Office Diaries - Chapter 70

As soon as he heard the door closed, Liam Kang let out a sigh of relief and he rested his head on the table as he thought. Earlier had been intense and nerve-wracking. Too bad it was only on his side.

Placing his hand under his chin for cushion, he stared at the door where his personal ȧssistant went and he pouted. Ever since his brother appointed the woman to work for him, his world had been thrown into utter chaos, physically, emotionally, and intellectually.

Six months ago when he replaced his uncle as the president of the company, Liam had set a goal in his life and along with it some principles. He was going to make himself into a good employer and expand the business.

To do this, he had to keep personal matters from work. He valued his own professionalism that the first ȧssistants and secretaries had given to him who made his life a little complicated by falling in love with him had to go. He hated it when people he worked with mixed personal with business.  So, when his brother appointed Jay Co and Marian James to work for him, he’d been really grateful.

Not only were those two very professional like him, they actually didn’t bother him with anything unrelated to work which was a relief. Jay Co was as smart and as apt as he was reputed to be and Marian James was as good as the rumors said about her too. Aside from that, there had been no question on whether any of the two would vie for his attention and affection like the others did as Jay was a man and hopefully totally uninterested with him, while Marian was famous for her icy demeanor making people call her the company’s Ice Queen.

For the first time since Liam became the president, it was he who was trying to win someone else’s attention on which he failed of course. Well, at first it didn’t matter. He found Marian beautiful, yes, but he wasn’t really attracted to her. The other’s cold attitude just made him curious if she was always like that and so he made it a point to observe his very efficient personal ȧssistant.

It was a bad move, he realized that now.

Seeing her every day, getting used to her cold character didn’t prepare him for the changes. He worked overtime one day and of course, it meant that Marian and Jay worked late too. He just realized that it was already eleven in the evening and he felt guilty for keeping his employees late. Getting his jacket, Liam walked out of his office, opening the door to tell Marian and Jay to go home when he spotted the two talking by Marian’s table and he stopped, mesmerized.

Gone was the usual stoic look on his personal ȧssistant’s face replaced by a soft smile that curved her plump red lips, making her expression very gentle that it took Liam several seconds to remember to breathe. He knew Marian was beautiful – but seeing this smiling angel in front of him, he realized that he was beyond that, and his heart started to beat…weirdly.

Since that night, Liam became more aware of his personal ȧssistant— more conscious of all of her movements, even the rise and fall of her ċhėst as she breathed or the way a frown would mar her forehead when she was concentrating on something. He never saw that gentle expression on her again, however. Well, not at least when he was with her.

Scowling, Liam remembered how Marian would smile when she was with his secretary, Jay, and displeasure he couldn’t imagine filled his ċhėst. Two weeks ago, he heard a musical laugh only to realize that it was coming from Marian which made him smile, but it vanished as soon as he realized why his personal ȧssistant laughed. It seemed his secretary made a funny comment which sent her to giggle land.

Peeved, Liam instantly made his presence known by breaking the party that day. Though he felt guilty about it now, he gave Jay Co tons of things to do which kept the young man to his seat all day long. Being as competent as he was, however, the boy finished it in no time and his chitchat with Marian resumed annoying the hell out of him.

Chagrined, he took Marian to France with him the next week and spent three days there with just the two of them in the pretense of a business trip.

Remembering their stay there, Liam’s scowl vanished replaced by a gentle expression. While he met with his clients, he’d let Marian wander around Paris. She, however, got lost and was nearly harassed if he hadn’t found her in time. His squabble with the thugs earned him some bruises and cuts, but it also earned him some sweet memories.

Marian had fussed about him all night until they went back to South Korea. The beauty never left his side. She nursed his bruises and wounds and fussed over him. To him, those were the most wonderful moments of his life.

Coming back home, nonetheless, Marian returned to her usual cold self, only being chummy with Jay which drove the young president mad. It was as if the days in France never happened and seeing her being close with his secretary made him annoyed as hell.

He knew he was being childish breaking up the two whenever they were together in the pretense of an errand but he felt like he had no other choice. Liam wanted Marian to be like that to him too.

No.

He wanted her to be like that only to him and it made him very frustrated thinking of ways to be closer to the Ice Queen. Tomorrow, however, he would have that lunch date with his personal ȧssistant, he thought as he pouted. He had been actually nervous about how to make her come with him without being too obvious. It was a good thing she didn’t ask.

Sighing audibly once again, he realized, at the age of twenty-seven, it was not fun to have your first love, and that getting jealous over anyone close to Marian was downright nasty.

Outside, Marian James had finally gathered her thoughts and composure and managed to put back her “professional” mode on. She marched towards Jay’s table as soon as she was ready and informed him of the Kang’s orders.

“Jay, Mr. Kang asked me to tell you to cancel his schedule for tomorrow morning,” she said and watched at Jay’s face became horrified.

“What?”

Panicked since it’s already late and office hours would soon end, the poor secretary scrambled in his table. He opened the organizer and called everyone the president had an appointment with in the morning. He talked to different people with a professional, yet apologetic tone and meticulously updated the president’s schedule as he finished.

“Could you give me your next available time to move the meeting? Yes, that would alright. I will inform the president and call to confirm with you by tomorrow. Thank you so much, and apologies for the sudden changes,” Jay stated before hanging up the phone.

When at long last he was finally done, he leaned back in his chair looking exhausted. “That was close. If we waited a bit more and it’s already impossible to cancel some of the appointments. Why is the Kang canceling his appointments, by the way?” he asked.

His face looked jocular with that half-smirk and half-disbelieving expression. For the president to cancel important meetings suddenly with clients was completely unheard of.

Nope. Completely unprecedented.

“Because he said he needs to go shopping,” Marian James answered making the secretary’s doubtful expression all the more comical with his eyes wide and huge mouth slanting.

“No shit,” the younger man commented, still skeptical but Marian just smiled.

“Yes, shit,” she countered with a laugh. “I’m actually going with him tomorrow so we won’t be seeing much in the morning and you’ll have your lunch alone.”

“Fine,” Jay murmured condescendingly as he placed his bag at the crook of his elbow as he fished his car keys in his pocket.

It’s already five in the afternoon, and the president told them they could go home early. “If you’re done with work, I’ll take you home,” he told her, and Marian scurried to pick up her things and they left.

Soon they were walking in the parking lot towards Jay’s car. Marian was too lazy to drive her own and so she always rode with her junior since his apartment was close to hers.

“Why are you going with him again?” Jay asked after a while and Marian shrugged. Liam Kang mostly always went alone everywhere and only brought him and Marian sometimes.

“I’ll be getting myself a dress too since I’m coming to the Charity Gala with him,” she answered and he scowled.

“I’m jealous!” the secretary announced as he pulled Marian’s arm and playfully hit her deltoid multiple times making the other one laugh as they reached the car.

“Oh, don’t be jealous Jay, you big baby. You know you’re the only one I’ll ever love,” Marian announced followed by noisy smooches making Jay put on a disgusted look and she laughed some more as they got in the vehicle.

“That’s just yucky big sis. I’m jealous because you’ll be getting nice food at the gala and not because of your person, you ȧssuming dude,” the younger retorted making her stop laughing and hit his arm.

“Hey! Don’t call me a dude. I’m a girl, okay?”  She glared; her feathers obviously ruffled reminding Jay of a spitting cat.

Even if she loved cute girls and fawned over them, she’s very much a woman.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah… whatever dud…dette…” Jay muttered as he started the engine and drove away