Chapter 7
A click was heard from a distance as the group sat in the living room, waiting for Zalli to return. Well, only Yoltzin was waiting for her. The two ...
A click was heard from a distance as the group sat in the living room, waiting for Zalli to return. Well, only Yoltzin was waiting for her. The two older women had returned to their work, while Tepi had closed her eyes once the festival coordinator left.
When Zalli entered the room, she made gentle eye contact with Yoltzin. He had sat back down with hands on his thighs, gently clenching his muscles every so often. The rose farmer was the first one to break the silence.
“Uh, thanks for helping. Your help wasn’t necessary, but... thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Yoltzin turned away to hide his blush, but Zalli caught how the top of his ears turned slightly red.
Deciding there was nothing more for her to say, the maiden walked past the CEO, intending to return to her spot on the couch. As she passed by the clock, Zalli instinctively went to look at it. In that moment, her abuela looked at the clock as well. The matriarch steadily stood up from her seat and spoke.
“Oh, look at the time. I need to prepare dinner. You’ll be fine on your own, right, mijo?”
Yoltzin nodded with a closed smile. He gazed at Zalli after, but returned his focus to weaving his rose, which was turning out to be decent. The farmer blinked away any weird feelings settling within her and turned to speak to Abuela Ezi.
“Isn’t it too early?”
“Yes, but my bones are aching from sitting for too long. I need to stretch out these frail joints.” Zalli saw the statement as true, as her abuela hobbled more than usual. With her bony hand, Abuela Ezi left a warm touch on the eldest nieta’s shoulder before peering over the couch to gently wake the younger nieta. “Tepi, go upstairs and rest. You’re falling asleep on the couch.”
A groan came from the young maiden before Tepi slowly brought her body up into a hunched sitting position. The embodiment of the living dead, she sluggishly stood up and walked to the stairs. Her shoulders drooped and her head tilted to the side with each step she took to go up.
Zalli observed her the whole time to ensure her little sister wouldn’t collapse from exhaustion. By the time Tepi was out of sight, Abuela Ezi was already in the kitchen making a clattering noise from opening cabinets and pulling out pots or pans.
Tia Xilo stood up and stretched her arms high above her head with a content sigh. Her blue eyes looked at her sobrina as she moved around the coffee table to head to the kitchen as well. Her voice spoke in a lilt, happy to spend time with her family while doing one of her hobbies.
“Hm, even I need a break. I’m going to help mamá with dinner. Don’t stay here too long, Zalli. We can always continue in the evening or even tomorrow.”
“Okay, tía.”
At that point, the farmer had already moved herself to sit comfortably on the cushions of the couch. She crossed her legs, but her back had returned to stooping over the newest flower she was weaving.
“Do you need glasses?”
Zalli’s body remained crouched and her fingers continued to move, but her head shot up toward the masculine voice. Yoltzin had startled her a little. She currently felt the normalcy she aligned with whenever she was with her family. Which made her momentarily forget she was not alone in the living room, but alone with the CEO.
“No.”
Her blunt response did nothing to pacify Yoltzin from settling into a calm silence.
“Why are you ... like that, then?”
He circled his pointer finger around Zalli, as if outlining her posture as he spoke the demonstrative.
“Because—I want to! It helps me to focus.”
“So you do need glasses.”
Zalli pulled her arms down aggressively, exasperation showing in her raised eyebrows and brown eyes she had opened wide. She pushed a rough breath out through her nose, which pulled her diaphragm up just a bit beyond its usual resting position.
“I can see perfectly fine! I am talking about my concentration. If it’s not in my face. I’m going to daydream.”
“Ah-hah.”
To Zalli’s surprise, it was her assertion of how her brain worked that got the man to shut up. Unfortunately, the miracle of silence only lasted enough for her to finish weaving two more roses before Yoltzin opened his mouth again.
“So—”
“Come on, let’s go outside to talk.”
