Always and Forever

[tweety365]

Em – Thanks for the support. Glad to have a new reader. Reason why the girls are so violent? Well, why not? I’ve read a lot of stories where the leading heroines are too sweet and gentle, so I decided to make Ruby and Annie independent and strong women. They have to be able to take care of themselves since their parents are not around. I’m so glad you like Stephan. Originally, I wanted to make him a minor character, but I like him so much that I’ve decided to create a larger role for him. Guess you’ll have to wait and see. Do tell me what you think of Tae as the story progresses.

zzzbeauty – I love Kevin and Annie too. Oh, I have a lot in store for this couple. It will be a rough ride, so hope you’re prepared. Whenever I put Annie and Kevin together, I crack myself up just by imagining their conversations. The sarcastic humor gets to me. <IMG SRC="smilies/laugh2.gif" border="0"> So glad to have your support. Hmmmmm, I see the favorite couple so far is Annie and Kevin. Well, I’ll just have to spice things up with Tae and Ruby then. <IMG SRC="smilies/naughty.gif" border="0">

[tweety365]

Chapter 13 - The Interview

Character Appearances:
Ruby Lin Xin Ru
Annie Man Chung Han
Ada Choi Siu Fun
Michelle Yim Mai Shuet
Tae Sattawat Sethakorn as Tae Leung

After gathering her purse and briefcase, Ruby rushed home to tell Annie the good news. She was in an ecstatic mood as she opened the door to the apartment.

“ANNIE! You’ll never guess what happened to me at work today! Annie!”

Annie walked out of the kitchen wearing a cooking apron and holding a ladle. “What happened? You look like you just won the lottery.”

“Close, but no, I didn’t win the lottery.” Ruby grinned widely. “Guess.”

“Did you find another job?”

“No, but you’re getting closer.”

Annie thought for several more seconds before saying, “I give up. Tell me.”

Ruby started jumping up and down with a gleeful squeal. “I don’t have to search for another job because the company is postponing the layoffs. Mr. Wu even offered me the chance to do a very important interview for the newspaper.”

“Oh, Ruby!” She immediately gave Ruby a tight hug. “That’s wonderful news!”

“I know!”

“This calls for a celebration,” she said with a smile. “Let’s go out for dinner tonight.”

“Well, I haven’t exactly landed the interview yet. There are several other large newspaper companies that are also competing for this interview. I still have to meet with the publicist and she has the final word. So, I think it’s a tad early to start celebrating. Besides, your cooking is already first-rate. Eating at home is the same thing as going out to those fancy restaurants.”

Annie waved her ladle at Ruby. “You cheapskate! You’re just saying that so you don’t have to fork out any money for dinner.”

“Hehehehe. You know me so well.” She draped an arm around Annie’s shoulders and led her back into the kitchen. “So, what are we having tonight?”

“Pork chops, baked potatoes, chicken soup, and some salad.”

“Mmmmmm.” Ruby started licking her lips. “Just thinking about your food makes my mouth water. If you were a guy, I’d marry you.”

“If I were a man, I would run the hell out of here,” Annie teased.

“Hey! Any guy would be damn lucky to have me as a girlfriend. With my beauty, talent, and sweet nature, men would kill to be by my side,” she stated with a satisfied nod of her head. “Why, I’m practically a paragon.”

Annie resumed stirring her pot of soup. “HA! Who are you kidding? With your demanding ways, what red-blooded man in his right mind would come within fifty feet of you?”

There was a mischievous twinkle in Ruby’s eyes as she rolled up her sleeves. “That’s it! I see that I have to teach you some respect for your fellow roommate!”

Seeing the familiar glint in Ruby’s eyes, Annie dropped her ladle in the pot and ran out of the kitchen to avoid the forthcoming attack. The pursuit ended in the living room as Ruby managed to tackle Annie on the sofa and started to tickle her under the arms.

“HAHAHAHAHA!” Annie laughed. “STOP, RUBY! PLEASE, HAVE MERCY! HAHAHAHAHA! I GIVE UP!” she screamed out.

Ruby temporarily halted the tickling. “Have you learned your lesson? Will you show me your utmost respect from now on?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Annie promised with a silly grin on her face. “I have learned from my mistake and promise to never tell anyone that Ruby Lin is a demanding, dirty, as well as lazy couch potato who will ultimately torture her future husband to an early grave.”

Ruby’s face scrunched up into a look of outrage. “Okay, you asked for it!”
She automatically resumed her relentless tickling. Their cheerful laughter rang out in the small apartment and dinner was temporarily forgotten.

LATER ON THAT NIGHT

Ruby’s most stylish and expensive suits were all laid out on her bed as she stood critically assessing her clothes. Annie was stretched out on a comfortable chair with a book in her hand. She was trying her best to ignore Ruby’s sighs of frustration, but it was easier said than done. Eventually, Ruby stopped her sighing and started pacing back and forth in the room.

Annie glanced up from her book and said in an exasperated voice, “Will you please just pick out a suit and be done with it?! You are starting to get on my nerves with your sighing and pacing? I don’t see why I have to sit here with you?”

“Well, the sooner you help me pick out a suit, the sooner you can return to your room. It would help if you could stop reading for a minute and give me some advice here. Haven’t you read that book four times already?” Ruby questioned with a frown.

“I already told you what to wear.” Annie resumed reading. “You’re just too darn picky. And I’ll have you know that ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is a classic. No matter how many times you read it, the story is still good.”

Ruby sighed as she flopped down on the bed corner. “The meeting with Tae’s publicist is really important, so I have to look flawless. I want a professional and mature look, but not one that makes me appear dull.”

She waited to hear a response from her friend, but her ears met with the occasional rustle of pages being turned. “Annie! Are you paying any attention to what I’m saying?!”

Annie still had her eyes glued to her book. “Of course, I am. Important meeting. I heard you. But I don’t see why you’re so worried. You are a great and competent journalist, Ruby. Just be yourself and I’m sure that publicist will pick you to do the interview.”

“That’s easy for you to say. It’s not your job on the line. Plus, I heard Tae is extremely selective regarding interviews.”

“My advice is still the dark gray suit. It gives you a very professional look and it also makes you eyes stand out.”

Ruby agreed with Annie, but she was too stressed out to make a definitive choice. She continued to stare at her suits for a while and then decided to try them all on just to be sure. Annie went back to reading her book.

**********

TVB’S CORPORATE OFFICE:
FRIDAY 2:00 P.M.

Ruby glanced at her wristwatch for the fourth time in fifteen minutes as she anxiously sat next to Ada in her dark gray business suit. Ada noticed her nervous posture as they waited to see Michelle Yim.

“Ruby, try to relax,” Ada said reassuringly. “This interview is important to the newspaper, but it’s not a life or death situation. I heard Michelle Yim is a very perceptive person. So, I’m confident that she will make the intelligent choice and give us the interview.”

“I know, Ada. It’s just that I’ve never done an exclusive interview before.” Ruby was still trying to calm her nerves. “I’m so glad I have you here with me; otherwise, I don’t think I can make it through this meeting.”

Ada placed a comforting hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “Just think of this as one of our normal conference meetings.”

There was a knock on the door before it opened and in walked a tall, beautiful woman in her mid-fifties. With short, black hair and smooth ivory skin, Michelle Yim had a youthful appearance that belied her age and a sophisticated look that never failed to turn heads. Ruby was extremely surprised to see that Tae Leung’s publicist was the gentle owner of the terrier she found a week ago.

“Oh, my gosh! Mrs. Lau?!”

“Ruby! I didn’t know you worked for Hong Kong Daily News. Well, this is certainly a pleasant surprise.”

Michelle extended her hand to Ada. “Hi, I’m Michelle Yim. You must be Miss Ada Choi, Chief Editor of Hong Kong Daily News.”

Ada firmly shook Michelle’s hand. “Yes. It’s a great pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Yim. Or do you prefer to be called Mrs. Lau?”

“Please, call me Michelle,” she said with a smile. “Although I love my husband to death, Mrs. Lau makes me sound so old. I always teased Damien about that. She turned to Ruby with her outstretch hand. “So, how have you been, Ruby?”

“I’m doing very well,” she replied with excitement in her voice. “Thank you.”

Michelle walked over to her desk and gestured for them to sit. “Please, have a seat. I would like to get straight to the point and not waste anyone’s valuable time. As you both know, there are four other newspaper companies bidding for this interview with Tae. What can HK Daily News offer us?”

Ruby opened her briefcase and took out three folders, handing one to Michelle and another one to Ada. She flipped through her copy. “We have compiled a report that fully lists the benefits Tae will receive if he chooses HK Daily News. We will also arrange to provide free promotion in our newspaper for his new movie, ‘One Last Cry’ and his next music album. The first page of the report explains the terms of conditions for this interview and the last page has a listing of questions we will ask Tae.”

Looking up from her report, Ada explained, “Aside from being one of the five largest newspaper companies in Hong Kong, our company also has a reputation in the industry for being highly professional and trustworthy. We can pretty much guarantee that after our interview, Tae’s image will only improve in the public’s eye.”

Ruby continued on, “HK Daily News also has a very large group of male readers. Since a majority of Tae’s fans are made up of females, this will be a good opportunity to expose his image to more male fans.”

Michelle closed the report and placing it on the desk. “This is a really thorough report. The conditions sound reasonable and I know HK Daily News is a very reputable newspaper. I would love for Tae to do an interview with you, but I still have to run this over with him first. I also have to meet with one more company before making my decision. I will contact your vice president in a couple of days to notify him on the outcome.”

“That sounds great,” Ada said enthusiastically. “We look forward to hearing from you.”

Ruby picked up her briefcase and was about to follow Ada out when Michelle called out to her. “Oh Ruby, remember to drop by anytime to visit Peppermint. That dog will definitely be thrilled to see you.”

“I will,” she smiled back. “It was nice to meet you again, Michelle.”

**********

LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Ruby was sitting in the living room and watering her flowerpots when the telephone rang. It was Mr. Wu calling to inform her that he had just spoken with Michelle.

“Ruby! We got the interview!” Mr. Wu exclaimed in an elated tone.

She jumped up from her seat. “Really?!"

“Yes. I just got off the phone with Michelle and she told me that Tae is free on Tuesday. The interview is scheduled at 9 o’clock in the morning at his beach house. You don’t have a problem with the time, do you?”

“Of course not!” In a promising voice, “I’ll be there bright and early.”

“I knew you and Ada wouldn’t let me down. Okay, I’ll talk to you later. I need to call Ada to tell her the good news. I think it’s best if you two get together to do a quick run over of the details though.”

“Absolutely!” she grinned happily.

********

Ruby was sipping her fourth cup of coffee as she irritable glanced up at the clock above the mantel and noticed that it was exactly 12 o’clock. Wanting to make a good impression, Ada and Ruby had arrived to Tae’s luxurious beach house extra early on Tuesday morning. To their complete surprise, they found that he was not home and were told by his aging butler to wait in the living room.

