Unfortunate Fate

I do not own Kung Fu Panda

She threw the garage door open and aggressively clacked her black flats to the car. She roared at the top of her lungs as she got into her seat. "RAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Gripping the steering wheel, she tried to rip it off of its metal. "Why! That stupid little-I can't believe this! I've worked for years and they give it to that... that... stupid panda?! He's only been here for months and... URGGHHH! What is Oogway thinking?! I just... RAHHHHHHH!" Her head slammed onto the steering wheel in a last-ditch effort for some kind of relief. Her agony was that painful. "Tigress. 'Secretary' for the new CEO. Ugh. Just... great." The striped feline threw her back into the seat and looked out the window. She dusted the red blouse under her black dress jacket. She wore it in an attempt to appear worthy of the position.

A futile attempt.

Sighing, she took off her jacket and tossed it into the back. She looked at her small watch. 3:00 pm. "At least I can still get to Lei Lei in time." She turned on the rusty red car and drove out of the concrete garage building. Barreling somewhat aimlessly towards the school, the tiger's frowning glare endlessly raged at the street. Just how was she going to adjust to this?

Just then, her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey, Tigress."

"Hey, Song."

"Are you okay?"

The tiger growled, "What do you think?"

"Yeah, I figured."

"I just... I can't believe this! That panda has been working as the cultural... whatever-"

"Cultural exchange coordinator."

Tigress rolled her eyes. "Like I said. Whatever. He's only been there for a few months and Oogway gives it to him!? And I'm stuck as his secretary."

"You could always quit."

The tiger would've glared at the phone if she could, "Not funny, Song."

"I don't think Po will be that bad."

"It's the principle."

"And that's none of Po's fault," Song said more firmly.

"At least I know whose side you're on."

"Tigress, you know it's not like that."

The tiger huffed, pulling her foot off the gas, "What about you? I haven't asked about your new position."

"The treasurer position? Tigress, I've had that job for several months!"

"I've... been busy... trying to get something I can't right now," Tigress grumbled, "How are things?"

"Uh... it's a... big learning curve to say the least. I'll tell you more tomorrow... I hope." Song hung up. Tigress stared at the phone a little suspiciously before shaking her head. The car slowed to a stop in front of a pristine private elementary school with wide-standing arches for entryways. A small panda girl with a pink flower fur-pin on her head stepped into Tigress's car. She happily settled into her booster seat and put the seat buckle in herself.

"Mommy look! I buckled myself," The panda smiled.

"That's great dear," Tigress attempted to smile. The panda tilted her head to the side, watching her adoptive mother through the rearview mirror.

"Mommy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing Lei Lei, why would you say that?"

"You're doing your angry face," Lei Lei pointed out and tried to mimic the face. The tiger had to sneak a chuckle in.

"I'm fine, dear. I..." Tigress sighed as she drove off back to their house. "Remember that job I've been trying to get?" The little panda nodded. "Well... someone else got the job instead of me."

The panda said nothing for a moment. "Don't worry, Mommy. Grandpa says that-that if you don't get something doing your best, maybe you-you weren't supposed to have it."

Tigress smiled wearily. Trying to explain the complex benefits of the CEO position wouldn't really help the panda. The job would mean more money, more opportunities, and they could finally buy the house they were renting.

As the car slowed to their driveway, Tigress took Lei Lei out of her seat and into the house. "What did you do at school, today?"

"We learned about numbers and shapes! And I made some new friends and-"

The tiger smiled but her head fluttered to her private worry place. The office and work kept their hold over her mind, reigning for what seemed like forever. She gave a small sigh. "Mommy? What's wrong?"

"Hm? Nothing, dear," Tigress smiled. "I don't have that much work today, so why don't we make some food?"

"Okay!" Lei Lei happily smiled. The tiger smiled a little more easily. Even with the changes going on in her world, she could still count on Lei Lei to give her a little joy. "I promise not to make such a mess this time."

Tigress groaned a bit under her smile. It wasn't happiness all the time, but it was joy.

Nighttime came. Sleep slowly overtook the little panda as she was put to bed. Watching her sleep from the doorway, Tigress smiled warmly. Then she felt her phone buzz. It was a text from her new boss.

Hey, this is Po. The new CEO? Just got your number from Mr. Oogway in case of emergencies. Can't wait to work with you. Hope this year's going to be great!

Tigress grumbled softly, careful not to wake Lei Lei. She walked over to the kitchen and opened up a jug of water. She drank it and placed it back in the silver stainless steel fridge. Its cool touch didn't calm her simmering rage. She rubbed the sides of her head as she changed into different clothing, mentally preparing herself for the next morning.

Morning did come. The tiger made a small grunt as she glanced at her phone and saw her boss's text. She hoped that what she went through was a dream.

Unfortunately, it wasn't.

