Chapter 36 (1/1)

Charmaine placed the last file into her briefcase and snapped it shut.  She was hungry, tired, and irrationally frustrated.  Just when her life was moving on peacefully and she thought Raymond was put in the past, he shows up.  As if seeing him wasn't bad enough, she now had to defend him against rape charges.  During the meeting, when he admitted to having met the accuser and then taking her home for sex he spoke as if it was a common occurrence for him.  Charmaine had been fuming with uncalled jealously and wanted to storm out of the conference room.  She didn't want to hear anything about what he does with other women.  But to do that would only mean she still cares about him.  Therefore, she sat through the entire interrogation, telling herself Raymond Lam was nothing to her.  Absolutely nothing at all.  He was just a client now.  Remember how he cheated on you and you won't think of him in any romantic ways.  It was this knowledge that kept her will from cracking in that room. What really ignited her anger was that he had the audacity to ask for her forgiveness.  Wasn't he aware of his own dire circumstances?  The arrogance of him to believe he could even talk about them while they were in the midst of discussing his case.  His rape case!  Raymond Lam will always be the same!  The cocky, selfish, hot-shot celebrity who believes that the world caters around him, and only him.  Grabbing her bag and briefcase Charmaine headed out her office with angry strides only to bump into Wayne who was on his way in to see her. "Dinner date tonight?" Wayne asked casually as he turned and began walking with her towards the elevator. The sight of Wayne reminded Charmaine proudly of all she achieved in the past two years and it made her forget about the unpleasantness that she had been feeling since seeing Raymond again.  Giving him a sly smile, she asked, "How did you guess?" Wayne swept his hand for her to enter the elevator first and then walked in.  After pressing the Lobby button, he answered, "For one thing you're usually here until at least 9:00 pm.  Second, you seem to be in a hurry.  If you were simply going home, there's no hurry for that." His detailed analysis made Charmaine laugh out loud.  Quirking an eye at him, she teased, "Are you sure you picked the right career?  Shouldn't you be a cop or something similar to that with your extraordinary detective skills?"Now it was Wayne's turn to laugh.  When his laughing subsided, he inquired with mild interest, "So is this dinner date with a guy?"The elevator arrived on the ground floor and Charmaine walked out.  Giving him a sideway glance she said, "It's after office hours so I don't have to answer any of your questions."Wayne followed her out the building and down the street.  Keeping pace with her he said, "You're right but I thought I was more than your supervisor.  I thought we were friends."Charmaine stopped and turned to face him.  With a warm smile she said, "I was only joking.  Today is Kevin's birthday and we're having dinner together.  Do you remember him?"The name sounded familiar to Wayne and he tried to summon up the face but couldn't.  "I know he's a close friend of yours and I believe I met him before."  Suddenly his eyes sparkled with knowledge and he threw in, "He's dating that actress Myolie Wu right?"Charmaine corrected him, "Ex-actress.  She retired from the entertainment industry over a year ago.  She's now the owner of a chain of spas and if you want I can ask her to give you a VIP card."Wayne frowned and began rubbing his face, "Do you think I need it?"Charmaine tilted her head to the side as she openly scrutinized him.  "Well if you want to continue looking as good as you do now in about twenty to thirty years then I'll say you should give Myolie some business."Wayne was thrilled by what he interpreted as a compliment from her.  Not wanting to say goodnight just yet, he said, "I'll pass for the time being.  But if you don't mind, I have no plans tonight and would like to join you guys.  That is if I'm not intruding on anything."Charmaine was at first surprised by his forwardness but quickly overcame it.  Like her, he probably didn't want to go home and spend the evening with no one but the walls as company.  "Of course we don't mind.  In fact, Myolie has been begging me to invite you out for dinner.  She needs some legal advice.""I'll do my best to answer any questions she may have," Wayne said seriously.Charmaine was stumped by the grave expression on his face.  Wayne had always been very serious about all the advice he gives out to his clients and he takes each case seriously regardless of how small or big the case was.  