Wednesday.
Madoka made sure that the bookings were made in the best hotel in Sydney. Calling the hotel reception for one last time to confirm whether they had allotted them the right rooms, she ended the phone call, and sighed.
"At least this is done." She made a mental note to herself.
She made her way down the hallway to treat herself with some coffee, and as usual, she met up with Gingka at the coffee place.
"It's no surprise to catch you here." Madoka chuckled, when Gingka poured some coffee into the coffee mug, "Heading towards your boss?"
"Fortunately, no. I think I deserve some coffee for myself." Gingka giggled back, sipping onto his beverage.
"Why don't we sit in the cafeteria and treat ourselves." Madoka lifted up her mug of coffee, and offered Gingka to have lunch with her.
Checking his watch, Gingka nodded, "I think I have an hour free."
Once settled, Gingka ordered a hamburger for himself, while Madoka had a sandwich.
"Oh I forgot to give you the biggest news!" Madoka beamed with excitement, "Kyoya and I are going to Australia for a meeting!"
Gingka immediately stopped munching onto his burger when he heard the news.
"W-what!? Australia? As in, you two are going on a business trip?" He tried to maintain himself, since he was in complete shock.
"Yes! He wants the business to flourish in Australia as well."
"The perks of being the CEO's secretary." Gingka mumbled to himself, but his voice was audible enough for Madoka to hear.
"Gingka…at least you can congratulate me." Madoka groaned a little.
"Congratulate you on stealing the job I wanted!?" Gingka cried.
"Oh come on. Don't start, Gingka." Madoka tried to keep herself calm, but he was really getting on her nerves now.
"See these are the pros of working for the CEO himself. You get to travel the world with him, stay in high class hotels, and eat at five star restaurants. Life couldn't be better!" Gingka dabbed on the table.
"So?" Madoka raised her eyebrows.
"So? What do you mean, so? Madoka, this was something I had always dreamt of doing! As my first job, I wanted to be in your place!" Gingka complained.
"It's not my fault you're not here!" Madoka almost screamed. Thankfully for them, there weren't much people in the cafeteria, but they did earn immense amount of attention from the staff.
"Well, thank you very much for ruining it for me!" Gingka screamed back.
"Y-you're unbelievable!" Madoka shook her head, banged on the table, and left the cafeteria, leaving her half bitten sandwich at the round table.
He has really done it this time. I thought he changed after we met on the weekend. But no, he is the same old, cocky Gingka! Ugh!
Stomping hard on the ground, Madoka made her way up to her cabin. Cursing some mild words, she bumped into a hard figure.
"Ouch!" She shouted, and patted her forehead.
When the figure turned around, it revealed to be Kyoya, "Are you hurt?" He sounded a little worried since he knew that Madoka bumped into him.
"I-I'm fine." Madoka was in no mood to talk, so she quietly left the place.
"Hold up." Kyoya called out, causing Madoka to immediately stop in her tracks.
"Are you done with all the bookings?" Kyoya asked, advancing towards her.
"Yes," was all she responded with.
"How long is our stay?"
"3 days." Madoka was in literally no mood to talk to anyone at the moment. She didn't want to sound rude towards her boss, so she only replied with the amount of information she needed to reveal.
Tucking his hands inside his pocket, and lowering himself down to Madoka's height, Kyoya confessed, "Are you in a bad mood?"
Eyeing Kyoya right in the eye, Madoka blushed when she figured out how close he was and how he was able to figure out her mood in an instant.
Man, that cologne is good.
"I-It's nothing." Madoka averted her gaze. She didn't want to reveal the tension and anger in her eyes.
"We can reschedule the meeting if you're not comfortable in go-"
"No! It's not that." Madoka laughed a little. "It's just that, Gingka really gets on my nerves sometimes." Her tone was super serious now and she didn't want her boss to think that she is not interested in going to Australia with him, so she told him the truth.
"Gingka? Ryuga's assistant I presume?"
"Yes, him." Madoka groaned. "He keeps telling me that he wanted to be in my place and I stole this position from him. It makes me feel like as if I am so cruel, but what can I do about it?" She was in slight tears now.
