EPT“Sorry, you’ll have to give me another minute or so, I’m not used to being served this quickly at the Mandarin Oriental. I guess that’s one of the benefits of a late Tuesday night drink though right?” James jokingly replied.
“Not a problem at all sir, please take your time.”
James knew what he wanted though. He was a man of habit but at the same time, wanted others to believe every decision he made was the result of careful consideration. It was an occupational mindset he had developed after working over a decade as an executive in a top tier consultancy firm. He quickly flicked through the drinks menu until he reached the hotel’s selection of whiskey.
“Excuse me, could I please get a glass of the Lagavulin 16, neat. And could you also start a bar tab charged to room 1314.”
“Of course Mr. Feng.”
James Feng didn't need to show his room key to the waitress - he was a VIP at the MO in Shanghai. The high table he was sitting at would always be reserved for him the entire duration of his stay. James gazed through the frameless glass wall that encircled the bar as he sipped his whiskey. The skyline of Shanghai was much more beautiful at night. During the day, the blanket of pollution that covered the city was visible from the city’s many vantage points, but at night, the darkness concealed the brown hue of the city sky. The extravagant lighting across the skyscrapers livened up the night. Light shows of neon pink, blue and red could be seen all the way from the Oriental Pearl Tower to the Shanghai World Financial Center. Even the lighting from the numerous ships and ferries anchored near The Bund added a touch of tackiness to the colourful Shanghai night.
James signaled the waitress over.
“Could I get another glass please?”
James had actually cut down on drinking a few years ago. He limited himself to drinking only at celebratory events and business related affairs. Tonight was different though. He was in the mood for drinking alone. He grinned stupidly to himself as he finished his second glass. He still couldn't believe it. After all these years of growing old and cold, his heart could still flutter and his stomach could still sink after hearing just one song.
“One more please.”
Shanghai would always be a special city to James. It was a place of beginning and end, of hope and despair and of love and loneliness. Fourteen years ago, he turned down the only woman he ever loved to keep the job that had made him the man he was today. He never regretted making that decision though. He was a realist, any hypothetical was fiction to him.
James glanced over at the waitress and gestured for another drink.
Today was meant to be another typical day for James. Get to the hotel. Prepare for the business deal. Crush his adversary. And yet now, he was finishing his third drink with only one thing on his mind - the girl that he could never be with. All this because of one song that happened to play on the radio on his way from the airport to the hotel.
He signaled the waitress over again.
“One more sir?”
“Yes, last one please. Could you also ask the DJ to play this song for me?” James requested as he gave her a napkin with the title scribbled on it.
“I’ll make sure this song is queued next” smiled the waitress.
“Thanks.”
James swiveled his stool to face the city view once again. He sat there pondering. He wasn't reminiscing about his past with the girl nor was he speculating about the potential future they could have had together. He was simply curious as to where she was now, how she was doing and whether, like him, she had thought of him from time to time.
He took one last sip of the Lagavulin 16 and closed his eyes.
The song had begun to play.
