Hacienda Del Barrio: Lucian

Chapter 1. First Encounter

"What the heck, is this place!! " bulalas ni Sophia pagkababa niya sa sinasakyang bus. Tumigil ang bus sa Isang tulay na may signage na Hacienda Del Barrio private property. Sa isip niya ay hawak ng mga Del Barrio ang buong Negros Occidental dahil sa bawat madaanan nila na lugar, mula pa sa airport kung saan lumapag ang eroplanong lulan siya ay may mga signage ng apelyedo nito. Pagkababa nya sa eroplano ay sumakay siya ng taxicab as per instruction sa email na tinanggap Niya mula sa kaniyang employer. Ang taxi ang maghahatid sa kaniya papuntang terminal ng bus kung saan siya sasakay patungong Hacienda. "Now, what!.." napabuntunghininga sya habang nakatitig sa papalayong bus na sinisakyan nya .She was the last passenger at mismong sa bukana pa mismo ng tulay siya ibinaba. May kahabaan ang tulay, at sa dulo nito ay mababasa na naman Niya ang Hacienda Del Barrio na signage at may malaking warning sign na Off Limits! Private Property! Ang warning sign ay nakasulat ng paarko sa ibabaw ng daan papasok na sa property ng mga Del Barrio. Inistima nito ang lugar. ..mayabong na mga punong kahoy , mga nglalakihang bato sa gilid ng daan, mga poste ng solar na nakatayo at nakahilera and only God knows kung hanggang saan ang hangganan ng private property na ito . my gawd, this family has it's own world yata..nasaan na kaya ang sundo ko? ang sabi, may maghihintay na sasakyan sa akin papasok sa bilangguang ito...este sa Villa. Screech! honk! honk! . "ayy kabayo!! napalundag si Sophia sa gulat ng malakas na busina ng sasakyang huminto sa kaniyang likuran. Napalingon ito bigla , because of her assessment on the area that will be her residence for awhile hindi nya namalayan kung saang lupalop galing ang sasakyang ito. Wait, this is not an ordinary car ! It's a ..oh gawd a Rolls -Royce luxury car kmn! " "So, are you gonna stand there gawking at my car or perhaps you wanna walk your way to the villa" the man standing on the car gestured the road of the property across the bridge. Hindi rin Niya namalayang bumaba na pala ito sa sasakyang nito. Hindi nakalampas sa kaniyang pandinig ang aroganteng pananalita nito. Uminit tuloy ang kaniyang ulo. Tiningnan Niya ito. This nice specimen of a man is 6'2" no 6'3" , I guess 6'4" in height.Ah basta , ang tangkad- tangkad Niya. Whatever , bastos namang magsalita . But in fairness, he's gorgeous. He could pass as a model , with in fact, If I have to be honest to myself , I had never seen this perfect of a man in my whole existence in modelling. Not even that damn idiot who betrayed me! Well close to ..but this one..He's got the perfect eyes, the perfect face, perfect lips... "have you seen enough? " says the man in a sarcastic tone. " excuse me?! napangiwi siya sa diretsahang tanong nito.""I am asking if you've seen enough." Sophia was blushing she knew it. But she stood her ground. " Mister, you almost hit me ! Naturally, inistima kung mabuti ang taong muntik nang pumatay sa akin!".

The man smirked. "You're over reacting."

Ano daw? muntik na akong atakihin sa kaba sa lakas ng bosena ng mayabang na ito ! tapos over reacting lang daw yon,

