The Mistakes We Made Together

Chapter 4: Gathering

Emma had never worked as a secretary before, she had no idea what the job entailed. Besides, Benjamin hadn't actually intended to give her any real work to do.

In the afternoon, he'd casually tossed her two thick stacks of documents to read. FSAN had recently invested in several medical projects, and the materials were highly specialized, covering biology and medicine. One stack was even in English, filled with medical terminology she couldn't understand at all.

This went on until the end of the workday. After answering a phone call, Benjamin turned to retrieve a lighter from his desk drawer, tucked it away, then picked up his suit jacket from the back of his chair and walked around the desk.

"Let's go," he said.

Emma slammed the documents in front of her shut.

She hadn't held back her strength, the heavy pages made a sharp, clattering sound. The office was so quiet that the noise seemed even louder.

Benjamin acted as if he hadn't heard. Standing two meters away from her desk, he stared down at his phone, typing with one hand, apparently replying to someone's message.

Emma didn't care about disturbing him at all. "Where are we going?" she asked.

Before Benjamin could look up to answer, she added, "I'm not going."

He'd been back for over a week, and between business trips and work at the company, he'd been too busy to meet any friends. Jack Smith, the third son of the Smith family, had contacted him, saying a group of friends wanted to get together for drinks and cards that evening.

It was a small gathering, around a dozen people, all acquaintances.

Benjamin finished replying to Jack's messages one by one, confirming the time with him, then put his phone away. He turned his head to look at Emma.

He wasn't wearing a tie, and his shirt collar was unbuttoned messily, two buttons undone. With his suit jacket slung over one hand, he exuded a mix of casualness and authority.

Glancing at her pursed lips, which seemed to hold a hint of irritation, he gave his suit jacket a light shake and draped it over his arm. His tone was calm: "Come have dinner with me."

"I'm not going. I want to go home," Emma insisted.

"It's with Jack Smith. They're throwing a welcome-back dinner for me," he said.

Emma stacked the two heavy document piles together and pushed them slightly forward. "A welcome-back dinner, even though you've been back for over a week?"

Benjamin looked at her, his tone still calm: "I was busy before."

Emma rested her hand on top of the document stack, paused for a moment, then stood up and pushed her chair back under the desk. "I have plans tonight."

"With who?"

Emma grabbed her bag from the coat rack and slung it over her arm. "David."

Benjamin let out a scoff. "Cancel it."

Emma didn't actually have plans with David that night, she just didn't want to go to dinner with Benjamin.

She let out a soft breath, turned back to him, her brows furrowed and expression composed: "Why?"

Benjamin twirled the lighter in his left hand, the one he'd just taken from the drawer. The metal surface, warmed by his fingertips, felt slightly cool.

A mocking smile tugged at his lips. "You already know why, don't you?"

As soon as he spoke, silence fell between them. The room was so quiet that even the drop of a pin could be heard.

A few seconds later, there was a knock on the half-open door.

Benjamin looked away first, his gaze flicking toward the door.

His assistant, Lucas, bowed slightly. "Sir, the car is ready. Shall we leave now?"

Since they would be drinking at dinner, it wouldn't be convenient for Benjamin to drive. He'd told Lucas in advance to arrange for a driver.

Turning back to Emma, Benjamin repeated the same words: "Let's go."

Half an hour later, the car arrived at their destination.

This 20-story hotel belonged to the Smith family. Floors 1 to 3 housed a high-end club, and this was where they usually gathered. Several private rooms connected to the large hall on the east side of the third floor were reserved for their use.

Emma followed behind Benjamin as they walked forward.

They hadn't exchanged a single word during the entire ride.

Just before getting out of the car, Emma received a message from her senior, Charlotte, asking why she hadn't come to work that day.

They'd graduated from the same school. Charlotte was two years ahead of her, and they'd known each other since their university days. In October of last year, Charlotte had left her previous company and joined Emma's workplace. They'd both been pleasantly surprised to run into each other there.

The real world was like a melting pot, nothing like the ivory tower of school. So being able to work with someone they'd gotten along with before. Someone with compatible character and values, was a real joy.

In just one year, Charlotte had been promoted twice. Like Emma, she was now a deputy general manager of a department.

Charlotte hadn't seen Emma that morning, so she'd sent her a message after finishing her afternoon work.

Emma: [I won't be coming in for a while.]

Emma: [The family transferred me to FSAN.]

Charlotte knew a bit about Emma's situation, she was aware that Emma's parents had passed away when she was young, and that she'd been living with the Brown family ever since.

As for the Brown family's circumstances, Charlotte, who worked at one of their advertising companies, certainly knew about those too.

She sometimes envied Emma's situation, but at other times, she felt that Emma was stuck in a complicated, difficult position.

The status of an adopted daughter in the Brown family was rather awkward.

Charlotte: [Will you be coming back?]

Emma didn't walk side by side with Benjamin, she lagged two steps behind, walking slightly to his rear. She looked up, her gaze lingering on his back for a moment.

Then she lowered her head to type: [I will, but it'll be a while.]

Not wanting to press Emma on family matters she might not want to discuss, Charlotte readily replied with a "Got it" and didn't ask any more questions.

