Chapter 105 – The Assistant

Age 776, June 8th

"What? Mr Satan's invited us too? I can't say I was expecting that..." Bulma mused, phone to her ear. "... Uh huh... Oh, it's Videl more-or-less needing us to be there then! Alright, tell them both we'll be there... Alright, I'll talk to you soon. Bye."

Corset sighed and slouched back in her chair, closing her eyes. Three hours of paper work and she wasn't even half-way through. "... This is why I hate this job, Mama..." She mumbled to herself.

Glancing over to the window, the usual plan came to mind. Skip out for an hour or so and come back later... Getting to her feet, the half-human half-Saiyan hybrid peered down to the grassy garden below. No one was out there...

Corset carefully opened the window and slipped out.

Somen wandered down the office corridors of the Capsule Corp building. He'd been incredibly lucky to have landed this task and be able to actually see the heiress in the flesh. Even after six years of working with the company, Somen had barely come into contact with the current president and had not seen her daughter at all. Now he could somehow get her to confess she could fly... or fail miserably and find out she wasn't capable of such things, whilst getting to hang it over Soba's head for years to come.

'I hope she can't fly,' Somen smirked to himself.

Reaching her office, he politely knocked on the door. "Miss Brief, I have some more forms for you."

There was no answer. "... Miss Brief?" Somen repeated. Still nothing. Cautiously Somen opened the door.

He was surprised to find no one here. "... Maybe she's on a toilet break..." He mused to himself uncertain before leaving the room.

"So why aren't you at work?" Gohan asked still looking surprised to see his friend and a little concerned about the trouble she'd get into with her mother later on. "It's not like you to skip out."

"I can't stay in that office and continue to do paperwork," Corset huffed. "It's just so boring!"

The two friends had crossed paths in the sky; Gohan had apparently been coming over to West City to come visit her and the family but instead was now talking with Corset on a rather steep mountain top. At least here no one would see them, hear them or catch them flying off.

"I don't know if I'm cut out for this," Corset frowned feeling a little unconfident in her abilities. "Mama has such high expectations but I don't know if this is what I wanna do..."

"Well, what would you do instead?" Gohan asked. "You're the heiress of the Capsule Corporation; you're pretty well-known in the marketing world."

"I know..." Corset sighed. "... and it would break Mama's heart if I said I wasn't interested... It's not that I'm not interested, really. When I can be in the workshop it's far more challenging and interesting, although at times frustrating... especially when you've spent three days trying to work out what's wrong with something only to have your grandfather take a small look and fix it in the blink of an eye! That was embarrassing... I just hate being cooped up in that stupid office being stuck with paperwork. I don't know if I can stay in there any longer!"

"Alright, alright, calm down," Gohan chuckled. "Gosh, I never thought I'd see you stressing out so much over this."

"... I feel like there're things in my life I'm missing," Corset continued. "... I haven't got much of a social life; I'm almost always working in the lab or the office, plus... Well... You've got Videl; I haven't got a boyfriend... I have maternal instincts too; I want a family! I can't see me being able to get any of this with all the work I have! Dammit I wanna live and have a life outside of work!"

"W-Well... Why don't you hire someone to help you with your work?" Gohan suggested, a light blush on his face from her comment of him and Videl. "It would mean you'd have a little more free time and can go do those things... Then I could tell Krillin so he and I could tease you about having a boyfriend!"

Corset stared quietly at her friend. "... Yeah... I guess I could do that... Oh, and tell Krillin about this and I will hurt you!"

"Yep, you're starting to sound like yourself again!" Gohan chuckled. He'd come to know those type of threats weren't really meant in a serious way, she'd just lightly tap him around the head or something... or so he assumed. "Get someone to do some of your paperwork but make sure your mother's alright with this. I'm sure there'll be someone willing to do it for you if you pay them right."

"Yeah, I guess so," Corset agreed sceptical uncertain about what would be a decent rate of pay. Her sense of real money was warped by her upbringing and being surrounded by wealth. "... Now I feel like I'm being lazy and not rising to the challenge…" She couldn't ask Gohan what a decent wage was; his family were practically at the opposite end of the wealth scale. Was she over-thinking this? She wasn't really sure...

"Hey, you're trying as hard as you can right now; do you really wanna continue this on your own?" Gohan asked.

"... I'm hiring an assistant!" Corset decided. "Thanks Gohan, I dunno what I'd do without you! Oh before I forget, why is Mr Satan holding a party for us? Mama said something about it the other day."

