Hui had bluntly asked him about the reason for seeking employment in his start-up company and Eric had seen no reason to hold back the truth. Much to his surprise, he had been hired and treated with utmost trust from day one. He had never questioned Hui about the reason for hiring him but had appreciated the faith which Hui had shown in him. He had vowed that day to not let the company or Hui down. It had been five years to the day and both men had celebrated their thirtieth birthdays this year, few weeks apart.

He had seen how women looked at Hui, as some sort of a meal ticket. When he had suggested hiring of a personal a.s.sistant, he had hoped to find a male employee instead of a female. But the whole sequence of events had brought Ms. Lin and her life history in front of him. She was a woman on the run from her past emotional baggage. If she didn't want the affection of two of the most sought after men in Shanghai, it would be safe to a.s.sume that she wouldn't run after his emotionally closed boss.

Of course, more importantly, she seemed to possess the right skillsets for the job. All in all, she was perfect for this position . Hence he was really keen on getting her on board.

"Well, even if she is perfect, she is no longer here. So what can we do but look elsewhere, right. Now, if there are no more candidates for today, I am going back to the lab," Hui tried to sound nonchalant about it.

Eric's mind was racing and he only half heard his boss's words. Picking up Jia Li's papers, he walked out of the room.

Fifteen days later

Jia Li thanked Karim profusely for supporting her during the past weeks. She shook hands with him warmly and bid farewell before boarding the flight to London. Eric, the COO of Earthly Matters Ltd. had worn her down with his perseverance. He had managed to convince her to come work under that ghastly man, Ying Hui.

"I must be out of my mind to have agreed to this three months trial period," she muttered to herself.

Eric had caught up with her in the lobby of her hotel, that evening after the disastrous interview. He had narrated a near impossible story to her about her being mistaken for a spy by Ying Hui. She had refused to believe him initially and had all sorts of suspicious thoughts about the company and its people. But he had not given up, chasing her through calls and mails even when she had returned to Tunisia.

Things hadn't worked out for her in the other job interviews and Tunis also didn't seem to have much to offer her in terms of employment. So she had decided to relent under the persuasive powers of Eric Hunt, for now.

"Have you landed? Reached the flat?" Eric's now familiar voice greeted Jia Li.

She smiled and told him that she was on her way to the allocated quarters.

Xie Mansion, Shanghai

"Till when will this rebellion of yours carry on? Have you not had your fill by making us the laughing stock of town already, by moving out of the house while your wife stays here?" Mr. Xie told Tang, who had just entered the living room.

"Mom, did you pack all the stuff which I asked you to?" He ignored Mr. Xie's presence completely and addressed his mother.

His mother nodded and beckoned the staff to get the bags downstairs.

"h.e.l.lo Tang, it's good to see you," Mei Zhen said demurely.

He looked through her and walked closer to his mother.

Hugging her from behind, he complained, "are you not going to come help me set up everything at the new place? I am totally at a loss."

She patted his cheek lovingly and said, "of course I will. Once your father leaves for work today, I will come visit you there."

"Tang, till when will you continue to punish me for this? I have apologised enough and I am willing to spend my life making it up to you. But just give me a chance at redemption," Mei Zhen started pleading, her eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with unshed tears.

She hadn't known that he would be visiting the Xie mansion that day else she would have been better prepared with her words.