Woman In Irish Linen Shirt

"You didn't answer my question." I took the mask back and put it on again. Miss Pan De squinted her eyes and immediately restored her former style.

"You didn't answer me either." She said.

I stood up. I really can’t sit so close to her and promise to control myself at all times. I just asked while adjusting the mask, “Are you hot? I can turn on the air conditioner, but you must wear a mask. I really don’t want it. If you are sick, then your burden will be too heavy."

"Thank you." She shook her head. "The temperature of the air-conditioning here is always very low. After staying indoors for a long time, it makes people forget that it is tropical. I usually don't turn on the air conditioner at home."

"Then the dry season is uncomfortable? Especially when Indonesian cooking babe..." I reacted and smiled, "You are on a business trip, right?"

Her eyes also bend: "That's it. I rarely have the opportunity to look forward to staying in Singapore for a long time. This year is an exception."

"It's too small here." I looked out the window, "I went to Manila almost every two weeks for the first two years, and occasionally stayed there on weekends. Manila is different from Singapore...Of course, it's not safe here. At least I dare not hang out at midnight."

"It's true." She put on a mask and could hardly see any emotions. "Which hotels do you live in Manila? Most hotels over there are very old and not my favorite place for business trips."

"Our company's negotiated hotels are in line with your impression of Manila." I mentioned a few names and said timely, "but now we don't have to run so frequently. Our market there is relatively stable and local Of colleagues are enough to handle most of the business."

Miss Pan De looked at me quickly: "Philippines? Is that what you want to chat with me?"

I kept smiling, pretending to not understand her expression: "I'm sorry. Would you mind talking to me about work on the weekend?"

Her eyes changed again, which made me feel stressed. Miss Pan De raised her eyebrows lightly and said with a smile, "Of course not, please speak freely."

She was angry.

I bit my head and returned to the single-seater sofa, but didn't dare to lean back. She is not as cautious as I am. She occupies the entire sofa with one pillow behind her waist and one in her arms. She is much more comfortable than me. I tentatively asked: "You still don't plan to tell me why you want the previous Philippine data?"

"You want to know?"

"Well, I won't say that I want to know, that's kind of weird." I avoided her eyes, "I'm just trying to do my job."

"Okay." Her tone was calm. "I heard that it was the first market you were responsible for. I'm very curious about what you did. You changed to report directly to Lisong after that, right? I think it's mine. It's easy to imagine."

She was really angry.

Where can Miss Pande speak so directly? What she can be most frank with me is to pick out BCG's intentions and invite me to cooperate with them on the day. But that day she won a big victory, and the more direct her expression, the more temptation and beating on me; the situation today is completely different.

What I said today is purely for me.

I know she is not telling the truth. Before the framework was proposed, the people at BCG worked on the project more than 80 hours a week. This framework did not require such a heavy workload that children had to work overtime. They must be behind the scenes, and the work must be completed before the framework is passed. Thinking about it this way, it is most likely related to the landing of the splitting company. Miss Pan De played a hand in action. The giant team mode is probably the skeleton of the subsidiary.

Pao Ding Jie Niu, according to the law of nature. We are cattle and sheep waiting to be slaughtered, our eyes are black, and we can only see the skeleton; BCG has bones and flesh in the eyes.

What are they going to do?

I have no evidence and can't break her down. I just said: "I am honored to make you take this seriously."

She smiled coldly: "You don't look like you said."

I am not in a hurry to behave. Not only did her anger refuse me thousands of miles away, it made me warm and dry, as if she was about to set me on fire. She was so angry at the moment, her eyes were almost unconcealed, no matter how sharp her words were, no matter how she exerted pressure on me, I didn't even notice it. I just feel hungry, and she meets me like a delicacy.

I sat motionless on the sofa. I am afraid that when I move, the situation will be out of control.

"You are very quiet." Miss Pande said again.

"I'm just thinking about it. I made you wait a long time." I said, "It may be more detailed to ask me myself than to ask for data. I am very open to interviews."

"The data will not lie."

"I do not know either."

She turned a deaf ear to my words: "The data is more objective."

"I am more comprehensive."

Miss Pan De's chin rested on the pillow, her eyes seemed to have a deep meaning: "You don't have a plan to provide data to BCG, right?"

"I'm much more useful." I looked at her directly.

She immediately sat up. I undoubtedly annoyed her, Miss Pande was already angry. Years of good education made her decent enough to maintain, and being in a high position made her forget patience. Her aggressiveness came out of her eyes little by little, until she couldn't stop at the end, but it was just a few seconds of staring at each other. I know she wants me to lose out.

