CHAPTER FIVE
Syaoran glared angrily at Meiling, refusing to take part in the silly game that she's playing. What was she thinking, anyway? She perfectly knew how much she abhors that woman!
"I've had it with your nonsense, Meiling." He scolded her. "I have no time for any of your jokes."
Meiling placed her hands on her hips and looked back at him mockingly. She definitely looks like she is not scared of him. Sakura, on the other hand, could only look at the two of them helplessly. In the first place, when Meiling took her out to help her find a job, she didn't even know that they'd going to end up at the company that Li Syaoran owns! Everything is simply happening too fast for her.
"Does it look like I'm joking, dear cousin?" She scoffed. "I'm dead serious, you know. I've never been this serious in my life."
"You know I don't like her." He snapped back, not caring if Sakura is standing up infront of him, listening to every word that he says.
Sakura flinched slightly at the harshness of his voice. She doesn't want the two cousins to fight just because of her. Besides, she already has enough of his rude attitude back at the mansion. She certainly doesn't want to put up with him even in her work.
"This is a bad idea." Sakura spoke out quietly. "Anyway, I didn't know you own this company, Li. I should go now and try to look for a job somewhere else."
"Hey, you really don't have to go anywhere else!"
"Good riddance! I wished to see you out of here—fast!"
The two spoke out at once. Syaoran glared once more at Meiling while Meiling raised a questioning eyebrow at him.
"Come on, guys. Stop arguing already, okay?" Sakura sighed. "Thank you Meiling for helping me but I surely can find a job—"
Meiling flicked her hand flippantly. "Nah. Don't worry about us. We always get into each other's skin."
"For the first time, you were right about something." Syaoran muttered under his breath.
Meiling continued to speak, ignoring his comments. "And what did I just told you? You were never going to find a decent job with the situation you're currently in."
"B-But I can't work here! You know how much your cousin hated me…"
Syaoran averted his eyes when he saw Sakura glanced his way. He could see the hurt in her face and the sight of it made his insides cringe. Even though he is an immature fool, he never was the type who likes to see a woman cry. And from the look of it, just about right now, Sakura looks like she is about to cry.
With a frustrated groan, he forced his self to look and talk to her.
"Why do you desperately want to get a job?"
Sakura stared at him confusingly. "I really don't want to be a burden to you. I-I thought you made it clear that you wanted me out of your mansion cause you said I am not welcome—"
"Fine. I get your point." He snapped back, not letting her finish her sentence. Somehow, he doesn't want to hear again all the words he just hurled back to her face. He knew he was being an inconsiderate jerk to her and he couldn't help it. He doesn't really trust her easily, or anybody else for that matter. He still has yet to find out if she is really some gold-digger just out to get their money from them or whatever. As far as he is concerned, as of present time, he really just wanted to let her out of his mansion as soon as possible. And the only effective way he could do it is to show to her how much he despises her.
Meiling, hearing Sakura's brief sentence, could only gaze at him in surprise. She was shocked to hear such very rude words from him. Even though she knew beforehand how Syaoran intend to scare her off away, she was still taken by surprise at such bad-manners he had shown her.
"What is happening to you, Syaoran?"
"This is none of your business, Meiling." He retorted, perfectly understanding what she meant by that. "I know what I am doing."
"Whatever. I was just shocked with the way you're acting so childishly." Meiling crossed her arms. "So what now?"
"What do you mean, 'what now'?" Syaoran asked back, noticing Sakura staring down at her shoes, obviously wanting to be somewhere else.
"So when can Sakura start her work here?"
"Have I agreed upon your proposal already?"
"You don't have to agree. Cause you have no choice." She smiled charmingly at him. Boy, how she just loves teasing Syaoran! "Must I remind you that since I am a Li, I also have my own share of stocks of the company?"
"So what does that have anything to do with that?" He asked her incredulously.
Meiling giggled. "Oh, a lot. Besides, I knew how you badly needed a new secretary right now. From the look of your face, I'd say, you are not happy with the way she's doing her job."
