Chapter 31: Make an agreement

He was struck dumb by the sight in front of him and for the first time in his life probably, he was lost for words.

Raven Vaughn was standing right in front of him and looked like she was about to tear him apart limb from limb. Was she angry? Why was she back?

"Miss Jisuanji, can I help you with something?" he said, trying to play it safe in case he was imagining things again. He was losing his mind but this woman felt like someone else, and not his assistant. He needed to make sure though.

"President Li, let's make an agreement." She said, looking him straight in the eyes, unwavering. She was a force of nature this woman. Not afraid of him or worried in the least.

"Go on, I'm listening" he looked at her with his eyes sparkling with a hint of amusement and something else Raven couldn't quite figure out.

"You need my help and I have plans here. I will stay on as your consultant, but no longer your assistant. You will tell no one about any changes in my personality or actions, you might notice whilst we're working together, and I will make sure you're not caught off guard again. I believe you've read my email."

He pondered her offer. It would be funny if it wasn't true. He would've dismissed her long ago if this was Liehen, but she knew how to play her cards right. Yes he read the email, yes he needed more information and given the quality of what she dug up he was convinced she'd be very useful to him in the future, but he couldn't quite figure out why she'd stay in touch. She could've left. Did her plans involve him? He really hoped she didn't plan to off him, but if she did, she had plenty opportunities already. She wasn't interested in him as a man, and her email clearly mocked him, so that couldn't be it.

"I understand your proposal Miss Vaughn". He observed her reaction when he said her name. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards briefly, almost like a smile. He wasn't antagonising her, just showing her he wasn't an idiot. He really didn't want her to think of him as one.

"I have questions before I can agree to it, after all you are depriving me of an executive assistant and I am very busy man."

She laughed. She really laughed at him. Li Naihe was now completely confused. Why was she laughing at him.

"Mr. Li" – she switched from addressing him by his professional title, treating him now as her equal. "I thought you were good at negotiating. I'm starting to think you might not be worth the effort."

That hurt. He was great at negotiating, but maybe not in this context.

"Fine, let's be straight here. You're a stranger to me. Whatever is happening here, you can't expect me to trust you. Even if I am open minded enough not to think of you as Miss Jisuanji's second personality or something, I cannot rule out the fact that you might be mentally ill. If that is the case here, why would I negotiate with someone like you?"

He wanted answers and he was going to get them from her right now. Enough tip-toeing around the subject.

"If you want us to work together, in whatever capacity, I need some answers. Who do you claim to be, and why are you here? Secondly, why reveal yourself to me as whoever you are and want to work together? If you can explain this to me, I will consider your proposal."

Raven looked at him with a pleased look on her face. He smiled feeling like he was scoring points with her. He felt like a little kid waiting for candy. It was so ridiculous but for some inexplicable reason he really wanted to impress this woman.

"I can answer some of your questions but not all. Before I do that, you must answer one of mine." He nodded his agreement and indicated for her to take a seat on the guest couches in he's office.

Without hesitation, Raven sat down, laid back and crossed her legs, looking absolutely relaxed by the whole situation. If he didn't know better, he'd think she was his boss, not the other way around.

He got up from his desk and walked to the couches, taking a seat in front of her. He schooled his face into a neutral expression and indicated for her to continue.

"Did you call for me?"

He was surprised. What did that mean, did he call for her?

"I don't know what you mean Miss Vaughn, how could I have called for you. It is true I asked my assistant to arrange a meeting for us to go through some things, but I did not call for you."

She didn't seem phased by his answer. Just asked again. "Please think very carefully Mr. Li between the moment I said I quit and now, did you think you needed me?"

The words she used lit a lightbulb in his mind. Did she come back because somehow his thoughts had called for her? But why not before when he couldn't stop thinking about her for a month. Could it just be a coincidence?

"Mr. Li, your answer will determine what information I can share with you and what I can't. If this is as I suspect, then I would need to request a particular behaviour from you, if we are to be able to continue this conversation. Please don't feel like I would mock you in any way, I am just trying to determine some parameters."

Her words were very cold and clinical. She sounded like she was conducting an experiment, not having a casual conversation with a friend. They were not friends, but still, too clinical.

"Fine" he scoffed at her attitude and way of speaking "after reading your email I will admit I thought and felt like I could use someone with your… particular set of skills…whatever those are. "

Raven smiled, pleased by his answer. "However, I don't see how this would change anything since it's been more than a month from our previous encounter and I have had similar thoughts during that time."

"Are you sure?" she said genuinely interested and excited about what he was explaining.

He took a moment to consider his previous thoughts on her. He had thought of her a lot, to the point where he was making crazy scenarios in his head about their potential next encounter; but maybe she was right, he never once thought he needed her or her help. Sure he wanted her, and had questions, but he didn't need her.

"No, I'm not. I don't think I had the exact same thoughts. Perhaps similar but definitely not the same. Does this answer your question?"

She looked at him pensively, and somehow her eyes were void of any emotion, almost blank. He panicked, did she leave again?

He wanted to say something but wasn't sure if Raven was still there.

"Miss Vaughn, are you still here? "his voice soft almost like a whisper.

She immediately blinked and came back into the room. He relaxed.

"Yes, apologies Mr. Li, I was thinking of a way to explain this best. From my very limited understanding of you and your current situation, you are not a scientific mind, am I correct?" he nodded, waiting for her to continue. 'so she was a scientist, interesting' he thought hoping more will be revealed as they were conversing.

"Very well" she continued "before I am able to offer further explanations on this, I need your commitment to certain things." He nodded again, curious now at what she would reveal to him. "I need you to make sure you stay calm and minimise any shock you might feel at what I am about to explain. If you cannot do that, I'm afraid this conversation cannot continue. I also need to you try as much as possible to prevent yourself from making any judgements that could somehow alter the path you are on currently. I realise this is a bit vague but I promise it will make sense once I explain more. Do we have an agreement?"