At the agency...After breakfast with her other colleagues, Mei Li returned to her office happily. However, the sight of the mountain of files on the table made the mood slightly sour. So many work to do in such a short time!
She quickly finished her coffee and started to work.
She divided the files into three bundles. Then, she stood up and went to the pantry to refill her coffee. She needed to energize her body.
There was no one there. She quickly chose the sachet she wanted and poured hot water to dissolve it in her Superwoman mug. She stirred it slowly and took a sip. She let out a happy sigh.
Caffeine really made her brain working better. Now, she was ready to face her work seriously.
Mei Li returned back to her room with her mug of coffee. She needed to arrange everything before her two models arrived.
Knowing Ryn, this woman would only spend at least an hour before she wanted to leave. And starting tomorrow, Ryn would again get busy. After these busy weeks, Ryn asked for a short holiday right after her final.
Next semester would be the last semester on the campus for Ryn. Ryn told her that it would be like this semester; her work schedule should adjust accordingly to her cla.s.ses. If any job coincidently on the same day and time as her cla.s.s, just reject it regardless of how interesting it was.
For Ryn"s industrial training, on the other hand, Mika had already planned to lure Ryn into her company because Jeremy would slowly move into their family"s company. Mei Li did ask Ryn"s opinion about it, worried it would make Ryn too busy for her modelling job. But Mika who learned about her worry a.s.sured her that Ryn would still able to do her modelling job. Mika had no doubt her best friend could do everything she had in mind too.
She was still busy arranging everything when someone knocked on the door. Mei Li lifted her head and gestured Tiara, her colleague to enter the room. "What is it?"
"Boss wants to have a meeting now with all of us," Tiara said.
"Now?" Mei Li frowned. Why was it so sudden? She did not receive any information in the group. She checked her phone and slapped herself. It was in silence. No wonder. She checked the group and saw the announcement that was sent about five minutes ago. She sighed.
"But Ryn and Harry are on the way," Mei Li said unhappily.
"Well, the boss wants all of us attending the meeting," Tiara shrugged. Her job was to inform those who did not reply in the group. "I"ll see you in the meeting room."
Mei Li groaned, rubbing her face unhappily. Whether she liked it or not, she had to attend the meeting. She took her phone and sent a message to Ryn. She knew Ryn and Harry were on the way together and she had no doubt Ryn would inform this to Harry.
"Ryn, I have to attend a meeting first. I am not sure what time the meeting will end. You and Harry can wait first or come after lunch so we can discuss your two future works."
She did not wait for a reply from Ryn. She took her agenda and notebook and went to the meeting room. She did not want to be the last to arrive.
When she arrived in the room, half of the managers were there. She chose a seat at the back, next to the manager she was close with. She greeted everyone cheerfully as she arranged her notebook and agenda on the table. Her phone made a ding, indicating an incoming message.
Mei Li quickly read the message. She blew out a sigh when Ryn replied with an "Okay" and "We will wait for you to finish. Don"t worry."
She wanted to chat with her friend/manager but their big boss came into the room. Everyone quickly straightened their body. Their boss did not look happy and anything and everything, regardless of how small it was, would be the reason for her temper to flare.
No one wanted the dragon to blow out the fire to them!
Mei Li gulped. In order to avoid being single out for things she unconsciously did, she quickly checked her phone to ensure it was on silence and not vibrated. She took her pen and waited for the meeting to start, praying secretly it would end quickly.
"Is everyone here?" the boss asked, staring at each one of them.
Everyone gulped. They nodded their head quickly. No one dared to say anything.
Silently they wondered who made their boss having a bad mood. They tried to remember if they did anything against the company"s policy but no, no one dared to do anything that could bring wrath to them. They were such good kids in the company.
"Who is taking the minute?" the boss asked.
"I... I"ll do it," one of her a.s.sistants choked out.
The boss c.o.c.ked an eyebrow at her a.s.sistant.
"Today"s meeting... I want to talk about our revenue..."
The managers looked at each other, frowning. Didn"t the revenue this year is better than last year? With Ryn made a comeback and Harry signed a contract with them, more clients coming to them. Even other models received benefits from both Ryn and Harry.
"Don"t tell me the big boss has just increased our revenue target in the middle of the year?" Mei Li choked out without thinking. Luckily for her, her voice was too low to be heard by everyone except those beside her. Her two "neighbours" looked at her with their face drained of blood.
Oh no...
*~*~*~*
"Why don"t we wait at the café?" Harry suggested once he saw Ryn sending the reply to their manager.
"Yeah, sure," Ryn replied. She had nothing else to do anyway.
Harry smiled widely. He tried to remember which café offered her favourite dessert. He knew she was not a picky eater but he just wanted her to eat delicious food.
For him, she deserved the best.
He managed to open the door for her and even offered her his hand when they were walking to the café. Unaware of what he was thinking, she did not accept it but simply walked toward the café.
Harry sighed. Her shoulders slumped down. He wondered why she did not accept his hand. Hmm… maybe because he did not say anything to her?
"Ryn, wait," he called.
Her walking stopped and she turned her head to look at him. She c.o.c.ked an eyebrow, "Yes?"
He gulped. His mind went blank when he saw her expression. So cute. She was not being deliberate and pretending. She was just being herself but it was enough to send b.u.t.terfly to his stomach.
What should he do now? He was too deep in love with her until every single thing she did make his heart pounded hard.
"Why are you standing under the sun? Come on," Ryn waved her hand at Harry, urging him to start walking. Were they supposed to be under this bright sun while waiting for Mei Li to finish the meeting? If he wanted to do it, he could do it alone. She preferred the air-conditioned café to the hot weather.
He gathered his courage and stepped forward. He would use the chance to confess and hoped for her to accept his little heart. Today, he would do it. No more being shy.
Ryn pushed the door without waiting for him to reach her. She let out a relieved sigh when the coldness from the café hit her warmth face. So cool. So refres.h.i.+ng.
She looked around and saw a lot of tables were empty. She chose one of the tables randomly. It was near the gla.s.s wall so she could see outside the cafe. She looked at him when he finally took a seat in front of her. He was wiping his sweaty face with a tissue.
"Who told you to stand under the sun like a mannequin?" she commented dryly when she saw his fair face already red from the sun.
He grinned sheepishly. He did not answer but he was happy inside. Wasn"t this showed that she was worried about him?
A man approached them. Neither Ryn nor Harry recognized him but he was smiling excitedly.
"h.e.l.lo, welcome to Dairy Summer… senior Si," the waiter said rather excitedly.
Both turned to look at him. He rubbed his nape sheepishly, "My name is Benjamin. I am a first-year student at the university, taking business administration and also in the basketball club."
Ryn looked at Harry, "Wow, senior Si, your fan is everywhere."
Harry could only smile and nodded his head at Benjamin. What else could he do?
"I… I am doing part-time here," Benjamin added without being asked. He quickly looked into the pocket of his ap.r.o.n and took out a notebook.
"Can I… can I have your autograph… please?" he handed his notebook and a pen to Harry.
"Err… sure," Seriously Harry was beginning to regret choosing this café to wait for Mei Li. With this enthusiastic fan of his hovering over them, he just lost his chance to confess to Ryn. He was unhappy but could not show his real feeling. He could only smile bitterly.
Must maintain his face. Must maintain his pride.