Chapter 30

At 6.15 pm, Ella gave me a call when I was about to head down to the lobby. She agreed to my plan on the condition that I promise to get rid of Mimi once and for all. She sounded angry, and I could feel the bitterness in her voice. Something seemed off. I don’t know how to describe it but she sounded a little different. Anyway I was glad she agreed since it would make things easier for me.

Stan brought us to a restaurant and we had our dinner and some drinks before he directed us to a small shopping mall and ask us to make our way back to the hotel on our own. I had done my research beforehand and I knew exactly the shops I needed to go to. Immediately after dinner, I slipped away from the main group and started hunting for the things I needed. I went into the pharmacy and bought a bottle of ENO salt and some laxatives. I snitched some straws from the drink stall and got myself a lighter and a small cutter.

Once back in the privacy of my room, I cut the straw into 4cm lengths. Using the lighter, I burned one end of it, sealing it off. I added a good amount of fruit salt into the container I made and sealed the other end with the flame again. I made another one with the crushed laxatives, taking care to separate them properly. Having done that, I went back down to the lobby and tried Mimi’s phone from the lobby. She was not in.

Ella updated me that she and Walter were just doing some window shopping along the streets and should be back soon. I loitered in the lobby, settling down with a magazine. It was almost a 40 minute wait and I waved to a few colleagues who returned early to the hotel. Mimi was strolling alone back to the lobby and I saw her typing furiously away on her phone. I hid myself in a corner and I waited for her to go up to her room before asking Ella where they were. She replied that they would be back in about 5 minutes. I did some mental calculations in my head and hoped things work out in my favour.

Finally, I saw Ella and Walter approach and I hid from their view and waited for them to go to their rooms. I immediately called Mimi and only managed to get her after 3 attempts.

“Mimi, I’m James, I need to talk to you.”

I told her I needed to ask her about Don, I dropped some hints here and there about him asking me to take care of her and shit and she immediately asked if I was the one who updated Don about her day. I sheepishly admitted that I had done that, adding that she’s so pretty, I couldn’t help paying quite a bit of attention to her myself. She laughed and agreed to come down to the lounge in 10 minutes and I said I’d meet her there.

I immediately hung up the phone and dashed into the lift, bringing myself up to the floor we were all staying. My prayers were answered when the corridor was empty and I hurried to my room. I was staying 2 doors down from Mimi, and she would have to pass by my door in order to head to the lobby. Keeping an eye on the peephole, I held my breath and waited. I texted Ella, asking her to get ready. After a while, I heard the opening and closing of the door and shuffling of footsteps. There was no mistake it was Mimi as she passed my room in a flash.

I counted out in my head, mentally estimating the time she would take to get to the lift. I held my breath and opened the door to an empty corridor and quickly ran to Mimi’s room and after making sure the coast was clear, I let myself in using the keycard I had switched. The room was dark but I was not interested in her room. I sent Ella my prepared message.

“Now.”

My heart was thumping against my chest in the dark room and I was feeling really nervous. So many things could go wrong. There were no connecting rooms, no place for me to hide should Mimi decide to come back up. Walter was 3 doors down Mimi, and Ella was right at the end of the corridor. I wanted Walter to see me coming out from Mimi’s room. Ella should be on the phone asking Walter over to have a chat.

Heading to the bathroom, I wet my face and hair before I pressed my ears hard against the door of Mimi’s room as I unzipped my pants. My left hand held onto a bundled of crumpled up tissue, a big ball of it. I heard the opening and closing of room door and I prayed it was Walter and not other colleagues. I almost opened the door when I saw someone I did not know walk pass and I must have pissed a little in my pants.

Another 30 seconds passed and I heard another room door closing. This time, it was Walter, and when he came into view, I opened Mimi’s door, bumping straight into him. I gave a loud gasp as I desperately tried to zip up my pants as I closed the door behind me, while trying to hide the tissues at the same time. I had a sheepish look on my face as I smiled awkwardly and said hi before making my way to my room a few doors away.

Walter caught on to me immediately, wagging his finger at me as I unlocked my room door and went in. I waited a couple of minutes more before I made my way down to the lobby and met up with Mimi, apologising for being late. As I tried to calm myself down after the short exercise, I noticed Mimi openly flirting with me as I cracked some jokes about her being so hot and desirable. Eventually, I went up to my room, tired and spent at 11.30pm.

16th June, Thursday, 7am

I woke up for breakfast and went to the dining room alone. We were supposed to gather at 8.30am to drive to another plant on the outskirts of Shanghai. Ella came down with Walter at 7.30am. I had given her clear instructions to join me and she did, settling down with Walter at the same table that morning. Midway through breakfast, Ella said she was not feeling too good and excused herself.

Walter and I chatted casually and neither of us mentioned anything about what had happened the previous evening. Walter went off to get more coffee and I took out my phone, orientating myself so that the glass reflection in front of me showed me where Walter was. I deliberately opened the folder of Mimi’s photos and started scrolling through them, all the time my eyes keeping a close watch on the reflection of the area behind me, making sure no one was near.

When I saw Walter coming back with his drink, I purposely dropped the morning newspaper I was holding on to and left my phone open with a picture of Mimi playing with her nipples. I bent down and retrieved the paper, my eyes made sure Walter was standing behind me with his coffee, staring at my phone. I turned around and jumped, pretended to get a fright and immediately covered the phone with my hand and pulled it off the table.

A sheepish laugh was all I could manage as I watched Walter wag his finger at me in a naughty manner.

“I didn’t know you were behind me. You walk without a sound.”

I tried to change the topic but the bait was cast. Walter leaned closer to me.

“Hey that looks like good stuff How about sharing, eh?”

I pretended to look uncomfortable and unsure, pretending that there was nothing to see. Walter teased me further and added.

“Do you think I’m blind? Come on, share with me.”

I pretended to look around, unsure but as if I was considering his request. I sipped my coffee, as if searching for the right words. I relented a little as I pretended to look around us and passed him my phone. I had prepared and arranged Mimi’s pictures earlier, putting them in one batch in front of Ella’s snipe shots.

I observed Walter as his pervy eyes looked at the photos of Mimi, his mind no doubt lusting after her sweet young flesh. Then as he scrolled along, he suddenly paused and looked up at me as I innocently ate my bread. I noticed him staring at me for a good 2 seconds before continuing scrolling.