The leaves she was going to bundle with the burlap rope got tossed back into the basket carrying the free lirio leaves. Zalli moved with determination as she opened the front door and left it open for the man to follow. Yoltzin closed it lightly behind him, and found himself back on the porch, this time with the farmer by his side. He buttoned the suit he wore, only having it open earlier, when he was sitting, to avoid making any creases.
“Sit here. I’m going to grab Huizi.”
Zalli pointed to a bench to the left of the CEO. She walked away towards the gate door leading to the fields, leaving the man by himself. A miffed sigh left him as Yoltzin realized he had buttoned his suit for nothing.
It took him three long strides to reach the long seat. With a sharp pivot, he faced the bench and inspected it for any unruly dust. Yoltzin couldn’t find any dirt, but he still pulled out his matching handkerchief to sweep away any possible undesired particles. He heard a whistle from afar, which he figured to be Zalli calling for her pet.
Satisfied with his cleaning, he turned around and unbuttoned his suit again. Swishing the tail of his jacket out of the way, he sat comfortably with legs crossed. Yoltzin used both hands to comb back the sides of his hairstyle, then rested one arm on his lap while placing the other on the back of his seat. A rebellious strand of hair fell down and escaped the front of his relaxed, slick back.
The CEO contemplated, should I leave it there to look charming, or should I comb it back to look dashing?
Footsteps were heard in front of him, and he saw Zalli had returned with her companion by her side. Huizi had reached him first and went to sniffing around his feet and legs. Yoltzin didn’t want to appear disturbed by the sudden invasion of his personal space, so he sat stark still. He might have been clenching his leg muscles tightly to maintain his composure, but the captivating smile he sent to Zalli tried to display complete relaxation.
The maiden only raised a brow at him. She sat on the railing with legs crossed, and her arms following right after. Zalli knew what the man wanted to talk about, why he was at her home in the first place, but she took to questioning him to get the conversation going.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
“I believe I have been able to narrow where the treasure is down to two locations.”
One of Zalli’s hand reached up to hold on to one of her two braids as she countered the man.
“Yeah? And where would that be?”
“One of them is by a roble tree that is next to your house.” Yoltzin caught how the maiden’s hand tightened around her braid when he mentioned the tree, but he continued onward. “The other one is on the northern end of your crops.”
Her grip loosened. It must be by the roble, he thought.
“If I let you dig up my land, what do I get out of it?”
Zalli brought her hand back down to its crossed position as she asked her question.
“Other than me leaving you alone with buying your land?” She only quirked an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. Yoltzin softly sighed as he looked down to Huizi, who had long left him to lie next to his owner. “I can provide financial support to your farm for the next three years—when it needs it.”
“Hm. And if I am open to using your resources, can I make that request?”
Zalli tilted her head to gauge his reaction. Yoltzin found it cute and smiled genuinely, but she thought he found her inquiry to be incredulous.
“Sure, I can agree with that.”
“I should receive some portion of whatever profit you’re going to get from this so-called treasure. It’s on my land, after all—so it’s my treasure.”
Yoltzin brought his resting arms to cross over in front of his chest. He spoke in a mocking tone.
“My, my. Someone is being greedy.”
“Reasonable. I’m being reasonable.”
Zalli brought her hands down to grasp onto the top rail behind her. Though her shoulders rose from her adjustment, it felt akin to a cat puffing its tail in minor caution to the CEO. He spoke, unfazed by the warning energy he felt emitted from the rose farmer.
“What are you asking for?”
“Half.”
A scoff slipped out from Yoltzin. This time, he did find the woman before him incredulous.
“No way. I am doing most of the work here. I’ll give you 10%.”
“That’s too low! At least 40%.”
Zalli felt excitement rise in her, which caused her to lean towards the CEO. In turn, he altered his position to spread his knees away from each other and placed his elbows on his lap. The lean brought his face closer to Zalli.
“Alright, what about 25%? A quarter of the profit is not too bad.”
“I’m not budging from 40.”
