Chapter 25 Part IV Physical and mental exhaustion-5

Not crazy.Most of my men are gone.I need someone like you for a senior management job.You are familiar with financial work.You are still a reporter.You're good at dealing with people, and you've become familiar with the company's…” "Luke, you can easily find someone like me," I interjected. "You can find someone better than me! Find someone with PR experience who's been in--" "Well, I'm not telling the truth," Luke interrupted. "I'm not telling the truth. I don't really need someone like you. I do need you." He looked at me bluntly, and I realized with a shock that he wasn't just talking about Braden.

"I need you, Becky. I'm leaning on you. I didn't realize it until you were no longer with me. Your words have been running in my head since you left me. I've been thinking about my ambitions Aspirations, thinking about our relationship, even thinking about my mother." "Your mother?" I looked at him suspiciously, "I heard that you want to ask her to meet..." "It wasn't her fault." He took a sip of the Pernott. "She couldn't come because of something. But you are right, I should spend more time with her. Understand her better and form a closer relationship, just like you and your mother "He raised his face and looked at me with a frown, I was stunned and speechless. "That's what you meant, didn't you?"

"Yes!" I said hastily. "Yes, that's what I mean, absolutely." "That's what I meant too. You're the only one who's ever told me the truth, all the things I need to hear. I should have believed you in the first place. I was... I didn't know. How headstrong and stupid gone." He blamed himself deeply, his expression dejected.I felt a twinge of anxiety. "Luke--" "Becky, I know you have your own business, and I fully respect your choice. I wouldn't have mentioned it if I didn't feel that this was an opportunity for you. But..." He moved across the table. He reached over and took mine in his big warm hand. "Come on, let's start over."

I looked at him, feeling overwhelmed, a sea of ​​emotions churning inside me. "Luke, I can't work for you." I swallowed, trying to keep my voice under control. "I have to go to America. I have to take this opportunity." "I know it looks like a good opportunity. But what if I gave you the same opportunity?" "It's different," I said, holding my glass tightly in my hand. "It could be the same. What Michael can give you, I can give too." He leaned forward. "I'm going to pass him. I'm going to—" "Luke," I interrupted, "Luke, I didn't take the job Michael offered me."

Luke's face twitched in surprise. "You didn't accept it? Then—" He looked down at my suitcase and up at my face - and I looked at him without saying a word. "I see," he said at last, "and it's none of my business." He was downcast, as if he was discouraged, and I felt as if a knife was being cut in my heart.I want to tell him - but I can't.I can't risk talking about me and letting myself hesitate any longer, wondering if I'm doing the right thing.I can't take the risk of falling short. "Luke, I have to go," I said, my throat constricting. "You...you should get back to the meeting too."

"Yes," Luke said after a long silence, "yes. You're right. I should go. I'm going now." He stood up and reached into his pockets. "One more... one more thing. You don't want to forget that." Very slowly, he took out a long, light blue velvet scarf from his pocket, dotted with sparkling crystal jade beads. my scarf.My Denny and George scarf. I felt blood rush to my cheeks. "How are you..." I swallowed, "You are the bidder on the phone? But...but you gave up. Another bidder got it..." I couldn't go on, I was stunned in confusion looking at him.

"Both bidders are me." He wrapped the scarf gently around my neck, looked at me in silence for a while, and kissed me on the forehead.Immediately, he turned around and walked away, drowning in the airport crowd. two months later So you're going to be at two presentations, one for Saches and the other for Universal Bank.Had lunch with McKinsey & Company after the morning presentation, and had dinner with Merrill Lynch after the afternoon presentation. " "That's right. The schedule is tight. I know it." "Fine," I said in a relieved tone, "that's fine."

I scribbled a few strokes in my notepad, looked at the notepad, and thought about it.These are some of my favorite moments since I started this new job.It's a whole new challenge.Something went wrong - look for the answer.I sat on the chair, silently thinking, scribbled small five-pointed stars on the notepad, let my thoughts flow freely, and found a solution, while Lalai stood aside, anxious looking at me. "Okay," I finally said, "I've got it figured out. You wear your Helmut Lang trousers to meetings and your Jil Sander suit to lunch -- and we'll find you one for dinner." clothes." I smiled at her. "Maybe some dark green clothes."