Ruby was fuming mad as she fidgeted in her seat. “Arghhh! Ada, this is ridiculous! Where the hell is Tae? It’s been over THREE hours!”

Ada heaved a sigh and shook her head. “I tried calling Michelle, but she’s not in her office and Tae isn’t picking up his cell phone. Maybe he ran into some trouble on the way here?” she offered with a hopeful look.

“What trouble could he possibly be in?!” Ruby gritted out. “The least he could do is call us if he can’t make it to this interview. I’ve heard of celebrities being fashionably late, but this is absolutely inexcusable!”

Ada was starting to feel annoyed herself. “Let’s give him five more minutes. If he still doesn’t show up, then I guess we’ll just have to reschedule.”

Just then, they heard the front door opened and saw Tae Leung casually strolling toward the living room. He looked devilishly handsome wearing an expensive Armani white silk shirt and black trousers. His charismatic presence filled the room, but Ruby and Ada were too upset to notice his good looks. Shooting death stares at Tae’s direction, Ruby was ready to give him a good scolding, but Ada instantly placed her hand on Ruby’s shoulder.

“Not now,” Ada whispered in her ear. “Remember, a good journalist must face all situations with a clear head.”

Ruby forcibly controlled her anger and stood up to greet Tae. With a brilliant grin on his slightly tanned face, he extended his hand to Ada. “So sorry for being late. Ada Choi, right? I had some unexpected business to attend. I hope you two didn’t wait too long.”

As Tae took a step toward Ruby, she had a strong whiff of expensive women’s perfume on his shirt and also saw a light imprint of red lipstick near his collar. Obviously, he was in the company of some hussy and forgot all about this interview. She desperately wanted to throw a biting remark in his face, but had to force the urge back down.

“Hey, Ruby,” Tae smirked. “Didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

“Neither did I.” Ruby muttered with clenched teeth.

“Do you ladies want something to drink?”

“No thanks.” Ruby pointed to the cups of coffee on the table. “We already had enough coffee for the day.”

“Yes,” Ada said. “I think it’s best that we get started.”

Tae took a seat facing Ruby and Ada and comfortably hooked his foot over a knee. He gave a slight wave of his hand. “Whenever you’re ready, ladies.”

Ruby took out her tape recorder and pressed the record button as Ada picked up a pen and notepad. Ada carried out the first question. “Tae, let’s start with your background. Your family has been in the entertainment industry for three generations. Did you feel any pressure to go into acting and singing? What were the deciding factors for you to venture into this industry?”

Tae had on a very bored expression and yawned loudly. “I’ve answered these types of questions so many times that they are starting to bore me. Don’t you have anything interesting to ask me? I thought a well known journalist like yourself would be more competent in her work.”

“Umm, would you care to enlighten me on the topics of your interests?” Ada was feeling extremely embarrassed.

“Well, for starter, why don’t we discuss about my talented abilities as a lover and the women who entertained me in this very house,” he said in a suggestive voice while blatantly staring at Ada’s chest. “By the way, are you single, Ada?”

Ada had never in her career encountered a situation like this and was left momentarily speechless. Ruby furiously slammed her notebook on the table.

“That does it! Ada, we’re leaving. We don’t have to sit here and take this kind of crap from a pathetic, ill-bred jerk like him! He is clearly not interested in doing this interview.”

She quickly gathered her belongings and pulled Ada, who was still too shocked to move, up from her seat. She glared at Tae and in a voice filled with disgust, “You are an uncouth boor! I can’t believe we even considered interviewing a rude person like you. It was obviously a horrible mistake, but one we don’t intend to repeat.”

He slowly stood up. “How dare you use that tone with me. If you expect to work in this town again, you better apologize for calling me names,” he threatened in an ominous voice.

Even though he was towering over her with a menacing look, Ruby refused to back down.
A thin smile appeared on her face as she replied in fierce tone, “All right, I’m sorry for doing this.”

Before Ada could stop her, Ruby swiftly picked up her cup of coffee and tossed the content in his face. Luckily, the coffee was no longer hot, so it didn’t burn his skin. Extreme disbelief registered in Tae’s face as the dark liquid dripped down his face and stained his costly shirt. Horrified at this unexpected turn of events, Ada quickly grabbed Ruby’s arm and ran out of the house.

[jeh]

Another long chapter, yeah!! <IMG SRC="smilies/clap.gif" border="0"> Please, please write more about Tae and Ruby. It's weird but I like them more than Kevin and Annnie <IMG SRC="smilies/frown.gif" border="0"> Can't wait to see your next update. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[Em]

Can I ask a favour? Can you post a picture of Tae because I don't know what he looks like and it will help with visualisation.
Thanks!

Love the conversations - so lively! More please!!

<IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

[tweety365]

jeh - I don't think you're weird at all. I happen to like Tae and Ruby a lot. I can't decide which couple I like more. So glad to know you like them so much. Hope you won't be disappointed with their rocky relationship. But I guarantee that the end will be worth it! <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Em - I posted up two posters with pics of Tae in both of them. The first poster is on page 1. Tae's the one in the blue shirt. The second poster is on page 2 and he's the guy in the red shirt. Hope that helps. <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">
Thanks for commenting. Really helps motivate me to update. Talk to you guys soon.

[tweety365]

Chapter 14 - Painful Past

Character Appearances:
Ruby Lin Xin Ru
Ada Choi Siu Fun
Tae Sattawat Sethakorn as Tae Leung
Michelle Yim Mai Shuet
Kevin Cheng Ka Wing
Annie Man Chung Han

On the drive back to Hong Kong Daily News, Ruby sat fuming in the passenger seat while Ada steered the car along the busy streets. A dark frown creased Ada’s smooth forehead as she worried over the consequences of Ruby’s actions. Glancing at Ada’s profile, Ruby started to regret her reckless behavior. She should have controlled herself instead of letting her temper run loose. She just hoped her friend wouldn’t be blamed for what happened.

“Don’t worry, Ada,” she said in a contrite voice. “I’ll take full responsibility for what I did. No matter how much that pervert deserved it, I know it was wrong to throw coffee on him.”

Ada shook her head. “This isn’t your fault, Ruby. Tae’s behavior was completely rude and offensive,” she said with a sigh. “We’ll just have to tell Mr. Wu exactly what happened and hopefully, he’ll understand. I heard that Tae can be a difficult person, but I’m surprised to know that his character is so bad.”

Ruby nodded her head in agreement. “After that incident at the Dream-Crescent Hotel, I thought he was a pretty decent guy. Who would have known that he’s such an ***?”

“You know what?” Ada suddenly smiled. “It felt extremely satisfying to see you pitch that cup of coffee in his face, but don’t tell Mr. Wu. He’s probably going to have a hissing fit as it is.”

Ruby laughed. “Of course not.”

**********

IN DANIEL WU’S OFFICE

“YOU DID WHAT?!!!” Mr. Wu exclaimed as he slumped back in his chair.

Ada and Ruby were no longer laughing as they stood next to each other, facing their very shocked vice president. After reaching the office, they went straight to Mr. Wu and explained everything that happened during the meeting with Tae. Mr. Wu was actually taking the news much better than the girls anticipated.

Ruby cringed from the look on his face. “Mr. Wu, even though Tae was being a total jerk, I know I shouldn’t have reacted so violently.” She mentally prepared herself for a scolding. “This was my fault and Ada had nothing to do with it.”

Ada immediately covered for Ruby. “Mr. Wu, as chief editor, I should have been able to deal with the situation in a more appropriate manner. I take full responsibility for not completing the interview.”

Ruby was ready to defend her. “No ---”

Mr. Wu held up his hand and interrupted her. “Okay, okay, I get the picture. You girls are acting like I’m going to bite your heads off.” He released a long sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I knew this interview wouldn’t be easy. I’ll give Michelle a call and discuss this situation with her. Since Tae was partially at fault, I’m sure we can work something out. Why don’t you two go get some rest? I know it’s been a long day.”

Ada and Ruby were both relieved to here this. “Thank you, Mr. Wu,” they said in unison.

**********

SONY MUSIC RECORDING STUDIO

The sounds of soothing, melodic singing filled the large studio while the staff quietly stood listening to a voice that could only be found in heaven. With his eyes closed and a set of headphones over his ears, Tae conveyed all his pent up emotions through the words in his song. He sang each high and low note to perfection, utilizing such an enchanting, crisp voice that triggered goose bumps on listeners. He skillfully brought the words to life. Just as he was finishing up the song, the studio door was suddenly yanked opened and Michelle stormed in wearing a furious expression on her usually sunny face. “Everyone, out!!!” she commanded in an authoritative voice.

The staff immediately formed a single line and rushed out of the room. Michelle Yim may appeared to be a soft spoken lady on the outside, but underneath her docile appearance was a sharp, independent woman. She had managed to build a reputation for herself in an industry dominated by men with her persistent and tough as nails personality. With over three decades of hard work and dedication to the film and music industry, she was currently one of the most influential people in Hong Kong as well as the most sought after manager in the entertainment circle.

Michelle and Paul Leung were childhood best friends. Ten years ago, as a favor to Paul, she agreed to take on the dual role as Tae’s manager and publicist, and helped launch his career to its current superstar status. Since she and Damien were not blessed with any children, she grew to love Tae like her own son. She took him under her wings and guided him through some of the toughest situations he encountered as a celebrity. Tae had always been grateful for all her help and even considered her to be his second mother. Now, she stood with her arms crossed over her chest and looking extremely upset. “What the hell are you trying to do?!” she directed an accusing tone at him.

Casually pulling out a chair, he sat down facing her and prepared himself for the oncoming lecture. He lit up a cigarette and answered casually. “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, Michelle.”

“Don’t play dumb with me, young man. I’m talking about the interview with Hong Kong Daily News. I just got off the phone with Daniel Wu and he told me what you did this morning. Not only did you came late, you acted like a crude, ill-mannered pervert!”

He just shrugged as he continued to sit there with an indifferent expression. “Big deal. So, I blew off one lousy interview.”

“You purposely wrecked the interview, didn’t you?!” she questioned irately. “This was the perfect opportunity for you to improve your image and make peace with the media, but you just had to go and ruin it!”

He roughly snubbed out his cigarette in an ashtray. “I told you from the beginning that I didn’t want to do this interview, but you kept pressing me to do it.”

She was clearly frustrated and released a heavy sigh. “Damn it, Tae! We’ve been through this before. You may be one of today’s hottest and most popular celebrities, but in order to maintain that status, you need to build a better relationship with the media. Do you have any idea how damaging it is to your image with all these rumors about your “involvements” with strippers and porn stars flying around?”

“Do you think I give a damn about what other people say?” he asked with a sardonic twist of his lips. “No matter what I do, those vultures will come up with some false information to sell to the public anyway. All they care about is making money.” He angrily clenched his fists. “It doesn’t matter how many lives they hurt with their relentless pursuit to obtain what they deem newsworthy events.”

