Chapter 45 - 45: Let’s Be In Touch

Thank you for singing to me. If there is anything you'd like, any wishes you'd like granted, I can make that happen."

"Wishes?" Sophia smiled, "Well, I'll save that idea for later. I'll tell you when I think of some."

Ryan went to the karaoke machine and asked, "Which songs do you want, Miss Green? I'll order them for you!"

Sophia named a few songs she "could sing." For her, "could sing" just meant that she knew the lyrics, as for what it would sound like… she couldn't guarantee that they would like it.

Ryan ordered a few songs, "Done. What would you like to drink, Miss Green? Mr. Pearson?"

He already knew what Pearson liked, but it was always good to ask, just in case.

"Jasmine tea."

"Jasmine tea."

They spoke almost in unison.

They were both surprised.

Ryan smiled, "Mr. Pearson and Miss Green clearly have a lot in common. I'll be back shortly."

But Sophia remembered that Pearson had always liked coffee, not tea. It had been she who liked to drink tea, and her favorite had always been jasmine tea. She liked the fresh and elegant taste. She used to make lots of it in the lab to enjoy slowly.

Once, she tried to recommend jasmine tea to Pearson. She had poured him a cup and told him to taste it. He had taken a sip and made a face, saying it was tasteless, that he was a coffee man. And she had left it at that.

"This is for you!" Pearson picked up a box from the table.

Sophia approached and saw it was a cell phone.

"I can't accept that!" Sophia shook her head, "It's too expensive. I'm just singing you a few songs."

She didn't know much about cell phones, but this one was exactly the same as the one Melissa had, and Melissa always had the best of everything.

Pearson unwrapped the box, picked up the phone with his long fingers, and he placed it in Sophia's hand.

"You don't have a phone. It's inconvenient for me when I try to contact you. Take it so I won't waste my time getting hold of you next time." He sat back on the couch. "My time is precious. If you can save me a few minutes, it's worth a whole lot of money."

Sophia didn't know what to say.

"I'll give it back to you when you don't want me to sing to you anymore."

"Whatever." came the reply.

Sophia thought some more, "you can't call me during class time."

"That's fine. I'm also busy during weekdays." Pearson said.

She turned on the phone and saw that two numbers had been saved in the contacts, one was named "Mr. Pearson" and the other "Ryan Sampson". Ryan's doing most likely.

At that moment, Ryan entered the room with the tea and stooped to pour each of them a cup.

He smiled at Sophia, "Shall we start, Miss Green?"

Sophia nodded.

Ryan walked to the karaoke machine and pressed "Start."

The intro to the first song began to play. Ryan handed the microphone to Sophia, and moved aside, waiting for his moment to disappear. He wanted to give them space and time to maybe find something together…they could be something, couldn't they?

He was pretty sure Sophia liked Pearson, and her beautiful voice obviously appealed to Pearson, maybe he could be tempted.

Sophia cleared her throat and began to sing.

As soon as she opened her mouth, Ryan was in shock.

Her voice wasn't beautiful; it was ear-splitting!

He looked over at Pearson, only to see him leaning back with his eyes closed, apparently enjoying himself.

Ryan had always thought his boss was a bit strange, but now he realized that he had underestimated just how odd he was.

Was he a masochist?

Ryan couldn't bear it any longer. Quietly, he withdrew from the room.

He finally realized why Pearson didn't like the beautiful girls he used to introduce him to.

So it turned out he liked this kind of girl. Was it some kind of power plaything?

Sophia finished the song, had a little break, took a sip of tea, and then carried on singing. She sang five songs before she stopped.

Pearson stood up and said, "Thank you. I meant what I said, if you have any wishes or requests, just ask me."

He picked up his coat. "I have to go. You can keep having fun here. Order anything you want. I am a bit of a VIP here, so you can sign the bill, and I'll pick up the tab. If you're free next Friday, I hope you'll come again."

"Let's be in touch. I'm ready to go now too." Sophia said.

She stood up and walked out of the room with Pearson.

Ryan was waiting outside. Seeing them come out, he hurriedly came up, scratching his head in embarrassment, "I, er, had a stomach ache."

Sophia smiled. She knew that Ryan had been scared away by her voice.

Ryan and Albert Pearson drove away together.

Ryan smiled and said, "Mr. Pearson, what do you think of that girl? Isn't she cute?"

Instead of answering his question, Pearson instead posed another, "What about her family background, did you find anything about it?"

"Yeah. Her father died at work a few years ago and they got thousands in compensation. But then Sophia had a car accident a couple of years ago and was in a coma for two years. Her mother was a teacher but quit to take care of her and almost all their money was spent on her treatment. Now her mother teaches in a primary school. In order to make more money, she asked the principal to allow her to teach extra classes. It seems like they have it pretty hard."

"I don't like to owe anyone anything. Arrange it so that her mother gets a more cushy, higher-paid job. And don't let anyone know I did it, clear?" Pearson said.

Ryan smiled, "I'm already one step ahead of you, boss. I've already got a good job lined up for her and was just waiting to get your go-ahead. I'll sort it all out tomorrow."

When Sophia got home, she put her new phone on the table. Kate saw it and immediately got nervous, "Is that phone yours?"