Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
She wore the contacts that the optometrist fitted her for, since Jacky still has her glasses. She washed out the crimp in her hair early that morning. The look was just too crazy for her, which fit perfectly because her hair looked even better straight. She pulled her bangs behind her ear as she began working.
Just about half an hour into her work, she was approached by Joe, the guy with a reputation for flirting with girls. He's never even said 'hi' to her since she started working there a few months ago. "Miss? Are you new here?" his winning smile didn't seem to catch her attention.
She looked annoyingly at him "They're called contacts, Joe." she rolled her eyes and returned to her work.
"Annie??" his usually suave voice couldn't hide the shock.
She looked up at him strangely "You don't recognize me?"
He shook his head, his expression serious "Not at all. You look amazing!" he said with so much sincerity that she had to blush.
Annie turned away shyly "Don't exaggerate."
"Im not. Now, if I would have seen you like this before, we would be dating by now." his ego getting the better of him.
She stopped smiling as she turned back to him. "Does looks matter that much to you?" she was curious.
"Well, pretty girls are better to look at." he smiled, showing two perfect rows of teeth.
"So are guys." he grin grew wider at her comment "Too bad you're not one of them." she turned away as he walked off embarrassed written all over his face.
She hated hipocrytes, just because she looked a little different didn't give anyone the right to ignore her. Suddenly overnight, her looks are considered attractive? The thought of how society worked made her sick. Suddenly a hand patted her shoulder, she thought it was her friend "Jacky?" she found Peter looking down at her.
"I don't think he's here yet." he smiled kindly at her.
"Hi Peter, sorry."
He shook his head as he handed her the mail "Annie?"
"Yeah?" she answered while she skimmed through the mail.
"Uh...I was wondering...." he wasn't sure how to ask her.
Annie looked up at him with question eyes, suddenly she smiled "You want me to introduce you to Jacky right? Don't worry, I already put in a good word for you."
"Huh? No...Im not gay." his eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "I was wondering if you're free tonight?" he smiled shyly "I've been trying to gather up the nerve to ask you out, but I couldn't do it."
"Oh..." was all she said. She was wondering why Jacky would say that Peter was gay. He was the one that told her all gay guys could tell if a guy was straight or gay. Maybe he made a mistake? She quickly pushed the thoughts away as she turned back to Peter "Im sorry, Im just not...ready." she searched for the right word.
He nodded slowly "I understand." he began to walk away, but suddenly stopped "Annie, I think you look great." he smiled and walked away.
She stared after him, that was the second person that complimented her. She didn't understand why the guys at the bar last night wouldn't even approach her? Her thoughts floated over to Jacky, where was he? She hasn't seen him all morning. 'Was I too harsh?' she barely remembered anything last night. "Since when were you hired to day dream?" the familiar voice of Miss Lai broke into her thoughts.
"Miss Lai." Annie gave her a slight nod.
"What is this? A salon, why is your hair red? Our clients come in and out of the building everyday, what would they think of us if they see your hair red?!" she eyed Annie up and down "I don't believe you understand our dress code."
Annie looked down at her knee high skirt "But its over the knee?" she wasn't sure of the dress code. Although she was certain that what she was wore was not inappropriate.
"Don't you argue with me!" Miss Lai raised her voice angrily. Annie lowered her head, trying to hide her red face. "We have a meeting this morning at 10, the new Vice President will be arriving then." she directed her voice over the office "We'll be meeting in Conference Room A" she gave Annie an evil glare before returning to her office.
Annie let out a sigh of relief before slumping onto her chair. "She's just jealous that you look better than her." one girl whispered loudly to Annie.
She turned around and smiled at the girl. "You're new?"
The girl smiled as she nodded "Yeah, Im Tracy."
"Annie." the exchanged a firm handshake before returning to work.
Time flew by as the clock struck 10. Everyone dropped their work as they headed towards the Conference room. Annie stayed behind as she waited to see if Jacky would be coming. There was no way she could have missed him, sighing to herself as she followed the crowd toward the meeting room.
It was a huge room with rows and rows of chairs, but it wasn't enough for everyone. Half of the people took a seat and the other half stood in the back. Since Annie was one of the last to come in, she ended up being in the way back, she couldn't see a thing. But with her mood, she had no interest of seeing some old guy talk about the 'great' company. Everyone was whispering to each other, wondering who this new VP was?
Soon, people began to quiet down when Jim, the President's personal assistant came in. He put up his hands to silent the group. "Good morning. You all might be a little surprise by the familiarity of the new Vice President. But then, I'll let him talk." he smiled as he took a seat next to Miss Lai, who specifically sat in the front for a better look at the VP.
