Chapter 2: Resolution
Subject: Re: My boss
No, you haven't told me how much you hate your boss today. But seeing how you sent this message directly to me, I know now.
Perhaps I was a bit harsh earlier, but regardless whether Mika-san (who, by the way, I DID reprimand AFTER you left) set you up or not, YOU were still responsible for sending that proposal to the client. You should've sent it directly yourself, rather than relying on others to send it for you.
I'm your boss, I'm supposed to criticize you. When you do something right, I'll praise you. Seems fair enough, right?
You don't have to wait until tomorrow to see the look on my face when you tell me you're quitting, I'm standing outside the office right now. So, open the door.
No comments on your speculations of my intimate affairs. But, I can assure you that my "size" isn't an issue, since you cared enough to wonder.
Your boss,
Ren
PS - Why, yes. My day is going FAR better than yours.
.
She dropped her phone on the desk, the color on her face draining.
Oh. My. FUCKING. GOD! She panicked, struggling to breathe for literally over a minute.
Ann snatched her phone and refreshed the email app again and again, hoping this was just some sick twisted joke, because there was absolutely no way she sent her rant to him instead of Shiho. NO way.
A loud and sudden knock came to the door and she immediately froze, not knowing what to do. All she could do was remain still in her seat, hoping it wasn't who she thought it was.
The knock came again—louder this time—and then:
"Takamaki-san?"
Oh, god! It was his voice. His voice. One hundred percent HIS voice!
Perhaps if she stayed quiet… he'd think she wasn't there.
He knocked again.
"I know you're in there, Takamaki-san."
Shit. Shit. SHIT! she cursed in her head again, now breathing erratically like someone who was about to brutally meet their impending doom.
Ann bit her lip and considered her options, which weren't many—much to her dismay. Option One: she could open the door and listen to whatever he had to say, which probably involved him reprimanding and immediately terminating her for her offensive actions. Or, Option Two: she could exit the office through the back door.
It had to be Option Two.
Ann shut her laptop, shoved it in her work bag, and grabbed her coat hanging on her chair. She then darted out the back door and took the stairs down to the main lobby of the building, exiting the building through the sliding doors.
Escape success! Mission accomplished.
Not knowing where else to go, she rushed straight to Shiho's place, which was a few blocks away.
"Shiho?" Ann called, banging on the door. "Shiho!"
"Coming!" Shiho opened the door with her cheery smile, letting Ann inside. "Geez, Ann. Why are you banging on my door like that? What's gotten into you?"
"I…" Ann took a moment to catch her breath, panting heavily. "I think I just got fired."
"Huh?" Shiho tilted her head to the side, giving her a puzzled look. "What do you mean you think you got fired? You're either fired or not."
"Well, I didn't get fired yet , but I'm pretty sure he's going to." Ann walked over to the sofa in the living room and sat down, burying her face in her hands. "Oh god, he's SO gonna fire me. I'm screwed. I'm SO screwed. Oh god, oh god, oh god…"
Shiho sat down beside Ann and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Ann. Breathe. Tell me what happened."
"I accidentally sent him a ranting email that was meant for you."
"What did you say in it?"
Ann shook her head ruefully. "I called him an asshole and a little shit. I mentioned how he's an egotistical asshole because he hasn't gotten laid in years and that his dick is smaller than his ego."
Shiho gawked with a mortified look on her face as well. Just as she was about to say something, Ann's phone rang, catching both their attention.
Ann pulled it out of her pocket and jumped when she saw "Shachou" on her screen.
"Is that him?" Shiho asked.
Ann nodded.
"Well… are you going to answer it?"
Ann tossed the phone to the other side of the couch.
"No."
Ann simply stared at her phone, waiting for it to go to voicemail. A moment of silence came right after, and for a while, Ann thought she was in the clear.
Then, it rang again…
And again.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Shiho reached over for Ann's phone and hit "answer", slapping it in Ann's hand.
"H-Hello?" Ann answered, her voice meek and small.
"Hello, Takamaki-san," he said, enunciating every syllable of her surname that made her stomach drop. "Did I call at a bad time?"