She saw the blazing anger in his eyes and knew that she would be wise to end this conversation, but she desperately needed to make him understand that he can’t keep fighting this losing battle.
A long period of silence followed as she stood staring at him. Finally, she said in a low voice, “You still can’t put the past behind you. It was an accident. Nobody wanted it to happen.”

He slammed his fist on the table as he stared at her with an incredulous look. “Put the past behind me?! Why don’t you tell me how the hell I’m supposed to forget that my fiancée was killed in a mindless chase several days after our engagement?! Tell me how to forget the beautiful voice and sweet laughter that continue to plague my dreams every night for the last five years!” He started to yell in a fierce tone, “I would really appreciate it if you could teach me how to forget the love of my life and put an end to all my pain, Michelle!”

She stared into his lonely, sad eyes and realized that even after all these years, Laura Yam’s death still weighed heavily on his mind. It was heartbreaking for her to see him feeling so desolate and unhappy. “We have battled countless hardships together in the past ten years, but this is one thing that I am unable to help you with, Tae. You will only make life harder on yourself if you continue to hold this grudge against the public.”

He briefly closed his eyes against the wave of aching pain that struck through him at the mere mention of Laura’s death. He abruptly stood up and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” she asked in a worried tone.

“I really don’t feel like discussing this issue anymore,” he answered gruffly. “I’m going for a drive.”

She knew it was pointless to call him back. The door slammed shut, but she remained standing in the silent room. She slowly sat down on the chair that Tae vacated and took out her hand phone. Dialing the number of the Leung family resident, she impatiently waited for someone to pick up. “Hello Angie, this is Michelle… Could you please put Mrs. Leung on the line?... Thanks.”

**********

The sun was casting a few remaining rays across the horizon and several sparrows were perched on a nearby tree, chirping their usual merry tunes. Tae stood alone in a large cemetery, staring down at his late fiancée’s grave. Cool wind brushed against his face, but it failed to ease the burning grief inside of him. It had been five long years, but the image of Laura’s face still gripped his heart and mind. Kneeling down, he placed a bouquet of yellow roses on the grass and tenderly ran his fingers over her engraved name on the tombstone. Memories of the times they spent together swirled before his eyes, rekindling the ache in his soul.

Tae and Laura were high school sweethearts. They met at her friend’s birthday party the second week of ninth grade. It was love at first sight for Tae. She was utterly captivating in a simple pink dress with her long wavy hair tied up in a ponytail. He immediately approached her and asked for her name. They started talking and he found that she was an extremely shy girl. Although she was also from a prosperous family, she lacked the haughtiness he often found in rich girls. In the eyes of their friends and family members, they were the perfect couple. After graduating from high school, he started his acting and singing career while she went on to college and studied interior design. Even with their busy schedules, they still managed to continue their relationship and the time they spent apart only strengthened their love for each other.

Laura never liked the limelight and tried to stay out of it as much as possible. However, Tae’s stardom brought with it an avalanche of storming fans and reporters wherever he went. Their relationship was like a juicy steak to a starving lion. The more she hid from them, the more persistent they became in their pursuit to obtain information on her. News on their engagement spread like wildfire. Two days after he proposed to her, she was on her way to a jewelry store to have her engagement ring adjusted since it was slightly too large.

While driving on the road, she noticed a car following her and immediately tried to lose it. The chase went on for several blocks, but she was still unable to get away from the other car. As she was intently staring at the rearview mirror, she failed to see the red light ahead and crashed into a cargo truck. The truck driver had minor cuts and a broken arm, but Laura’s condition was a lot worse. Her car flipped over and she was trapped in the wrecked vehicle with multiple injuries to her head and chest. She was quickly rushed to the hospital, but it was already too late. She immediately lapsed into a coma and died one week later.

Tae remembered seeing her wrapped up in bandages and lying helplessly on the hospital bed, but he was unable to save her. He was totally devastated after she died and till this day, he still blamed the media for her death. In an attempt to drown out his sorrow, he poured all his energy into his work and partied like he didn’t have a care in the world. Over the years, he dated countless women, but never stayed in any relationship for more than a couple weeks. He became one of the most elusive and eligible bachelors in Hong Kong. Yet, all his wealth and fame failed to fill the void in his heart.

“I miss you so damn much, Laura,” he whispered in a hoarse voice. “Maybe if I love you less, it wouldn’t hurt so much now.” He swallowed to ease the tightening in his throat. “I would give anything to see you smile one more time.” He suddenly felt a familiar presence behind him, but he didn’t bother to turn around. “How did you know I was here, Mother?”

“I figured that since today is the anniversary of your engagement, you would most likely pay a visit to Laura,” came a soft reply.

“Did Michelle call you?”

“She’s very worried about you, Tae.”

He stood up and finally turned around. “I know. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on her.”

Rachel Lee was a short, plump woman with large, round eyes and a friendly smile. Even in her prime, she was not a raving beauty, but she possessed gentle and innocent personality that drew people to her. She was always so understanding to everyone that it was hard not to like her. Many were surprised that she was the mother of two extremely handsome men. It was obvious that they got their looks from their fathers.

“I’m sorry for worrying you, Mother.”

Rachel hugged her son, desperately wanting to help him overcome his painful past. Yet, there was nothing she could do. “I just want you to be safe and happy. I’m not asking you to forget Laura, but could you at least try to make peace with her death?” She looked up at him with tears brimming in her eyes. “It hurts me so much to see you like this.”

He tightly held onto his mother as guilt tugged at his conscience. “I will try. If it makes you feel better, I’ll do the interview.”

**********

It was a cloudless, starry night as the iridescent, full moon shone brilliantly high above Hong Kong. Kevin was sitting in a lounge chair on the balcony of his apartment and studying the documents in front of him. During the last couple days, he had been reading the large file on the Red Scale Gang and its current operations in Shanghai. The company suspected of having close connections with the gang was Lantect International, one of the largest architectural companies in the nation. What he couldn’t figure out was why would such a prominent corporation commit illegal transactions with the Asian mafia.

According to Keith, the vice president of Lantect will be attending a charity event this Sunday at the Victory Racetrack. This would be the perfect chance for him to further investigate the case. He heard that the main purpose of this trip was to meet with several large architectural companies in Hong Kong to discuss a potential alliance. He knew this was a dangerous mission, but he was determined to see the Dragon permanently placed behind bars. He swore to avenge his brother’s death at all costs.

Leaning his head back, he stared up at the beautiful sky and allowed his mind to drift back to thinking about Annie. She was constantly occupying his thoughts lately. It was very probable that he would have to travel to Shanghai soon and not be able to see her for a long period of time. That thought suddenly made him feel a keen sense of disappointment. Touching the corner of his left eye, he started to smile as he remembered the look on her face when she punched him. He wondered what she was doing now. Probably sleeping.

**********

Annie was desperately trying to get some sleep, but Ruby kept poking her in the ribs and talking in her ears. After a long day at work, she came home with the intent of taking a hot shower and retiring early for the night. Unfortunately, she didn’t get her wish. When she first heard how badly the interview went, she was mad for her friend and fully supported her actions. However, after several hours of listening to her ranting and raving, she started to regret asking Ruby about the interview. She didn’t take the subtle hint that Annie wanted to sleep and continued her one sided conversation.

“So naturally, I can’t stand idly by and let that scumbag take advantage of us---”

Annie bolted up on her bed and scowled at her chattering friend. “AIYA!!! If you don’t shut up and let me get some rest, I am seriously going to strangle you! I’ve listened to you talk nonstop about your meeting with Tae this entire evening. May I please get some sleep now?”

Ruby had on a good sulk. “Well, I was going to tell you that Mr. Wu wanted Ada and me to cover a charity event at the Victory Racetrack this weekend and even gave me an extra ticket. There’ll be a lot of wealthy business people at this function and I’m sure it will be a good opportunity for you to promote that little catering business of yours. I was going to give you that ticket, but now I’ve changed my mind,” she stated in an offended tone. Taking out the extra ticket from her shirt pocket, she started to wave it around. “Alas, I guess I’ll just have to find someone else to go with me.”

Faster than a blink of an eye, Annie snatched the ticket from Ruby’s fingers and hid it under her shirt. She rolled over on her stomach and closed her eyes. Ruby stared at her empty hand with a shocked look. “HEY! Give that back!”

[Em]

AH! I finally saw the poster today - it doesn't always appear for some reason...
Thanks for another great chapter!

<IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

[jeh]

I change my mind. Tae is a pervert <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0">. Staring atAda's chest, how dare him? <IMG SRC="smilies/angrystick.gif" border="0"> Hope to see more informations about Tae, like you have promise. <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">

[zzzbeauty]

Thanks for the quick update. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

Yeah, I find that Ruby and Annie are quite violent. But of course, that's probably why the guys fall for them, right? <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">

I changed my mind, i like both couples.

Looking forward to your next chapters.

[tweety365]

Hiya guys! <IMG SRC="smilies/wave.gif" border="0">
Thanks for the support <IMG SRC="smilies/hug.gif" border="0">

Em - You're very welcome. Hope to hear from you again <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

jeh - I like to surprise my readers. I hope you will change your mind again after the next chapter. <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0"> He's actually a very complex character.

zzzbeauty - So glad you like Ruby and Tae. <IMG SRC="smilies/laugh2.gif" border="0"> Yes, the girls are quite violent, but it adds to their charm, right?

Hope everyone enjoys this next chapter. Kinda emotional though.

[tweety365]

Chapter 15 - Charity Event

Character Appearances:
Annie Man Chung Han
Ruby Lin Xin Ru
Ada Choi Siu Fun
Tae Sattawat Sethakorn as Tae Leung
Mimi Lo Man Chong
Kevin Cheng Ka Wing

It was a beautiful Sunday morning with a crystal clear blue sky, signaling a fine day for an outing. Annie and Ruby were anxiously standing several yards from the entrance to the Victory Racetrack, waiting to be admitted into the arena. Several hundred people were attending the 15th Annual Children’s Cancer Society fundraiser. This charity event was organized by a group of prosperous, well known physicians who had close ties with the rich sector of society. Some guests were present for legitimate reasons, while many only came for the publicity and to promote themselves to the media. Only a few reporters from highly regarded companies were lucky enough to obtain the much-coveted tickets for this function.

“Damn!” Ruby stared at her surroundings with an excited expression. “Look at all these people! I think I just saw the mayor walking by a minute ago.”

Annie was happily grinning from ear to ear. “Yup. And I get to advertise my business for free! How great is that?!” She gazed warily at the security guards scattered in the crowd. “They sure increased security after that holdup at Dream Crescent.”

“Well, it’s taking them forever to check everybody’s belongings and my feet are starting to ache,” Ruby pouted as she rubbed her legs.

“One can never be too careful, so I guess we’ll just have to be patient and wait like everyone else.”

“That’s true,” Ruby admitted with a bleak sigh.

After another half hour of waiting, the girls were finally next in line. They placed their purses on the tables and handed their tickets to the two security men standing at the entrance. After a thorough search of their belongings, they were allowed inside the arena. Annie was awestruck as she surveyed the racetrack and stadium. “Wow! This place is humungous!”