The welcome clapping of the hands were soon drowned out by the whispering of voices when the new VP came in. Annie went on her tippy toes and arched her neck to see, but it was useless, she couldn't see a thing "By the gasps and surprise expression, I assume everyone recognizes me?" Annie felt a cold chill run through her, the voice, it was so familiar. "As many of you may know, I am Jacky Hung, son of the President. I just recently returned from four years of studying in London. I got my major in Music but decided it wasn't for me afterall. So I decided to return to Hong Kong and help my dad. It was his idea that I start working here as an undercover." his voice stopped over the crowd, allowing his words to sink in. He glanced around quickly for Annie, but she was no where in sight. "I wanted to get to know everyone on a personal basis. I have to be honest, I am quite disappointed by the circulation of work around her. Some people might wonder why I chose to be a homosexual, well, I wanted to be different so no one would pay too much attention to me." he looked around the room as he chuckled "Apparently, the disguise worked too well as most of you know, I was ignored and pushed aside like dirt because I was different. There was only one person in this office that befriended me, I don't think I have to tell you her name? I will not hold this prejudice attitude against any of you, but I would like to remind you that we are all people with feelings. Eventhough I am not gay, it still hurt me to know that almost all of the employees in this office didn't want to be my friend."
He paused as he searched for Annie again, but there was still no sign of her, so he continued "In the past three months, I have been taking extensive notes about everyone in the office. I have figured out who are the gems of this company and who are just a waste of a paycheck." his eyes ended on Miss Lai, who's face was completely red from shock and embarrassment. "I have spent the whole morning trying to figure out who will be promoted, fire or remain where they are. Therefore, when you return to your desk, you will find a letter indicating one of the three that I just explained. I hope that all this have taught you a valuable lesson about people, never judge a book by its cover." he smiled at the group "You may return to your desk." he took a seat at the head oval table. His eyes searching for Annie.
She was way in the back, still trying to overcome the shock of what she just heard. She followed the crowd that was pushing out the door. Her eyes glued to the floor as she tried to hide from him. But he was able to find her as long as she is within his eye sight. Jacky put up a hand waving for Annie "Miss Chu, please stay back. I'd like to talk to you."
She let out a sigh as she stood still while the people continued to file out. The final person left the room, leaving Jacky and Annie to confront each other "What do you need Mr. Hung? A cup of coffe perhaps or a new sex change?" her voice was bitter and angry.
"Annie, I know you have the right to be angry." he got up from the seat and stepped closer to her.
"You're damn right I have should be mad. You lied to me, Jacky. I trusted you more than anyone I know. That may not be alot but it sure means something. Which is more than I can say for you." her words charged at him like a bull.
He nodded in agreement "I understand very much that you are angry. But please hear me out?" his puppy eyes begged her as she nodded slowly "At first, I thought it would be a great plan to go undercover as a gay guy. But after a month of working here, I realized how hard it is for a person that's labelled different to be accepted by the 'normalilty'. Everyone was very cold, no one wanted to talk to me, until you came along. Annie, you are by far the person with the biggest heart that I know of. I don't know when it happened, but I am certain that I have fallen in love with you." he reached out for her hands as he held them tightly in his.
She smiled as she shook her head "You know, when I was young I thought that I would just grow up and fall in love with one guy. We'd get married and have kids." her face fell "Life isn't that simple. I realized that during high school, when I was teased constantly. They said words don't hurt? Well, let me write a book on it...I have never trusted anyone more than myself. Until I met Tia...then you. But how could you play me for a fool? All these months that I've known you, you were gay. And now you're telling me that you're straight? And worse yet, you're in love with me?? I find that hard to swallow right now." she pulled her hands away from him as she headed for the door.
Before she had a chance to reach for it, the double door swung open almost knocking over Annie. It was Miss Lai, who was holding the letter in her hand. "Fired??! You can't fire me." she waved the letter in his face angrily "I've been here for a loyal 6 years!! This is not what I should get." her face fuming.
Jacky smiled calmly "Im sorry Miss Lai, I didn't realize you were that loyal."
The lady's face calmed down "Well, that's more like it."
"As a matter of fact, you can stay as long as you like." he walked over next to Annie "Why don't you say hi to your new boss?"
Miss Lai's face turned a beet red again "She doesn't have the credentials or the experience to be where I am today!!" her voice raising to a high pitch.
"That's beside the point. I have seen your work, its very common, I can find people like you all over Hong Kong. But you will never find anyone else out there like Annie." he smiled down at her but she turned her head away. "So, what do you say?"
"You're nuts!" she spat out "If you think she can do a better job, then I feel really sorry for you." she prepared to storm out, but Jacky intervened her.
He chuckled "Actually, I feel sorry for YOU. At the age of 40 and still no husband? Tsk tsk tsk...I never wondered why, but I did wonder if you would die an old maid. Now, I just KNOW you will." he watched her storm out angrily and burst out laughing "Did you see her face, Annie?" he turned to her but she ignored him and stormed out herself.
She grabbed a cardboard box near her desk as she threw her little frames and belongs inside it. She never once opened the letter. "Annie, where are you going. I didn't fire you, open the letter." he said eagerly.
"No, I don't want to know and I don't care what the letter says. Look, Mr. Hung I believe it was a mistake to apply in this company. I will find work somewhere else. Thank you." she picked up the box as she headed towards the elevator, but he was blocking her way. "Excuse me, Mr. Vice President." she said through clenched teeth.
"Annie, please...." she threw an angry glare at him. She was too mad, he couldn't even get through to her. Stepping aside for her to leave as he watched. Looks like he might need Tia's help, again.