A Little Compensation

Lee Chaolan let out a groan of frustration as he turned restlessly back and forth in his wheeled office chair, not at all paying attention to the movements he was making. His fingers were locked tightly, and his chin rested upon them, his eyes looking forward without seeing the large, spacious office in front of him—lavishly decorated with regal, ostentatious furniture and décor that gave the perfect image of luxury and dramatic, pompous grandeur that was so near and dear to Lee's heart.

He continued to turn nervously in his office chair. This isn't right, I can't be doing this! he thought. She's ruining everything!

In desperation, barely acknowledging what he was doing, he pressed down a button (perhaps harder than what was necessary) on his phone. The response was immediate."Yes, Mr. Lee, what can I—"

"Miharu!" He interrupted. "I need you in here please! It's urgent."

"Why certainly, Mr. Lee. I'll be right there." The forced smoothness of her reply did not fully disguise the surprise and confusion in her voice. Lee Chaolan was not usually a man to interrupt anyone while they were speaking, well-mannered and polite a gentleman as he was.

"Thank you!"

Lee continued to move around impatiently in his chair, now unknowingly drumming his fingers on his desk. His office was located on one of the highest floors of the Violet Systems skyscraper building, so he knew it could easily be several minutes before Miharu made her way all the way up the elevator to his office. He sighed at the thought.

He was dimly aware that his behavior at the moment was more than pathetic, but the idea of talking to someone about his situation was such an immense relief that he was past caring. Unfortunately, Lee could not think of anyone else in the building that would listen to his troubles; yes, he did have many business partners and so-called friends, but he had recently realized that none of them were the kind of people he could discuss personal matters with. Previously, this had not been a problem, as he had never felt the need to talk about such things with other people. Lee was an independent, shrewdly businesslike, and highly charismatic character, and also a well-known womanizer whom nobody expected any kind of romantic commitment from. This was much to the disappointment of many ladies of all kinds whom, throughout the years, and to Lee's neverending amusement, had sought to conquer his heart—whether through seduction, beauty, or charm—in order to gain permanent access to his wallet and lush bank accounts. (All of them had failed miserably.) Therefore, Lee did not dare to think that the usual people he consorted with might take him seriously.

He looked down at his custom-made designer watch. It had been eight minutes since he had called Miharu in, and still there was no sign of her. Lee sighed and continued to wait. He looked up expectantly when she finally rushed in hurriedly three minutes later, her high heel catching on a beautiful Persian rug, causing her to stumble a few feet across the room. She quickly regained her balance, her face burning bright red, yet she held her head high and walked as confidently as she could straight to Lee's desk. "You called, Mr. Lee?"

"Yes, Miharu. Thank you for coming." He looked at her, and though his words and manner were, as usual, relatively calm and distinguished, wild desperation read everywhere on his face. He didn't appear to have noticed her stumble, and if he did, he said nothing about it, which eased her embarrassment. "I must say that I don't feel very well..."

Miharu noticed the look on her boss's slightly flushed face, noticed a half-empty bottle of expensive scotch sitting open on his desk, noticed his somewhat disheveled hair (usually it was a flawless-looking, shiny silver), noticed a broken fountain pen that had smudged several sheets of wrinkled paperwork with midnight blue ink, and noticed a crystal glass containing a small bit of the aforementioned scotch sitting within his arm's reach.

She was again surprised, but found herself suppressing a grin. "Have you been drinking, Mr. Lee?"

"Yes," he replied, wretched.

"Well, what is the matter?"

Lee buried his handsome face in his hands. "I don't know what to do, Miharu! She is driving me crazy!"

"Who is?"

"This woman who..." He descended into incoherent mumbles.

Miharu continued patiently. "Which woman?"

He lifted his face from his hands. "Anna Williams."

"Ah." Not knowing exactly what she could say, Miharu was quiet for a moment. She had no idea who this Anna Williams was, and she couldn't think of a good reason why Mr. Lee would be so upset with her. Of course, he never let his women affect him emotionally, they simply came and went. So she couldn't be a romantic interest, and being somewhat familiar with his family, she was not a relative either... so maybe, he was involved in a business deal with her, and... she had gotten the best of him? He must have lost a great deal of money to this Anna Williams and her company, or something of the sort. Yes, that had to be it, there was no other explanation. "I am... sorry to hear of your misfortune, Mr. Lee. I am sure however that Violet Systems can sustain—"

Lee looked up at her, responding fitfully. "Oh, please don't be so formal with me right now, Miharu! I don't need this, I really don't. And this has nothing to do with the company! If it did I wouldn't have called you in here, now would I? You are a wonderful girl, but as both you and I are well aware, you know absolutely nothing of such matters. My problem is something much more... personal. I felt that you were the only one here I could confide in."