“C’mon, you can gawk later.” Ruby tugged on her arm. “First, we need to meet up with Ada in the reception room upstairs.”

Annie followed Ruby, but was still staring at the beautiful stadium. They entered a passageway leading to an enormous guest lounge on the second floor and tried to locate Ada in the mass of people. Ruby saw her chief editor standing near the window talking to another reporter and waved to her. She rushed over to the window with Annie close behind.

“Ada!” Ruby called out.

Ada turned around and gave the girls a stunning smile. “Ruby, Annie, you made it.”

“Sorry for being late,” Annie apologized. “We were stuck in the long line outside.”

“Don’t worry about it. We still have a couple hours before they start the first race. Oh yeah, Ruby, I’ve been waiting to introduce you to Holly Wang, the broadcaster from Channel 6. She knows practically everyone in the telecasting business and can be a tremendous help when it comes to gathering information on celebrities.”

Annie was gazing at the well-dressed people in the room with sharp interest. “You two go on ahead without me. I want to take a quick tour of this place first. So, I’ll meet you guys back here in two hours?”

“Okay.” Ada nodded.

“Sounds good,” Ruby agreed.

**********

With an expression of bored resignation, Tae glanced up from the glass of brandy in his hand, momentarily distracted by the laughter coming from the voluptuous beauty clinging to his arm. He was extremely weary of these types of function, where more than half of the people pretended to show concern about a topic they normally could care less on. He would much rather stay home and write a big fat check to the Children’s Cancer Society instead of being at this function, but Michelle insisted that he attend. As he recalled, her exact words were, “It will be good for your image.” It was bad enough that he was bored out his mind, but he had to endure the insufferably senseless babbling coming from his “date.”

Mimi Lo considered herself in love with Tae ever since she met him at a movie premier two years ago and refused to take the hint that he wasn’t interested in her. She irrationally believed that if she waited long enough, her love for him will one day be reciprocated. The minute she found out that he was coming to this charity event, she invited herself along with him and glued herself to his side. Since Mimi’s mother was a close friend of Tae’s mother, he couldn’t outright refuse her offer to be his date without appearing rude and embarrassing his mother.

Stifling a yawn, he gazed out of the window and noticed Ruby Lin and Ada Choi conversing with Holly Wang. His expression immediately changed to one of interest. Ruby was without doubt one of the few women he encountered who could infuriate and entertain him at the same time. Their first encounter was certainly an unforgettable one. Never in his life had he been slapped by anyone before, but strangely, he admired her boldness. He was initially surprised as well as disappointed upon knowing that she was a journalist and believed she was like all the other reporters, willing to do anything to benefit her career.

That idea quickly changed after she threw coffee in his face. Even though he deliberately tried to sabotage the interview, it never occurred to him that she would do something so outrageous after knowing that he was Tae Leung. Aside from his father and Michelle, no one had ever dare raised their voices against him, let alone pitch their drinks on him. People, especially women, were always vying for his attention and sucking up to him. Although he may respect her frankness and find her lively persona amusing, he was still irritated at being insulted in such a fashion.

“Do you think I look fat in this dress, Tae?” Mimi inquired.

He was not really paying any attention to her and stated indifferently, “Of course not. You look great.”

“Really?” Mimi was overjoyed to hear a compliment from him. “I didn’t think you’d notice.”

He suddenly frowned at her. “Mimi, I think your lipstick is slightly smeared at the corners.”

“Oh, my gosh!” Her face filled with alarm. “Will you excuse me for a couple minutes? I’ll be right back.”

“Sure thing,” he assured smiling. “Take all the time you need.”

As Mimi rushed off to the restroom, Tae hastily strode toward the exit and left the VIP lounge. He had no intention of waiting for her to return and pester him with her presence. While any other man would jump at the chance to be with a rich, beautiful woman, he was praying that he could find a way to obliterate her attraction for him.

IN THE GUEST LOUNGE

Holly Wang was shaking Ruby’s hand. “It sure is a delight to meet you, Ruby. I’ll give you a call sometime and we’ll have lunch together.”

“Definitely.” Ruby smiled.

“You certainly made a good impression on her, Ruby.” Ada rested her elbow on Ruby’s shoulder.

“I think she’s about one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. She sure knows a lot of people.”

“I’ll say,” Ada nodded her head in agreement. “She can dig up information on just about anyone. Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to discuss this with you. I just had a call from Mr. Wu this morning and he told me that our little mishap with Tae has been settled. We’ll be able to do the interview sometime next week.” She sighed. “With any luck, this thing will be completed without any more problems.”

“Have no fear, Ada. If that scumbag tries anything funny, I’ll whip out my karate chop and kick him so hard, he’ll fly halfway to the moon.” She started to puff out her chest and tried to act dangerous. “That creep better watch his back.”

“Really?” a voice drawled from behind. “Then I guess I would be wise to bring my bodyguard with me to the interview.”

Ruby and Ada whirled around and to Ruby’s complete shock, Tae was standing right behind them. As always, he was exceptionally striking in a crisp linen shirt and dark navy slacks. His tall frame and broad chest exuded power and commanded attention. His sudden presence only managed to rile Ruby’s good mood.

“Oh, it’s just you.” Ruby quickly glanced around. “What’s the matter? Hong Kong’s most notorious bachelor without a date? My goodness, all your women must have finally came to their senses and discovered what a rotten pig you are!”

Tae started to chuckle. “Okay, I guess I deserved that after the way I acted on our interview. I would like to take this chance to apologize for my behavior though. I wasn’t feeling well that day.”

Ruby had the intention of telling him off, but before she even opened her mouth, Ada roughly tugged at her sleeve and gave her a warning look. She knew it wasn’t a good idea to provoke Tae’s anger, but she couldn’t help herself. Her honest nature made it difficult for her to hide her true feelings for long. However, for Ada’s sake and her own job, she swallowed her retort and gave Tae the cold shoulder.

“Oh, don’t mind Ruby,” Ada stated with an awkward laugh. “She likes to joke around, so you’ll have to excuse her remarks.”

He doubtfully stared at Ruby. “From the sound of her tone, I get the impression that she wasn’t joking. I’ve been the recipient of Miss Lin’s irrationally violent behaviors a couple of times in the past,” he stated mockingly. “I would hate to be the unfortunate victim of her “powerful” karate chop.”

“Not feeling well?” Ruby sneered back. “HA! What kind of lamebrain excuse was that? We all know what a pervert you are, Tae. I’ve heard all about your countless love affairs with strippers and porn stars, so you can cut it with this pathetic pretense.”

Ada was nervously yanking on Ruby’s arm and trying her best to stop her before the situation got out of control again. Nevertheless, Ruby ignored the tugging at her arm and continued her verbal assault.

“Just because you’re rich and famous doesn’t mean you can treat other people like insignificant rodents. I’m not one of your lackeys, willing to bend over backward to kiss your ***. I don’t like you and I’m sure the feeling is mutual. You don’t deserve to be interviewed by any respectable newspaper and especially not by Hong Kong Daily News. Although I love my job, I will not sacrifice my pride and self-respect to flatter the likes of you. This is between the two of us, so if you have any decency left in your dirty little mind, you’ll leave Ada out of this whole ordeal.”

She turned around, ready to leave, but abruptly changed her mind. “Oh, and another thing. I have never in my life forced myself to swallow such God-awful coffee like the ones your butler served at your beach house. Apparently, you not only lack manners, but have bad tastes in food as well. Hmphhh!”

Ruby walked away with her head held high and looking as regal as a queen dismissing her subject. While Ada was left feeling incredibly flustered, Tae stood next to her with a small smile. Coming to this charity event wasn’t such a bad notion after all.

**********

IN THE DINING AREA NEXT DOOR TO THE LOUNGE

Annie was standing next to the buffet table holding a large plate of spaghetti and meatball in her left hand and a plate of chicken wings in her right hand. She was clumsily trying to balance both plates on one hand, so she could reach for a cup of orange juice. There was no room on the table to put down her plates and she didn’t want to walk far across the room to leave her food on one of the tables. Just when she almost had a firm grip on the cup, the dish of spaghetti started tipping over. Out of nowhere, a masculine hand caught it just in time.

“Thank you so much for your help,” she uttered as relief poured through her. “I really appreciate…” she gazed up at the man. “Kevin? What are you doing here?”

Kevin had on a boyish grin. “Oh, I had to discuss some business details with someone.” He was still holding her plate of spaghetti and meatballs. “So, what brings you here today?”

She gulped down the rest of her orange juice before answering. “Ruby got an extra ticket and since I’ve never been to a racetrack before, I thought it would be fun to check this place out.”

“I see.” There was a keen look in his eyes. “So, the fact that there are hundreds of affluent business people attending this fundraiser has absolutely nothing to do with your decision to come?”

“Of course not,” she refuted with a wounded expression on her face. “I can’t believe you have such a low opinion of me. I care about other people too, you know.”

He was not convinced. “How many catering orders did you manage to con out of these gullible people?”

“I can’t very well pass up on a golden opportunity to promote my business,” she stated defensively. “It’s not everyday that I get the chance to meet so many wealthy people in one place. Anyways, you’re here to discuss business matters too. So, I’m not the only one with hidden agendas.”

“How many orders?”

“Fifteen.” She smiled mischievously.

He released a low whistle. “Impressive.”

“Well, I did mention that I’ve catered to many of the top celebrities in Hong Kong.”

“In other words, you lied,” he countered with raised eyebrows.

“No, I did cater to them. When the restaurants in charge of the parties run short of certain ingredients for their dishes, I supply the ingredients to them,” she reasoned. “I admit that I slightly embellished the truth, but what they don’t know, wouldn’t hurt them.”

“You still lied.”

Annie lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Call it whatever you want, but at least I’m helping people out.”

“Yeah, mainly yourself.”

“I’m just trying to eek out an honest living in this tough economy. I wasn’t born with a gold key in my mouth.” She stared at the plate in his hand. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to finish my lunch.” She stuck out her palm. “So, kindly give me back my food and I’ll be on my merry little way.”

Kevin reluctantly gave Annie back her plate and watched her slowly swerved through the crowd of people. He really wanted to follow her and continue their delightful conversation. Unfortunately, he needed to find Keith and relate his plans on how to gain access into Lantect International. He managed to convince Lantect’s vice president, Tom Ng, to sign a contract with Cheng Architecture for a three-year construction assignment in Shanghai. He could lose a small fortune if the corporation was actually conducting illegal transactions, but he was willing to take that risk if he could catch the Dragon. He had waited too long to give up now.

Meanwhile, as Annie was shoving food into her mouth and making indelicate noises, she suddenly felt a light tap on her shoulder. Turning around with her mouth stuffed with meatball and chicken, she saw Ruby standing next to her with a pitiful expression on her face.

“What happened?” she tried to talk with her mouth full. “You look like you were just summoned for jury duty. I thought Ada was going to introduce you to Holly Wang. Didn’t the meeting go well?”

