personal that he would not be biased or unfair with his assessment of her work.
Breanne had the last day of the trip to herself as Zandro still had a little business to complete and she had finished her recommendation. She wandered through some of the malls grabbing a cheap bargain here and there particularly souvenirs for the kids. Everything was so cheap and it was expected that she be able to bargain for a better price. However, having seen how hard things were for many of these people she felt bad about trying to lower what to her was already a fabulous price and instead left small tips here and there.
She spent a bit of time in the morning at Greenhills Shopping Center which was like an enormous market place. Most customers were locals and as an Australian she definitely stood out. She had been swarmed by merchants who wanted her to purchase their goods. If she so much at glanced at something she would have that item and many more similar shoved at her to buy
The atmosphere was wonderful and so different to anything she had seen before in Australia. She bought several items including shoes and a new handbag. Her standard size eight Aussie feet were actually quite large compared to the average Filipino women and it wasn't all that easy to get the pretty colourful shoes in her size. She did manage to find a nice pair of backless heels and bought them in three different colours.
Rona at work had assured Breanne that she hadn't shopped unless she went to the Mall of Asia. So she decided to make her way over there for some lunch and afternoon shopping. Breanne was excited, Rona had told her it was the largest mall in Asia and was almost a kilometre long. Breanne wasn't disappointed. The mall was huge. It was like a few Westfield Shopping Centres squeezed together. Breanne spent a couple of hours looking around and picking up more souvenirs for the family.
After shopping Breanne decided that she would cook a special dinner to round off the wonderful trip and to thank Zandro for bringing her with him. It was the least she could do considering how wonderful he had been while she was ill. It was actually difficult to find the supermarket as most of the malls seemed to be more department style shops. Finally she found the mall with the supermarket and after once again lining up to enter the mall and have her bag prodded for weapons or bombs she was allowed to enter the store.
Breanne had become a bit of a pro walking into the shops. She now stood in the right queue, sometimes they were segregated by sex. She also produced her handbag and had it open and ready to be inspected. To go into the supermarket Breanne was required to hand her bags over and get a ticket to retrieve them when her shopping was done. It reminded her of a dodgy cloak room at the back of a night club.
Inside the shop Breanne spent way too much time gazing around at all of the unfamiliar foods. Many of the options were American and Breanne grabbed a few things to take back to the kids. The one thing she had found very strange was the bread. One of the staff in the office had brought her in some bread so they could all taste vegemite on toast. The bread though was more like cake in texture and sweetness. She was advised this was their usual bread. Looking through the bread aisle Breanne could see that indeed they did not have the same options as back home. It was incredibly spongy bread and would be fine with jam or something sweet on it but in her opinion it didn't work very well with savoury.
After dilly dallying in each aisle Breanne finally went to the check out to pay for the groceries. As usual there were always at least three people serving at the checkout. At first she thought this not very economical but later on realised that all of these people needed jobs and having one to scan the item, one to move the items to the next person and someone to pack or wrap might actually be good for the families who needed work, though unfortunately it certainly didn't expedite the process for the customer.
Zandro walked into the apartment and the first thing he noticed were the delicious smells wafting through the air. The table had been set with candles and wine glasses and Breanne was focused in the kitchen on stirring something in the pot whilst swaying to an Adele song. The scene was a little to homely for his liking. He walked in and switched the stereo off. Not caring if he was being a killjoy. He didn't want Breanne getting fanciful ideas in her head. She had seemed just a little bit clingier since he had looked after her and he had a feeling that she was falling for him. He would only end up hurting her so any harsher actions he had to take were for her benefit in the long run.
"Oh hi, I didn't hear you come in," seeing the look on Zandro's face Breanne rushed on. "Um I hope you don't mind but I was a little bored and I also wanted to say thanks for looking after me while I was sick. If you want to take a quick shower dinner will be ready when you come out.'
Zandro searched her face and nodded. He went to the bathroom and showered. Breanne breathed a sigh of relief. At least he hadn't refused to eat her meal and for a moment there she felt it was definitely on the cards. She would have to play down her feelings. It was obvious that he was not at the same point that she was. Patience though was not her strong point.
The meal went without a hitch. It was delicious with a variety of sautéed and seasoned vegetables, followed by Mediterranean chicken and an antipasto platter on the side. The meal was complete with Filipino mangoes and ice cream. As soon as dinner was over Zandro got up to assist with the cleaning and then stated that he had a lot of work to finish and that she would be best not to wait up for him. Feeling a little hurt Breanne took herself to her bed; she hadn't been there since the first night of her illness. She sat reading for a while and then when she realised that concentrating was a futile act she decided to try to sleep.
By the morning Breanne was not only confused, she was feeling hurt, tired and irritable. Probably not the best time to broach the subject of their ongoing relationship but in her state of mind she put her feelings before logic. "Zandro, I wanted to talk to you about what happens next?"
