Jeremy liked to use the power of his high status to put things right. Whatever he had decided, there was no way for him to change. For this reason, no one could ever say no to him. What he said was law.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the room after his departure. They all looked at each other, bewildered. Then, finally, they began to chatter about what had just happened.
What could have happened to cause the boss to do something like this?
The office was dead silent when Barry returned. You could've heard a pin drop when he said, "Postpone the meeting."
With a heavy heart, Barry was forced to call Mr. Wu's secretary with the news. "I apologize," he said. "Something urgent has come up and I'm afraid my boss is unavailable." He sighed and added reluctantly, "We'll have to postpone the meeting until tomorrow morning."
The secretary replied courteously to him, but made it clear what this setback would mean—the cooperation would likely be cancelled.
Sherry could feel the medication was working. Her eyelids were becoming heavier by the minute. However, she forced herself to keep them open and refrained from lying down. She wouldn't be able to sleep that night if she dozed off now.
She wasn't sure if Jeremy would come or not this night. If he came while she couldn't fall asleep, they would stare at each other. How embarrassing!
The thought of that was almost as embarrassing as what had happened last night. She'd had a moment of weakness, sleeping with his arms holding her tightly against him. She remembered his skin was burning hot.
She didn't have a good night's sleep, and neither did Jeremy.
She thought she might be able to talk to the nurse when Jeremy was around, but it wasn't so appropriate after all, as the nurse had far more important things to do.
Her mind wandered as she played absently with her phone. A knock at the door snapped her back to reality.
She took a deep breath in to calm her nerves. "Come in," she said as calmly as she could muster. Her eyes were fixed quizzically on the door as it opened.
She was relieved to see that it was Chester.
Sherry noted that he was wearing a casual beige suit. 'He looks clean', she thought as he walked towards her. He smiled his bright, gentle smile like he always did when he saw her. She always felt lighter and happier in his presence.
He was carrying several bags with him. His face lit up as soon as he met her eyes. "Hello!" he beamed.
"Hi," she muttered back as enthusiastically as she could. It seemed too early for him to be here. She checked the time on her phone for confirmation. 'He isn't meant to be off yet, why is he here?'
He dumped a heavy-looking bag down on the table. His hand had red lines from where it had been cutting into him. She gestured towards the sofa. "Please sit."
"Let me get you some water," she added. She was about to climb out of bed, but he raised his hand to stop her. "I don't need water Sherry, just stay in bed and relax."
He grabbed a chair, pulling it right up to the edge of the bed to sit next to her. "Are you feeling any better?" he said softly.
"Oh I'm fine," she said shyly. 'He cares about me,' she thought bashfully. "It hurts, but only a little," she paused. "Mr. Gu, why are you here? What I mean is, aren't you meant to be at work?"
"Well I just, um, left early," Chester said rubbing his neck and not meeting her eyes. 'I would be here with you every second of the day if I could', he thought to himself.
He shook his head, as if shaking off the thought. "Like I told you, Sherry, it was just business." He sighed and squeezed his eyes tightly shut. "You weren't meant to get hurt...I'm not just some money-hungry capitalist!" He had a very serious look on his face and there was meaning in his words. "I'm going to take care of you, I wouldn't just discard you like you don't matter," he added.
Chester's words left her speechless. She looked at him in disbelief for a few seconds. She had to gather herself to respond.
"Thank you, Mr. Gu!" she stammered. She met his gaze. There was sincerity in her bright, startlingly blue eyes.
"You're welcome. It was nothing, really," he replied quickly. He stood abruptly, walking over to the bag he'd brought. He rummaged through it and pulled out an assortment of food and books. "I brought you some food, fruit and things like that. There are some books too. They're all funny ones, so you have something to read when you get bored." He then pulled a knife from the bag. He busied himself with peeling one of the apples he'd brought her, as he returned to his seat.
"I don't know how to thank you," Sherry muttered. She shrugged, acting helpless, enjoying this unexpected attention.
"By the way there's no need to worry about work either. I've approved your paid leave," he said. "So all you need to do is stay here and rest."
"That's amazing news, thank you!" She couldn't help but smile at him as she said it.
She had only been working for less than a month. And this was already the second time she had asked for leave. She was sure Langston would give her the cold shoulder again.
But now she was confused. Did Chester somehow know that Langston didn't like her?
"Your colleagues know that you're injured. They understand the situation," Chester said gently. "They're all just worried about you. And they won't mind covering your work while you're gone. You just need to look after yourself and focus on getting better," he added with a caring smile. He finished peeling the apple and handed it to her.
"They all wanted to come and visit you too. But they didn't want to disturb your rest." He watched her eating the apple he'd given her and thought how lovely she looked.
"That's okay, I don't need any visitors. I wouldn't want to cause any fuss!" she said timidly. She felt mortified at the thought of being the center of attention at work.
She had only just moved here and she barely knew anyone at work yet. She wasn't stupid to believe that they did care about her injuries. They were only acting concerned because she was close to Chester.
"So nobody else visited you today?" he asked.
Sherry couldn't read what he meant by that. The first person that came to mind was Jessie, but she soon forgot about her. "No. You're the first one," she said nonchalantly.
Chester smiled to himself. He had expected Jeremy to be here when he'd arrived.
But it appeared that Jeremy was not around. He hadn't even visited today.
"Wasn't Jeremy here last night? Has he not been to see you today?" Chester tried to sound as casual as possible.
'Why is he bringing up Jeremy?' She was thrown by his comment. Hearing his name made her frown unconsciously. "He had something he had to get done at work. He left early."
Chester said nothing. He was clearly unsatisfied with her answer. Eventually she broke the silence and made small talk. She completely ignored anything about Jeremy.
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