Ruby slumped down on a chair next to Annie. “It went really well. Holly even invited me to lunch.”

“Then why the long face?”

With a sad sigh, she told Annie what happened after Holly left. “And that’s the whole story,” she said morosely.

“Don’t worry, Ruby. If you lose your job, you can always come work with me,” Annie stated sympathetically. “I’ve been receiving a lot of catering orders lately, so I need all the help I can get.”

Ruby attempted to smile. “Thanks for the offer, Annie, but you know I’m a horrible cook. I always burn everything in the kitchen. For your safety and mine, I think it’s best I stay away from your business.”

Annie was about to take another bite of her drumstick, but seeing Ruby’s miserable face, she changed her mind. She held out her drumstick. “Here, Ruby. If it makes you feel better, you can have the rest of my chicken. This is the last piece on the buffet table.”

Ruby made a disgusted face. “But you already bit it.”

“You can eat the part that I didn’t bite yet. So, do you want it or not?”

She hastily grabbed the drumstick from Annie’s hand. “Hey, a half eaten drumstick is better than nothing.”

During this time, Ada had been searching for Annie and Ruby, and finally located them sitting at the table. “Annie, Ruby, where have you two been? I thought we were supposed to meet back at the lounged in two hours.”

Annie checked her watch. “Ooops. Sorry, Ada. I totally lost track of time.”

“Hurry up and finish your food. The race is about to start.”

Ada was about to lecture Ruby on losing her temper again, but seeing her mournfully slouching over the table, she didn’t have the heart to do it. Ada patted her back and sighed. “Don’t look so down, Ruby. I’m sure we can work something out with Mr. Wu. Besides, Tae didn’t appear to be too upset after you scolded him. Maybe he’ll forgive and forget? C’mon, cheer up.”

Annie finished the last piece of meatball on her plate. “Yeah, Ruby. Let’s go see the horse race.”

Ada and Annie dragged Ruby toward the balcony in the lounge room, which had the best view of the racetrack. Ada took out three pairs of binoculars. “It’s a good thing I brought these along. We'll be able to see the race much better with binoculars.”

At that moment, the host of the fundraiser, a lanky middle-aged man, stepped up on the podium. Wearing a light beige business suit, Dr. Nathan Liu appeared very excited as he greeted the guests.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” Dr. Liu announced in a booming voice. “It is my great pleasure to be your host for the day. As you all know, the entire proceeds from the seven horse races will go to the Children’s Cancer Society. The funds will be used to benefit misfortunate children with this disease. The president of Victory Racetrack, Mr. David Keung, has generously agreed to match the total amount we raise for this event. Each ticket for the horse race is set at $250 and each person is only required to buy one ticket for this fundraiser. To show our appreciation for your donations, the person with the winning ticket for each race will be entered into our raffle contest for a brand new black Jaguar Convertible. The first race will start in approximately thirty minutes, so please buy your tickets as soon as possible. I hope everyone will have an enjoyable time today and good luck on the races.”

“Did you hear that, Annie?!” Ruby started to jump up and down. “A new car!”

Annie did not appear too happy. “Yeah, but you have to fork out $250 to buy a ticket. That’s a pretty hefty sum.”

“It’s for a good cause, Annie,” Ada said. “Don’t be so stingy.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Ruby pulled out a pamphlet listing all the horses entered for the races. “So, which horse are you guys going to bid on?

Annie gazed over Ruby’s shoulders. “I’m going with Buttercup. Love the name.”

Hearing Annie’s choice, Ada frowned. “Uh, I hate to burst your bubble, Annie, but that horse is rated as the worst runner in the entire stable at Victory Racetrack. He’s a couple months away from being retired.”

“Beautiful and knowledgeable,” a voice spoke out behind the girls. “I wasn’t aware that Miss Choi is a horse enthusiast.”

All three women turned at the sound of his voice. Kevin smiled and pointed to a name on the list.
“My advice is to pick Thunder Cloud. He’s the four time national champion in China before he was bought by a breeder and transferred to Hong Kong. Plus, he’s relatively young and still has a lot of stamina left.”

“I don’t care,” Annie said stubbornly. “It’s my money and I’ll bid on any horse I want. Ruby, put me down for Buttercup.”

“Are you sure, Annie?”

“Of course, I’m sure.”

Ruby shrugged. “Okay.” She stared at Ada and Kevin. “What about you two?”

Kevin sat down on a bench. “I already bought my ticket.”

“I’m with Kevin on this,” Ada piped up. “You could put me down for Thunder Cloud”

Ruby jotted the bids on a notepad. “One ticket for Buttercup and two for Thunder Cloud.”

“Ruby!” Annie cried out. “Why are you bidding on Thunder Cloud? How can you consider yourself my best friend when you don’t even support my decisions?”

“I want a shot at the Jaguar too and it’s highly unlikely that Buttercup would win,” she replied contritely. “Besides, I’ll give you all the moral support you need, Annie. Just not monetary support.”

Annie handed Ruby her money and in a grumbling voice, “Well, I’m taking my chances and sticking with my instinct.”

Ruby rushed to go buy the tickets, since she didn’t want to miss the starting part of the race. Thunder Cloud immediately took the lead with Buttercup in last place. Ruby and Ada were screaming at the top of their lungs while Annie was anxiously staring through her binocular.

“C’MON BUTTERCUP!!!” Annie yelled out. “YOU CAN DO IT! PUT SOME MORE EFFORT INTO IT, BOY! DON’T GIVE UP!”

“GO THUNDER CLOUD!” Ruby and Ada enthusiastically hollered.

Annie slapped Ruby’s arm and gave her a dirty look. “Owwwwww.” Ruby massaged her arm. “WHAT?! I have to root for my horse, too.”

“You’re scaring my horse with your loud screaming. Can’t you do it in a more quiet voice?”

Ruby scooted away from Annie. “NO! GO THUNDER CLOUD! RUN FASTER!” she shouted loudly.

Annie started to chase after Ruby, but a loud murmuring from the crowd caught her attention. She whipped her head around to see what all the commotion was about and noticed that Buttercup had suddenly raced ahead of Thunder Cloud and was currently in first place.

Annie dashed over to the edge of the balcony and ecstatically waved her hands. “OH, MY GOD! MY BABY’S WINNING! C’MON BUTTERCUP! JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE!” As if gaining strength from Annie’s screams, Buttercup sped across the finish line with Thunder Cloud close behind. Annie laughed and squealed with joy. “I WON! I WON! I WON!”

She ran to hug Ruby and Ada. In her excitement, she also gave Kevin a tight hug. Momentarily surprised, Kevin smiled and immediately hugged her back. Annie quickly realized what she just did and blushed in embarrassment. She dropped her arms from around his shoulders, but Kevin still didn’t release his hold on her. She leaned back to stare into his dark eyes and felt her heart racing for some unknown reason.

“You can let me go now,” she murmured softly. After a short pause, Kevin slowly withdrew his arms away from her waist. She quickly moved away from him and tried to act natural. She awkwardly avoided his gaze.

[Hannah Tran]

LOL!

Ok, thought I'll pop in and encourage this lazy writer then <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Now, do I hear a 'Thank You' readers? <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0">

Just kidding, I see that you have got the hang of writing fics Tweety <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0"> Keep it up! <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[jeh]

I think I'm going tp stay neutral about Tae for now. One minute he's a pervert and the next, he's such a devoted lover. Don't know if he will change again so going to stay neutral <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0"> It's so sad for Tae. His fiancee die just because of the stupis media <IMG SRC="smilies/angrystick.gif" border="0"> So sad <IMG SRC="smilies/frown.gif" border="0"> Update soon, please <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[Em]

Still reading at work <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> ...
Need more to keep me occupied!!
(It has been very quiet recently... not that I am being lazy! Honest!!)

Not sure what I think of Tae just yet - he seems to be a bit extreme!

<IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

[zzzbeauty]

That was good chapter, I knew Tae has his reasons. He's not a jerk. <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">

Cool, it seems that the two leads both have a sad past. <IMG SRC="smilies/frown.gif" border="0">

I'm looking forward to your next chapter; can't wait until they bump into each other. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

I'm fully prepared for the <IMG SRC="smilies/smash.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/smash.gif" border="0">

<font size="1">[ March 31, 2003: Message edited by: zzzbeauty ]</font>

[tweety365]

<IMG SRC="smilies/wave.gif" border="0"> Greetings to all my readers. Hope everyone is having a great day!

Hannah - My little mui. How are you? I'm sorry I haven't visted your forum lately. Been too busy <IMG SRC="smilies/drool.gif" border="0"> over my BYJ, but I'm sure that since you are such an understanding person, you won't hold it against me. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

jeh - <IMG SRC="smilies/laugh2.gif" border="0"> You are too funny. Yes, I think it's best that you stay neutral for now. I'm still in the process of developing Tae's character, so dunno what will be the outcome yet. Hopefully, you will like the end result. I promise to make him evolve into a likeable character. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Em - Thanks for your support. Means a lot to me. Everyone has motives in this story, so a word of warning to my readers, don't judge the characters too soon. Well, I can only update so fast. It's so much easier to read than write.

zzzbeauty - Yup, you are one insightful reader! Can't fool you. Hehehehe. There will definitely be more <IMG SRC="smilies/smash.gif" border="0">, <IMG SRC="smilies/guns.gif" border="0">, and <IMG SRC="smilies/starwars.gif" border="0"> to come. Hope it's not too violent.

Hugs to all my readers for your continued support. Bye for now.

[tweety365]

Chapter 16 - Someone, HELP!

Character Appearances:
Annie Man Chung Han
Kevin Cheng Ka Wing
Ruby Lin Xin Ru
Ada Choi Siu Fun
Tae Sattawat Sethakorn as Tae Leung
Mimi Lo Man Chong

“You can let me go now,” she murmured softly. After a short pause, Kevin slowly withdrew his arms away from her waist. She quickly moved away from him and tried to act natural. She awkwardly avoided his gaze.

During this time, an uproar of chaotic murmuring filled the spacious room after Buttercup took everyone by surprise with the photo finish win. The last couple minutes of the race had all the guests holding their breaths. Now, people were engaged in a heated discussion on choosing the next horse for the second race. No one was paying any attention to Annie and Kevin. Ruby and Ada remain rooted on the balcony. Ruby continued to stare at the racetrack and wondered how on earth Thunder Cloud could have lost against an aging horse.

“Now, that was a good race,” Ada stated in awe.

Ruby, however, wasn’t too happy as she gazed at the tracks and pouted. “It would have been better if Thunder Cloud won. Maybe I should have stuck with Annie on her instinct.”

Glancing around, she noticed Annie standing to the side with a weird expression on her face. Ruby headed over to her and with a brilliant smile, she slapped her arm around Annie’s shoulder.
“So, buddy, which horse are we going to bid on next?”

Annie snapped out of her daze and gave Ruby a skeptical frown. “What do you mean “we”? Oh, so now you’re going to listen to me? What happened to your moral support?”

