Mai followed after the tall red-headed woman through the maze that was her new workplace.
"Now, of course, tomorrow you'll be conforming to the dress code, yes?" the woman, Ayako, asked with a sickly sweet smile. "I'm sure you have a wonderful excuse for those awful shoes but we can't be having that here, okay?"
Mai glanced down briefly at her black leather flats.
"Okay."
"Great, now as it is your first day, I won't give you a misdemeanor for it today," Ayako went on. "But I will not always be so lenient."
"Okay."
"Now, our CEO expects the best. His last assistant was fired for his poor tea making skills—"
"Really?"
"I have no reason to joke," Ayako said, stepping into the lift. "I have more complaints from him about his assistants than any other employee, so please, try your best to please him."
"I didn't realise being in HR could be so stressful," Mai mumbled as the lift door closed.
"You have no idea."
Ayako tapped her foot as the lift began to move. Mai watched the little numbers above the door lighting up as they rose. She shifted from foot to foot, well aware that Ayako did not expect her to last the month.
They had yet to take down the advert for the position Mai now held.
The doors open and Ayako led the way. Mai followed, taking a deep breath. Ahead of them was a closed wooden door. Stamped on it were the letters: C.E.O.
Mai gulped.
Ayako knocked and a muffled 'come in' replied. She threw the door open and strode through, Mai trailing in her wake.
"Dr Davis," Ayako began, "This is your new assistant, Mai Taniyama."
Dr Davis did not look up from the report he was reading.
"Is this one competent?"
"Yes."
"You said that about the last one."
"Hirota had many skills—"
"I expected better from you," Dr Davis interrupted. "Your CV led me to believe you were actually good at hiring suitable people."
Ayako bristled.
"Had you informed me of all of your requirements—"
"You never asked me about my requirements," Dr Davis muttered. "You can leave."
Ayako turned on her heel and stalked past Mai, muttering about 'if the pay wasn't so good'. Mai waited, not daring to move. Out of the corner of her eye, Mai could just see a clock. She watched the seconds pass.
The office decor was modern and sleek. It gave a good view of the city and the walls were lined with floor to ceiling bookcases, all of which were filled to the brim with various books.
"Tea."
Mai's eyes snapped back to her new boss.
"Excuse me?"
"Tea."
Mai blinked.
Had she even seen a kitchen? Mai left the office, and began desperately searching for a kitchen.
"It's over there."
Mai spun on the spot and almost fell over.
"Huh?"
"The kitchen," the helpful stranger said as he pointed. "It's over there."
"Thanks," Mai said with a smile. She darted off in the direction that he had pointed and found herself in a kitchen. She searched through cupboards and flicked the kettle on.
"He didn't say how he liked his tea…" Mai mumbled to herself.
"Black and no sugar."
The stranger had followed her.
"Thanks. Sorry, I'm new."
"I can tell. I'm John."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Mai. The CEO's new assistant," Mai said as she wiped out a mug.
"Brave," John said. "I work in the finance team, I'm in charge of charity cases."
"Cool."
"He prefers Earl Grey."
"Thanks. You're a lifesaver," Mai said, grabbing the box of Earl Gray.
"It's fine, if you have any more questions, let me know."
"Thanks."
Mai finished making the cup of tea and carried it carefully back through the corridors to Dr Davis' office. She entered and walked up to his desk and placed the cup of tea at one end.
Mai waited, expecting some kind of response. But Dr Davis only glanced at his watch, a black casio, and picked up the tea. He sipped at it.
"Why are you still here?"
"I-I… Well—"
Dr Davis stood up and towered over Mai. She stared up into his eyes and only now realised that her new boss was very handsome.
Mai gulped.
Dr Davis stepped forward towards Mai.
"Don't you have other things to be doing?" he said, his voice low. Mai opened her mouth to speak. "For example, getting used to the computer system?" Mai nodded dumbly. "Your desk is outside of this room, I believe."
Mai attempted to speak, gave up and practically ran from the room. True to Dr Davis' words, her desk was to be found just outside of his office. She took a seat and pulled the login details that Ayako had given her earlier out of her pocket.
Ten minutes later, she had logged on, checked her new email account and read the company's intranet front page.
"Found everything?"
Mai looked up to find John holding two cups of tea. He put one on her desk and slid it towards her.
"For me?" she asked.
"Yeah, I guessed milk and two sugars."
"I've been trying to cut the sugar but I'm not going to complain. I am so out of my depth," Mai said, picking up the cup sniffing it gratefully.
"First job?"
Mai nodded.
"Well, first proper job. I had a part time job at university but it hardly counted," Mai said. She drank a little of the tea and smiled. "I've been applying for so many jobs in the last few months I was so surprised when I was invited to interview here. The pay is so good!"
"Because so many people have been fired or voluntarily left."
Mai frowned.
"Is it really that bad?"
John fought to keep his smile in place.
"Oliver is a good man, but his people skills leave a lot to be desired."
"So why doesn't he go on one of those management skills class?" Mai asked.
"He did, and the course leader left in tears." John drank a little of his tea.
"Is it true the last person was fired for making bad tea?"
"Well, officially, no, but realistically yes."
"What was the excuse?"
"I think the letter he received said something about lacking the ability to attain the required skills for his role."
