Pandora's Box
Bastard“I need access to the roof.”
Lu Han spins around in his chair and looks at Mei Lin as if she had just materialized before him, which she might as well have. “Since when do you smoke?” Lu Han asks, turning back to his monitor screen.
“Never.” Mei Lin shudders at the thought of the disgusting habit.
“Is he up there?”
“Yeah.”
“And how do you know this?”
“I was following him.”
Lu Han spins around again just so Mei Lin can see his raised eyebrows and perplexed look. “Is he still giving you a hard time?” He goes back to his work.
“Yeah, but I can’t blame him,” Mei Lin mutters.
“What was that?” Lu Han asks, turning around again.
“You’re going to break that chair,” Mei Lin teases, forcing his chair back to its proper facing. “Can you get me access or not?”
“I can try. But since you don’t smoke, you’re going to need a valid reason,” Lu Han says, pulling up a new screen.
“Trying to access my boss isn’t a valid reason?”
“Maybe he wants to be alone.”
“I don’t doubt that, but there’s a board meeting in fifteen minutes and he’s expected to attend.”
“Translation: you’re expected to bring him.” Lu Han’s smirk is slappable. “That’s what you get for lasting more than a week.”
“So you get punished when you do well at this company?” Mei Lin asks, making a joke.
“No, higher expectations are had when you exceed the previous ones,” Lu Han says with the voice of experience.
“Is that why you stay down here, when in fact you should be on the thirty-seventh floor working with Gale?”
Lu Han pauses for a spilt second on his keyboard, but the slight skip does not go unnoticed. “I thought we were talking about you,” Lu Han says, avoiding the subject.
“I thought so too,” Mei Lin agrees, going back to the profile Lu Han has on the screen; Mei Lin’s, that is. “So can you get me access or not?”
“Reason?” Lu Han asks, so that he can type it in and get it approved.
Mei Lin sighs and wonders what lie she’s going to have to come up with now for the sake of her boss. It isn’t bad enough that he’s overworking her; he’s making her lie because of him. But of course, one can argue that no one is making her do anything; she’s simply choosing to do all of this because, in spite this being a week already, she has yet to sign anything that would sign her life away.
“Better reception to make international calls,” Mei Lin says, even though she has no reason to call anyone outside the country. Lu Han types it into the blank line and within seconds, Mei Lin is approved. “Thank you.”
“Why did you come down here? I thought you had my number!” Lu Han shouts as Mei Lin leaves the Resource Department.
“Your line was busy!”
By the time Mei Lin is on the roof, there is less than five minutes before the meeting starts. Mei Lin is out of breath because she had ran that last flight of stairs. One benefit of wearing smaller heels or flats (like Yi Fan had required) is that it comes in handy when your boss has you running and or walking the length of the building everyday. Another would be that Yi Fan gets to look down on Mei Lin even more. As if being seven plus inches taller than her isn’t enough. Though with all that she does, running shoes would be the better option, but Yi Fan has high standards and wouldn’t allow such a disaster even if Mei Lin’s life depended on it.
“They’re going to start soon,” Mei Lin says, almost forgetting to speak in English.
Yi Fan had thought he had heard someone, but he had never expected it to be Mei Lin. How the hell did that door let her get up here? Regardless, Yi Fan doesn’t turn around and speaks to the view instead. “I thought you would’ve learned by now that I don’t go to meetings. Why should I when you seem to manage just fine when I don’t? Hell, people are saying things are better this way. So why don’t you save us both some grief and just go without me?”
“If something goes wrong, you’ll have reason to fire me. I’m just doing my job, sir, which right now, is trying to get you to do yours. Should I fail, then I’ll do what’s necessary.” Mei Lin waits but she doesn’t expect a response.
“How did you get up here?” Yi Fan asks. “You don’t smoke.”
“That’s not important now, sir. That meeting—”
“Is going to decide what we will contribute to the convention.” There’s a pause because Yi Fan just quoted what Mei Lin had read to him the day before, meaning he had listened to her when reading the schedule. “I won’t be going to Beijing—”
“Yes,” Mei Lin interrupts forcefully. “You will be going to Beijing.” This is not a request. This is necessary.
