Chapter 3 — Boss Huo Waited For Me For Eight Years

Tran shook his head: "I don't know, when I arrived it was already there." I thought, it must be Mr. Trinh. Anyway, lately he's been looking at me with eyes like a zombie, and giving me a comforting cup of coffee is normal. The next day, there was another glass. The next day, still there. Continuously for a week, every day. I couldn't bear it anymore, so I squatted and hid near the reception desk to keep watch all morning. 6 hours 58 minutes. The elevator door opens. Hoac Hoai Can walked out. He wore a black overcoat, his hair was neatly gelled without a single strand of tangle, and he carried a paper bag in his hand. He walked to my desk, took the cup of coffee out of the paper bag, and placed it on the table. Very gentle movements. Then he stood up straight, turned around and was about to go back to his office. After taking two steps, he stopped. Because he sees me. I squatted next to the reception desk, our four eyes looking at each other. The air seemed to freeze. His expression — How should I say it? I've seen a lot of Huo Huaijin's expressions. Sharp coldness when negotiating. The corners of the lips slightly raised when closing the huge contract. Expressionless face when firing an employee. But I have never seen this expression from him. Like… doing bad things and getting caught in the act? Type — Frantic, confused. Yes, Hoac Hoai Can was confused and flustered. It only lasted less than a second. He quickly restored his usual cold expression.

“What are you doing here?”

“I… I was looking for contact lenses. I dropped them.”

I don't understand why I lied. I have never worn contact lenses. You obviously know I'm not wearing it. But he did not expose it.

“Oh.”

Then he entered the office. The moment the door closed, I saw his ears turn a light pink color. Very pale. But my eyesight is 10/10. I see extremely clearly. That day I sat at work, staring at my cup of coffee for a long time. There was a voice in my head: *Maybe it's true.* Another voice immediately crushed it: *Don't be so sentimental, people probably just do it out of habit. After all, you've worked for someone for 8 years. It's like raising a dog. Suddenly, when it's about to leave, you feel nostalgic.* That's right. That's it. Feeling sorry for a worker who used tools for 8 years. Very reasonable. * Chapter 4 The third week something big happened. Hoac Thi was about to cooperate with a foreign investment company, but the other party suggested going to the wine cellar to talk privately. What boss Hoac meant was, tell me to go with you on the last trip.

“After all, you are the one who knows the process best.” he said.

It's still a matter of public and private. I agree. It was originally something I should have done. The handover has not been completed yet. On the day of departure, driver Mr. Phung still drove as usual. Hoac Hoai Can sat in the back seat, I sat in the passenger seat. This has been the rule for the past 8 years. He never let me sit in the back seat. At first I thought he was criticizing me for sitting in the back, but later I got used to it so I didn't bother to wonder why anymore. After 10 minutes of driving, he suddenly spoke up.

“What does the object of your eyes do?”

I was a bit stunned. This is the first time he asked about this in detail.

“Teacher. Elementary school teacher.”

“Um.”

Silence for a moment.

“Are you gentle?”

“Yes, quite gentle.”

Through the rearview mirror, I saw him nod slightly, then turned to face the window. The shadows of the trees outside passed across his face, light and dark alternating. He didn't say anything more. Arriving at the wine cellar, the partner's person in charge was there. A foreign woman in her 40s, speaking Chinese extremely fluently.

“Boss Hoac, it's a pleasure.”

“Miss Stephen, thank you for the invitation.”

We asked a few questions and entered the VIP room. Work discussions went very smoothly.