Zandro lifted his head from the morning paper, coffee in hand and stared at her without expression. One look at her face and he knew that she was not referring to business. "Next, we fly back to Australia and go back to work and our commitments." He was deliberately vague trying to gauge her reaction. He could see the frustration building.
"So...will we still see each other? I mean will we continue to have a, um, relationship outside of work?"
"Breanne let me be perfectly clear. What we have is not a relationship. We, as agreed, have a working relationship with some extra benefits. Those benefits have been pretty good for both of us yes?" Breanne nodded whilst Zandro thought to himself that it was a massive understatement to only credit her with pretty good. "Well to avoid confusion I think when we return we should resume just a working relationship."
Breanne felt the hot moisture prick up behind her eyelids and did her best to remain composed. She simply nodded her head and said that she was ready to leave for the airport whenever he was. She was not looking forward to the flight back. Sitting in his company for so many hours was going to be torturous. She berated herself for not waiting to be back in Australia to have this conversation. Deep down she always knew what the answer was going to be. Somehow it still didn't prepare her for his actual detachment.
Zandro could see the disappointment in her eyes and had a fleeting moment of remorse before common sense prevailed. He was doing the right thing and once they were back in Australia the decision would make more sense to both of them. He for one just needed work to provide him a distraction from Breanne's soulful eyes. He felt responsible for removing the light from them. He reminded himself how much worse it would be for her if he allowed this to continue. Zandro knew he would need to minimise contact over the coming months. She would get over him quick enough and he would easily find comfort in another.
The flight back was tedious as bad weather had them grounded for longer than anticipated whilst the pilot looked for an alternate route to travel back on. Zandro concentrated on his laptop and tried not to pay attention to Breanne who was sitting opposite him studiously looking out the window. At one point he offered her something to read and it seemed that she looked straight through him as she declined. She then put in a pair of earphones and listened to music with her eyes closed.
Zandro didn't want to be infatuated yet he could barely find fault with her. She came to him an utter innocent; however, in bed she matched him in appetite and passion; she was great at her job and he knew she would go a long way if she chose; as a home maker she knew how to cook and create a warm environment to come home to and her looks held his attention more so than any of the models he had ever dated.
If he wasn't careful he could easily ask Breanne to consider a more lasting relationship. Yet there was one thing that he knew for sure. Marriages did not last. There was no such thing as happily ever after and more than likely even though she seemed innocent enough he knew that it was probably on Breanne's agenda to snag him as her spouse. Well the quicker they arrived in Sydney the quicker he would be making his escape from that trap.
They arrived in Sydney just before six am. There was a fresh morning chill in the air which was preferable to the chilly indifference she had experienced over the past twelve hours. They shared a hire car and Zandro assisted her to her door with her luggage. Breanne was seething at his abrupt change but did not allow her emotions to impede her manners. "Thank you for dropping me to my door and for the experience of working in the Philippines," she certainly had nothing else to elaborate on and just wanted to close the door and break down in her own personal space.
With the door closed she sat on the couch and wept silent tears for being a complete and utter fool. She could just imagine what others would say about her if they were to find out that she had fallen for Alessandro Dalmassi. She knew she was kidding herself. Apart from being a notorious player she was not even close to being in his league. In fact she still had no idea how she managed to pique his interest at all. Unsure of where this negative self-talk had come from Breanne tried to shake away the thoughts. Breanne was usually the first to tell others the importance of positive self-talk and affirmation. She had a lively personality and no doubt this is what attracted Zandro.
What she needed to figure out was what she actually wanted and expected. She could not solely blame Zandro for his change in behaviour. If she were honest with herself she had also sent out mixed signals. Breanne had after all told Zandro that this was to be an adult relationship. Friends with the added benefits, she cringed just thinking about it. She really wasn't all that worldly and felt a twinge of embarrassment that she had actually managed to vocalise it.
On the other hand isn't this she wanted, life and sexual experiences, taking risks and not knowing what the outcome would be. Why then did she feel this strong connection to him and why did she all of a sudden feel like she wanted all of their rules vanished. Irrationally, she wanted more and she couldn't explain to herself why.
Monday morning going into the office was going to be difficult. Breanne determined that she would get through this just as she would every other hurdle in her life. She would hold her head high and plough right through it. Time would numb the pain of Zandro's obvious rejection and she would make an extra effort to start working on some of her own personal goals. Firstly, she would have to remember what they actually were.
Zandro definitely felt low. He could see the hurt and confusion on Breanne's face and he did not want to dwell on it. Instead of going back home he instructed the driver to take him straight into work. Work was always the answer. It provided him with fulfilment and a way to release his mental energy. A few hours in the office and Breanne would no longer be dominating his thoughts.
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