Yi Fan finally turns around, glaring at Mei Lin as if she had just stepped out of line, which shehad in Yi Fan’s eyes. “Who do you think you are?” Yi Fan leans in and down, getting close enough to Mei Lin to make her want to flinch.
“Sir, with all due respect, you will be going to this meeting and you will be going to Beijing in four months.” Mei Lin is tired. She, for once in her life, is fed up with Yi Fan and refuses to take “no” for an answer. Her worry and fear are out the window and now it just comes down to her not breaking eye contact.
While one is firing lasers out of his eyes, the persistent stare of determination is still burning behind Mei Lin’s. “You either do what I say or you’re fired,” Yi Fan threatens. The lack of fear in Mei Lin’s composure tells Yi Fan that he has no leverage. “You don’t care, do you?”
“We’re not here to discuss me, sir,” Mei Lin says evenly.
“Then why are you here?” Yi Fan demands. “To do your job?! What job?!” Half of Guangzhou could’ve heard that.
“You haven’t fired me yet, sir,” Mei Lin points out. “If you really want to, then just do it. Surely it wouldn’t be difficult to find a replacement in this economy. I’ll compile a list of potential employees if that’ll mean you’ll go to that meeting.”
That is it. Yi Fan is about to snap as he whips around to get one last look at Mei Lin before he throws her out of this building (or off of it, whichever is quicker). Sadly, Mei Lin is being sincere in spite of her harsh tone. She really isn’t doing this for herself. Yi Fan sighs, the anger leaving as the air does. And now he chuckles a bit. The very idea that someone might actually care about him in this world is absurd and yet he’s considering such a thing.
By the time the two are walking down the dimly lit staircase to get to the main hall, Yi Fan is full-on laughing. Mei Lin is both confused and surprised by the sudden change in her boss’ personality. They walk into the meeting late, but they walk in nonetheless. Mei Lin is about to bow before leaving, but both Mr. Wu and Yi Fan make a gesture with their hands that tell her to stay.
“Look who’s actually here,” a young man chuckles.
Someone’s back from France, Yi Fan sighs.
He has eyes somewhere between a tadpole and an almond with golden brown hair. Not as rebellious as the sandy blond that Yi Fan has going on, but he stands out. His height would’ve never told you that he’s older than Yi Fan by more than a year but the fact that he had spoken to Yi Fan in Cantonese would’ve told you he’s from Hong Kong, or at least, the dialect and his accent would’ve told you that. But it didn’t tell you that, I’m telling you that. Mei Lin notices though, and can’t help but look at the young man’s hands. They have calluses on them just as she had suspected.
“So you finally decided to join us,” Mr. Wu says. “Have a seat. Ms. Chen, we were just about to discuss one of your designs.”
Mei Lin flinches at the sound of her last name in Mandarin but keeps shut. “Take notes,” Yi Fan tells Mei Lin.
Mei Lin looks around for an extra chair but finds none. She ends up sitting on the floor, as she types away quickly on her tablet, knowing her that handwriting would never be able to keep up. What distracts her is not the fact that Yi Fan is playing Angry Birds on his phone, but rather the golden hair young man who keeps on leaning over to get a better look at her. There’s a funny feeling rising in both of their stomachs. One tries her best to ignore it; the other is rather intrigued.
When the meeting is over, Mei Lin brushes herself off and follows Yi Fan. However, she walks closer than normal, almost stepping at Yi Fan’s heels. Reciting the synopsis of the meeting from her notes, because Yi Fan clearly did not pay attention, does not help when the golden boy cuts them off. Granted, the two were heading for the stairs. Mei Lin had thought it was to avoid the crowded elevators, but Yi Fan just wants back up on the roof where little to no one will bother him.
“What do you want, Lau?” Yi Fan asks in very annoyed Cantonese.
“What’s your name?” Lau asks Mei Lin in Cantonese.