"Ouch."
"Yeah. He was a decent guy, but he was also a bit awkward."
"Awkward?"
"Well, Oliver is awkward too."
Mai frowned.
"He was trying to intimidate me earlier. Standing over me and stuff," Mai mumbled. "If that's what you mean by awkward…"
"Intimidate you? Oliver isn't capable of intimidation. Well, I'm sure he could try but if he did it would be with his intelligence rather than physically." John sighed. "He's probably misinterpreted his brother's advice again."
"Right."
"Well I better get back to work, if you have any questions, come and ask. I don't bite."
"Thanks, and thanks for the tea."
"No problem."
John walked away. Mai turned back to the screen in front of her and hit the send/receive button. The computer pinged at the delivery of a new email.
Buy me a new tie on my cost code. Davis.
Mai gaped at it. She had been at work for two hours and now her new boss wanted her to buy him a tie. Blinking in disbelief, she re-read the email. Nope. The words did not change.
She quickly checked the intranet for how to claim on expenses.
"Receipts. Right."
Mai locked her computer and walked to Dr Davis' door and knocked. She heard a murmur from the other side that she hoped meant she could come in.
Dr Davis was reading still.
"You asked me to get you a tie, but what sort do you want?"
Without looking up, Dr Davis stripped off the tie he was wearing and threw it in her direction. It fell on the floor a few metres in front of Mai and she bent down automatically to pick it up.
"Do you think this tie is professional?"
Mai studied the tie's pattern; purple with yellow elephants. How had she not noticed that before?
"No?"
"Do I need to say more?"
"No."
Mai left, taking the tie with her and started towards the lift. She hit the button for the ground floor and stuff the tie in her pocket. The lift stopped early on floor five and Ayako walked in.
"Excellent, I was just about to go looking for you. Here is a copy of the dress code, where are you going?"
"Dr Davis asked me to go and buy him a tie."
"Excellent, go and buy yourself some proper shoes while you're at it."
"Do you know his cost code?" Mai asked.
"I'll email it to you. Don't worry about price for his stuff, he has no limits."
Ayako darted out of the lift before the doors closed and walked away. Mai looked down at the piece of paper that Ayako had shoved into her hands.
Dress code for women:
Shoes - Minimum 4 inch heel.
Clothes - Business wear, skirts should pass mid-thigh, no low cut tops.
Make-up - Made up, but natural.
Mai gulped and studied her reflection in the mirror on the lift wall. Her attempt at smart dress suddenly seemed pathetic. The doors opened with a ping and Mai shuffled out, pulling her phone from her pocket in order to find a shop that sold decent ties.
She located the nearest Marks and Sparks and let Google Maps guide her. Mai's mother had always recommended Marks and Spencer for quality items, especially bras.
Grateful for the lack of four inch heels, Mai made the journey in under ten minutes. She strode through the shop to the men's section and located the ties.
"Why are there so many?"
Mai rifled through the options and immediately eliminated the paisley designs. She touched a few of the nicer colours to test the texture.
"Okay so not orange," Mai mumbled. "I can't see him in orange… Maybe black like his mood…"
"Can I help you?"
Mai spun around to see a shop assistant smiling.
"Uh, my new boss wants a 'professional tie' and I have no idea."
"Have you considered our Saville Row inspired collection?" the shop assistant asked, gesturing to the pricier range.
Mai was ready to refuse, then remembered that she would be reimbursed.
"Yeah, those look good."
The shop assistant slipped away as Mai considered the colours. The blue caught her eye as it matched Dr Davis' own eyes.
"Well, it's professional…"
Mai picked it up and headed for the checkout. She paid and then considered her footwear options. As she could not pay for her shoes on the company budget, she was limited to her own dwindling bank account.
Mai walked down the high street to New Look and climbed the stairs to the shoe section. She passed the flats and boots to the rows of heels. She picked up the first pair of black heels that had a strap around the ankle — which if Mai wanted to attempt to walk in them without falling over, an ankle strap was essential.
She slipped off her flats and put on the heels. Mai managed to stand up and walk three steps before almost tripping. Sighing, Mai slipped them off and regarded her other options. There weren't many other options that would fit Ayako's requirements.
Mai groaned and once again, headed to the checkouts.
She straight up refused to wear them on the walk back to the office, but she did remove the labels so that she could slip them on once she'd arrived.
Ten minutes later, she arrived in the reception and sat down to pull on the heels.
"Cute," the receptionist said. "Ayako's instructions I presume?"
Mai nodded.
"Yeah, no one understands why. I presume she insulted your clothing choice too?"
Mai nodded again.
The receptionist rolled her eyes.
Mai shuffled to the lift once again and returned to the top floor. She managed to make it all the way to Dr Davis' door without falling over and knocked. She entered and strode as confidently as possible to the desk, where she presented her new boss with his new tie.
Dr Davis regarded it for a moment, then popped up his collar, de-labeled the tie and put it on.
"Well?" he asked. "What do you think?"
He fixed Mai with a piercing gaze.
"Very, um, professional."
"Good." He turned back to the screen. "Contact Yasuhara, have him show you around. He'll do a better job than the HR woman."
And with that, Mai found herself dismissed.
Author's note: So I have several chapters of this ready and plan to release them one a week! Please review :)