But I just want to commit the following.

I didn't want to show the slightest desire for her, so I took the lead to avoid it. She didn't seem to feel better than me at all, and the anger in her eyes was not relieved. I was a little panicked, so I closed it when I saw it, and said, "The Philippines is not the most beautiful project I have done. The difficulty is not great there, but it is a bit difficult to get started, and Sanjay is responsible for the preliminary work."

"I thought he had been following Kevin."

I was keenly aware of something, and then said: "No, he joined the company very early. Before our project team became independent from the department, he served as a deputy to the director. The expansion of the Philippines is what Sanjay is doing."

Miss Pan De's eyes gradually calmed down. The calmer she is, the more ghostly I feel. She is covering up.

What is she hiding from me?

"Then he is not good enough." She said faintly, "At least not as good as you, otherwise he won't stay in place for three years."

My heart is suddenly clear. What about the Philippines, she is not interested in the situation of the Philippine market at all, and the focus is not on how I or other persons in charge do the promotion-what she wants is the data before the division of the department! I didn’t show up on my face, so I used Sanjay as a guise: "Excuse me for not agreeing. His ability is extremely strong, and his logic is meticulous, and he has almost made no mistakes. Such an excellent industry sense is very rare. I am promoted quickly but luck. ."

She thoughtfully: "Your luck is indeed not bad. But you also have a competitive relationship..."

"It is one of my daily tasks to measure the level of employees' business and make correct judgments on job assignments." I looked at her, "It's not that my colleague is discredited."

Miss Pan De raised her brows and said nothing, just lit up the phone screen.

It's half past five, and time flies quickly.

"I hate working on weekends." She said, "Don't let me force it."

"Okay." I immediately agreed with her. I stood up again, today because she was here to visit—at least she claimed to be here—I originally planned to keep her for dinner. But now I can’t use dine-in food. It seems too good to buy something to eat in the food court. I don’t know how to cook. I plan to order takeaway with her. In my imagination, we would sit in a corner alone, and I would pick a suitable restaurant, she would choose the food first, and then hand me the phone. We maintain social distancing, eat something together, and if she wants, I can keep her to watch a movie.

Not anymore. Doing this now will feel like I want to date her.

—I don’t want to. I can't.

"I don't know if you have any plans for the evening." I said, "I was supposed to treat you well, but unfortunately, I don't know how to cook. Do you have any thoughts about dinner?"

She also got up, looked at me and said, "Thank you. I will continue to practice in the evening. I booked a dance classroom for a whole day today, which is very rare during the isolation period."

She didn't look lost at all, as if she didn't care about my hospitality or poor hospitality. I maintained the politeness with a sense of distance, resisted the urge to leave her, and prepared to see off the guests.

Miss Pan De took out a cardboard box from her bag and handed it to me. Without the outer packaging, I subconsciously thought it was plastic wrap.

"Present." Her tone was flat. "I didn't find the dress mentioned earlier. It may be at home. I will bring it to you when it arrives." She glanced at the box, "This is not bad, hopefully. I can help you with decoration."

"Oh, thank you! You are so sweet." The box is very light, and I think it might be some kind of fabric or hanging paintings inside. Out of courtesy, I should have opened it now, but I hesitated for a while, Miss Pan De was already waiting at the door. I have to send her off.

I hesitated to stretch out my right elbow. Although it's silly, I always have to show kindness-the first person who came up with an elbow to say hello is a genius, and I regret it as soon as I lift my arm.

Miss Pan De suddenly approached. I was stiff, hesitated for two or three seconds, and gently hugged her back.

I control my breathing and control my emotions. The two arms follow the instructions, but the heart has no meaning at all. I felt tight, it turned out to be like this when I held her in my arms.

Her curves are close to me, with a strong sense of sharpness while being gentle. The smell of her in my nose, together with the almost unbalanced heartbeat, became my first feeling. I refrained from holding her waist and keeping the palm of my hand far away from her. The result was self-defeating, but it seemed as if I had trapped her in my arms.

What would happen if she held her tightly? What if I let go of the restrictions and get intimacy with her?

I hugged her like a fire.

"I'm not." Her voice was so low that she was almost committing a crime, and even though the preamble was not followed by the words, I immediately understood what she meant. My arm was a little further away from her, but Miss Pande went further, close enough to see the deep meaning of me hiding under the calmness. I held my breath for fear that any of them would be messed up by accident.

"Also," Miss Pan De's faint heat left her ears, "Don't pretend to be a straight girl with me. I won't buy it."

The door opened and closed, and her warmth stopped abruptly for almost an instant.