by Tia Wylder
It was just me now, me and this empty city filled with hollow people. Today was the day. Yes, today I would finally tell my chauvinistic boss off and walk out those doors forever. I just had to wait for the right moment.
“Tanya, are you alive in there?” Anderson asked.
I looked up from my keyboard and saw my boss, Anderson Grey, leaning over my desk and ruining the organized piles of memos, business cards, and other assorted junk. He had beady little grey eyes and a fancy haircut, but his scrawny frame and thin jaw did nothing to make him look as intimidating as he thought he was.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Grey?” I asked.
“You can start by getting those spreadsheets done; I needed them an hour ago!”
I clenched my jaw. Not yet.
“Mr. Grey, you asked me to do them an hour ago,” I said.
He nodded. “Yeah, I know. Get them done!”
He stormed off and left me staring at a screen full of empty boxes. My heart was pounding and my palms were sweating. I wanted to follow him down the hall, corner him in his office, and tear him a new one. Not yet.
I went to work on the spreadsheet, mindlessly filling in box after box. Another hour went by as workers came in and out. Some had the common courtesy to say hello as they passed my desk and scanned their I.D. badges, but most of them just walked by like I didn’t exist.
As I typed in the last of the numbers on the spreadsheet, Anderson reappeared with a terrified look on his face.
“Tanya, stop what you’re doing immediately!”
“I thought you said you needed these spreadsheets done?”
“Yeah, I do, but not now. Something more important came up. You’re familiar with Zhang Wu, yes?”
I shook my head.
Anderson growled. “Zhang Wu, one of our biggest clients? He’s the C.E.O of a major Chinese corporation? Did you even read the memo I sent out about his visit?”
“Actually I sent the memo and I typed it. What’s the big deal, his visit isn’t for another two weeks.”
Anderson shook his head so hard I thought his glasses would fly right off his head. “He pushed it up, he’s coming in today!”
Now I felt nervous. I couldn’t make a scene on a day like today. Word would spread like wildfire and my reputation would be ruined. I’d have to tell Anderson off another day, when a C.E.O wasn’t visiting.
“Okay, so what do you need me to do?” I asked.
“He’s going to want reports, and I haven’t done them yet. I need you to stall for me,” He said.
“Stall for you? What do you expect me to do?”
“I don’t know, give him a tour, show him around the city, use your womanly ways on him or something!”
I sat back in my chair and shot Anderson a glare. “My womanly what now? I’m a secretary, not an escort service.”
“I know I’m sorry. Just do me this favor and I promise I’ll get off your back about everything.”
That did sound nice.
“Alright fine, I’ll keep him busy.”
“Yes! Thank you, Tanya!”
“You’re welcome.”
Anderson scurried off like a frightened mouse and left me to my ways. I decided to do a little research on this guy so I wouldn’t look like a total idiot when he arrived. I jumped online and searched his name, “Zhang Wu.”
His picture popped up at the top of the list. He was a clean cut Asian man with a sharp jawline, warm brown eyes, and perfectly cropped jet black hair. In his photos he had a piercing gaze that seemed to leap out of the screen. I delved deeper into his biography and I was shocked at how little information was available.
They had his birthday, two years before mine, and where he was born: Hong Kong, China. I already knew he was C.E.O of some fancy corporation, but beyond that the man was an enigma. Either he wasn’t important enough to write web articles on, or more likely he had something he didn’t want public.
It took a lot of money and power to remain anonymous in the modern era. I had learned that the hard way when my ex started stalking me after I moved. Anything I did, from Facebook to checking my email, all of it left a digital footprint that he could use with the right tools to follow me.
“Hello, I’m here to see Anderson Grey,” a voice said.
I looked up from my screen and stifled a gasp. Zhang Wu was standing in front of me, in the flesh, as if he had leapt out of my computer screen. He couldn’t see it, but I fumbled with the mouse to close the window and feigned typing.
