Chapter 9 We Meet Again

• The man in the photo wore a dark-colored suit and a grey shirt, a diagonally-striped tie, and his hair was trimmed to perfection. His face was sculpted, and his features were gorgeous, while his eyes were as deep as the universe. It was, of course, none other than the Roy McGowan I knew. What a small world. Since he was holding that phone, I had to take this case despite my reluctance.
• Rosenberg Tower was the landmark of Woodland’s financial district. Everyone in Astoria dreamed of having a job here, though I never expected Roy to set up his office here, nor did I expect him to rent the whole top floor. Before I came here, I got my friend, Nancy, to look into Roy.
• It turned out that Roy came from Elmsbury, and his family was a strong one too. His grandfather was a revolutionist, while his father was an entrepreneur. On the other hand, his mother was the boss of a bank, while his brother was a real estate agent. Roy came back from Silicon Valley five years ago and founded Vantage Corporation, then he moved his company to Woodland a month ago.
• “Hello, I’m Shelly Sutton from Salezo. I want to see your boss.” I handed my name card to the receptionist.
• The receptionist smiled formally. “Sorry, you’ll have to make an appointment if you want to see our boss, and he won’t see you if you’re not at least a manager.”
• Well, someone’s haughty. Instead of saying anything further, I took my card back and went to the waiting area to wait for him. I wasn’t here to talk business; I was here for the phone. Even if he didn’t want to see me, I could still wait for him. Time flew by, and I waited patiently.
• Soon, it was lunchtime, and Vantage’s employees went to have their lunch. They would throw me some glances when they went past me, since I was eating a burger right in front of them. Hey, I know it isn’t appropriate, but I’m hungry, and I’m not about to let my prey go.
• When I was almost done with my burger, my prey, or rather, Roy finally came out. I stuffed the rest of the burger into my mouth and chewed on it quickly while going up to him. “M-Mr. McGowan, hello again.” I smiled.
• He looked at me with disgust. “You again? Do you need something?”
• “Yes.” I looked around. “But this is no place to talk.”
• Roy turned around gloomily, and I followed him quickly.
• His office was as grand as it could be, but I wasn’t in the mood to admire it, so I cut to the chase. “I know your time is precious, and since it’s lunchtime, I’ll make it short. Can you give me back the phone?”
• Roy turned around and stared at me as I gave him my best smile. “I thought you were here to negotiate, given our… relationship.”
• I shook my head. “You jest, Mr. McGowan. There’s nothing between us, and you’re a fair man. Even if we did share a night before, I know you wouldn’t give in. Of course I wouldn’t dream of getting the deal through preferential treatment either. All I ask for is the phone. That’s enough for me.”
• He brushed his finger across my lips and flicked the breadcrumb away. “You’re dumb, but you know where you stand.”
• I wiped my mouth with my hand awkwardly. D*mn you. I didn’t say that out loud though, since he saved me twice, and I took his virginity, probably.
• Then, Roy took a black phone from the drawer and put it on the desk, and I quickly took the phone away in case he changed his mind. “Thank you, Mr. McGowan. Thank you very much! Goodbye, have a nice day!”
• Before I could even get out, he said coldly, “You’re a dumb one alright. If you had taken your time to think about it, you would have realized I could have kept a copy of all the photos in there.”