Chapter 83: Secretary for a day

Jia Yi knew he needed to hold the fort for the couple that day as he postponed a few scheduled meetings and aided Qiu Yeh with the finalisation of the contract while working alongside Joy for the first time. 

He finds Joy may be playful most of the time but she can be very dedicated to her passion, just like Xue Ting. The results of her sketch were close to Xue Ting's level. 

After a hectic few days, Jia Yi for once was glad he got to leave work on time the moment he sent the contract to the Auspicary couple. However, his joy did not last long when Francesca's secretary, Liew Wei caught him midway.

"Jia Yi!" Liew Wei called out as Jia Yi smiled trying to hide his agitation. 

"Hi, Liew Wei." Jia Yi was cordial as he thought there might be a work-related conversation she wanted to have but she surprised him when she passed him a box of cake.

"Just thought you would want to a slice of… cake from the tea break earlier." Jia Yi found her strange as she had never approached him for anything else other than work-related. Here she was being too friendly in front of him now. 

"Just take it… We had too many…" Liew Wei forced the cake into his hand noticing his doubtful self and hesitation. 

"Thank you…" Jia Yi said politely watching Liew Wei quickly hastened her steps back to the lift lobby.

Though he was suspicious, he still opened up the box to find it was from the bakery behind him which Pam was busy closing for the day. He shrugged at his free dessert for dinner without thinking further instead.

Little did he know his suspicions were right. He regretted ever doubting himself as he was down with diarrhea that whole night and he had to call for medical leave the next day. 

Xue Ting picked up the call instead from Qiu Wen's mobile noticing her tired husband was still asleep. 

"Hello?" Xue Ting whispered. 

"Aww, Sicily…" Jia Yi sounded weak which alarmed Xue Ting. 

"Are you alright Jia Yi? You sounded sick…" Qiu Wen woke as he rubbed his eyes, half agitated with his secretary calling so early to bother him. He nudged Xue Ting to pass the phone to him.

"I need… to take medical… leave… Diarrhea…." Jia Yi managed to say before the line went dead which startled Xue Ting who gasped.

"Sweetie get up! Quick! Do you know where Jia Yi lives? I think he had bad diarrhea! Let's go check on him in case anything happens!" Xue Ting alerted before heading into the washroom as Qiu Wen quickly jumped out of bed to get ready.

True enough they found Jia Yi crawling to open the door for them weakly before falling onto the ground, all exhausted from purging the whole night. After sending him to the hospital to be warded, Xue Ting could roughly tell who the culprit was from Jia Yi's brief explanation of last night's encounter. 

"Don't worry Jia Yi. I will be his secretary for today. Rest all you want." Xue Ting's offer had a hidden meaning but Jia Yi had lost all the energy to pursue the matter and could only hope things would turn out fine. 

While in the office, Qiu Wen had a hard time getting used to having Xue Ting being very formal with him. "Mr. Tang, there's a meeting scheduled before lunch. Most probably you could invite them to an after-meeting lunch, I can make the arrangements." Xue Ting briefed Qiu Wen who cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Thereafter, your next meeting will be at 4 pm. If this too crosses over to dinner time, I could arrange dinner." She continued nonchalantly noting silence meant he did not mind as he rolled his eyes. 

"How do you do it so… normal… I…" Qiu Wen chuckled at the absurdity. 

"Mr. Tang, we are at work. Keep it professional. That simple. Nothing personal." She winked as he could not help but to be smitten.

"I shall leave you to your work Mr. Tang. If you have anything you need, feel free to let me know." She excused herself and ignored him needing a hug. Instead, with her sharp eyes, she noticed someone was scurrying away at the alleyway when she stepped out of Qiu Wen's office. She had a feeling the person had been eavesdropping on her briefing earlier. 

Xue Ting headed to the nearest ladies' washroom instantly and hid in one of the cubicles as she sat and waited with her phone ready to record anything. Lucky for her, she heard footsteps approaching before finally a conversation. 

"Ms. Wei, there's a meeting at 4 pm. That should be the one with Mr. Quan." The voice spoke over the phone as Xue Ting squinted her eyes knowing who exactly the lady was speaking to. 

Francesca.

"Alright. Yes, he is on medical leave today but Ms. Wei, Mr. Tang had brought Mrs. Tang as his secretary for today." Xue Ting could tell the lady speaking must be the secretary of Francesca as she kept her phone recording. 