She swallowed. "No."
"Good. Where are you right now?"
"Oh, umm…." She turned to Shiho for some help, but she was smiling silly, simpering as if this was the funniest shit in the world. "I… had to run downstairs for some… stuff."
Smooth, Ann. Real smooth.
"So, you're still in the building?"
"Yes."
There was a small pause.
"I saw you exiting the building half an hour ago," he mentioned, a smile in his voice. "You're definitely not in the building right now."
Oh, god. She wanted to die.
"Oh, umm…" Ann cleared her throat, twirling her hair around her finger nervously. "Well… Do you need me for something?"
"Why, yes, actually," he said, his smooth voice deepening into a husky baritone that sent shivers down her spine. "There's something very important I wanted to discuss with you that concerns you and me, but I missed you earlier. So tomorrow, I need you to come to the office an hour early so we can have this important discussion. Can you do that?"
Ann nodded as if he could see her.
"Takamaki-san?" he repeated. "Can you do that?"
"O-Of course, Shachou…" she finally answered.
"Good. I'll see you in the morning then." He hung up, and Ann exhaled a long sigh of relief.
Dearest lord, have mercy on her soul.
Not too long after, Shiho shoved a large glass of red wine into Ann's hand, to which she immediately chugged down.
"Oh, god…" Ann quailed, the wine unable to take the frantic apprehension away. "What am I going to do?"
"You're gonna put your big girl pants on, and listen to whatever he has to say," Shiho declared, giving her a firm pat on the shoulder.
Ann gave her a doubtful look. "I don't know if I can face him, Shiho."
"Well, you're gonna have to eventually, Ann," she pointed out, her attempt in giving Ann some tough love. "It's better to get it over with than wait on it."
"But—"
"Besides, it's not for sure that you're fired yet," Shiho tried to reassure, patting Ann's shoulder again. "So, positive thoughts, Ann. You got this."
"Shiho…"
Shiho reached over for the remote on the coffee table, flipping the TV on to the Netflix screen. "Come on. Let's watch something funny to distract you."
But, no matter how hard Shiho tried to distract her with comedic shows, it was no use. Ann was already screwed, doomed for failure now. Because tomorrow would be the day—the day Ann gets fired indubitably. There was no way she could get out of this. No way she could salvage this. Impossible... She might as well start searching for other jobs in the city now.
Ann sighed. What was she supposed to do now?
As instructed, Ann had arrived one hour early to the office. She didn't see his sporty Lexus out in his designated parking spot on her way to the building, so that relieved her a little bit, giving her some time to think about how she was going to respond whenever he brought up the email.
She could... One: deny. Two: deny again. Or, Three: fess up, apologize, admit she was wrong, and hope he won't fire her.
She sat down at her desk, contemplating her options until her desk phone rang. Taking a deep breath, she picked it up, knowing who it was by recognizing the number on the screen. "Yes, Shachou?"
"Come up to my office," he said, leaving it at that as he hung up right after.
It was a slow, painful walk to his office. So many scenarios played in her head of how this whole thing could turn out, but she was pretty damn sure he was going to terminate her regardless. She knocked at his door once she arrived at his office, his familiar, "Come in," greeting her and making her enter the room.
He was sitting in his chair with his back facing her, slowing spinning around at the sound of the door shutting behind her—his deep, gorgeous silver eyes meeting hers.
Goodness… and that dark gray suit he wore today. He looked good in any suit, but he was absolutely stunning in this one, perfectly complimenting that silver designer watch snug around his wrist.
God… he was so hot.
Ann internally smacked herself. Now was not the time to daydream and fantasize. She was going to get terminated any moment now, dammit!
"Have a seat." He beckoned her to sit in front of his desk with his hand, and she walked over to it, the clicking sounds of her heels against the floor echoing so loud in the deathly silent room.
A long silence followed before Mr. Amamiya finally spoke a word.
"Well, Takamaki-san," he said, clasping his hands over a beige folder on his desk, which she assumed to be her file. "I must say, your dedication for this company is quite impressive, seeing the amount of time and care you put into your past projects and how hard you've worked these last three months under my supervision."
