Capítulo 8: Finally, Employed!

In the following days, Finland tried not to think too much about her surreal dinner with Caspar. How the two of them ate at the most luxurious restaurant in Singapore, how her mean high school mates who bullied her were kicked out of the Continental hotel, how he looked at her with his dazzling blue eyes... It all felt like a very beautiful dream.

She had to admit, she almost fell for him. However, she now tried to forget about him by preparing for the first day of work next Monday.

***

It was finally Monday and she enthusiastically went to work. The company she would work for is an MNC (Multinational Company) that focused on marketing. The company had branches in several countries. Her job in her first week was to attend training to learn about the company.

"Welcome to LTX International. You have been chosen to be a member of our marketing team. This week you have to attend training to give you information about the company's vision and mission as well as our corporate governance and values. You will also start working on the projects we are currently working on," Ms. Song from HR started the training program by distributing the company profile to the new employees.

KNOCK

Suddenly there were two knocks on the door and a long-haired girl entered the room. Her familiar face made Finland's stomach churn.

"Excuse me, Mam, I am sorry for being late. I just came from the Director's Office. I can take part in training now." Meilin then scanned the room and gasped when she saw Finland sitting in the corner. She hid her expression of hatred quickly.

"Please sit down and follow the training well," replied Ms. Song firmly. Meilin sat in the back of the room and the training continued as if nothing happened.

Finland felt uneasy the whole day. Never in her wildest fantasies did she expect to meet Meilin here. Imagining working together with the evil girl really made her shudder.

She still could not forget the days in high school when Meilin and her gang dragged her behind the school, tied her to a tree, beat her, and pulled her hair, only because the boy whom Meilin liked said that Finland was beautiful.

Until now the trauma was still imprinted in Finland's heart.

In the office, she avoided Meilin as much as possible and immersed herself in her computer. When people came out for lunch, she chose to stay in her cubicle and ate the lunch she brought from home.

[How was your first day of work?] Jean texted her at lunchtime. He either woke up very early in France or he hadn't slept.

Finland read Jean's Whatsapp text and smiled for the first time that day.

[Not good. When will you come back to Singapore?]

[Ugh, I have an impromptu show in London to replace my sick friend. It is an important show to celebrate the Valentino Fashion House's anniversary. I will stop by Singapore in 3 weeks. How was your date last Saturday?]

[Too good to be true. I'm afraid that he is a scammer.]

[What?! I'll call you. It's still early in the morning and I'm not busy yet.]

Five seconds later Finland's phone vibrated and she rushed out to pick it up. She did not want anyone to hear her conversation with Jean.

She found a quiet place in the park and, after making sure no one was around, she chatted with her best friend whom she only met a few times a year.

Finland told Jean everything; from her meeting with Caspar at the airport until their very fancy and private dinner.

"Seriously? Let me research who he is. What is his full name?" asked Jean.

"I don't know. He just said that he had a long family name but I should just call him Caspar. The nurse said he was a famous surgeon, but I couldn't find a surgeon named Caspar on the internet." Finland frowned, "Maybe he doesn't use his real name?"

"You said he did your medical check-up last week?"

"Yeah..."

"Then you can just see his name on your medical examination report. We can then investigate him together."

"But I have sent the report to HR."

"Oh. Can't you ask to see it?"

"I can't. It would be too suspicious. Maybe I can stop by the hospital again..." Finland suddenly remembered something. "Oh! Try Googling the current owner of the Continental Hotel. Yesterday he told me that he wanted to buy the hotel."

Jean paused when he heard that.

Finland also fell silent.

Then a minute later the two laughed out loud...

How could they take Caspar seriously when he said crazy things such as buying the Continental Hotel? Come to think of it, Caspar often said things that sounded ridiculous.

Okay, maybe he was not a scammer. Maybe he was a joker!