Syaoran stood up, so that he is standing face-to-face with her. He dug his hands in both his pockets and walked slowly towards Meiling.
"I am the one to do my own decisions, Meiling. Not you." He said indifferently.
"But it seems like you haven't been making the right decisions lately. Or haven't you notice?" She smirked. "Sakura's perfect for the job. Besides, she already has experience with it. Isn't that right, Sakura?"
Sakura looked at Meiling in surprise, when she realized that she was speaking to her. She have been standing like a post ever since she entered his office and was hoping all the time that she could get out of the room as soon as possible.
"Yes. I've worked as a secretary before in one of the business firms in Japan." She replied, making sure to look only at Meiling's face. She could feel Syaoran's eyes staring hard at her, penetrating her soul, as if deciding if he should believe her or not.
"See? What did I just tell you?" Meiling smiled widely. "So, when can she start?"
"Why are you doing this to me, Meiling?" Syaoran whispered through gritted teeth.
"Do you really want me to say it to you, right now?" She whispered back, looking at him innocently. Oh, she definitely has a lot of things to say to him. Like her matchmaking plan, for example.
"Never mind." He shook his head frustratingly. He turned to look at Sakura and scowl her way. "I need her resume by tomorrow."
"So does that mean…I could start my work tomorrow?" Sakura asked meekly. She is hopeful that she could start her work soon. Even though her work means having to see Syaoran for almost the whole day, she has no choice but to do it, most especially because she wanted to prove to him that she's not a worthless girl who just happened to suddenly turned up one day at their doorsteps.
"Do I have a choice?" He growled. "I still have to tell my soon to be former secretary, Melissa, about my decision."
If only Syaoran was not treating her so badly, Sakura could just come up to him and hug him out of sheer happiness.
"Oh, thank you very, very much, Li. Or should I say, Sir Li?"
He frowned. "Call me Li. You're still not working under me and I preferred to be called by that. However, when you're on your job, call me Sir."
"Yes. I understand." Sakura nodded.
"I think it's a good idea to give her a tour of the office so she could familiarize herself with the place." Meiling mused out loud.
"Sure. Do what you want." Syaoran turned around and walked backed to his seat.
"Well, we should go now Sakura! I still have a lot of things to tell you about!" Meiling stated enthusiastically, returning back to her bubbly self. She took a firm grab of Sakura's wrist and led her out of the room. Just as they were about to close the door behind them, they heard Syaoran's authoritative voice spoke once more.
"Meiling. Could I talk to you alone?"
Sakura gave Meiling a worried glance. "Uh-oh! He seems not too happy about it."
Meiling smiled at her knowingly.
"I'm used to his grim face." She laughed. "Just you wait here and I'll be back in a flash."
Meiling went back to Syaoran's office and found her cousin, looking at her as if he'd just about to kill her.
"You owe me one, Li Meiling." Syaoran spoke at once, when she entered his room.
"You're so wrong, Li Syaoran." She answered back, in the same manner that he spoke to her. "You are the one who owe me one."
He looked at her curiously, as if she just lost her mind.
"What are you talking about? Geez…you sure are getting worse as each day passes by!"
"You'd know what I meant by that eventually." She grinned. "Oh by the way, be cautious about hating Sakura too much, you know?"
"Ha! Why should I do that? She should be the one who have to get cautious about my wrath!"
She shrugged. "Nothing. I just read an article somewhere about a very true observation regarding hatred."
"And what is that, may I ask?" He smirked.
"Hate is the first cousin to love." Meiling finished off, smiling at Syaoran meaningfully.
~~~~~~~~~~~~*OoO*~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sakura is definitely nervous right now. Here she is, waiting anxiously for the elevator to stop at the floor where Syaoran's office is located. Somehow, she suddenly feels as if working under him is not a good idea.