“Hello Mr. Wu.”
“You can call me Zhang. Only my butler calls me Mr. Wu,” he said.
I looked up at him. He face was perfectly still and stoic. After a long moment he cracked a smile.
“It’s a joke. I do have a butler, but he calls me Zhang as well. And you are?”
“Tanya, Tanya Bates. It’s a pleasure to meet you Zhang,” I said.
He shook my hand with a firm grip and continued to hold a perfect smile. Another long moment of silence passed as I found myself speechless in his overwhelming presence.
“Is Anderson ready for me?” he asked.
I fell back to reality and shook my head.
“Uh, no. He apologies but there was an emergency that took him out of the office. He will be back soon. I would be happy to give you a tour of our offices in the meantime?”
Zhang’s smile faded and I saw the cold fire return in his eyes. He clearly wasn’t someone who liked waiting.
“An emergency? He could have called me. I just stepped off a flight from Hong Kong; I’m not in the mood to be waiting on him.”
“Well, like I said, I can give you a tour?”
He waved away the thought.
“I’ve been on a hundred tours of this place. How long will he be?”
“I’m not sure,” I said.
Zhang ran a hand through his perfectly cut hair.
“Tell him I’ll be back tomorrow, and I expect him to be ready for me.”
I couldn’t let him walk out; I had to think of something. I looked down at my desk and saw a stack of requisition forms from the week prior. The offices had been outfitted with new equipment. It wasn’t much, but it was something.
“Wait! Did I mention our offices recently received new equipment? It’s state-of-the-art, I’m sure someone of your business stature would like to see how we’re staying on the cutting edge,” I said.
Zhang turned around and looked at me. His eyes lit up for a moment and he snapped his fingers.
“Yes, I do recall hearing about that. You also received new servers in that hardware refresh if I’m not mistaken? I’d like to see those; they’re supposed to have updated security features.”
I nodded eagerly and stepped out from behind the desk.
“That’s correct, I’d be happy to show you them,” I said.
Zhang pointed to the desk.
“Who will be watching your post?”
I reached down and programmed the phone to forward calls directly to Anderson’s office. A little payback.
“Not to worry, I’ll have my calls forwarded. Right this way!”
I scanned my I.D. badge and Zhang followed me through into the back offices. The server room was on the floor beneath us. I knew I didn’t have the security myself, but I also knew Anderson’s password. He had the memory of a goldfish with amnesia, so he enlisted me to memorize his passwords so he wouldn’t have to remember them himself.
We reached the door that led downstairs. I paused at the panel, running through the passwords in my head.
“Is there a problem Tanya?” Zhang asked.
“No, no problem at all.”
The numbers hit me. I typed in the password and the door’s lock clicked open. We stepped inside and walked downstairs to the main servers. Zhang followed silently as we passed the glass enclosure. I stopped at the door leading inside.
“Here we are. Would you like me accompany you inside?” I asked.
“I don’t know are you familiar with
the specifications on these servers?” he asked.
I blushed and looked away from his gaze. I knew as much about computers as I did about quantum physics.
“No, I’m afraid I don’t,” I said.
Zhang laid a hand on my shoulder and squeezed softly.
“Don’t feel bad, I don’t know either. I’ll just take a look around, wait here.”
He stepped inside and I waited for the door to close behind him before breathing a long sigh of relief. His presence was overpowering at times. He exuded power and control to the point where he rendered me speechless if I let my guard down. I stood outside the server room awkwardly looking around as Zhang inspected the new hardware.
One of the techs came walking down the hall. I stood out like a sore thumb, so naturally he came over and started grilling me with questions.
“What are you doing down here? You don’t have clearance to be here!” he said.
“I’m showing Mr. Wu our new servers. Anderson is busy catching up with his work so he asked me to keep our guest busy,” I said.
The tech looked into the glass enclosure, then back to me with a bewildered look on his face.
