Not the Usual
Maeve was almost home.
She entered the tall building and hit the elevator button. She lived on the 15th floor. Her apartment was small and a bit cramped with her roommate Nina but they made it work. Nina Chang had been friends with Maeve Choi since college. They both graduated with degrees in Art and Design however Maeve had taken an internship at the gallery which had now turned into a permanent position, and Nina had opted for a more reliable and stable job as a content creator for a local fashion brand.
Most of Nina's work could be done from home which suited her introverted personality. Nina's only friends were Maeve and her long-distance boyfriend Yi XiaoWen.
Maeve felt exhausted. She typed in the keycode to the apartment and kicked off her heels which had been killing her feet. The black stilettos were swiftly exchanged for a pair of soft pink bunny slippers.
"Oh hey!" Nina said twisting around to see Maeve.
Nina was curled up on their powder blue sofa, wavy brown hair in a messy bun on the top of her head. Her blue-light protective glasses were at the end of her nose and her laptop warm in her lap. Maeve gave her a weak wave and fell into a slump at the other end of the sofa.
"Hard day?" Nina asked, setting her laptop aside on the glass coffee table.
"Not hard, just tiring," Maeve yawned. It was almost midnight. She had taken over an hour to get home despite their apartment being in the heart of the city; traffic had made getting a taxi difficult.
"Mmm..." Nina nodded and got back to staring at the bright screen on her laptop, "I have a deadline tomorrow," she explained, "I'm stuck on what else to write. I mean there are only so many things you can say about floral summer dresses, ya know?"
Maeve nodded and dragged herself to look in the fridge. Their kitchen was an open style with a complete view of the small living area.
Nothing but milk and three eggs.
"Oh yeah, we need groceries," Nina added.
Maeve sighed. "I'll pick them up tomorrow," she said and reached for the trusty drawer that held their extensive menu collection.
I guess it's takeaway again.
"Do you want anything from Lee's?" Maeve asked.
"Just get me the usual," Nina replied.
---
Both girls curled up on the sofa with their fried chicken drumsticks in hand while a repeat of a popular Chinese drama played on the flat screen TV.
"I met an interesting guy today..." Maeve told her friend.
Nina scrunched her nose and pushed up her glasses, "Oh? In the coffee shop?"
"No, in the gallery."
"I thought you said you wouldn't date a client," Nina's voice was muffled by her loud munching.
"Who said anything about dating?" Maeve frowned, "Anyway... he's not really a client. He's an assistant at Zen Investments."
"Oooh," Nina had now lowered her chicken thigh; this seemed more interesting.
"But he's not your typical assistant," Maeve continued, "He's young and really kind of... sexy, and he doesn't have that boring zombie-like attitude that most office workers have-"
"Uh huh," Nina nodded, mouth full.
Maeve smiled at her eager friend. "Don't get any ideas, I'm just saying that he was unusual."
"Unusually sexy," Nina smiled mischievously, her cheeks puffy and stuffed with fried chicken.
Maeve grabbed her small friend's foot. Her right hand hovered and threatened to tickle.
"Oh Mae Mae please don't!" Nina squeaked and squirmed around while Maeve attacked her ribs and that sweet spot under Nina's chubby chin.
"Waaah!!! Okay! Okay! I surrender! Gah! My God! You were the one who brought it up!"
Maeve fell back into the sofa, red-faced and grabbed the white fluffy blanket that had fallen on the floor. She wrapped herself up tightly and her thoughts wandered to that guy, what was his name? Right, Henry. Gosh, even his name was sexy, his muscular arms, and that stupid smile. Why did he smile so much?
---
6:00 am
The next day at the Ritz-Carlton, Henry had been up for two hours already. Truth be told, he hadn't really slept. There was a thirteen hour difference between Chicago and Shanghai and while he didn't want anyone to think him a weakling, the jetlag was starting to affect him.
He had raided the minibar and had eaten every energy bar and drunk every electrolyte drink. Along with some weird probiotic yogurt thing and two mini bottles of vodka. Now was this a healthy meal?
No, but he thought it inconsiderate to call room service in the wee hours of the morning. Just because it was a five star hotel didn't mean that the workers were slaves who should wait on him hand and foot. He had been waiting for that clock to hit six for two hours.
"Can I get a full breakfast?" he asked over the room phone.
The receptionist sounded strangely perky. 'I guess they probably take shifts' he thought.
"And a pot of coffee," he added. The receptionist took his requests with a cheerful and friendly attitude. He had to admit that the service here was impeccable.
After filling his stomach and straining himself to complete fifty pushups, Henry jumped in for a cold shower and intended to get dressed.
