Chapter 7 --- Going to China

      It had been months since the incident at Mr. SaPone place happened. Kat didn�t want to remember anything so she kept herself busy and tried to avoid him. It seemed like it wasn�t only her that was trying to avoid the whole situation, but him also. For the last six months she hadn�t really seen him. He was in and out of the office, and had very small conversation with her, like a real employer would tell his employee to do. She thought it was ok, and six more months of this she would be free from this work place. She didn�t really hate the job, it was nice with a friendly environment, but she couldn�t handle her boss. Mr. Ly had never done anything to her, but she still felt like she didn�t want to work at a place like this anymore. In her head, all she could only think about was traveling, but would have to save money to do that.

      Monday morning Kat was in the office by herself, working like crazy. Mr. SaPone gave her a load of work that kept her busy in the office for weeks. Every month when he came to the office, there was always a new workload for her to do within a short deadline. Sometimes she was so busy she didn�t even have time to eat lunch, her Auntie had to buy food so that she could eat. Kat sometimes left the office very late to finish her job before the deadline Tik gave her. She didn�t have time to go out with her friends, or even make new ones. She lost a lot of sleep because she had to come to work very early and leave very late. Kat was burnt out; she was wondering, �is he playing with me?� or is this really her job: to finish all this paperwork and go to meeting after meeting. She couldn�t handle anymore; she needed a break from the office. As she was walking of the office for a short coffee break, the phone rang.

"Hello, this is Mr. SaPone office, Kat is speaking�

A male voice replied, �Hello Kat, how are you doing this morning, I hope the workload wasn�t too much for you?�

      For quick second, she was silent and couldn�t say anything. She couldn�t remember the last time he called and asked her how she was doing. The past months, he called her for things he needed for work, and gave her orders. She didn�t imagine that he would call with a different tone of voice, a friendly one and not the strict and serious voice like before.

"Hello, Kat? Come on... are you still here?�

Kat came back from her daydream, �Oh...ye...yes� sir. I am here, sorry. Can I help you?�

He continued with what he was calling her for, �Rumors around the office said that I�m a bad boss and working his employee like crazy, to the point where this employee doesn�t eat, sleep or leave the office. Is that true?�

She didn�t realize that people knew she was working so hard in the office; the only thing she could think about was the deadlines and not letting anyone down. She asked with a careless tone of voice, �What are you talking about? I was just doing my job, and working with the deadlines, that�s all.� She then added in serious tone of voice, �I am dependable, I can handle anything� After she said that, she regretted it, Kat didn�t realize it was her boss she was talking to, not one of her girlfriends.

With a cheerful tone Tik replied, �It�s good to hear that from you. Very strong and energetic�like always. After hearing that from you, I have another project for you to do. This is a big one, but I know you can do it because you are �dependable.�� Upon hearing �a big project� Kat didn�t really like the sound of it as he taunted her with her own words.

He continued to tell her the task, �I need you to fly to China and bring the files and the projects you have been working on for the past weeks. There will be 3 meetings all together in China and you have to be there to help me. And I want you to be here by Thursday night or at least Friday morning, so you should go home and pack and ready to fly tomorrow.�

She cut in and said, �What? This is the last minute notice, I can�t...�

He didn�t care what she was saying, so he went on �I want you to pack for a 2 weeks stay. The meetings and conventions should be that long, if not longer. I already booked your plane ticket and hotel. Sometimes the plane is late, so I am not sure when you will arrive, but there should be a van ready to pick you up at the airport.� He almost finished then he added, �You like to travel right? You can handle anything right? You are dependable right? Well, here is your chance to prove it. This is your chance to travel and take a break from the office. I will be in China already by the time you get here so, I�ll see you then. Have a nice day and good bye.�

She was overwhelmed with everything, she didn�t know what to do or what to say, while saying goodbye, she stuttered and said, � b...by...bye�s...sir�� still in shock that he had challenged her and her abilities.

---China---Hotel Suite---

When she got to China and arrived at the hotel, she was ready to sleep. Jet lag made her very tired and dizzy. She never really traveled this far in her life before. When she got in her room, she was amazed at how big and beautiful her room was. When she walked around the place, she realized that there was more than one bedroom in there, so she asked the bellboy, �Why is there more than one bed room?�

"That�s because this is a suite and it was reserved from Mr. SaPone,� the bellboy replied.

The bellboy didn�t say anymore, he put her bags down and walked away. She stopped him and tipped him for carrying her bags. Then she questioned him again, because she was surprised, �Your English is good, and do you always speak like this to customers?�

"Yes, because this is an American owned hotel in China� he gave her a smile and quickly walked away. He got an order from Mr. SaPone not to give her much information about anything, because that was his job when she arrived.

      As she was walking in the room, she realizes she wanted to ask another question so she walked outside to find the bellboy, but by then he was already gone, she wanted to ask about Mr. SaPone. Kat tried going into one of the rooms but it was locked, so she went to the other room to find it unlocked. She figure it was hers so she took her bags in the unlocked room and got comfortable because she was tired from traveling, from work, from the office and needed some sleep. She closed her eyes and laid on bed for a while when she heard her door open. She quickly got up and opened her eyes: it was Mr. SaPone!

With a caring voice he spoke, �Don�t worry it�s only me, no rush to get up, are you ok? Go to sleep because you need it.�

She looked at him with a questioning face, �How you get in this room?�

He replied with a smile �That�s because you didn�t lock your door.�

She got up as he was walking closer to her bed, �No�not that door, the main door. The suite door, how you get in here??�

He stopped and took a good look at her, then replied, �That�s because this is our suite while we are here. This is your room, and the other room is mines.�

No wonder the other room was locked, she was thinking to herself. She asked him another question, �Who else is here with us? Why are we sharing the same suite? Can�t I just get one room in this hotel??�

He went closer to her and sat down on the bed and looked in her eyes, �No one is here with us; there�s only me and you here for two whole weeks together.�

She was feeling really uncomfortable and ready to jump off of bed, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back down. And he continued, �You shouldn�t worry too much, the first thing you should do is sleep. You need your rest, and tomorrow I will update you with our project here. I will also rest. I am tired too.�

She was looking at him as if he was going to sleep in the same room or even the same bed as her. Before she could say anything he added, �Don�t worry Kat, I will go to my room to sleep, so you can have your own space and lock you door.� He was getting up but was still holding her hand, which pulled her up with him, standing face to face with each other. She didn�t know what to say so she only said �goo...good night.�

As he was ready to turn towards the door, he took a good look at her and bent down to her left side and gave her a good night kiss on the cheek. Without looking back he walked out quickly and said, �Have a good night and sweet dreams,� with a happy smile on his face.

Kat couldn�t say anything back, she couldn�t walk, she was in shock that he had kissed her.

      It took her awhile to get settle down in bed, as she was lying down, she realized she was in shock a lot lately. Life was full of surprises. As she was trying to sleep and close her eyes, she was thinking what other surprises were in store for her tomorrow.

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