Li didn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. He stayed quiet throughout the short trip.
The car stopped moving. Zhao stepped out of the car, Li sat back.
Zhao bent lower to look at him. "Step out of the car."
"No."
Zhao turned to the driver, "Take him back to the Jade Kitchen." Zhao walked off leaving him behind.
Li sat in the car for a moment. The driver turned the car in the opposite direction ready to drive off but Li stopped him. "Wait. I'll step out."
Li walked out of the car and walked far behind Zhao. He continued walking far behind Zhao until they reached the empty table. Zhao sat calmly. Li sat in front of him.
"I thought you said it was meant for the whole team of directors." Li asked.
Zhao stayed silent at first. "I said executives not directors."
"Okay. So what's the difference then?"
He removed his sunglasses, "Li the difference is quite clear. One's definitely higher than the other."
"I don't know the difference, I need you to let me know. Is that wrong? Or am I asking too much from you?"
"No. The executives own majority of the company, the directors are placed to watch over the growth of it." Zhao explained.
The waiter walked by them with the cups of ice tea already served cold. "Thank you." Li uttered. Zhao ignored his statement and continued scrolling on his phone.
"Thank you." Li said again.
Zhao ignored again, Li moved his chair closer to Zhao. He turned to him, "You are so weird. Zhao? You are weird."
"Weird? What?"
"You are welcome." Zhao responded.
Li asked, "Are you seconds slow in hearing? Why didn't you respond the first time I said it?"
"Li?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah? Who's Yeah? What the hell is yeah? You'll call me sir. We are outside and from what you signed, outside means public not private."
"Alright. Sir." Li rolled his eyes and pulled back. He sipped a little from his ice tea, "Why is this having this taste? Where's the sugar? It doesn't exist in their dictionary or kitchen?"
"Li? It's called ice tea for a reason. There's ice and then there's tea, so it's not supposed to be sweet, it's not lemonade at all. Get used to it, you'll have more of these than the usual soda at top meetings."
"Fine. I will. Who's that man walking towards us?" Li questioned.
Zhao turned a little, "They are here. Behave yourself." Zhao stared at Li for a moment and noticed he wasn't dressed for the occasion. "Li I'll need you to change your outfit before they walke upstairs."
"And that wouldn't make me late for the meeting?"
"It's a sign of supremacy Li." Zhao advised.
Li didn't agree. "Let them come, let them see me for who I am."
"Li? This is the business world. You don't let people see you for who you are, let them see you for who you are not. It's safer." Zhao uttered.
"Fine. I'll be back." Li walked through the other stairs, he found a store by the side of the mall. He walked into it and made a purchase, he stepped out of the store a few minutes later.
When he stepped back to the meeting, he saw ten other men there. The more he walked closer to the table, the more he wanted to fly away. He didn't want to mess things up, especially for Zhao.
Zhao watched him walk closer to the table and then it thought, why not? He said, "Attention. I'd like us to welcome the latest executive assistant. Li Wei."
They turned to him, some stared calmly. Others stared at him judging his outward appearance. A cloud of shyness covered Li, he stood silently.
They waited for a while waiting for him to introduce himself. Zhao cleared his throat and that caught Li's attention. He turned to Zhao. "Right? I am Li Wei. The new executive assistant."
They turned to look at themselves and then back at him. The silence got worse, he felt awkward. If his eyes could speak, then he would say, Zhao! Do something! But he kept his mouth to shut.
Zhao turned to them. "He's new. It's his first day. Mr Li, take a seat."
Li sat saying, "Thank you." They turned to look at him again. He was too soft to be at that table, he turned to them calmly. One of them asked, "What have you achieved within twelve hours?"
Li stared at him puzzled. He turned to the table, he noticed the papers on the table. The submissions and documents were meant for discussion not display. "I've got three assistants and they are working for me, they've wasted so much time, I need to check back on them again."
He knew the lie he told saved him but not for long. He turned back to the ice tea and sipped a little from it, they watched to get his reaction and of course he couldn't hide it. He hated the taste so bad.
Some smiled at his lack of experience and turned back to their papers.
Just immediately he realized, he had three assistants and the others had delegates. Then again, he's the smallest in the room once to count on a fresh page.
Zhao took heir attention away, "Well! Like I said, it's his first day here and he should get some slack. Let's move on with the others."
They exchanged papers. They signed after reading while Li just sat there.
It's an hour after and the meeting's over. They left the table one after the other, Li watched them leave in their fancy cars.
"Zhao I don't think this position suits me."
"Li? It's your first day. Just sit up. Come on, we need to head back to the office. And in between that little assistant lie of yours you just told us, that was smart of you. Keep it up."
Li couldn't tell if he meant it or just passed out sarcasm through his lips. Either way they left the space leaving behind traces of ice tea.