Laney Lee pounded the tiled floors in her one-inch Tory Burch heels. On her arms were a couple of thick folders, on her fingers a list of things she should do. As usual, she was running errands for her boss, Sales Department Head Sir Milton. The man took perverse pleasure giving Laney various instructions that would require her to run from one floor to another.
Leaning in the leather office seat behind her table, Sir Milton had rattled off the items in his impervious tone: folders to Marketing, folders to Finance, folders to Actuarial, and his Yunnan coffee from the coffee shop across their building.
“And I want my coffee very hot. The last cup you brought was already cold,” Sir Milton reminded her.
With the way the man consumed coffee three times a day, Laney wondered if her boss ever had heart palpitations from too much caffeine. She didn’t mind going to the different floors; what she hated was constantly being sent out for coffee as if she was her boss’ personal messenger.
Yet all Laney could reply was, “Yes Sir Milton.”
Laney had learned to dress down comfortably the last few months. Gone were her hair-sprayed hairdo, chic business suit and carefully layered make-up. Instead, under her long coat, she wore a collared dress shirt and tailored skirt. Her hair was in a bun, and her make-up looked natural.
Still, Laney’s nickname had stuck. Everyone called her the Rich Girl. Her shoes alone were worth her 10 months’ salary; her bag worth 5 months more. And from the way she dressed to the brands she used, there was no question that she came from a rich family. Laney also had a poise and elegance that only rich people could affect. The burning question behind her office mates’ heads was: why was she even working?
Laney battled that question herself as she looked at her list. Unknown to her office mates, Laney was one of the Lees, an elite family in Shanghai that owned businesses from jewelry to media to logistics services. The Lees were powerful and influential in business and society circles. They also had a family rule: each of the young people in her generation should go out and gain work experience for a minimum of two years.
She hated the family’s stupid rule.
Her legs hurt. Her boss was a jerk. She was the official errand girl of her department. And she still had two tasks left: actuarial, and the darned precious coffee. She went into to the actuarial department, where rows upon rows of smog gray cubicles dominated the room.
“Is Sir Ben here?”
A sea of eyeglasses peeked out from their square compartments, reflecting the bluish-white light of the rectangular fluorescent lamps towards her. It was blinding. And like hermit crabs scuttling back to their shells, the heads slid back into their spaces.
Laney frowned. She was not going to get any answers. Flicking over the folders, she saw a name: Timothy Xu. She might as well pass these folders to him.
She continued walking towards the back of the cubicles, ignoring the looks on the floor. She knew Timothy by sight--he was one of the newly-promoted actuaries of the company. He was a quiet man, probably three or four years older than she was. Beyond that, Laney knew nothing about him.
Laney reached the end of the room. There were three men sitting on a long L-shaped desk. They were of varying ages—William, the most senior actuary, Simon, who was in his thirties, and Timothy, the youngest one in the group. The three men looked up from their desk when she approached. Timothy quickly put his head down.
Simon gave a wide smile. “Hi Rich Girl. Are you looking for me?”
“Is Sir Ben here?”
“She’s looking for Crab,” William said disgustedly, referring to Sir Ben’s nickname. “He’s not here.”
“Okay. Is Timothy Xu here?” Laney asked.
Simon and William both turned their heads in surprise. Timothy’s head shot up. His eyes shifted left and right, trying to find an escape route. Seeing he had no choice, the man shuffled to her.
“Here,” Laney said handing the folders to him.
Timothy couldn’t even look at her. “Thanks,” he mumbled, as he took the folders. Were his hands trembling?
“Are you okay? You look cold.”
Like a frightened rabbit, Timothy gazed at Laney with wide-panicked eyes. “No, no, I’m good,” the man stammered. “Thank you.”
As Laney left the department, she stifled a laugh. The man had blushed trying to avoid looking at her. What a shy guy, Laney thought.
===
Laney proceeded to the Starbucks coffee shop located across her company building. Inwardly, she was happy that she got her first job in the central business district. Surrounded by famous buildings and business towers of Shanghai, Laney truly felt she was an office girl, albeit a lowly one. Her own company building was boxier and smaller than its neighbors, but the fact that it was in the business area was a feat in itself.
Her eyes scanned the grand skyline of the city before settling on a familiar building with a glistening gold spire on top. It was the Lee tower, where the main family business was headquartered. The jewelry company Goldiluxe was the most profitable one, handled by her first uncle and his children. Laney’s father, the second son of the Lee family, handled the transportation business, and the office was in a more industrial area of the municipality. Laney would rather be here than in a less stylish area of Shanghai where Starbucks cafes were harder to find. Laney was partial to coffee. Unfortunately, so was her caffeine-addicted boss.
Laney pushed open the door to the café. Her frequent visits had made her familiar with the baristas and shop owner, who greeted her enthusiastically.
“Laney! Yunnan coffee again?”
“Yes,” Laney said dourly.
