Episode One: My Best Friend

The last thing she remembers coherently is feeling surprise as her pylon ripped itself out of the rock. Then falling, an overwhelming fear and horror as she falls a million miles. Then blissful silence.

“Charlene!”

A large hand landed on her shoulder suddenly. With a start and a curse, the woman knocked over the coffee cup on the table.

“Linus, you bastard,” she said while grinning. “Why’re you always making me do things like this?”

The answering smile on Linus’ face was fond. He watched as the woman made a cursory attempt to mop the mess. Then, as he knew she would, she gave up, tossed her chair aside and yanked him down into a fierce, warm hug.

“You bastard,” she repeated, laughing.

He hugged her back warmly. “Why can’t you just say you miss me?”

Her laughter grew louder and she let him go.

“I missed you,” she said and her voice was warm, sincere.

He pushed her back gently to arms’ length and looked at her face. A year had done nothing to change her. Her face was still lovely, that determined spirit still challenged from her chin and brow.

They stood a moment together, staring at each other with identical grins on their faces. Then Charlene coughed, blushing.

“Uh… Uhm…,” she managed.

“Heh.”

“Yeah.”

Linus dropped his arms and stared at his shoes. He was sure she was doing the same. When the silence reached more than a few seconds, he looked up and she was smiling. A whole second passed before they both started laughing raucously.

“Bitch.”

“Bastard.”

            He savored her grin a while- he had really missed her- before he grew serious.

“Charlene, I- ”

A ringing tone cut him off. With great reluctance, she tore her eyes off his face to scan her phone’s display.

“Shit, Li… I gotta take this one.”

He waved at her to continue. No other words were necessary between them. He knew too well the capriciousness of clients and watching his best friend’s face screw up like she had eaten a too-sour mango told him that this was a major but highly annoying client.

“Yes… yes, Mr. Susilo,” she said in modulated tones while rolling her eyes at her friend.

Linus stifled a laugh.

“What? You want me to view a house with you and Mrs. Susilo?” she said, her voice threatening to waver from its carefully constructed patience.

The urge to laugh was threatening to overwhelm him as he watched her doing facial contortions for his benefit while sounding calm and friendly.

“You’re outside Raffles Place now?”

This time, her voice rose into a little shriek.

He could not help it. He laughed and his friend shot him a mock frustrated look.

“Okay, Mr. Susilo, yes, yes… Your investment in… What?”

Her annoyed look quickly turned apologetic as the annoying Mr. Susilo kept talking to her. I understand, he grinned.

She shot him a quick grin while fishing in her handbag.

“Mrs. Susilo wants me to eat lunch with her? But I just ate lunch,” she said in resignation as she yanked his hand.

“Ouch!”

“Sorry,” she whispered as she wrote something on his hand with the pen she had dug out. “I gotta go. Call me!”

And with that, Linus watched his friend stride admirably and impossibly fast out of the coffee joint he had accosted her in.

“Well,” he said. “That went well.”

******

The slender, petite lady watched with mixed feelings as her fiance stood bemused, looking at his hand and muttering something.

He loved her. That much was obvious. Linus Chong was well-liked but saved his regard and affection for only a few. She had never seen him display such a depth of affection as he had just shown to any of his friends except to her.

 And it was amazing how much that austere woman he had accosted had warmed for him. She had transformed from a stern-looking if pretty career woman to a warm, laughing beautiful one.

            Despite herself, a hint of worry entered her heart. As he walked towards her, she tried to squash it- after all, he had declared that they shared only platonic feelings- and greeted him with a smile.

            “That went well,” she said, putting her arm through his.

            “Funny, that was what I said,” he replied, a rueful smile tugging at one side of his lips as they started to walk.

“Now you’re going to have to go through the jitters one more time before you try to tell her.”

He sighed. “I know.”

She was silent for a moment, which he noticed.

“I’m sorry, Grace… I know it sounds kind of strange that I have trouble even thinking of telling her about us.”

