Chapter 4: A Lunch Escape
Mei did not recall how she got home, everything felt like a big numbness suffocating the last bit of life out of her.
Surprisingly she handled herself pretty well given the circumstances. She remembered operating completely on auto-pilot after the meeting and accomplished quite a load of tasks before the day drew to an end. Despite her resentment, there honestly wasn't anything that would put golden boy in the dog pin: he was polite, definitely intelligent, and respectful.
Mei turned on some Michael Buble and closed her eyes to relax. Somehow the soothing voice of Michael always calms her down and brings out clarity. She’s not the kind of girl to quit or take her loss that easily. After things were put into perspectives, she realized the situation could be not as bad as she had first thought.
Before she could draw up a plan for a comeback, the phone rang. Who in the world still calls people instead of texting? Mei reluctantly turned down the music and dug out the phone from her purse. The number looked familiar enough that she decided to answer.
“Hi Mei, this is Dan.”
“Oh, Hi!” Mei was caught off guard but pleasantly surprised.
“So I got your text, and decided to call you… you know I am old-school.” Was she mistaken or did Dan just try to apologize for calling? Either way, she thought it was cute.
“Dan, I am glad you called. I had a great time on Saturday.” Mei quickly replied and tried to sound as cheerful as she could.
Even though this was only their second phone conversation, somehow Dan sounded close to her, like an old friend. It might be their first date, or her horrible day at work, that made her just felt like holding on to Dan’s voice, as long as possible.
Dan called to ask Mei out again on a second date, which would take place the coming Saturday at a nearby park. Mei happily accepted and was truly looking forward to spend more time with him. They talked about everything from the weather to the recent Presidential election, Mei was amazed to find how well she and Dan clicked, the conversation just seemed to go on and on, until it was almost midnight and they had to say goodbye.
The rest of the week flew by just like that. Mei was a little overwhelmed by the amount of work the project has brought on. It wasn’t until Friday that she finally took a break to have lunch in the company cafeteria. Carrying with her a best seller by Steven King, she picked a table away from the crowd; hoping to escape from all the madness, even just for an hour.
“Mei!” The quietness didn’t last long before Lin-lin, dressed in her favorite baseball jersey, approached with a bowl of garden salad, “Where have you been? I have not seen you in ages!” Lin-lin could be a little dramatic from time to time.
“I’ve been kind of busy, working on that CNR project…” Mei hesitantly put her book down and got herself ready for a pile of more questions. One thing for sure, Lin-lin was born to work in the HR department, she’s extra extroverted and just a bit too nosy. Mei has heard too much gossip about others rom Lin-Lin that she decided it was best to keep anything personal to herself.
“I’ve heard! Congratulations! I mean a deputy is better than nothing right?” by this time Lin-Lin had invited herself to eat lunch at the same table. She was born in China, immigrated to the US with her parents at a very young age. They both have the same workout schedules at the company gym and therefore became sort of like friends. Lin-Lin was in her early 20’s, and has a tom-boyish vibrant personality. She was one of the few lucky ones that landed a job at the company’s international HR department right after college about a year ago.
“Yeah, thank you. I mean work’s been really busy so I’ve not been able to …” As Mei was hoping to dodge any potential questions from lin-lin, she noticed Lin-lin’s eyes suddenly doubled in size and stared intensely behind Mei.
Before Mei could turn around, golden boy was already standing next to their table, holding a bowl of soup, “I apologize if I’ve interrupted your lunch, Ms Li. I thought I’d catch you before I forget. Could you make sure the manning plan get finalized before you leave today? I would like to review it during the weekend.”
Mei hasn’t seen golden boy for a couple of days, he’s pretty much locked himself in the office full time to digest the mountains of documentation Mei had left on his desk. Looking up, Mei was surprised to see a hint of dark circles under his eyes, which instantly aged his appearance from the college frat years. Obviously he didn’t get the memo about jersey Fridays and was wearing a pair of dark gray slacks and a light yellow dress shirt, which was just tight enough to draw out the muscular outlines of his body from beneath.
“Sure thing, I just need a final walk through before sending it your way.” Mei tried to sound as calm as possible; she hated being micro-managed like she’s not responsible enough for the job. Guess this is part of the package of being a deputy instead of the real thing. That reminded Mei maybe she should stand up in the presence of her boss, but in hope to shorten his stay, she decided on playing the lady card instead.
Lin-Lin was very frustrated that Mei had not taken her hint for an introduction; to take matters into her own hands, she stood up with a friendly smile, warm enough to melt a glacier: “Hi, I don’t believe we have met.”
Mei’s plan to get back to lunch failed as Lin-Lin successfully grabbed golden boy’s attention, now to avoid being the only one still sitting, she reluctantly stood up and said: “Lin-Lin, this is gold – I mean Mr. Broderick, our new CNR project lead. Mr. Broderick, this is Lin-Lin…”
“I work for the HR, its nice meeting you! You must be new here; any questions concerning your benefit, call me!” Lin-Lin’s half joking half serious self introduction was accompanied by her overwhelming excitement. Golden boy responded with an amusing smile, “The pleasure’s all mine, call me Jesse.”
Mei was not in the mood to witness the back and forth flirting between the two. For heaven’s sake, neither of them does she consider her favorite person in the world. She packed up her leftover sandwich and pretended to notice the time: “oh mine! Would you please excuse me, I’ve got to get ready for the next meeting. And Mr. Broderick, the plan will be on your desk by 3pm today.”
Mei was not thrilled that her lunch escape was ruined; though she did purposely leave the clueless golden boy with Lin-Lin for investigation. Her own curiosity had taken over and she truly hoped Lin-Lin can dig out how in the world did he land the job that should have belonged to her in the first place.