Ruby shook her head. “Annie, Annie, Annie. Must you continue to nitpick on what I said in the past?” she helplessly shrugged. “I wasn’t thinking straight and was totally out of my mind for not trusting my best friend.”

“Are you absolutely certain you want to follow my lead?” Annie asked with raised eyebrows. “I was probably just lucky that Buttercup came in first place.”

Ruby whipped out the pamphlet from her shirt pocket. “Don’t worry about it. I have complete confidence in you. I’m sure some of your good luck will rub off on me today. Besides, if I lose, I’ll just blame it on you.”

“I don’t think so!” Annie protested.

“I was only joking,” Ruby giggled. She handed Annie the pamphlet. “Anyways, here’s the list. We have another half an hour before we have to place our bid.”

Happy to have something to distract her mind from the hug, Annie critically studied the names on the list and then walked over to the edge of the railings. Gazing through her binoculars, she examined all the horses strolling on the fields. Annie knew absolutely nothing about horses and was just basing her decision on a gut feeling. A white horse with black star shaped patch on his forehead immediately caught her attention.

With a beaming smile, she turned around to face Ruby. “I got it!”

“Really? Which one?”

“Number seven, Snowflake. That mark in front of his forehead reminds me of a shooting star and I have a feeling that he’ll shoot his way to victory like Buttercup,” she predicted confidently. “Plus, seven is my lucky number.”

“Annie, have you noticed that Snowflake is limping?” Ada voiced her concern. “I’ve heard that he sprained his front ankle while running in a race last month. According to the latest reports, he just barely recovered. What do you think, Kevin?”

Kevin had been eyeing the animal all this time and after a brief pause, turned his attention back to the girls. “I think that if he was in his best condition, he would be a sure bet. He’s young and in great health. However, I wouldn’t be too confident in siding with him right now. On the other hand, Darkness, that black horse standing next Snowflake, would probably have a higher chance of winning.”

“I’m still sticking by my instinct,” Annie said with an undeterred expression. She turned to Ruby and Ada. “So, are you guys with me this time?”

“Of course, I’m in,” Ruby piped up.

Ada smiled. “I think I’ll play conservative and bid on both horses.”

Annie didn’t bother asking Kevin and purposely ignored him.
“I guess you’ll want to bid on Darkness then?” Ruby inquired Kevin curiously.

“Most definitely.”

Ruby was the designated ticket buyer again and happily rushed off to the ticket booth. She had been dying to get a car for a long time, but it was taking her forever to save up the money. If she actually won the Jaguar, it would be a dream come true. No longer would she have to stand in long lines at the bus stops and fight for a decent seat on those crowded buses.

The race started and Snowflake shot pass all his competitors at blinding speed. Despite the injury in his front leg, he was galloping at a fierce pace and took the lead for the first three quarters of the race. Loud screams coming from anxious spectators permeated the atmosphere throughout the stadium. Seeing that Snowflake was going to win the race, the girls were joyfully jumping up and down, and shouting with excitement.

While everyone else was glued to the race, Kevin’s attention was focused solely on Annie. He gazed at her happy countenance and was simply mesmerized by her cheerful laughter. Out of the three women, Ada had the mature, sultry beauty that could charm any man and Ruby’s cute heart-shaped face and energetic personality made it hard not to like her. Annie, on the other hand, completely fascinated Kevin. She made him want to smile every time he’s around her. When she hugged him earlier, he wanted to hold her and never let go. To keep her by his side for as long as possible.

As the race was coming to an end and just when everyone concluded that Snowflake would win, the horse suddenly appeared to be in pain and started to slow down. The jockey riding
Darkness took this chance to gain the upper hand. He urged the horse pass Snowflake and dashed across the finish line, coming in first place. To Annie and Ruby’s disappointment, Snowflake ended up in third place.

“There goes my chance at a new car.” Ruby moaned while sniffling sadly.

“Don’t look so down, Ruby. Since I’m entered into the raffle contest with Buttercup’s win, we at least have a chance at the Jaguar. If I get the car, I promise you can drive it to your heart’s content.”

Ruby felt slightly better. “Yeah, but that’s only one raffle ticket. Unless we choose the winning horses for the next five races, our chances aren’t very high. And I don’t have any money left to bid. I’ve max out my credit cards for this month already.”

Ada took out her ticket and handing it to Ruby. “You can have mine. I just bought a car several months ago, so I don’t really need one.”

“I’m not really into Jaguars, so you can have my ticket too,” Kevin offered.

“Oh, thank you soooooooooo much!” Ruby said in a grateful voice as she beamed from ear to ear. “You guys are the best!”

“Of course, I expect to be treated to a nice dinner if you win,” he cleverly added.

“No problem,” Ruby promised. “Annie and I will take everyone out to a fancy restaurant for a dinner with all the trimmings.”

Alarm registered on Annie’s face as she hastily pulled Ruby to the side.
“Ruby! I don’t want to go to dinner with him,” she whispered fiercely. “Don’t you remember what happened on our date the last time?”

“Oh, don’t be silly, Annie,” Ruby said with a careless wave of her hand. “The robbery was just a coincidence. We were just having a bad day. What are the chances of us running into a situation like that again? Besides, one simple dinner in exchange for a Jaguar is a pretty darn good deal.”

Annie suspiciously glanced at Kevin while whispering to Ruby, “But I don’t have a good feeling about this. I think he purposely gave you his ticket so that he can swindle a date out of us.”

Ruby shrugged. “He’s interested in you, not me,” she replied smiling. “So, it’s more like he’s trying to swindle a date out of you.”

Annie smacked Ruby in the arm. “You idiot! You knew he’s interested in me, yet you still agreed to the dinner? What’s wrong with you?”

“Owwwwww.” Ruby gave Annie an injured look while massaging her arm. “Will you quit hitting me? I’m not a punching bag. Besides, I don’t see what’s the big deal. You’re single and he’s single. In addition to being tall, dark, and handsome, he’s filthy rich.” She grinned cheekily. “I think you two will make a lovely couple.”

Seeing Annie’s dark frown, the grin on Ruby’s face quickly disappeared.
“I can’t believe you would sell out your own friend for a stupid raffle ticket!”

“Ah c’mon, Annie,” Ruby coaxed. “I’ll be there with you and we’ll invite other people along as well. What could possibly go wrong? Plus, it’s not guaranteed that our ticket will be drawn. So, lighten up.”

Ruby suddenly saw a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. The minute she confirmed the identity of the person, her features twisted into a look of disgust. “Urgh! It’s him again.”

Annie glanced over Ruby’s shoulder and saw Tae strutting over to the balcony toward them. His trademark smile that had caused countless screaming fans to fall swooning to their knees was on display. Walking pass Ruby, he winked at her, but she turned the other direction and ignored him.

Tae slapped Kevin on the back. “How’s the race going?”

“Quite exciting actually. Where have you been?”

Tae made a nasty face. “Hiding from Mimi. I was finally able to lose her in the crowd down the hall.”

“She’s here? I thought she was going to a fashion show today.”

“Someone told her that I was coming to this charity event, so she changed her schedule.” Tae stated with a scowl. “When I find out who squealed on me, I am going to break their legs.”

Out of the blue, a loud, high-pitched voice could be heard from across the room. Mimi was frantically waving her hand and trying to gain Tae’s attention by calling out his name. She was half running, half stumbling as she made her way to the balcony. Her multi-layered yellow gown made it difficult to walk, let alone run.

Kevin stared with raised eyebrows. “Good Lord, she follows you around like a bloodthirsty leech.”

“Damn!” Tae gasped out exasperated.

Remarkably, Mimi managed to reach Tae’s side without falling flat on her face. She was out of breath, but appeared very happy. She was wheezing as she held out a cup of punch.
“Tae… here’s… the… punch… you… wanted. Sorry… I… took… so… long.”

Tae glanced at the drink with a disheartened look. “Oh, it’s cherry flavored. I wanted the lemon flavored punch. Could you be a doll and get me another cup, please?”

She was gasping for air. “But I don’t think…. there is any lemon punch left.”

He sighed and pretended to sound disappointed. “That’s too bad. I’ve been craving it for a while now.”

Mimi was exhausted from running around for the past hour, but she desperately wanted to make a good impression on Tae. After a brief pause to catch her breath, she offered a solution.
“I believe there’s a carton of lemon punch stored in the basement on the other side of the stadium,” she mentioned tiredly.

“Really?” He appeared interested. “But it’s so far away.”

“Oh, I’ll go get if for you, Tae,” she quickly piped up.

“If it’s not too much trouble for you.”

“It’s no trouble at all.” She vigorously shook her head.

“Thanks, Mimi.” He gave her a dazzling smile. “You are such a sweetheart.”

She was close to fainting with joy after hearing those words from the man she’s been dreaming about for the past two years.
“I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere,” she yelled out cheerfully.

Thinking that Tae was starting to like her, she hiked up her heavy skirt and took a deep breath before slowly waddling out of the room. With a relieved sigh, he gazed at her disappearing back. “That should keep her busy for a couple hours.”

Turning around he noticed Ada, Annie, and Ruby shooting disapproving looks at him.
“What? It’s not like I forced her at gunpoint to serve me.”

Ruby didn’t even bother responding to him. There was an acutely disdainful glare in her eyes before she whirled around and walked away. Ada and Annie just pitifully shook their heads at him before following Ruby.

“What’s wrong with them?” he turned to Kevin with a puzzled frown. “They’re acting like I committed a heinous crime against society.”

Kevin patted Tae on the back. “In a way, you did. Women tend to bind together to protect one of their own. They may not know Mimi, but they sure as hell don’t appreciate you mistreating her like that.”

“Mistreating her?!” Tae gasped out astounded. “I’m the one being relentlessly stalked. Do you have any idea what a nuisance she is to me? Everywhere I go, she’s there. I feel like a damn hunted prey. I’ve made it perfectly clear that I have absolutely no romantic interest in her whatsoever, but that woman won’t take no for an answer. I have tried everything from subtle hints to blatant insults, but nothing seems to work. I’ve decided that if I let Mimi believe that I’m a terrible catch, she might just abandon her foolish love for me.”

Kevin sympathized with his buddy. “I feel for you, Tae. Let’s just hope your idea will work.”

**********

After the first two races, the girls didn’t feel like bidding anymore and decided to just watch the races. Ever since she was a small child, Ada had always been interested in horses. She loved watching them gallop in the fields and was enthralled with their sleek beauty. While Ada was enjoying the races, Ruby was silently praying to God for the car.

[* Ruby talking to God *]: Oh, Mighty Lord, I promise this is the last favor I’ll ever ask you. I haven’t requested much from you in the past, have I? (answering her own question) Nope, I’ve been a perfect devoted follower… well, probably not perfect, but I am trying. Of course, you know that I’m not using this car for just my benefit. It’s for a good cause. I need it to travel around and gather news information to provide to the public. The people deserve to know what’s happening around them and ignorance is not good for the mind. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. So, naturally, I deserve this Jaguar for helping other people out….

