Chapter 5 The Chinese Hamburger Event


    Mary stood at the door of the CEO''s office. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her hand to knock.


    Her chest felt tight with tension as she waited for a response to her soft knock.


    "Come in," a voice called out.


    She exhaled and tried to calm her rapid heartbeat. Pushing open the door, she walked into the


    office.


    "Mr. Lan, it''s me," she said. He was seated behind his enormous desk. She hesitated, then walked


    up to him, smiling tentatively. "I''m so sorry about this morning. I —I thought you were ming me


    for eating your breakfast," she said, blushing. She took out the steamed Chinese hamburgers she''d


    brought with her.


    "So, well, I bought these Chinese hamburgers just now. They''re still warm," she added, holding


    them out to William. "I eat these every morning, they''re delicious. You haven''t eaten yet, have you?


    Try these while they''re still hot."


    William scowled, staring at her with his dark, brooding eyes. He barely nced at the food in her


    hand. In a disgusted tone, he said, "Chinese hamburgers? What are those? Did you think I''d like


    them? Do you think I''m the type of man who''ll enjoy that kind of food?"


    Mary bit her lip, then pasted a smile on her face. "Well... All right, then, what do you want to eat? If


    you don''t want Chinese hamburgers, I''ll go out and buy some other food for you."


    "No, thanks," William replied dismissively. He waved a hand in her direction and said, "I have


    something else for you to do."


    Mary narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What?" she asked. She wondered what he could have in


    store for her.


    "We must announce our marriage. I''ve called a press conference for today, so I can tell the media


    about our marriage," William said. "In fact, I''ve already had the news posted on thepany


    website."


    "So soon?" Mary blurted out, unable to hold back a frown. No wonder there had been something


    strange about the way people looked at her earlier, when she entered thepany offices.


    William, the CEO, had just publicly announced his marriage to her. It was sensational news. ''Some


    willugh and mock me, and some will be worried and suspicious, distrustful of my intentions, '' she


    thought.


    "I don''t like to dy things," said William shortly.


    "Very well. I understand," said Mary, nodding. William gave her a long, thorough gaze, running his


    eyes up and down her body. She stood there self-consciously. He said, "Wait here for a moment. I''ll


    call someone to help you get changed into more elegant clothes."


    Elegant clothes? She looked down at her employee uniform, which consisted of a simple ck suit.


    She thought this was elegant enough.


    But she did not challenge him. Instead, she agreed to get changed.


    William nodded brusquely, then bent down over his desk, ignoring her. He seemed to be busy


    checking some documents. For several minutes, as Mary stood silently in front of him, the only


    sound in the office was the scratch of William''s pen across paper.


    Fortunately, there was soon another knock on the door. The make-up artist, stylist, and dresser had


    arrived.


    Mary felt slightly surprised, since she was not used to the convenience of having such people


    readily avable to help her.


    "Amelia, you know what to do," said William, giving Mary a brief nce. "I want elegance. Make her


    as beautiful as possible."


    "Certainly, sir. Your wife will be stunning once we''re done," Amelia assured him. She walked closer


    to Mary, studying her from all sides like she was a mannequin. Amelia was one of the most well-


    known makeup artists for the most important people in thepany. Mary couldn''t help but feel that


    William had considered her presence as an insult. Did Mary really need the best of the best in order


    to look presentable? Was her


    appearance that hopeless?


    Mary didn''t let any of her thoughts show on her face, but she told herself, ''Rx, it can''t be that bad.


    You used to be very popr, after all.''


    Amelia and the others quickly escorted Mary to the nearby room.


    Soon she was being peppered with a barrage of orders. "Okay, Mrs. Lan, please close your eyes."


    "Mrs. Lan, open your mouth slightly, part your lips... yes, just like that."


    "Hm, does this look good to you? Or how about this? Here, Mrs. Lan, put this on."


    "Oh, Mrs. Lan, your underwear is simply not suitable. Take this, change into this."


    "Mrs. Lan, please stay still, we''ll work on your hair now."


    Like a puppet, she followed everymand, letting them lift her arms and tug at her hair and put


    make-up on her face. She felt as though she was a doll being poked and prodded on all sides.


    Every time they called her "Mrs. Lan," she felt a jolt of surprise at her new appetion. Meanwhile, in


    his office, William felt his stomach rumble and realized that he was actually hungry.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    He picked up the phone, about to order someone to go out and buy him breakfast, but something


    on his desk caught his eye. He hesitated, then ced the phone down.