Miharu was a bit taken aback. Mr. Lee had never before acted like this with her. All interactions between them had always been kept on a cordial, professional level. Didn't he have a friend he could talk to about such issues? Being his personal assistant, there were countless times when she had been around Mr. Lee continuously for days at a time, particularly when he traveled for business, as she was obligated by contract to travel along with him. Not that she complained in the slightest about this, as the trips were frequent, accommodations always luxurious, and the places visited always exciting. Now that she thought about it, in the two years she had worked for him, she could not recall him ever mentioning anything like a real friend. The people he mentioned were always business partners, business rivals, business acquaintances... and if the people he talked about were not involved in business, they were the women he was currently involved with, the names of whom Miharu had long since learned to not bother remembering, as in most cases it was likely that she would not hear of them ever again. She also knew from experience that Lee rarely mentioned his family, and when he did, it was without affection. Miharu felt a sudden sense of pity for her boss, with the realization that he was actually a very lonely man. However, her interest was now piqued.

So, Miharu did her best to be comforting. She pulled up an ostentatious chair and sat down at the desk, facing Lee. She folded her arms over each other and rested them on the desk, leaning slightly forward, looking at her boss intently. "Tell me about it, Mr. Lee," she said soothingly.

"Good girl, I knew I could talk to you," he said, seeming relieved. He had picked up the beautiful crystal glass and quickly drained the remaining contents. His eyes remained on the glass he held as he spoke. "Now, I am going to ask you to please not mention to anyone anything I am going to say to you. I... well, I have somewhat of a... reputation, and I am—er—not exactly keen on, altering that image... for the time being, at least."

"I understand," Miharu replied promptly.

"Excellent." He set the glass down carefully, and looked at Miharu. "Now, you remember three days ago, the night that I—or should I say, Violet Systems—hosted that party at the hotel in Kyoto?"

"Yes, to commemorate the release of Combot II."

Lee nodded. "Well, I met a woman at this party."

Miharu vaguely remembered her boss spending most of that night with an extremely attractive auburn-haired woman, both under the influence of a reasonable amount of champagne. "I think I remember seeing her, yes."

"Oh, you did!" Lee looked excited. "So you at least know how beautiful she is. Well, we got along astoundingly well, and I was very captivated by her, not only because she is beautiful, but because she is highly intelligent and vivacious—not a boring moment, and I can't tell you anything that turns me off more than a woman who is boring! So naturally, I wanted to take her home right away, but she said that she couldn't; it was only afterward that I realized that she may not be... available. However, I did wish to see her again, and she seemed to want to see me again as well, so we arranged to meet for lunch today..." He trailed off into silence.

"So, what happened?" pressed Miharu.

"Well, she did not show! I waited a while before calling her, and then she told me that she was very sorry, but that she had forgotten that she had already made plans during the time we were supposed to meet... plans made before she and I had even met..." He stopped, looking upset.

"I see," said Miharu slowly. "Did you try to reschedule the date?"

"Yes, of course. But she made some other ridiculous excuse—I think it's possible that she is trying to avoid me, that she may not even be interested. She even seemed to hint that these plans of hers involved another man. And that thought, it... it really upsets me." And before Miharu could stop him, Lee began pouring another sizable glass of scotch. "I am... well, you could say that I have become somewhat obsessed with this woman, Anna," he continued, after taking a sip from his glass. "I have been rejected and otherwise played by women in the past, but it has not affected me the way that Anna's games currently are bothering me." He paused, his chair turned sideways so that he was no longer facing Miharu, staring intently ahead without seeing. "I have not felt such an extreme attraction to a woman before.

"So," he ended briskly, turning again to look straight in his assistant's eyes. "I think it may be best that I try to forget about her, don't you agree?"

Miharu was startled. "What? I don't understand, Mr. Lee..."

