SWEETHEART 9: Mananatili Kitang Mahal

CHAPTER 11

WAKING in her Ortigas condominium one bright Friday morning, Charlize's first thought ay ang nakatakdang interview niya sa isang sumisikat at pinakabatang male foreign novelist si Joram al'Zaim. Her publisher informed her that Joram al'Zaim was half-Filipino and half-Arabian-something.

At ayon sa isang artikulong hindi sinasadyang
nabasa niya sa isang foreign magazine noong
nakaraang taon ay twenty-seven ito. So he must be about twenty eight-twenty-nine now.
Dumating ito sa Pilipinas tatlong araw na ang nakalipas. Her boss, who accidentally met the writer in New York, was granted the coveted interview sa sandaling dumating sa Pilipinas ang writer.

Bagaman may celebrity column sila,
ipinagtataka pa rin niya kung bakit ang isang
fashion magazine na tulad ng Dame ang napili ni Joram al'Zaim. What added to the puzzles, sinabi mismo ni Joram al'Zaim na magpapa-interview ito kung ang editor ng Dame ang gagawa lamang niyon.

"Why me, Louie?" salubong ang mga kilay
niyang tanong sa publisher-which happened to became one of her closest friends when she joined the magazine more than three years ago nang makausap niya ito sa telepono. "Hindi naman ako reporter. You are the reporter and I am the editor, remember?"

"Don't ask me. The man insisted that you
interviewed him! No explanations," wika nito sa
no nonsense tone. "You must have attracted him from your inside cover photo and couldn't blame the poor guy. Nakita ko sa apartment niya sa New York ang magazines natin. It seemed na may kopya siya every month. Check the subscribers file."

"Wala tayong subscription abroad, Louie. You
know that. He must have some friends here at
nagpapadala."

"Whatever. Ang importante'y sa atin niya
ibinigay ang permiso na ma-interview siya. Sales, chika, sales! He may not be Sidney Sheldon or John Grisham and who ever else, pero kilala na siya ng mga A and B readers natin and some of the upper C's. His novels are on the bestsellers list for a year now. And besides, malapit lang sa area mo ang bahay ni Joram al'Zaim. Corinthian Garden..."
Louie was bubbling excitedly.

"I haven't interviewed a single soul in my-"

"And a Filipino for that matter! Think about it,"
putol nito sa sasabihin niya. "And stop worrying over a grain of salt. Knowing you, kayang-kaya mo iyon, piece of cake. Hindi naman iyon on air. It is only the preparations that take longer. The actual interview usually lasts an hour or so. And if you want, ikaw na rin ang kumuha ng mga photos niya, Charlize. Knowing how good you are at it..."

"Hobby ko lang ang photography, Louie. You
know that..."

"Then take Rodulph with you." Ang tinutukoy
nito'y ang isa sa professional photographers
ng magazine. "Ihanda mo ang mga tanong sa
notebook, then bring your tape recorder. Presto, we have him on our mag!"

Charlize tapped her pen on the table and sighed miserably. Sa tono ng boses ni Louie, her friend wouldn't even consider her refusal.

"I've read somewhere that he's very young.
What does he look like?" tanong niya dahil wala na siyang maikakatwiran.

"Thirtyish. Though he looks older because of
the stubble growth on his sexy face. So he's not your boyish and clean-cut type, chika," she said and Charlize could imagine her friend grinning.

"He's more of mine. Bedroom voice, tall, dark and ohhh! Delectable..."

"Shut up, Louie." She rolled her eyes. Typical
of her friend. Very permissive. East and West
ang diperensiya nilang dalawa pagdating sa
pakikipagrelasyon. But they were friends. "Did
you go to bed with him? Iyan ba ang dahilan kaya sa atin ibinigay ang interview?" birong-totoo niya.

"Paano mo nagawang akusahan ako nang
ganyan, Charlize!" She faked a wounded tone.
"You should know me better than that. I don't mix business with pleasure."