215 New Beau

Those words were Tang's way of telling her that he loved her, missed her, craved her…

London

Jia Li got up from her chair and walked outside in measured steps. Once she exited the main door of the building, she leaned against the wall and started drawing in deep breaths.

Her heart was somersaulting and her eyes wanted to bawl themselves out of their retina. What was wrong with her? No, what was wrong with him? Did he not know what was he doing, what his words were doing… to her?

NOT FAIR!

She stood there with her eyes closed, willing the tears to go back in and the heart to stabilise.

"Are you feeling dizzy again, Ms. Lin?" Hui's perplexed voice reached her ears.

Argh… was she not going to catch a break anytime soon? Politely shaking her head in negative, she opened her eyes and assured him that she was fine. She went on to claim that she was standing there because she needed some Vitamin D to seep into her bones.

Ying Hui looked at her in confusion. The scientist in him wanted to reach out and check her forehead for fever. He had apparently just exited the building to go to his lab when he had seen her leaning against the building wall.

"Are you sure you don't want to go visit the doctor once?" he asked her again.

"No, I am so sorry to have delayed you. I am absolutely fine. I am going back to my desk now. If you require me at the lab, please let me know," she gave him, what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

She wouldn't be surprised if he threw her out of the company, on account of weird behaviour!!

Yesterday, she had acted like a damn flower wilting away at the party and today, she was a loony woman seeking the harsh sun. So much for the millennial woman. She rolled her eyes in disgust, at her behaviour.

So unfair. She was just beginning to pick up the pieces of her life. Why did the Tsunami from the past have to come and hit her now.

No… no more whining, Jia Li. You got to face it. Tang hurt you, lied to you. There is no way that he will be forgiven just because he has discovered how to woo a woman. I WILL NOT be swayed.

Giving herself the pep talk, she walked back inside. Work kept her sane and she ensured that she always had something to occupy her mind. It was 4pm when Camilla, the receptionist, buzzed her desk.

"You seem to have acquired a new beau. Lovely lilies and orchards have arrived, bearing your name," her voice held equal parts jealousy and curiosity.

Jia Li frowned and went out to the reception area. Opening the card attached to the flowers, she smiled faintly.

"Hope the arrival of flowers haven't impeded your work in anyway. I will be waiting for you at the dinner place sharp at 7 tonight!"

It remained unsigned but she knew well enough who could be sending her flowers with an underlying reproach to her words from yesterday. With a thanks to the receptionist, she carried them to her desk.

"Wasn't she pally with our COO, Eric Hunt, all this while? Who is this new mysterious suitor now? Is she two timing the boss? Serves him right, if she is. He couldn't see me and my charms all this while and fell for the oriental beauty the minute she entered the office, " Camilla thought maliciously.

People at work had only seen Eric frequenting Jia Li's desk. Of course, it was natural on their part to assume that he was interested in her. Little did they know that he was busy playing Robin to 'Hui the Batman'.

Unaware of the receptionist's jealous thoughts, Jia Li made space for the flowers at her desk. Before she could sit down, Eric came to her workstation and whistled, looking at the big bunch.

"Don't tell me you got entangled with somebody while doing the Tango last night," he said, curiosity burning in his deep blue eyes.

She laughed at his words and shook her head, "the only thing which got entangled last night, were our boss's feet and quite painfully at that. I tried warning him that I didn't know the alpha, beta, or gamma of the dance but he being the perfect master, insisted that he would make a dancer out of me, no matter the cost. I quite expected him to limp to work today."

Eric laughed at her clever words. She had successfully steered the conversation in another direction and evaded answering his question. No problem! He had many ways to get the truth out. One thing that he was sure of was that these exotic petals hadn't been sent by his friend.

Neither did Hui have the thought process, nor the guts and definitely not the taste to pick these.