Grace gripped his arm tighter and patted it with her other hand.

“But Charlene… She’s like… She’s like family to me. And I badly want her to like you.”

She considered this a moment. “Well, invite her over for dinner. That way, you get her at a proper time and place.”

“That’s a good idea,” he said. “And I’m lucky.”

“What?”

“You’re rather easy to like,” he said, smiling.

They laughed and walked out into the bright sunshine of Boat Quay.

******

Charlene tried not to watch as her client crossed and uncrossed her legs. Despite the air-conditioning in the office, she was breaking out in cold sweat. She could not be entirely sure but she was beginning to suspect that the beautiful woman was trying to come on onto her.

“So… Explain to me the… benefits,” the other woman said casually, leaning over Charlene’s desk.

To be fair to Ito Natsuko, she had a soft speaking voice. And leaning over, technically made it easier for Charlene to hear her. It also made it harder for Charlene to try not to see Natsuko’s ample assets generously welling out of her low-cut top. Her suspicions were getting more concrete evidence by the moment that they were justified.

“Ah, you see, with this product, you can actually capitalise on the favourable exchange rate between two currencies. Upon its maturity…” she continued, using her willpower and mental strength to focus on only Natsuko’s eyes.

She finished explaining the product, aware the whole time that Natsuko’s body was practially writhing on her desk.

Can’t let it get to me, Charlene decided. She knew that Natsuko was more financially savvy than she let on. There was a kind of disinterest in her when Charlene spoke about the simpler products. I need to impress her so she’ll stop.

Focusing her mind, she brought out the cool, clinical side that normally came naturally to her and began to show Ito Natsuko that she was first and foremost a banker. After ten minutes, Natsuko had stopped crossing and uncrossing her legs. After thirty, she had leaned back- thankfully withdrawing her physical assets from view- and started to disclose more about her financial assets. After an hour, Charlene had drafted out a comprehensive plan to manage Natsuko’s money, of which she had truckloads.

“Ms. Ito, I’m sorry, I have another appointment coming up at three. Is it alright with you if we wrap it up soon?”

Ito Natsuko paused and an undescribable look came over her face. It seemed that she warred between amusement and some anger. Amusement finally won and she smiled a genuine smile, free from any hint of seduction.

“Call me Natsuko,” she declared.

As the Japanese siren left her office, Charlene took a deep breath, feeling as she had somehow won a momentuous battle. A short bark of laughter escaped her lips as she thought of Natsuko crossing and uncrossing her legs.

Another day in the life of a banker, she thought sardonically.

*****

“Dear, you’re fidgeting,” Grace noted with amusement.

He hung his head and looked at her. “I can’t believe it. My heart is pounding worse than  when we almost slid off that ledge on the Matterhorn.”

Grace shook her head. “I will never understand how two people who have never done any alpine climbing went up the Matterhorn!”

He gave her a sheepish smile. “Well, the magazine did say it was easy.”

At that, she chuckled and affectionately ran her hand up and down his hand.

“I’ve got to be smooth. She’ll laugh if I’m too nervous.”

“Don’t be so worried, darling.”

“We shouldn’t have come so early,” he said. “She always comes right on time.”

“Like now?” Grace asked and watched her fiance blanch.

An impeccably-dressed figure with bunned-up hair had stepped into the restaurant and was being directed towards the table.

“Well, it’s now or never,” he muttered. “Hey, De Souza.”

“Hey Chong,” Charlene replied evenly.

Grace saw her fiance’s best friend smile politely at her as she sat down and a little bit of apprehension filled her. This reserved woman was nothing like the one that grabbed Linus that afternoon.

“Uh… uh…this… this is my fiance,” Linus blurted out in one fell swoop.

So much for being smooth, Grace thought and froze as she saw Charlene’s face drain of colour and become absolute still.

            “Grace,” his best friend said in a dead tone.      

END EPISODE ONE