She didn't say anything, a bit cautious at the sudden praise.
"You've been here five years with a clean record. You've barely used a sick call. And most of your colleagues have said nothing but positive things about you."
She still said nothing.
He leaned over a little, a hand under his chin as the corner of his mouth curled. "So… to imply that I don't notice or appreciate these sort of things as your boss seems a bit unfair, don't you think?"
Ann swallowed, still unable to say a word as she still wasn't sure if she wanted to go for Option One, Two, or Three in regards to her email. She tried to look away, but for some reason, she couldn't do it at all, his beautiful piercing eyes pinning her down right there on her seat.
His smirk deepened as if he could sense that she was contemplating her options.
"Well? Are you going to say something? Or are you going to sit there acting as if you have no idea what I'm talking about?" he asked.
"Is this about me leaving the office a bit early?" she asked, going with Option One. "I had to run back home for some errands."
"You know what I'm talking about, Takamaki-san," he said, his eyes pinning her down harder. "Don't play dumb with me. Or should I reiterate your email here word by word?"
He definitely wasn't going to let her avoid this at all. Immediately, she bowed remorsefully.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she apologized profusely, bowing again and again. "I meant none of it! I was angry and frustrated and—"
He cut her off with a raise of his hand. "That's enough. I also wanted to discuss your current position here in the company."
There it was... The termination notice.
Ann nodded. "I know. I get it… I'm totally fired. And that's understandable. I'll just—"
"Let me finish, Takamaki-san."
Ann immediately quieted, watching him slowly arise from his seat.
"Our secretary position is now vacant," he said, hands clasped behind him as he made his way toward the front of his desk. "So I need someone else to fill it, but I'm a busy man, and I also need someone to assist me on top of the company's needs."
He stopped right in front of her.
"And that's what you're going to do."
Ann blinked, now lost. "Come again?"
He leaned forward, hovering over her with both his hands on the arms of her chair.
"I want you…" he paused right there, his smooth voice deepening in a way that made Ann's cheeks lit on fire as he moved in closer, making her wonder if he'd kiss her with the same intensity as the way he was looking at her right now, "...as my personal assistant."
Her eyes widened. He wasn't firing her?
"You're… You're not firing me?" she asked.
"Why would I?" he asked, his eyes still on her like a hawk. "You are one of my hardest working employees after all."
"But…" she paused, her heart fluttering as he inched closer. "M-My email… I said horrible things... T-That must've offended you… surely."
"Perhaps…" he said, then he smirked again. "But, to make up for it… this is the resolution I came up with. So, for the next three months, you are going to work directly under me."
Was it strange, that the way he said that last part made something coil down in her loins? Oh goodness. What was going on with her!?
"W-What a-about my current position?" she mentioned, stumbling over her words as he moved closer, her heart pounding like crazy in her chest at the close proximity of their faces. "T-They need a planner for the next marketing campaign."
He finally stood up and straightened his suit, finally lifting the sizzling tension that was building between them. "I've already hired a temp. She'll be taking over your duties for the next three months while you're with me," he said. "If you can endure this, you can go back to your former position in the company once your three months is up. But I'll warn you, I'm not a very easy man to aid."
Oh, great. Of course, there was a catch. But… was she really in a position to refuse?
"And if I refuse?" Ann asked.
"Then… I have no choice but to terminate you," he said, leaning his back on the edge of his desk and folding his arms. "Technically, I should have done that when you ruined our deal with our last client, not to also mention that very inappropriate email you sent me…" he paused there with that knowing look on his face, to which Ann cringed. "But like I said before, you're also one of my hardest working employees, and I trust you the most. So I'm giving you another chance. Think of this as your punishment for your misconduct."
"I see…" she replied, finally averting her gaze away to contemplate for a bit. She... really had no choice, if she wanted to stay employed. "Well, then… I guess I have no choice but to accept your arrangement."