Mei Lin the insides of her teeth without parting her lips, afraid to answer. Good thing Yi Fan is now pissed off enough again to speak for her. “What do you care? Get out of the way.”
“He said your name is Chen,” Lau says, squinting his eyes for any signs, any hints that might answer his suspicions. The flinch from Mei Lin when Lau switched dialects told him all that he had wanted to know. “Long time no see.”
Blinking is the only solution at this point before Mei Lin bows and moves Lau out of the way so that she could slide her ID card. Not trusting her voice, Mei Lin says nothing as her boss walks past her but just as she’s about to leave, Lau grabs her arm. Mei Lin sighs. “I’m sorry,” Mei Lin says in Cantonese. Yi Fan stops his trek up the stairs at the sound of the local dialect and the not-that-local pronunciation. One can’t help but draw parallels to the two’s speech. “Some of us aren’t as rich and talent as you are.”
With that said, Lau lets go of Mei Lin’s arm and the two continue their way back to the roof. To Mei Lin’s surprise, Yi Fan doesn’t slam the door in her face, but instead closes it behind her, trapping her between himself and the steel door that desperately needs a new paint job. “So,” Yi Fan says in English. “You speak Cantonese.” Yi Fan clearly didn’t read Mei Lin’s resume; hell, he thought she would’ve been gone by now.
“Yes?” Mei Lin says, not wanting to reveal more than she has to.
“Want to tell me why and how you know an like Liú Xiàn Huá?” It’s hard to say whether it is anger, frustration or curiosity that’s in Yi fan’s voice, but Mei Lin assumes that it’s an odd mix of the three.
It’s odd to hear her old friend’s name in Mandarin, but Mei Lin is grateful that it wasn’t said in Cantonese, for she doesn’t know how she would react to that. “Our fathers knew each other,” Mei Lin admits. “They grew up together in Hong Kong.”
The past tense doesn’t go unnoticed by Yi Fan, but the pain that streaks across Mei Lin’s face causing him to literally back off. This isn’t the type of pain that Yi Fan had hoped to cause to get her to leave, but Yi Fan just might take it if it works. “You do your research; surely you knew he was here.”
“Yeah, I knew.” I’ve known.
“Is he why you’re here?” Yi Fan asks, curiosity overpowering everything else now.
“No,” Mei Lin says honestly. But he might as well be.
Now Yi Fan is confused. “What are you hiding?”
“That’s not why you’re suddenly interested in me,” Mei Lin snaps back.
“Oh?” Interested is an understatement at this point.
“You want to know why. Everyone always has to know the reason,” Mei Lin sighs.
“So why don’t you tell me why you’re—”
“What? Hiding my past?” Mei Lin is upset at the sudden Pandora’s box that had just been opened. She composes herself. “For the same reason that you’re hiding your present.” Hopefully, this will bring the conversation towards what I’ve been wanting to talk about for a week.
After a stunned pause, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m not blind, sir. And I’m not ignorant either.”
The silence can be sliced with a knife, but considering the pollution in Guangzhou, I’m sure that’s a lot more likely than the government is willing to admit.
“Like you said, I do my research.”
All color drains from Yi Fan’s face and Mei Lin fears that he might faint. It’s as if someone had just told Yi Fan that he’s the one terminally ill. The very thought that someone knows something that could hurt him; the very thought that he’s vulnerable; the very thought that he’s weak.
“Sir?” Mei Lin asks for the sake of Yi Fan, not herself. He would’ve fallen over had it not been for Mei Lin’s voice reeling Yi Fan’s mind from spinning. “I haven’t said anything to anyone, sir.”
“It was never your business to begin with.” Being upset seemed like the right route to go according to Yi Fan.
“Sir, you are my business.”
If Yi Fan is going to have a chink in his armor, then he won’t be the only one. “And if you are to work for me, you’ll be my business as well.”
Don’t take this the wrong way. Yi Fan is not going to stop making Mei Lin’s life as hard as possible. He just needs a bit of hope in her, just enough to make her think that Yi Fan is a little different.