"Oh, that's because his new hotel has been opened," Gohan explained, "No one remembers he defeated Buu but they do know he saved the planet for something thanks to the Dragonballs. Well this hotel's been built in his honour for that and he's invited all of us as a thank you. Videl was worried about this all though; I think she's still a little embarrassed about her dad taking all the credit again."

"Can you blame her?" Corset giggled. "I'd be embarrassed if my dad was as crazy as Mr Satan... Hell, I was embarrassed of my dad being an evil maniac!"

Corset peered through the window of her office to see if anyone was inside, a little anxious as her heart would not stop thumping in her chest. If her mother caught her now...

No sign of life.

Cautiously she slipped back into her office, closing the window behind her and sitting back in her chair. None of the paperwork had been done, much to her misery. Gohan had the right idea; she needed an assistant if she was going to live through this.

"Um... Miss Brief; are you there?"

The voice startled Corset and for a brief moment she panicked. No, he couldn't have seen her; the voice was coming from the other side of the door and a shadow had only just appeared in front of the glass. "C-Come in," Corset called.

The door opened, Somen walking in nervously. "Ah, sorry to bother you, Miss, but your mother has given you some more paperwork."

Corset groaned and rolled her eyes in annoyance. "... Alright... pop it on my desk with the rest of it..." She pointed over to a couple of piles of paperwork which was starting to stick out in odd directions. Somen did as he was told, placing the pile of work onto his superior's desk. Nerves had hit him; this was the first time he'd seen the heiress in the flesh.

"... Hey, do you want a raise and a new job as my assistant?" Corset asked.

"Eh? Um... Does my staying here at Capsule Corp depend on my answer?" Somen stuttered anxious he was about to upset her.

"No... Why would it?" Corset mumbled a little baffled by his answer. He sounded a little nervous being around her which made her feel a little bad; was she really feared as much by everyone as she seemed to be by this guy? She didn't want to be feared by employees... or men in general. Freakish strength and bizarre alien powers had so far done her no favours in that department (in her own head).

"Oh... well in that case... no, I enjoy what I'm doing at the moment so no thank you, Miss." Somen replied apologetically. "... May I inquire why?" Perhaps he'd said too much, Somen screamed at himself inside his mind fearful his curiosity would get him fired.

"It's nothing; I figured there's so much paperwork here that someone may as well do it as a job if I'm supposed to be running this business one day," Corset mused. "Sorry if I put you on the spot there, I didn't mean to pressure you. I'll put out an ad or something and start recruiting people..."

Somen went to leave the room, suddenly stopping in his tracks.

"... You forget something?" Corset asked keeping one eye on the man as he was leaving, a little unsure why he'd suddenly stopped. His behaviour was a little suspicious and she was beginning to grow a little unsure of him.

"... Excuse me for sticking my nose in your business, Miss… but I may have a person who would be more than happy to take the job," Somen turned around nervously. "My younger brother is currently jobless; in his most recent job he worked in an office. He loves to do paperwork, he literally breathes paperwork! May I nominate him for the role?"

"Sure, I guess so," Corset shrugged her shoulders.

"... May I go so far as to you giving him the job?" Somen flinched.

"Give him the job? I haven't even met the guy yet," Corset chuckled. "I'll organise an interview for him and see how it goes from there."

Age 776, June 14th

Corset couldn't believe her luck. She couldn't believe the chances. She couldn't believe she'd happily had let her mother take over her organisation of the interview and let her mother hire her assistant! Surely this should have been something Corset herself could have and should have organised for experience, not her mother. She'd never forgive her for this; she should have at least been present in the interviewing to see how she felt about the candidates.

Soba Shirataki.

As soon as she'd spotted him in her own house walking down the corridors as Bulma showed him around, Corset'd whirled around and hurriedly run back to the bathroom in a panic. Logic had left her and in a desperate struggle to hide her identity and throw him off, Corset'd done something she'd regretted.

She'd chopped her hair.

She hadn't cut it; she'd chopped it. She hated it! Franticly trying to alter her appearance with one hand and her own ki, Corset had roughly sliced through the dark strands. It's not like her hair had been long in the first place. She'd been left almost in tears when she'd seen her final work, arms dropping to her sides as she regretted ever coming up with the idea to cut her own hair in the first place. Now she looked boring and stupid and about as appealing as a blobfish. Her hair had lost its volume and wildness and now looked round and smooth, barely passing below her ears. She'd dared not touch her fringe after the massacre that had occurred!

The worst part was Soba still recognised her.

