Irish knew that it would be in vain to spend time discussing it with her, so she just opened the file again after the secretary left and checked the schedule carefully. The plane departure will be at 9:30 a.m. After the journey, they would arrive at the Hilton Hotel in Suzhou, and then they would drive to the Light Town in Kunshan. On May 5th, they would come back to New York.
Specific rules were outlined, and specific timelines and addresses were marked.
Why does Joseph want to go to Suzhou? To the Light Town again?
What will he do there?
The key question was: Why did he ask her to accompany him?
After thinking for a while, she couldn't pretend that she had accepted his order. After a while, she decided to call the General Manager's office. It got through, but only the secretary picked it up.
The secretary told her that Joseph had a business activity tonight, so he had left the company already. Irish also asked about Daisy, but the secretary answered that Daisy also had gone.
Irish had to call Joseph.
Nobody replied on the phone.
Smacking her lips, she fiddled with her own phone and stared at Joseph's private phone number on the contact list. She called after taking a deep breath.
Soon it got through.
He didn't say anything, but she heard the noise. He must have been at dinner.
"Hmmm..." Irish hesitated and licked her lips, "I have something to ask."
His voice was low, "Yes?"
Holding the file and looking at the "Light Town" destination on the paper, she felt choked. After having adjusted her breath, she said, "Can I refuse to go with you on a business trip?"
No." Joseph said firmly.
"But it is a holiday for me," Irish added.
Actually, she was afraid of being alone with him. She was afraid that she would just say to him, "Joseph, let's start again. I don't want you to love someone else."
She was so na?ve.
She couldn't forget the fact that she had fallen in love with such a man.
She had the impulse to hold him and cry in his bosom even when she only heard his voice. Love was so scary that it made everyone become mad, including her.
Joseph's voice was low, "No."
Irish felt angry and spurted it out, "Why me?"
Joseph kept silent. "Firstly, you need to give your plan for the next season during your business trip. Secondly, you are one of the shareholders. It's your right and your obligation to participate in the activities for new arrivals."
"I.." Irish didn't know what to say.
"Any questions?" Joseph's voice was light.
Any questions? She had to be careful during the sensitive period.
To be honest, she really had questions. First, she wanted to ask him whether he would join in Roy's wedding ceremony as his groomsman.
She finally didn't ask. She had no courage to do it.
****
On the Labor Day holiday, there was a light heat.
The wedding was held on a grand lawn. Rich guests gathered here, and red wines were airlifted to New York. And the Hungarian violin orchestra was invited. Exquisite unified crystal tableware and rare lavender roses in full blossom complemented the main white color of the wedding venue.
Above the lawn, people are in suits and long dresses. Distinguished guests shuttled through all kinds of food and wine, and they were greeting and courteous. For others, this might be one of the many weddings they have attended, and in today's society, the wedding scene has become an important occasion for people to communicate with each other.
For Irish, the meaning was completely different. She would never forget this early summer, this May, because, on this day, her best friend Cassie was finally going to marry.
In the mirror, Cassie wore a white wedding dress, and at this moment, she was dazzlingly beautiful.
After being taken a picture with tears in her eyes, Cassie's parents went out to help greet the guests, and the bride's room was full of Cassie's girlfriends. A round and precious pearl was carefully placed between her hair and mutually echoed the wedding dress Irish gave her.
Looking at Cassie in the mirror, Irish's eyes were slightly wet when she lifted her eyes.
Cassie didn't speak, and she gently grasped Irish's hand and smiled with tears. She said, "It's good to see you get married."
Cassie turned around, looked at Irish in the white bridesmaid dress, and said from the bottom of her heart, "Irish, if I watched you enter the wedding auditorium, I think I would cry at that moment."
Irish could not help but put her arms around her and said beside her ears, "Cassie, you must be very happy."
The better your best friend, the less she talked at that time. Those blessings prepared finally disappeared, and thousands of words only gathered into this sentence: "You must be happy."
In a word, it was a friend's most sincere and heartfelt expectation.
Cassie nodded hard, letting her go a long time later. She looked at her, "Irish, this is also my blessing to you, but you intend to send out the blessing at your wedding, I have to rack my brains to think of something else."
Irish's eyes were as clear as crystal, but after hearing this, she tried to squeeze out a smile and said nothing. Cassie said, "I just saw Joseph. He is so handsome. I can't wait to see you two standing together now. It must be the most beautiful scenery."
Irish closed her lips, but her heart turned upside down.
Cassie held her by the hand, clenched, whispering. "Irish, people say that a couple of other people's best men and bridesmaids will get married soon. Today you are my bridesmaid, and Joseph is Roy's best man. I think you will get married soon. Well, I'm going to get you a wedding dress soon. Well, I'll prepare it for you as soon as the wedding is over."
Cassie's words, like ten thousand feet of dust spread in Irish's heart, wrapped it with pain. Irish was silent momentarily, then looked up at Cassie, "We have broken up."
Cassie was slightly stunned but soon closed her lips. "All right, stop it. I see, you can't break up."
Irish's throat was clogged, and she shook her head. "No, we really broke up. He agreed."
Cassie was really stunned this time, and it took a long time for her to ask. "Why?"
Why?
Even Irish herself could not say exactly what it was for, perhaps this sentence could be asked to Joseph, but he could not give the answer. Love itself was illogical, so there was not so much why.
But sometimes, the love was deep and shallow, somehow, and the two of them came to the end of the road.
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