Mei Lin isn’t stupid, but she bites anyways. She leans back on the steel door, knowing that she’s going to need the support, and it sure as hell isn’t going to come from Yi Fan. The sigh is warm and heavy as she screens through her memories, looking into some distant part of the rooftop while doing so. Her eyes dart around a bit, as if organizing the piles of facts, memories, and hardest of all, the emotions.
Yi Fan watches her eyes close, wondering if Mei Lin might actually cry and at the thought, he really hopes that she doesn’t because in spite his hidden agenda, Yi Fan doesn’t do well around crying girls—well, this type of crying, at least.
“I was born and raised in Hong Kong.” Something you would’ve known had you cared. “I’ve known Hin Wàh—or rather, he’s known me since before I was even born. Our families are similar in the sense that our fathers both served in the army during the Sino-Vietnamese War. They enlisted together. They fought together. They suffered together, making it difficult for them both to have children. Mr. Lau got lucky first. And it wasn’t until Hin Wah was four did my father get the same great news. The news wasn’t so great when they realized I was a girl. And so, from the moment I was born, I had catching up to do. We grew up like siblings but no matter what I did or how hard I tried, I was never as good as Hin Wah. He was always smarter, more talented, better—”
“He’s older.” Yes, Yi Fan had just tried to rationalize something to make Mei Lin stop beating herself up.
“Not the point I’m trying to make here,” Mei Lin manages to chuckle. She still doesn’t make eye contact though as the images flicker behind her eyes. “He was the son my father always wanted but could never have. It was one of the many things that Mr. Lau had that my father wishes he had. It drove a wedge between them, one that no one saw coming. After I finished primary school, we moved to the States. I never even got to say goodbye to my best friend and my parents act as if they don’t exist.”
“So then why are you here?” Yi Fan asks, who is actually starting to feel bad for Mei Lin.
“I want people to be happy,” Mei Lin says.
“You can’t please everyone.”
“I can do my best,” Mei Lin says, finally looking up. “That’s all I’m ever going to try, and hopefully, that’s all that’s ever expected of me. If I do well, then it wouldn’t be wrong of me to expect this of others as well.”
“Is that why you’re doing all of this?” Yi Fan asks, thinking he’s got an understanding of Mei Lin now. “You want me to do my best? Isn’t that a bit cliché?”
“Is there’s something wrong with that?” Still groggy from the trip down memory lane, Mei Lin’s voice sounds distant and sincere.
“You’re here for your father,” Yi Fan says, striking a look of horror on Mei Lin’s now-pale face. “Your father can’t have everything that his friend has but you try to be better than—”
“You act like a complete but that’s only because you don’t want to do well at all. You could care less about this job, but you don’t have a choice in the matter—”
“You choose to be miserable while I ‘have no choice in the matter.’”
“I don’t choose to be miserable,” Mei Lin says, correcting him. The two are cooling off slowly from their exchange. “I choose for others to be happy.” Both are on thin ice now. “What would you do if it wasn’t this?”
“You’re asking me about my dreams? What is this? Some sort of sleepover?” Yi Fan is kicking at the roof, dirtying his shoes with the purpose of making Mei Lin clean them later.
“Never been to one, but neither of us have our pajamas on, so it’s safe to assume that we’re not at one.”
“Getting smart with me now, Mèi Mèi?” This isn’t the first time that Yi Fan had used this harmless nickname, but for some reason, it cuts deep with Mei Lin as she is grateful for the steel door and its support. “You keep your mouth shut about what you know and I won’t say a word as well, deal?”
Yi Fan doesn’t make eye contact and it’s not necessary because Mei Lin had already straightened herself out and is now taking a few steps towards Yi Fan. She holds one arm behind her back and the other outstretched, waiting for a response. Yi Fan stares at the young lady before him, looking more professional and sophisticated than half the women in the building claim to be. She’s not stiff nor firm nor imposing or even mildly offended. Yi Fan takes a step to get a better footing before shaking hands with Mei Lin briefly. I say briefly because the roof door opens and Hin Wah spills out as if he had been eavesdropping.
