Tenant’s Secret Love

Chapter 30: A sudden opportunity

After a while, Renee dropped me off at Roben's place, where I would be settling down for the day in a small 10-square-meter attic.

I was still dizzy, so I went straight to bed and fell asleep.

Half-open eyes saw Renee busily going about her business. She found a kettle, boiled some water, went downstairs again, and a moment later returned with milk powder and honey to make me a cup of milk and honey.

“Don't go to sleep yet, drink the milk.”

I didn't want to move at all, and mumbled, “You can put it there, I'll drink it later.”

“It'll get cold.”

I struggled a bit and sat up from the bed. Renee handed me the milk and sat in the chair opposite, watching me.

The milk was still hot after I poured it, so I drank it very slowly. Renee urged me again, ”Drink it quickly, I'll clean up and leave after you're done.”

“There's nothing to clean up. If you're in a hurry, just go,”

said Renee.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” I said, taking a big gulp of milk, but it was too hot for me to swallow.

Renee asked in surprise, ”Just making you a glass of milk, and that's being nice to you?”

Yes! Renee only did me the favor of making me a cup of milk, but why do I feel that she is very kind to me?

It took me a long time to realize that I had been lonely for too long, and I had not had a woman by my side for too long. Every time I drank too much alcohol, I would just throw up, and when I couldn't throw up anymore, I would just sleep. Where would I find a woman who would make me a cup of milk?

Finally, I finished the glass of milk, and Renee washed the cup and poured me another glass of water. This time, she didn't rush me to drink it, but instead placed it on the table next to the bed and said, “Leave this glass of water here, drink it when you're thirsty.”

“Oh,”

Renee picked up her handbag and was about to leave, but then she asked me as if she had remembered something, ‘Do you remember what you have to do tomorrow?”

“Get up on time for work,’ I answered without thinking.

Renee frowned and said, ”No.”

“What then?”

“Think about it yourself. I'm leaving first,” Renee said as she walked towards the door, closed it behind her, and instantly disappeared from my sight, leaving me with doubts.

Lighting a cigarette, I sat on the bed. After thinking for a long time, I still couldn't remember what I needed to do tomorrow other than go to work. So I simply extinguished the cigarette, covered myself with the quilt, and went back to sleep. Since Renee was talking about tomorrow, I would figure it out tomorrow...

The next day, when I got up, Robben was still asleep. His job meant that he had to live his life upside down, and it seemed that he had not come home until the early hours of the morning.

After a quick wash, I found a bowl of instant noodles in a box in the corner, made them into breakfast and hurried downstairs to wait for the bus to work.

Robben's place was quite remote, and the bus kept wandering along the road, so during the one hour on the road I kept thinking about what Renee had reminded me of when she left yesterday.

Fortunately, I was more alert in the morning, and I remembered that Renee had cooperated with me in putting on a show last night. Of course she wouldn't have helped me for no reason, and there must have been some kind of quid pro quo between us. Following this train of thought, I suddenly had a revelation: I had to help her buy insecticide powder to sprinkle in the bathroom today.

I was afraid I would forget, so I set up a schedule reminder on my phone to feel more secure.

After arriving at the office, I had not even had time to make myself a cup of tea before I was summoned by Mark, our planning manager.

I went to Mark's office, where he seemed in a good mood and asked me to sit down.

“Manager, you summoned me so early in the morning, did I mess up something again?” I asked subconsciously. In the two years I have been working here, Mark has basically been criticizing me whenever he finds me.

He laughed and said, ”Don't be nervous, I have an important task for you this time.”

“What task?”

“This time GUCCI has set up a counter in our department store, which allows our Bao Li Department Store to officially enter the ranks of top department stores. The company wants to take advantage of this opportunity to carry out a comprehensive marketing campaign, striving for great momentum and attracting more international first-line brands to cooperate with our department store.”

“Manager, do you mean that I will be in charge of planning this event?” I asked in shock.

Mark nodded and said very seriously, “Yes, this is a rare opportunity for you. You know, traditional retail is now facing fierce competition, and over the years it has been strongly impacted by online shopping. The environment for survival is very harsh. Taking the high-end route and brand management is the foundation of our survival in this industry. We must attract as many international first-tier brands as possible to operate on site and strengthen the brand advantages of our Bao Li Department Store. Therefore, this event is a reflection of our company's core values, and the decision-makers above attach great importance to it. I hope you can take on this important responsibility.”

“Manager, you know very well what I am capable of. You should let Harlan take charge of such a big event.”

“Lucas, opportunities don't come often. Harlan's promotion to deputy manager of the planning department is a foregone conclusion, because he has made enough contributions to the company and the planning department, and no one will say anything. What about you? I want to promote you to team leader of the planning and copywriting team, but I'm afraid people will gossip about it... Do you understand what I mean?”

Of course I understood Mark's meaning. He wanted to use this event to officially make me the leader of the planning and copywriting team. This was indeed an opportunity that I would rarely encounter in the next few years.

After a long silence, I finally asked, “When will preparations for this event begin?”

“Preparations will begin as soon as the contract between GUCCI and our department store is signed. By the way, GUCCI is preparing to shoot the promotional poster for the opening on the 15th of this month. You should check with the print model to see if she is available. This matter must not, must not go wrong, understand?” Mark's expression became more and more serious as he spoke.

“Understood, I'll call her right away to confirm.”

He nodded and said, ‘Seize this opportunity well, not everyone is fortunate enough to encounter it.”

“Thank you, Manager, for the opportunity,’ I said sincerely.

After leaving Mark's office, I immediately called Violetta to tell her the date for shooting the promotional poster. She confirmed that it was fine on her end, and my heart, which had been hanging in the balance, finally settled. I really should do something with my life, so I must firmly grasp this opportunity!

This was the first time in more than two years that I had been eager to improve and look forward to a qualitative change in my life.

...

After a busy day, when I came back to my senses, it was already past 7 o'clock, and the various street lights began to illuminate the night of this city.

Sitting on the swaying bus, all I could think about was the upcoming event marketing preparations. Mark was right, this opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, and I cannot afford to be careless.

After a long time, the bus was still swaying on the road. I took my phone out of my pocket to check the time, but I found that it had automatically turned off because it was out of battery.

I looked up at the electronic clock on the bus and saw that it was already 8:30 pm.

8:30 pm! I suddenly remembered that after work today, I still had to go buy insecticide powder for Renee to get rid of those pesky cockroaches she hates!

I remembered that in the morning, I was afraid that I would forget, so I specially set a reminder on my phone, but it happened to run out of battery. This coincidence was enough to ruin my character and make Renee completely hate me.