He smirked again, lifting himself away from the desk. "Good. I was hoping you'd come around." He made his way around back to his chair, taking a seat. "You'll be starting tomorrow. Today, you'll be showing our new temp, Togo Hifumi, around the department. Don't worry, she has many years of planning experience—she's more than capable of handling your tasks."
"I see."
"As I've said before, once your three months is up… you can transfer back to the planning department as you please," he stated, leaning over the desk with his hand under his chin. "I look forward to working with you as my assistant, Takamaki-san. Don't disappoint me now."
Ann bowed her head.
"Yes, Shachou."
"Good. You may leave now." He motioned her to the door, and Ann stood up, making her way toward the exit.
She stopped for a moment, then turned around.
"Is there something else, Takamaki-san?" he asked.
"I… umm…" She felt her cheeks flush, and she bowed again. "T-Thank you, Shachou… for giving me another chance. I'll do my best not to disappoint you."
She held her bow there for a little longer, even though he said nothing. To be honest, she had no idea what compelled her to thank him, but when the awkwardness was too much for Ann to bear, she finally stood up, stiffly turning around to exit the office.
Well... that went surprisingly well.
The moment he first saw Takamaki Ann, Amamiya Ren was awestruck. It didn't show much in his expression during their first encounter, but he was impressed by such rare exotic beauty: captivating with her cascading golden hair that he wanted to run his fingers through, radiant with her porcelain skin that he craved to touch, tempting with her plump glossy pink lips that he wanted to taste, and alluring with those beautiful azure eyes he wanted to gaze deep into. She was slender all over, almost like a model, and that low cut top she wore with that blue A-line skirt right now didn't leave much to imagination either. Her cute innocent flustered expressions—especially on that first day they met when she greeted him so nervously—made him want to pin her down against the wall and take her right then and there.
He had no words to describe her... But, to say she was beautiful was undeniably an understatement.
But, what could Ren do? She was his employee. Someone he worked with. He had never mixed business with pleasure before, but he knew that doing it was always a bad idea. Because of the whole array of lawsuits that could follow if something were to go wrong. Because it could get in the way of work. Because it could ruin his reputation as a CEO, along with her reputation in the workplace. The list could go on and on.
In essence, it was just never a good idea.
But, it was obvious to tell… that the attraction was mutual. The way her voice peaked so slightly whenever she spoke to him. The way she looked at him even when he pushed her buttons. The way she looked at him when he caught her trying to sneak a peek at him...
Then, there was that email. That email she unintentionally sent him far too recently. Venting out her frustrations. Lamenting how someone so "hot and dreamy" could be such an "egotistical jerk".
It was gratifying to know that the attraction was mutual, even if there was nothing he could do about it. At the same time, it was also quite apparent that she "hated" him, and he almost felt bad for taking out his sexual frustrations on her by demanding so much. Almost.
Ren could've fired Miss Takamaki when she screwed up their case, even though she wasn't entirely to blame, just like he did with Mika when he caught the entire footage of her throwing the proposal in the trash can like it was nothing. But, he didn't—because it was just a simple case of bullying in the workplace that he would not tolerate.
And he definitely should've fired her the moment he read that ranting email of him, especially since it was so inappropriate, but he didn't—it wasn't like she intentionally sent it to him, and her negative feelings toward him weren't really any of his business anyways…
...At least, that's what he told himself.
She claimed that all he ever did was "criticize" her and that he was "never satisfied" with anything she did, implying that he didn't acknowledge and appreciate her efforts. Truth was that he did acknowledge and appreciate her—otherwise he wouldn't have kept her in the company. But, he knew she could do much better than she settled herself for, which was why he pushed her at times. That, and sensing her attraction toward him, he didn't want to nurture any of that—in case it did develop into something more.
He hated that he had to push her away, because she was really a lovely lady he would've loved to know better. But unfortunately, he was her boss—he had to maintain that professionalism and distance between them.
Then again, just because he couldn't have her didn't mean that he couldn't have a little fun, right? A little tease here and there certainly wouldn't hurt… right?
At the very least, he could have her close to him for now.