Her boss gave an impatient wave of the hand that was not currently holding the glass of scotch. "Please, dear girl, from now on, just call me Chaolan." He took another sip.

She continued awkwardly, "Er, Chaolan, I don't understand why you would want to forget about her. You've finally met a woman that you seem to have some sort of feelings for—"

"And that's exactly it, Miss Hirano! See what it's doing to me! I can't go on living like this!" He gave a bitter sort of laugh. As she watched her flushed-face boss continue to drain the glass, Miharu realized that by this point, he had probably had too much to drink.

"Mr. Lee—I mean, Chaolan, I think you may have had enough for tonight. Here, let me get that for you." She leaned over to reach for the half-emptied glass, but he pulled his arm away.

"I appreciate your concern, Miss Hirano, but this is quite good scotch, so I really can't let it go to waste, especially in the state that I am in." He raised the glass in her direction as if to toast her, and drank yet again.

Miharu didn't say anything. She made a mental note to hide the near-empty bottle as soon as her boss was not paying attention. They both sat in silence for a few minutes. Lee looked as if he was in a thoughtful, faraway reverie, and Miharu sat fiddling with her hands, not enjoying the awkward feeling of not knowing what to do or say in that uncomfortable situation.

"No," Lee suddenly spoke, breaking the silence, much to Miharu's relief. "That's bullshit."

"Wha—I'm sorry?"

Lee looked at Miharu, with an astonished expression, as if he had just said the most obvious thing in the world, and that there was absolutely no reason why she couldn't have comprehended it. "I can't forget about her, it's pretty much impossible. I was just trying to convince myself of... bullshit."

"Oh." Miharu noticed that he was slightly slurring his words.

"This is killing me, it really is..."

"Look, Mr. Lee, I mean, Chaolan, why are you talking as if this is hopeless? Maybe you can try again? She hasn't rejected you outright, you know!"

Lee swirled the remaining contents of his glass, watching the moving liquid thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose so..." But he sounded unconvinced.

Miharu tried her best to continue to be encouraging. "You can try asking her out again! Be persistent, let her know that you really like her. Don't let her get away, don't let her play games with you."

He considered for a moment. "You are absolutely right, Miss Hirano. The thing is..." He hesitated, then spoke in a quieter voice. "I really do not want her to reject me. I don't think I could stand the disappointment." He shook his head sorrowfully.

"Aw, Mr. Lee..." In feeling the rush of pity for her boss, she forgot to call him by his first name. "I don't think she would rej—"

Lee suddenly let out a roar of frustration and slammed his glass down on the desk, spilling nearly all of the scotch it contained on the already stained paperwork. Miharu gasped and threw her hands to her mouth. "Mr. Lee!"

Lee's demeanor had completely changed; he looked positively manic. "This—is—insane." He pronounced each word carefully, breathing heavily. "Since when has Lee Chaolan been afraid of a woman rejecting him?" He abruptly stood up and began pacing, gesticulating frantically with his arms as he walked. "Since never, that's when! Since when did Lee Chaolan allow a woman to so thoroughly pervade his mind? Since never! And since when did Lee Chaolan ever allow himself to get so bent out of shape over a woman? ...Yes, you guessed it! Since never!"

Miharu watched him, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. She never known her boss to behave this way, and wondered if anyone else had ever seen Lee Chaolan lose his temper like this.

She nervously cleared her throat. Lee turned and looked at her expectantly. "Mr. Lee," she said timidly, "I just want to say that I think there is a good chance that she would not reject you, knowing that she did accept a date with you before. And even if she is playing games, there must be some reason or another—if she really did not want to see you again, she could have already refused to see you at all." She took a deep breath. "I think you just need to find out for yourself what she wants... if anything. It will be better than driving yourself crazy like this."

Lee was silent for a moment, contemplating what he had just heard. Miharu watched him nervously, tense and expecting another possible outburst. Finally, Lee settled himself back into his chair. She could see that he was calm now, and his voice was, while still drunken, relatively even. "Yes, I agree with you. I will make another attempt with Anna. However, I do believe that I should do something special—something I would not do with just any other woman." He raised his eyebrow. "Any ideas, Miss Hirano?"

Miharu racked her brains. "Er, how about you ask her to be your date for the wedding?"

Lee looked confused. "What wedding?"

Miharu huffed. "What do you mean, what wedding? Only the one that I've been talking about since—well, forever!"

