The Alchemists

The next day Finland heavy heartedly said goodbye to Jean's apartment. She kissed the curtains of the apartment and caressed the living room sofa; her heart was filled with gratitude.

This place was her home and shelter for two whole months. She knew that she would never be able to repay her friend's kindness.

[But seriously, if the house is haunted and you don't feel comfortable staying there, you can come back at any time...] Jean said on WhatsApp.

[I know. Thank you!]

Finland brought her two suitcases to the new place with a very happy heart. The mansion was called the Rose Mansion because the garden was filled with roses. There were several large and shady trees that made the atmosphere very calm.

Although the temperature in Singapore reached 35 degrees Celsius during the day, as soon as Finland entered the gate of the house, she felt like she was in a different place because the temperature felt so much cooler.

Until now she still could not believe her luck. John helped bring her suitcases into the pavilion and Ms. Law helped her organize her belongings. They insisted on helping her although Finland refused a couple of times. For the first time in her life Finland felt truly spoiled.

After they finished clearing the pavilion, Ms. Law invited her for tea in the backyard. After about 10 minutes, John and Katrin also joined them. They were all very welcoming and didn't bother her with unnecessary questions. Finland felt very comfortable with them. It felt like she was living with her own grandparents.

[So when will we have our tea? You have received your first salary, right?]

Suddenly there was an incoming SMS from Caspar. Finland almost forgot that she promised to treat the guy after she received her salary in return for his help at the hospital during the medical check-up.

Finland suddenly felt her chest pounding. She no longer thought that Caspar was a scammer because, for the past few weeks, he had not bothered Finland at all. A scammer would usually continue luring their victims and would not stop after just one dinner.

OK. Finland felt that she was ready to meet Caspar again and treat him for tea somewhere.

[Do you like bubble tea? Tomorrow is Sunday so I am available all day but if you are busy and prefer going on Monday, I can only go after working hours.]

Finland replied his SMS.

[Bubble tea sounds good. I have surgeries scheduled for the whole day tomorrow so let's go on Monday. Shall I pick you up at the office?]

[OK. Good luck with tomorrow's surgery.]

[No sweat. It's not hard. I've been a surgeon for decades. I can do these surgeries with my eyes closed.]

[Uhm okay.]

Finland put her phone down while shaking her head. She felt that at times Caspar sounded rather arrogant. If she recalled correctly, he was only 35 years old. So even if he had become a doctor since he was 25, he had only become a doctor for 10 years. Why would he say that he had been a surgeon for decades?

Also, just a few weeks ago the same thing happened when he said that he would buy the Continental Hotel.

"Ah, I know!" Finland exclaimed suddenly.

"What is it?" asked Ms. Law, interested. Finland suddenly remembered that she was not alone. This girl had a habit of talking to herself when she was deep in thought. It was not unusual that other people thought she was talking to them.

"Ah... ahahaha... It's nothing. I'm sorry, Ms. Law, I was thinking about this strange guy..."

"Wahhh... tell us more about this strange guy." Katrin and Ms. Law were all smiles when Finland told them that there was a guy. She shook her head and laughed.

"Ahaha… it's nothing spectacular but... I know a guy who seems absolutely perfect in every way possible. My friend said, if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Well... I finally found his weakness, which means he isn't as perfect as I imagined. I know he has a flaw!"

"Indeed, nobody's perfect, Dear." Katrin nodded. "Then, what is this guy's flaw, do you think?"

"Well, he is rather arrogant and overconfident," Finland answered. "That's a big flaw."

The two middle-aged women looked at each other.

"Wow... arrogance is a quite a big flaw indeed. Are you sure you want to continue having a relationship with someone like that?" asked Ms. Law, concerned.

"Ahahha... Ms. Law it's nothing like that. We are not in any relationship. He helped me out a couple of times before and now I would like to return the favor by buying him bubble tea. That's it. I also don't like arrogant people."

Because Caspar was busy at the hospital on Sunday, Finland had time to enjoy her new home without having to think about treating him. They agreed to meet on Monday after work.

