‘C
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hampagne, sir, courtesy of Mr Marcos Sereno,’ Carlos said as he put a bottle of Dom Perignon
in a chiller next to us. We sat in the open-air restaurant in the resort, located in an alcove. The sun had
set. The clear sea reflected the palette of the sky. The restaurant had only six tables, each with several
lit candles on it.
Ours was the only occupied table.
‘Would you like some?’ Neel said as he lifted the bottle.
‘Yes, please,’ I said.
Like a gentleman, Neel stood up and poured the champagne for me.
‘Thank you,’ I said.
‘You are welcome,’ Neel said. We raised our glasses in a toast.
‘To many more deals,’ he said.
‘Especially ones involving private island assets,’ I said. Both of us laughed.
Waiters brought us various kinds of seafood, all caught fresh from the sea. Everything tasted
delicious.
One of the waiters brought us a heart-shaped red velvet cake.
‘For the lovely couple,’ he said in a Filipino accent.
The waiter’s words left me stumped. I struggled to speak.
‘Oh, actually, we.. .’ I said. Neel intervened.
‘Thank you for the cake. Didn’t have to be heart-shaped, as we are not a couple.’
The waiter looked at both of us, surprised.
‘We are here on a business trip,’ I said. The waiter became even more confused. Who comes
to Pengalusian Island on work?
Neel smiled.
‘Thanks for the cake,’ he repeated. The waiter left us. We burst out laughing. Neel poured us
both another glass of champagne.
‘Okay, that was a little weird,’ I said.
‘Totally. Did not expect that.’
I could feel my head swim after two drinks.
‘Though I must say I was flattered,’ Neel said.
‘Really? Why?’ I said, pretending to be ignorant even as I fished for more compliments.
‘Well, even at my age he thought I could be with you. That’s a compliment.’
‘Well. True that,’ I said. ‘All that running is surely helping.’
We clinked our glasses. I don’t know if it was the champagne, the beautiful setting or that Neel