“So you just let him into the most secure part of our facility? He could be stealing files for all you know!”
“He’s our biggest client,” I looked down at his name tag, “Frank, so I suggest you keep your paranoid accusations to yourself. If you really want to accuse one of the most powerful people associated with our company of corporate espionage, then be my guest. Here’s the thing though, if you tell anyone we were here, or even whisper that kind of bold accusation again, the next job you’ll be working at is in a drive-thru at McDonald’s. So, I suggest you keep on walking Frank.”
The scrawny guy seemed taken aback. He adjusted his glasses, cleared his throat, and left without another word. I may not have been a Harvard graduate, but I had more street smarts than everyone in the building combined. I could talk my way out of almost anything if I needed to.
Zhang emerged from the servers. I spotted a few beads of sweat on his brow, which he quickly wiped off with a handkerchief that he pulled out of his jacket. He flashed me a cool smile and looked down both sides of the hall.
“Everything alright? I heard you talking to someone,” he said.
“Yes, everything’s fine. One of the techs got a little snippy with me, but when I told him I was showing you around, he backed off.”
My phone started ringing in my pocket. I answered the call and placed it to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Tanya, is Zhang with you?” Anderson asked.
“Yes, are you ready for him?”
“I am, send him up. By the way, does he seem angry with me?”
I looked over at Zhang who stood calmly waiting for me to finish my call.
“No, everything’s fine. I’ll let him know you’re ready.”
I hung up the phone and placed it back into my pocket.
“Anderson will see you now. It was a pleasure Zhang; I hope you are satisfied with our new servers.”
He nodded. “The security on them could be better, but otherwise I was happy with the performance I saw. Listen, before you go, I was wondering if perhaps I could repay you for your hospitality? I can book us a table at Le Bernadin? They have an excellent seafood menu.”
Once again he took me off guard with his confidence.
“Wow, that’s very generous of you, but I don’t know what I would wear. The pay here doesn’t leave much room for fancy dresses,” I said.
Zhang nodded. “Of course, I’ll have my tailor deliver something. Type in your address here. I’ll pick you up at seven?”
He handed me his phone to enter my address.
“I haven’t said yes,” I said.
“No, but you will, won’t you?”
He was good.
I typed my address into his phone and handed it back to him.
“Excellent, I’ll see you at seven.”
He walked away without another word and I was left with butterflies furiously crowding my stomach. A few hours ago I was going to quit my job and dive head-first into the world of the unemployed. Now I was going to have dinner with one of the most powerful businessmen in the world.
It’s amazing how things can change in a moment.
Chapter Three
I expected a fancy car, but not a limousine, or a chauffeur for that matter. I should have expected both when I saw the dress he sent me. A young Asian man, probably in his early twenties, showed up at my door shortly after I had gotten home from work. He was dressed in a suit and tie, something you didn’t see often in the neighborhood I lived in.
He introduced himself as Phiet and informed me that he was Mr. Wu’s personal driver. He asked if I was Tanya Bates and I told him I was. That’s when he handed me a white cardboard box and told me he would return to pick me up at seven for my engagement with Mr. Wu. It was all very formal. I took the box to my room; a short journey across my tiny apartment. I pulled the top off and almost fainted at the sight of the dress within. It was soft as silk, with black straps and a flowing purple interior. It shimmered in the orange sunlight coming through the window. I picked it up by the hanger and draped it over me as I turned and looked in the mirror.
The shimmering purple paired perfectly with my caramel colored skin. I always loved purple, I felt like it made the emerald in my eyes stand out. However, it had been so long since I could afford to wear something this beautiful, let alone enjoy myself.
I undressed and took a hot shower. The steaming water relaxed the tense muscles in my back. As I lathered myself with soap, I closed my eyes and thought of Zhang. I remember the way it felt when he spoke to me. He was so confident; his presence was both overwhelming and consuming. Being away from him, all I could think about was when I would see him again. He was infectious.