For the past hours, Annie had been trying very hard to focus on the races; however, Kevin’s presence was making it quite difficult. Every time she turned around, she found him staring intently at her.

Tae also had his share of problems. He was unable to focus on the races because he was afraid Mimi might pop up behind him again. He was hoping that by the time she returned, the fundraiser would be over and he could leave. Even though he had been randomly placing bids, he succeeded in picking two winning horses.

The last race finally ended and everyone gathered near the podium to listen to the latest announcement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve just received the total amount for today’s fundraising and I’m pleased to say that we’ve surpassed our goal. The grand total comes out to be $1,800,000,” announced the doctor.

A round of earsplitting applause vibrated in the room. After the applause died down, Dr. Liu continued on. “Now, what we’ve all been waiting for, the raffle contest.”

A waiter pushed out a cart with a large glass case on it.
“I have here with me the tickets with the names of all the winners for the seven horse races. I will randomly select one ticket and the lucky owner of that ticket will win the Jaguar Convertible.”

Most of the guests either already owned expensive luxury cars or had enough money to buy them, but it was still nice to participate in a contest and actually win something. Anticipation was in the air as people held their breaths and waited for the host to read the name on the raffle ticket.

Dr. Liu stuck his hand into the glass case and pulled out a small raffle. “And the winner is…. Miss Annie Man.”

Annie stood with a wide-eyed, stunned look on her face. Ruby shrieked at the top of her lungs and hugged her friend.
“HAHAHAHAHA! ANNIE, YOU WON! THIS REALLY IS OUR LUCKY DAY!” She grabbed Annie’s shoulders and roughly shook her. “Annie, snap out of it.”

The wonderful news finally sunk into her brain and Annie shouted with delight.
“I have never won anything before in my life,” she murmured in awe.

Nathan Liu stepped down from the podium and approached Annie. Grabbing her hand, he started congratulating her. “Miss Man, we have a special surprise for you. For being the recipient of our grand prize, you get to sit on the horse you bid on. Publicity photos will also be taken.”

Annie was unable to believe her good fortune. “Really? Oh, my gosh, this is so cool.”

“Everything should be set up in about twenty minutes. The photo shoot will take place behind the racetracks, near the stable in the back. If you like, I could ask someone to direct you there.”

“I know where it is. I’ll lead her,” Kevin volunteered.

**********

Twenty minutes later, a majority of the guests had already left. Only a few people stayed around to witness the photo shoot. Believing that Mimi had probably came to her senses and left the stadium, Tae decided to join the gang. Sitting on Buttercup, Annie was in high spirits as she posed for the photographers. Kevin was leaning on a fence a couple of feet away while Ruby and Ada were sitting on two barrels.

All of a sudden, a familiar voice could be heard calling out to Tae near the corner of the stable. He felt a cold chill run down his spine as he closed his eyes in dread and swore under his breath. Mimi halted in front of him and held up a large carton of lemon punch. Her hair was messed up, her gown was dirtied, and she was sweating profusely.

“Tae! Did you miss me?” Mimi appeared to be in an elated mood. “I couldn’t find any lemon punch in the basement, so I drove to the supermarket. I had to go to three stores before I found some in stock.”

“You took so long that I don’t feel like drinking punch any more,” he sighed.

She contritely clung to his arm. “I’m so sorry, Tae. Please forgive me.”

Tae struggled to pull free of Mimi’s grip. “That’s all right, but next time, try to be more efficient,” he stated harshly. “I can’t wait around the entire day for you.”

“Of course.” She nodded her head.

Still hugging Tae’s arm, she pulled out a small compact mirror and attempted to fix up her hair. The sunlight reflected off the mirror and shone directly into Buttercup’s eyes. The horse immediately flared up on its hind legs and whinnied loudly. Annie screamed and frantically held on to the horse’s neck. The animal was hysterically trying to buck Annie off the saddle.

“ANNIE!!!” Ruby cried out with a pale face. Without thinking, she automatically rushed forward to grab the reins, but the horse rose up on his hind legs again and was about to trample her. Fearing for her friend’s safety, she was oblivious to the danger and didn’t move out of the way.

Terror ripped through Tae’s body. “RUBY! WATCH OUT!”
He instantly shoved Mimi aside and ran to Ruby’s rescue. He quickly grabbed her waist and jerked her against his chest. Buttercup’s powerful front legs came down directly on the spot that Ruby stood a split second before.

Tae’s rough push caused Mimi to land in puddle of mud and her gown was drenched with the brown liquid. Meanwhile, Buttercup was madly galloping across the field with Annie hanging on for dear life as she hugged his neck.

Annie was screaming at the top of her lungs. “SOMEBODY HEEEEEEEELP ME!!! WHERE ARE THE BREAKS ON THIS THING?! HEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!”

Kevin shot across the stable and hopped on the first horse in sight. Lines of worry etched across his face as he sent his horse hurtling after Buttercup and Annie. At a neck-breaking speed, Kevin tightened his jaw in determination and focused on trying to catch up to the other horse.

[jeh]

Love the ending of this chapter. Annie and Kevin is so cute together <IMG SRC="smilies/drool.gif" border="0"> It was so funny how Ruby yell at Tae. <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0"> Your updates always make me happy <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> It's just so funny. Update as soon as possible, please. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[zzzbeauty]

I love Annie and Kevin together. Jeh is right, they're so cute. <IMG SRC="smilies/love.gif" border="0">

Tae and Ruby are so funny. I love her honest and blunt personality.

I can't wait untill they realize that they are meant to be together.

<IMG SRC="smilies/blob.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/blob.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/blob.gif" border="0">

For now, I'm enjoying all the <IMG SRC="smilies/smash.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/smash.gif" border="0">

Lol...maybe because i'm a violent person too. <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">

<font size="1">[ April 02, 2003: Message edited by: zzzbeauty ]</font>

[tweety365]

Chapter 17 - A Simple Gift

Character Appearances:
Kevin Cheng Ka Wing
Annie Man Chung Han
Ruby Lin Xin Ru
Tae Sattawat Sethakorn as Tae Leung
Mimi Lo Man Chong
Ada Choi Siu Fun
Kenneth Tsang Kong as Keith Tsang

Kevin shot across the stable and hopped on the first horse in sight. Lines of worry etched across his face as he sent his horse hurtling after Buttercup and Annie. At a neck-breaking speed, he tightened his jaw in determination and focused on trying to catch up to the other horse. Noticing that Buttercup was heading toward the racetrack, he urged his horse into a faster pace. As he turned the corner, he saw several large piles of haystacks blocking the path and hoped that the haystacks would stop the other horse. However, Buttercup effortlessly leaped over the obstacle and continued on. Without missing a beat, he followed the other horse’s lead and jumped over the haystacks.

“OH, MY GOD!” Annie shrieked for help. “PLEASSSSSSSSSE!!! SOMEONE, ANYONE, GET ME OFF THIS THING!”

“I’M COMING, ANNIE! JUST HOLD ON!”

“WHAT DO YOU THINK I’M DOING?!!!”

As Buttercup was speeding pass a warehouse, a stable boy suddenly walked out holding a pair of pliers. Preoccupied with cleaning the pliers with a cloth, he failed to notice the animal heading straight toward him.

“MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!” Kevin bellowed loudly.

The boy glanced up and turned pale as sheet. He hastily stepped backward and nearly missed being run down. However, in his fright, he threw the pliers in the air and it fell down slashing Kevin in the upper left arm. He grimaced in pain as blood spurted from the deep gash. Ignoring his wound, he refused to slow down and relentlessly carried on with the pursuit.

**********

While the chase was going on, Tae was still tightly holding Ruby against his chest as his heartbeat started to calm down. An acute sense of fear and panic had surged through his body when he saw that she was about to be trampled. It just didn’t make any sense and there was no logic to this strange feeling he was experiencing. Ruby finally recovered from the shock of nearly getting hurt and then, being yanked into Tae’s arms. She pushed against his chest and tried to remove herself from his embrace. He immediately released her and glowered down at her small frame.

“Woman, do you have a death wish?!” he snapped at her. “What the hell were you thinking? That horse could have killed you.”

“Why do you care?!” she retorted back. “If it wasn’t for you, I could have saved Annie!” She suddenly remembered her friend. “Oh, my gosh, where is Annie?!” She anxiously ran after the crowd of people heading in the direction of the racetrack with Tae following close behind. However, a voice mournfully called out to him.

“Tae, help me!” Mimi wailed out. “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

Mimi’s entire body was covered with mud and her voluminous dress was too heavily soaked to allow any sort of movement. She was fumbling to stand up, but failed miserably. Seeing her wretched condition, Tae didn’t have the heart to leave her behind. He slowly approached her and stretched out his hand. With a winsome smile, she happily grabbed his hand and he easily pulled her out of the puddle. She wiped her face with her sleeve, but only managed to smear more mud on her face.

Tae cracked up laughing at her comical appearance. “You look absolutely ridiculous! I think it’s best that you go home and change your clothes. Better yet, take a shower. You smell horrible.”
After saying that, he rushed off toward the racetrack. However, Mimi ignored her filthy attire and ran after Tae. She struggled to keep up with his long strides. “But I want to stay here with you. I don’t mind being a little dirty.”

He instantly whirled around to face her. “You don’t mind, but I do. Now, do you want to embarrass the Lo Family name by wandering around in public like this? Aside from the fact that you’ll make me look bad, think of what your parents would say if they found out.”

“Oh, Tae!” Tears were filling up her eyes and in a weepy tone, “I didn’t know you cared so much about me. All this time, I thought you were trying to avoid me, but you just wanted to uphold a good image for me. You are such a considerate GENTLEMAN!”

She leaned in, wanting to give Tae a big hug, but he swiftly stepped aside and a look of horror crossed his features. Not wanting to dirty his expensive clothes or have any sort of physical contact with Mimi, he held up his hands to fend her off. “Now, now, no need to show any gratitude. I’m sure any normal, decent man would do the same thing. You should really go freshen up before some reporters decide to take pictures of you.”

“Yes, Tae,” she said with a reluctant sigh. “I will listen to your advice, but I’ve been meaning to ask you something. My birthday is next Friday and I’m having a small party at my house, so I was wondering if you could make it.”

He stared at her hopeful eyes. “I’ll have to check my schedule. I am a very busy person, you know. I’ll call you if I can spare some free time.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! Wait till Mother hears about this.” With an enthusiastic smile, she shuffled away from the stable in her ruined gown.

“If I have any free time in my schedule,” he hollered. “Remember, that’s a big IF.”

Mimi was too busy dreaming about being the future Mrs. Tae Leung to pay any attention to his words. Believing that she was getting closer and closer to making him declare his undying love for her, she was in an ecstatic mood as she happily hummed a wedding tune.