    He reached for the wrapped meal Mary had left on his desk. He had to admit, it did smell good. His


    stomach rumbled again, and he unwrapped one of the burgers.


    He took a tentative bite. Well, it was not bad. He took a second bite, bigger this time. What was this


    thing called? A Chinese hamburger?


    Soon, William had finished the entire burger.


    It was really quite delicious. He licked his lips with satisfaction, then picked up the second burger


    and started eating again. When he had finished it, he ruefully thought it was a pity Mary hadn''t


    bought more burgers for him.


    Back in the lounge, Amelia and the others stepped back from Mary, finally finished working on her.


    "Mrs. Lan, we''re done! You can look now." Mary couldn''t help butugh. After spending close to an


    hour sitting still while they fixed her up, it felt as though she had been chained and Amelia had


    announced that she was free.


    "Look, Mrs. Lan, you are so beautiful. Mr. Lan has impable taste, as usual." Amelia looked at


    Mary with genuine admiration.


    Mary smiled at her and turned to look in the mirror.


    Her ck hair fell in thick, lustrous waves over her shoulders. Her eyes lookedrger, bright and


    mysterious, framed by longshes that swept over her high, glowing cheekbones. Her skin was


    smooth and wless. She wore a vermilion dress that enhanced her coloring, and her overall


    appearance exuded charm and vivaciousness.


    Unconsciously, Mary let out a soft gasp, for she had never seen herself like this before. It was true


    —she was beautiful.


    "No wonder our CEO got married so quickly," said Peter, the dresser, with augh. "Mrs. Lan, you''re


    absolutely gorgeous."


    "Thank you," said Mary shyly.


    "All right, all right," said Amelia briskly, giving Mary a final, approving once-over. "Let''s go back to


    the office and show Mr. Lan our work." Amelia led the others back to the CEO''s office. As soon as


    she had knocked, she entered without waiting for an answer.


    William lifted his head from the paperwork on his desk when he heard the doorknob turning. Amelia


    entered, grinning, and pulled Mary to stand in front of her.


    A tall, lovely woman gazed at him with shy eyes. He raised an eyebrow, speechless. She looked


    stunning.


    "Well, what do you think? Have we done what you asked?" said Amelia, already sure of the answer.


    "Amelia, you are a miracle worker," said William, standing up from the chair. He came closer to


    Mary, struggling to hide his amazement at the change in her. "You must have used magic, because


    she actually looks like a woman this way. Thank you."


    "You''re wee," said Amelia. She beckoned to herpanions. "We''ll go now and leave you two


    alone."


    "All right," William nodded absently, still busy looking at every inch of Mary.


    As soon as the others were gone, she immediately covered her chest with her hands, flushing.


    Inwardly she was annoyed with him, and silently berated him for his careless words. ''What do you


    mean, I look like a woman this way? I''ve always been a woman, '' she thought.


    "Well, let''s go," said William, straightening his own tie. He started walking towards the door.


    "Where?" Mary asked.


    "The press conference."


    "What?" she asked, unable to hide her surprise. Her eyes widened. "Am I going with you?" William


    felt a stab of anger at her words, and he had to check the urge to shake her. Through clenched


    teeth, he said, "Why did you think I had you dressed up like this? For myself?"


    "Fine," Mary said quickly, seeing how irritated he was. She didn''t want to provoke him any further.


    She nced towards the desk, then frowned.


    "Wait. Where are the two hamburgers?" she asked.


    William cleared his throat. "I threw them away," he said gruffly.


    "Why did you do that?" Mary demanded. She ced her hands on her hips, ring at him. "I don''t


    care if you threw away your hamburger, but the other one was for me. It was supposed to be my


    breakfast. I haven''t eaten anything yet.


    ''So, only one of those burgers was for me!'' William thought. "How much is thepany paying


    you? Is it a small amount?" William asked, sounding irritable and unhappy. "It''s just a Chinese


    hamburger."


    Mary turned her back to him, pursing her lips. ''I don''t care, it was my breakfast, '' she thought, but


    said nothing.


    "Well," said William after a moment, ncing at his watch. "It''s gettingte. We have to go to the


    press conference now, and you can eat breakfast as soon as it''s done." "Okay," Mary said neutrally.


    She took a breath, calming her temper, then stepped forward and ced her delicate hand on


    William''s arm.


    For a moment, William was astonished, then he grinned. ''Mary, you really impress me sometimes, ''


    he thought. She could be very professional when it was necessary.


    Side by side, the two of them walked out of the office, to publicly announce the beginning of their


    married life.