It started off as a wet dream. A loving unknown stranger, sweet talking me. Then he was on me, in me, bullying me tenderly. It was hot and steamy and his kisses had made me melt.
When I woke up with a start in the morning, soaked in sweat, I rushed into the shower, covering my still hot cheeks, wondering how I could have dreamed such a dream. It was just a spring dream. Who didn't have wet dreams, right? I'd never had one before though.
I twisted the ancient ring on my finger that I had found in the flea market yesterday with nervousness. Glancing down, I frowned. I hadn't put it on my ring finger last night, but it was there now. And now, it wouldn't come off. In fact, if I wasn't imagining things, the ring bit me with a stinging sensation, making me stop tugging and pulling at it.
Rings don't bite. It took a moment for that to come to remembrance. Rings can't bite. They aren't sentient beings. They're just inanimate objects made to adorn hands.
I examined the ring for any sharp edges or bits that might be sticking out and could have dug into my skin, making me think it had bitten me. Seeing none, I once more began tugging and twisting the ancient ring, almost mangling my poor finger joint in the process. Detergent, soap and oil, none of they helped. The ring remained steadfastly stuck to my finger.
How was I going to explain this to my mother and to my friends? They were all going to think that I had gotten engaged, or even married. The ring wasn't quite fancy enough for an engagement ring. The little opal stone on it, though pretty, was also pretty subdued. It looked more like a slightly more fancy wedding band with a lacy design etched onto its surface. In fact, I wouldn't at all be surprised if there were a man's matching band out there somewhere.
The blurry image of that man from my dream made me cover my face with a blush. I wouldn't mind if my dream man was real. Ugh. What was I thinking about?
Feeling somewhat defeated, I gave up on the ring. The clock was ticking and I was about to be late for work if I didn't hurry. I rushed to get ready and repeatedly banished the images of the dream man from my mind as I did so, rushing into work and clocking in just in time for the minute hand to tick over. Safe.
There was a snort behind me from a senior colleague, Huang Delin, from another department that seemed to spend way too much time in our Admin Department than in her own Secratorial Department. She rolled her eyes and unintelligibly muttered to herself. I just ignored her and went to settle in at my workstation to check my tasks for the day.
Huang Delin had for some reason, had it in for me since the first day I met her. But then, she seemed to have something against everyone, seeming to feel she was far above the rest of us peons. She would make trouble for us at every turn where possible. Whatever.
According to my schedule, there would be a meeting at ten o'clock with an external investor. I would need to prepare all the papers and ensure all the data was in order, the slideshow and projector were in working order and get all the drinks and snacks organised. It was meant to be a two hour meeting and I was meant to be taking the minutes for some reason. Why not one of the secretaries?
Perhaps this was meant to be a test and a chance for me to show that I was ready and prepared to be promoted to another department? Or so I could hope and dream. There were far more other people who should be first in line for promotion compared to a newcomer like me.
I hurried about double checking files, reprinting ones that had inadvertently been printed upside down by someone and ordering enough coffees and pastries from the coffee truck downstairs. The projector took this moment to refuse to work and I had to hurry IT to come and help me work out why the projector was playing up before everyone arrived for the meeting.
It turned out to be a dodgy cable and once the HDMI cable was replaced, everything was hunky dory. By this time, people had started arriving, and I was kept busy with pointing out which cups were marked as lattes or hot chocolates or long blacks with no sugar.
The investor arrived with his party, and a breath of fresh beach salt. Had they been surfing before this or something?
Standing behind the manager hosting the meeting, I dutifully handed out files, pointed out the coffees specifically ordered for them and organised their plates and serviette papers so they could help themselves to pastries. Unusually, the entire investing delegation paused after greeting the host and rather than nodding at me or ignoring me like most other business people would upon finding out I was an administration assistant here to ensure the smooth running of things and take minutes, they shook my hand.
I glanced at the manager and other important people in the room with shocked bewilderment at the sudden attention and formal greetings that weren't meant to be given to me. The manager only turned his head away from my pleading gaze, smiling and nodding as if this was all normal.
The handsome young leader of the investment party paused again when he shook my hand, taking my left hand and holding it up so that he could see the ring on my finger.
It was then that I caught sight of the matching ring I had been thinking about earlier this morning on his left ring finger, same as mine. My eyes widened in panic and I looked up into his dark and warm eyes.
Coincidence. This had to be coincidence. Was it a coincidence? Or had he somehow managed to find me because of the mysterious ring?
The man put a finger to my lips before I could speak.
"We'll talk later," he told me.
I nodded, still wide eyed and feeling very confused, while the hosting manager gave me a complicated look.
The meeting then progressed as expected and a five minute break was taken in the middle of the two hours to give everyone a breather.
"Little Jing," the hosting manager pulled me to one side, "why didn't you tell anyone that Mr Wen was your husband?"
"Husband? What? I've never met him before," I spluttered, feeling a sinking helplessness at the misunderstanding. "I'm not married."
"Little Jing, stop messing around," Manager Hu frowned at me. "You've both got matching wedding rings. I'm not blind."
"Would you believe me if I said that I bought this ring from the flea market yesterday and after trying it on, couldn't get it off?" I proposed, showing my swollen finger. "Look, my finger is still swollen."
Manager Hu snorted through his nose and just gave me a derisive look.
Alright. He didn't believe me.
"I don't know and don't care what games you husband and wife are playing, but you'd better not affect this investment proposal. Otherwise you can start looking for work elsewhere this afternoon."
"Manager Hu, I really..." I protested.
A hand was held up to stop me from speaking further. The manager wasn't interested in listening to me.
Before Manager Hu could speak any further, a large warm presence wrapped me in a protective embrace.
"Manager Hu, I hope you're not making trouble for my little wife," said the leader of the investment team. I gaped at his admission and my mouth opened and closed wordlessly, looking up, feeling helpless.
The two men gazed intensely at each other for a long moment. I could almost hear the clash of swords.
"And you said you aren't married?" Manager Hu said to me in a light voice.
"We - I - we're," I stammered, but a hand covered my mouth.
"It's an arranged marriage," Mr Wen, the investment leader behind me gave a steely smile. "And still a secret. I assume you can keep this little secret for me until we make our public announcement?"
"Then in light of your relationship, surely you can cut us some slack in the negotiations later," Manager Hu ventured.
"Should I?" a long finger dabbed my nose and made me look up in panic at the two men crossing figurative swords over my head.
Why was he asking me? Why me? Why? What did I have to do with this? I was just an admin assistant. I didn't know enough about any company matters to make any kind of decision that wasn't mine to make.
Seeing me panicking and pushing at his arms, the tall, handsome man let me go. I couldn't deny that being set free like this for some reason made me feel a small sense of loss.
"Of course," Mr Wen raised an eyebrow at Manager Hu, "I should thank the people who have been helping take care of my little wife. Thanks to you, I've found where she's been hiding. Tag, sweetie," he patted my shoulder and began returning to his seat along with all the others involved in the meeting. "I win."