A look of comprehension dawned slowly on Lee's face. "Ohh, right, right, I remember now. Your pigtailed friend... she's marrying that miserable nephew of mine..."

Miharu rolled her eyes. "Yes, this Saturday, my best friend Ling Xiaoyu is marrying your nephew, Jin Kazama... and Jin isn't miserable!" But as soon as the words had come out of her mouth, she quickly realized that it wasn't exactly a true statement; Jin really could be pretty miserable at times. She unsuccessfully tried to stifle a giggle.

"Don't be silly, of course he is. And please forgive me for not remembering immediately, I am... well... I think I went a little overboard tonight..." Lee leaned his head back on the head of his chair and slowly let his eyelids drop.

Miharu got up from her chair and walked around to look down at her boss. "Mr. Lee?" She asked uncertainly. "Mr. Lee, are you all right?"

He replied calmly and quietly, not opening his eyes. "Miss Hirano, please forgive me for my outburst earlier... it really is not an easy thing to realize that who you are as a person may suddenly be changing completely, especially at my age... and by something that you seem to have no control over whatsoever... ah... usually I do hold my liquor better than this... call my driver for me, will you? He will take care of me... you go home now... and thank you for all of your help."

Miharu was quiet for a moment. "Mr. Lee?" There was no response, so she quietly took the bottle of scotch and carefully hid it within a large potted plant nearby, wiped the desk clean of alcohol and ink, and filed away the stained paperwork in a manila folder; Miharu felt no particular guilt in relegating that particular mess to his secretary. Then she made a quick call on her cell phone to Lee's driver, who ended the call sounding less than pleased. These tasks took all of ten minutes, the time during which Miharu heard a few noises coming from her boss that sounded suspiciously like snoring. Finally, she made for the the entrance of the office.

"Miss Hirano?"

Stopping in her tracks, Miharu whirled around, more startled than ever. Lee was still in the same position she had left him in."Yes, Mr. Lee?"

"I'll have my interior designer take a look at that rug's placement tomorrow. It may not be in the best position, considering how the furniture is arranged in here." She thought she saw him give a tiny smile.

She blushed furiously. "Of course not, Mr. Lee. Good night."

"Good night, Miharu."

Lee woke with a start, sitting up straight with a deep gasp, as if he hadn't taken a proper breath in several minutes. He sat for a few moments, thinking and breathing slowly. Why did he feel so fitful and restless? He thought of Anna, and suddenly the previous night's events flooded his brain, a relentless wave of embarrassing memories, and he fell back down onto his many silken goose down pillows with a groan. Though somehow it did all seem so far away; had it been a dream after all?

An hour later, he was striding breathlessly into his office—clean, sober, and looking as put-together and handsome as ever. He made his way to the desk and looked over it carefully. There was nothing out of place that he could immediately see; this was a good sign. His eyes slowly roamed the area nearby, stopping on a glassy something that was peeking out from between the leaves of a beautiful exotic plant. Fearing the worst, he reached down and pulled the object out, his suspicions confirmed. "Argh!"

Lee settled into his chair, trying to calm himself. At first he relived all of his own drunken rantings, feeling greatly annoyed that there had been a sober witness to every moment of it. Then he began remembering flashes of Miharu's concerned face, her sympathetic advice... she had taken him seriously, and had not made fun him at all, not once. What a sweet person she was, not to mention a good, reliable assistant! Due to her age and inexperience, he knew he had been taking somewhat of a risk when he had hired her two years ago, and she had never done anything to make him regret his decision. He smiled, feeling his embarrassment ebbing away. Somehow, he knew that she would not betray nor think less of him. He picked up the phone sitting on his desk and dialed.

"Good morning, Mr. Lee, what a pleasant surprise! Thank you for calling Payroll. How can we be of help?"

"Yes thank you, I need to request a change be made to an employee's salary—my personal assistant, Miharu Hirano. Please increase her salary fifteen percent... and make it effective as of yesterday."

"Of course, Mr. Lee! We'll take care of it immediately."

"Excellent."

He hung up, pulled out his own personal cell phone from within his pinstriped waistcoat, scrolled to "Anna Williams", and dialed.

comment and critique is appreciated :))

disclaimer: i don't own Tekken nor anything related to it, and i am gaining no material/monetary profit from this. ~ w&r