章 2: First encounter

Her eyes snapped open, and she pant heavily, catching her breath to calm her racing heart.

'It was that dream again.'

She looked at her surroundings and found out that she had fallen asleep in her office while reading a document. The papers had crumpled in her hand while she was sleeping.

The evening sun shone on her beautiful face, but she just ignored the glaring sun and kept her eyes on the papers that were in her hand. She ironed the paper with her hands, straightening it as best as it could be.

"How many of these documents do I have to check? Why is it so unorganised?"

"How did he manage to work on this file before?" She looked at the colourful files stacked high like a tower at the side table.

Phoenix Li was recently promoted and moved to City M. She has been working in Intan Jewellery in country B since she was an intern 6 years ago. The last head of the office in City M recently passed away, and she was trusted to take over the office.

She had been dealing with these documents since she came back from meeting a business partner two hours ago, and her eyes strained from all the readings. She shut her eyes to release the tension in her eyes when she had fallen asleep.

She looked outside the window. The sky outside almost turned dark, indicating it was already the end of office hour.

'It's almost nighttime. I should quickly settle this document and call it a day.'

It took her an hour to finish up what she was doing and tidying up her desk. Phoenix separated the file that she was done with and the one that still needed her attention.

*knock

"You may enter," answered Phoenix.

Her assistant, Lilian Si, came in.

"Ms Li, the dinner gathering today will be held in Palaté Restaurant on Acacia Road at 8.00pm. I have arranged a car to take you there. It'll be waiting for you at 7.30pm," her assistant informed.

She gasped subtly.

'Ah! I forgot. I have a dinner gathering today. These people arrange a get together to welcome me to this office.'

Facing her assistant, she said, "I'll get down when it's time to go."

Her assistant nodded and retreated to go out of Phoenix's office.

Phoenix sighed heavily, dropped her bag on the table, and went to her fridge to take out a bottle of water. She sat on her chair and drank the water in three big gulps.

Her dry throat immediately felt revitalized. She wiped the excess water from her lip with the back of her hand.

"Ahhh… Refreshing"

From her seat, she held the bottle up in one hand, squinted her eyes and aimed it at the bin next to the fridge across from her.

She roughly calculated the distance and speed, and tossed the bottle with medium strength. The bottle successfully landed inside the recycle bin.

Phoenix leaned back in her chair, crossed her leg and tapped her foot on the carpeted floor.

"A welcoming party, huh? I don't like to mingle with people. But I can't be absent. The dinner is to welcome me."

Having no choice to reject, when the time has come, she left her office and headed downstairs to the awaiting car.

The restaurant wasn't that far from her office building, but the evening traffic made the journey longer.

Phoenix arrived with her assistant and was welcomed cheerfully by her employees.

As much as she hated to hold a conversation with others, she didn't have a choice but to blend herself with these people who she will work with.

She wasn't a snob or arrogant, it was just that she was an awkward person who had trouble making friends, and her aloof face didn't help either.

The only person who knew her on a personal level was her big boss. Her boss had known about her struggles and had made it her mission to help Phoenix in any way she could. Phoenix accepted her boss' intruding behaviors as a respect towards her. Well, they were an employer and employee, she couldn't possibly say 'No' to her boss.

Once she thought she had enough mingling, she excused herself to go to the restroom.

Surprisingly, for a big restaurant, the restroom was lacking. They only have one bathroom for each male and female customer, and a shared washing area for washing hands.

The ladies' toilet was occupied, so she had to stand in the narrow alley to the restroom and waited for the occupant to be done with her bathroom project.

She didn't really need to go to the restroom, she just wanted to get away and have a breather. A crowded room was suffocating for her.

She leaned on the wall, and suddenly she felt the wall behind her vibrated. It turned out that she had leaned on a sliding door of a private room.

The door was furiously opened from the inside, making Phoenix lost her balance and fall on a muscular chest of a man. She was clinging on to the man's suit jacket so she would not fall off.

She quickly stabilized herself and released her hold on the jacket.

A handsome man with a piercing dark brown orb was looking at her with a dark look.

Phoenix raised one of her eyebrows looking at the man that was emitting a dark aura towards its surroundings.

They were looking into each other's eyes, his dark brown to her light brown ones, before Phoenix retracted her gaze and apologized.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"What's your purpose?" The man had seen all sorts of ways girls had tried to get his attention, and he was repulsed by it.

"I'm sorry?" she was perplexed.

"I am not interested in you," he disdainfully said.

Phoenix blinked her eyes in confusion, but when the meaning clicked in her mind, she released a scoff, "Likewise."

And that exact moment a girl came out from the ladies' restroom and Phoenix went inside after her.

The tip of the man's ear turned red when the girl that he had wrongly accused of trying to seduce him brushed him off and walked away without giving him another glance.

He felt like buried his face on the ground. His assistant behind him was biting his inner cheeks, trying to suppress from releasing any sound that might have landed him with more work than he already had.

'That was embarrassing. I hope I never encounter that girl again.'

One can hope, but fate had other planned for him. Even before the day ended, he would have encountered the girl again, and from that on the girl would slowly became a part of his life, and he would hold on tight to the girl to never let her go.

"Important encounters are planned by the souls long before the bodies see each other." - Paulo Coelho.