Soba couldn't believe his luck. Out of the blue his brother had got him a job. His brother – who hated him – had found him a job. Soba'd been reluctant until Somen had mentioned who he'd be working for. It was an offer he couldn't refuse, even if it did mean he'd be stuck doing her paperwork all day!

The president of Capsule Corp – Bulma Brief – was far prettier and nicer a lady than Soba had realised. She'd walked him through the tasks he'd be expected to do and told him a little about her daughter; bright, confident, athletic... and a little lazy when it came to paperwork. The shoddy work she'd done to her hair reflected the laziness in Soba's eyes; couldn't she have just bothered to get it cut by a real hairdresser? What was she trying to hide anyway?

"... How's the work going?" Corset asked as she shuffled through her part of the paperwork, annoyed her mother had insisted she help her assistant. He was an assistant for a reason; she was the one who needed the help.

"Good," Soba mumbled, resisting the urge to ask the questions buzzing in his mind.

The conversation was awkward. If this is what every day would be like then Soba was in for one hell of a working day. There had to be something else to talk about other than how work was going; it was the fifth time in an hour she'd asked that question. He couldn't hold back any longer, something was trying to slip from his lips-

"... Why'd you get the haircut?" Soba asked almost blurting the question out.

Corset glared agitated at her desk, a small blush coming to her face. Even she hated what she'd done to her head and it had been all for nothing. He still recognised her! No, she would not give him the satisfaction of screaming with frustration, she would need to play this cool and pretend nothing was wrong, as hard as that was. "I wanted to try out a new look," She lied, still refusing to confess to him all his suspicions. This boy was going to have to pick his next words carefully; she was already sensitive about how much she now looked like a boy.

"Oh... I see... It suits you..." Soba mumbled.

"You don't need to lie; I won't fire you," Corset grumbled a little insulted. Either he was being too polite for his own good or his sense in what looked good was distorted.

"... It looks terrible." Soba responded trying to hide the small rising of the side of his mouth without much success.

"I said you didn't need to lie; I didn't say tell me the truth. You could have just stayed quiet!" Corset snapped offended.

"Sorry Ma'am," Soba grumbled, agitated she'd raised her voice. Soba did not deal well with people raising their voice to him, his fiery temper attempting to rise to the surface. His commitment to professionalism kept it at bay and he swallowed a hard lump down. His sister and brother would never forgive him if they found out he'd walked out on the first day or been fired for something he'd said or done! He had to gather more information from this girl.

A knock from the door stopped the two of them; Bulma walked through into the room with another pile of paper in her arms seeming to be in a good mood. Soba immediately stood up in his seat as a sign of respect; he'd been taught this was what went on at Capsule Corp by his brother though he wasn't sure whether he'd been lied to or not. Bulma seemed a little taken aback by the eager boy's stance and smiled, "You don't have to do that here, really. I'm not royalty or anything so please, take a seat!"

Soba sat himself back down, vowing to find revenge against his brother in some way. Maybe he could poison his food with laxatives or wreck his suit in some way...

Bulma strode over to her daughter's desk peering over the large pile of work the two now had to do, "Looks like you two are really getting along. How's your first day with my daughter so far?" She asked Soba, who seemed to be struggling with his reactions.

"It's challenging," Soba grinned, still seething with annoyance.

"That's my daughter for you," Bulma giggled.

"Maybe he was referring to all the paperwork you seem to pull out from nowhere," Corset mumbled irritated with the two of them. She wasn't entirely sure she'd be able to work any better with this new assistant and was beginning to regret taking Gohan's advice.

"I'm sure it's both," Bulma smirked. "So do you remember Soba yet?"

The blank expression on her daughter's face answered the question. Inside Corset began to panic. Did her mother know this was the man she'd bumped into during the jewellery raid and in the park? Had he blurted it out of his big mouth to her? 'I swear if he's said anything...'

"... Actually Ma'am, I haven't told her about that yet," Soba confessed.

"Oh... Well, have fun telling her then." Bulma smiled, turning on her heels as she went to leave the room. "Don't forget to take your lunch break."

"... What was that about?" Corset asked once her mother had closed the door.

"Oh, nothing much..." Soba replied hastily getting back to his work.

Corset pouted and leaned forward, "Tell me. I'm your boss!"

Soba snorted and raised an eyebrow, "Um... With all due respect, Ma'am-"

"Stop calling me Ma'am, whatever you do!" Corset quickly cut him off annoyed with the formality. Calling her ma'am just made her feel older than she really was, she was certain this guy was around the same age as her, maybe slightly older. "Call me Miss Brief or just call me Corset... Call me Corset; Miss Brief sounds too formal for my liking."

