OFF-TANGENT(A Lesbian Story)

Chapter Two

The red light blinked to life atop camera number one, and Mika smiled into it. "Good evening, and welcome to Talk of the Town. I'm Mika Reyes, sitting in for Charo Soriano, who is on vacation this week. Our guest for tonight is Vic Galang, president of Galang Confectioners, the manufacturer of one of the most expensive lines of luxury chocolates on the Asian market. Welcome, Miss Galang."

The guest nodded, smiled. "Thank you, Miss Reyes. I must say it is a pleasure to be able to talk to you... at last."

It was smooth, innocuous. Mika's eyes sharpened, but there was nothing but innocence in her guest's expression. "Miss Galang, you have been talking with Dumaguete City Council for the last several weeks about the question of building a new factory in the industrial park here, a plant that would become the main producer of Galang chocolates."

"That is right." She answered short. For a moment, Mika's heart sank. Did Vic Galang know that the best way to sabotage a broadcast was to refuse to answer the question fully? She would not dare do it, Mika told herself. It is to Vic Galang's advantage to make good impression on this show. Sure she knows that she cannot do that by confining herself to Yes and No answers.

Mika gave the guest a smile. "You certainly don't look as though you over-indulge in your product," she said, purposely inviting a laugh. Would Vic admit to dislike of the stuff, she wondered.

"I grew up around chocolate," Vic said, "as a member of an old candy-making family. The Galang have been in the confectionery business for nearly a hundred years, in one way or another. While other parents were warning their children not to eat too much candy, my father was handing me a new combination and asking me what I thought of it."

"And what is your favorite?" Mika asked. Her voice was a throaty purr.

"I can't tell a lie," she confided. "I always pick the caramels out of the box first. Always have, since I was a kid."

Out of the corner of her eyes, Mika could see Kim Fajardo in the control room. She looked slightly ill, as if she was wondering how an award-winning public affairs program like Talk of the Town had suddenly degenerated into mindless babble. She wanted to tell her that she knew exactly what she was doing... that as soon as Vic Galang relaxed a little, she would move in for the kill.

"They are my favorite too." She said.

"I find it interesting..." Vic went on. "Most people say caramels are their favorite, and yet cream centers and liqueurs are actually our best sellers."

Enough of this, Mika thought. The subject is not only sticky and sweet, it is becoming nauseating. But it is serving the purpose of getting her guest off-guard. "What draws you to Dumaguete?" She asked.

Vic Galang had relaxed somewhat, and was sitting with her elbows on the arms of her chair, her fingers clasped. On her right hand, she wore a heavy gold signet ring. "My real estate man says that the three most important thing to look for when buying property are location, location, and location," she replied.

"That is interesting."

"Dumaguete, because of its position in the Philippine Map. It is uniquely well situated for a company like ours that imports so much of its raw material. We could ship cacao beans to this area by barge, and cut our delivery time in half. The rest of our raw materials will be just as easy to ship. And as for the dairy products for our milk chocolates, we've always prided ourselves on using the freshest possible ingredients. You can't get much fresher than having a dairy farm right down the road."

"I'm sure that will be a great help," Mika murmured. Your firm is presently located in Pampanga, am I correct?

"On the oustskirts."