Mei Lin’s legs go numb but her nails dig into her palm to remind her to stay conscious. “How the are you people getting up here?” Yi Fan nearly spits. “I know you don’t smoke—”
“Clearance is not difficult when you know who to talk to,” Hin Wah says, matching Yi Fan’s English. His eyes quickly go to Mei Lin. “You grew.”
“That’s what tends to happen.” Mei Lin doesn’t take her eyes off the ground, and when she does, the empty stare is enough to give Hin Wah shivers. “He called you an ; want to tell me why?”
The two ignore Yi Fan’s sudden death glare. “I’m surprised you don’t,” Hin Wah chuckles.
“Answer the damn question.” Mei Lin’s voice is empty as well.
“We studied abroad together, that’s all you need to know. Why are you here?”
“Not for the reasons you’re thinking.”
“Why are you here, Lau?” Yi Fan asks.
“Please, Kevin. After all that we’ve been through, wouldn’t it be more fitting to call me Henry?” He turns his attention back on Mei Lin, who’s suddenly flushed with memories. “Am I still allowed to call you Mei?”
“Nothing’s ever stopped you before,” Mei Lin sighs. Damn boy kept that stupid nickname. “It’s what you called me even before you knew me.” Chuckling tickles the two.
“What’s there to know?” Hin Wah asks, letting the laugh out. “I was right, wasn’t I? I’m still right.”
Mei Lin gets hot from the flattery while Yi Fan starts to feel uncomfortable. His secretary is catching up and laughing with one of the few people that he completely despises in this world; can you blame him? And here he had thought that the two might have something in common. Well, maybe they do.
“We need to get back to work,” Yi Fan says, clearing his throat.
Both Hin Wah and Mei Lin stop and turn to look at Yi Fan. Did he honestly just say that? Yi Fan ignores the identical looks on the two and makes his way for the door.
“Uh, yes sir…” Mei Lin says, following behind her boss as they leave the roof.
When they get to the elevators, Yi Fan holds an arm out and makes Mei Lin take the next one, even though the elevator is empty. As Mei Lin waits, Hin Wah spots her as he makes his way to his office. “Hey Bai Fu,” Hin Wah says to his new secretary. “What’s Chen Mei Lin’s personal phone number?”
Bai Fu looks up at her boss for a moment before accessing the personnel database. You can’t blame her for being a bit curious, suspicious, and even a bit jealous at such a request. Her hate for the girl in question triples when Bai Fu finds that she’s working for the man who drove her to insanity not even a week before. Had it not been for Henry walking through the doors and asking her about the recent events, she would not have a job. Bai Fu tells Hin Wah what he wants to know as he enters it into his cellphone under “Xiǎo Mèi.” (little sister)
“Thank you, Bai Fu,” Hin Wah says, about to enter his office.
And that’s another thing. In spite of how Mei Lin or Yi Fan may view him, Hin Wah is actually a pretty decent man. At least, in Bai Fu’s eyes, he’s better than anything Yi Fan could be. She may have only had to work for him for nine days before she stormed out, quitting, but in those nine days, not a single word of thanks had ever been ever said to her. At least here, the view is a little higher and the company (itself) is a lot better, literally.
“Oh,” Hin Wah says, remember something about his old friend. “Have a packet of hawthorn flakes sent to her.” Bai Fu bows her head slightly to indicate that she had heard his request. “Thanks.”
I’ve never seen him smile like that.
At that moment, Mei Lin gets a text while in the elevator. “Guess who.”
“Who else would text me in English?” Mei Lin sends back, saving the number under “Henry.”
“Want to have lunch?” Hin Wah sends back.
Had it not been a fact that the two are like siblings, this would’ve been taken the wrong way by everyone else but the parties involved. “Can’t; meeting with someone.”
“Who?” Hin Wah is now curious.
“You have work to do.”
The elevator opens, revealing a smiling Mei Lin glancing down on her cell phone. It also reveals Yi Fan standing impatiently with his arms crossed. “Where’s my lunch?” Yi Fan asks.
