Chapter 10 Bumping Into Eileen

• "I'll go for some frog legs. Here's the menu. Just order whatever you want to eat," he said, handing me a greasy menu for me to order from it.
• I took the menu and looked through it, having no idea what to order. Especially after listening to him order the frog legs, which totally killed my appetite, I didn't feel like eating anything at all. However, not ordering anything would seem impolite, so I said, "I'll have a serving of fried rice, then." A plate of fried rice was inexpensive, and compared to other dishes, it seemed to be the safest choice.
• After placing the order, we sat and chatted for a while, waiting for the food to be served.
• Soon enough, his frog legs were brought to our table. Even from a distance, I smelled a strong fishy odor, which almost made me puke. It had been this way since I was little; whenever there was any hint of a fishy smell, I found it hard to bear, perhaps due to some physiological reasons.
• The man couldn't wait and immediately picked up a piece of frog leg and stuffed it into his mouth, looking quite satisfied.
• I swallowed, not because I was craving the food, but because I was trying to suppress the urge to throw up.
• Seeing me hesitating to touch the food, he urged, "This is their signature dish. Come on, give it a try."
• I waved my hand in refusal. "No, I'm good. I can't really enjoy such indulgence in food."
• As I said that, my fried rice was served. I looked at the edge of the plate, and there were some black unidentifiable bits that were truly hard to accept. In the end, however, I couldn't resist my hunger. I had no choice but to pick up a spoonful and take a bite. "Mmm! This is surprising…" I took another bite; indeed, it tasted pretty good. Overcoming my prejudice, I ate several more mouthfuls.
• "Don't just focus on your fried rice. Come on, have some frog meat. It's tender and delicious."
• I kept my head down, engrossed in eating the fried rice, not noticing that he had picked up a piece of frog leg and placed it on my plate. "Give it a try! Don't be afraid. I guarantee that after one bite, you'll want a second," he said.
• I swallowed again, but after recalling the experience with the fried rice, I decided to give it another chance. Summoning up my courage, I put the piece of frog leg into my mouth. The moment I chewed it, the juices burst out of the meat, filling my mouth and nose with a fishy smell. I quickly closed my eyes and gulped it down, but as it went down my throat, its fishy smell lingered, incessantly invading my nostrils. "Sorry, I need to go to the restroom," I said, clapping my hand over my mouth, enduring the unpleasant smell while hurrying to the first-floor restroom of a nearby shopping complex.
• I rushed into the women's restroom. As soon as I turned around the corner, I bumped into someone. The considerable impact caused the person to stagger a few steps. She almost lost her balance, but thankfully, my quick reflexes allowed me to steady her.
• The person swore, "Is there a ghost haunting you? Why are you running so fast?!"
• I promptly apologized, "Sorry, I didn't mean to…" The moment I looked up, I was rendered speechless. The person I bumped into was none other than Eileen, the woman Ian was going to marry. No wonder her voice sounded familiar; it was as if I had heard it somewhere before. It's a small world indeed. With so many people around, how did I manage to bump into her of all people? I should've bought a lottery ticket. The odds of this are even lower than winning the lottery, yet here I am, running into her.
• Eileen also recognized me. "How come it's you? You're Ian's secretary."
• I had no time to argue with her, though. The fishy smell kept filling my nostrils, and the nausea was getting stronger and stronger. I had to cover my mouth at once. At this very moment, all I wanted was to find a spot to throw up.
• Eileen, however, was relentless. She blocked my path, saying, "Don't think you can brush me off with just an apology because you're Ian's secretary. He just bought me this evening gown, and I'm supposed to accompany him to an important gathering tonight. If you ruin it, can you afford to compensate me?"
• Her evening gown did look expensive, but I took a glance and saw that it was in perfect condition. Observing her haughty demeanor, I guessed she was merely seizing the opportunity to make a fuss. Perhaps she still held a grudge against me for the time Ian had made me stay with him alone the other day.
• "Don't stop me!" My stomach was already churning violently.
• I wanted to push Eileen away and rushed to find a spot to vomit, but she thought I wasn't taking her seriously and wouldn't let go. "You think you can run away? Come back here!" She held firmly onto me.
• The moment she held onto me, I instinctively tried to break free, causing a strong reflux to surge up. My throat had lost its ability to swallow. I couldn't hold it any longer; I was feeling too uncomfortable.