Emma's mind wandered. When she snapped back to reality, she realized she was more than just two steps behind Benjamin.

He was standing a few meters away, at the bottom of the hotel steps, waiting for her.

She put her phone away and hurried over to him.

Benjamin tilted his head slightly. The neon lights glinted off the hair by her ear, gilding her sideburns with a silver glow.

"David?" he asked, his eyes still on the hair by her ear.

Emma took two seconds to realize why he'd asked that.

When they'd left the company that evening, she'd said she'd originally planned to have dinner with David.

Without hesitation, she put her phone away and nodded: "Yes."

Two seconds later, the man in front of her let out a soft laugh. She looked up, but before she could make out his expression, he'd already turned around and started walking.

Benjamin was tall. Emma remembered that during his college entrance exam physical, his height had been listed as 185 cm. Later, in university, he'd seemingly grown another centimeter or two.

He had a lean but not thin build, his clothes made him look less muscular than he actually was, but under his clothes, his muscles were well-proportioned and strong.

Walking ahead of her now, his back looked tall and straight in the light and shadow.

She watched him for two seconds, then averted her gaze and followed.

Jack had claimed it was a welcome-back dinner for Benjamin, but Emma suspected he'd actually organized the gathering for himself.

Drinking, playing cards. These were all Jack's favorite activities. Even the alcohol had been specially requested to be his preferred brand.

Emma didn't like playing cards. She sat alone at a table in the corner, sipping a cocktail the waiter had brought her.

The pale blue liquid looked more appealing than it tasted. Going down her throat, it was just so so, sour and astringent, with little sweetness.

As she was on her second glass, swirling it gently with her left hand supporting the bottom, Jack walked over from across the room.

He was close friends with Benjamin, and could also be said to have grown up with Emma. He was two years older than Emma and two years younger than Benjamin, his age fell right between theirs.

He plopped down beside her, raised his hand to tap her glass, and spoke in the lazy, aristocratic drawl of a playboy: "Is this drink any good?"

Emma set the glass down and let out a faint burp. Leaning back in her chair, she gave an honest review: "It's okay."

Jack laughed. "If it's just 'okay,' why are you drinking so much of it?"

Noticing she didn't respond, he gestured toward the playing table not far away. "Aren't you going to play cards with your brother?"

Benjamin Brown was the guest of honor that evening, but he didn't seem particularly enthusiastic. Apart from being dragged into drinking two glasses when he'd first arrived, he'd just sat quietly, no initiative to clink glasses with anyone, and no participation in any card game.

Half an hour earlier, someone had finally taken pity on him. When a spot had opened up at the playing table a little way ahead, someone had come over and pulled him over to join.

The alcohol she'd drunk earlier had some kick to it. It wasn't enough to get her drunk or dizzy, but Emma could feel its effects, her mind was slightly slow.

She stared at the playing table for a few seconds, then let out a soft breath, her exhalation carrying the scent of lemon and alcohol: "What would I do there, watching them play?"

Having grown up together, Jack saw her like a younger sister. He smiled, trying to coax her: "Why can't you join in if they're playing?"

"You used to love playing cards, didn't you?" he recalled. "I still remember when you were a freshman in high school. During the holidays, Benjamin brought you out to hang out with us. When we said we'd play cards, you insisted on joining too, and ended up losing everything you had."

Jack laughed harder as he spoke, holding up his hand to indicate a height: "You were still so short back then, only this tall."

Emma shot him a glance, but she was smiling too. "I wasn't that short."

Jack was exaggerating. She'd just been a late bloomer, she hadn't been that tiny back then.

That time, she'd had bad luck and was terrible at the game. After three hours, she'd not only lost all the money Benjamin had won, but also all the capital he'd put up for her.

Jack had given her a thumbs-up back then, calling her 'the money-scattering kid'.

She'd been happy to be out having fun, but had also been scared because she'd lost Benjamin's money. In the end, she'd stammered about wanting to quit, but Benjamin had pressed his hand on her shoulder and made her sit back down.

He'd bought half of Jack's chips, who'd won the most that day, and tossed them in front of her, telling her to keep playing.

Pulling herself back to the present, Emma heard someone calling her from the playing table a few meters away.

It was from Benjamin's table, the person sitting opposite him was calling her and Jack.

Jack reacted first, waving his hand in response, then took the glass from Emma's hand and set it aside. "Come on, let's go play."

"What?" Emma looked confused.

Jack took the cigarette from his lips and stubbed it out in the ashtray, then pulled her to her feet. "Come on, let's go play cards with your brother."

Emma tried to refuse. "I don't have money to play with you guys."

Jack laughed, waving a hand to fan away the smoke in front of him. "Use your brother's money! You can team up with him, he'll cover whatever you lose."

As the chat, Jack was already dragging her toward the playing table.

Benjamin was sitting in a spot away from the light. There was an empty chair next to him. With one hand resting on the back of the chair and the other holding cards, he lifted his eyes slightly when he saw them approaching. His gaze lingered on the two of them for a moment, then shifted away.

Jack let go of Emma's hand and took two steps forward.