The Alchemists

Finland buried herself in work and did not reply to Caspar's messages. She was a little angered by Caspar's actions yesterday. She believed that people with power should not abuse their power like that. She would scold him the next time they meet, but at the moment she has no time. Precious time was wasted due to the sudden corporate crisis yesterday.

Because she was busy, time passed by quickly. Thanks to the hard work of the marketing team, all the preparations that had been chaotic were successfully resolved and LTX was ready for the big event of Bartz's latest product launch in Southeast Asia.

On the 9th, the day before their big event, Finland was very excited. That day Jean will return to Singapore. She was finally able to meet her best friend again after 4 months. Her good mood was radiating and everyone felt it, even Meilin seemed unhappy if she did not say anything mean to ruin it.

"Tonight we should rehearse to make sure everything will be smooth tomorrow," she said in the middle of the final meeting. "Because Finland is responsible for the venue, she should be there tonight and do the final inspection."

Ugh.. Finland turned to Ms. Fang to be spared from the assignment, she had worked very hard for the past two weeks and today she just wanted to pick Jean up at the airport after work. But Ms. Fang just nodded.

"Please inspect one last time, Finland."

"Why... why me? I'm just a probie. I haven't even passed my probation to become a permanent employee," she complained. "Are you really going to give this assignment to someone like me?"

At the same time Anthony Wu came into the room and interrupted, "I'll also come by tonight. We'll meet at the venue, Finland."

Finland remembered Caspar's annoyed look when he saw Tony and she immediately panicked, "No need... Boss Tony, just entrust everything to me. I'll inspect the preparations by myself. I feel honored to be given this assignment, because it means I'm trusted by the company."

She bowed to Ms. Fang, Tony and her teammates. Her face immediately changed. She had to look excited about this task and not let Tony stop by. Finland did not know what other chaos would arise if Caspar saw them coming to his hotel together tonight.

"Are you sure?" Tony asked confusedly.

"Yes, please, trust me."

"Alright then." Tony turned to Ms. Fang and nodded. "It's actually all right, isn't it? We just need to make sure all check lists for tonight are met."

"Right, Sir. We're ready for tomorrow."

Finland sighed and returned to her chair. She could not send a message to Jean that she could not meet him at the airport because Jean must be already flying by now. She shall see him tomorrow.

After work, Finland immediately cleared her belongings and left for the Continental Hotel. She intentionally tied her hair in a ponytail and wore a face mask. She did not want to meet Caspar there. She wanted to avoid problems as much as possible, until their important event was done.

Because she didn't have dinner, Finland bought a sandwich to eat at the hotel. She worked very hard that night to make sure all the preparations went well. She also took advantage of this opportunity to give special instructions to the staff and ushers to welcome every guest who came despite not having an invitation.

"Remember, rich people nowadays don't like formalities. Their appearance may look ordinary or even shabby, but they have money. You must be polite to everyone and welcome anyone who comes kindly."

The staff exchanged confused looks.

"But Miss, our program tomorrow is very exclusive and there are a lot of very expensive items on display. If we let anyone in, theft or other big problems may occur," said one staff, confused.

"Don't worry. The Continental hotel is a classy hotel. They have very good security. They will not carelessly let just anyone come inside. You focus on guest services only."

After making sure everyone understood her instructions, Finland rushed home. She was relieved because she did not meet Caspar at the hotel at all. For safety precautions, however, she kept her face mask on until she was sure that Caspar could not see her.

[I've arrived at the apartment. I brought Pierre Herme macarons for you. When do you want them?]

Finland received Jean's message late. She was very busy and did not see her cellphone while she was at the Continental Hotel.

[Sorry, I just got home. I was very busy earlier.]

[Dinner with me tomorrow? I just stopped by for a while. In a few days I have a job in Hong Kong.]

[OMG, I'd love to. But tomorrow there is an important company event I've been working on for the past month. If you don't mind, do you want to come to our event? There is a free dinner]

[Ahahaha... if it's only dinner, I can afford it myself.]

[I know. But I want you to come and see my work. I want you to feel proud of me.]

[I am proud of you, Finland. You are the coolest person I know. I will come.]

[Yeay! I am glad to hear that. See you tomorrow.]

Finland almost fell asleep when a text from Jean appeared on her cellphone.

[Will Caspar come tomorrow? Can I finally I meet him?]

Hmm... Finland was very confident that Caspar will come in disguise tomorrow to win the bet. She did not know whether or not she should tell Jean.

Suddenly her head felt very dizzy.