= Calm down, Sakura. You've lived with the guy, what's there to be scared of about him? =
She remembered last night how Syaoran seems to refuse to talk to her even more and avoided her like the plague. He was so silent and aloof yesterday that she almost wished he would talk, or more like, argue with her, than just plain ignore her. If he was not speaking to her, then he was looking her way angrily. She couldn't help thinking that maybe Syaoran thought she manipulated his cousin to get a job at his company that's why he looks so mad at her.
When the elevator finally stopped at her floor, she couldn't help but feel more dreadful as she passes by several doors, walking towards his office.
Mr. Li Syaoran
Chief Executive Officer
Li CorporationShe took a halt when she reached the door with a golden plate bearing his name. With a deep sigh, she opened the door tentatively, as if not wanting to make a noise.
"Oh my—" She shrieked, when she noticed Syaoran sitting at the secretary's chair, obviously waiting for her. She was expecting him to be inside his private nook and not in the receiving lounge.
"Who are you expecting? Somebody else?" Syaoran asked, the tone of his voice almost that of amusement.
"No…" She paused. "I just thought you were inside your office."
"So it seems like you were wrong." Syaoran stood up briskly. "I am just checking to see if you are going to arrive on time."
Sakura instinctively glanced at her watch. She has always been a person who has a hard time getting up in her bed but this day is different. Because she wasn't able to sleep well for the whole night, thinking too much of how today's going to be, she managed to wake up very early in the morning.
"You're fifteen minutes before the time. That's good." Syaoran continued, speaking to her neutrally.
Sakura cautiously made her way to her table, making sure to avoid Syaoran, who is currently standing beside it.
"So, do you have anything to do for me…Sir?" She asked, emphasizing the last word.
He scowled. "There's still time, Ms. Kinomoto. Working hours are not yet starting. Besides, you do not have a lot of work to do today."
"Well, I just wanted to start right away with my work." Sakura replied in a business-like manner.
"You don't have to impress me, you know. Because whatever you do, I'm not going to be impressed by you." He smirked. "Ooops…don't worry, I will try my best not to argue with you during our working hours. I certainly don't want my day to start off in a bad mood. And I'm pretty much sure you don't want that too."
Sakura stared at him questioningly, wondering silently to herself what made him talk to her again. She almost thought that he would never speak to her again, with the way he's acting towards her last night, but it seems like he's out to ridicule her once more.
"Besides, when we're inside the company's premises, we have this employer-employee relationship. I wished for that relationship to be as business-like as possible." Syaoran continued. "And may I remind you too, Ms. Kinomoto that you're still under probation. If I am not satisfied with your performance, or if I saw just a single piece of loophole in your job, you're out of this company."
"I understand." She replied quietly, hoping he'd go to his office now.
"And please, do your best to keep unwanted visitors away. I hope you could get that guts you have," Syaoran spatted out, to which Sakura understood what he meant by it. "…to your work. You know how I admire your guts soo much." He said with sarcasm.
"Don't worry, I'm going to do all those things you've reminded me." Sakura replied evenly. "Maybe far more better than what you expect me to do."
"Good." Syaoran finally walked away from her table and walked towards the direction of his office. "You may now do your job. You have all the lists of your work you have to do already listed in the computer. I expect you to accomplish all of it."
As soon as Sakura heard him closed the door behind him, a relieved sigh escaped from her lips.
"That was not…bad." She couldn't help speaking out softly. She was expecting more argument or whatever coming from him, but it seems like Syaoran is serious with his job. That Syaoran he knew back at the mansion seems so different from the Syaoran working in his company. Somehow, she likes his serious attitude much better.
Sakura checked out her tasks for the day. It seems like she's going to type a lot of documents today. She hurriedly sorted out the pile of papers on her desk and typed right away. She was always like that; even in her previous work, she is the type of person who is bent on getting the job done as fast and as efficiently as possible. It's certainly one of the best qualities about her, as what her previous employer said.