Perhaps it was the mystery about him, or maybe I was just a woman who appreciated a man that exudes that kind of assuredness without coming across as arrogant. I climbed out of the shower and toweled off. After applying a thin layer of lotion to my taut and dry skin, I finally put on the dress Zhang had sent.
Standing in the mirror I felt tears welling up behind my eyes. I was a slender and sleek woman, but it had been so long since I felt beautiful. Until that moment, I was just someone the world had chewed up and spit out. Seeing myself in the mirror, watching the way the dress fell over the curvature of my breasts and how it hugged my backside and hips, I felt more than beautiful: I felt gorgeous.
I paired light makeup with mascara and a deep crimson lipstick that helped my thick lips stand out from the rest of my face. I felt incredible, like I could take on the world.
Then the doorbell rang, and I felt my heart stop.
This is it, don’t mess it up!
Great internal advice as always. I put the finishing touches on my makeup and made my way to the front door. My shaking hands fumbled with the lock until I finally got it open. Phiet stood in the doorway with a blank expression on his face.
“Are you ready, Ms. Bates?” he asked.
“I believe so, how do I look?”
His eyes quickly scanned my dress.
“You look wonderful Ma’am, very beautiful.”
“Oh, you’re too kind, Phiet. Lead the way,” I said.
I locked the door behind me and followed Phiet out onto the busy city streets. It was a humid night. The crescent moon’s light was drowned out by the artificial light from the street lamps that lined the road. A stretch limousine sat idling in front of me. It was more extravagant than I expected. Phiet stepped forward and opened the back door for me. I climbed inside and sat down on the leather seat within.
Zhang sat to my left with a beaming smile on his face. I felt his eyes wander from my head to my toes and back up again.
“Incredible. You look stunning, Tanya,” he said.
“I can’t thank you enough for this dress, it’s gorgeous.”
Zhang nodded. “I
t was made for you, I can see that now. My tailor is very talented.”
He turned and plucked a bottle of champagne from a bucket of ice. He poured it into two glasses situated beside the bucket and handed me one.
“Thank you,” I said.
“So, Tanya, tell me more about yourself. A woman of your intelligence and beauty shouldn’t be working as a secretary,” Zhang said.
I felt myself blushing and took another large sip of the champagne. The bubbly liquid sloshed down my throat as I tried to formulate an answer.
“I couldn’t agree with you more, but without a degree I can’t do much in this city, or any city for that matter.”
Zhang took a sip of his champagne.
“I don’t know about that, I made it where I am today without any formal education. Sometimes you’re born with the skills you need,” he said.
“Well, be that as it may, I don’t know of any skills I was born with that could help me become the C.E.O of a massive corporation,” I said, taking another swig from my champagne.
“I think you’re not giving yourself enough credit, Tanya. I believe you have the skills to be as successful as you want to be, you just need the right opportunity placed before you,” Zhang said.
I almost choked on my champagne. Was he offering me a job?
“Really? And what opportunity would that be?” I asked.
Zhang finished his champagne and set the glass back into the receptacle beside the ice bucket.
“I don’t like to talk business before dinner. We’ll discuss your future after we’ve eaten. Phiet, how much longer?”
“Less than three minutes, sir.”
Zhang sat back into the leather seating and smiled.
“Very good.”
Zhang was calm as could be, but my head was swimming with thoughts about what he was going to say after dinner. I had to concentrate on the moment, but the anticipation was killing me.
I turned my thoughts to dinner and started to think about what I would order. I wasn’t much of a seafood person, but tonight I would be.
Chapter Four
Dinner went well. I found Tanya to be unique and rather enjoyable company compared to most women I came across. In those cases, all they cared about was the money I could offer them. They were blinded by it, but Tanya seemed to care about something more. She was grateful for even the smallest of gestures, to a point where she was far more genuine than I thought possible.