Sadly shaking his head, Tae went to see how Kevin was doing in his rescue mission. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that his buddy was smitten with Annie. At first he was surprised that Kevin would be interested in her. She was definitely pretty, but not at all like the wealthy, gorgeous women his friend dated in the past. Come to think of it, aside from having money and beauty, those women were quite shallow. Try as he might, Tae was unable to really remember any of Kevin’s ex-girlfriends.

**********

Blood was still dripping down Kevin’s arm and staining his sleeve, but he was oblivious to the pain. Bending low over his horse, he finally managed to catch up to Buttercup. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead as he rode up to the left side of the other horse. Once he was within arms reach of Annie, he extended his right hand and yelled out to her.

“ANNIE, GRAB MY ARM AND I’LL PULL YOU OVER! HURRY!”

She was still hugging Buttercup’s neck. “WHAT?! NOOOOOOOO! WHAT IF YOU MISS AND DROP ME?!”

“I WON’T DROP YOU! TRUST ME!”

She closed her eyes and vehemently shook her head. “I CAN’T MOVE! MY ARMS ARE TOO NUMBED!”

The horse was running so fast that Annie was starting to slip from the saddle. Fearing that she would eventually lose her grip and be thrown off, Kevin concentrated on executing his plan. He carefully moved even closer to Buttercup and once he was a couple inches away from Annie, he waited for just the right moment. It was now or never. Using his right hand, he quickly grabbed onto Buttercup’s reins and swung his body over behind Annie. He roughly yanked on the leather strap and the horse started to slow down. The animal reared back on his hind legs, but Kevin held on tightly. After several minutes of wrestling for control, Buttercup finally stopped running. Even though she was no longer in danger, Annie’s eyes remain closed and she was still trembling.

Extreme relief coursed through him as Kevin tenderly hugged her from behind. “It’s okay, Annie,” he whispered in a soothing voice. “You’re safe now.”
Peeking out from beneath her eyelids, she released a sigh and weakly leaned against his muscular frame. Just at that moment, Ruby, Ada, and crowd of people swarmed toward them. Ruby helped Annie down from the horse. “Oh, thank the Lord!” she breathed out as she hugged Annie.

“Annie, are you all right?” Ada asked. “You nearly scared all of us to death.”

Annie looked slightly pale as she stood on wobbly legs. “I think I’m all right. I am NEVER EVER going near another horse again in my life.” She instantly dropped to her knees and laid flat down on her stomach. “Oh, blessed ground! I love you so much!”

Tae approached Kevin with a stunned look. “My, God! You’re bleeding!”

Annie got up from the ground and rushed over. “Are you all right, Kevin? How did you get such a deep cut?”

“Buttercup almost ran over a stable boy and he accidentally threw a pair of pliers at me. It’s nothing really. Just a small scratch.” He gave her an easygoing smile. “It looks worst than it feels.” He took out a handkerchief from his shirt pocket and handed it to Tae. “Tie it up for me, will you.”

Tae tightened the cloth on Kevin’s upper arm to stop the bleeding. “You call this a small scratch? Seriously, you need to go see a doctor, man.”

Annie bit her lower lip. “It seems pretty deep.”

“I’m fine. I promise to check out a doctor later on.”

“Mr. Cheng, Miss Man, I’m so sorry for this incident,” Buttercup’s trainer apologized. “I don’t know what got into Buttercup. He’s always been such a docile creature.”

Kevin patted the trainer on the back. “Don’t worry about it. No one’s seriously hurt.”

Suddenly, Kevin’s cell phone started ringing. “Hello, this is Kevin… Okay… Great, I’ll be right there.” He turned to Tae. “I’m needed back at the office. I’ll talk to you later.”

Tae nodded while Kevin gave Annie a reassuring smile before he turned to leave. She continued to stare at his back and felt guilty for his injury. He wouldn’t be hurt if he didn’t try to save her.

Ruby waved her hand in front of Annie’s face. “Annie? Earth to Annie.”

Annie snapped out her thought. “Huh?”

Ruby placed the back of her hand on Annie’s forehead. “Are you feeling well?”

“Yeah, you don’t look too good.” Ada said with a frown.

“I’m fine. Let’s go home. It’s been a long day.”

**********
MAMMOTH PEAK
Kevin stood watching the sun slowly drifting down the horizon and casting shadows over the surrounding hills. He tentatively touched his bandaged left arm.
“You’re positive Tom Ng has been embezzling money from Lantect International?”

Keith lit up his cigarette. “My sources have confirmed that for the past two years, Ng has been using the company’s funds to secretly conduct illicit transactions with the Red Scale Gang.”

Kevin clasped his hands together. “I don’t think Ng works alone. There has to be someone else involved in this; someone above Ng. Otherwise, he wouldn’t risk such a prominent job and the possibility of prison time to work with the mafia. This operation is too big for him to handle alone.”

“Well, you’re going to have to be extra careful this time. We don’t know who else is involved as of yet and it could be anyone in that company. One false move and this mission, as well as your safety, will be in jeopardy.”

“I’ve done this type of job before,” Kevin stated grimly. “Every mission has its risk and danger. The only thing that’s different this time is the target. When do I leave?”

Keith handed him a yellow manila folder. “Next Saturday. Your plane ticket along with all the contact information and background details associated with Lantect are in here. Sergeant Stephan Chan from the Special Crime Unit will also be joining you. Aside from having extensive experiences in the field of police negotiation, he has also worked on several undercover cases in the past. I’m sure Stephan will prove quite useful to this mission.”

Kevin was startled to know that his friend will be involved. “Does he know my identity?”

“No. I thought it would be better for you to reveal that information when the time comes. I’ve arranged for him to contact you at the Somerset Hotel in Shanghai. Good luck, Black Hawk.”

He turned to walk back to his car. “Thanks, but I don’t need luck.”

**********

By the time Kevin drove up to the parking construction of his apartment complex, it was completely dark. Getting out of his car, he approached the front entrance and saw a figure sitting on a bench near the door. At a closer glance, he recognized that it was Annie. She was intently staring down at the pavement and holding a wrapped package in her arms. Lost in her thoughts, she wasn’t aware of his presence.

“Annie? What are you doing here?”

She jerked her head up and felt slightly embarrassed. “Oh… I… uh… was on my way to… uh.. the supermarket …and umm since your apartment is on the way… I decided to drop by to see how you’re doing.”

“How did you find out where I live?”

“You’re listed in the local phonebook. Plus, Ada and Ruby are journalists, so it’s not exactly difficult to dig up some information on you.”

“I see.” He smiled fondly at her. “So, may I assume you did some digging because you were worried about me?”

“Of course not!” she said blushing. “It just so happens that… ummm… that my sink was clogged up and I was … uh… searching for a plumbing company in the phone book. I saw your address while I was flipping around.”

“You found my address in the business section? Hmmm, that’s funny, I would assume it would be listed in the residential section.”

She was flushing to the roots of her hair. “The stupid phone company must have made a mistake.” After a brief, awkward pause, she questioned, “So how’s your arm?”

“Well, I went to the doctor and had a couple of stitches. He said it’s nothing to worry about and the cut should heal within the week.”

She nodded, feeling relieved. “At least that’s good news. Anyways… here, this is for you.”
She hastily shoved the package into his hands.

“What is it?”

She stared down at her shoes like they were the most interesting things on earth. “I passed by an outlet store on my way here and saw a shirt on sale. Since your shirt was damaged when you saved me, I thought you would need a new one.”

He glanced at his bloodied arm sleeve. “You didn’t have to do this. May I open it?”

“Go ahead.” She casually shrugged. “It’s nothing fancy, though. And it might not even fit you.”

Sitting down on the stone bench, he slowly removed the silver wrappings and opened the cardboard box. Inside was a plain white shirt with a row of clear buttons down the front. It was not one of the name brands he usually bought and the quality of the material was only average. However, coming from Annie, it was more valuable than his most expensive shirt. He was deeply touched that she would buy him a gift. He knew that the stores carrying this type of clothing were not located anywhere near his house. He was silent for so long that Annie assumed he didn’t like the shirt.

She reached for the box. “I don’t know what I was thinking. You probably don’t even wear this type of brand.”

Kevin immediately pulled the box out of her reach. “No, it’s lovely. I really like it, Annie. I’m sure it will fit me perfectly.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” he answered grinning.

Seeing that he was staring at her again, she averted her eyes and glanced at her wristwatch.
“It’s getting pretty late. I better get home before Ruby starts to worry.”

“Let me drive you home.”

She shook her head and declined his offer. “That’s okay. I can take the bus.”

“Don’t be silly. It’s the least I can do.”

“But–”

“I insist.” He grabbed her elbow and pulled her toward his car.

The ride back to Annie’s apartment was filled with complete silence. Kevin was actually quite content sitting next to her and didn’t mind the quiet atmosphere. However, she was not as comfortable as Kevin. She kept fidgeting and gazing out the window. She tried to make small talk to kill time. “So, have you seen any good movies lately?”

“I’m not really into movies. I like to read more,” he revealed.

“Really? So, do I. What type of books do you read?” she wanted to know.

“Sci-fi and mystery. What about you?”

“I enjoy all sorts of books. If it has a good plotline, I’ll give it a try.”

Silence again. “Oh, I’ve been meaning to thank you for recommending my catering services to your friends.”

He stepped the car at a red light. “I take it that business has been good for you?”

“It could be better, but I take what I can get.”

He stepped on the accelerator as the light turned green. “At least it’s better than before. By the way, you still owe me a dinner. Don’t think I forgot about our agreement.”

She whipped her head around to glare at him. “Ruby promised you. I didn’t say anything. And that is beside the point. I won that Jaguar with my ticket, not with the one you gave Ruby.”

“Okay, think of this as my farewell dinner.”

“Farewell dinner? Where are you going? Are you leaving Hong Kong? For how long?”

He was pleased to know that she was concerned over his whereabouts. “I’m leaving for Shanghai on Saturday to deal with some business affairs. I don’t know how long I have to stay there. It could be months or longer.”

“Oh.” She inexplicably felt disheartened at the news.

“Even if you didn’t agree to having dinner with me before, don’t you think I deserve to be treated to one for saving you today?”

She really wanted to agree to the date, but was afraid of getting too close to him. For some unknown reason, just the thought of not seeing him again for several months caused a wave of sadness to wash over her. She never felt like this before, not for any man. She knew that if she gave up the opportunity to have dinner with him, she would regret it later on.

“What time do you want to have dinner?”

“How does Friday night at 6 o’clock sound?” He was beaming with unrestrained joy.

She didn’t want to sound too eager. “Well, I do have plans, but since you’ll be leaving soon… I guess I can rearrange my schedule.”

Kevin stopped in front of Annie’s apartment complex. “Wonderful!” He stepped out of the car and opened the door for her. “I’ll call you.”

She stood next to him and could feel the warmth from his body. “Thanks… Kevin?”

“Yes?” He gazed into her soft brown eyes.

“Don’t eat any seafood. It’s not good for your wound.”

“I won’t,” he promised.

“Good night.”

“Good night to you too, Annie.”