• Blaaargh!
• The fried rice I had just eaten, mixed with gastric juices, came out and landed on Eileen's hand. Not only that, but some of the vomit even splattered onto her evening gown.
• She dropped her jaw in shock, her eyes wide open in disbelief. The next moment, a piercing shriek echoed in the restroom, almost piercing my eardrums. "Aaaah!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
• This alerted Ian, who happened to be in the men's restroom. Thinking that Eileen was being assaulted, he rushed in with a toilet plunger he found somewhere.
• "Ian, look at this! This woman vomited all over me!" Eileen complained to him while pointing at the food particles on her arm.
• Seeing that it was me, Ian wore a somewhat awkward expression. "What are you doing here?"
• I patted my chest to soothe myself for a moment. After throwing up, I felt much better. Only then did I take my time to reply, "What's the matter? Am I not supposed to be here?" Even though I was in the wrong, I had no intention of playing nice with him.
• "Did I hear that right, Ian? Is this the secretary you hired? How dare she speak to you like that?" Eileen couldn't believe her ears when she saw how cocky I sounded. As a secretary, how dare she be so disrespectful to her boss?
• That was right. I didn't give a sh*t about Ian; it was just that he had some leverage over me for the time being.
• Ian was silent at first, taking out some tissues to wipe the vomit from Eileen's body.
• "Ian, why aren't you saying anything? Don't tell me you're…" Eileen looked at me with terrified eyes.
• "Stop imagining things. How could I be interested in her?" Ian replied. His expression was unnatural when he said this, but he managed to maintain his composure.
• Eileen didn't notice the subtle change in his demeanor, but I saw it clearly. It was just that I had no intention of exposing it.
• "Then you have to stand up for me and fire her. I don't want to see her ever again!" demanded Eileen. It was easy to tell from her jealousy that she felt insecure about her relationship with Ian. Especially, she looked at me in a way as though I were trying to steal her man. I was sorry to say this, but I had zero interest in the man she treasured so much.
• "Let's not bother with her. We should go back to the hotel and get you washed," replied Ian as he took Eileen's hand.
• Feeling hurt that her man didn't stick up for her, Eileen said, "Ian, why are you protecting her instead of standing up for me?"
• After darting a glance at me, Ian leaned closer to Eileen and whispered something in her ear. Since they were at a distance, I couldn't hear what they were saying at all.
• Eileen seemed delighted afterward. "Is that so? You should've told me earlier. Never mind, I'm a forgiving person, so I won't lower myself to her level."
• You won't lower yourself to my level? I'm just looking the other way! I knew full well what kind of person this man was. Let her enjoy her little moment of pride, but she'll soon get jilted and be left crying for help.
• Ian said to me, adding, "Oh, let me remind you that the public outcry has been getting stronger these days. If you don't want Dr. Fulton to sink into depression for being embroiled in public scrutiny, you have to get up to speed on the task I assigned to you."
• His so-called reminder wasn't out of goodwill; he was clearly telling me to give up and submit to him. Not a chance!
• I really couldn't stand his attitude, so I went to the sink to wash my face and hands. After wiping the vomit from my clothes, I left right away, letting this dirty couple talk about me behind my back. Today was already a bad day, and now I had to deal with this. I felt incredibly vexed.
• "You took forever to come back here! I'm almost done eating," said the man, happily eating away and picking his teeth at the eatery. He looked quite handsome, but his behavior was so contrary to his appearance.
• I was fuming. Had he not made me eat that piece of frog leg, I wouldn't have run into those two people.
• "What's wrong?" he asked curiously, noticing my displeasure.
• "Nothing. Are you done eating? If you're done, I'll pay the bill." I took out my phone, ready to pay the bill by scanning the QR code.
• "I already paid the bill, so consider this my treat. You owe me one, and you can treat me another time."
• What? This guy is playing with me! Don't tell me he has some ulterior motive? Ahem! Ahem! Stop it, I'm being too narcissistic. This is our first meeting, so there's no way he could be interested in me. I'm not some stunning beauty, anyway. "Fine then, I owe you one, and I'll treat you another day. It's getting late already, so I'll head back now." I picked up my purse and was about to leave.
• As soon as I got up, I saw Eileen walking in my direction with Ian on her arm.