As the barista did her order, the shop’s friendly middle-aged owner showed her two bags of 16oz. coffee grounds. The coffee was Panama Geisha coffee, a special mix produced in Panama.
“Your order just came. I’ve set aside two bags for you.”
Laney was delighted. “Wonderful!” She sniffed the bags, the fruity scent enveloping her senses.
“How much?”
“Seven hundred each.”
Laney didn’t bat an eyelash. She handed her card to the owner.
“Girl,” the barista hissed at Laney as the owner swiped the card. “She charged you too much.”
Laney smiled sweetly. “She’ll serve me better. You all will.” She whispered back.
The barista scowled as she handed Laney’s Yunnan coffee and coffee grounds.
“Please hold the bags. I’ll get my coffee grounds after work,” Laney said. She didn’t want her office mates to check her purchases. All the women in her floor scrutinized her things—from her tube of lipstick to the barrettes in her hair.
“All right.” The barista smiled. Generally, people found it hard getting irritated at Laney; she had a naturally sweet disposition.
After delivering the precious coffee to Sir Milton, Laney sat at her desk and sighed. There was a mound of papers on her desk for filing. One of her officemates, Becca, was coming to her table with more files.
“Noooo,” Laney moaned, looking at Becca’s folders.
Becca was one of the nicer people in her department. In her first month at work, Laney had been lost and teased for being a rich girl, but Becca had been kind to help her adjust to the workplace. Becca’s surname was also Lee, but they were not relatives. Lee was a common Chinese surname and Laney was glad for it. Everyone just thought she was a rich girl named Lee, not one of The Lees.
“Did you say hi to Sir Eddie for me?” Becca glared.
“He said he doesn’t know you,” Laney replied.
Becca pouted. Then she dumped the files at Laney’s desk. “You go around the building and see cute men. Yet you can’t even bring my message to my crush properly.”
Cute men? For a moment Timothy Xu’s face flashed in Laney’s head. The man was a geek--he wore glasses and parted his hair sideways. Yet there was something cute about him that Laney couldn’t pinpoint. Becca’s crush Eddie? Not cute. Not with the long thin face and bangs that covered half of his face. Becca must be desperate.
“There are cuter men than Eddie.” Laney countered. “How come there are a lot more male than female employees here?”
“We’re in P and C. There are more women in Life. Which means there’s a lot more chances for us to meet men here in the company. And with the company anniversary party coming up, we’re going to mingle with them.” Becca danced a bit.
“I think you’re too stuck in your cubicle. Besides, I don’t think I’m part of the celebration. I’m just new.”
Laney was right. When the department came out with the list on who were included to attend the anniversary party, Laney’s name was not on it. Becca frowned, but Laney just shrugged.
===
Coming home from work, Laney saw her most hated person lounging at the couch: her brother Skye. The guy did not work. While Laney had obediently followed the rule, her brother flouted it. Yet the elder Lees did not punish him, not even their parents. Laney railed at the unfairness of it all, but did not voice her complaints. Her other cousins had followed the rule too before joining the different family corporations. In fact, two of her cousins were now CEOs—Jackie in their media company and Swentin in their jewelry business.
“Why are you here?” Laney looked at her brother suspiciously.
Skye waved his hand with a flourish. “I’m going now. Disco night tonight.”
Laney remembered one of her brother’s eventful night-outs. “If you’re too drunk to come home, don’t call me. I’m too tired to rescue you.”
Skye glared at her before leaving.
Her brother was always like that—going out of his own free will, not being reined in by their parents. Laney’s situation was different—the parents were more protective of her and didn’t like her going out late at night.
It was close to 9 pm at night when she realized she had forgotten to get her Panama coffee beans from the coffee shop. She had showered, brushed, and was in one of her loose tees and shorts when she remembered her beans. In a panic, she called up the café and told them she would pick them up tonight.
“Don’t worry. We close at 10,” the owner cheerfully answered.
Laney ended the call and went out of her bedroom. She paused, then went back in to check herself in the mirror. “I can’t look like this,” she muttered. She combed her long hair to a neat bun. A few steps towards the door and she was back on her dresser again. She fumbled for her foundation powder then swept hurried blush strokes on her cheeks.
“This will have to do.” She frowned at her reflection. Her face still looked bare.
After throwing on a long, thick coat, Laney went out of her room, only to have a middle-aged woman block her path.
“Where are you going, Young Miss?” the woman said, her arms across her chest.
“Auntie Sao!” Laney pouted. “I forgot something.”
“I’m telling your father.”
“Argh! I’ve paid for it.” Laney exclaimed. Auntie Sao was Laney’s official guardian, even if she was too old to have one. The spinster had guarded Laney like a hawk, especially during her years in college.
“Get it tomorrow.”
“I’ll forget!”
Both of them glared at each other, each one not budging.
“I’ll bring you a cup of Starbucks tea.”
“Okay.” Auntie Sao’s eyes lighted up. “I’ll call a driver for you.”
Good thing the woman can be bribed, Laney thought, as she soon sped towards the coffee shop.
