woman wearing irish linen shirt

Miss Pender was surprisingly calm after I finished speaking.The complexity in her eyes was taken away bit by bit. At first I thought it was a cover-up, but the content was becoming more and more simple.

In the end, it was obvious.

All that remained in her eyes was enthusiasm.

"Are these all your concerns?" Miss Pender's self-confidence returned, as if the reality was not worth mentioning in front of her, a small difficulty like dust that could be easily wiped away by just dusting off, "Conflict of interest?"

I was stunned for a moment before I said, "I thought this was enough. You obviously value this project, and I also care about my professional reputation. It is difficult for us to develop a healthy romantic relationship."

"A healthy romantic relationship is about mutual respect, understanding, and two people liking each other, and nothing else." She looked at me, vaguely, "Don't you like me?"

I'm speechless, don't look away, I noticed she was smiling out of the corner of my eye.

this woman...

But in order not to make her feel uncomfortable, I must speak clearly about such an important matter.I quickly forced myself to turn my back, and said, "It's not a matter of liking or disliking, Sonia. The avoidance of conflicts of interest is clearly written in the employment contract. You know that I attach great importance to this job. If Applying for recusal now...it's even more difficult for you, and the project you negotiated yourself has to be handed over to others, and I can't see you doing such a thing."

She rested her chin in one hand and narrowed her eyes slightly: "Some people really have a lot of rules in their hearts."

Not joking, I emphasized: "This is the most basic office rule."

Miss Pender glanced at me and picked up the spoon: "So you don't want to date me?"

My ears were burning red, and I struggled to maintain my composure: "As I just said, my wishes have nothing to do with this. Such things will seriously affect our career development, even if other consulting companies , how many young partners like you are there in the world?"

"How many of you are there in the world?" Her eyes suddenly became serious, and she asked me back.

My cheeks were hot suddenly, and I didn't dare to look at her, I lowered my head and mechanically sent a piece of mushroom to my mouth, chewed and swallowed it.

Miss Pan De didn't urge me, but when I finally raised my head again, she sighed softly and said, "Do you think you've told me all your concerns?"

I pursed my lips: "I don't think there is anything missing."

"Let me summarize, your concern is that under the current cooperation relationship, the conflict of interest between us avoids the issue, right?" She kept staring at me, not allowing me to escape, "It's not that you don't like me, It's not that you don't want to date me. It's just work, right?"

I was a little hot, but I still said: "Your summary is in place."

"I still like it when you're more direct." Her eyebrows finally relaxed, and she smiled, "But it's not bad, I would say it's the kind of cuteness that I just know how to appreciate. Yao, can you please Listen to my thoughts?"

My heart softened, and I nodded: "Okay."

She looked at me very tenderly, obviously without any intimate movements, but I felt her gently caressing my cheek in a daze, as if she could do such an incredible thing just with her eyes.

After staring at her for a long time, Miss Pan opened her mouth: "I like you. I enjoy the time spent with you, and I hope that I can often get such opportunities in the future. For a momentary infatuation, personal affairs affect work, of course. Unprofessional...but just because that makes me act like I don't feel anything and pass up the chance to try, I don't want to.

"I want to go on a date with you. I want to see you on weekends, share with you delicious food, fresh food, and everything around me, and get to know your hobbies, your taste, and yourself." Pan Miss De frowned, her eyes were deep, "And when everything goes well, if we are willing to start a romantic adventure together, the conflict of interest will be formally established. At that time, I will apply to avoid suspicion."

I can't speak, and I can't open my eyes.After a while, I said, "This would be too much of a sacrifice."

"That's my business." She tilted her head, "You just need to tell me your wishes."

"There are still many details that we need to discuss..." I looked back at her, considering my words.

Who can say no to this woman?

I moved my throat: "First of all, I want to make one thing clear: Is our cooperation still established?"

Ms. Pan De frowned slightly: "You are still very important to us. From the perspective of BCG Singapore employees, I still don't want to lose such a key partner as you - but as myself, to be honest Say I don't care. We can listen to you."