"I can't wear green," Lale said. "You can wear green," I said firmly. "You look stunning in green." "Becky," Erin said, poking her head into the room. "Sorry to bother you, Mrs. Farrow is on the phone. She likes the top you picked out for her, and she's asking if there's anything in a lighter color that she'd like to wear out tonight?" "Okay," I said, "I'll call her later." I looked at Lale. "Okay, let's pick and choose what evening dresses are suitable for you." "After I wear pants, what should I wear with my top?"

"Wear a shirt," I said, "or a cashmere cardigan. Wear the gray one." "The gray one," Lalai repeated carefully, as if I were speaking Arabic. "The one you bought three weeks ago. At the Armani store, forget?" "Oh yes! Yes, I remember." "Or your blue blouse." "Okay," Lale said, nodding earnestly. "OK." Lale held a senior executive position at a well-known computer consulting firm with offices around the world.She holds two Ph.D.s and has an astonishingly high IQ, but declares that she knows nothing about clothing.At first, I thought she was joking.

"Write it all down," she said, handing me a leather-bound notepad. "Write down all the outfits I'm going to wear." "Um, okay...but Lale, we talked about letting you try to pick out what you're going to wear with it." "I know. I'll try it. I promise, I'll try it some day. But... not this week. I'm too busy to be distracted by this dress." "Okay," I said, trying not to smile, picking up her notepad and writing.I grimaced, scratched my stomach, and tried to recall all her clothes.It's been a hectic day today, choosing the right evening gown for Lale, calling Mrs. Farrow back, and finding a knitted cardigan for Jenny von Hassart, which I've already promised her. . Every day is like a spinning top spinning like crazy; everyone comes and goes.However, the busier and more challenging I felt, the more I enjoyed the job. "By the way," said Lale, "my sister, the one you said should wear black and orange..." "Oh yes! A fine lady." "She said she saw you on TV. It was in England! About clothes!" "Oh yeah," I said, feeling a little hot in the face, "I'm doing a little lifestyle show that airs during the day. It's called 'Becky at Barney' and it's about fashion in New York. ..." "Wonderful!" said Lale enthusiastically. "The TV show! Must be exciting for you!" I was silent, holding a jacket with tiny shiny beads in the fabric, and my heart was churning.I nearly launched my own feature on CNN a few months ago, and now I'm just doing a little daytime show with half the audience of "Morning Coffee."But the point is that I'm on the road I want to go. "Yes, you're right," I said to her with a smile, "it's really exciting." In a short while I was choosing Lalei's outfit for the luncheon.As soon as Lale left with the list of leather shoes I had made for her, Christina, the head of our department, came running in with a big smile on her face. "How are you?" "Very well," I replied, "very well done." This is indeed true.But even if it wasn't -- even if I thought it was terrible -- I wouldn't complain to Christina.I am so grateful that she remembered me as a person.I am grateful to her for giving me such an opportunity. I still vividly remember how kind she was to me when I called her hesitantly and abruptly.I told her that we had met and asked her if it was possible for me to work in the Barney store when I came to the United States-she said she still remembered who I was, and asked me if I was interested in that Vera Wang night dress. The dress is satisfactory.As a result, I told her all about my experience, I told her that I lost my job in the TV station, and how much I longed to work under her... She thought for a while—then said she Think I'll be a great asset to Barney's.Said that I would be an asset to this famous haute couture house! It was her idea that I do this TV show about fashion. "Didn't you hide any clothes today?" She blinked and said with a smile, and I blushed a little.Looks like she's not going to forget this stupid thing I did in the past, is she? That was the first time I called Christina and she asked me if I had any experience as a salesperson.Goofy, I told her all about how I used to work at a department store called Ally Smith.At that time, I couldn't put it down to a pair of zebra-striped jeans. I decided to buy it myself, so I secretly hid it aside and didn't show it to the customer. As a result, I was fired after being discovered by the store.When I finished telling this funny story, there was a silence on the other end of the phone, and I almost felt that this was going to fail.Unexpectedly, Christina laughed loudly on the phone. This earth-shattering laughter scared me almost to throw away the microphone in my hand.She told me last week that was when she decided to hire me. She also told some regular customers in the store about my experience, which made me feel a little embarrassed. "So," Christina looked at me approvingly, "are you ready to be a shopping guide at 10 o'clock?" "Yes," I blushed slightly under her gaze, "Yes, I think it's all right." "Would you like to brush your hair?" "Oh," I ran my hands through my hair, "is it a bit messy?" "It's not messed up." Her