This chapter is mainly about Estelle's new job as Rex Goodwin's secretary. It might not be so exciting, but there will be some drama. The chapter is inspired by the manhua "Honey, Don't Run Away" by Dong Man She.

Estelle's secretary outfit can be found on my DeviantArt account.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 35: The Work of a Secretary

I sat in front of the mirror of my white dresser as I brushed my hair. Today was my first day as Goodwin's secretary in Sector Security, and if I told someone I was nervous they wouldn't believe me because I looked so calm on the outside. I was dressed in a white elbow-length blouse with a long black ribbon tied around the collar, navy blue button-down jacket, slightly darker navy blue pencil skirt, a pair of black three centimeter high heels, and a pair of three-jewel earrings colored in three different shades of grey. I looked just like any other secretary in this outfit. I wasn't the type who liked wearing short skirts, like Mina's as an example, so I felt comfortable with this pencil skirt.

I finished brushing my hair and picked up a portion to make a half-ponytail to look more sophisticated. I didn't want to give my new colleagues a bad impression, but I had a feeling I wasn't going to be welcomed by everyone. There were always "bad" people in each workplace that looked down on others or were jealous or simply wanted to give others a hard time. It wasn't that much of a difference when I compared it to the bullying I had endured at school when I was a child.

I turned my head left to right to make sure the half-ponytail looked okay. I stood up from the dresser and walked over to the coffee table where my brown briefcase containing some documents was waiting for me. I picked it up and headed to the door to get some breakfast, but I stopped by the threshold. I turned my eyes to a display case in a corner of my room to admire my crystal trophy I won at the Daedalus Bridge Tournament the other day with Yusei. Yusei and I ended up becoming the duo that won the tournament and we each got a crystal trophy. Yusei had asked me to look after his trophy while he, Jack, and Crow were trying to find a place to live. He didn't want his trophy to accidently break while packing his stuff.

There was also a picture frame resting next to the two trophies with a photo taken by Carly. It was when Yusei and I had accepted our trophies and held each other's hands, raising them up to the sky with a smile on our faces while colorful confetti rained around us. It had been an incredible day that I was going to remember for a lifetime. I had participated in other contests in my world as a child before, but I had never won a prize.

I threw a small smile at the picture before I stepped out of my room and shut the door.

XXXXXXXXXX

I walked behind Goodwin as we stepped into the Sector Security building. I could feel curious eyes staring at me from the people around us. I felt a bit shy and kept my eyes on Goodwin's back as we walked to the elevators. He pressed the up button and the elevator in front of us dinged before it opened. The two of us stepped inside with some other people. Goodwin pressed another button inside the elevator as the other people pressed the buttons to their designated floors.

I braced myself as the elevator started moving upward. I wasn't actually a big fan of elevators. You could say I had a bit of claustrophobia. What made the trip endurable was I could see the outside as there was a long window next to me. The sky was clear with a few birds flying around. I tried distracting me with the view as I felt eyes staring at me again.

When Goodwin and I reached the highest floor, there were only two more people with us. The floor looked like those offices I used to read about in one of my favorite Korean manhua. It wasn't as futuristic as I expected, but it looked like a normal office floor. There were separate desks with computers where several people sat and worked with important documents, both men and women. There was barely any sound and loud noises around, but a few stood up from their seats and bowed to Goodwin and wished him a good morning. Goodwin nodded in return as we walked past them.

We walked to a door, which I suspected it led to Goodwin's office, but before the door was a desk that had been prepared for me to use, a bit secluded from the other desks. There was a computer and a phone that I could use to call or receive messages from Goodwin and someone else in the building.

"This is your desk", he told me as we stopped in front of it.

I looked at it for a second, hesitating a bit, before I slowly placed my briefcase on the desk next to the computer. "So… What am I supposed to do now?"

It sounded like a silly question, but I was completely new with this kind of job. Even if I had read every book for the administration course I took, I still didn't know what to do. I needed a bit of help to get started. I needed concrete directives.

"Since you've never worked in administration before, as you told me, I've assigned Mina as your assistant and help you get into it", Goodwin explained. "So don't worry about getting any difficult assignments. I'll give you one week to get used to the work, and then I'll 'test' you."