“It should be in your office, sir,” Mei Lin says. The two climb up the steps and finds that there’s a cart in Yi Fan’s office with his lunch. “I had it delivered—”
“Don’t care.” Yi Fan inspects his order. “It’s gotten cold.”
Steam can clearly still be seen rising from the medium-rare steak, so Mei Lin looks at her boss skeptically. “No threat?” Mei Lin asks. Yi Fan sits down to eat and Mei Lin watches the time. “Sir, what is your relationship with—”
“I hate him,” Yi Fan says. “He came into this business five years ago; been trying to take my job ever since.”
Why do you hate him when he could be your chance at freedom?
“And unlike you,” Yi Fan continues. “I’m not going to compete to be better than him.”
Mei Lin laughs to herself. “He’s…” Yi Fan stops eating to look at Mei Lin and see what she has to say. “…Got something about him. It makes you want to be better.”
For once, Yi Fan can sympathize, knowing the ungodly power that Hin Wah can have on people. “Leave your notes and go to lunch,” Yi Fan says as his way of telling her that he wants to be alone.
Mei Lin sends a copy of the notes that’s on her tablet to Yi Fan’s phone before bowing to leave. She takes a cab to a small restaurant about twenty minutes away, getting the update from Gale during the ride. “Who are you meeting with?” Gale finally asks.
“‘The record is forty one days,’” Mei Lin quotes. “Let’s find out by whom.”
“Mei—”
“Got to go.” Mei Lin hangs up and pays the taxi driver. She enters and looks for a girl who looks similar to the picture that’s on the profile that Lu Han had given her. Not many young ladies have hair shorter than most boys, but this one does. Mei Lin almost mistook her for being a boy due to the cap and big t-shirt. “Nǐ hǎo,” Mei Lin says, bowing and extending her hand. “Thank you for meeting with me.”
The young lady gets up and shakes Mei Lin’s hand before sitting down again. They order some hot tea and dim sum before speaking. “This has to be about Kevin,” she says in casual English, thinking that Mei Lin couldn’t understand and wouldn’t be able to hear her.
“Was it the excessive make up or my formal tone that gave it away?” Mei Lin asks her in English, leaning in a bit and relaxing.
“You his new secretary?” she asks, pouring them both tea.
Mei Lin taps next to her cup with two fingers. “Ask me something you don’t know the answer to.”
They speak as if their mutual experience makes them mutual friends. “How long have you been working for him?” she asks, taking a sip.
“Long enough,” Mei Lin says, mimicking the tomboy’s cool and casual tone.
“You’re not the first to call me,” she says.
“I plan to be the last,” Mei Lin smiles.
“What’s your name?”
“Chan Mei Lin; yours?”
“You can call me Amber.”
“Well, Amber, how did you last so long? Any advice?”
“Kevin is a pretty laid-back kind of guy. He’s not going to do things just because you want him to or because he’s suppose to. You’ve gotta find the balance between letting him be and making sure he doesn’t run the company to the ground; and from the confident look in your eyes, you’ve already done that, or something similar.”
“I’m doing my best.”
“What worked for me was that I worked with him, not for him.” Amber takes another sip from her cup. “Just be yourself.”
“Why did you leave?” Mei Lin asks.
“How do you know he didn’t fire me?” Amber asks. Mei Lin pulls out the list of past secretaries. “He made me promise not to tell.” The look in Mei Lin’s eyes probes Amber for more. “He got me a better job at a music company. Kevin said he didn’t want to drag me through the mud while he was—” Amber debates whether or not to tell Mei Lin this bit of information, whether or not she’s worth it.
“Was and still is doing as little as possible?” Mei Lin asks. “I’m not sure if he’s trying, but if he is trying anything, it’s to not be who his father wants him to be.”
