Chapter 5

"D-Don't you think it's such a coincidence, Bruce?" Kate stammered. "Nancy's back in Joddesdon and Saza and even has a boyfriend now." Elders always knew how to make strange emphasis. However, this didn't interest Bruce in the slightest. He glanced at his watch and reminded, "The auction is about to begin." "Oh dear, I almost lost track of the time." Kate grabbed my hand affectionately and said, "I'll treat you to dinner next time. Bring your boyfriend along so I can meet him." I didn't take her words to heart, knowing she was just being polite. I only nodded in silence. Kate, on the other hand, didn't seem satisfied. She shot Bruce a look and said, "Well? Say something." Bruce sneered, "Are you two that close?" The atmosphere immediately fell to freezing point. Bruce had a point. Kate and I wouldn't have known one another if it weren't for him. I took the opportunity to leave gracefully. "I still have matters to attend to, Kate and Mr. Harold, so I'll be leaving first." I had been waiting for the right time to say just that. After giving Bruce whatever respect was due, I calmly left the scene. As I walked away, I heard Kate's faint question: "Why is Nancy calling you Mr. Harold?" She was trying to glean more information from Bruce. I massaged my temples and silently walked toward the furniture store. Half an hour later, I'd purchased an air purifier. The seller's service was pretty good. They offered to deliver the machine to the office for free. Only after that did I go downstairs. When the elevator reached the third floor, the food and restaurant area, a crowd entered with Douglas as their lead. He was wearing a black jacket over a white tee and slacks. With the addition of the silver-framed glasses perched on his nose, he looked quite like a reliable husband. Douglas hadn't gone straight to work after graduating. Instead, he stayed behind to work as a lecturer. If I guessed right, the people flocking to him were probably his students. Douglas had always been able to easily make connections, after all. Just as I was hesitating whether I should say hello to him, he spotted me. He walked over with a smile and said, "What a coincidence, Nancy." The young students tagging along saw me. One of them teased, "Whoo! You're pretty lucky when it comes to meeting women, Mr. Irvin." "Stop that," Douglas said gently. He then explained, "She and I were in the same graduating year at university. You guys should be calling her Ms. Fisher." The students immediately composed themselves and greeted, "Hello, Ms. Fisher." I was amused by how silly they were acting. When the elevator reached the first floor, the students ran off together as if they'd premeditated it. Some of them even asked me to look after their lecturer. Douglas had drunk some wine. We went to the parking lot where I called him a cab. When Douglas saw how I stayed outside the car, he asked, "Aren't you coming with me?" "It'd be an inconvenient trip," I said truthfully. Worried he might feel burdened, I added, "But I've already called a cab of my own." Douglas sighed softly and exited the car. This time, there was a beige checkered handbag in his hands. "The website's front-end development from last time couldn't have been successful without you," he said earnestly. "This is for you, as thanks." Coincidentally, the handbag was just big enough for my laptop. It was finely crafted with high-quality leather, though, which meant it must be expensive. I refused the gift. "I don't think accepting this would be appropriate. I didn't help all that much." "You don't like it?" Douglas said, disappointed. "Looks like I have bad taste when it comes to choosing presents." "I didn't mean it like that." "Then take it," Douglas insisted, which was a rare sight. "I acted too impulsively this time, but there won't be a next time, promise." He even looked remorseful. I knew rejecting his show of thanks was difficult on him, so I didn't trouble him any further—nodding begrudgingly. Douglas then got into the car. Before he left, he told me to text him once I reached home. As the black BMW disappeared from sight, I walked toward the subway station. A couple of steps forward, and there came the click of a lighter to my left. I glanced over curiously and saw Bruce standing not far away. His expression was unreadable behind the veil of cigarette smoke. As I continued walking in silence, he suddenly said, "So this is the new model you changed to?" Bruce was looking at my handbag as he spoke, his gaze piercing. I had no idea when he'd showed up nor why he was interested in my handbag. All of a sudden, I recalled what Cindy had asked me earlier today at the office. Perhaps Bruce mistook me for having bought a new laptop. What was the big deal? It was just a change of laptops. I met his gaze and said calmly, "I don't think that's within the investor's power to control, no?" Bruce paused for a moment and took a large drag from his cigarette before tossing it away and leaving. I'd successfully pissed him off. This was not good. I should restrain myself better. I didn't want Caroline to return to the company only to find that things had taken a turn for the worse. I went to work as usual the next morning. I was glad to see that Bruce wasn't in sight downstairs, but this feeling was slowly eroded by a local courier service. "Ms. Lane, laptop delivery." "Ms. Lane, here's a laptop bag for you." "Ms. Lane… " When the eighth delivery was made and the box opened, antihistamines were found to be inside. Vanessa Wright, our receptionist, was particularly nosy. She pointed at the package sender's name and said, "They're all from Mr. Harold? Damn, hot and rich. What an extraordinary boyfriend Cindy has!" Cindy couldn't hide the joy in her eyes as she gazed at the pile of packages. She closed her office door, blushing all the while. She then started unwrapping the packages while making a phone call. My seat was quite close to the office space, so I could easily hear Cindy's words. "Oh, Bruce. You must've spent a lot of money buying all these, huh? "This won't do. How about I buy you lunch in return?" Cindy giggled as Bruce said something to her over the call. "There you go making fun of me again." My lips curled into a mocking smile as I looked down at my laptop. The symbols on the keyboard keys had long faded away. An unwanted prize-turned-present only gotten after six years of pining was incomparable to specially chosen gifts. After lunch break, David handed me his finished code for me to review. Having given it some thought, I knocked on Cindy's office door. When I went inside, she was in the middle of setting up her new laptop. It was from a famous brand and was rose gold colored. It was worth at least 10,000 dollars. How generous of Bruce. Cindy looked embarrassed when she saw me. She quickly said, "Sorry, Nance. I don't know why Bruce sent me so many presents either. I hope I didn't interrupt anyone's work." "How's your progress on the work I gave you yesterday." Cindy's eyes widened and she put on an innocent expression. "I'm so sorry, Nance. The laptop has just finished setting up. I've yet to finish coding." As expected. "Can you finish a line of code before you clock off then?" Cindy looked troubled. "I'll do my best." I didn't pressure her further, but I still took on her work after returning to my seat. Though Cindy was from our investor's side, she was still part of our department now. She couldn't be all bark and no bite. She'd still need to produce some simple code, otherwise the other staff might be displeased as time went on. Since Cindy hadn't finished her work, I had to do it for her. The next time I looked at the clock, it was already 7:00 pm. I glanced at Cindy's office only to find that she had yet to leave. She was in the middle of texting someone. As if sensing my gaze, Cindy stood up and walked out of her office with her laptop in hand. "I wrote some code, Nance. Could you help me look through it?" Cindy asked nicely, making me feel somewhat embarrassed. I quickly looked through the code, only to be left speechless. Maybe I expected too much from Cindy. I was about to speak when tears filled her eyes. "Am I too dumb, Nancy?" The moment she spoke, the office door was pushed open without warning. I looked over to find Bruce standing there in the doorway. His gaze fell on Cindy right away. Cindy was surprised to see him. Her eyes grew downcast as she bit her lip, looking quite aggrieved.