Finland spent the weekend reading a book she bought a couple of months ago. She really liked the veranda of the pavilion which faced the rose garden. It had a a very comfortable couch for reading; she felt like a princess in her own private palace.

There was a sweet smell hanging in the air while she flipped one page of her book after another. For the first time in her life, she was content.

***

Work at LTX began to pile up and Finland was happy because she could keep herself busy. She still did not have any friends in the office, but she didn't care. Meilin said bad things about her to the other Marketing department staff, and after, they looked at her with unfriendly stares.

When she was in the toilet she overheard Meilin telling Tran and Lilly from the Marketing Department that Finland was an old rich businessman's mistress. Her work at LTX was only a cover up.

"Last month, my friends and I were kicked out of the Continental Hotel because of her." Meilin said in an irritated voice. "Maybe her sugar daddy has a superior position in the hotel."

"Finland is beautiful, but if she uses her beauty to make money in such a disgraceful manner, I no longer have respect for her" Tran said.

"Initially I felt sorry for her. We went to the same high school. She's an orphan. But if she behaves like this, I'm embarrassed to call her a friend."

Finland, who was in the toilet cubicle, bit her lips sadly. She was used to being suspected and treated unfairly like this. How could she win against a girl from a rich family who enjoyed oppressing others? She didn't have anyone who can defend her.

She came out of the toilet when the girls had left.

After lunch there was an inter-department meeting for the launch of a new luxury watch brand from France. Finland's responsibility was to take care of the Indonesian clients who were invited to the event. She spent the past week preparing a list of affluent people to be invited and her manager was satisfied with the results of her work.

"Now, we have a problem with the venue for the event. It turns out that the Starlight Hotel was suddenly booked for a celebrity's wedding on the date that we wanted." said Ms. Fang after discussing the invited guest list. "We cannot use hotels below Starlight's level because the prestige of our event will be affected. Can anyone recommend another hotel that is just as good or even better?"

"What about the Continental Hotel?" asked Tran.

"Continental Hotel is the most luxurious hotel in the country; the waiting list is much longer than Starlight's," Ms. Fang sighed. "Does anyone have connections to other hotels?"

"Ms. Fang, Finland has connection with someone of importance at the Continental Hotel. I'm sure she can help." Meilin exclaimed suddenly.

Instantly all the eyes in the room turned to Finland who gasped.

"No... I don't have that type of connection." she stammered.

"Don't be modest. When you had dinner at the Continental's main restaurant, the place was closed for public." Meilin said in a slightly mocking tone. "Don't be stingy with your connections. Why don't you want to help our company?"

Ms. Fang looked at Finland with a complicated look.

"Finland... it's okay if you're not willing. We can find another place. We don't want to put you in a difficult situation. But if you can... our clients will definitely be very impressed." She squinted her eyes and continued in a serious tone, "If you manage to get us the venue at Continental Hotel, I will personally give you a 30% bonus on your salary."

Wow... Finland was not one to reject offers of bonuses and money. All her life she had to work hard to get pennies and cents to make ends meet, and now, after receiving her salary for the first time, she was very happy to see that the number written on her bank account was no longer a pitiful 50 dollars.

After deducting the cost of living and room rent yesterday, she found out that she had saved 1,500 dollars! If she were given a bonus 30% of her salary next month, then she would get an additional 800 dollars!

That's really a lot of money. When distributing flyers, she could only collect that much money after working for eight weeks.

But she did not have any connection to the Continental Hotel...

Finally, thinking about the 800 dollars that she could not get, Finland bit her lip and shook her head.

"Sorry... I don't know anyone."

Everyone sighed in disappointment. Some people have heard Meilin's gossip that Finland is a mistress to some higher up at the Continental Hotel. They had hoped that Finland would use her connection to help with their event, but it turned out that she pretended not to know Continental Hotel's big wig to save her face.

What they did not know was that Finland really wanted the bonus money. If she had known someone with a strong position at the Continental Hotel, she would have used it. Unfortunately, they did not know Finland well and trusted Meilin's lies.

Before ending the meeting, Ms. Fang delegated the task of finding a replacement venue to the members of the marketing team.