"Okay", I nodded.

"Sorry for making you wait!"

I turned around and saw Mina waving her hand as she approached me and Goodwin. She moved her hand down and bowed to Goodwin. "Good morning, Director."

"Good morning, Mina", Goodwin nodded. "I entrust you to teach Estelle this week. If a problem arises, let me know."

"Yes, Director", Mina nodded.

Goodwin turned to me with a small smile. "Take your time and keep asking if there's something you don't understand."

"Yes, Director", I replied, making sure to act in a respectful way in front of everyone.

With that said, Goodwin entered his office and left me and Mina alone.

"Now then, shall we begin?" Mina asked.

"Yes please", I nodded before I walked around the desk to settle down on the seat in front of the computer.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mina showed me the basics of all the programs on the computer, especially those I was unfamiliar with. The other programs were just the same as those I used to have on my old laptop in my dimension. She taught me what to do and work with while I had no jobs assigned by either Goodwin or someone with an equal status, like Lazar, or head chiefs from different departments within Sector Security.

The time went ticking that I didn't realize it was time for lunch until Mina spoke up. "Let's take a break and have lunch."

I snapped out of the trance I fell into and ripped my eyes from the screen. "What?"

Mina giggled at my reaction. "It's time for lunch. You were so into work you forgot about the time."

I glanced down at the bottom right corner of the screen and saw the time was indeed midday. Now I also heard the other employees talking about what they were getting for lunch.

"Three hours already passed by? Wow…", I couldn't help but be surprised by it. I came to work around 9 a.m. and now it was lunchtime.

"Let's save your work before we head down to the cafeteria", Mina told me.

I saved the progress on the documents I started working on and shut down the computer. I grabbed my purse from the briefcase and followed Mina to the elevators where a crowd was waiting to get down to the ground floor. I felt a bit uncomfortable to see so many people and the elevators were quite small… I would feel suffocated if I tried to squeeze myself among my colleagues.

"Can we wait until there aren't so many people, Mina…?" I whispered to her.

"Uh… Sure, but why?" Mina blinked confusedly.

"I have a bit of claustrophobia and it will get worse with so many people in the elevator…", I explained.

Mina's eyes widened in realization and nodded. "Okay. We'll wait until there are barely any people left."

We waited around five minutes until there were just the two of us. The elevator was empty at the time we stepped into it, but it did make a few stops to let more people in, but there weren't as many as in the early rush. I felt relieved to get out of the elevator when we reached the ground floor.

Mina led me to Sector Security's huge cafeteria where I got surprised by the sight of the interior. It had a similar feeling to the floor where I was working. It didn't look like futuristic as I first anticipated. There were colors that melted together into a nice harmony like a normal cafeteria. There were a few windows and a path that led out to a small garden where people could eat outside or lit a cigarette.

I looked at the menu of dishes. It felt like the cafeteria had everything; they had all from eastern to western dishes.

"Have you decided?" Mina asked after two minutes of silence.

I rubbed my chin before nodding. "I think I'll have the omrice. I've never eaten one before, so I wonder how it tastes."

Mina and I got our lunch before we walked over to a table that was furthest away from the other tables. It was a bit loud for my senses and I wanted a little peace and enjoy lunch. Besides the omrice, I got a cup of black tea and a small salad on the side. Mina only got a small sized salad and a cup of water for lunch.

We sat down by the table and started eating. I sliced a piece of the omelet wrapped around the rice and saw there were bits of chicken and other vegetables mixed among the grains. I scooped up some with the fork and took a bite of the dish. My eyes widened in surprise as the flavors in my mouth danced around in a perfect balance.

"It's really good", I said after I swallowed the food. "I didn't expect that."

"I'm glad you're not disappointed", Mina giggled. "The Director has appointed the best chefs to make sure the dishes are healthy and full of nourishment for the employees. After all, the patrols work most effective when they're healthy."

"So true", I nodded before I took another bite of my food.

"So this is where you girls are hiding, huh?" a familiar voice spoke up.

