A Certain Perchance

A Second Look at You

"Cyd, look who the cat dragged in!" Kevin said at her office's doorway. Behind him was a charming, middle-aged-looking man with a wide grin on his face—a man who made Cyd run to the door and shake his hand tight.

"Alex!" Cyd laughed. "Wicked man! You arrived in Brunei yesterday, yet you only came to visit us today. How have you been? Wait, don't answer that. Let me take a look at you first."

Cyd studied the man Kevin brought in. Alex Alderson was an Australian barrister based in Adelaide. A longtime friend of Kevin and though his senior by a decade, the two looked like long-lost brothers every time they meet. Alex landed in Brunei the day before to work on a bid for consultancy services for Brunei's Department of Finance. She heard that he immediately went to a meeting with the government officials for the bidding and RFP conditions. The deadline for submission of all bids was at the end of business hours later that day.

Alex took Cyd's hand but pulled her into a hug. Laughing, he said, "Martha sends her regards. When are you visiting us? I promise to give you a job offer before your vacation is over, definitely stealing you from this guy!"

Cyd grinned and whispered to Alex, within Kevin's earshot, "Soon."

"I think you're getting lovelier every time I see you, my Dear. Must be the workload, yeah?"

Cyd pretended to grimace and exclaimed, "Ugh!" Then, seriously she asked, "Do you have a lot to work on for your proposal?"

"I got most of the parts done back home, so I need to work on the additional items set out in the bidding conditions. Still, I expect it would take a couple of hours to finalize everything."

"Okay, I know you don't have much time, so I took care of some things for you already. I have prepared a small room with a printer and a scanner for your use. You can work there without any interruptions. Let me know if you need help with the printing and binding. I have already arranged for someone to be on standby to deliver your documents to the Finance office. The first order for the day, though, of course, starts with coffee which is coming right up!"

Kevin then smiled and said, "No, Alex. Cyd is not taking any trips to Adelaide or anywhere near Australia soon or even in the distant future!"

Everyone laughed.

Later at three in the afternoon, Cyd saw Alex walking towards her, Manila envelope in hand.

"Cyd, where is Kevin?"

"Out for a meeting, he should be back in an hour, at the least."

"Sad, I have a flight to catch so I will have to miss him this time. I already gave your guy, Embran, the sealed envelope for delivery to the Finance office. I feel we have an excellent chance of getting this one." Alex smiled smugly, then handed the envelope he was holding to Cyd. "This is Kevin's copy; I left a note for him inside. Tell him to send me his comments when he is free."

"Will do, Alex."

Alex leaned in and kissed Cyd on the cheek. "And to you, for being so delightful as ever, thank you for your help!"

Cyd shyly smiled. "Have a safe flight back home and warm regards to Martha and her daisies!"

With a wave, Alex left in a hurry.

Cyd looked at the envelope and went inside her office. She noticed that the envelope was sealed, which was strange as it was supposed to be a copy of the proposal. Feeling curious, she opened the envelope and browsed through the pages. Something felt a bit odd, she wondered. Suddenly, Cyd remembered that Alex said there was a note for Kevin inside. She went through all the pages to be sure that she did not miss anything. The message was missing! Cyd felt immediate panic as perhaps the proposal sent out to the Department of Finance is Kevin's copy and not the original proposal that contained a note from Alex. The note could have a very personal message not meant to be seen by the committee in charge of the awarding process.

"Lord, no!" Cyd was aghast. She looked at her watch and calculated that the messenger may have already submitted the document. She tried to stay calm to think about what she can and needed to do. She looked at the papers and placed them in a new envelope. She has read the bidding conditions and remembered that all bids would need to be submitted in an unmarked and sealed Manila envelope. She quickly sealed it, took her bag, and searched for their messenger who made the delivery. Embran, the messenger, looked proud and confirmed that he successfully delivered Alex's proposal. Cyd asked him for the confirmation receipt, then ran down the stairs to her car.

She sped through the highway and was glad that it was only 4:20 pm, so traffic was quite manageable. Upon arriving at the Finance office, she briskly walked and alternately ran up the stairs to the office's lobby.

Cyd asked the receptionist for directions to the office where all bids need to be taken and sprinted.

She saw the clerk outside the office, clearly waiting for more bids to be submitted.

