Chapter 2

At nine o'clock sharp Kyoya burst open his office door, striding briskly into the outer office, his nimble fingers flying relentlessly on the keyboard of his cell phone as he walked passed Phoebe's desk.

"I have a meeting at nine thirty with the board of trustees at our new office location in Chiyoda Ward, promptly followed by a board meeting at eleven and lunch with my father," he explained even though Phoebe already knew his schedule for the day. His focus still on his phone, he continued toward the elevator as he went on to say, "This afternoon I have to prepare my presentation for tomorrow morning and make sure things are in order before meeting a potential client for drinks at three."

The elevator doors chimed as they swung open. Kyoya immediately stepped inside, turning around to punch the ground floor button before lowering his phone to look at his new secretary for the first time since he'd breezed through. She was still sitting at her desk looking confused and a bit shocked.

Training Hoshi's replacement was going to be a little more annoying than he'd initially thought upon meeting her that morning.

Kyoya stuck his arm out to stop the elevator doors from closing. "Are you coming?" he asked, his tone betraying his annoyance slightly.

"C-coming? I- I'm not su- do you need me to accompany you, Mr. Ootori?" Pheobe stuttered, gawking around the room awkwardly, flustered.

Kyoya flashed his business smile. "Hoshi-san always accompanied me on my outings. In fact-" he paused for emphasis, feigning a thoughtful look before smiling business-like again. "She accompanied me anywhere and everywhere I asked her to. So again. I ask- are you coming?"

Phoebe was out of her chair in an instant, but she lingered at her desk, frantically scanning items on it and on her computer screen as she no doubt searched for things she thought she might need.

"Wh-what about your phone calls?" she asked, grabbing her brief case off of its hook beside her desk. She gathered up a few items from her desk - a pad of paper, pencil, pen, her phone - before rushing to the elevator.

Kyoya withdrew his hand, punching the door-close button twice before returning to typing away on his phone. "They'll take care of that at the front desk," he explained absentmindedly.

"Oh," was Phoebe's only reply as she fumbled to open her briefcase so she could shove the items in her hands inside.

Kyoya heaved a sigh as she continued to fumble with the brief case latch one handed, balancing on one foot as she attempted to use the other leg as a support to rest the brief case on, and struggled not to drop anything in her other hand. He reached over to hold the brief case so she could finally unlatch the thing and put her belongings inside.

"I'm- so sorry!" she apologized, obviously embarrassed to appear so unprepared.

"Nonsense! I didn't give you much warning. You can't expect to be prepared for everything on your first day," he assured, flashing his business smile once again. "Though I hope you'll catch on to all your responsibilities as you have extremely large shoes to fill if you hope to be even half the secretary that Hoshi-san was."

Phoebe visibly flinched at that. "Yes, your father mentioned the same thing," she said, sheepishly taking her brief case from him now that her items were secured inside of it.

So she had spoken to his father.

"We'll need a car once we reach the ground floor," Kyoya explained. Remembering suddenly he reached in his pocket and produced a cell phone, "Oh, and you'll need this."

"A phone?" she asked as she took it from him.

"Yes, your company phone. You must have it with you at all times and always have it on," Kyoya explained. "You never know when I might need you, so make sure you always answer it."

"All the time?" she asked, swiping to unlock the screen so she could begin to familiarize herself with it's display.

"Yes."

"As in-all the time?" she repeated.

Kyoya smiled at her. "Yes."

"Even at night?"
"Even in the earliest hours of the morning," Kyoya emphasized. He smiled. "Don't worry. That shouldn't happen too often."

"I see-" Phoebe replied warily, her voice trailing off as she returned her gaze to the phone.

"You'll find all the contact information you'll need on there, including any apps you might need to utilize," he continued explaining. The elevator doors slid open as they reached the bottom floor. Kyoya lead the way out into the lobby, setting a brisk pace that Phoebe easily matched. "Including an Uber app."

Phoebe looked up as they exited the doors of the building, held open by the doormen, to find Kyoya gesturing to a crowded sidewalk and beyond that, a busy street.

"You'll recall I said we'll need a car when we got in the elevator," he said with exasperation.

Phoebe blinked twice before she realized what he was saying. "Oh! Right, I'm sorry!" she said, clumsily tapping away at her new company phone. "Uber app, car, got it!"

"Hoshi-san typical had the car waiting for us when we got to this point," Kyoya explained with a sigh. "Time spent standing on the sidewalk waiting for transportation is time wasted."

"I-I'm so sorry, Mr. Ootori! It won't happen again. I'll make sure to have a car waiting whenever you need it from now on!"

"I'm sure," Kyoya said skeptically. "You'll catch on- hopefully."

Phoebe winced. "I'm sorry," she said defeated.

Despite a bumpy start to the morning, Phoebe picked up her role as assistant much better as the day progressed. She even had reservations made at the right time and the right restaurant for Kyoya's lunch with his father, which turned out to be a short, awkward, unpleasant affair with both men spending more time talking or typing on their phones than talking to each other, and ended abruptly as one or the other of them excused themselves early to attend to 'other business matters."

