Chapter 17: Buying Binoculars to Spy on Your Enemy  

His moving offices across from her meant one thing. She would have to see him often. She knew the layout of the building too because she had toured it when she was looking at real estate for her companies. The building on the other side of the road had also been an option.

The best offices were facing the road. The same as hers. So, their offices would be overlooking each other. Now, which floor would he be on?

"Order a pair of binoculars for me," she said out of the blue. Li Min startled in her spot and quickly nodded before scurrying away.

'What was the boss going to do?' she wondered. Qian Meng wasn't interested in hiking or watching birds, so it made no sense for her to buy one suddenly. But people who had too much money often used it for stupid reasons.

Li Min looked at the listings on binoculars on a reputable website. She was unsure what the use would be, but she had to prepare for the best case. She ordered a sleek and powerful model and called the store.

Li Min had heard the urgency in Qian Meng's voice. The store offered to deliver it within a few hours and she graciously thanked them. She sighed as she started working on her documents. The day was filled with calls and employees coming up to talk to their boss. She turned them all away.

Qian Meng was in a bad mood and even though she didn't chew employees or executives out under any circumstances (apart from misdemeanor or incompetence), she wasn't exactly pleasant to talk to at those moments.

Qian Meng spent the rest of the day sporadically looking through social media, halfway angry and amused by the shipping frenzy on social media and going through papers and crunching numbers on them to make sure nothing was amiss.

Never would she sign on something she hadn't confirmed with her own eyes. Humans are prone to make mistakes, so it was only fair to put in levels of security so that the least number of mistakes can be made.

Towards seven in the evening, the binoculars finally arrive and Li Min rushes. She knocked on Qian Meng's door and heard her soft reply. She entered without hesitation, having done it for years and she found the boss engrossed in a stack of paperwork. Scattered on her desk were different sets of documents as she cross-checks them. The calculator was within arms reach and a notepad and pen were in front of her right hand. Li Min can see the scribbles on it and sighed.

Her boss had terrible handwriting. The notes she took were legible to only her. Li Min had trouble understanding it at the very beginning, as well, but eventually, she got a hang of it. Now, she could read what doctors prescribe. She considered that a superpower she cultivated.

"Miss Yun, the binoculars you ordered are here," she said, waiting for Qian Meng to reply. A soft hum was made but then there was silence. Qian Meng's fingers froze on the pen and she looked up briefly.

"Put it on the couch. I will check it later on," Qian Meng said in a casual voice. While she sounded composed, there was undeniable excitement brewing underneath the surface. Li Min looked at her boss curiously and thought over her words.

'Check it later?' she thought. After a while, she shrugged and let it go. No sooner had she placed the box on the couch than she left the room. She had realized that the boss wanted her out, so she came out without an order.

Miss Yun preferred complete silence when she worked, so Li Min usually didn't hang around the office much. As an executive secretary, she handles Yun Qian Meng's schedule, collaborating with all departments and being a middle man through whom people spoke to the boss. Further, she also ensured that the boss had all the information necessary for her tasks without having to wait for them.

Li Min also drove her boss around during office hours and fixed appointments. But one thing she didn't do was bring her boss food to the office. Yun Qian Meng hated that. She preferred to take a couple of breaks a day, going to the nearby coffee shop for a treat or a local restaurant for lunch. Li Min didn't know the reason why, but if she had one less thing to do, she wasn't going to complain.

Inside the room, Qian Meng was racing against time. If she didn't finish her work properly, she would lose money. But if she didn't finish it fast, her mission would fail. As soon as she was done, she bolted to the couch and unboxed the package.

Inside, was a perfectly packaged binocular. Not being a fan of civilly opening gifts, she tore at the bubble wrap and other protective parts and got to the main thing. She set it up and went to the wide glass wall facing the road.

Putting the thing to her eyes, she searched. Window after window, she looked. Most of the lights were switched off. The lights that were on didn't have the person she was looking for. After fifteen minutes of trying, she groaned and put the thing away.

She rubbed her eyes in frustration and suppressed the need to stomp her foot.

He left for home before her. She wanted to laugh. And he still earned more money than her today?

That was simply unfair.

As she pressed her palm against her neck, she rolled it tried to take out the knots that had formed from sitting at her desk for prolonged periods of time. She stifled a yawn as she wrapped up her work, filled in her timesheet, and then walked out of her room.

Li Min was still sitting at her desk, albeit having no work to do. Efficient as she was, she finished her work within deadlines. This time, she was waiting for Yun Qian Meng to be done with her. Only then could she get off her ass and drive her boss to the hotel.