Chuckling softly at the adorable brunette, Kyoya held her face up from the chin, "I chose you because of your skills, Madoka. But Gingka was worthy enough too. You know it took me an entire day to decide whom to pick – you or Gingka. And then I came to the conclusion that I should pick you, but that doesn't mean that Gingka isn't talented. He is extremely talented. I didn't want our company to lose someone like him so I offered him the CFO's assistant's job."
"Well someone explain that to him." Madoka felt better now. Kyoya surely knew how to make someone feel better. His choice of words was absolutely remarkable.
"Does he pick on you like that often?" He placed his hands back in his pockets and led her inside his cabin.
"No. We actually became good friends when we spent some time together on Sunday, but I don't know what happens to him, that he starts to act in such a way all of a sudden."
"Spent time on Sunday together?" Kyoya raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah. We were finally getting along, until he started acting in his usual way." Madoka didn't sense Kyoya's tone, and spoke away.
"How was the date?" Kyoya smirked and expected the answer to be in the form of a no.
"Date!? It wasn't a date, sir." Madoka confirmed. There it was the type of answer that he wanted.
"Hmm." He smirked harder this time. "Pack the important stuff only, Madoka. Don't bother taking any unnecessary stuff around."
"Got it." Madoka nodded and left his cabin.
Upon entering her cabin, she sighed with relief. Kyoya made her feel a lot better. She touched the part of her chin that Kyoya had held up. She blushed, remembering the moments from minutes ago.
He is so incredible.
Madoka heard a knock at the door while she was absorbed in working, and heard Gingka say, "Madoka, it's me."
She rolled her eyes at his voice, and answered, "I'm busy."
Twisting the doorknob and making his way inside the cabin without anyone's permission, Gingka moved to Madoka's side. "I'm sorry, Madoka."
"Huh?" Madoka lifted her head to look at him, and shook it, not believing him.
"Madoka, I'm really sorry. I know I was acting like a jerk and I shouldn't have done that." He got to his knees and sat in front of Madoka's work table.
"Get up, Gingka." Madoka sighed.
Getting up, Gingka started to admit, "I kind of overheard your conversation with Kyoya back there, outside his cabin." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I should have realized that earlier. Other interviewees are never given a second chance, but Kyoya was kind enough to offer me the job of being the CFO's assistant, and him calling me talented, made me feel very proud." Gingka posed.
"Don't let your pride get to you." Madoka got back to work and paid no heed to what he said.
"Mado! You're still mad at me right?" Gingka got down on his knees once again.
Madoka looked up at him when he called her out from the nickname he had given her earlier. "I don't think you have the right to call me that now."
"Come on, Mado! I know you can't stay mad at anyone for long." Gingka smiled at her and tried to cheer her up.
"You barely know me." She kept her gaze glued to the work she was doing.
"Oh but I do." Gingka was acting like a little boy now, asking for forgiveness at any cost.
Madoka left her work and let out a defeated sigh, "I'll accept your apology this time only if you promise not to act this way again, because if you do, forget that I'll ever forgive you again."
"Done!" Gingka beamed, and stood up from his previous position.
"By the way, it's kinda cute when you call me Mado." Madoka winked at the redhead.
"I know it is." He smirked at her.
"But Madoka's better. I like to keep it formal." Madoka smiled widely.
"Jokes apart, Madoka, just…be careful on your trip to Australia." Gingka's tone got dead serious now. The little child inside him was gone.
"You think I'll fall off the plane?" Madoka cracked a joke.
"You're not getting it. Let me be clear and concise; Kyoya is your boss, and he's a great person. We all are aware of his good side but no one has seen his dark side." Gingka explained, his tone remaining the same.
"He has no dark side." Madoka immediately admitted.
"How long have you known him for Madoka? Or how much informal time have you two spent together? One's dark side may not always be inside, but it takes no time for it to get manipulated, so my point is, just stay safe."
"Thank you for your concerns, Gingka, but trust me, Kyoya's not like that, you're having a gut feeling for no reason. In fact, I'm sure that he's going to make sure that I stay comfortable." Madoka assured.
"Let's hope it stays that way." Gingka smiled at the lady in front of him and left her cabin.
A/N: I hope this chapter makes up for the previous one. Things are definitely going to get interested now, so stay tuned.
Next stop: Australia.