After taking Lei Lei to school, Tigress parked her car, marched through the garage, and up the elevator to the second-to-top floor, the 14th floor. The maze-like sea of dull jade cubicles made a small walkway between the elevator and her desk. Office doors stood on either side of this room. Tigress passed the sea of cubicles and towards her desk. She glanced at the door to the left.

Po Ping, CEO of Zainan Industries.

The sign was already changed. Tigress sighed and placed her things down. The small dark wooden desk was neatly organized, though the "In box" was empty; Tigress knew that transition periods were messy at times. She needed a change of scenery, and staring at her boss's name wasn't helping. She walked away from her desk, turned the corner, and opened one of the office doors that belonged to the financial department. Dusting her red blouse, she walked to a female snow leopard's office. Said feline busily tapped away at her computer inside her small clear-view corner office. Tigress knocked on the door.

"AHH! Oh uh... Come in!"

"Are you okay, Song?" Tigress asked. "You seem tense."

"Yeah, just... a little nervous. What's up?"

Tigress growled, "Other than my new boss is probably waiting for me?"

"I figured that would come up." Song quickly turned off her computer screen. As she settled down, Tigress narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"Nothing, just... you seem... off."

"Oh, like I said, just... nervous and stressed out," Song smiled shakily. "So what about Po?"

Staring for a second more, the tiger grumbled and plopped into a chair in her small office, "They already put up his new sign. I don't understand why Oogway did this. I mean, Po is... what did you say?"

"Cultural exchange coordinator."

"Yes! He doesn't know anything about running a company or how to be organized."

"Well, you're right about the organized part," Song allowed herself a chuckle. "Po isn't the best at that."

"And it's obvious he's not qualified for the job. He texted me last night to 'make sure that he had my number for emergencies.' What emergencies?!"

"Tigress, I'm really sorry you're going through this. I'll admit, knowing Po for a... short time, I don't think he's the best person for the job. He might even put us in a hole."

"And I'm not going job hunting just because an incompetent panda got lucky." Tigress rubbed the stress veins in her muzzle. "Anyway, what about you?"

"Huh?"

"I haven't asked you about your job in a while. Is everything okay?"

"Yes! Everything's fine," Song answered quickly. Tigress rose her eyebrow. "Sorry... it's just..."

"Yes?"

"It's just... Since Oogway stepped down as CEO, there's a lot of work to transfer. And... I've just been worried that I won't be able to do it all."

"Why don't you ask for an assistant?"

"No, no I don't think that will help."

"Why?"

Song chuckled wearily, "I honestly don't want other people to get involved with this mess."

Tigress rose her eyebrow a bit but shrugged. "Anyway, I should get back to my desk. I have to make sure the new boss doesn't think I'm slacking off. You would think that Oogway would recognize all the work I've done to help him and this company," She growled.

Song stared a bit absentmindedly as Tigress got up and headed for the door. "Maybe he's doing you a favor."

"What do you mean? How is cutting me off from one of the highest-paying jobs in the company doing me a favor?"

Song sighed, glancing at her blank computer screen. Her reflection's disappointed frown stared back at her. "Sometimes, you can want something too much." The snow leopard shook her head awake. "Anyway, I need to get back to... work. I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, you too," Tigress muttered. Her eyes glared forward as she walked back to her desk. She struggled to keep her eyes focused on her work, but each glance at the sign enraged her more.

Because her name wasn't there.

Just then, she got a call on her office phone. She knew that number. It was Oogway's old office number. The tiger sighed and picked up, "Yes, Mr. Ping," She said in a much calmer voice.

"Hey, Tigress. Could you come into my office real quick?"

Tigress bit her lip, struggling to contain the simmering anger. "Of course, Mr. Ping." She hung up and took a long deep breath. Getting up from her desk, she grabbed a clipboard and walked towards the door.

It was time to meet the new boss.

The tiger walked in and up to a messy table. A panda in a black suit and tie fumbled around, trying to find something on a paper-filled desk. His white dress shirt was slightly wrinkled from all the excitement. He ducked his head under the desk. Suddenly, the panda bumped his head. "OW! Ah ha! Gotcha!" He rose and saw the tiger in front of him, silently staring. "Hehe, sorry. Couldn't find the papers I needed."

The tiger took another glance at his work surface. It looked like he wouldn't be able to find anything any time soon. Tigress shook her head and took another deep breath, bracing a smile that was a little too wide. "You wanted me, Mr. Ping?"

"Please, just call me Po," The panda said. "And I uh... I need to... kinda figure out what I'm going to be doing for this year as CEO. Oogway didn't really leave an instruction manual when he gave me the job."

"I... see," Tigress gritted through grinning teeth. She began writing on the clipboard. "Well, as per the... normal duties of a qualified CEO, some of your responsibilities are overseeing the various departments, approving contracts with the organization, communicating with the board of directors and shareholders, hiring management staff, establishing-"

"Ok, ok, I get it. That's a lot of work," Po blew a huff of air.

