A Certain Perchance

Four Years Ago

"Cyd! Cyd… wait up!" Caren was running after Cyd, who was getting some documents printed for a scheduled signing of contracts in the afternoon.

Cyd turned to look at Caren and smiled. "Girl, not now. I need to have this printed for the 4 pm meeting later today!"

Caren grimaced.

"Tell me about it, have tons to do as well, but we still need to eat, you know." Caren grabbed Cyd's arm and faced her friend. "Am ordering hot noodles from Tien Tien. Would you like one as well?"

Cyd stopped and thought for a while. "No, thanks. I need to get this sorted out before I would even try to understand the signals coming out from my stomach!"

Caren let go of her arm and mused. She was having her noodles with egg, even if her job depended on it.

She shot back at Cyd's retreating figure and shouted, "Suit yourself! I will be thinking of you while enjoying my food. Maybe coffee after work!"

During lunch, Cyd could not help but remember that it was a completely different setting from a year ago when she came on board the law firm, Winicker Ayliff Loh & Partners. It was her first time to work in Brunei, an oil-blessed sultanate, famously known as the Abode of Peace for its revered, pristine state and staunch support for the preservation of its wildlife and natural resources.

Cyd, an excellent assistant, received high praises from her last supervisor that she was recommended to the senior partner of the firm, who was then looking for his assistant for the umpteenth time. Rumors around the office say that the senior partner, Mr. Kevin Chan, was so fussy and short-tempered that he threw a pen at his previous staff before Cyd, allegedly for turning in such a sloppy job.

Cyd had her trepidations about working in a new country, a different industry, and for a man whose reputation preceded him. Yes, she did have her concerns but not one to turn her back on challenges; she accepted the offer. They spoke briefly on the phone, and when she offered to send Kevin a copy of her resume by email, he declined and said that he has already made up his mind to hire her. Cyd felt elated and found Kevin to be a man who knows what he wants. Still, the question in her mind persisted – why can't he keep a secretary for even at least a year?

That question was answered on her first day at work, and she giggled upon remembering that chaotic day.

Cyd arrived in Brunei on a Sunday, checked into the apartment the firm got for her and immediately reported for work the next day without even unpacking her suitcase and other things. She has never worked in a law firm and thus, found all the talk around her to be totally confusing. Suddenly, everyone wanted to have a word with her and update her with the turnover and orientation from different departments. Everybody sounded aggressive and loud. Intimidating, she thought.

Kevin looked happy to see her, asked her to come to him for anything, then immediately left to attend a meeting. When he came back, he went to her and told her, "You can do the trust deed, and I will do the novation agreement after that."

Cyd was stunned. What on earth was a trust deed? And how to draft one? She sat down, feeling suddenly nauseous. And this happens on one's first day at work?

She slowly stood up and walked toward Kevin's office, cautiously opened the door, and saw him typing away madly at his laptop. Somehow, she felt that her timing was wrong and was just about ready to close the door again when he looked up, smiled, and asked her to come in.

"Hmm, Kevin," Cyd began as she cleared her throat. "You said back there that I need to do the trust deed? Did I hear you right? I mean, I thought maybe you could give me like a draft or sample copy to work on?"

Kevin Chan, in his mid-forties, was in an acrimonious divorce battle with his wife and was now living alone after his ex-wife won custody of their two daughters. He got to spend time with his daughters, who moved to Singapore with their mother, every school break and holidays. The arrangement was perfect for Kevin - work hard and play harder. He loved hiking, trekking, and enjoying life away from the office but spends hours preparing documents on his own. He was one of the country's most respected barristers, known for his professionalism, thorough understanding of the law and penchant for dating women, hence, the divorce.

"What?" Kevin's words brought Cyd back to the present. "No, Cyd, sorry. I guess I was thinking out loud just now. I will be drafting these documents and will send these to you through our local email for editing. If you can print the clean copies for me to check later, that would be great."

With that, Kevin went back to typing on his computer, dismissing her effectively.

