Chapter 5 — Leaving You, I Shine

That's obvious. Because I'm an assistant. Now that's not the case anymore. Friday after work, I was packing up and getting ready to go home when my phone alerted me to a WeChat message. It wasn't Co Hanh, but his driver - Mr. Ma.

"Miss Lam, I think I should let you know about something. President Co seems to be looking for you lately."

“Why are you looking for me?”

"Not sure, but the President told me to go to the old apartment building she lived in to check it out, and found out that she had moved out. I also asked for her new phone number from Human Resources, but Human Resources said that according to regulations, they are not allowed to disclose information about retired employees."

Looking at this message, I don't have any big emotions.

“Thank you, Mr. Ma. Leave him alone.”

"Yes, Ms. Lam. Take care."

Lao Ma is an honest person. At Co Thi for six years, I worked with him the most. Every time he worked late at night, he would take me home. He is one of the few people who knows the true relationship between me and Co Hanh. Co Hanh is looking for me. I received this information, but did not intend to respond. What does a divorced person do when looking for his ex-wife? Seeing that your assistant is no longer there makes you feel inconvenient? Can't find anyone to help him remember the schedule? It's not my problem anymore. On Saturday, Phuong Du invited me to go for a walk. On the third floor of the shopping center, I was trying on a coat. Phuong Du, sitting on the sofa scrolling through her phone, suddenly made a "buzz" sound.

“Look at this.”

He passed the phone over. Here's an announcement from a local business news site:

"Internal personnel changes at Co Thi Real Estate: After the former Assistant General Director quit, General Director Co Hanh personally took on many daily tasks, internal performance showed clear fluctuations. Internal sources revealed that the new assistant is still in the familiarization stage, many times there have been errors in meeting documents and overlapping schedules..."

I returned the phone to him.

“It has nothing to do with me.”

"Don't you feel refreshed? Even if he finds someone to replace you, it won't work."

"What's refreshing? He'll get used to it, anyone can be replaced."

Phuong Du rolled her eyes: "Just keep your mouth shut." I bought that coat, beige color, neat cut. Previously at Co Thi I only wore black or dark gray, because in the assistant handbook it was written "Attire should not stand out too much". Now, wear whatever you like. Leaving the shopping center, Phuong Du suddenly pulled me back: "2 o'clock direction, don't look." Of course I looked. In front of the coffee shop opposite, Co Hanh was standing there, holding a cup of Americano. Standing next to him is Tran Nhuoc. Tran Nhuoc was wearing a red dress, her hair down, saying something to him, her expression was lively, her hand and foot gestures were very exaggerated. Co Hanh was listening, nodding occasionally. Phuong Du grabbed my sleeve: "Go, go, don't let him see."

“Why do I have to go?”

“Don't you feel awkward?”

“There's nothing awkward about it.”

I put my bag back on my shoulder and walked across the sidewalk next to them very naturally. Phuong Du stuck close to me like a mother hen protecting her chicks. When they were about three meters away, Co Hanh turned around. He saw me. I didn't stop, didn't nod, didn't say hello, just kept my eyes straight as I walked past. Phuong Du walked after me, leaned close to my ear and said: "He keeps looking at you."

“Oh.”

“Did you just say ‘oh’?”

“But what else?”

I hailed a taxi to go home. Get in the car then I discovered that my palms were covered with a thin layer of sweat. Not because I met him, but because I realized that when I met him again, I felt absolutely nothing. Not a jot. This is scarier than pain.

—

The second week at the new company, I organized an internal training session - about brand co-branding and customer communication skills. Boss Chau sat listening in the last row. At the end of the class, he called me back.