Antipatiko, walang galang! " Look, it's been a long day , I'm tired. Based on the description of the resume we received , , you are the new p.a of Lileth, Sophia??" he pressed the last sentence especially pronouncing her name, halatang nairita na ito. " So please help yourself, put your baggage on the backseat of the car, on the trunk whatever, in case you hadn't noticed it's almost sunset. Hop in." pagkasabi nito ay basta na lang ito tumalikod at sumakay na sa driving seat Jesus! he's impossible! hindi ba Niya nakita na dalawa ang malalaki kung maleta!? maliban pa sa knapsack at shoulder bag na bitbit ko?! broom broom... Sophia pushed her luggage into the backseat of the car in a hurry . She opens the passenger seat and hops in. Saan pa nga nga ba siya uupo, nasa likuran ang kaniyang luggage. Besides, she assumed na ang antipatikong ito ay ang magiging amo niya. Agad na pinaandar ang kotse nito ng mabilis , muntik na namang siyang mapasigaw but she covers her mouth to prevent from shouting. Oh, dear lord, may anger issue yata ang taong ito, maliban sa wala pang manner. Pasalamat siya kailangan kung lumayo sa Maynila at mag lie low sa karera ko. Nang maalaala Niya ang pangyari sa buhay Niya sa Maynila ay di Niya maiwasang malungkot . Pero kailangang buo ang kaniyang loob. Kailangang panindigan niya ang kaniyang desisyon. For her inner peace of mind she grabbed the opportunity of taking the risk of applying as a personal assistant of a girl 12 years of age. When she read an ad from the newspaper ,she was determined to get the job na malayong malayo sa career niya. She's one of the promising models in the country and yet her she is in the land of the unknown. But this is what she wanted. Magpakalayo layo in order to forget everything .Hindi naman siguro mahirap ang trabaho ng isang p.a dahil ang sabi sa description ang gagawin lang ay para may nakasama ang teenager na batang babae. Hindi namn siya ang mag aasikaso like yaya . In fact, may yaya ito na mag serve sa kaniyang pagkain, may tutor din. All she has to do is para lang may makausap ang bata para hindi ma boring daw. And she goes with her para mag shopping ba yon? , more on a chaperone 'ika nga. So, hindi na rin masama. Ang masama ay ang kasama niya ngayon! Teka, I don't even know his name.! Kaano -ano ba ito ng Lileth na sinabi niya. "Excuse me, you have a name? sir?? she asked pressing the word sir. "Call me Lucian." was the reply. " How did you know that I am the one applying for the job.? I could be a tourist visiting the area...also I'm not sure if you are really my employer? yeah, right .what if....." " Are you for real? He is asking like she grew up two heads..". first of all, you send your resume to us applying for the position we are stating in the paper. In the resume is the complete information of yourself, unless you faking it." tinitigan siya nito sandali bago itinuon muli ang paningin sa manibela. " Not with the picture though, you've sent many based on what we asked for." Second of all, nobody and I mean no one will ever stand that bridge looking like a silly girl inspecting Hacienda's private property. Third, your luggage explained it all." Napamaang si Sophia. Wala siyang masabi sa tabas ng pananalita ng taong ito. Prangka na walanghiya kung makagamit ng salita. ME silly? ..the nerve! " Who would you think I'd rather be? You clearly. received the reply from your enquiry..." ." yep! I know that my employers are Mr.&Mrs. Del Barrio,.. they are living in this remote area of Negros Occidental ..and that I am going to be a p.a of a teenage girl probably 12, 13, ..it was not stated clearly.. I'm talking about the girl's age. Iyan lang naman ang mga impormasyong natanggap ko sa inquiry and oh..na may susundo sa akin pagdating ko sa airport pa lang ..but I received another email na sasakay na lang ako ng taxi , ihahatid ako sa Isang terminal yata ang tawag doon ..yep terminal ng bus at doon ako sasakay nga ng bus ..ihahatid sa dakong ito at dito, I mean , doon sa may bridge may maghihintay sa aking sundo papasok sa private property ninyo, right?!" hindi na pinatapos ni Sophia sa pagsasalita si Lucian. She explained what she knows the job description. Good heavens, what I am doing here? What was I thinking? Is this man for real? For a start, he's very handsome, . It's illegal to be handsome like him...Sophia is drumming her fingers , ano bang iniisip Niya! " We're here ". Tumigil ang sasakyan sa harap ng isang Villa. She gasped! It is large and impressive.. Because of their unusual encounter, hindi na Niya namalayan na makarating na sila sa Villa nito. Ang kaniyang isip ay okopado sa mga tanong ukol sa lalaking ito, and she knows deep down in her heart na siya mismo ay nabigla rin kung bakit nagpadalos dalos siya ng desisyon na tanggapin ang trabahong ito na malayong malayo sa karerang pinili Niya. Dagdag pa nito ay ang humiliation na natanggap Niya Kay Lucian Del Barrio sa kanilang unang pagkikita. Ito pala ang magiging employer Niya? So, siya ang ama ng bata hmmn.kaya pala Mr. & Mrs. Del Barrio, what a shame. Bumaba sila ng sasakyan . Tatlong lalaki kaagad ang sumalubong sa kanila . Two of them ay inutusan ng Isa na kunin ang kaniyang mga bagahe, ito marahil ay butler. " Welcome po Sir Lucian". Bahagya itong yumuko. Lucian nods. He looks and orders the two men to bring her luggage to her room. So everything has been prepared, she thought. "This is Sophia Mendez..Lileth's p.a. " The man who stayed with them , which she assumed the butler , smiled with her warmly.. She smiled warmly at the old man too. Maybe , he's in his late 50's or early 60's. The graying hair is evidence of his age. Lucian introduced the butler to her as Mang Jose. He then excused himself and went straight to his study. But before that he gives instructions to Mang Jose , to give her a tour and then send it to her room. She wanted to protest, she was tired already physically and mentally, but then she reminded herself that she was employed not for her pleasure but to the employer's satisfaction. So she obliged.