Every Single Thing I Touch || HeartLiming "Moonlight Chicken"

17. A New Chapter

"There's a time that I remember, when I did not know no pain, when I believed in forever, and everything would stay the same. Now my heart feel like December when somebody say your name, 'cause I can't reach out to call you, but I know I will one day"

—Maroon 5, "Memories"

EIGHT YEARS LATER

"Guys!" Marie burst into the room, her heels clacking against the floor as she rushed in, her excitement palpable. Liming barely looked up from his laptop, his fingers pausing on the keys as he caught bits of her hurried words through the walls of his cubicle.

"We're getting a new CEO!" she exclaimed, her voice laced with a mix of awe and disbelief. Liming's interest was piqued, his gaze hardening slightly.

"Another one?" Aom groaned, rolling her eyes as she slumped back in her chair. The exasperation in her tone mirrored the exhaustion that had become all too familiar in the office as she continued, "Jesus Christ, he never stops"

"Listen, listen!" Marie shushed the murmuring crowd that had gathered, eager to catch wind of the latest gossip. "He's apparently a Harvard graduate."

A collective gasp rippled through the room, followed by a tense silence. Liming bit the inside of his cheek, his jaw tightening as his eyes narrowed at the screen in front of him.

"Harvard?!" Chantana, the office's resident gossip enthusiast, piped up, her voice tinged with both disbelief and a touch of envy. "Why would a Harvard graduate come to a measly company like this?"

"Bet he's poor," Aom quipped, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Chantana shot her a look as if she'd just grown two heads.

"He went to Harvard," Chantana insisted, her voice rising in defense of the mysterious new CEO. "Poor people don't go to Harvard, Aom"

"That's true," Marie interjected, regaining her role as the chief informant. "He's very rich, apparently."

"How are you even getting this information?" Teung, Liming's right hand and the oldest employee in the team, asked, his voice laced with skepticism as he rolled his eyes.

"I have sources, okay? Stop being so jealous," Marie snapped, her cheeks flushing with a mix of annoyance and embarrassment.

"There go the lovebirds," Chantana teased, exchanging knowing giggles with Aom at the sight of Marie's reddening face.

"What happened to P'Goss' promise, huh?" Dillon, the newest recruit, chimed in, his youthful naivety evident in his tone. "Our P'Liming should get that position."

The room fell into a stunned silence, every eye turning toward Liming. His fingers stilled on the mouse as his heart clenched, a bitter pang of frustration gnawing at him. Five years—five grueling years in the same position, and every time he reached for that elusive promotion, he was met with the cold, indifferent shoulder of the higher-ups.

Liming's team continued their chatter, but his mind drifted, replaying the countless times he'd been overlooked. They didn't seem to grasp the absurdity of hiring anyone but an actual lawyer to lead a law firm. P'Goss and his obsession with recruiting pretty faces instead of competent professionals was infuriating.

"P'Goss hates P'Liming, Dillon," Aom's voice cut through Liming's thoughts, the words laced with a sad resignation. "You're too new to know that."

"So it's true?" Dillon's eyebrows shot up in exaggerated surprise. "P'Goss actually tried to seduce our CRO and got rejected?"

Gasps echoed through the room as Teung sighed, picking up some files before standing. "Don't go around asking people that, especially not P'Liming. You know how he is. He'll bite your head off."