Mina and I turned our heads to see Trudge and Kazuma had reached our table with one tray each in their hands.

"Hi, Trudge and Kazuma", I smiled as I moved aside to make room for one of the men to sit next to me.

"You guys haven't eaten yet?" Mina asked.

"We just came back from the patrol and decided to take a quick bite", Trudge explained as he sat down next to Mina.

"Did anything happen during the patrol?" I asked as Kazuma sat down next to me.

"No. Everything was okay", Kazuma shook his head before he picked up a fork to eat his plate of spaghetti and meatballs.

"How're you doing, Estelle?" Trudge wondered. "You doin' your best to be Goodwin's secretary?"

"Mina is a good teacher", I nodded, giving said woman a quick smile. "Thanks to her, I'll ready for the big test next week."

"A big test?" Kazuma looked up from his food with confused eyes while his mouth was stained by tomato sauce.

"Director Goodwin said he will give Estelle a test to see how fast she's learned how to be a secretary", Mina explained. "None of us know what this test will contain."

"Well, you better not disappoint Goodwin, Estelle", Trudge said. "Many have tried to get promoted by Goodwin to become his personal secretary and assistant, but so far he's only had two in total."

"Just two?" I mumbled in slight surprise before I took a sip of my tea.

"Yeah, the first one was when Goodwin became the Director of Sector Security", Trudge explained. "She stayed for around ten years before she had to retire due to family issues. The second secretary was Mina and she worked for him in three years before she was assigned to look after Jack. After that, Goodwin didn't have a third secretary, so that desk had been empty for two or three years now. A few women tried taking things far by using their feminine charm and make him promote them for the position, but he fired them instead."

"I guess there are still women around who want the 'better' position for money and honor", Kazuma shook his head as he played with the fork in his hand. "You better be careful, Estelle. Some might try to make fun of you or try to make you get fired."

"I know, and I'm ready to face them", I nodded. "I've been through bullying when I was a child, so this isn't that much of a difference. You could say the bullying in the past became a big treasure for me as an adult; I know how to deal with bullies and not let them win in the end. And if it comes down to the worst… I'll just Duel them with my loyal dragons and scare them away."

"Atta girl!" Trudge laughed heartedly.

XXXXXXXXXX

The whole week passed by so fast that it was already a new week. Mina had taught me everything she could plus a few tricks, so I was ready to face the challenge Goodwin had prepared for me. I didn't work full-time because I got very exhausted once I got home and was not be able to do anything else. It was part of my autism; my brain would go into lockdown after several hours of concentration, and my head would feel heavy for the rest of the day, so I only worked six hours a day; from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

I was called into Goodwin's office shortly after I arrived to work, but I had to tell you; I was a bit nervous for the task.

"Have you settled in, Estelle?" he wondered.

"More or less", I confessed. "But I'm ready for the heavy duty."

"Good", Goodwin nodded. "There's a senior executives' meeting at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. Prepare the meeting materials for me, and print out the monthly crimes data of the last five years."

Oh dear… That was certainly a big challenge. The data records were stored on the computer and also in account books, but if I wanted to make sure everything was correct, I had to get the books and compare that data with the one on the computer. If I wanted to complete a job, I wanted to do it flawlessly.

"Yes, Director", I bowed before leaving the office.

I hurried to the account book storage and got some help to find the books I needed before walking back to my desk. I walked past my colleagues' desks while I heard them whispering to each other, some of their voices sounding nice, curious, or arrogant.

"She's probably up for the test now. The Director always does that to his new secretaries…"

"I wonder if she's gonna make it…"

"Phh! I'm sure she's gonna pass just 'cause she's the adopted daughter and not 'cause of her own efforts…"

"I'm not so sure about that. Didn't you watch the Fortune Cup? If she's so serious about Dueling, she must be a serious woman with her job as well…"

I ignored the gossiping as I walked to my desk. I dumped the account books next to the computer and walked around the desk to settle down on my seat. I had no time to waste; I had to finish everything today for the meeting. There was a lot to go through.