"Alright," Soba took in a deep breath. "With all due respect, Corset, I really don't think it's relevant to my job, nor is it any of your business... Besides if you won't confirm it was you in the jeweller's robbery or that it was you I saw landing in the park then I don't have to tell you anything."

"... Wow you're rude..." Corset grumbled begrudgingly sitting back in her seat. Soba reminded her a lot of Videl already. That was ok, Corset knew how to handle his type by now and he would soon come to learn she could be just as stubborn and cunning!

The days went by. Despite Corset's initial annoyance of Soba and his persistence, their conversations soon began to grow past him pestering her about the jewellery robbery and the park incident. She was impressed at how good his memory seemed to be and his arithmetic and organisational skills. The first couple of days had been a nuisance; Soba had been late due to his commute and traffic. Corset struck a deal with her new assistant to shift his hours so he could avoid the rush hour traffic. The late morning starts seemed to have paid off and meant that Soba was on time and in a far better mood.

"A party?" Trunks repeated through a mouthful of mushroom rice as another day at Capsule Corp was drawing to an end. "Why?" He was referring to the party Mr Satan was organising for those who'd been involved in the fight against Majin Buu. The family had settled down to eat their dinner, minus Vegeta who was still in the midst of his training.

"For you guys saving the world from Buu," Bulma explained. "We've all been invited to the grand opening of his new hotel, remember?"

"I don't remember this," Trunks mumbled contemplating the implications of this party. "You must have forgot to tell me!" Would there be a bouncy castle or rides? Would there be a clown? He wasn't so keen on them, or at least not as much as Goten seemed to be!

"I told you last week," Bulma protested.

"You told me about it... or was it Gohan who told me...?" Corset mused shovelling another scoop of rice into her mouth.

"Anyway, I said we'd all be there so make sure you don't have any plans," Bulma shot a quick glance at her daughter.

"It's a day I would normally have work; I have no plans," Corset grumbled. 'Hell, I have no life!' She sighed miserably in her mind.

"Is Goten going?" Trunks asked.

"Of course," Bulma nodded. "I heard Goku took a little convincing until Gohan mentioned the all-you-can-eat buffet... I don't suppose your dad will fall for that, would he?"

"He'd go if you told him Goku would be there," Corset replied. "The food doesn't seem to work on Dad as much as Goku..."

Bulma smiled and giggled, "I guess you're right. Hey, here's an idea. Why don't you ask your assistant if he wants to join us?"

Trunks snorted, "Why would she wanna join us?"

"My assistant is a guy," Corset mumbled correcting her little brother, "... and he's right; why would Soba wanna come?" She wasn't entirely sure what her mother was planning but something inside her mind told her she would not like it.

"Your assistant's a guy?" Trunks snorted.

"Well it may be nice for him to get a day off of work from all that paperwork you dump on him," Bulma suggested, "besides, I had a chat with his older brother who works here and he told me Soba has a huge crush on you."

A slight blush came over Corset's face as she swallowed her food almost choking on it. The reddening of her cheeks forced her to look away and glance down at her plate shyly. Was her mother serious or was she just trying to set them up? She was certain she knew who Soba's brother was; if memory served her correctly he was the strange man who'd asked if his brother could have the job. Was he serious or was he just being a mean brother?

"Your guy-assistant has a crush on you? Poor guy..." Trunks sniggered. "He must be ill in the head or something to like you, Sis!"

"Hey, for all you know you'll end up with the same job when you're older," Corset snapped raising her fist a little though restraining herself from slapping Trunks around the back of the head in front of their mother. "You're second in line; when I become president of Capsule Corp I'm making you my assistant!"

"That would make me vice-president," Trunks pointed out, "Besides, I'd rather have that job rather than this guy's job; sounds like a wimpy job!"

"What are you trying to say?" Bulma glanced at her son. "A man can't have an assistant role?"

"It's a girl's job," Trunks shook his head. Or at least that's what he'd been told by his friends.

"Catch up with the times, Trunks; I don't care personally if my assistant is male or female; as long as they do their job!" Corset rolled her eyes.

"So will you take him along?" Bulma cooed at her daughter, an amused look in her eye.

"Fine, Soba can come if he wants," Corset sighed. "Still, I don't see why he'd want to. I'm his boss."

"Actually I'm his boss," Bulma pointed out. "You're the person he reports to."

"What?" Corset gasped. "... Do I have any responsibility at work besides being stuck in an office doing work?"

"Not when you don't do your own paperwork," Bulma answered wryly.