Amber had been skimming over the destruction that Kevin had left in his wake while Mei Lin was talking. “It’s been about a week,” Amber concludes. “You’ve only been working for him for about a week.” Mei Lin waits for further comment. A laugh escapes as a sharp sigh when Amber tries to wrap her head around the fact. “The family is a whole other can of worms; let’s not go there. If he wants to let you know, then you’ll know.”
“Anything else I should know?” Mei Lin asks, taking mental notes.
“That depends on what he wants you to know. I wasn’t exactly his secretary. I was there because I needed the money and I ended up being his friend more than anything, if you could believe that.”
“It’s hard to,” Mei Lin says, teasing a bit.
Amber laughs, “Well, I may not have been his friend ,but I would like to think that I was. Sadly, I think Henry is the closest thing he has, even though those two are always bickering and biting each other’s heads off. But I guess the competition is good for the company—”
“That is, if both sides are competing.”
The two laugh as Mei Lin pours another round of tea. Just then, the waitress comes with steaming bamboo steamers, but Mei Lin checks her watch and has to ask for some of it to be packaged to go. After apologizing and paying for the lunch, Mei Lin thanks Amber and bows before leaving.
While Amber is eating alone, she can’t help but feel bad for Mei Lin. She seems nice. Let’s hope Kevin isn’t burned out just yet.
Mei Lin is five minutes late when returning to her desk and it doesn’t go unnoticed by Yi Fan. In fact, he’s watching over the secretary tables when Mei Lin scrambles onto the floor. The two meet eyes for a moment and the look of horror on Mei Lin’s face is enough to make Yi Fan smirk before going back to his desk, rather than opening the glass door and telling her that she is fired. Mei Lin takes a deep breath while the two other secretaries give Mei Lin a brief look of congratulations for not getting fired yet. The package of hawthorn flakes is much to the delight of Mei Lin.
“Do you need anything, sir?” Mei Lin asks after clearing the plates and tray.
“No,” Yi Fan says. “Just make sure your team has what it needs to be ready by the convention.”
Mei Lin bows and goes into her own office before shrugging on a lab coat. The rest of the afternoon is spent in the labs between monitor screens and her assistants. Though their interactions are sparse, it doesn’t take a genius to see that the other two assistants are dating. “So long as this doesn’t affect your work, you can do whatever you want.”
“You don’t belong here,” Gale says, squinting to focus on the wire. “You have more fun designing and tinkering with your simulation programs.”
“Sitting around is not fun,” Mei Lin says, moving her twisters less than a millimeter at a time.
“After all that you do every day for that bastard, sitting down sounds great.” Gale relaxes her eyes and turns her focus to grab a scope, her eyes not being enough. “I can handle this, you know.”
Mei Lin wants to agree, seeing how Gale is one of the few who can read Mei Lin’s chicken scratch whenever she scribbles notes on the boarders of her designs and concepts. Gale’s the kind of girl who prefers to make things happen rather than imagining about them. Out of the two, Mei Lin is the idealist; not to say that both are not also realistic.
“I am not doubting your capability; I am doubting your permanence.” Mei Lin’s voice strains as they finally finish a small portion of the circuit board. “You’re still a temp like the lovebirds. He’s off to study abroad after the conference and she has to go back to university. Don’t you have another job lined up?”
“Nope,” Gale admits.
“Really?” Mei Lin stops and looks up from their work. Of course, the Resource Department is in charge of find temps their new temp. “Lu Han not letting you go?”
Even under that rich copper skin, Mei Lin could see a very faint blush. Even if Mei Lin had to question herself of the tint, the small tension tugging on Gale’s jaw and lips is revealing of her slight embarrassment. She chooses not to pry on the matter, seeing how it’s neither her business nor her concern at the moment.
They go back to the circuit board and work until their eyes and fingertips beg for a break. The two pop hawthorn flakes, nibbling on them while massaging their hands with some lotion in Mei Lin’s personal office. “Man, it’s been too long since I’ve had these things,” Mei Lin sighs.
“There’s a note,” Gale says, pulling off a sticky note from the back of the package. “Who’s Henry?”