"It is." The bear's eyes fell onto Tigress, scanning her up and down. The tiger shifted her eyes uncomfortably, clearing her throat. "Is something wrong, Mr... Po?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't seem too happy."

"I am happy, this is my... happy face," Tigress tried her best to smile. Rubbing his chin, the panda stared and lifted his eyebrow. The silence lasted a little longer than both of them anticipated.

He made an awkward cough. "Well, I uh appreciate you telling me that. I'll... I'll try to get more help from Oogway."

"I'm sorry if my services aren't... adequate."

"No, no, that's not what I mean. It's just... I've noticed some secret company stuff that... Oogway forgot to mention. And I really don't want to overload you with work." Po noticed that though her small smile sat on her face, there was something hidden behind Tigress's eyes. "Anyway, that's all. Thanks for the rundown, Tigress. I look forward to working with you."

The feline simply gave a small nod and walked out of the door. Po looked at the mountain of papers on his desk and took a deep sigh. Looking at the 9 am clock, the panda cracked his stiff neck. "Alright, Po. Let's prove her wrong," He muttered to himself.

Time went on, ticking along the clock's numbers. Po tried to keep up with the demands of his new position, but he could feel a subtle negative energy coming onto him. Especially from Tigress. Even as the day came to a close, her fake smiles made the panda frown inwardly. But he shook his head and focused on his work, struggling to manage all the paperwork, phone calls, messages, reports, and bills coming at his door on a daily.

And that was just day one.

The next day, Po focused on signing another contract when he glanced at the clock. 12:00 pm. "Well, time for a break." The panda stood up and looked at his desk. It was cleaner, much cleaner. At the very least he could see the deep color of the synthetic Mahogany desk; real Mahogany is endangered. He glanced along the empty walls. Other than company history and plaques of its achievements, there was nothing that was 'his' on those plain gray walls. And the empty brown bookshelves didn't help either.

The panda shook his head. "Can't get depressed now, Po. Leave that for Monday. Hehe, eh," Po sadly sighed. The panda wrapped his dark black jacket suit around his body and walked out of the door. He noticed Tigress's desk vacant. "She must be at lunch." Po walked over to the small lounge to grab his food. He planned to eat in his office. "Maybe I should put a little refrigerator in there. That way I don't have to-"

"I'm telling you, Song. I'm going to lose my mind!"

Po stopped in his tracks. The entrance to the main lunchroom was a few feet ahead, but he could hear a familiar set of voices. The panda quietly snuck over to the wall. "I know, I know, Tigress."

"It's just... he's a complete mess! He doesn't know what he's doing. I have to constantly remind him how things are done. And he's messy when it comes to work. I don't understand what Oogway was thinking!"

"You're right, Ti," Song griped. "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he was stealing from the company."

Po's head lerched back.

"What?" Tigress said in the same surprise.

"You don't think it's weird that Oogway chose him of all people? And the fact that he's messy and 'doesn't know what he's doing'? That's the perfect cover for someone to steal money."

"Song, I'm not accusing Po of that. I'm just saying that he's not qualified for the job."

"Maybe it's both. You don't know him that well, right? I would just keep a close eye on him, Tigress," Song said, clutching her mug tightly and shakily drinking her tea.

"I... don't have any evidence to even suggest that, Song. And he doesn't strike me as that kind of person."

"I know, but just keep an eye on him. Power tends to make or break people. I just don't want you to get hurt because he can't handle that power."

Narrowing her eyes, her striped friend leaned further onto the table. "Where is all this hostility coming from?"

"What?" Song asked, a little startled.

"You used to say Po wasn't that bad at one point."

"Things can... change."

There was a pause. "What's going on, Song? You're not usually this hostile without a reason." Po stood by the wall, eagerly listening.

The snow leopard's eyes darted left and right. She finally sighed. "I'm sorry. I've just been really nervous and worried about my work. It's a lot of... stuff to deal with."

"Like what?"

"Can't really say. Shareholder confidentiality," She grinned meagerly. "I'm sorry. You're right. Po definitely isn't the person whodeserves my frustration. This job is just... really getting to me."

Po's eyes shrunk in confusion as he quietly sighed and walked back to his office. The haunting silence of the room loomed over him. He shut his eyes, trying to remember the simplicity of his old job, trying to shut out his pain. A nerve pricked around his heart. He covered his face.

He wanted to forget.

He wanted to move on.

"I knew I would hate this job," He muttered to himself. He glanced at the clock again. 12:05 pm. Taking a sigh, he grabbed the phone. "That's it. I'm calling him."

