Brad was feeling very groggy by the time he got into the cab he had hailed from the airport. He dozed on and off at intervals but came wide awake immediately after the cab stopped in front of a hotel. He tipped the cab driver handsomely before getting down.
The receptionists at the front desk looked at him in a weird manner when he approached them.
"I need a nice and comfy room. I'll be spending a week," Brad said, dropping his credit card on the desk before resting his right hand on the reception desk and hooking his finger in his trouser loop, and crossing his legs.
"Sir?" One of them dared to ask. Why was their boss dressed in this manner and asking them to give him a room when he could easily take anyone of his choice?
"Yea? Is there a problem? Or you're fully booked?" Brad asked, running his finger through his hair.
"Not at all," The senior among the receptionist said, deciding to play along with him.
She looked up when she saw the name that was reflected... Brad Carter? Was it possible he only looked like their CEO?
"How long is this gonna take?" Brad asked impatiently, rubbing his eyes.
"I'm done. I will show you to your room," She said before glancing at the others whose facial expressions mirrored the surprised expression on her face.
"Let me help you with that," She said, reaching for his suitcase.
"Where I come from, we take care of our women. Women do women's jobs, and the same goes for men," He said with a wink before urging her to lead him. Brad whistled one of his favorite country tunes as he followed her.
This definitely couldn't be their boss. He wasn't the type to be so carefree. He did interact with the staff and was kind-hearted. But winking at his female staff? No sir!
"I take it you are not from these parts?" She ventured to ask.
"Yeah. I'm here to take care of some family business," Brad offered and smiled when she pushed open a door. He stepped in and nodded in approval as he looked around the room.
"Thanks. You can leave now," He said, tipping her as he saw her to the door. He needed to rest before going out to search for his aunty Margaret Carter and her daughter, Ann Carter, his cousin.
Family business? She wondered as she hurried back to the front desk. Was it possible he was their boss' lost twin brother and was here to reconnect with him? Was it possible CEO Wang Tae-Joon had no idea he had a twin brother? She smiled and clapped her hands in excitement as she returned to join her colleagues.
*************
Zoe repeated the previous day's pattern but left the house much earlier than she had the previous day, so she was the first person to arrive for the class.
She could only hope that Zhang Wei wouldn't trouble her today as he had done the previous day.
Everyone came in one after the other, and soon the training for the day began. She was grateful that she didn't spy Zhang Wei around all through the morning session.
Once it was break time and she stood up to go to her corner, she saw him standing by the door as he signaled for her to come.
She groaned inwardly before walking over to him. Her eyes were on the floor... She made a mental note to wear a contact lens if ever a blind date was arranged for them.
He led her to the passageway before turning to look at her. "I couldn't find anything about you on the net. Why is that?" He asked, tapping his fingers against the wall.
Zoe's eyes widened in surprise. Had he really gone that far? That was possibly the effect of his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Now that she knew it was nothing personal since she had taken out time to study about the condition before going to bed the previous night, she no longer felt threatened by him.
She raised her head to look into his face. He didn't look so bad up close, and he had really fine facial features and was a bit tall. It was probably because of the conversation with her mom the previous night.
"You heard me, right?" He asked, waving his hands in front of her eyes.
"Y-yes," She said, taking a step back as she swallowed. She suddenly remembered that she had read something about him attending a charity event that the Zhang foundation for disabled children organized. She decided to go with that instead.
"I think I remember where we met," She suddenly said, ignoring his question. Maybe if she told him something convincing, he would let her be.
"Really? Where?" He asked, looking at her with interest.
"At the Zhang Charity event, which was organized some time ago for disabled children," She said with a smile. There must have been waiters at the event, after all.
"You were there?" He asked in surprise.
"Yes. I was among the waiters," She said.
"But we only used female waiters," He pointed out with a frown.
Oh shit! What was she to say now? "Yeah, I mean, I was among them, like not serving, my cousin was among the waiters, and I went there to see her," Zoe said with a nervous laugh.
"Oh! I guess that was where I saw you then," Zhang Wei said, even though he was not fully convinced.
"You should return for your break then. I guess I will be seeing you around," Zhang Wei said before turning to return to his office.
************
"Guess what?" Grace asked happily as she rushed into the office to meet Ann.
"I can't guess. What is it?" Ann asked disinterestedly, making Grace pause.
"Don't tell me you're still angry over this morning? I already said I'm sorry," Grace said, looking at her with a frown. Ann had become the only person who knew her and the only person she could talk to freely, and she didn't want to be on bad terms with her.
"I'm sure that isn't the reason you were rushing in excitedly," Ann said dryly.
"The foreign investors just called. They're going to invest!" Grace announced with a smile as Ann sprang to her feet happily.
"Really?" She asked, close to tears.
"Yes. Really. They said your presentation was very personal, and they were touched that you could feel that way about the product," Grace said with a smile.
"Oh, Grace! Thank you so much," Ann said, going to hug Grace with tears in her eyes, making Grace smile despite herself.
"You're such a softie," Grace told her as she hugged her.
"I should be thanking you for helping me get them to invest. I think you're more intelligent than you actually give yourself credit for," Grace said as she stepped away from Ann.
"Thanks for giving me a chance to experience all of this," Ann told her, spreading her hands to indicate everything.
"I didn't have a choice now, did I?" Grace asked Ann with a small smile.
"We should probably celebrate," Grace said.
"Sure. Let's do that later. I have a lunch date with Tae-Joon," Ann told her as she slipped on her stiletto and adjusted her makeup as Grace had taught her to.
"Lunch date?" Grace asked, wondering why Ann hadn't mentioned it before.
"Yes. I have to fix this. I already made up my mind on what to do," Ann said.
"Do you mind telling me about it?" Grace asked as she sat on the edge of the table with her legs crossed.
Ann looked at her for a while. She couldn't possibly tell her that her father was aware of all that was going on and that he had asked her to be less dependent on her.
Neither could she tell her that she intended to date Tae-Joon and marry him as Grace if possible, if that was what it would take to make him happy.
"We have more important things to worry about, like where you're going to pass the night. Let's think about that when I return," Ann told her before walking out of the office with confidence.