Ami thought it is the right moment to let Mr Suzui know that she wants to remain in the office before they all get their hopes way too high.
"Sir, I want to be in the office, I have some pending work ", said Ami hesitantly. The Editor's enthusiasm went downhill as she spoke.
"No, Ami you had to accompany Peter and help him. You have very good managing and observing skills. You have to go, don't worry about the pending work, Gavin will do it until I find another assistant." said Mr Suzui.
Mr Suzui was giving surprises one after another. He admired Ami for the first time since she joined the office. No one saw Mr Suzui casually admire people in the past, but this day will go down in history and will be remembered for ages for Mr Suzui's Heroic deeds.
"Sir, I am not comfortable with fieldwork, I am only good at doing desk work as you have told me in the past besides your schedule being very hard to figure out, I have now gotten a hang of it. I think I must stay here, I will work more efficiently in the office," said Ami.
For the first ever Mr Suzui regretted what he said and wanted to take his words back but he had to do it nonchalantly, not to look desperate.
"Well, If you say so, but it would have been a great help to Peter if you had gone with him, Right Peter", subconsciously triggering Peter to convince her.
Peter took the Cue and started convincing Ami but all goes in vain as she was as stiff as a rock. Ami repeatedly denied it because she loved the way the Editor was going out of his way to convince her. She thought today is the day when she will exact revenge for all the humiliation and torture Mr Suzui had put her through. She was enjoying every second of it, it makes her feel powerful.
Everyone left the office at 5:30 pm but Shun and Peter stayed to Printing tomorrow's front cover. Ami never felt this confident as she walked out of the building and even got herself a Castella from the finest bakery near the train station to celebrate her little victory over Mr Suzui with Liu.
She reached her apartment by eight o clock. Liu can tell that Ami had a wonderful day at work in a long time, as she was chirping like a bird, singing and dancing throughout the apartment.
Liu could not hold her curiosity now, she had to know what made her Roommate so happy this evening. As soon as Ami stepped out of the shower in her bathrobe, Liu cornered her and asked about her unusual behaviour.
Ami told everything that happened in the office to Liu, thinking that her roommate will pat her on the back and be a part of her celebration of victory over her Tyrant Boss. But Liu was in complete shock and sighed deeply "Oh My Poor Little Ami, I have never seen a fool like you in my entire life, the opportunity was banging at your door but you decided to sleep and ignore it", said Liu with great despair in her voice.
"I don't understand Liu, what are you saying?", asked confused Ami.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for anyone, but you decided to let it slip away from your hands so easily.", said Liu.
"don't you think that you can benefit the most if you go along with your boss's plan and help that Peter guy out? your office gave you a paid vacation, and you refused it. You don't have to work for months and still be paid, this event will continue for about 5-6 months. do you have any idea how many women will participate in this competition from this country?" said Liu.
"Also you will get a real-life experience reporting back on the event, maybe your boss might get impressed with your skills and give you a promotion as well", said Liu.
"Just for a moment think about it, Ami. This is a life-changing opportunity. So take your time and reconsider your decision." said Liu.
"FYI, I am also participating in this event. Maybe I can be the billionaire's bride", said Liu jokingly.
"You are kidding, right? you have a boyfriend", asked Ami.
"Nope, I had a Boyfriend. I am breaking up with him right now", said Liu texting through her phone.
"Hey, this is so wrong. you can't dump your boyfriend like this and for what? a guy you never met or seen before", said Ami amazed at Liu's quick decision.
"Ami darling, Just like any other human being I am self-centred and will go to any extent to fulfil my dreams, If I spend my time and energy worrying about what is wrong and right, I will never be able to enjoy my life. besides the fact that Good or Bad, Right and wrong are subjective terms. just think about it, you can still say yes to them", said Liu and left the room.
After hearing Liu's thoughts on the matter, Ami begins to think about the situation from Liu"s Perspective.
"She is right to some extent every Girl in the country will go beyond and far to be in this competition, even if it means breaking a few hearts here and there. To be honest, I never really thought about the situation, I was so happy over my little revenge on Mr Suzui, that I missed the important details that could work in my favour." thought Ami to herself while patiently sitting on her bed.
"Getting paid for observing people around you, this is the thing I do for free every single day. I know I don't have a snowball's chance in hell to even advance further in the competition let alone getting Married to a daddy's boy. If this whole thing worked out as planned then I will enjoy a pay raise as well. I can't let this slide from my hands, I will tell Peter that I am joining his team, first thing in the morning." thought Ami and then wore her clothes and stepped out of her room to let Liu know of her decision.
"Liu, I have decided that I am going to participate in the competition as well", said Ami while Liu was sitting on the couch watching a movie on her laptop.
"That's great we both can be together during the event, May the best bride win", said Liu jokingly.