Just as I started the computer, I heard my smartphone ringing like a bell. It meant I had received a message. I picked up the phone from my jacket and saw it was Yusei and the others who had sent a couple of messages. I opened the Line app and couldn't help but smile when I read the messages. Yesterday, we had a small gathering by a café to talk and I had told them about the "test". Now, they were encouraging me to do my best.

Luna: Good luck, Estelle. I know you can do it.

Leo: I hate tests, but if you pass yours, I'll pass mine too! ^_^

Aki: Don't panic and do your best, Estelle. And Leo… Her test is not like yours at school. -_-

Crow: Hey, I may be not the smartest, but I'm rootin' for ya! *thumbs up emoji*

Jack: Break a leg.

Yusei: I don't know what this test is about, but you can do it. You're a very capable woman.

I held back a giggle when I read Jack's comment. He sure didn't use many words to express his feelings, but his comment was still funny. Yusei's comment made my heart soar in the sky.

Estelle: Thank you, everyone. Do your best today too. :)

Once I sent the message, I put away the smartphone and opened a document program on my computer to start working. This task could take several hours and maybe I couldn't even take a lunchbreak.

XXXXXXXXXX

As I suspected, I had to skip lunch, so I took a cup of tea and some biscuits that were available by the coffee machine. But that wasn't the worst; I had to work overtime. However, I was almost done with everything around 8 in the evening. The sky outside was already dark with the moon visible. The office was pretty much empty, so I was the only one left, or so I thought.

I was on my way back to my desk with the fresh-printed documents for tomorrow's meeting. All I had left to do was to staple and put them away. I was inwardly happy that the work was finally done.

I grabbed a stapler I found in the drawer and stapled the documents after sorting and putting them in correct order. Once that was done, I put the documents in another drawer of my desk and hurried to the storage to put back the account books.

When I walked back, I was greeted by Goodwin who appeared to be waiting for me. He didn't look so tired, which I suspected it was because he was used to work twenty-four hours a day.

"Director…?" I mumbled softly.

"Have you finished your task?" Goodwin wondered.

"Yes", I nodded as I sat down in front of the computer. "I just need to log out and then we can leave…if you were waiting for me."

Goodwin gave me a tiny smile. "I wouldn't want my daughter to stay alone here in the late evening."

I removed a flash drive I had inserted into the computer to copy the files and keep them safe in case someone dared to sneak around in my computer. I put the rest of my stuff in my briefcase and shut down the computer before standing up.

"You made copies of the files?" Goodwin asked as we walked to the elevator.

"Yes", I nodded. "I just want to keep everything safe."

Goodwin nodded, "Estelle, because of tomorrow's meeting, I need to be here at 8 a.m. You want to come with me to prepare the last things then?"

"Yes please", I replied before my stomach growled heavily, causing me to blush hard.

Goodwin chuckled. "I've asked the chef to prepare a warm dinner for us. I may want you to do your best, but you can't jeopardize your health and ignore lunch."

"I'm sorry…", I looked down at the floor as we waited for the elevator. "I just wanted to get done with the job."

"I promise you there won't be any more hard tasks, but you need to be ready for any sudden tasks that may come."

"I will."

XXXXXXXXXX

I woke up with a heavy stomach as if I was getting a feeling something was wrong. I didn't know what it was, but I suspected it had something to do with my job. I went with Goodwin to Sector Security and hurried to my desk and opened the drawer where I put away the documents last night.

They were missing.

I turned on my computer and logged in fast to check the program and files I had used. The only files that were missing were the ones I needed for today's meeting. I also checked the recycle bin and it was empty.

I walked to the paper shredder machines and noticed the trash bins next to them already had some shredded paper. I could tell by the first glance those were my documents. Someone was holding a grudge against me and wanted to make sure I failed the test to prove to everyone at Sector Security that I was an incapable person and not suited as a secretary. What they didn't know was I had the flash drive as backup for emergencies like this.

I opened the briefcase and picked up the flash drive, which I inserted into the computer. I sat down on the chair and started quickly working to print out new documents and staple them.

"Oh my, you came so early in the morning", a feminine voice spoke in a sarcastic manner. "Trying to get more brownie-points from the Director?"

