25 The Apology Letter

The succeeding days, Yanmei made sure to avoid Anton. Even as he dropped by her office to give the clothes and shoes Yeong Soon had bought her, she gave him very little attention, only thanked him for his efforts.

Anton was not the type to apologize for his mistakes, so he never did. He tried to make a conversation with Yanmei pertaining to a new client. He said, "Yanmei, maybe we can discuss thoroughly your plan for the new client - "

"Mr. Yeong, the services we offer are the same, regardless of which client. The only thing that will be different for a condominium is how the plan is carried out. Don't worry about me, I got this covered. I'll leave a draft of the presentation to Junsu for your perusal," said Yanmei. She quickly turned back to the computer and resumed her work.

Seeing that Anton was not about to leave, she looked back at him without any reluctance and asked, "Can I help you with anything else, Mr. Yeong?"

Anton became even more disappointed, seeing her treat him differently. Gone were the days that she called him "Girl." Yanmei had completely turned into a different person. He sensed that she was true to her word from their conversation last Friday. Even Yeong Soon told him that Yanmei barely answered her call.

Under normal circumstances, he would have been relieved, but he could not understand why it was eating him up. Apart from his mother's constant pressure, it bothered him to the core.

He was in his office, thinking of what to do. He called Junsu over to his office and when he took a seat, Anton asked, "How do you say sorry without saying the word itself?"

Junsu's eyes scanned his boss's expression before saying, "Mr. Yeong. What is this about?"

Anton leaned back on his seat before taking a deep breath. He said, "I angered Yanmei last Friday when she was with my mother."

"Well… Mr. Yeong, honestly? You simply need to say I'm sorry," suggested Junsu. He then saw his boss try to say the words. His mouth opened and simulated the message, but no sound came out. It made him realize that Anton may not have apologized to anyone before.

"If it is so hard to say it in words, maybe you can write it instead, Mr. Yeong."

"I have bad handwriting!" Anton Reasoned.

"Ah, email? print it? Text her? You have her number, right, Mr. Yeong?"

"Yes, I do. Okay, I'll text her," said Anton while pulling out his phone. He went to his contacts and clicked to compose a message. He then looked back at Junsu, asking, "Do I simply say sorry? How do you even say sorry!"

Anton Yeong threw his phone on the floor, upset of putting so much effort to apologize. He shook his head, realizing; he lacked the skills of doing such.

Junsu immediately went to grab his phone. It was a good thing he had a durable unit and always had it with a shock-proof case.

After handing his boss back his phone, he said, "Mr. Yeong, let me be the one to send the message to Yanmei instead."

Junsu opened Anton's phone and just before composing the text, he asked, "May I know what your argument revolved around on?"

Anton could not take it upon himself to explain to Junsu what had happened. How could he ever tell him that he accused Yanmei of being interested in him? Thus, he gave up the idea, telling his assistant, "Nevermind! You are not very helpful after all! Get out!"

Junsu frantically left the CEO's office, scared out of his wits.

Anton's day ended with little accomplishments at work. Never had he had a very unproductive day. He went home to his penthouse, finding Yanmei's gift on his bedside table. It reminded him further of the pending apology needed to be done.

The next day, Anton came to the office as early as six in the morning. His driver could not help but notice the dark circles around his eyes. He could tell his boss did not have a good rest.

Anton went straight to his office after arriving. He took off his jacket and loosen his tie just before taking a seat. He opened his laptop and searched online: How to apologize without saying "Sorry".

After getting a few pointers, he opened his email and took a deep breath before he began composing his apology letter.

Yanmei arrived a little over seven in the morning, and the first thing she did was check her outlook. She immediately saw an email from Anton with a subject line: Meeting Today.

She wondered if she had forgotten an appointment. She seemed not to have penciled any on her calendar. She quickly opened the email and read.

After going through the message, she said to herself, "Wow! Can this guy get any less serious? He could have just said I'm sorry."

When she read the last part, her eyes grew wide in complete disbelief. She said, "So I have to set up an appointment?!"

She soon ended up laughing hysterically at Anton's efforts. She had never received such an expression of regret yet still demanding at the same time. She said, "Girl, you badly need to chill!"

Anton's apology letter read:

Dear Ms. Xia Yanmei,

Greetings!

It was unfortunate that my work last Friday was disrupted by my mother's actions. Supplementary to it affecting my valuable time, I was led to believe that my mother may be in danger. You can imagine one's frustration under such a circumstance.

It resulted to my indiscretion, and my confrontation with you has made me regret. I spoke without thinking, and my approach degenerated into something reprehensible.

I recognized that I was at fault and I wish to speak with you today so we can go over what went wrong. We must rectify the situation.

These are the available times for me today, kindly coordinate with Junsu your equally convenient time for us to discuss this over coffee.

11 AM

3 PM

5 PM

I look forward to your favorable response.

Sincerely,

Anton Yeong