Chapter 2 – The Dare
Story goes. Girl meets Boy. Boy meets girl. Usually, they fall in love at first sight. But it was a different thing here. After all, our heroine is a man hater, right? And yes, as much as our leading man would like to hate our heroine because of the black eye she gave him, which by the way made him not to get out of his pad for a week, he took her as a challenge. After all, George's villa in Kaoshiung means a great business opportunity for this filthy rich handsome guy.
“Meeting adjourned.” Ella said. You can almost here the whole room gasp for air, as they all struggle to get out of that hell of a conference room. Ella could only shake her head in dismay. She have been pressuring her architects for a better home design for an exclusive village down south, and most of their proposals are nothing but crap for her. The meeting ended as a scolding session for her team. She will not take anything less that perfect from them.
“Ms. Chen...” she heard her secretary, Angela, call her. Ella looked up at her. “Yes, Ms. Zhang?” she asked. As she signaled her secretary to come in, she noticed that she was holding a bouquet of roses. Ella raised an eyebrow as she stared at the roses. “Who sent them?” Ella asked. “I'm not sure, Ms. Chen...” her secretary said. Ella raised an eyebrow at her. “You accepted them without even figuring out who they came from?” she said in a firm tone. The anger in her tone had scare the wits of her innocent secretary. “I'm sorry...” she said in a trembling voice. Ella let out a sigh. She reached for the roses, and took the card on it.
To the most beautiful lady I've ever laid my eyes on,
May these roses keep you smiling the whole day.
Your secret admirer.
After reading the card, she crumpled it. Then, she turned to her secretary. “Send that back.” she said. Angela was not surprised at what she said. After all, her boss have always rejected the flowers her admirers have sent her. “Can I keep it, Ms. Chen?” she asked. “Do what you want with it. I just don't want to see those roses within my sight.” she said. Angela nodded her head. She got out of the conference room and left her alone.
Ella leaned back on her chair, and closed her eyes. Roses. It used to be her favorite. Not to mention, those lavender roses that the supposed to be secret admirer sent her. She took a deep breath as she tried to shut out a certain memory from her mind. “Shit...” she muttered to herself. She bit her lips, trying her best not to cry upon the thought of that memory. As she opened her eyes, she took another breath. “Damn those lavender roses... Damn that stupid guy who sent them to me...” she thought.
Well, whoever the secret admirer is, he sure did a research on his subject.
--
And yes, Chun did researched on Ella Chen. “Great. Thanks.” he said on the phone. He put the phone down, and the leaned on his leather chair, smiling to himself. “At least she accepted the roses.” he said.
Yes, Chun did his homework. As soon as he accepted George's challenge, he made a thorough research on Ella, not only on the basic ones. Now, he knew her schedule, her favorite color, her favorite movie, her favorite restaurant, and favorite singer. At least those things. At least it adds up to what he knows like
1)She started Polygon Design on her own after her long stint in Tian Quan Engineering. After all, she have been the most sought-after architect in the country.
2)She lives alone in a house somewhere in Ximending
3)She was a dean's lister and a scholar
4)She's only hires lady architects. Unless she finds a guy talented enough to be part of her company
5)She never use her Chinese name
He scratched his chin as he think of his next move. He knew that his first move on her might have touched her heart. After all, which girl could not resist accepting their favorite flower? “One point for me... it's a good start...” he thought.
Well, that's what he thought.
--
It was 8 PM, and Ella just finished her work. She got out of her office, and as she passed Angela's work station, she saw the lavender roses neatly placed on the vase. She paused, and then looked at it for a while. Then, she walked up to it, and then took one of the roses, and buried her nose in it to inhale its scent. Suddenly, the memory of the past came up to her.
[Flashback]
“A rose for the most beautiful girl I've laid my eyes on.”
As Ella looked behind her, she saw him giving her his trademark sunshine smile. She let out a smile as she took the lavender rose from his hand. “Why lavender?” she asked as she looked at the rose in her hand. “Because you are very enchanting, and every time I look at you, I couldn't help but fall in love with you over and over again...” he said. She felt her cheek blush upon hearing what she said. Right now, she is the happiest and the luckiest girl alive, for she is with the most charming man in the world.
“You flatter me so much.” she said. He wrapped his arms around her, and then gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I'm only saying the truth.” he said. Ella looked up at him, and smiled. “I love you, Ah Ru...” she said. “I love you too, Jia Hua...” he said to her. Then, he leaned down to her, and gave her a long and loving kiss on the lips.
