Naked Attraction

4

"Are you open-minded?"

Cassy almost spit out the iced tea she was drinking while she and her father were at Barrio Fiesta. It was her first day in the town of Esperanza, and her father had picked her up from the bus terminal downtown using his old Wrangler jeep.

“Papa, those kinds of remarks you make sometimes make me nervous,” she said, wiping her mouth.

Manuel chuckled. “I only have a month left at the municipal office. I’m about to retire.”

Cassy’s father had been a widower for fifteen years. Her mother died in a vehicular accident; the passenger jeep she was riding was hit by a truck, and she was among the casualties.

“Oh, what happened to your plan of staying for two more years? Why the early retirement?” she asked in surprise.

“I'm in a business partnership. Mushroom production.”

"Ah, that’s really booming now, especially for export. I saw a documentary on TV. You can earn millions if the production is large and you get lucky with sales. That’s great."

"Yes, especially since my current business partner already has guaranteed buyers. Sweetheart, you should invest with us too so you can just stay here in Talaora. You won’t even need a boss. If you’d rather, you can also help manage the farm. There’s already an office there, and we need more people."

"My savings are still small, Pa."

"That’s not a problem. You know your grandfather’s farmland we’ve been working on the papers for a long time? Everything got settled last month, and we already have a buyer."

Cassy straightened in her seat. This was about money—of course! "How much is my share?" she asked right away.

"You really perk up when it’s about money. Incredible!"

"I take after you, Papa! So that’s why you retired early—you’re about to get your inheritance." Her grandpa Roberto had passed away from old age two years ago. He had left behind a large farmland that he once leased out. "So how’s the split?"

"I’ll be dividing it with your Auntie Maria, of course—fifty-fifty. Then my share, I’ll split with your brother Bert. It’s a big amount, sweetheart. You can use it as your investment with us in the mushroom production."

"Where exactly is this mushroom production?"

"In Barangay Mapayapa, right on the boundary between Esperanza and Amaya."

"Who’s your business partner again?"

"I think he was your schoolmate at St. Gabriel Academy. He knows you. His name's Nate."

Cassy’s eyes widened. "Nate as in Nataniel Alfonso?"

"So his real name is Nataniel. Acting all cool with ‘Nate’!" Her father burst into laughter. "Well, sweetheart? Are you in? Just stay here. I’m planning to hire a housemaid anyway, so you won’t have to worry about house chores."

"Sorry, Pa. I’m close-minded."