The clerk looked at her, noticed that Cyd was almost out of breath, and said, "Just in time, a few minutes more, and you would not have made it."

Cyd, gasping and trembling, said in her most pitiful tone, "Oh, I need a favor. I am from Winicker Ayliff Loh & Partners, and I just made this huge mistake!"

The clerk looked closely, saw the lady in front of her was just about to cry, collapse, or both.

"W-why? What happened?"

"Oh, you will not believe this, but I, stupid me, gave the wrong envelope to our messenger to bring here. Can you believe that?"

"W-what? Why did you do that?"

"Oh, I am sorry to have to tell you this…" Cyd cried. "But my boyfriend recently dumped me, and I was so miserable that I was not able to work at all. I made so many mistakes that my boss, Mr. Kevin Chan– do you know him?"

"Ah yes, I know Mr. Chan, a very big lawyer!"

"Yes, I know!" Cyd wailed. "He warned me that if I make another mistake, he will have me terminated in 24 hours!"

"No!"

"Yes! So, please help me. Can you please look for the envelope submitted under this receipt and replace it with this one? This envelope contains the true proposal that was supposed to be submitted."

The clerk suddenly looked doubtful.

"Hmmm, not sure if I could do that as all bids were taken inside the boss' office already."

Cyd cried louder.

"Oh please, can you check for me? I have three children back home who will go hungry if I were to go back home tomorrow. Please!"

The clerk stopped, suddenly looking doubtful.

"You have children, but you go out dating other men?"

Cyd stopped. What did she say again?

"I meant the children of my sister, who is a widow. I am helping her raise her children after her husband passed away."

"Oh, you poor thing!" The clerk stood up, took the confirmation receipt, and patted Cyd on the back. "You wait here; I'll check this for you."

The clerk went inside the office, and Cyd heaved a sigh of hope. "Oh, please, please, please!"

The minutes seemed to stretch into eternity before the clerk returned with an envelope in hand.

"I found it!"

Cyd looked incredulously happy.

"So…" the clerk was saying, "… that one you're holding is the correct proposal?"

Cyd handed the clerk the envelope. "Yes, thank you!"

"And you want the old one back, right?"

Cyd nodded vigorously. 'Of course, I want it back!' She thought to herself.

She took the envelope, thanked the clerk exaggeratedly, and turned to go when she heard the clerk shout after her.

"And forget the jerk who dumped you. You don't deserve him!"

Back in the parking lot, she opened the envelope, sealed by a single small piece of adhesive tape. Cyd was now convinced that Alex, indeed, gave the wrong document to be delivered. True enough, she saw a copy of the proposal and the personal note from Alex that read:

'Kevin, thanks much for your help. The additional conditions were painful, and I had to do a lot of sugar-coating to make this work. Still, I believe we made a good offer and just need them to take a look. Then we'll move in for the kill! Will call you when I land. Best, Alex'.

Cyd laughed hysterically after reading Alex's note. She made a mental note to ask Kevin to treat her to an expensive lunch because of the amazing save she made through her stellar acting skills!

-----

Three days later, a bouquet of two dozen yellow roses arrived for Cyd. It was from Alex, thanking her for what she did for him. The note said: 'My dear Cyd, thank you for being our angel! Sincerely, Alex'.

Cyd took the flowers to the main meeting room and arranged them in a vase. She opted to keep them in the office rather than bring it home. She was satisfied with her amateurish flower arrangement skills and reread the note when she heard Ben's voice behind her.

"Kevin showed me the note that Alex left for him, and I almost cried laughing. That was a close call."

Cyd smiled.

"You have no idea; I still shudder at the thought!"

Ben then looked at her closely, as if he was seeing her for the first time, and spoke, "I don't believe we have met, like, really met."

He extended his hand.

"I'm Ben Lee, and you are?"

Not really understanding what he meant, Cyd took his hand and played along.

"Cyd Lina, assistant to Kevin Chan, International Department."

Ben raised his eyebrow.

"What about being my assistant?"

"Well, only if you need me. I remember you said that you would get an assistant only if you need one, not because you have to."

"I need you, Cyd Lina."

Disconcerted, Cyd flippantly tried to change the subject, "Can you believe that Alex sent me these roses? Aren't they lovely?"

Ben, still holding her hand, softly said.

"No, you are."