“She stepped on my hand without a second thought! There were shattered pieces of glasses everywhere on the ground! I-I…” She couldn’t finish her sentence as she started sniffling convulsively.
“Stop looking for excuses to justify your carelessness!” Ms. Goldstein reprimanded the woman and warned her, “No matter what, the show has to go on because the guests are the bigshots from the upper echelon and the corporate world! If you can’t think of something by then, you won’t get to stay in the industry anymore.”
“I-I…”
“I’ll get the violinists to perform ahead of you! I want you to deal with it by hook or by crook!”
Charlotte heard the clicking voice of Ms. Goldstein’s high heels. She knew the fierce woman would stride out of the lounge soon.
Immediately, she stepped aside and saw Ms. Goldstein with a black suit walking out of the room, heading towards the powder room that was diagonally opposite the lounge. The fierce-looking Ms. Goldstein clapped her hands and announced, “Violinists! Please get yourself ready because you’ll be performing on stage three minutes later!”
Charlotte turned around and peered into the lounge, spotting the presence of a good-looking woman wailing as she stepped aside from the partition. She could barely pull herself together while her trembling hand bled excessively.
She had no choice but to tend to her wounds by herself. It was a heart-wrenching scene to watch.
After she retrieved the first-aid kit, she tried to open it with her elbow since her palms were gravely injured. Unfortunately, her effort was to no avail—no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t open it.
Charlotte entered the room and offered, “Allow me to help you.”
The injured woman was confused by Charlotte’s presence. Shortly, she nodded and expressed her gratitude, “Thank you!”
After Charlotte opened the first-aid kit, she reached for the iodine to sterilize the woman’s injured palm before picking the shattered pieces of glasses out of her wounds using the tweezers.
The woman wouldn’t stop trembling due to the racking sensation she felt, but she pursed her lips and resisted the urge to wail. Nevertheless, torrents of grief streamed down her cheeks continuously.
“You need to get a doctor to tend to your wounds!” Literally, Charlotte could feel the woman’s pain when she saw her wounded palm. “No! We can’t delay any further! I’ll bring you to the hospital at once! Otherwise, your hand will be crippled for the rest of your life!”
“No! I can’t leave! If I mess up the show, it will be the end of my career!” The girl wailed and begged Charlotte, “Please bind my hand and see if you can stop the bleeding. I’ll put on a pair of gloves and brace myself through the performance.”
“Have you lost your mind? How are you going to play the piano when you’re in such a pathetic state?” Charlotte was heartbroken and enraged because another innocent woman had fallen victim to Sharon again. “Sharon has gone overboard again!”
“It was merely an accident, but she pushed me with all her might when she barely budged. It wasn’t even a serious knock. I don’t mind being blamed, but how could she step on my hand when there were shattered glasses everywhere?”
The woman started trembling in anger and wailed hysterically to vent her emotions.
“It hurt so much! I begged her to be merciful, but she had no intention to stop! Instead, she went all out and moved her foot around feverishly. If the woman beside her didn’t stop her in the nick of time, my hand would be…”
“It’s fine. Let’s forget about it, okay?” Charlotte wiped the woman’s tear dry and suggested, “Is it fine for me to take your role to perform on the stage?”
“Are you serious? Do you know how to play the piano?” The woman was dumbfounded by Charlotte’s suggestion.
“Mmm… Can you hand over the sheet music to me? I’ll perform on your behalf.” Charlotte comforted the injured woman and asserted, “Don’t worry. I used to win several globally renowned awards when I was abroad. I had experiences performing on several formal occasions as well. In my humble opinion, I think I’ll make the cut for the job.”
“Ms. Goldstein can tell us apart from one another, can’t she?” The woman expressed her concerns.
“So what? She merely needs someone to perform on the stage and get the job done! As long as I don’t embarrass her in front of others, I think she’s going to turn a blind eye for once.”
“You’re right! Thank you so much! You have saved my day!” The woman found the sheet music and handed it over to Charlotte, expressing her utmost gratitude over and over again.
Staring at the woman’s white-laced dress, Charlotte stated, “You’re welcome. First things first, we need to get changed.”
The woman nodded. “I’ll change into my set of casual outfits because I don’t think I can fit into this stunning piece of yours. I think it’s a designer piece, isn’t it? Allow me to hold on to it for you. I need you to return this to me once you’re done performing on stage because I have to return it to Ms. Goldstein.”
“Okay.”