He paused when he looked at his outfit he lad laid out on the bed. Yesterday at Zen Tower, Henry had noticed a clear dress code, so a suit it was. He felt suffocated in the tight collar buttons and tie. After wrestling with the length of the tie for ten minutes he aggressively pulled it off and threw it on the hotel room floor.
No tie, he decided.
Henry asked the receptionist to call him a car and while he waited in the spacious hotel lobby he caught a glimpse of his refection in the large mirrored ceiling above him. The dress shoes were constrictive and he wasn't used to having his hair slicked back. He ran his fingers through his hair to break up the strict style.
"Mr.Xin, your car is waiting outside," said a pretty female receptionist with a bashful smile, "You look good today, sir," she added.
Henry's eyebrows twitched for a second and he mumbled a quiet, "Yeah, eh thanks."
---
At Zen Tower, the president was arriving at his usual early time. Liu Ming walked into the building, expecting to hear the usual symphony of, 'Good mornings'.
However today, he didn't.
He actually paused before pressing the elevator button and looked around.
The foyer was unusually empty and an annoying sound of chatter and laughter could be heard echoing.
Ming frowned when he saw Pan Yingjie enter the building, clutching his drab brown briefcase.
"What is all of this?" he asked the secretary, "and what is that God awful sound!?"
"Huh?" Pan Yingjie looked a little confused, but then his ears caught wind of the sound of people laughing, "Oh sir, I'm not sure. I will go see what the commotion is about, immediately."
Pan walked quickly through the foyer and followed the chattering sound until it led him to the company cafeteria. There, he instantly noticed a large group of employees all crowded around a table. They were talking and joking, at the center of the fuss was a grinning Mr. Xin.
"Mr. Xin tell us what happened after that!" said one male employee from the sales department. "Mr. Xin, please have another cup of coffee," said a female office worker from the accounting department.
Henry graciously accepted the coffee, he was running on ninety percent caffeine now and ten percent sleep.
"Mr. Xin," Pan Yingjie interrupted and the group sort of froze when they saw the president standing a few feet behind the secretary.
Lui Ming's eyes were cold and his demeanor stoic.
"Oh, good morning," Henry stood up and smiled unfazed by his cousin's staring. "I thought I'd try the company coffee, then... I met a few nice staff members," he gestured to the now white-faced employees. "They just wanted to hear about life back in Chicago and how different things are there."
Pan Yingjie looked worried, "Sir we can have the coffee brought to your office," he spoke through his teeth and tried separating Henry from the crowd.
"DON'T YOU ALL HAVE SOMEWHERE TO BE?" Liu Ming exploded, "How lovely! You've all clocked in and decided to have a little party!" he continued, "I wasn't aware I was paying you to partake in idle gossip and chit-chat!"
"Our apologies Mr. President," the group echoed and after quickly bowing their heads, they all dispersed like steam from a kettle.
Henry scratched his neck and picked up his coffee cup. He drank the last sip and pulled on his navy blue blazer over his pale blue shirt.
"Cousin, no need to get red in the face," he smiled and gave Liu Ming a soft pat on the back, "It's not even 08:00 am yet."
---
Upstairs in the president's office, Liu Ming paced like a man waiting to hear a newborn cry. His mind was muddled and his blood was boiling.
Henry had only been in the city for two days and he was already chummy with the staff. Clearly this kid wasn't going to be easy.
Liu Ming concluded that he'd have to try harder to distract his cousin.
---
On the other hand, Henry felt good. The caffeine had done its work and he felt energized. Pan Yingjie had shown him to a newly set up office on the front-facing side of the building, directly across from Gallery 40.
"I hope it meets your standards," Pan said quietly, "I'll erm... have them bring a coffee machine too... that way you can have coffee whenever you'd like-"
"Is my cousin annoyed?" Henry asked.
Pan Yingjie closed the door to the office, secluding them away from any ears and he looked slightly embarrassed. "No, of course not. The president just has a certain protocol for staff, not for you of course! You may do anything you'd like sir."
Henry clenched his jaw and nodded, "So... can I have access to the information on the gallery event?"
Pan Yingjie was perplexed. He watched Henry slip into his leather chair behind his new desk and crack his knuckles.
"Sir I'll make sure that you're on the guest list. An invitation will be sent to your-"
"That's not what I mean."
Henry frowned and his usual charming expression had changed into a peeved look of annoyance.
"Did my cousin instruct you to keep my locked up in this little office?" he questioned the secretary, "Did he tell you that I wasn't supposed to be involved in any decision-making?"
Pan Yingjie didn't reply.
"Funny, because last I remembered it was my grandfather who specifically asked me to come here, and it was my father who founded this company."
Pan Yingjie stuttered, "Of course, yes, of course sir. I'll have the events team forward you all of the details," he gulped.
Henry stared at the painting on the wall before glancing back at the secretary, "Good."
...