"I have no desire to play wifey for a rich daddy's boy for the rest of my life, besides the fact that I know I'll be the first one to be thrown out of the competition, I am just following through my boss's plan to advance in my career and you were right about gaining field experience, thank you so much, Liu, for opening my eyes," she said.
"Why are you so negative? Ami, why do you always underestimate yourself? " said Liu.
"I think I am just a practical person," said Ami hesitantly.
"Whatever Ami, I am not in the mood. let me watch my movie."
"Hey, do you want some cake? " said Ami.
"Yes, of course. by the way, What does this Keith guy even look like? I have seen his Dad here and there in the news. but never even heard about him", said Liu.
"God Knows and who even cares? every single girl in that event will be there for his money? and this man can get any girl he wants, but still decides to hold a competition for finding a bride. This man can date Models and Actresses, I don't understand. Something just doesn't make sense about this guy. Seems kinda fishy, If you ask me.", said Ami.
"Here comes Detective Ami, when you go there, just figure out yourself what's he up to and report it back to the office, it might give them a little headline to publish in the newspaper", said Liu.
"You are right," said Ami.
After having her dinner and doing her nighttime routine, Ami took the bed at 11:00 pm, in hopes of getting up early in the morning but Liu pulled an all-nighter for the latest exam at her University, also getting frequent texts from her now ex-boyfriend.
At 2:00 AM, As the darkness covered the whole sky and the nightlife begins to slow down and the majority of the working class people were in deep sleep but not this Machiavellian and hyperactive Boss-Employee duo. They were also pulling an all-nighter devoted to planning and plotting. Although they were a little disappointed that Ami is not joining hands with them.
"Tomorrow, I am going to convince Ami, one last time sir. I hope it will work out. My friend just now told me that all the participants will be awarded money on weekly basis to compensate for the time they spend standing in lines. I am sure Ami can't refuse some extra cash", said Peter.
"That's great news, If this does not work, then I will threaten to fire her. She can't refuse that," said Mr Suzui.
"Yes sir, I agree with you, with her assistance we can further advance in the plan. Ami is an excellent organizer and planner," said Peter.
"Also sir, Shun had printed tomorrow's newspaper, I have thoroughly checked it and I liked it.", said Peter.
"Sir, I would like to train the girls participating in the event so we can get an upper hand over the rest of the participants as every girl would be participating in the event. I think some pretty famous people will also be participating in the event.", said Peter.
"Peter, Do whatever you have to do, I just want the outcome, and don't bother me with little things, if you even want money for anything just get it from HR," said Mr Suzui.
"Also it's pretty late, Goodnight. I want you to be on time tomorrow" said Mr Suzui and hang up the phone. He can't wait for tomorrow to come.
"A front cover with no photo of the Groom. How are the readers supposed to connect with the news? Shun" yelled Mr Suzui from his phone after seeing today's newspaper at 3 a.m.
"But sir, There's no photo available of Mr Keith Hennings over the internet, it's like he doesn't even exist.' replied Shun.
"No photos available, did you ask Peter for the photographs? said, Mr Suzui.
"Yes sir, Peter and I have spent hours watching all the activities of the Hennings group but we were unable to find any photographs of Keith Hennings," said Shun.
"Well, I guess we can't do anything about it," said Mr Suzui.
The news took the whole world by storm. All the media outlets were referencing 'The Liberty' news article. Some called it a hoax and some started preparing for the competition. Many News Channels even invited some renowned Love Gurus and Relationship coaches to analyse the situation and provide their expert guidance to the girls for the competition.
At 7:00 am Ami woke up a little later than usual. To her utmost surprise, her phone was buzzing with notifications and missed calls from contacts she barely converses with, distant cousins, high school and middle school girls etc, etc.
She could not understand what this fuzz is all about, but she doesn't have the time to check her phone as she was running late.
She brushed her teeth, washed her face and wore her clothes and left for the station.
As soon as she reached the front door of her office building, she was surprised to see the crowd surrounding the office building. She wondered what the hell is happening today.
Too afraid to get in the crowd, she breathe deeply and took out her office identity card and started making her way through the crowd to reach the office.
Mr Suzui along with the other staff members were standing in the hall having a good view of the crowd. Mr Suzui had his creepy smile on his face as he was enjoying every second of this moment.
As soon as Ami entered the office, to her surprise, no one was working and just standing and watching the huge crowd outside the office.
Peter could not hold his excitement anymore, as soon as he saw Ami, He got down on one knee in front of Ami and held her hand firmly and asked the question that was bothering him since yesterday "Ami, will you please join me for the competition?".
For that moment everyone thought Peter was going to propose to Ami.
Even Ami could not believe this grandiose gesture just to ask to join the team. Her body temperature rose slightly as she wasn't used to such treatment.
She replied " Yes, I will" shyly.
Mr Suzui and everyone else in the office jumped in joy as if they were celebrating the union of two lovers.
After this monstrosity ended, everyone begins their usual day as always.