Yoltzin’s eyes squinted as he looked up to assess how headstrong the farmer actually was.
“30%.”
His counteroffer made Zalli pause. While she considered it, Yoltzin waited by staring at her plump lips. He could spot the moment she decided as she swiftly took one side of her lower lip and released it from her teeth. They made eye contact with each other at the same time as she gave her choice.
“Alright. I will take 30%.”
“Only if it’s on your land, though. It’s possible it might be on the outskirts, you know.”
“That’s fine.”
Zalli raised her hand up to shake the hand of the man before her. When Yoltzin took her hand in his grasp, a fluttering sensation appeared between her legs. She quickly pulled her hand away and hoped the CEO did not notice the blush creeping on her cheeks again.
“So you do know how to negotiate.”
The blush on Zalli’s face heightened in color, anger now the driving emotion.
“What do you know about me? You only assumed I couldn’t.”
The maiden crossed her arms again. Her fingers tapped along the top part of her arm, waiting to see what Yoltzin would say.
“I think my assumption is fair. You let that lady walk all over you.”
The man stood up, letting his annoyance at Zalli’s timid behavior from earlier take over his body. Yoltzin buttoned his jacket and, not knowing what to do with his hands, he placed both of his hands back into his pockets.
“You don’t understand. There are social rules to follow. A hierarchy to respect.”
“Bull. You don’t actually believe that, do you?” Yoltzin peered at the farmer, waiting to see what she would say. She only turned her head away, still tapping at her arm. “You can’t let stupid crap like people pleasing stop you from getting what you want—what you deserve.”
Yoltzin turned his attention down to Huizi. Her eyes were closed and her torso rose with her breath gently; she was napping peacefully between the two adults. She must not feel threatened by me anymore, he thought as he brought his blue eyes back to the woman in front of him. At that moment, Zalli turned her shimmering eyes to his as well.
The world stopped all noise and movement for Yoltzin. Zalli felt like she was hearing everything at once. She quickly left the railing and walked to stand in front of the entrance to her house. Avoiding all eye contact, the maiden spoke, ready to see the CEO off.
“Well, thank you for everything today. When do you think you will begin all your—” Zalli brought her palm up and shook it from side to side, “digging.”
“Tomorrow, if you will have me.”
“The day before the festival? That’s too soon!”
The farmer brought her hands to her hips, disgruntled Yoltzin would interfere with her schedule so easily.
“We will not get in your way. And I can even lend you some of my workers to help you complete your festival project.”
Yoltzin raised his eyebrows expectantly, hoping he could sweeten the arrangement to steer the discussion in his favor. Luckily for him, Zalli was already feeling tired and was willing to concede to almost anything to get him to leave. All the weaving caused a different type of work exhaustion in her, on top of the few intense social interactions she had today.
“Alright. You can start at 7 am tomorrow. That’s when I will be ready to get more lirio leaves and flowers.”
“7 am? That’s too early!”
Yoltzin walked past Zalli, happy to hear she agreed, but turned around immediately when he heard the ridiculous time she had stated. She only rolled her eyes at his reaction.
“8 am works too. But no later.”
The alluring smile appeared again on the man’s face.
“Lovely. I’ll see you tomorrow at 8.”
The hand furthest away from Zalli flicked away from the CEO’s face; his departure wave. When he turned his head to walk towards his blue sports car, he continued his stride, but threw over his shoulder a comment to the farmer.
“Seems like someone is here for you.”
Confused, Zalli stepped to the side to see who the unbearable man was talking about. Walking down the road to her house was her best friend.
“Necalli!”
Rushing past Yoltzin, the farmer felt glee to see a familiar face. As she got further away to meet with the welcomed individual, the CEO spoke under his breath to himself in an irritable tone.
“Where did this energy come from? You’re never like this when I’m around.”
Yoltzin raised one of his nostrils in a scrunch as he stood to watch the abhorrent scene before him. He saw how Zalli’s braids bounced as she practically skipped to her friend. Her arms went up to hug around the other man’s neck, which brought her friend to hug around her waist and lift her off the ground slightly.
