Wendy Lynch carefully examined the photo attached to Evans’s profile. He was wearing short sleeves in the picture, and there was no sign of any red rash on his skin. Coupled with the breathing mask over his face, she deduced that a specific component in the floral scent had likely irritated his respiratory tract, triggering a severe allergic reaction.
Although it was almost certainly a respiratory allergy, she decided to play it safe and looked up emergency treatment protocols for both types of allergic reactions. She confirmed that as long as they were caught early, both were very easy to treat. A plan to maximize the benefits of this future information quickly took shape in her mind.
The next morning, in the office.
Regina Campbell slightly raised an eyebrow. "You’re saying you want to apply to join tomorrow morning’s reception team?"
Wendy nodded furiously. "Yes, exactly! I’ve always used Verdant Company’s cosmetics. I heard they were coming, so I want to go over and learn more up close!"
Seeing that Regina remained silent, Wendy immediately held up three fingers in a scout’s salute. "Don’t worry, Ms. Campbell, I promise I won’t cause any trouble!"
Regina looked Wendy up and down, then rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Learn more up close? Do you think I’m that easy to fool?"
Wendy was completely baffled. She thought, "Wait, this isn’t how it’s supposed to go." Before coming here, she had specifically asked her colleagues about this. As long as you buttered up the team leader, joining the reception team wasn’t a difficult task at all. Previously, when the team hosted some celebrity idols, fans within the department had easily gotten their applications approved. Why was it suddenly a problem for her?
Just as she was racking her brain to figure out where she went wrong, Regina spoke in an all-knowing tone. "You’re quite well-informed, little lady! To think you even knew Verdant was bringing a lot of cosmetic samples with them. I bet wanting to ’learn more up close’ is a lie, and you just want to snag a few extra samples, right?"
Wendy was dumbfounded once again. Although Regina had clearly misunderstood, Wendy was quick on her feet. She immediately played along and said, "You really have a sharp eye, Ms. Campbell. My little tricks can’t hide anything from you."
Hearing the flattery, the corners of Regina’s lips quietly curled up. She was obviously quite pleased. "Alright, you can just be straight with me about these little things next time. We’re all on the same team, so as your leader, I’ll definitely do my best to fight for whatever perks I can get you."
After offering that piece of advice, Regina opened her drawer and pulled out an ID badge on a lanyard. "Here’s your reception pass. Don’t lose it. I’ll send Bowen Rhodes a message to add you to the team. You can check in with him for the specific details."
Wendy thanked her profusely before finally leaving the office. Leaning against the closed door, she let out a long sigh of relief. Despite a minor hiccup, she had successfully achieved her ultimate goal.
With her team leader’s permission, Wendy turned and headed straight to Bowen’s desk. A few minutes later, she had a clear understanding of tomorrow’s schedule.
At 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, Evans and his two assistants would arrive at Lyndale Airport. The reception team needed to be there an hour early. Bowen had already arranged the flowers, vehicles, and hotel. All she had to do was arrive at the company before seven in the morning and take the corporate van to the airport with everyone else.
At five in the afternoon, while Wendy was wrapping up her last bit of work, her phone suddenly buzzed. She unlocked it and saw a message from Shirley Lowell:
"Wendy, are you free tonight? Let’s grab dinner together and wait for the Pick 7 out of 36 lottery results."
Looking at the screen, Wendy was instantly reminded of the hundred lottery tickets she had bought. She had only gotten her hands on the winning numbers this time because of Shirley’s help. At this thought, she decided to just call Shirley directly.
The call connected quickly, and Wendy spoke with a smile, "Shirley, I know a newly opened Thai restaurant near the company. The atmosphere and food are both supposed to be great. Why don’t we try it out?"
On the other end of the line, Shirley paused for a moment. "Are you talking about that place called Thai Delicious? I heard the food is indeed pretty good, but it costs around three hundred bucks per person. Isn’t that a bit too expensive?"
Although Shirley’s salary was slightly higher than Wendy’s, she only made a little over eight thousand a month. Even if they split the bill, three hundred for a single meal was a hefty sum.
Wendy kept her tone light.
"It’s almost the end of the month anyway; payday is just a couple of days away. Plus, I have a strong feeling that our numbers are definitely going to win this time.
"Tell you what—if we don’t win tonight, we’ll go Dutch, so it won’t cost that much! But if we do win, the meal is on me as a thank you for rubbing off some of your good luck on me!"
Hearing this, Shirley no longer refused. "Alright! I won’t hold back, then. Who knows, maybe we really will hit the jackpot tonight!"
At six o’clock in the evening, the crowd in the office building surged toward the elevators like a tidal wave. Wendy packed up her desk, slung her canvas bag over her shoulder, and briskly walked over to Shirley.
Shirley was touching up her lipstick in a pocket mirror. Seeing Wendy approach, she smiled and tossed the lipstick into her bag. "Perfect timing. I just finished packing up. Shall we go?"
Chatting and laughing, the two soon arrived at the restaurant.
"This is the place." Wendy pushed open the glass doors, and a rich aroma of lemongrass and coconut milk immediately wafted over them.
The interior was decorated with a strong Southeast Asian flair. Colorful sheer curtains draped the walls, and small aromatherapy lamps sat on every table. The warm orange lighting gave the entire space an exceptionally cozy feel.
Shirley inhaled deeply, a look of absolute intoxication appearing on her face. "Mhm! Just from the smell alone, I can tell the food here is going to be amazing!"
A waitress guided them to a window seat. The restaurant offered a massive menu with over a hundred different dishes. The two browsed carefully, taking several minutes to finally decide on their order.
"Thai curry crab, mango sticky rice, pineapple seafood fried rice..." The waitress repeated their order to confirm before bowing slightly and leaving.
Having finished ordering, Shirley pulled out her phone to check the time. "I was so focused on the menu just now that I almost forgot it’s almost time for the lottery results!"
Reminded by Shirley, Wendy hurriedly took out her own phone and opened the lottery app. The seconds ticked by, and it was soon six-thirty. The app’s results page refreshed right on time. As the screen updated, the winning numbers for the current draw appeared.
"Two... seven... eight!" Shirley counted the numbers one by one, her voice growing louder with each digit. Finally, she slammed her hand on the table, completely oblivious to the sidelong glances from the neighboring diners.
"We won! Wendy, we won the third prize!
"I told you I had a really good feeling about this set of numbers! I can’t believe it’s actually the third prize!"
Shirley hadn’t noticed her voice steadily rising, prompting many patrons at the nearby tables to turn their heads.
Feeling the weight of their stares, Shirley hastily offered quiet apologies to the surrounding diners. She then leaned in close to Wendy and whispered excitedly, "Wendy! We won! We really won!"