Time moved on. Tigress noticed the panda's sudden reclusiveness. He would shut himself up in his office, very rarely talking. When he did, it was usually to tell Tigress he was attending another meeting. Maybe Song was right to question the panda's character.

Tigress's facade slowly weakened and her mood grew worse. She'd growl and snarl to herself at the amount of paperwork given to her. Po's transition to CEO caused a lot of problems and work for her. "And the fact that he doesn't know what he's doing half the time doesn't help," Tigress would complain to Song.

But she kept her outbursts and gripes to herself. Every day, she'd smile and greet Po as he came into work. The panda would wave back, though the smile on his face grew sadder and sadder as time moved on.

Even with the panda's reclusive work nature, he tried to work as much as he could. However, he'd regularly pop his head out of his office. "Hey, Tigress. I need your help on this report/document/project."

The tiger would offer a quick smile. "Of course, Mr. Ping." The panda physically winced whenever she called him that. Tigress didn't know why.

A month of this went by, and things grew more problematic.

One day, just as a meeting ended, Tigress stormed out as quietly as she could right into the stairway. "GRAAAAH! Why am I stuck in this position?! UGH! No matter what I do, I'm never going to get credit with him around!" The tiger growled over to finances to talk with Song. She skidded to a stop when she saw Song talking with someone through her office panel window.

She recognized the man. A board member. Rather than burst in with all the rage she could muster, Tigress took a step back and went over to a different department where she had an unlikely friend. On the opposite side of Song's office hall was the Marketing and Sales department. Tigress opened the door to see a small subset of cubicles; the office space they had was large.

A serpentine head popped out of another corner office in the back and smiled. "Tigress! Come in. Come in."

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Viper," The tiger said as she walked in and closed the door behind her.

"Not at all," The snake smiled widely. A board of prices, bar graphs, and charts stood on the back wall of her small office. Grunting, Tigress sat down. "What's wrong? You don't look happy."

"I haven't been happy since Po took the CEO job."

"Ohhhh, I'm sorry," Viper apologized. "But what does that have to do with-"

"We just got a project that we have to work on together. I'm upset because I won't get any credit for it when it goes to the board," Tigress grumbled.

Viper tilted her head. "I'm sure Po would give you credit. He's not the kind of person to steal someone else's ideas."

"That's just it. Even if Po does give me the credit, because he's the CEO, the board will naturally look to him instead. And it's actually worse if he does give me credit."

"How so?"

Tigress grumbled and hesitated. She really didn't want to talk about this, especially with someone as innocent as Viper. "I... don't want people to think we're... unprofessional."

"You don't want people to think that you're sleeping with him and receiving benefits from it," Viper finished. Tigress's eyes widened. So much for innocent.

"Uh... yes."

Viper smiled warmly, "I'm sure that people won't think that. Especially with the way you've been acting around him."

"What do you mean?" Tigress asked. The snake's blueish eyes dashed away from the cat's stare. "Viper. What's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's just... it's pretty obvious to everyone that you don't like Po getting the position."

"Who is everyone?"

"The entire office floor?"

"Why?"

The snake gave an exasperated huff, "Tigress, you've been working for that position for a while and we know how much you've done to get it. And your growling can be heard from the parking garage."

Tigress's eyes darted away as she crossed her arms. "I... didn't realize that."

"I'm not sure if many people know why you're upset, but I'm pretty sure that Po does."

"What makes you think that?"

Viper's kind friendly face suddenly dropped. "Because Po knows more about people in general than you think. Much more than you do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tigress argued as her offended face jerked back.

The serpent glanced up and down the tiger's form and shook her head. Stubbornness couldn't be reasoned with. "Never mind. But I'm pretty sure he knows you're upset with him."

"Hm, I'll believe it when I see it," Tigress got up from her seat. "Thanks, though. I needed someone to-"

"Rant to?"

"Release some steam. Song is talking with one of the board members."

"Ah, I think I know who," Viper grimaced.

"Is something wrong?"

"I hope not. Anyway, I'm glad I could help."

Giving a short nod, Tigress walked back to her desk, still a little upset but not with the intent of murder. She sat down and stared into nothingness. She tried her best to keep it under wraps, especially from Po. Was she that obvious? Tigress grumbled to herself a bit.

If Lei Lei could pick up on her frustration then it wasn't too hard to think that others could. But did Po pick up on it?

Suddenly, she heard a shout come from Po's office. "Oogway, this is ridiculous! She doesn't belong in that position! Why would you tell me this NOW!"

She couldn't make out what else was being said, but the fact that he was yelling at Oogway was concerning. And who was he talking about? Her?

It didn't matter in the end. The big panda came out of his office. His eyelids drooped ever so slightly, and his voice rasped a bit. "Tigress, can you come into my office for a moment."

Tigress took a while to answer. She thought about faking a smile. Instead, she sighed and stood up, walking into his office.

Continued...