The Day He Matured

Harold put his hand on his forehead and then cleared his throat a few times.

I still look at him without blinking because I don’t believe that a successful businessman with billions of dollars in assets like him would play gambling games.

“I bet my grandfather that the city won’t rain today. Now that’s good. As soon as I got back to the US, I had to go to the kitchen and cook a delicious meal for my family.”

Oh, it turned out he was betting with the president of Hana Corporation. I thought he bet on football.

But I don’t think Harold and his grandfather would play this childish game. It seems that the relationship between the president of Hana Corporation and his biological grandson is always more intimate and better than the relationship between him and the fake grandson.

I have never heard Brian tell about any good memories of him and his grandfather.

“Turns out you can cook.” I smiled wryly and spoke up.

“Uh. I know all the most basic things that a person needs to know. That’s how my grandfather taught his children and grandchildren. Brian is no exception, he also knows everything.”

I realized that at the bottom of Harold’s eyes, pride was rising when he mentioned Brian. I did not see any hatred or contempt in his eyes, as if Brian was his biological brother.

Didn’t Hellen say that Harold doesn’t like Brian? In my opinion, it’s the opposite of what she said. Brian dislikes Harold.

“Bella, would you like to have something to eat? You haven’t had dinner yet, have you?” He asked as he drove out of the gate.

“Yes, I haven’t eaten yet.”

“Okay, do you know any good restaurants? It’s raining, so let’s eat dishes with hot broth.”

I nodded and pointed the way for Harold to drive to the roadside noodle restaurant near the red and green lights at the intersection ahead.

Because he gives me a sense of simplicity, I believe he also likes sidewalk restaurants, not because of his current position that he has to go to high-class restaurants.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

As I expected, Harold ate very enthusiastically and nodded and praised the delicious food. He said that although he rarely comes to this country, the food here always makes him feel very familiar.

Maybe because half of the blood flowing in his veins belongs to the people of this country.

“It’s a great feeling. Eating hot noodle soup and watching the rain at night, feeling cold inside and out, it’s great.” He stopped his chopsticks and looked up at the high sky, exclaiming.

“That’s right. So great.” I nodded, agreeing with him.

After dinner, Harold took the initiative to pay and asked for my phone number.

He said he wanted to be friends with me, sometimes eating and drinking together, walking in the streets, parks and chatting whenever we have free time.

I’m just an ordinary human being and also mediocre. Except for Brian because of a gap in the past, I, like many others, always wanted to be close to the leaders of the company.

To put it bluntly, we want to be close to them so that we can ask them for help in the future.

From the day I joined the AD company to make money, I changed my mind and became like that.

However, I was wrong when I thought that I only needed to please the old sales manager, not develop relationships with employees of other departments and other bosses.

Through this assignment by Brian to me, I realized many things.

“Let’s make friends on Facebook and Zalo too. Sometimes I will see the photos you post and comment on them, like them.” Harold quickly sent a friend request on Zalo as soon as he saved my phone number in his phone.

What the heck? I don’t think Harold has this childish personality, like some teenagers and young adults.

If Harold used a Facebook account with more than a million followers to comment on my photos, I would quickly climb to cloud nine.

I will suddenly become famous. At least I will be famous in the AD company. As long as one person finds out, they will share and I will certainly be noticed, talked about.

“What’s your Facebook name?” Harold asked.

“Ah… Bella Poarch.” I honestly declare.

And just a few seconds later, the notification shows a friend request from him.

I touched the screen with trembling hands and accepted the invitation. Then I was even more horrified when a series of notifications displayed, Harold interacted in most of the photos he saw.

Why is he so enthusiastic? I ask myself, what do I have that is so attractive to men? And those people are all talented, handsome, and rich.

But those likes are no big deal because before turning off the phone, Harold left a comment line under my most recent photo.

The content of the comment is that he will remember today as an anniversary because he became friends with a beautiful, lovely girl like me.

“Mr. Harold.” I called softly.

“Yes. What’s up?”

“You comment like that, if… I mean, if…”

“I’m still single. So you can rest assured.”

Oh, even though Harold was a single man, there were definitely countless girls lurking around, watching him.

I would like to be at peace. I don’t want to be noticed by people in this way and then envied and hated by them.

He told me to rest assured. How can I rest assured?

“You know what I’m gonna say?”

“Yes. I guess. But it seems to be correct, right?”

I laughed, pretending to look at the road, where the rain was falling.

The high-pressure lamp shines yellow light through the natural water droplets, reminding me of romantic scenes in music videos.

Brian and I have never watched the rain together. We used to eat, drink, sleep together, and have a lot of friendly gestures but never watched the rain together. It’s a pity.

“Where is your house?” Harold took a sip of hot tea and asked.

“I live close to here. You drive about three minutes to come.”

“Let’s go.”

I obediently hid in the umbrella he had just opened and then got into the car.

Fortunately, he showed up today, so I finished work early and had a good meal. If I get home too late, I’ll probably just cook instant noodles.

About that idea proposal, I believe Brian will be satisfied because the person who made it is Harold.

When the car stopped in front of the gate, Harold gave me an umbrella and drove off.

When I turned my head to look again, I could only see the faint red light from the two rear lights.

What predestined do I have with Brian’s family? I walked around for a while and then met him and his relatives again.

As soon as I entered the house, I took a shower and then went to bed because I was so sleepy. However, before I could close my eyes, the phone rang continuously, and the caller was my friend, Caily.

My heart suddenly pounded, I quickly picked up the phone to listen.

“Bella, since when did you come back to Brian?” Her voice almost lost its composure.

“What’s up? What are you talking about?” I was also extremely confused and quickly asked back.

“This girl, what are you pretending? The comment line of the general manager of Hana Corporation under your photo is being shared rapidly.”

What did she just say? Oh my, the quickness of the internet gangsters made me widen my eyes.

Before I could fully digest the bowl of noodle soup, the news about my close relationship with Harold flew everywhere.

After biting my lip, I slowly explained everything to Caily. From the sudden appearance of Brian as the sales director of AD company to the fact that he upgraded me to the position of secretary and the circumstances that made Harold and I become friends today.

“Is that a coincidence? Does Brian cause trouble for you? Did he talk about the past?” Caily asked in a very serious voice.

“For the time being, he hasn’t caused me any trouble.”

“But you have his brother protecting you, right? Surely everything will be fine.”

What is this girl saying? Who protects me? I know that if Brian wants to torment me, Harold won’t be able to interfere.

Moreover, what happened today was just a coincidence. Harold is very busy, he doesn’t have time to help me all the time. Moreover, the place where he lives and works often is in the United States.

I just hope that the time will pass quickly, the contract signed with AD company will expire soon so that I can run away from there.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” I answered to reassure Caily.

After talking on the phone with my friend for another ten minutes, I fell on the bed, covered with the blanket, and closed my eyes.

Maybe Brian will see that comment, too. What will he think? Damn, I don’t care.

“Richard will see it too, right?” I worried and wondered to myself.

Okay, if Richard has any questions, I will explain to him later. Life is like a chasing circle and I can’t get out of that circle unless I can’t breathe anymore.

I think Hellen will come to see me soon. Okay, she just comes, I will ask her to ask Brian to return me to the position of salesperson, don’t force me to be his secretary anymore.

I will try to sell four or five more apartments this year and then send my application to another company.