Chapter 12: We're Good Friends like Brother and Sister
He knew very well her real personality behind that mask!
At the thought of the documents which was stained by coffee, he headed to his study room to bring it back to the company. He had to make sure a new copy was printed out for him.
The moment he entered the study, he knew intuitively that someone had been here.
Besides Coral and Abbott who had been to his study, there shouldn't be anyone else who was supposed to be here. Even Helen was never here before.
Who was that intruder?
Did that woman secretly sneaked into his study?
He marched towards his desk and saw a stack of handwritten documents on the table. It seemed like translated text. He took it and studied the words carefully. The words were very orderly and stylish. With a frown, he thought of the possibility that it was being written by that woman.
Did she know how to read the language used by A Country?
Matthew found this hard to believe.
As he was replacing the papers onto the desk and was about to look for that woman to find out what happened, a short memo fell out of the document. There was a short paragraph on it: I'm sorry I have intruded into your study space without your permission. The reason your documents were wet is because of my carelessness. Therefore, I have tried to the best of my abilities to restore your documents. Although I'm not a master at the language of A Country, I managed to translate it into Chinese so that you can read the words. Take this as my compensation for wetting your documents.
It was written by Dolores.
Matthew grabbed the memo hard and reread the contents of that memo a few more times. This memo was handwritten too. His anger at her for selfishly intruding into his study had somewhat dissipated.
He stared at the tidy words and all of a sudden, he was curious about this woman.
Unexpectedly, she knew about this rare language.
Matthew placed the memo on the table and fetched to documents. He was about to depart to the company.
When Dolores woke up, it was already noon. Coral had prepared some dishes for her. She was a little embarrassed at herself for waking up this late.
Coral smiled gently, "It is always vacant here. The young master is never one to sleep past the early mornings. Ever since you moved in here, this place feels a little livelier."
Dolores replied with a smile too, "Didn't Ms. White often come here in the past?"
Coral's features froze slightly as she pondered, "Was she jealous of Ms. White?"
Dolores didn't mean anything more than just a simple question, but after she had brought it up, she instantly felt regret.
"She was not always here. The young master was always cold towards her…" Coral was confused by the change displayed by Matthew too. Why did his attitude towards her suddenly take a turn for the better after just one business trip?
He never had feelings for Helen all those years, so what prompted him to fall for her for just a few days?
Coral couldn't come to any conclusion about this.
Dolores remembered a saying about how difficult was it to guess a woman's thoughts. She reckoned that this applied to some guys too.
This included someone like Matthew.
Since she failed to secure that job, Dolores decided not to continue to waste her life away like this. She must somehow have a stable job first. She wouldn't be able to retrieve her mother's stuff for now.
She didn't have much savings left. Although she didn't need to spend a lot while staying here, her mother needed money to survive.
After finishing her meal, she went out of the house.
She was someone without any real academic qualifications; so naturally, it was hard for her to find a good job.
After facing rejections after rejections, Dolores surmised that she could only look for a low-paying job at the moment.
There was a high-class restaurant hiring some waiters and waitresses.
This was a job that didn't need someone to have any academic qualifications. As long as she was quick-witted and reactive, she could manage this job. She must make sure she was at least making some money, so she headed into the restaurant to have an interview.
Although Dolores didn't finish her university courses, she was still someone who had gone to a university before. She had the sensible and logical soft skills needed to excel at such a job. She was very witty too.
The manager of the restaurant decided to hire her. She could start her job as soon as tomorrow.
At least, she had secured a job now. Dolores felt much more relieved compared to before. She exited the restaurant and took a stroll by the roads.
Under the twilight sky, the last hue of sunlight dyed the sky a blinding orange and red colours. The remaining lights of the sun cast a glow onto the streets. Dolores' shadow was stretched infinitely under the glow of the sun.
She was all alone, walking on the streets. It felt somewhat lonely.
"Dolores."
Dolores turned her head to search for the source of that voice. She saw Sampson strutting towards her from the opposite street.
"I thought I'm seeing things." Sampson smiled.
"Dr. Herbert." Dolores was astonished to meet him again, "Why are you still in the country?"
He hesitated as he examined Dolores slightly, "I'm here for more work."
Dolores recalled a scene in the hospital from the other day. The dean of the hospital had been enticing Sampson to work for him, so she could perfectly understand his appearance here.
"That hospital must have given you a very rewarding package, no?" Dolores said with envy.
Dolores had to take care of her mother, and this strenuous process had caused her to not graduate from the university. It was really hard for her to get any decent job at the moment.
Sampson revealed a warm smile, "It is indeed not too bad."
If it were not for her who had decided not to return to her country, he wouldn't have stayed no matter how good the remuneration package was.
In this country, there were too many people and things he would rather like to forget.
Dolores looked up at the vast sky. It was turning dark gradually. She realized that she was already here for two whole months.
At that moment, she was struck by uncertainty and helplessness.
It was not an easy feat to take back what used to belong to her. She had come to realize this after paying an expensive price.
Sampson could relate to her concerns. He reached out and swiped some of her messy strands of hairs to the back of her ear, "You can tell me if you have any complications at the moment."
Dolores shook her head while recalling those days when he had helped her a great deal.
They had spent some time with each other, albeit those days were short, he could still guess what she was thinking. She wanted to shoulder her burdens all by herself without relying on anybody.
"You're too hard-headed."
She was indeed too hard-headed and it made him feel sorry for her.
Dolores pressed her lips slightly upon hearing that. It was not as if she didn't want to seek any help. She was just afraid that she couldn't repay the kindness bestowed upon her.
After all, she was poor thoroughly.
"It's getting dark now, aren't you going home, Dr. Herbert?" Dolores asked.
Dolores had been addressing him as Dr. Herbert ever since they knew each other.
"Lola." Sampson looked at her intently. "Can you stop calling me Dr. Herbert from now on?"
He continued to look at him seriously, "Call me by my name or you can call me Brother. We have known each other for a long time and are friends like brother and sister. 'Dr. Herbert' really sounded like we are strangers. What do you think?"
Dolores gave his words some thought. He was older than her, and he always watched over her like a real elder brother. "Shall I call you brother then?"
"Yes." Sampson took this chance and took her into his embrace. He smiled meekly, "Just call me your brother."
"Matthew, isn't that Ms. Flores?"
Matthew who was driving didn't pay any attention to passers-by. After being reminded by Helen, he shifted his gaze towards this direction…