Chapter 3 (Really chapt. 4)

Lydia tried her best to ignore the oh so serious, incredibly fine assed man sitting next to her.  She decided she’d focus on the voicemail she’d received from her mother instead. Oh yes, Mrs. Michaels was a force to be reckoned with. Hearing her mother’s voice snapped her back to what her mom was fussing about now. “… don’t understand why you had to travel to the other side of the planet to gain experience you could have easily obtained while working here in Omaha under your cousin Sinclair.  If not here then at least Nebraska. Your father… blah, blah, blah…” Lydia sighed hoping by now her mother would have finally accepted her decision to complete her internship with Okada Trading Company.

Little did her mother know, though Lydia suspected her dad might, she had to get out of not only Omaha, but Nebraska itself. She had felt like she was smothering in her hometown. Her mother had never been farther than Lincoln, Nebraska. Attending Creighton University was what her mother had expected and planned. By Lydia's sophomore year she had expressed to her father her desire to follow in his footsteps by pursuing a degree in international business. Her father was a lucrative foreign importer and exporter, but getting her mom to agree to her moving to China was yet another battle in the war of wills between her parents. Lydia's dad liked the idea of his daughter following in his footsteps and since he was footing the bill for her secondary education, he sent Lydia to attend a University in China to study Business.  After selecting international business as her major and foreign languages as her minor, Lydia realized she needed to expand her marketability by securing an internship outside of the States, to the continued chagrin of her mother.

“… well call me when your plane lands. I love you, take care.” Hearing the dial tone brought her back to the here and now with Mr. Stoic. Lydia got the feeling Mr. Cheung did not approve of her. Well she felt lucky he wouldn’t be her boss…or would he? Shit! His gloomy ass looked like he was ready to drop her off on the nearest corner. All of a sudden Lydia began to get pissed at her sexy escort. Yeah, he was fine, but damn it, she needed this job. She wanted to prove to her mom, her friends, Aaron...especially Aaron, and even to herself that she could do this. So...whatever was Mr. Cheung’s problem was, it was just that, his problem. If he wanted to prejudge her then he could go for it. Lydia was used to people underestimating her due to her youthful appearance and short stature; and yet, that was always her ace in the hole. Even now it seemed that Mr. Cheung was no different. She hadn't stepped into the company building yet and he had already summed her up to be a waste of their time. People just assumed a pretty face meant an empty brain. Well she wasn't anyone's Black Barbie, that’s for sure. If he wanted to ignore her, then fine. All she needed

was for Mr. Okada, the CEO to give her a chance.

Lydia was a natural in the corporate world. Her natural ability to read people, anticipate situations and act accordingly had garnered her respect among her peers and professors. She had actually turned down a position offered by one of her most demanding professors, deciding instead to accept the Okada internship. She knew life experience was what would allow her to network as well as learn her trade...despite what Mr. Glum thought as he tried to appear nonplussed by causally typing out some text message on his phone while continuing to pointedly ignore her.  This was going to be a long ride.