Let's begin

When Fei Huangjin stepped into the meeting room, the sounds of agreement and disagreement and the small talks in between the businessmen who sat in the board grew silent.

The man walked in with an air of arrogance, and each step he took was defined and confident. He made his way to his seat at the very front of the room. Before he sat down, Fei Huangjin surveyed the place with his sharp eyes, noting that there was only one seat unoccupied -- that of his brother, Fei Haocheng.

Where was that brat running off to now?

He glanced at his secretary sitting at the corner and gave her an exasperated look.

Ying Yue knew what he meant with that look. It wasn't exactly the first time Vice President Fei Haocheng had gone missing on a scheduled board meeting. She nodded her head at him and lifted up her phone, silently pointing out that she was already calling the man in question.

Fei Huangjin sighed. He unbuttoned his pin-striped navy blue suit before sitting down. "Let's begin."

The secretary of the board started off with the introductions and review of the minutes of the last meeting. Fei Huangjin was only half-listening.

He was staring at Ying Yue who was furiously tapping away on her phone. Her brows were caught in a frown and her pink lips were twisted into a pout. She was probably shooting a text message to his annoying brat of a brother. No doubt, that grown-up baby had probably refused to answer her call.

He watched her move her head to one side, her hair falling to that direction as she read something on her phone. The slender curve of her neck was exposed, the supple fair skin begging to be kissed.

He suddenly became reminded of what Guan Ting had told him last night. Wang Longwei of the Jade Circle had asked his men to take Ying Yue. Could she have run in to problems on the way to work? He glanced at the pristinely white suit she was wearing. It was clean. Probably not.

Juyan was protecting her well, then. He made a mental note to call Guan Ting later.

After a while, she looked up and caught Fei Huangjin staring at her. She narrowed her eyes at him and he winked back.

One of the elderly businessmen who happened to glance at Fei Huangjin at that moment widened his eyes in shock and choked at his own saliva. He actually saw Fei Huangjin wink for the first time in the years he had sat in the board.

The secretary of the board stopped with the proceedings and glanced over at what was happening. Several other businessmen expressed their concern. "Director Song, are you alright?"

Fei Huangjin didn't even spare him a glance.

Song Yurong held up a hand and flicked it, signaling for the secretary to proceed. He didn't want to get on Fei Huangjin's bad side. He grabbed the cup of water beside him and swallowed a few mouthfuls.

He didn't dare look at Fei Huangjin for the rest of the meeting.

A few seats away from Song Yurong, sat a middle-aged man who was a new member of the board. He witnessed Fei Huangjin eyeing his secretary during the entire ordeal. He had seen the scene play out. He thought it was quite interesting to see the great Fei Huangjin being slightly out of character for a woman.

Perhaps he had found a chip in the man's armor...

When the meeting ended, Fei Huangjin was the first to leave, striding out the door as fast as he could. Ying Yue followed him suit.

"What did Haocheng say?" He asked.

"Well," Ying Yue drawled, "he said he couldn't attend because he was at home pleasing your mother."

"Bullshit. He should be pleasing me instead before I kick him out of the board."

She had the same reaction when she read Fei Haocheng's reply to her message. Sometimes, other than their looks, she failed to see anything else in common with them.

The two arrived at Fei Huangjin's office in no time, and Ying Yue closed the door behind them with a light laugh. "I've reminded him that this is the third time he's done this and that guidelines demand that three absences from the board meeting would cost him a suspension."

Fei Huangjin sat behind his desk and looked up at Ying Yue. "And what did he say to that?"

She tried to hold back a smile but ended up awkwardly biting back her lips. She was trying but failing to conceal her amusement. "He said to tell you to shove the suspension up your ass."

He clasped his hands together in front of him and the temperature inside the room suddenly grew chilly. "He said what?"