The Palace Gardener's Son

By Sianna Lah

Selena Wu admires Western attributes. So much so that at the age of twelve, she begged her mother to pay for her eyelid operation. As an only child, she got her way when her well-off parents agreed to send her to the States. After graduation, she found a job and married a man of whom her parents disapproved, but Selena loves his deep blue eyes and soft wavy hair. Everything is perfect. Then one day her studly husband takes a job in China. About the same time, the company she works for is acquired by a Japanese conglomerate, and soon Selena sees a new face—Akira Miyazono. Struck by her beauty, Akira can’t help but gaze on Selena attentively. He finds any reason to be in her presence so that he can feed his eyes with her sight. But this unwanted attention from Asian men only annoys Selena; she has no idea that her perfect life is about to change forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sianna Lah
• Release date: Dec 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310069659

Book preview

Chapter 1

The radio on my alarm clock went silent. That’s my signal to leave the house. Otherwise, I’ll be stuck in traffic on Highway 99W. Once again, I didn’t have time to apply dark shadow to the outer corners of my eyelids, not to mention mascara. However, a layer of a neutral shade over the entire eyelid to cover the surgically created crease is a must.

My Caucasian friends don’t understand the fuss that Asians make about their eyelids. They can’t see that the added crease makes our eyes appear more Western. At the age of twelve, I so wanted to look like the young Demi Moore in the movie Ghost that I begged my mother to pay for my eyelid operation. She agreed, but she asked me to wait three years. As soon as I turned fifteen, I got rid of my Chinese eyes. Admittedly, I’m as shallow now as ever. I don’t really care about what’s going on around the world as long as I see my perfect face in the mirror every morning.

Slinging my purse and laptop over my shoulders, I dashed to give my handsome husband a quick kiss before I headed out the door. Sean and I live in the beautiful wine country of Dundee, Oregon. His grandparents owned this piece of land before the caravan of wine makers moved into the area. Co-workers can’t fathom how I can spend an hour and a half of my life driving each way between work and home. But I don’t mind it.

Life has been good to me so far. I love what I do. I adore my husband’s deep blue eyes and his soft wavy hair. And on weekends, I enjoy the serene vista of the surrounding vineyard from our front porch with a glass of red. Everything is perfect. I told myself as I sped along the rocky dirt lane passing row after row of the pinot noir varietal on both sides.

I had no idea that changes were coming.

Chapter 2

As soon as I walked into the research and development office, Sarah Plummer, our legal liaison, pushed herself up from her seat with both hands and waddled my way. She got in at six o’clock every morning because the federal government offices she dealt with are all located on the East Coast and they are three hours ahead of us. At thirty-six weeks her baby had started to drop, and she looked very uncomfortable. Leaning, Sarah rested her huge belly on the edge of my desk and spoke in a hushed tone. Funny, there was no one else but us.

Selena, I’ve got big news.

What is it? I asked, unable to tear my eyes away from her popped-out belly button poking through her thin tee. Although I can’t bear the mere thought of my beautiful innie naval turned into an outie, I envy all pregnant women. I wish Sean wanted more children.

I was on my way to get my first cup of tea from the breakroom when I heard voices coming from the closed conference room. I thought how odd that our VPs were here this early, so I pressed my ear against the—

No! Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to eavesdrop? I cut in.

Fine, I won’t tell you a thing. She tilted her nose in the air and put her hands on her hips like a drama queen.

Come on, you know I was just teasing you.

Sarah and I have been friends since we were sophomores at Oregon State. We both graduated from the Food Science Department where she minored in nutrition and I in microbiology. Unlike my girlfriend who found her soul mate right away, there was not a steady boyfriend by my side at the graduation ceremony.

Apparently, FSC has been in talks with a Japanese company for the past few months, and key details of a potential buyout have already been hammered out. It is imminent. Sarah stared down at me with her hazel green eyes. They were amazing even without makeup.

You knew! Her face registered shocked when I failed to react.

I shook my head a few times.

Aren’t you going to say something?

Like what?

How about … I have concerns about our future?

I shrugged. Like that’s going to help anything. After a brief pause, I reminded her. Besides, we are survivors. We survived the first takeover twelve years ago.

Good gosh, has it been that long? Time flies!