At that specific moment, Cyd realized that Kevin had a knack for giving incomplete instructions and that she needed to wait and understand it first before acting on it. That was the first time and not the last that Kevin gave her unclear instructions, she just learned to be more patient, and this setup worked for them. She became his shadow but tried to keep one step ahead of him. Cyd became this indefatigable man's anchor who gave him focus and respite. When Kevin worked on his computer without coming up for air, Cyd stayed nearby, silent but ready to provide any relief or assistance that he might need. These are the moments that Kevin declared Cyd to be one of his life's most precious finds and was almost indispensable to his professional and personal life.

-----

"Cyd!"

Caren's voice brought Cyd back to the present, looking around before turning to face her friend. They have decided to have coffee after work that day, a pleasant ritual they came to rely on after a most horrendously busy day in the office.

"The new senior associate from Malaysia is coming in tomorrow," Caren continued, oblivious to her friend's wandering thoughts. "I heard that someone from the Court referred him because of the brilliant work he did back in KL."

"If he did such brilliant work back there, why is he coming to work here then?" Cyd asked, genuinely curious. "All our lawyers are talented, and you know that a new lawyer equates to tenfold more work on top of the current load that we now have, right?"

"Tell me about it, girl." Caren then shook her shoulders, feigning a shudder. "Just thinking about it gives me stomach cramps."

"No, girl. I have decided that I will steer clear from this new lawyer's path. I have enough problems already, as you know, the admin people have decided to dump that security project on my lap. This new dazzling guy can have the other junior secretaries be at his beck and call while I will be nice to him and give him my saccharine smiles in the morning and before I leave work at night! End of discussion."

-----

"What?" Cyd's eyes stared wide with shock at Kevin as if he said something unbelievably outrageous. It was not even nine in the morning the next day, and Kevin broke the news to her.

"Well," Kevin continued, ignoring Cyd's angry stare, "it is just going to be for a couple of months until he gets settled in. Jenny and Lily are going to assist him as well, but we need to make sure that he is comfortable with the arrangement for him to be as prolific as we want him to be."

"Exactly, Kevin. He will have Jenny and Lily already," Cyd persisted." He does not need me to hover around him as well."

Kevin sighed. "Look, Cyd, I don't want to share you with him as well. Get that point into your head." He did not expect this conversation to go easy. "But I need this new guy to be happy on his first few weeks here, and I would feel good knowing you played a part in making that happen. Clear? Are we good here?"

Cyd moved away from Kevin's side and faced him across the table. It was her practice to stand beside her boss rather than across the table as she preferred to read with him instead of peering over documents that look upside down or crossways. This morning though, she moved across him and sighed deeply.

"This is what you want?"

Kevin nodded.

She nodded back. "Of course, I have a lot of other things I need to do, and with the system migration coming up soon, there would be additional work for everybody. But you are the boss, so we are good."

Cyd paused a bit before adding, "Thing is, should he find my services and assistance to be inadequate and the way I work to be unprofessional, that would be the least of my concerns. Right?"

And just like that, she was gone. Kevin looked after her retreating figure and remembered her first year in the firm, knowing she had it tough with the office politics and unreasonable expectations from everyone, including the other partners. She was hired directly, with little, or rather, almost no interview, and her work visa was processed expeditiously. Everyone was expecting some superwoman clad in bright costume with a billowing cape behind her to show up for work, but they were all greeted by a quiet lady dressed in a matching black blouse and skirt in practical pumps. She looked oddly attractive, but her eyes were guarded, and her smile, though it came easily, was controlled.

Amazingly though, after a couple of weeks, Cyd adjusted quickly to her new life and tackled new challenges and responsibilities shoved her way. She was knowledgeable, candid but friendly and could make any situation lighter just by her mere presence. Kevin wondered how he had gotten that far in his career without her. It did cross Kevin's mind to ask her out for dinner some time but hesitated. He just can't afford to lose her.