The CEO clenched his hands by his side, desperately not liking how there was nothing he could do to reasonably intervene. He was the one who called Necalli over as a last ditch effort.
Yoltzin hoped he could use Zalli’s friend to convince her to sell so he wouldn’t have to work around her conditions. If he meddled now out of jealousy, then he would be no closer to attaining the gemstone he greatly needed.
He exhaled a breath.
Holding onto the keys in his pocket, he made a beeline to his Shelby Cobra and turned the keys in the keyhole to unlock it. As he walked by, he did not notice how Necalli tried to say hello out of courtesy. When he got in, he slammed the door loud enough for the two adults to stop their small talk. They turned their heads in his direction and caught how Yoltzin swerved around to take the road away from Zalli’s home.
The farmer tried to swipe away the cloud of dust Yoltzin left behind in his haste to leave. Finding his behavior odd, she made a rhetorical question to Necalli about it.
“What the hell is his problem?”
Necalli only shrugged. He went to grab the back of his neck to rub it—an attempt to soothe the nerves he had. Not wanting to beat around the bush anymore than he already was doing, he asked Zalli directly about the CEO’s presence at her home.
“So, did you decide to sell to don Calip?”
Zalli quirked an eyebrow and grabbed her arm from behind her back as she spoke.
“No. We’ve actually come to an agreement of sorts.”
“Why haven’t you sold yet?”
The farmer was taken aback by her friend’s question. She blinked rapidly to process her next statement.
“I am not selling because Yoltzin and I have found a compromise. I am allowing him to use my land temporarily for his search of something—I don’t know what—and I can still keep my ownership without financial worry. Isn’t that good news?”
“Good news for you, but what about the rest of the community?”
“Necalli, what do you mean?”
The farmer squeezed the arm in her grasp momentarily and moved to cross one leg behind the other as she waited for his response.
“When you mentioned how I could not know about the Yoltzin Property Advisors’ intentions with buying the farmland of our town, I contacted them and found out. And it’s as I expected.”
“Which would be?”
Necalli long ago had dropped his hand from his neck and had it placed on his hip.
“They’re going to create a central shopping area—”
“We already have that.”
“But it will be for high-end products. They will also build a luxury hotel at the same time. Then, once the flow for business is going steady, they’ll create homes. And don’t worry, they intend to hire locals first for their manufacturing needs. It will be an expansion for our town!”
Zalli brought her gaze down, unsure how to handle what her friend had just dumped on her. Everything sounded good, but it also seemed too good to be true.
Huizi came up to her side, sensing her owner needed support. Zalli scratched her head tenderly, which helped her formulate her response.
“That’s great, I think. But ... I am sure this can all be done without my farmland.”
In a rush, Necalli went towards the farmer, which threw her off balance and almost made her fall. Huizi stood rigid with her tail curled toward her head and her ears on alert. The canine was unsure how to treat Necalli since she always knew him as a friendly face, but at the same time, his current energy was one of aggression.
“You just don’t get it, do you?! We need as much land as possible to get this project moving. If you don’t join the rest of us, then you’re letting your self-centered ideals get in the way. I don’t get why you have to be so headstrong. For once, can’t you obey me like everyone else?”
A wave of recognition hit Zalli like a stone wall. Necalli had told her something similar to this before. But they were somewhere else, and dressed differently. And everything he just said right now was almost identical to what he said before. Zalli just could not perceive when that what was.
With each sentence Necalli made, he took a step towards the farmer. She would take a step back in response, but Zalli stopped moving once she felt the déjà vu.
A bark emitted from Huizi, which fractured whatever impassioned frenzy Necalli found himself in. It also forced a rapid retreat from Zalli. She might have heard an apology yelled out to her by Necalli, but she only slammed her front door and locked it once Huizi was inside with her.
Michelle Alva