eyes lit up, making me puzzled. "But we always have to dress up to meet customers, don't we?" She came out of the house and I quickly got out the comb.God, I don't always remember how important it is to look and dress to work in Manhattan.For example, I go to a corner salon near where I live to get my nails done twice a week—sometimes I think I should add another one and do it every other day.I mean, it's only nine dollars a time. Converted to the pound I am familiar with, it should be... well, nine dollars. I'm getting a little used to calculating prices in dollars.I'm starting to get used to a lot of things in life a little bit.My one bedroom cabin was small and a bit messy, and the first few nights I couldn't sleep because of the noise of traffic outside the window.But the point is, I'm here, I'm in New York, I'm self-reliant, doing something I really love. The job Michael offered me in Washington also sounded good.In many ways, it might have been wiser to take the job -- and I know Mom and Dad wanted me to take it, too.But what Michael said at that lunch -- about not being stereotyped, about doing what I really like doing -- got me thinking.I thought about my future career, my future life, and the job I really wanted to do and live on. I also want to talk about my mother's attitude on this matter.When I told her about the nature of the work at Barney's, she looked at me and said, "Honey, why didn't you think of this sooner?" "Hi, Becky?" I startled, and looked up to see Erin standing in the doorway.Erin and I have become good friends.Not long after I came, she invited me to her house to play, to see her collection of lipsticks, and later watched the 007 series of discs together all night.We've hit it off since then. "I brought you 10 o'clock shopping guide materials for customers." "Who's the customer at 10 o'clock today?" I said, reaching for a sheath dress by Richard Tyler. "This information doesn't say what kind of customer it is." "Well... this..." For some reason, she had an excited and excited expression on her face. "Well...he's here." "Thank you." A deep male voice came. It was a man's voice with a deep British accent. Oh my God. I froze like a bunny, still clutching the Richard Tyler sheath dress, as Luke strode into the room. "Hi," he said to me, smiling, "Miss Bloomwood. I hear you're the best shopping guide here." I opened my mouth and closed it again.There are thousands of thoughts in my mind, like fireworks rising into the sky.I was stunned by this sudden meeting, and I was completely at a loss.Not heard from for two months - suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.I couldn't help being shocked by this unexpected meeting.However, I quickly recovered.In my subconscious, I always felt that he would come to me. I realized that, in my subconscious mind, I had been waiting for him too. "What are you doing here?" I said, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. "As I said, I heard you are the best shopping guide here." He winked at me. "I want you to help me choose a suit. This one is a bit worn on me." He pointed to his brand new Jermyn Street suit, which I happened to know was only three months old.I couldn't help laughing secretly. "You want to buy a costume." "I want to buy a costume." "OK." I deliberately procrastinated, put the dress in my hand back on the hanger, turned around again, and carefully hung the hanger on the rack for storing clothes.Luke is here. He is here.I want to laugh, dance, yell, or do something.But I still picked up my notepad and turned away without haste. "Usually before I introduce clothes to customers, I always have to learn about them from customers." My voice was trembling, and I paused. "So, it's the same for you...?" "Okay, that's a good idea." Luke thought for a while. "I'm a British entrepreneur based in London." His eyes met mine. "But I recently opened a branch in New York, so I'll be spending a lot of time here in New York." "Really?" I felt a burst of surprise, but immediately covered it up and didn't show it. "You opened a branch in New York? That's... really interesting. Because I've always had the impression that British entrepreneurs always find it difficult to deal with New York investors. That's... what I've heard too." "That's right." Luke nodded. "They used to find it difficult, but now they have lowered their investment plan and decided to open a smaller one first." "On a smaller scale?" I asked, looking at him. "Would they like to do that?" "Yes," Luke replied after a while. "Maybe they realized they were too ambitious in the first place. Maybe they realized they were too stubborn and they screwed up other things. Maybe they realized that they need to put down their airs and stop being too big - take it slow. .” "That... that would be very sensible," I said. "So they came up with a new plan, found a partner who agreed with them, and this time there was no obstacle. The branch is up and running." There was an unconcealable joy on his face, and I couldn't help but smile too. "That's great," I said, "I mean..." I cleared my throat, "Okay, I see." I scribbled on my notepad. "So—how much time, exactly, are you going to be here in New York?" I said