She was about to tell him to relax and that Myolie only wanted his legal view on something when she suddenly saw it.  That glint of humor hiding behind his false façade.Wayne knew the second Charmaine caught on to his act and broke into a wide grin.  "Had you going for a while didn't I?"Charmaine shook her head in disbelief but a smile formed on her lips, "To think I always thought of you as a boring and serious person.""Boring?" Wayne echoed, a little upset by that description of him.  "You think I'm boring?Charmaine chuckled and walked ahead of him, "Two can play the same game," she said over her shoulder.Wayne burst into laughter.  Hurrying to catch up with her, he said softly, "I think I found my match."------------------------------------------Raymond slammed the door open and threw his bag down on the floor.  Muttering an oath he went directly into the kitchen and angrily threw the refrigerator door open.  He grabbed a bottle of beer and rummaging through the kitchen draws he tried to find the bottle opener.  "Damn!  Where the hell is it?!" he snarled.Jazz came into the doorway and saw Raymond opening and slamming draws.  He saw the bottle in his hand and knew instantly what Raymond was looking for.  Without a word he went over to a draw and pulled out the bottle opener.  "Here," he said and held it out to him.Raymond snatched the opener from Jazz's hand and proceeded to pry open the lid of the bottle.  In his anger, he seemed to have a hard time doing it.  "Why do people have to make these things so tight!"Jazz approached him and gently took the bottle and opener from his hands.  "Let me," he said softly and flipped the lid off in one easy movement.  He watched as Raymond swallowed the entire contents of the bottle before daring to ask, "Did something happen in the law office?"Raymond threw the empty bottle into the trash can and grabbed another from the fridge.  He held the bottle out to Jazz to open and said gruffly, "Nothing happened."Jazz didn't believe him but he told himself not to get involved in Raymond's personal problems.  They may work well together, and are even close friends, but there are some things that should be kept apart from their relationship.  Women were one of them.  For Raymond to be this moody and this unhappy could only mean one thing: it was over a woman and the woman who caused him to feel this way must mean a lot to him.  Changing the subject in hope to soothe out some of Raymond's anger, Jazz said with excitement, "While you were in the lawyer's office I was reading some magazines.  You're a hot favorite to win Best Actor in the Hong Kong film award."Whereas the news of being a favorite contender for any award usually brightens Raymond's moods, however, this time, it didn't.  The shock of seeing Charmaine and her cold attitude towards him hurt him deeply.  He thought he was over her and he should be.  Sure, there were times when visions of her would pop unwillingly into his thoughts and with it the memories of their time together.  But he had also learned to face the truth.  There was no turning back for them.  He had betrayed and humiliated her, broken her trust of him, and he had accepted that.  Seeing her today only reminded him of how much he misses her and how much he messed up.  He had asked whether she can forgive him.  He knew what her answer would be and yet he still asked.  She must think him a jerk for even asking, especially since he was seeking her help against rape charges.  At that time, he wasn't thinking straight.  Now he realized what an idiot he had been."Ray?" Jazz called out to him softly.  When no response came and Raymond remained staring off into space, he repeated louder, "Ray?""Huh?" Raymond looked at Jazz.  "What?"Jazz shook his head, "Nothing.  If you don't need anything then I'll be leaving."Raymond gave a small smile, "Sure.  I'll see you tomorrow."  After locking his door after Jazz, he walked into his bedroom.  He dropped himself onto the bed and closed his eyes.  He should be happy at this stage of life.  His career was skyrocketing and he was achieving everything that he set out to achieve.  The Best Actor Award was within his reach and he, like everyone else, knew he was the sure winner.  Opening his eyes he sat up and pulled open his nightstand draw.  Digging deep into the pile of clutter he pulled out a small book.  He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for.  It was a picture of him and Charmaine.  Taken when they were happily in love.  He also realized one thing as he stared at the picture.  He would gladly give up everything to have her with him again.