Si Tao raised his brows at the guy. "Manager Quan, hey!"
Manager Quan stared at him with an awfully tense expression. "Hey ..." He really wanted to ask what the big boss was doing here but ... he didn't dare to. Looking at the other two people, he had even more questions. He had no idea who the woman was but the other one was clearly the person he was supposed to interview today. Did these two know each other? Actually, was all of this just a test?!
Si Tao looked at him, wondering if there was a problem. Then, he remembered that Li Ming had said he came for a job interview today. "Ah, right, the two of you had an appointment. Well, we won't bother you then." He put his arm around Tong Lan's shoulders and nodded toward Manager Quan and Li Ming. Then, he just walked off.
Manager Quan awkwardly mumbled a goodbye and then watched them walk into the hotel, not sure what to do. As the manager of this place, shouldn't he somehow help out?
Li Ming looked at him and then glanced in the direction Si Tao had just walked away in. Most likely, as a manager, it was a bit uncomfortable to meet your next higher boss? Actually, was Si Tao even the next higher boss, or were there still layers in-between?
Looking a how Si Tao had more than just one business and this was just one hotel in a whole chain, he figured it might be the latter. Not that it mattered to him. He didn't say anything and just waited for Manager Quan to get back to himself.
After this shock, it took Manager Quan a minute or two. When he finally pulled out of his thoughts, he glanced at Li Ming and couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Just great! Now he had shown that kind of behavior in front of somebody he might have to hire. Even worse, this person seemed to know Boss Si. How was he supposed to show his face in front of him again?
Unfortunately, all lamenting didn't help. What had happened, had happened, and he could only deal with the aftermath. He cleared his throat and motioned to the door of his office. "Well, that was a surprise! Anyway, you should be Mister Li, right? You came for the interview? Then let's go inside and sit down to talk."
Li Ming nodded and then silently followed. He didn't know if this meeting with Si Tao just now would have any influence on his job interview and whether it would be good or bad if he did but he'd just do his best. No matter the outcome, he wouldn't need to regret it then.
Manager Quan's office was a small, cozy room that fit the image of the rest of the hotel very well. There were some potted plants distributed throughout the room and the view from the window was that of the garden as well.
Li Ming only glanced around for a moment before sitting down at Manager Quan's gesture.
"This kind of talk, naturally, they wouldn't directly get to the issue, especially not if they had just met the big boss in front of the door. "Boss Si doesn't come to the individual branches very often. Being able to meet him the day you come for your interview is a special kind of luck. The two of you seem to know each other?" Manager Quan poured a cup of coffee for himself while he asked, raising the pot to question whether Li Ming wanted some as well at the same time.
Li Ming faintly nodded. "You could say we are acquainted. We only met a few months ago though." He wasn't the type to play up his relationship with Si Tao to try and heighten his chances. Even though this Manager Quan might not go and verify, that just wasn't right so he'd rather clarify first before any wrong assumptions were made.
"Oh, if you don't mind me asking, how did you two meet?"
Li Ming smiled wryly. That question ... he should have expected it but suddenly being asked in his job interview seemed a bit ... well. "We dated the same person."
Manager Quan's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open. "Oh my god! Well, you shouldn't worry about that! Boss Si is a very good person. He wouldn't make trouble for you because of that kind of thing!"
Li Ming stared at him and his lips twitched. "Not at the same time." He hated that he had to clarify this but he felt like it was necessary. That expression ... it was too hard to bear.
Manager Quan who had just made up a whole scenario in his head how these two had found out that they were dating the same person didn't know what to do. "Not at the same time?" He only mumbled the words as if trying them out and seeing if they made any sense.
Li Ming suppressed a sigh. "Yes, not at the same time. Mister Si and that person remained friends after breaking up, so when I started dating him, he introduced us."
"Phew!" Manager Quan patted his chest, only to stop mid-motion. Ah, dang it. It had been so awkward to meet the big boss unprepared. Now, he had even made that kind of assumption. Wasn't there a stone around he could hide under?
He sighed, feeling that his image was already totally ruined. Ah, whatever, it couldn't be changed anymore. Either way, he'd just try to conduct this interview and hope that Boss Si was too busy to care about him. "Well, let's not talk about that anymore. Let's talk about the job instead."
Li Ming smiled, actually feeling quite good about this. The interview might be going strange but this Manager Quan reminded him quite a lot of Boss Mo. He had this ... friendly demeanor that made you feel right at home. That was the kind of boss he liked to have. If this worked out, he definitely wouldn't regret it.
YOU ARE READING
Second Male Lead to One, Male Lead to Another (Part 2)
RomanceSecurity guard Li Ming is still trying to heal from the disaster that was his love confession for his coworker Su Yan. But that time of heartbreak is quickly interrupted when his boss' son Mo Fang barges into his life, taking over everything from hi...