Veronica Wang

Chapter fifteen

Lying was an art. No matter what anybody had to say about it. The delicate art of infusing falsities and a bit of imagination to stretch over an unsuitable situation, it was the soft art of surreptitiously steering the conversation to fit into your agenda. 

Slowly but surely. In the opinion of many, Lin wei included, lying was something of a sacred art that should be taught in schools. 

She had perfected the art of lying since the delicate age of six, blinking several times to keep the guilt at bay, the lollipops had come to her and that too, against her mother's wish. 

So when she donned the black velvety gown that had cost her all her savings, and in which she also took out a loan, clasped the fake pearls to her throat.

Taming her raging curls into straight hair that and she left wisp of it to caress her long lean neck.

She stared at her own reflection in the mirror, and nodded at the image that stared back at her. Red bold lipstick and the fake diamond chip earrings did a lot to bring out the soft angle of her face. 

All in all, she looked like a sophisticated heiress of a rich business tycoon. She clutch the channel bag that she had gotten for ten dollars at the downtown store to her arms and smiled serenely. Today, she wasn't Lin wei. Indeed, she was a fiction produced out of her own imagination and crafted perfectly to fit into today's agenda. Which was to land herself the job. 

She kept her back ramrod straight, infusing her light steps with confidence that comes with this new persona. 

Miss meowgly slipped in from the cracked window and stared with her golden eyes. She raked her eyes over this new person which she didn't know, she wagged her tail slowly as if shrugging and wadded to the cat food that was inside the plate and gave it a good sniff. 

She raised her head after an hearty crunch or two, and studied Lin wei.

Lin wei smiled, internally she was squealing and rolling with amusement. But the external, the new persona was only showing a bit of her flossed teeth. 

She gave herself a last once over in the jagged mirror and blew out a satisfied breath. Her clammy palms could be attributed to the fact that she had cold coffee this morning, or maybe it was the soft breeze that was blowing the threadbare curtain softly, the knots in her stomach was definitely the bad sausage she ate yesterday. It had nothing to do with the fact that, she was terrified.

She stepped out into the bright morning, the sky seems a bit clearer than yesterday's. Or was it simply her optimistic spirit that lifted everything in her eyes. 

Her phone rang as loudly as a raging tornado and quickly fished it out from inside her bag. She scoffed and rolled her eyes, this new person didn't like anything that was old and dingy. Frankly, Lin wei didn't either, so at least she can understand that. 

"Weiwei?! Weiwei are you there?," Bai Yue's voice boomed from the phone like an explosion. 

"Hi, I'm Veronica Wang," she replied in cultured English. 

Her reply was an evident gasp from the other line, there was a bit of shuffling sounds before Bai Yue's finally spoke again.

"Who are you and what have you done to my friend? And let me tell you, I have a very nice cudgel. You see,..it has the wicked curve to it's head.." her word trailed off. 

Lin wei was forced to smile, not the serene sophisticated smile either, it was her slightly unhinged kinda smile. The one that made the newspaper vendor scuffled away from her. 

"It's me Yueyue!" She said. 

Bai Yue sighed with relief before shouting " I though something happened to you! Vero.... Veronica who?" 

"Listen," Lin wei took a deep breath and begin gently. She checked her wristwatch, with tiny gold infusement that was given to her by her first boyfriend, but no matter. 

"We agreed that it'll be risky to use my real name and identity, talkless of unwise. And it wouldn't get me the job, now would it? I'm just a 22 year old graduate of Harvard University, who studied psychology and health care. I'm in need of the job because it's one of my life long dream to be a nanny to two spoiled rich kids. What do you think?," She rushed out. 

Bai Yue was thoughtful when she answered again "I think it could work but we'll need a few tweaks to your story. Your father is a rich man. As rich as croesus.." 

Lin wei snorted softly at this. 

"Anyways, I have less than an our to get there Yueyue. We'll talk more".

"What's the SAFE word???!" Bai Yue screeched out, before Lin Wei could end the call. 

She glanced around, not very suprised to see that eyes were now trailing her.

"Meatballs chokoslings," she whispered and turned scarlet. 

"Good good. Good luck Veronica my ass" Bai Yue said with an incredulous giggle. 

Lin wei shrugged and sighed. She squared her shoulders and kept her chin high once again as she flagged down a taxi

A kind of a queazy feeling settled inside her stomach as she handed the address over to the taxi man, who took it and jerked his head to the back to get a better look at Lin Wei. 

Lin wei could only hope the place was popular enough to earn her such looks, but what if it was popular but for an entirely sinister reason? 

She didn't want to consider the possibilities. Veronica Wang did not care about trivial issues such as what people think of her decision. 

Veronica Wang is someone that is accustomed to the regular show of respect without commanding it. Soft and delicate but not fragile. Knowledgeable and civilized but not too much. All in all, Veronica Wang is the perfect woman for the job.

Her stomach gave her an unnecessary dip at the sight that awaits her. This...this was enough to surprise even Veronica Wang, who was Lin wei?