Yes, it’s been twelve years and three months. Remember? It took place right after I returned from my honeymoon.

That’s right. Our bosses blind-sided us. You were quite pissed, since you helped build their business. Can you believe how far this place has come from the mom-and-pop operation it used to be? I will always remember my first day here.

That memorable, eh? A slow smile spread over my mouth as I awaited her story.

Yes, I was all dressed for the office, but you sent me to work on the line, so I’d have a better understanding of our products. I wasn’t too thrilled about it at first, but it turned out to be a rewarding experience for me, since I got to meet many workers as well. I was so slow compared to those little Asian ladies, who all got a good laugh at my disfigured dumplings. They comforted me—Sarah started laughing—but their supervisor told me not to come back the next day. Mama Phan said I was untrainable.

I laughed along with her. Like many foreign students, I remained in the States and looked for employment after I graduated. I had many job interviews, but no employer was willing to go through the hassle of sponsoring my work permit. Eventually, seven months into my practical training period, I was hired by a Taiwanese couple who ran a small factory of handmade soup dumplings in a converted warehouse. They took pity on me, since they had once been in my situation. Although I never got paid what I was worth, I was forever grateful for the opportunity that they gave to me.

With the help of a former professor, I immediately automated several manual activities to improve production efficiency. One year later, I hired Sarah to expand product varieties to include seafood and vegetable fillings. The following year, we went to fully automated processing when the long-term investment firm First Street Capital bought us.

Sarah continued, I bet the tide will be reversing. These walls will see all dark hair again. I wonder if the takeover will happen before or after I return from my maternity leave.

Skeptical, I shot her a dubious smile.

What? You don’t think I will come back.

I doubt that I would come back if I had waited for a baby for fourteen years. My petite, red-haired girlfriend had been trying to get pregnant since she was hitched and had no luck until this past January. I, on the other hand, got pregnant during my honeymoon. Sean was not thrilled. Alluding to his financial burden of paying child support for his three children by his first wife, he convinced me to have an abortion. Truth be told, it wasn’t a hard decision to make. I’d just turned twenty-four, and selfishly, I wanted to have a career first. It was also based on the fact that Sean and I had not known each other for very long before we were married. I felt we needed more time together prior to starting a family. A decade later, when I mentioned about having a little one, my husband of eleven years my senior confessed that he was so done raising children. His youngest son, Thomas, had just graduated from high school.

Chapter 3

The buyout announcement came one week after Sarah gave birth. We were guaranteed a smooth transition and promised tremendous growth from instant access to extensive distribution channels, particularly in the Japanese market stores and restaurants. Our company would run as a stand-alone business unit with some supervision by the parent company, Umeya Shoku-Hin Corporation, in Japan. We were also assured that the current management, operations, and staffing would remain in place. Despite the pledge, some managers were understandably wary of the possible culture clash. Only a few days later, office staff was told that cubicles were coming down. Many objected, but to no avail. Apparently, this is the typical office environment in Japan where everybody sits in one big open space.

Since the operation side continued to run without disruption, I couldn’t care less when the acquisition officially took place. In the past two months, new Asian faces kept popping into our area weekly. Some spoke decent English with varying accents; others not. The latter were usually visitors in black suits and ties from the corporate offices in Japan. My staff and I joked about how we felt like caged animals in a zoo.

Two weeks ago, our director of sales and marketing took the one-year severance pay and voluntarily resigned. Before he left, he introduced me to his replacement, an American who is said to speak perfect Japanese and whose wife is Japanese. The new director would remain in his Houston sales office. Just last Wednesday, I received the news that a senior member from the R&D Center of Umeya Japan would be joining my department to oversee product development for the frozen food market in Japan.

But I’m supposed to report to this Japanese guy, even though we both hold the same title. I told the Plummers the next day over the Thanksgivings dinner.

For over a decade, Sarah and I had taken turns hosting the holiday dinner. It was supposed to be at my house this year, but since Sean had recently taken a high paying job in China after having no luck finding one in the States and the fact that Mikey Plummer was only ten weeks old, it just made more sense to have our traditional gathering at Sarah’s.

I told Sean over the phone last night that if I don’t like working with this Japanese guy, then I will postpone my trip to Shanghai until I get our house ready to rent.