"Okay." I looked at her, "What about general project work?"

She has a sly look in her eyes: "Of course, I won't let my private life interfere with my normal work."

"When we meet in our personal capacity," I said, "we cannot elicit information directly or indirectly from each other."

"I agree."

"Neither consciously nor unconsciously."

"Wow." She looked at me and thought for a moment, "I can't promise things that I can't control, but I think I can promise you that I will be vigilant in this regard and do my best to make you stand upright. lose."

I squinted my eyes: "I thought we were on the same side."

Miss Pan De's expression was a bit playful: "It's hard for us to know the truth until the last moment."

I couldn't help laughing.She didn't really believe me.

But surprisingly, at this moment, I was neither frightened nor tired at all.There is an unprecedented lightness out of nowhere that makes me relax and soften, like grooming and having fun by a campfire after dark, today's weather is washed away, and I know there is still tomorrow.

Instead of asking where it came from, I saw where it was going.

"May I treat you to supper?" I said, looking at Miss Pender.

She was startled, a little shy, but still smiled and said: "I thought you would have paid for this meal."

"So," I paused, "is this our first date?"

"No." She immediately dismissed the idea. "There is a whole set of considerations about the first date, and I want it to be done with a plan."

It seems that I couldn't help smiling from just now: "Well, I will choose the restaurant carefully and dress up carefully."

"No no." Miss Pender refused me again, "You dress up well, I will drive, and I will pay for the dinner."

Her sudden strength made me a little confused about the reason, but I was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said: "If you want that?"

"That's my wish." She blinked. "Let it come true."

I looked at her and unconsciously smiled deeper: "Okay."

We made an appointment for the first date next Saturday, and she picked me up at five o'clock and told me to wear shoes that are more comfortable for walking.Naturally, I have no reason to disagree, just to make the weekend as complete as possible, and the next working week will be busy.

When I got home and turned on the computer, I let out a long sigh.

Confused--

How did I promise her?

Today, my mood is on a roller coaster. The situation before dawn and now after dark is really very different.For a moment I didn't know whether to be happy or worried: yet my enthusiasm couldn't cool, my brain couldn't settle.It's like you're wandering the tropics, longing for a snowflake, and then one actually hits you head-on.

But snowflakes are shorter than fireworks. Is there no better analogy for omens in my mind?

It seems that there is no such thing.

Because it never occurred to me that this would happen.

Miss Pender likes me.Miss Pande said that she wanted to go on an adventure with me... I was once again struck by the enthusiasm hidden in her words, and I couldn't read a word of the email, so I covered my face and held my breath for a long time.In the end, I forced myself to calm down again, took a deep breath, and patted my face with both hands.

I have a presentation tomorrow with the big boss, he hates video conferencing, I have to go to work anyway.

It is possible to see her when I go to the company. No matter what it is to protect or hide, I must be worthy of my work.

In a short period of time, Jocelyn will probably urge her a second time regarding Miss Pender's situation.I have to deal with this as soon as possible, and I still hope to find a way to resign from the "lots of work" that the big boss has given me.If the company's work can be as simple as possible, the cooperation between me and BCG, which is not close, can of course be declared broken.

In this way, not only do I not have to be so restrained in doing things, but I can let go of the game with them; the relationship between us will also be much cleaner.

I mean me and Miss Pender.

We actually had personal contact other than project cooperation. Although she was very close to me yesterday, I still remember her fragrance and her temperature, but as soon as I returned to my own home, the My life, day in and day out, with nothing but work, I thought it was like a dream.As if that could only be a dream.

It is different now.

My life seems to finally have content.

The delicate water column of the shower washes away all my running around all day.My nerves were unbelievably active, as if they were insensible, replaying memorable images over and over again, like an old CD player malfunctioning because of a scratched surface; The person with the remote control played it backwards repeatedly, as if possessed by a demon.

I fell asleep hastily in a very obscure emotion, until I lost consciousness, I was uncharacteristically excited.A voice I had never heard whispered in my heart:

Wow, I'm actually going on a date with her.