Asami -

"You were very quiet in there, Asami," Varrick sneered, as we both left the meeting room. "Not hiding any more pointless meetings with other offices from me, I hope?"

I was sorely tempted to reach across and strangle his scrawny neck but restrained myself. I managed a wry smile. "Well, you know what they say," I began, with a pointed look. "It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt."

He narrowed his eyes at me, seemingly unsure how to respond. "I want the minutes on my desk by the end of the day," he commanded, before striding off down the hall. I sighed.

This morning had been torture. I had Paris breathing down my neck over a web design (and price) they were unhappy with, I had to sit through an inter-departmental meeting that consisted of little more than Varrick lecturing us all for nearly three hours, and then there was Korra.

Korra. What was that girl doing to me? Was it impossible for me to go even one day any more without embarrassing myself in front of her? I spent a disproportionate amount of time during my meeting trying not to think about how good it felt to have her strong arm holding me up on those stairs. Holding me close.

"Zhu Li, could you have these typed up for me as soon as possible, please?" I said, handing my scribbled minutes to my assistant, en route to my office.

"Of course, I'll have them done by this afternoon," she dutifully replied. "Do you want me to pick you up something for lunch?"

Any time somebody mentions food, all I can think about are bagels. "No, thank you. I'll just grab some coffee." Zhu Li gave me a strange look. "What?" I frowned.

"Nothing," she said, unconvincingly. "I'll start typing these up."

I continued to stare at my assistant for a moment as she began tapping away on the computer keyboard, before I entered my office and closed the door behind me.

I had a mountain of work to do but I couldn't seem to get my mind focused on any of it. I sat staring blankly at my computer screen while my mind replayed the events of the morning. Several times I stood up and paced around my office in a bid to shake the thoughts away, but to no avail. Paris, Korra, Varrick, Korra, Paris, Korra, Korra…

I heaved a sigh of frustration when I caught sight of the remnants of my phone at the corner of my desk. I would have to leave early today and get another new one. I couldn't be without a cell phone. Just as I was debating the amount of money I was willing to spend, my intercom sounded and Zhu Li's voice came through.

"I have those minutes typed up and printed for you, Asami, would you like me to bring them in?" She said, sounding altogether too cheerful. How long had I been daydreaming?

"Yes, please."

My assistant glided through the door with a smile and left the document in front of me. "Oh!" She exclaimed, her eyes focusing on the corner of my desk. "What happened to your phone?" I rolled my eyes.

"I dropped it down the stairs in my apartment building." It wasn't a lie. It wasn't the whole truth either. "I'll be leaving a bit earlier than usual today to get a new one."

"My brother works at the Apple store. If you like, I can go with you and get you a good discount."

I simply stared at Zhu Li, a bit taken aback. She said it so matter-of-fact you would have thought she was talking to her best friend, not her boss. I straightened myself up in the chair.

"Why would you do that?" I asked, genuinely curious.

She simply smiled at me. "Why wouldn't I do that?"

I frowned. What kind of an answer was that? There were a hundred reasons why she wouldn't. "Because I'm your boss."

It was now Zhu Li's turn to frown in confusion. "So?"

"So…" I trailed of, trying to think of a way to articulate all the red flags in my mind. I didn't socialise with work colleagues. Ever. It just didn't happen. Whether they were equals or subordinates made no difference. What's more, nobody I worked with had ever expressed a desire to interact with me outside of the office. "I just…"

"Okay," Zhu Li interrupted gently, moving to sit down on the chair in front of my desk. She folded her hands in her lap and smiled at me again. "If it's easier for you, just think of it as me doing you a favour that I'm not getting paid for."

In a strange way that did make it easier for me. She was my assistant after all. She would simply be assisting me in purchasing a new phone. I leaned forward and rested my elbows against the table. "I suppose I could live with that."

"Wonderful!" She beamed. "What time do you want to leave?"

Xxxx

At 4:15PM, Zhu Li and I were standing in the middle of the Apple store and I felt afraid to touch anything. "Wait here, I'll go get Desna," she said, presumably referring to her brother. "Start looking around."

I hate these kinds of places. I hate any type of store that you can't just go in to, pick something off a shelf, pay for it and leave. There is always some commission driven sales rep in their early twenties wearing too much cologne trying to sell you something you don't want or need. I just hoped Zhu Li came back with her brother before I had to deal with that.

I started to peruse some of the models, looking mainly at price rather than specs. "Good eye," I heard a male voice say from behind me. I turned to see Zhu Li standing beside who I assumed was her brother.

"I'm not paying $800 for a cell phone," I said, looking straight at him.

He burst out laughing and extended his hand. "Why don't we start with introductions? My name is Desna."

"Asami," I replied, shaking his hand, mildly embarrassed at my outburst. "You're Zhu Li's brother?"

"I am indeed. And I have been advised to forego the small talk and get straight down to business. What model did you have before?" Desna asked, switching seamlessly into work mode.

I glanced quickly towards Zhu Li who gave a shrug and an encouraging smile. I found myself smiling gratefully back at her before explaining my situation to Desna.

Less than fifteen minutes later I was standing at the cash register with a new phone and a twenty percent discount. Not bad. Turns out shopping with Zhu Li is pretty painless. Just as I was starting to think this day hadn't been a complete write off, I heard my name being called.

"Asami?" I swung my head round and stared in shock at the familiar man. "I thought that was you."

"Bolin." I stated, sounding bewildered even to myself. I could feel my heartbeat in my ears. "What are you doing here?" What a stupid question.

"Oh, I just like to look at expensive, shiny things I can't afford every so often," he joked, a schoolboy grin on his face.

"I do the same thing at Dolce & Gabbana," Zhu Li said from beside me, her hand suddenly outstretched towards him. "I'm Zhu Li, Asami's assistant."

If Bolin was surprised by her forwardness he didn't show it. "Well, hello Zhu Li, I'm Bolin. Asami and I have a friend in common," he replied, shaking her hand and holding onto it longer than necessary.

What is happening?

"Here's your card back and your receipt, Asami," Desna said from behind me, drawing my attention back to him.

"Oh, yes, thank you very much," I replied, slightly flustered.

"Any problems just come back and ask for me. It was nice to meet you." And with that, Desna left to help another customer and I was left with no distraction from Zhu Li and Bolin.

"How is Korra anyway?" Bolin asked me.

"I… I don't know. You're the one who works with her, surely you'd know better than me," I replied so quickly the words began to merge together.

"Okay," he said simply, with a frown.

"Who's Korra?" Zhu Li piped up, very unhelpfully, sounding like she was trying to suppress a laugh.

"No-one," I snapped automatically, but Zhu Li seemed completely unfazed and just continued to look at me. "She's my neighbour. Sorry, Bolin, we need to get back to the office. It was nice to see you again. Give my best to Mako." With that I gave him a curt nod and strode towards the door, hoping and praying that Zhu Li would follow me. Thankfully she did.

The two of us walked down the street in silence for a few moments before my assistant opened her mouth again. "Have you known Bolin long?"

"No."

"He seems nice."

"Mmm."

Silence.

"Seriously, who is Korra?"

I sighed. Damnit.

A/N Thanks for reading.