8 The Moment she fell for Wang Wei

Taking her hand he led her from the building as they approached his car Changying stopped, "What about my car? How will I get to work tomorrow?"

"We will worry about that tomorrow," His grip on her hand tightened and he pulled her forcefully to his car pushing her in the open door and once again strapping her into the seatbelt himself making sure it was tight. His hand lingered over the pink spots still decorating her chest and he smiled.

Getting into the car, he drove out at speed. She watched the city fly by her before pulling up at an Italian restaurant. He ushered her in and ordered for them quickly, "We'll share," he said by way of explanation.

The wine arrived almost immediately, and she put her hand over her glass, "I don't think I should drink on an empty stomach."

"Nonsense, the food will be here in a moment. Try a little. It's a good bottle." The waiter encouraged and she removed her hand letting him fill the glass, not intending on drinking it. The waiter watched her expectantly. Reluctantly, she pressed the wine to her lips and took a small sip smiling up at him.

"Good, yes?" He said and moved away as cheesy bread arrived with an antipasto platter. She ate and drank happily. Wang asked questions about Chunhua. Changying opened up about being the adult in the house as her mother screwed everything with a penis over the last five years including her ex boyfriend. Wang laughed loudly when Changying referred to Chunhua as a MILF and cougar with predatory tendencies. She told him that the only reason she had shown up at the office was to prey on him.

"Believe me, even before your story, I could have told you she is not my type." Wang continued to laugh good naturedly.

Changying tilted her head startled, "I thought Chunhua was every guy's type?"

He sobered a little and smirked at her, "My type is quieter, intelligent, and even a little bit shy. I can't imagine Chunhua is shy about much," he chuckled. Changying laughed with him, but in the future when she looked back, she would realise this was the moment she fell for Wang Wei.

"So how far have you read in the book I found in your bag?" Wang asked changing the subject. Changying was relaxing as she drank more, helping herself to the huge bowls of pasta that came for them to share. Changying told him about what had happened in the story so far, and they discussed some of the things she could not quite get her head around. He chatted amiably, sharing his take on the book and summarizing the last two chapters for her in the process.

He didn't let her back down as she blushed throughout the conversation, pushing her to explain what she felt about certain characters and scenes. She likened Jacqueline to Chunhua being vain and needing male attention to be validated even though she and O had become lovers, not a girl who could survive the Roissy. Wang leaned back with a pleased smile as the plates were taken away, "How are you feeling now?"

"Great thanks," Changying smiled at him. "With all those carbs I could probably run a marathon, or just go home and sit around reading and waiting to get fatter."

"I have this thing tonight..." Wang began.

"Oh shit. You told me. I forgot!" Changying clamped a hand to her cheek, "I am so sorry. Have I made you late? I lost track of time," Changying began to gather up her bag and try to signal a waiter, "You go," She murmured, "I can pay the bill and catch a cab home."

Wang was chuckling again, "Sit still girl and let me finish." His good humour increased as she immediately sat back into her seat again. The girl across the table from him had intrigued him since the first day he had spoken with her in the research department. He had realised she was intelligent and when she believed she was validated by facts she would stand up to his questioning of her research methods and conclusions. He had tried to gauge her moral and ethical views with the work he gave her to complete recently. He found that even though some of the themes crossed societal norm's she had treated them with the same care and thoroughness in her research as general ideas and themes.