Seriously? You’re giving it up so easily.

Unless you return after your maternity leave, work isn’t fun anymore. It’s just not the same without you, I said, half joking.

I think you’re just looking for an excuse to quit because you miss Sean, Sarah teased back. She followed it with a question. How is he by the way?

"He’s settled in finally. He even had time to pick out a very exquisite, hand-sewn silk qipao for me the other day. You know, for his company’s New Year Eve’s party."

Does Sean like his new job? Sarah’s husband chimed in.

He says he doesn’t really know yet. He’s been there for merely a month. But he likes the people he works with. Everybody is very nice to him.

Sarah nodded her head. I’m sure they run things differently there.

Yes, he said he was so used to working around the clock. All of a sudden, he has all this free time that he doesn’t know what to do. So he’s studying Mandarin now.

Your mother will be very pleased. Sarah made an accurate comment on my mother’s biggest pet peeve.

We all laughed.

Who wants seconds? my friend asked.

* * *

Sean would have had seconds and thirds had he been there that day. Unlike Sarah’s husband, Sean is six foot two and weighs around two hundred pounds. A college athlete in his younger days, he always worked hard at the gym to shed the extra few pounds so he could eat as much as he pleased during holidays. I sent Sean pictures of our Thanksgiving meal, and he made me promise to bake him a pumpkin pie during my visit over the winter holidays.

Sarah is right. With her gone and Sean in China, I now feel as if I’ve lost my bearings. I’m less enthusiastic about going to work, and I don’t find myself excited about returning to an empty house. But my vacation is coming. I’m looking at my desk calendar and counting the days until I see Sean. Suddenly my laptop chimes, and a meeting reminder pops up on the screen.

As staff members file into the conference room, our human resources administrator, Aaron Row, reminds all attendees to sign in for the open enrollment session held annually in early December. It is the one meeting that all company employees are required to attend as we go over the changes in our benefit options.

Phoebe Lam, the newly hired buyer originally from Hong Kong, beckons me to sit next to her. Lowering into my seat, I take one scan around the room and see a face I don’t recognize. He’s an average-looking Asian man about my age. Judging from his tan, he’s probably a Japanese expatriate who’s spending a lot of tee time under the Californian sun. Then again, he could be a Southeast Asian of Chinese descent who saw abundant sunshine in his early life. Although from his fairly pointed nose, I’m inclined to guess the former.

I quickly withdraw my gaze when this particular man suddenly snaps his eyes up from the insurance pamphlet laid open on the table in front of him. Perhaps I’m not fast enough. When I look up from the page we are asked to review, I find him gazing at me. Instinctively I look away, but not before I’ve noted his large almond-shaped eyes. The next time he catches my attention, I may have held his gaze a fraction of a second too long. I avert my eyes as soon as his face starts to soften. I wouldn’t know whether I should return a smile if I saw one emerging. Over the entire hour, he keeps throwing glances my way. Fearing he may get the wrong impression that I was flirting with him, I exit the meeting as soon as it’s over.

Chapter 4

It is the most formal and restrained meeting I’ve ever had, and I’m so ready for it to be over. As soon as the two men from our regulatory affairs office slam their briefcases shut, I slide my chair back and rise to my feet. Extending my right arm over the table, I give each of them a firm handshake with eye contact while we exchange polite parting phrases. As we exit the meeting room, the younger fellow opens the door and allows me to pass through first.

Unfamiliar with the layout of our headquarters office in New York City, I step aside in the hallway to let the men lead the way. We stride past several closed doors before making a turn down another hallway that opens up to a huge room with desks arranged in rows. Waiting by the main entrance, the office administrator nervously takes a glance at her wrist watch before she hands them their outer coats.

Gentlemen, the middle-aged Japanese lady speaks with heavily accented English, your ride is waiting for you downstairs. Yamada-san is in the middle of a video conference with the L.A. sales team. He said to thank you both for coming, and he would catch you another time. Turning to me, she continues to say, Selena-san, Yamada-san will take you to dinner after work. He asks you to wait for him in the spare office. There’s a computer in there if you wish to use it. The password is on a Post-It note.

My eyes follow in the direction of her hand.

"Ms. Wu, you’re in for a