in that prim way. "You know, that's just what I'm taking notes for." "Okay," Luke said, his tone as prim as mine. "Well, I'll still spend a lot of time in England. Here, it's about two weeks a month. At least that's what I'm considering at the moment. Maybe I'll spend more time, or maybe less." He stopped talking and looked into my eyes.After a while, he said again, "It depends on the situation." "What's going on?" I asked, feeling a little breathless with tension. "It's... a variety of situations." We were both silent, no one spoke. "Seems like you're very committed to your work, Becky," Luke whispered, "very recognizable." "Yes, I like this job very much." "Looks like you're having a good time." He looked around with a gratified smile on his face. "It's a nice environment here, and it suits your temperament. I'm not surprised at all..." "You think I'm only doing this job because I like shopping?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "You think it's just... a dress? If you think so, I'm afraid you're dead wrong." "I'm not so-" "It's far from that. Far from it." I spread my arms out in an emphatic gesture. "It's about helping people, it's creative work, it's—" I was interrupted by a knock on the door, and Erin poked her head in. "Sorry to bother you, Becky. Just to let you know. I saved those Donna karan slippers you asked for. They're taupe and black, aren't they?" "Um... yes," I said hastily, "yes, thank you." "Oh, the finance department called. If you say that, your discount amount will be used up this month." "Okay," I said, avoiding Luke's interested gaze. "Okay, thanks. I'll…I'll talk to them later." I waited for Erin to walk away, but she eyed Luke with unabashed curiosity. "So, what do you think?" she said cheerfully to Luke. "Would you like to stop by the store and see what's available?" "I don't need to shop around," Luke said in a deadpan tone, "I know what I want." My stomach twitches, and I look down at my notepad, pretending to write something on it.In fact, it is scribbling indiscriminately. "Oh, yes!" said Erin, "and what do you want?" There was silence in the room, and finally I couldn't take it anymore, and I had to raise my head.I looked up to see the look on Luke's face, and my heart pounded. "I've read your brochure at your store," he said, pulling out a brochure from his pocket that said "Personal Shopping Services" on the cover. "It says 'For those who need help, who must make no mistake'." He stopped talking, and my hand gripped the pen tightly. "I made mistakes," he said, frowning slightly. "I want to correct the mistakes I made and never repeat them. I want to hear the opinion of someone who knows what I'm thinking." "Then why did you come to Barney's?" I asked, my voice trembling. "There is only one person whose opinion I absolutely trust." His eyes met mine, and I felt my body tremble slightly. "If she won't tell me, then I don't know what to do." "Mr. Frank Walsh in the Men's Apparel Department," said Eileen courteously, "he'd be delighted—" "Stop it, Erin," I said without looking back. "So what do you say, Becky?" he said, stepping towards me. "Would you like to tell me what you mean?" I was silent for a while.My mind was racing, thinking about how I had felt during the last few months.I thought about how to choose words and sentences to say exactly what I wanted to say. "I think..." I finally said, "I think the relationship between the salesman and the customer is a very close relationship." "That's exactly what I expected," Luke said. "There has to be mutual respect," I said, swallowing. "You can't cancel an appointment. You can't suddenly cut in a business meeting or something like that." "I understand that," Luke said. "If you take me shopping, I guarantee you will always come first." "The customer has to understand that sometimes the shopping guide understands things better than himself. Never deny her opinion casually. Even if he thinks it is just a kind of small talk, or...or meaningless nagging." I stole a glance at Erin, and I couldn't help giggling at her bewildered look. "Customers are aware of that," Luke said. "They're genuinely ready to listen to the guide and correct mistakes. Most things, of course." "On everything," I retorted quickly. "That's a little too anticlimactic," Luke said with a mischievous wink, and I couldn't help laughing. "Okay..." I scribbled on the notepad, as if thinking. "I think the word 'majority' is also acceptable depending on the circumstances." "So," his soft eyes met mine again. "Did you say yes, Becky? You agreed to be my... personal shopping guide?" He took a step forward and I almost touched his body.I smelled his familiar scent.Oh my gosh, I miss him so much. "Yes," I said happily, "Yes, I agree." Monday, January 28, 2002 at 8:30 am From: Lale Gildenstein <[email protected]> Attn: Becky Bloomwood <[email protected]> Date: Monday, January 28, 2002 at 8:22 am Reason: Please help! becky, Help! Help! I lost the list you gave me.I'm going to a big formal dinner tonight for some new Japanese clients.The cardigan I bought at the Armani store is still in the laundry.What should I wear? Please reply as soon as possible. Thank you, you are an angel. Lale