"Alright, I will make the arrangements for you." The lady hung up the call and flushed the toilet instantly before stepping out. A new pair of ladies came into the washroom moments later while Xue Ting was thinking to herself. 

"Looks like Mrs. Tang is the secretary for the day." A high-pitched tone of voice was heard diverting Xue Ting's attention to the ladies.

"Jia Yi had never taken medical leaves before. Barely… I'm telling you this must be Liew Wei's scheme. Ever since she and Ms. Wei came over, there had not been a peaceful day at all for Jia Yi. That poor man…" Another voice said it as they both sighed in unison.

"Looks like she is up to no good again seeing how she rushed off earlier. Let's hope Mrs. Tang can handle the day without many issues. I heard Mr. Quan's order is a big one too. I'm sure Ms. Wei will want to grab the chance again to prove herself." The high-pitched voice said while flushing.

"When will we get a company trip this way if she keeps sending the sales numbers all downhill?" The other voice lamented while the ladies washed their hands and left the washroom.

Xue Ting sighed when she was finally alone. She did not believe she was so lucky to have so many insights as she quickly sneaked out of the washroom. 

While arranging for lunch and dinner appointments when Qiu Wen was in the first meeting, she decided to reach out to Mr. Quan's secretary to request to bring forward the meeting half an hour earlier on purpose. That way she would be able to sabotage any of Francesca's plans that would wreck the deal. Fortunately for Xue Ting, Mr. Quan's side finally agreed to the last-minute changes while Qiu Wen was at lunch with the client, Mr. Jiu. 

Xue Ting had no choice but to step inside to interrupt and whisper to Qiu Wen about the arrangement cause he was not checking his phone and they would be running late. 

"Mr. Jiu, my apologies I have to make a move first as my next meeting has been shifted half an hour earlier due to an unforeseen situation. Don't worry about leaving. Please continue to enjoy lunch at our expense and we look forward to our collaboration." Qiu Wen said as Mr. Jiu smiled and nodded watching Xue Ting leave the room.

"What happened to your secretary? How come your Design Advisor is at work today?" Mr. Jiu could not help but ask as Qiu Wen chuckled.

"The business grew and lately it had been very busy. I have let my secretary attend to other matters. Besides, my Design Advisor's expertise is required in the next meeting. So, she had tagged along." Qiu Wen explained nonchalantly. 

"You're one lucky man to have your wife supporting you that way. Looking forward to collaborating with you, Mr. Tang. Glad to see you're making good use of Ms. Liew's talent." Mr. Jiu praised.

"Thank you, Mr. Jiu." Qiu Wen thanked him politely. 

"Was wondering if she could help to design a custom jewellery someday for my wife. I haven't been gifting anything precious to her for a long time. I have heard about the recent update on customising jewelry?" Mr. Jiu requested as Qiu Wen nodded.

"Sure. That part of the business is still under consideration. Anyway, I will let her know and we could arrange a time to get to know the details to personalise the gift?" Qiu Wen suggested as Mr. Jiu smiled.

"I already have in mind. Anything of the design using peach blossoms. It's her favorite season of the year." Mr. Jiu said as Qiu Wen was impressed at his impromptu detailed request.

"Deal. I will get my Design Advisor to email you the sketches the next few days before we commence with production." Qiu Wen offered as they both reached a consensus as Qiu Wen rushed off with Xue Ting to the next meeting.

Xue Ting was so busy speeding him to the next location that she had no time to explain the sudden changes made but briefly went through the important points Jia Yi had highlighted to prepare him for the next meeting. 

When Qiu Wen stepped into the client's meeting room, still trying to catch his breath discreetly, Mr. Quan instantly asked. "What's the rush, Mr. Tang? I nearly thought you had too much time in between to carry forward earlier. Look at you rushing over… Come, come. Have some tea." 

Qiu Wen too felt strange about it but had no chance to check with Xue TIng earlier. He shook Mr. Quan's hands before making a smart excuse. 

"Apologies, Mr. Quan but I'm trying to make time to take my wife out for a surprise dinner date tonight. As you can see, the business grew and things have been so busy that I don't want her to feel neglected." 

"Oh, I can see today she was accompanying you instead of your secretary. You're one lucky man, Mr. Tang!" Mr. Quan chuckled as they sat and continued discussing business while Xue Ting was waiting for the culprits to appear soon.