"Wow… you really are a lucky one, Ann."
Ann could only nod at Makoto as they sat at the table in the breakroom, taking a bite out of her turkey sandwich.
"Yeah. Most bosses would have fired you right then and there," said Haru, her eyes wide in disbelief. "Amamiya-shachou really is a merciful guy. I mean, if it were me, I would've fired you. No offense."
"None taken. I would've fired myself too." Ann chuckled.
"I just hope he won't be too hard on you when you start as his assistant tomorrow." Makoto plopped a teriyaki chicken strip in her mouth. "He's never given us issues, but based on some of the things I've heard from Ryuji and Mishima, I can imagine he can be pretty particular and strict."
"I'm sure he'll go all out on her," Futaba chimed in, sipping on her soda. "But, at the same time… I don't think it's really out of spite…"
The three girls gave her questionable looks.
"What do you mean, Futaba?" asked Haru.
She smirked, leaning over the table with her elbows propped. "I think he kinda likes her."
Ann nearly choked on her sandwich, pounding on her chest.
"Are you—" Ann coughed. "—out of your mind!? That's—" Cough. "—impossible!" Cough.
"Think about it, Ann. Why else did he not fire you—after all that had happened? He had no problem firing Mika-san," Futaba brought up, casually leaning back in her chair. "So… my theory? He has the hots for Ann—but since he's her boss, he can't do a darn thing about it. So he picks on her to relieve his frustrations—and uses this opportunity to make her as close to him as possible. It's kinda like the adult version of the little boy who tugs on the pigtails of the girl he likes."
"You're crazy," Ann told her with a deadpan look, thinking the whole thing was ludicrous. "Don't you have anything better to do than come up with weird speculations?"
"Hey, now. When you usually sit at a desk waiting for calls about clueless people needing help with their computers, it gets pretty boring after a while." Futaba gave a noncommittal shrug. "I'm sorry, Ann. Your life is just very entertaining. I can't help but analyze it a bit."
"Well…" Makoto mused, poking at her chin. "Futaba does have a point though. Despite how he's harsh on Ann at times, he's pretty forbearing with her at certain times."
"Yeah. Especially considering how forgiving he was with her regarding her email," Haru mentioned.
Ann facepalmed, trying to hide her flushed cheeks. "Come on guys. He told me he's making me his assistant for the next three months as punishment for my 'misconduct'. I highly doubt shachou feels anything for me," she denied. "I mean, he's my boss, for goodness sake."
"Yeah? So? He's also human too," Futaba pointed out. "You know… With feelings?"
Ann snorted, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Okay."
"Hmm… He says it's 'punishment', but is that really it?" Makoto asked, a bit rhetorically. "I don't know, Ann. Maybe Futaba has a point."
Haru let out a soft chuckle. "I agree. It's definitely a possibility."
"Well, I'm gonna stick with my gut. And my gut says that 'it's nothing .' " Ann declared, crumpling her sandwich wrapper right as she finished her last bite. "Anyways… I better get back to showing Togo-san around the place." She got up, throwing her trash away in a nearby bin before giving them a wave of her hand. "See you guys later!"
Exactly. There was no way he had the "hots" for her. NO way. Because the chances of him feeling anything like that for her were slim to none. Slim to none. These girls were just being silly.
But… if by some strange chance that he did feel something for her, what would she do? What would she really do?
Her heart fluttered at the thought, but—like she did many times whenever a feeling had something to do with him—she brushed it aside.
Or… at least tried to.
Because… even if so… there would be nothing she could do about it. He was her boss. She was his employee. Nothing more than strict platonic professionalism should be between the two of them, right?
Right. Just strict platonic professionalism. That's what it had to be. No need to make things more complicated than that.
End A/N: For anyone wondering where I got this idea and some scenes from, it's from a book called "Naughty Boss." I forgot the author's name, but you can read it for free on the books app on the iPhone. It's a funny smutty story. Give it a read :)
Anyways... I rated this a T for now, but it may change depending how much I tone it down from the original on AO3.
Thanks for reading if you got this far! Until then,
RVK