Rafa took his serving and eyed the familiar sight of pork broth, meatballs, shallots, mushrooms, bok choy, and misua steaming in a bowl in front of him.
“My favorite dish from when I was a kid,” he said, as Sal slurped hers.
Aveline sighed.“Nothing beats Mom’s misua,” she said with a satisfied grin after helping herself.
“Ban ban chiah,”his mother replied, looking pleased, then turned to Sal, “It means eat slowly and savor the food, my dear.”
When they finished eating, Aveline asked, “Mom, why did you call us over?”
Their mom paused, then wiped her mouth before letting out a deep breath.“I wish it were about a joyous thing,” she muttered.She turned to Sal.“I’m sharing this with you too, Sal, because you’ll be part of this family soon, and you should know,” she said.Then her expression turned serious.“The business has taken a tremendous loss.We need to review our operations in Portland and Ashland.We’ll have to close one down.”
A pregnant silence filled the large dining hall until the sharp metallic drop of Rafa’s chopsticks broke the stifling quiet.“Last I checked, we’ve been meeting targets in Ashland.And the last time we discussed Portland, we agreed it needed some operational improvements but that it should stabilize in a year.”
His mother sighed.“Yes, but we discovered new information.That’s why I called you both here, so we could do damage control,” she said and looked away.“The funds for our Portland operations were misappropriated.I told our top partners not to worry, but the loss is…too big to ignore.”
Rafa could hear what his mother was saying, but he had trouble understanding how it could have happened under his very nose.He knew the ins-and-outs of the family business better than anyone and what was happening daily.“How come I didn’t see this?”he asked.“Andwhodid this?”
His mother straightened her back, her gaze steady.“Because the pilfering was gradual, Rafa.It feels strategic too.It was Colette.We lost millions because of her.”
“But Colette’s been our operations manager in Portland for decades,” Aveline said, sounding surprised.
Their mother nodded.“I know, dear, which makes it even more disheartening.Our auditors found she was slowly moving money amounting to millions into various dummy accounts over the years.”She laced her fingers and said, “The auditor will be here shortly to discuss his findings with us.”
Aveline slumped in her chair, her palm on her forehead.
Rafa felt a soft and reassuring hand take hold of his knee.Sal… he thought, as though thinking her name would dispel all their sudden troubles.He immediately took hold of her hand and squeezed it gently, letting her know he was managing, but his stomach still churned.“Achi is right.Colette has been around for decades,” he said flatly, trying to stifle the frustration rising within him.“Ten years of audits only show part of it—she must’ve stolen more through the years.”
He knew he was right the moment his mother hung her head and clenched her fists.He wished, more than anything, that he wasn’t.
SAL
After Iris’s startling announcement over lunch, Rafa excused himself with his mother when the auditor arrived.Aveline kept Sal company in the orchid room and asked her questions about the art show, but Sal felt her companion’s attention was diverted.Aveline’s eyes would glaze over each time she answered, and she couldn’t blame her.A threat to the company meant a threat to their reputation, and if she knew Rafa, he would do everything to protect his family’s reputation.
“Some tea to calm the nerves?”Aveline offered.
Sal nodded and gave a quick grin in response.Aveline called for help, and the maid brought over a tray with a set of fine china teaware.Like her mother, Aveline insisted she pour for both of them instead.
Sal’s future sister-in-law bent over to pour the tea.She wore her black hair sleekly pulled into a bun, and her plum-colored outfit and yellow diamonds complemented her light and warm-toned skin.“I love your earrings,” Sal said.Talking about the art show made her nervous, and talking about the family business made Aveline nervous.So finding something else to talk about was tantamount.Sal observed Aveline wore a rotation of precious stones and gems in her wardrobe each time they met.So she presumed it was a more welcome topic of discussion.
Aveline looked up at her.Her hooded eyes slightly widened.“Oh?Thank you,” she said as she sat up straight and gracefully held her teacup on her lap.“I enjoy collecting colorful diamonds, and these are a particular favorite—they’re from my grandmother,” she said and took a sip from her tea.
Sal took a sip from hers too.For a moment, there was an uncomfortable silence.
“I loved that ring though,” Aveline said, her eyes focused squarely on Sal’s engagement ring.
Confused, Sal looked at her ring and fiddled with it.The round-cut, pale pink diamond ring shined brightly.“Did Rafa show this to you before proposing?”she asked.
Aveline frowned and tilted her head.“No…” she said, her voice trailing off as if Sal had said something strange.“Mom had that sourced from Australia and then had it set by our personal jeweler in Hong Kong for Rafa’s future wife.He was still single then.Sybelle and I called dibs on it after a while,” she said, smiling.
“Sorry to disappoint; it’s mine now,” Sal teased.
Aveline let out an astonished laugh.“No, no!It was fair game.We gained a sister in return.”She raised her teacup to Sal.“Rafa needs an extra set of eyes and ears in the business anyway,” she added before taking another sip.
Sal grinned and took a slow sip of her tea.She felt no malice or insincerity from Aveline.But there was a jab in her gut that she couldn’t quite place.Perhaps it was the last statement Aveline said, or the way she expressed exchanging a rare stone for a sister-in-law.For the rest of the conversation, Sal contemplated if she had just been compared to something with a predetermined purpose, cultivated and deliberately chosen to suit their needs, like the beautiful orchids that sat in the room.
Rafa finally emerged from his meeting with the auditor and flashed an assuring smile.He sat beside Sal, took her hand and gripped it twice, and joined the conversation as though nothing serious had just been discussed.
“Rafa, I just told Sal the backstory of her engagement ring.”Aveline quipped playfully.“Can’t believe you didn’t tell her.”
