Meeting

Yan Shu walked through the entrance, drawing gazes as she went. "I'm being expected," she told the maître. "They should be under the Chen Groups."

The man looked through the appointment book. "Mr. Chen and his associates, yes. May I take your name please?"

"Lu Yan Shu."

He wrote it down on the book. "Please follow me." He guided her into the private room upstairs.

As soon as she walked in, Yan Shu felt mesmerized by the room. Instead of electrical lights, the whole place was illuminated by candles atop the tables and on the chandeliers. The whole room was a little warm due to that, but fortunately, she chose to wear light clothes.

She walked into the private room. President Chen sat at a table with Tang Feng, his secretary, and the Chen's representative. Go Jichen was his name if she recalled correctly. The room had a large window from where she could see the city.

"Ms. Lu," Go Jichen stood up and greeted her. He wore a black suit similar to Tang Feng's. 

President Cheng was the odd one out, dressed in a perfectly tailored silver tuxedo with black outlines. He wore it with a white shirt underneath and a black bow tie. He looked much more attractive than his companions, though it did feel like he was distracted by something.

"Mr. Go, it's nice to see you again. You too president Chen and Mr. Tang." She greeted the trio and took a seat.

***

Chen Mu Sheng froze after seeing Yan Shu. She looked so beautiful with her black dress and hair wrapped in a bun.

Go Jichen gave him a discreet nudge, breaking him out of his stupor.

He knew he had to say something, so he said, "Miss Lu." And that's all he had. He didn't know what to say next, so the room was enveloped by an awkward silence.

***

The silence felt uncomfortable. Was president Chen worried about something perhaps? "This is a nice room," she mentioned, trying to break the silence. "But why candles instead of normal lights?"

"Our boss is always working under heavy lights," Tang Feng answered. "So when not at work, he prefers some dimmer lighting."

Yan Shu nodded. So that would explain why he chose this restaurant. "Well, it's certainly nice, though it does feel a bit warm in here."

"Yes, that's an unfortunate side effect," Go Jichen said. "But changing the subject, will your colleagues take too long to arrive?"

"Oh, they're not coming, unfortunately," she answered, worried that it could negatively affect their agreement. "The mother of two of them had an accident and had to be rushed to the hospital. Right now they're all there with her." After answering, Yan Shu could swear that she saw Tang Feng and Go Jichen smile, but they were back to normal the next instant. Was she imagining things?

"I'm sorry to hear that," Chen Mu Sheng finally spoke something. "I hope that she gets well soon." Just as he finished speaking, someone's phone ringed.