enjoyebooks Chapter 347 Fiona's Report
Chapter 347 Fiona's Report
Four o'clock in the afternoon.
Lingyun and Eric met at a coffee shop not far from the company, but in a secluded location behind a shopping mall. They used to occasionally come here for a drink when they worked late.
Ling Yun arrived early and chose a window seat with a view of the parking lot. At 3:55, a silver-gray Honda pulled in and parked in the corner. Eric got out, stood by the car for a moment, then walked towards the coffee shop.
When he pushed the door open and came in, he saw Ling Yun and raised his hand.
"Boss." He walked over and sat down opposite me, wearing that old blue plaid shirt with a slightly wrinkled collar. There was dust on his glasses, so he took them off, wiped them with the corner of his shirt, and put them back on.
"Why did we meet here?" He looked around. "There are fewer people here now."
"Quiet." Ling Yun called the waiter over. Eric ordered an Americano, and Ling Yun did the same.
While waiting for the coffee, Eric took out a cigarette from his pocket and offered one to Ling Yun. Ling Yun waved his hand, lit it himself, and took a puff.
"I'm exhausted these past few days," he said, exhaling smoke. "Those people on the board are in meetings every single day."
"What will we talk about in the meeting?"
"What else can I say? The Strategy Committee, you know. You saw Anderson's proposal, right?"
"I've seen it."
The coffee was served. Eric stubbed out his cigarette, picked it up, took a sip, and winced as it burned his teeth.
Ling Yun looked at him. "We drank here three years ago too."
Eric paused for a moment, then laughed. "Right. Back then, the company had just moved, and we were exhausted. We'd come here at night for coffee to perk ourselves up. Do you remember? One time we were drinking until 2 a.m., and the waiter came over to say we were closing up. We realized they should have gone home long ago."
"Remember."
"That waiter was Mexican, his name was... what was it again?"
"Jose."
"Yes, Jose." Eric took another sip, this time more cautiously. "He even came to our company for an interview later, but he didn't get the job."
"His English isn't very good."
"It's not just his English that's bad, his technical skills are bad too, but he's a really nice person."
Lingyun picked up his coffee and looked at the dark brown liquid in the cup.
Do you remember the first time we met?
Eric paused for a moment, just for a second, and then he put the cup down.
"I remember. In March 1997, at that lousy company. I hadn't been paid for three months, and almost everyone had left."
"You said you could bring seven people with you."
"Seven people, not one missing." Eric lit another cigarette. "Back then, my wife argued with me every day, saying I was messing around and that if things continued like this, I'd end up homeless."
"And then you started working for me."
“Yeah.” Eric looked at him. “You paid him 20% more than the market rate and gave him stock options. I didn’t know what stock options were back then, but I figured it out later.”
Do you regret it?
Eric paused for a moment, then asked, "Regret what?"
"Work with me."
Eric didn't speak. He took a drag of his cigarette, slowly exhaling, the smoke drifting between them. "Why are you suddenly asking this?"
"Just asking."
After a few seconds of silence, Eric flicked his cigarette ash. "No regrets. These three years working with you have been better than my previous ten years."
Ling Yun looked at him. He looked at Ling Yun, his eyes meeting hers without flinching.
"So," Ling Yun put down his coffee, "if someone offered you three times your annual salary to poach you, what would you choose?"
Eric laughed. "Who's offering three times the amount? Microsoft?"
He laughed, but then his smile froze. Just for a moment, less than half a second. Then he laughed again, this time more naturally.
"Three times? That's how much money would that be? Let me do the math."
He counted on his fingers, "I have 200,000 now, three times that, 600,000. Damn, 600,000."
He took another drag of his cigarette. "Who would be willing to pay such a high annual salary?"
Ling Yun didn't speak. He looked at Eric's fingers, the cigarette between his index and middle fingers, the ash piled up quite a bit and was about to fall off.
Eric flicked away the ash, which fell into the ashtray and broke into pieces. "Even if someone gives me some, I won't leave."
Why?
"My wife said she'd divorce me if I changed jobs again." He chuckled. "She thinks I'm too much of a handful."
Ling Yun laughed too, "Then you'd better do a good job and not let her find any excuses."
"That's right."
We chatted for a while longer, mostly about trivial things: AMD's new chips, Alienware's next-generation laptop cooling solution, and Carly's progress in Europe. Eric said that Carly called a few days ago, saying that the French were too difficult to deal with, and a data compliance plan had been revised eight times and still hadn't been approved.