My right eyebrow twitched a bit as I recognized the voice. I looked up and came face to face with one of the old candidates who tried to become Goodwin's secretary. She was three years older than me, was unusually short, but she was only tall because of her black five-inch heels. She had pale skin, long and curly reddish hair, and sickening green eyes. She was dressed in an outfit that I could only gag at in disgust. She was dressed in a top that had a very deep cut that revealed not just her cleavage but also half of her D-cup melons. Her name was Himekoji Natsumi. I was absolutely certain she was the daughter of the old Yu-Gi-Oh! Toei anime character Himekoji Kaoruko due to their similar looks, last name, and personality.

I turned my eyes back at the computer screen, not wanting to waste my precious time at my colleague. "I'm finishing the last touches for the meeting."

Natsumi snorted nonchalantly and walked away from my desk, but not without throwing one last comment. "Good luck, if you can manage that!"

I resisted the urge of rolling my eyes and shake my head at her. Another thing I didn't like about Natsumi was the strong perfume she was using. It was almost like she was trying to hide all the different odors on her skin by drowning herself with the strong rose and lavender perfume. How could those two scents even work together? The scent was overwhelming I had to grab a cup of coffee to smell and neutralize the perfume that remained in my nostrils.

I copied the files from the flash drive to the document program and quickly printed them. I removed the flash drive before walking over to the printer to make sure the bully wouldn't steal them from me while I wasn't looking.

I grabbed the documents and stapled them as fast as the wind. Luckily, there was still fifteen minutes left when I was done with everything. I could go with the documents and prepare the conference room where the meeting was going to take place.

I took the elevator down a few floors and carried the stapled documents to the conference room. A few executives from different departments had already arrived and sat around the table. I greeted them with a slight bow before I placed the documents on the table by each seat. Once I placed the last stapled document, I walked over to a corner and stayed there.

More people walked into the room and Zigzix and Lazar were two of them. Zigzix acknowledged my presence with a bow while Lazar completely ignored me. I didn't take any offence to it as I knew what kind of character the clown was.

The last person to arrive was Goodwin himself. Everyone else who had settled down by the table stood up and greeted him with bows. Goodwin walked around the table and stood by the head of it.

"Please be seated", Goodwin told them.

Everyone sat down on their seats again. I remained in the corner as Goodwin picked up his documents, checking each page quickly. I hoped deep inside that I had done a good job and I passed his test.

XXXXXXXXXX

The meeting took three hours, so it was over by lunchbreak. Goodwin and I headed back to the top floor, but we went to his office to talk about the test. I stood in front of his desk as he sat down on his seat. My heart beat in a fast rhythm as I waited for the result.

"Well, Estelle…", Goodwin began, making me more nervous.

"Yes…?"

Goodwin had a poker face before his lips turned into a tiny smile. "You did well."

I released my breath that I didn't realize I had been holding back this whole time. "I'm glad to hear that, Director."

It was then Goodwin got serious and intertwined his hands with a stern look. "However, I've been informed you worked in a hasty pace the hour before the meeting and the ink on the paper was still a bit damp. Would you care to explain?"

Okay, I guess it was time for me to tell him. "When I checked the drawer where I put the finished documents last night, they were missing. I found them shredded and the files on my computer were erased. So I used the backup I prepared yesterday to quickly print the documents and stapled them. I didn't have enough time to wait for the ink to dry."

"Someone tried sabotaging for you?" Goodwin questioned with a glare.

"I believe so."

"Do you know who it could be?"

Goodwin looked ready to storm out, find the bully and fire them, but I didn't want to cause a scene right now. I was new at the job and if Goodwin did something recklessly, everyone would think I was getting special treatment because I was his adopted daughter and that would be unfair.

"I don't want to cause a huge mess out of this", I argued. "I'm sure this was a one-time thing and now that they've seen they weren't able to bully me, they might think twice next time."

Goodwin's eyes softened a little before nodding. "If you say so. Still, I'm proud of you to handle such sudden things, just like a true secretary. Now, hurry and eat lunch. I don't want my secretary to faint due to hunger."

"Don't worry; that will never happen", I giggled before leaving the office for lunch.