"Never mind... just take him as a joke," Jean said. "The incident was indeed very funny. I am happy to hear that those bad girls from your high school were taught a lesson. We have to thank whoever is responsible for kicking them out of the hotel."

"Yes, but the gang leader now works in the same office as me ..." Finland sighed sadly. "When my three-month probation is over, I'll look for another job."

"Psshh... cheer up. The important thing is you must work as well as you can and don't get involved in office politics. Later, after your probation period is over and you really want to quit working from LTX, you can find another job. Finish your three-year mandatory work in Singapore. Later when I retire from modeling we make our own agency in Paris. You can help me here."

Finland nodded in enthusiasm, her heart calmed down. Talking with Jean always made her feel excited about life. Jean was probably the only good thing in Finland's unlucky life.

They were both mixed and when they first met in the Design class, they clicked immediately and continued to sit together throughout the school year.

Jean's full name was Jean-Pierre Wang. His mother was a French model and his father was a Singaporean businessman. His parents divorced when he was five years old. He did not have any siblings, so he could really relate to Finland's loneliness. He never used his full name and always asked to be called by one name, Jean.

He was very stylish because he learned a lot from his mother, who was famous in the fashion world. Before graduating from high school, he was already scouted for modeling. He then secured a contract to become the face of a famous jeans brand.

Jean casually applied study at NTU because he wanted to feel like a normal student, and that was where he met Finland.

Contrary to most people, Jean did not consider Finland's name strange, instead, he said that Finland was one of the most beautiful names he had ever known, and he immediately told her about his wonderful experience visiting Finland.

From Jean, Finland learned that during summer the sun did not set in Finland for 73 days. Furthermore, Jean made Finland appreciate her own name when he told her that he wanted to be known only by one name like Prince and Adele,

Finland helped him a lot in college, especially during the first year when Jean was very busy on the runway. She lent him her notes and sometimes helped with his assignments since he was abroad most of the time.

In the second year, Jean was forced to take some time off from college because of his busy schedule. Finally, in the third year, he had no choice but to quit altogether. They both remained good friends until now.

You could say, to Finland, Jean was like family. At times like these, she was very grateful to have a friend who genuinely cared for her. Finland decided to follow Jean's advice and avoid getting engaged in political issues in the office. She would focus solely on completing her three-year work obligation in Singapore and then she would follow Jean to Paris.

To her surprise, the first week of work passed by without any issues. Finland tried her best to avoid Meilin and did not attract attention. After the one-week training, she and her team began working on ongoing company projects.

She spent the second week working on a boring database collection. During that time Finland did not hear anything from Caspar. They had no contact with each other after their dinner date; the date where Finland left in a hurry before dessert.

Finland finally assumed that her chance encounter with Caspar had become a part of the past. He probably gave up scamming her.

***

Today was an exciting day for Finland. After work, she rushed to the ATM to check her account balance.

Finally, after a full month of hard work, she earned her first salary as a full-time employee. She was overwhelmed with emotion and almost shrieked! She held back her emotions when she saw the queue of people behind her.

She came out of the ATM room with a big smile on her face and walked home to Robertson Road. As usual, she imagined herself walking on a runway, like Jean…

Ah... soon she must say goodbye to Jean's apartment which had been her home for the past two months.

When she got home, Finland made herself a cup of tea, opened her laptop, and looked for advertisements for rented rooms on the internet. She also searched for advertisements in local newspapers. She did not want to trouble her friend any longer.

There were several listings within her budget, but they were located too far away from her office. She managed to take note of three cheapest property listings that were located at a reasonable distance from her office.

She was about to close her laptop when she suddenly saw a newly posted ad.

"Renting a room in an old house in the city center. The owner is often abroad so a tenant is needed to help take care of the house. Room rental only 500 dollars per month."

Finland almost shouted in joy. This was the dream room of every poor employee!

She was so lucky to see the ad just when it was posted!

She quickly picked up the phone and dialed the contact number on the ad. She must move fast not to let this perfect room be taken by someone else!