It must've been with too much work that, when Sakura glanced at the wall clock infront of her, she was almost surprised that it's almost near lunchtime already. She is definitely preoccupied with her job that time flew by so fast without her realizing it. She was thankful that Syaoran didn't go out of his office the whole time just to say something mean to her.
A sudden ringing of the telephone startled her. The room is too silent that she was taken by surprise when the phone rang.
"Hello, Li Corporations. Good Morning. What can I do for you?" She asked enthusiastically.
"Could I speak to Syaoran, please?" A woman's voice said on the other line.
"May I know who's on the other line?"
"Tell him it's Jessica." The person on the other line said arrogantly.
"Ma'm, may I know your intention for calling him?"
"What are you talking about?!? Is Syaoran that hard to talked to this past few days now?" Jessica practically shouted on the other end of the line, making Sakura flinched with her voice. "You don't need to ask me what's my intention for calling him! That's none of your damn business!"
"But ma'm, I'm his secretary doing his job. He carefully told me to screen everyone who wants to see and talk to him." Sakura replied calmly.
"That's new!" Jessica remarked sarcastically. "Tell him it's his girlfriend and I need to talk to him right now!"
Sakura couldn't help raising a eyebrow at such bossy attitude she's showing to her. She was also taken by surprise that Syaoran has a girlfriend. Meiling didn't mention something like that yesterday nor Syaoran looks like he has one.
"Well, please hold on for a minute." She answered, pressing back the hold button before Jessica could speak. She hastily pressed the button to Syaoran's line.
"Sir, somebody wants to talk to you on the phone."
"Who is it?" His deep voice answered distractedly on the other line.
"It's Jessica."
"Jessica--?"
"She said she's your girlfriend." She couldn't help pointing out. She tried to bit her lip from saying that too sarcastically.
"Girlfriend?!? I don't have a ---" Syaoran paused abruptly, as if he remembered something. Sakura could hear him practically sighing on the other end of the line. "Oh, fine. Let me talk to her."
"Okay." She replied, feeling suddenly annoyed. She pressed a button so she could talk to Jessica again.
"Ma'm Jessica, I'll connect your line to Sir Li so you could talk to him now."
"At last! Wait till he hears his stupid secretary—"
Sakura cut her off and connected her whiny voice to Syaoran's line. God! She never thought how irritating a person could get just by talking to her over the phone! What more if she saw her personally?
Just when she thought that no more calls are going to interrupt her work, another ring pierced the entire room.
= Aargh. This time I hope it's for business and not for any of Syaoran's personal affairs. = She scowled.
"Hello, Li Corporations. Good Morning. What can I do for you?" She asked once more.
"Hi. This is Daidouji Tomoyo from the Daidouji Enterprise in Japan. I'm calling for an important business transaction. Could I please have a word with the president of Li Corporations?"
"Tomoyo?!?" Sakura asked in amazement.
"Who is this---Sakura?!?" Tomoyo asked on the other end of the line. "Why are you there? You mean to say you're working for the Li's?"
"Hai! I was supposed to call you but a lot of things happened…" She replied. "What business transactions are you talking about anyway?"
"It's about a project proposal to him. About our software and stuffs like that." Tomoyo explained. "Guess what?!? I have great news for you!"
"What is it?"
"I'm coming over there tomorrow! If you're working there then we could see each other again. Isn't that nice?"
"That's great!" Sakura smiled happily. It seems like Tomoyo is going to be in Hongkong, too! It would certainly be a blast hanging out with her bestfriend again. At least, that will ease the homesickness she's feeling.
~~~~~
kotsch
A/N: So Tomoyo's going to enter the scene, huh?!? Woo-hoo!!!! More scheming plans ahead! Anyway, thank you very much to all the wonderful people who reviewed in the last chapter. Because of your nice reviews, I got the urge to this chappy right away! And you know how slow I am with updating…@_@ But what the heck, I managed to do a chapter. Although it may seem short, still it's one chapter out for you to read. Well, more actions coming up in the next chapters! Hope you'd still stay with me! Ja! And oh—please review, k?!?
