Rumour Has It

Chapter Three

Three days later, Derek woke up to his phone buzzing incessantly. Annoyed, he got out of bed to mute his phone. He was stunned to see missed calls from the Prattler and multiple text messages sharing an article about him having an alleged affair. He clicked on the link to the article, which showed pictures of him and May Wan sitting close to each other at Boss Lady Tau Huay.

"What is this nonsense?" Derek grumbled to himself. He could hear the sound of Jessica's Christian Louboutin heels clicking against the marble floor. He took a deep breath in anticipation of what would happen next.

Moments later, Jessica barged into the room in a red midi dress that almost matched the colour on her face. She held up her phone towards Derek.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Jessica yelled.

"I can explain," Derek placated.

"Oh, of course you can," Jessica rolled her eyes, "And of all people, that tau huay lady? I thought you had better taste than that."

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you. Don't forget you were dirt poor before I married you," Derek snapped.

"Why don't you go ahead and marry her too, then?" Jessica fumed.

"I'll remember to send you an invite," Derek retorted.

Jessica clenched her fists and stomped out of the room.

~~~

That afternoon, Derek decided to head down to Boss Lady to check up on May Wan.

"Don't let the rumours bother you. They will die down in a week or two," Derek assured May Wan.

"Easy for you to say. I'm already losing customers. Usually at this time, the stall would be full," May Wan lamented.

Derek told her not to worry and said he would be back shortly. May Wan sighed and got back to work.

An hour later, Derek returned to the stall.

"Here, have this. Let me know if you need more," Derek said as he passed her a thick brown envelope.

"What's this?" May Wan asked as she opened the envelope.

"Just a little something to make up for the low traffic," Derek whispered.

May Wan's eyes widened in shock when she saw that the envelope contained a thick stack of cash.

"Huh? No lah, I can't accept this," May Wan said as she handed the envelope back to Derek, "If you want to help, maybe you shouldn't come by too often. I think it's best if people don't see us together for now."

"I guess you have a point," Derek relented.

Meanwhile, Jessica had been watching Derek and May Wan's interaction from the window of her boutique-cum-cafe, Luxe, located just opposite Boss Lady Tau Huay. Shortly after seeing Derek leave the tau huay shop, she made her way down.

May Wan gasped when she noticed Jessica strutting towards her stall with a Louis Vuitton handbag hanging from one arm.

"Jessica, welcome!" May Wan greeted, forcing a smile.

"Let me give you a piece of advice," Jessica said with a straight face, "Know your place and stay away from Derek."

"There's nothing going on between me and Derek," May Wan quickly assured her as she fidgeted with a loose thread at the end of her white blouse.

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't look good for any of us," Jessica snapped, "It still baffles me why he likes to spend so much time at this dull tau huay shop."

Andy, who had just left Adina's for lunch, noticed the confrontation and rushed over to the scene.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Andy chimed in, "Are you okay, May Wan?"

"Yes, I'm okay," May Wan replied with a coy smile.

Andy turned to Jessica and said sarcastically, "If you find this tau huay shop dull, may I suggest checking out other eateries in the area?"

"Gladly," Jessica sneered and strutted out of the shop, her designer handbag swinging from side to side.

May Wan smiled sheepishly at Andy, "Thanks ah. Have a seat. I'll get you some tau huay."

As May Wan arrived with a bowl of tau huay for Andy, he looked up at her and said earnestly, "May Wan, you know the rumours about me are not true, right?"

May Wan nodded, "I know. Just like the rumour about me and Derek. I don't know who is so free to start all these silly rumours. They really have nothing better to do."

Andy heaved a sigh of relief, "Thanks for trusting me. And if Jessica bothers you again, just throw a bowl of tau huay at her face!"

"Haiyah, don't be like that lah. She has the right to be angry. Derek is her husband after all," May Wan reasoned.

Andy chuckled as he got up to help May Wan clear one of the stall's tables.

~~~

In the next couple of weeks, May Wan and Andy continued to spend time together. Andy voluntarily helped out at the stall everyday after work.

Whenever the crowd died down, May Wan would sit down with Andy and they would continue to share their ideas for May Wan's soon-to-be social enterprise.

"I actually have something to share with you. There's a department in my organisation which specialises in assistive technology devices for students with disabilities. It could be useful for Boss Lady Tau Huay," Andy shared during one of his visits.

"What do these assistive technology devices do?" May Wan inquired.

"Basically, these assistive technology devices help students who may have difficulty in understanding and following instructions, among other things," Andy explained.

"Oh... What kind of devices would be useful for this shop?" May Wan asked curiously.

"Okay, let's see. We could use electronic picture boards for communication. The customer can simply select the item they would like to order on a touch screen device, and it automatically generates the order as a checklist with images for the cashier to follow," Andy suggested.

"Ah, that's a good idea!" May Wan said excitedly, "I was worried that the students with special needs will find it hard to work here."

"Well, since you're interested, I can help to liaise with them to find suitable assistive technology devices for Boss Lady," Andy said as he slipped out his phone from his pocket.

"Yes please, thank you," May Wan replied enthusiastically.

"Anything for you," Andy smiled, "I have to go to work now. See you tomorrow!"

May Wan nodded and waved goodbye to Andy with a wide smile plastered across her face.