[End of flashback]
Ella shook her head to erase that thought. She put the rose on the vase, and then left the office. She made a mental note to herself to tell Angela to get rid of those lavender roses, first thing in the morning.
--
Chun walked out of his office, and saw his secretary busily doing some paper works. “Joyce...” he called. His secretary looked up at him, and smiled sweetly at her. “Yes, boss?” she asked. Chun gave her his most seductive smile. “Can you be a sugar, and call Ms. Ella Chen? Please set me an appointment with her.” he said. Joyce nodded her head. “I will, Mr. Wu. When should I set your appointment with her?” she asked. “Tomorrow night at Bon Apetite Restaurant. And please call that restaurant and tell them to reserve the whole place for us.” he said. He gave her a wink before going back to his room.
--
“Angela, is there anything new in my schedule?” Ella asked as soon as she arrived. Angela nodded her head. She took her boss's planner, and followed her inside her office. “Ms. Chen, at 12 noon today, you will have meeting with the contractors of Xin Fu village. Then, at 6 PM tonight, you will meet with Mr. Ren regarding the new project proposal. You will be free tomorrow until 8 PM. The 8 PM schedule tomorrow is the new one.” Angela said. Ella listened to Angela as she settled on her seat. Upon hearing her new schedule, she gave her secretary a confused look. “8 PM?” she asked. Angela nodded her head. “Mr. Go from Palacio hotel wants to meet you for dinner, regarding a project he wants us to do.” Angela said.
Ella looked away from her, and began to wonder herself. She doesn't know anyone named Go working for Palacio Hotel, and from what she knows, they have some in-house architects. “Weird...” she thought. Ella looked at her again, and nodded her head. “OK, just confirm that new appointment I have. And yeah, please tell the guys I'll be seeing them at the conference room shortly.” she said. Angela nodded her head, and then excused herself out.
--
“Mr. Wu...”
Chun stopped what he was doing, and then looked at the door. He saw her sexy secretary walk inside her office. Chun let out a smile upon seeing her. “Yes, Joyce...” he asked. Joyce smiled flirtatiously at her boss. “Ms. Chen's secretary have confirmed your appointment with her tomorrow night.” she said. Chun's face lightened up upon hearing that. “Really?” he said. Joyce nodded her head. Chun stood up from her seat, and ran up to her. Then, he gave her secretary a big hug. “Thank you!” he said to her. Joyce could feel herself blushing as her boss hugged her. Then, he let her go, and smiled at her. “Thank you, Joyce. And for that, remind me to give you a bonus all right?” he said.
Joyce was so surprised at what he did, so she just nodded her head. Being hugged by her boss is more than enough bonus for her. “I... I got to go... please call me sir if you need anything.” she said. As his secretary left, Chun took out his mobile phone, and called Mike. “Hey! Mike! Remember that dare I had with George? Yeah.. that one...” he said. Then, a smirk was formed on his lips. “I think George have to ready his villa for me. I have a hot date with Ella Chen tomorrow night.”
--
the following night at Bon Apetite restaurant.
Ella walked inside the restaurant, and found it empty. From what she knows, the place is jam packed during this night, and it's weird to find that there are no customers around. “Weird... are they closed?” she thought. “Ms. Chen?” a waiter called her. Ella looked up at him. “Yes, that's me.” she said. “Mr. Go is expecting you. This way, please.” the waiter said, leading her to Mr. Go.
Ella found herself walking out of the garden's restaurant. There was a table setup outside, and beside the table, a tall man was standing with his back fronting her. “There's Mr. Go, Ms. Chen.” the waiter said. Ella thanked the waiter, and then went up to him. “Mr. Go?” she called. Chun let out a smile upon hearing Ella's voice. Then, he turned around to face her. He could see the shock on her face to see who Mr. Go is.
She was shocked, all right. She never expected to see the jerk who broke her best friend's heart ever again. “You are Mr. Go? And I thought you are Wu Ji Chun?!” she exclaimed. Chun just smiled at her. “I go by the name Go Kiat Chun and Wu Ji Chun. Go Kiat Chun is my Malay name.” he said. Ella took a deep breath as she folded her arms. “As if I care about what your name is. For me, you go by one name, and that is 'jerk'” she said. With that, Chun let out a laugh. “Still mad at me, huh? I'm the one who's supposed to be mad at you here for you punched me the other night. But, I couldn't bring myself to be mad to a beautiful lady like you.” he said.