Now it’s Mei Lin’s turn to feel some unwanted feelings stirring under her skin, but the name is familiar to Gale, so she too decides not to press on the issue, knowing full well that Mei Lin would explain herself once composed and ready. “An old friend,” Mei Lin finally admits. “What does the note say?”
“Bon appétit,” Gale reads. “He's French?” She hands the sticky note over from her fingertip.
“Not that I know of, but it’s been too long for me to claim anything.” Mei Lin selects “The Little Deer” and puts him on speaker.
Lu Han smirks as Mei Lin’s name flickers on his screen’s caller ID. “This is the foundation; how’s the weather up there?”
“Wet,” Gale says, as it is now pouring and streaming down the other side of one of the glass walls.
Not expecting Gale’s voice, Lu Han nearly falls out of his chair. He clears his throat as he recomposes himself and sets himself straight. “How may I assist you ladies today?”
“Mei wants a down low on Henry,” Gale says casually, forgetting to speak in Chinese.
Lu Han blinks at the request as it processes through his mental translator. His English isn’t the best, but he knows enough to get by when trying to carry a conversation with the many temps that go through this company on internship or otherwise. He decides to try his luck with the English language though. “Uh, he came back from his trip to Europe about three days ago. He was scouting and building good publicity—”
“PR is Kris’ department though,” Gale says.
“He can speak English?” Mei Lin asks in silent eye contact. Gale simply nods with a smirk that could be taken as a smile.
“Power struggle among the younglings,” Lu Han sighs. “Anyway, international relations and what-have-you; checking up on other branches and facilities.”
“France one of them?” Mei Lin asks.
“As well as Canada,” Lu Han says. “He’s in charge of all international relations and manages any representatives that we may have in the building from major countries like the U.S., India, and Japan. You already know about the tension between the two golden boys and the boss would surely go for it had it not been for the fact that this is a family company. He—”
“That’s more than enough, Lu Han, thank you,” Mei Lin replies in English. They hang up and Gale waits for Mei Lin’s reaction to Lu Han’s abilities. “He sounds kind of cute when he speaks English,” Mei Lin giggles.
He always sounds cute. Gale simply smiles in agreement. Mei Lin’s phone goes off. “It’s your boss.”
Mei Lin doesn’t answer and simply goes next door. “Yes?” Mei Lin asks, poking her head through the door.
“Take off your damn lab coat and come in properly,” Wu Yi demands without looking up from the files before him.
Mei Lin goes back to her office to return the lab coat and slips back into her blazer, giving Gale a silent signal that their break is over. “Sir?” Mei Lin greets her boss again.
“These need to be delivered.” Yi Fan turns to face his view after pointing the end of his pen at the pile of files.
He’s still unsure as to why Mei Lin bows when he has his back to her. He thinks it’s because she knows that he can see, her but that’s honestly not the case. Mei Lin takes the large pile and bows again before leaving and riding the elevator like a regular again.
She’s still overworked and tired, even to the point where she’s starting to develop a need for that horrid substance known as coffee, but Mei Lin has a smile on her face because even though this company doesn’t know it yet, there’s finally hope on the thirty-seventh; and for once, it’s not just the Developmental Department, but rather, who supervises it.
Translations/Author's Notes:
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Liú Xiàn Huá (劉憲華) = Henry's real name in Mandarin
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Làu Hin Wàh (Lau4 Hin3 Wa4) (劉憲華) = Henry's real name in Cantonese
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Xiǎo Mèi (小妹) = Literally: Little Sister
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Warning! Lots of different names (and nicknames) for the same person. Cantonese and Mandarin have different spellings when Romanized even though/if the same characters are used (they're pronounced differently). And even within that language, it branches even further into regions and types. [From experience] there are slight differences between Hong Kong and Guangzhou Cantonese in terms of syntax and even pronounciation and stress (if you have a good ear, you can tell almost exactly where a person is from just by the way they speak! Verbal fingerprint~!) Some Chinese people also tend to have a Chinese name and an Engish name with both being their real name (like in Wu Yi Fan's case). In other words: it's like synonyms, but for people.
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