Phoebe was forced to witness the whole thing as she sat awkwardly and uncomfortably at the table, constantly checking her watch in eager anticipation of the end of the tense lunch.

Once safely back in the car she was a bit more relaxed.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Kyoya apologized, barely sparing her a glance as he once again buried himself in his phone screen. "My father and I don't have the closest relationship, as you might have noticed, but you'll become accustomed to it."

"I'm sorry," Phoebe replied.

Kyoya gawked at her. "For what?" he asked.

She dropped her gaze to her folded hands in her lap. "About your relationship with your father," she explained.

He stared in confused silence.

"I-I mean, I lost my father several years ago, but we were close. I can't imagine what it's like to be- distant from your father," she said awkwardly.

"Indeed," Kyoya said with an amused smirk. "Well, I don't have the fortune you did with fraternal nurturing, but it's nothing to apologize for. One can't control such things."

Phoebe stared at him almost in horror. "I see," she said, averting her gaze as soon as she realized she was gaping.

"I wonder if I'll have time to make a few phone calls when I get back to the office? You know, before my meeting at three," Kyoya pondered, more to himself than to Phoebe. They spent the rest of the ride in silence, Kyoya diligently conducting business via his phone and Phoebe awkwardly staring out the window. Had he shocked her with his blatant disregard for his father? Offended her because he dismissed her sincere sympathies expressed because of her close relationship with her late father?

As they made their way into the elevator, Phoebe dutifully pushing the button to the one hundredth floor. Kyoya took that moment to consider the woman standing beside him. Not her physical appearance either, he had already assessed that that morning upon first seeing her. No, this time he was focused on her manner, how she carried herself, her presence as it were.

She had a very professional appearance and she carried herself with all confidence. Even with him launching sudden and unexpected requests at her all morning, though she was flustered to some degree, she hadn't let it affect her efficiency to perform the tasks expected of her.

Now though, in the moments it took the elevator to deliver them to their office, she stood beside him with such a contemplative look that he found himself wondering what it was she was considering so seriously.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She jumped, the sudden sound of his voice startling her from her thoughts. "Oh, yes, I'm fine," she said with a polite smile.

"You got quite in the car. Did I say something to offend you?" he asked more out of curiosity than concern, though he tried to have his tone portray it as the latter.

"No! Not at all!" she assured. She took a moment to reflect on their conversation in the car. "I was just thinking about my dad. I'm sorry. I won't let it distract me from my job."

"I see," he said. "You were close to him you said?"

"Very," she replied, a hint of sadness reflected in her eyes.

"How did he die?" he asked.

"Cancer."

"Ah." he said.

And then, "I'm sorry."

Phoebe smiled at him, a playful smirk tugging the corners of her mouth upwards. "One can't control such things, right?" she said, repeating what he'd said earlier in the car.

"You're making a joke out of your fathers death?" he deadpanned.

"N-no! That's not what I- Oh, gosh, I sounded like a real heartless bitch just now, didn't I?" She gasped.

Kyoya smiled genuinely. "Not at all," he said amused. "Levity is often the best comfort for such loss. A friend taught me that." He was thinking of Tamaki. All those years of being forcefully separated from his mother, forbidden to even speak to her, and he still managed to smile, to laugh, to find joy in life.

Phoebe sighed with relief. "I suppose you're right," she said. "But still. I shouldn't have mocked you."
"Oh? You were mocking me?" he teased.

"N-no! I wasn't!" she gasped, horrified as she realized her poor choice of words.

Kyoya chuckled. "Don't worry about it," he said. The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. As he stepped out, headed to his office he added, "I don't take offense. After all, if we can't laugh at ourselves from time to time, then how can you laugh at anybody else?"

He turned to enter his office, pausing as he opened the door. "Oh, and I'll need quiet while I work on my presentation for tomorrow so-"

"I'll hold your calls, Mr. Ootori," Phoebe interrupted with a smile.

Kyoya returned her smile. "You are catching on."

That evening Kyoya strode out of his office, loosening his tie as he went.

"Have a good evening, Mr. Ootori. I hope you have fun at your friend's engagement party!" Phoebe said cheerfully.

But instead of wishing her a good evening and getting onto the elevator he stopped in front of her desk, leaning on it with one hand to look her in the eye. "What are you talking about? You're coming, too, you know."

"Wh-what?" she asked, confused once again.

Kyoya stood up straight, giving her a scrutinizing once-over. "I hope you're not wearing that," he said critically. "After all, it is a party!" He flashed his most charming business-like smile at her.

She gawked up at him, half in shock half in dismay.

"Why do you need a secretary at a social event?" she exclaimed.

Kyoya smiled. "In case I get a business call. I can't very well mingle and socialize properly if I'm interrupted by phone calls."

"Y-you want me to answer your phone?" she gasped.

"And take messages. It's really no different than you've done today," he said. He started for the elevator again. "Now come on. We can swing by your home so you can change into something more appropriate." He punched the button to summon the elevator. Glancing back at her with a smile he said, "Are you coming?"