He reached for her hand, and as he was about to kiss it, Ella took it away from him. “Nice move, jerk. Sorry, but I don't want to be kissed by a guy in the hand, especially jerks like you.” she said. Chun could only flinch at what he did. Nevertheless, he composed himself. “OK... I understand. Please forgive me for moving too fast with you, Ms. Chen. Or, should I call you Ella? Or better yet, should I call you Jia Hua?” he asked.
Ella was stunned at what he said. She looked away from him to hide her change of expression. “Call me Ms. Chen. Never, ever call me by my Chinese name.” she said. Chun let out a smirk at her. “Why? Jia Hua is really nice name... I like it. It suits you well.” he said. “Look, Mr. Wu, if you want to maintain a good professional relationship with me -”
“Who said about a professional relationship with you, Ella?”
Ella gave him a confused look. Before she knew it, Chun was moving closer to her. His face was inches away from her. “I don't want a professional relationship with you, Ella. I want something more than that... I want to get to know you better... that's why I asked you out for a date tonight...” he said in a husky tone. Ella knew what he's up to next. She let out a smirk at her as she began to make her move. “Too bad, I don't want to get you know more.” she said. Then, she kicked him in the groin, making him flinch in pain.
Ella watched in amusement as Chun flinch in pain by hurting his little buddy. “Next time, don't waste other people's precious time, all right? I have no time to flirt with a playboy like you.” she said. Then, she turned her back on him, and left him all alone. Chun could only flinch in pain and watch her in frustration as she leaves. “Damn it!” he hissed. All the while, he thought victory is his and that he could charm Ella, but he was wrong. He took out his phone, and this time, he called Show. “Show! I need your help again. Find everything you could about Ella. And I mean everything!” he shouted angrily at him.
--
“Bon Apetite?” Ella asked as he turned to him. “You've always wanted to eat here, right? I got the reservations.” he said. Ella smiled at him, and looked at the restaurant before her. “I sure do. But it's hard to get reservations here...” she said. “Well, I got it.” he said to her. Ella turned to her, and held on to his hand as they walked inside.
Then, she found the whole restaurant empty, much to her surprise. “Ah Ru, this is weird... are they closed?” she asked him innocently. He didn't answer her. Instead, he lead her outside to the restaurant's garden. There, she saw a table for two set up. The garden was filled with her favorite lavender roses, and by the table, a violinist was playing their song. She was surprised and happy at the same time. “You prepared this for me?” she asked. He let out another sunshine smile of his at her. “Surprise! Happy anniversary, Jia Hua.” he said. Then, she hugged him tight. “Thank you, Ah Ru, this is the best anniversary ever!” she said.
They had dinner that night. While they were having dinner, they reminisced all the moments they had together – from the very first time they met, until today. Then, he asked her to dance. She rested her head on his chest as they slow danced to their favorite song. “I wish we will always be this happy, Ah Ru...” she whispered to her. “I can guarantee you that, Jia Hua... we will always be this happy. I will always make you happy.” he said. Just then, a waiter came, serving them her favorite chocolate. Ella looked at it closely, and noticed the design on top of it. “Look, Ah Ru...” she said pointing at the ring with a solitaire diamond on top of it. “The ring design on this looks so real!” she said. He let out a laugh at her amusement. Then, he took the diamond ring on the cake, and then knelt down in front of her, much to her confusion. “Ah Ru?” she asked. “Ella Chen Jia Hua... you know how much I love you...” he began. She could hear his voice trembling as he made his speech. “You're the only girl I see myself growing old with... I know you have been through a lot in the past, and the only thing I can do is promise you that I will never ever leave you.” Then he took her hand, and looked up at her again. “Will you marry me, Jia Hua? Will you be my wife?” he asked. She could feel the tears of joy falling from her eyes. She was speechless, and the only thing she could do is nod her head. At her answer, he put the ring on her finger. He stood up, and then embraced her. “I love you, Jia Hua...” he whispered to her. “I love you too, Ah Ru...” she said.
Ella slowly opened her eyes. As she felt her face, she felt the tears falling from her eyes. She sat up on her bed, and curled as she cried herself once again. “Ah Ru...” she whispered to herself. Seven years have passed, and she have always thought that she have forgotten all about him. But she was wrong. Seven years have passed, and his memories still lingers.
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