Ling Yun listened, occasionally interjecting a word or two.
At 5:10, Eric checked his watch.
"I have to go now. I have a meeting with the tech team tonight to discuss the plans for the next version."
"OK."
Eric stood up and put the cigarette pack back in his pocket. He stood there for two seconds, looking at Ling Yun.
"Is something wrong today?"
"no."
Eric nodded, then pushed open the door and left.
Ling Yun remained seated, watching his car drive out of the parking lot. The silver-gray Honda turned onto the main road and disappeared into the traffic.
He took out his phone and sent Fiona a text message: Did you find it?
Five minutes later, the reply came: We'll talk when we meet.
It was 7 p.m., at the same coffee shop, and I was at the same window seat.
It was already dark when Fiona pushed open the door. She was wearing a black down jacket, and a scarf was wrapped up to her chin, leaving only her eyes showing. Walking to the table, she untied the scarf, her face slightly red from the cold.
"It's freezing outside." She sat down and placed her scarf on the chair next to her.
"What would you like to drink?"
"Anything is fine, as long as it's hot."
Ling Yun ordered a hot chocolate for Fiona from the waiter. She accepted it without hesitation, holding it in both hands to warm them.
"You found it?"
Fiona nodded. She took an envelope from the inside pocket of her down jacket and placed it on the table. The envelope was made of kraft paper, bulging, and the seal wasn't on.
Ling Yun didn't open it right away.
"I hired a private investigator. He used to work for the San Francisco Police Department, but now he's self-employed. I've dealt with him a few times, and he's reliable."
"Does he know who it is?"
"I don't know. I only gave Eric a photo and the license plate number so he could track him."
Ling Yun picked up the envelope and opened it. Inside was a stack of photos, printed in color, the resolution wasn't great, but the people in them were still recognizable.
First photo: At night, in the dim light of a restaurant entrance, Eric is standing at the entrance smoking. Next to him stands another person, their back to the camera, so their face is not visible.
Second photo: Taken through a glass window in the same restaurant. Eric and the other person are sitting by the window, facing each other, with two drinks on the table between them.
The third picture: a closer look, you can see the person's profile. He's in his forties, white, with neatly combed hair, and wearing a dark suit.
Fourth photo: Taken in the parking lot, showing a black sedan with its license plate number clearly visible.
Ling Yun looked at the photos one by one, very slowly. When he got to the fourth photo, he stopped. The license plate number was CA-9XYZ.
He handed the photo to Fiona. "Have you checked this license plate?"
Fiona took the photo and glanced at it.
"I've checked. It belongs to Microsoft's fleet of vehicles, registered under Microsoft's name, and used by the Strategic Partnerships Department."
"Is it confirmed?"
"The detective investigated, and I had someone verify it again; it is indeed from Microsoft."
Lingyun carefully put the photos back into the envelope one by one and folded the seal back into place.
"Is there anything else?"
"The private investigator found out that for the past three months, every Thursday night, Eric has been meeting someone at this restaurant, and it's always the same person."
"What's the restaurant called?"
"It's called 'Old Oak,' located on the outskirts of town, quite remote. The detective said that it's a quiet place with few people, making it a good spot for business discussions."
Ling Yun placed the envelope on the table and pressed his hand on it. Through the paper, he could feel the bulging edges of the photograph inside.
How did he know about that place?
"I don't know. It could be that person who chose it, or it could be Eric. The detective said that Eric always drives there by himself, arrives around seven o'clock, stays for two hours, and leaves around nine o'clock. That person always arrives first."
"Mr. Ling," Fiona looked at him, "what's next?"
"Let's keep following them and see if there's anything else."
Fiona nodded, took out the small notebook from her pocket, and made a note.
"There's one more thing. The detective said that Eric brought something with him when they met last Thursday."
"What is it?"
"A brown paper bag, not very big, like the kind used for carrying documents. He was holding it when he got off the bus, he was holding it when he went in, and his hands were empty when he came out."
Ling Yun stood up, paced a few steps, and walked to the window. It was pitch black outside, and he couldn't see anything. He replied softly, "I understand."
Fiona stood up, wrapped her scarf around her neck, and said, "I'll be going now."
"Um."
She walked to the door, then looked back one last time. Ling Yun was still standing by the window, his back to her, motionless.
The door closed, leaving only one waiter in the café, looking down at his phone behind the counter.
Ling Yun stood there for a long time. There was nothing outside, only his own face, faintly reflected in the glass.