CC Headquarters
Kro had been quieter than usual. She didn't look like the charming boss who used to walk to his desk and sit on his table. She looked so serious, making Ukraine wonder where he went wrong. He waited for the breakfast alarm, maybe he'd sneak in a question when he's taking her order.
He wished she could say something to him, even a single letter, just to erase the tense atmosphere between them. And in a matter of seconds, his wish was granted
"Ukraine", she called him, her eyes still locked on her computer screen
"Yes boss!", he answered, enthusiastically
"Did you do what I asked you to?",
"Did you ask me for something boss?",
"I sent you an email on Saturday, I asked you to tell the HR to speed up the interview process for my personal assistant. Did you tell him?",
"Please forgive me. I didn't open any of my emails this weekend, I can go do it now if you want me to",
He lied!
He saw the email and even read it. He wasn't ready to lose the chance to investigate her closely. He was already getting used to be next to her all the time, and seeing how his father and the minister started digging their own graves, he needed to be there to try and stop the fire from spreading. He was getting less scared of her each day.
And that was why he resisted to inform the HR department
"Ukraine, I hope you haven't forgotten that this is work. If I ask you to do something, please do it. I'm sure you don't want me to turn into a mean boss because of you",
"I sincerely apologize Miss Kro, I won't trip next time, I've learnt my lesson",
"Good!",
He read the air, trying to see if it was a good time to bring up what he was dying to ask. But thinking about it, there was not really a perfect time to talk to Kro, he had to calm down and do it, a tense sacrifice
"Are you alright?", he wished to cover his ears, not to hear the answer from her, but it was his choice
"What do you mean?", she asked,
"I mean, what happened on Friday night. I'm just curious to know how you're doing",
"I'm doing great, thanks for asking",
"What about you w_",
"I'm trying to read something here, can you save your questions for later?", she interrupted him, for her own sake
He felt like an arrow pierced through his chest. It was enough to silence him. He nodded and pretended to read something from the tablet. If he was a ghost, he would've just vanished!
.....
JAIL.
Something didn't feel right when his men failed to return to his house that Friday. It never happened before. And right before he even got a chance to breath, he received news that all three of them were locked up. He needed to know what went wrong.
Akeshi spared 30 minutes of his schedule to go visit the men, just to hear the reason for failure from them. Since he was the minister, they treated him with respect and confidentiality, not leaking information that he went to see some criminals.
In 3 minutes, minister Akeshi was staring at the head of the gang, Paolo. He was shocked to see the man's body tortured like that. He looked horrible, tormented to the core
"Please tell me you and the guys had a fight before you got to her house! Please tell me it wasn't her who did this to you", said Akeshi, refusing to believe that it's Kro's doing.
"It was her! It was that lady, sir", cried the man, silently so as not to be heard
"How? You guys are the cruelest men, the toughest men! How was she able to beat you like this? Look at you, I'm not sure if you even threw a punch!",
"Patrick's jaw is broken, and he says she just smacked him once. Judas' ribs are fractured, and he says it was just one kick. I'm the one who was stepped on the face and couldn't move! She's strong, sir! Very strong, mysteriously strong!",
"Myster _ come on, Paolo, what are you trying to say? Are you trying to say she's supernatural?",
"Yes! Yes, I am!", he whispered, "I shot her, sir, right on her back, at the vital spot, but after a minute there, I saw her skin mending itself, and _and the bullet came out! She wasn't even bleeding _",
"ENOUGH! Damn it! She must have stepped on your head too hard for you to say this nonsense! What kind of human can do that?",
"I'm not saying she's human, sir!",
"Then she's a what? Immortal?",
"All I want you to do sir is to believe what I'm telling you! This is extreme for me too, you said yourself, we're the toughest and ruthless men in Knnew! Then how can you explain this defeat_",
"I want you to shut your godamn mouth Paolo! All 3 of you will be released tonight, make sure you leave the country today. Everything is prepared, but if I hear you saying something like this again, you know what I'll do to you!",
The minister got up and walked out the room, Paolo was taken back to his cell.
Akeshi hated the fact that he kept thinking about Paolo's words. The man never lied to him, and there was some point in what he said. He was getting curious.
.....
CC Headquarters
The president's office felt like hell, and she was the devil. Sitting in front of her gave Misaki a taste of the judgement day. Kro looked at her with the most neutral expression, as if there was nothing going on between them.
"I know you know why I'm here", said Misaki, her levels of uncomfort being so high
"Do you want me to thank you for sending Ukraine to my rescue?", Kro asked, clearly disappointed
"No, I'm not in a position to hear any gratitude from you. My dad did something stupid and_",
"Dangerous",
"Exactly, and dangerous too. I really want to apologize _",
"Misaki, you need to stay out of this. I'll talk to your dad_",
"I know you won't just talk to him. I heard what you did to the men, I don't want the same thing to happen to my father. I know he's not an easy guy, but I still love him, and I don't want him to get hurt",
"Wait, are you asking me to forgive him?",
"Yes Miss Kro, and if possible, to forget that it happened",
"Oh!", she scoffed,
"Please, I'm really begging you",
"But Misaki, your father tried to kill me. If I was asleep, you know what those men would've done to me",
"I know, but_",
Misaki got off the chair and knelt down, right on the floor, proving how she really regretted what had happened.
That wasn't what Kro wanted. She hated it when people acted like that in front of her. It always made her soft and feel like she was the bad guy. She rushed to where Misaki was kneeling and started pulling her up
"If people find you like this, how will they think of me? Stand up, let's talk like professionals",
"Not until you forgive my father and me. I swear, I'll talk to him, I'll make this come to an end, please believe me. Don't fire me, I love this job",
"I know you do but get up first. Stop making yourself look inferior. And I won't fire you, just stand up!",
"Promise?",
"Gosh! Misaki stand up before I decide to fire you for real now",
Misaki quickly got up and ran to the door, leaving Kro speechless,
"I'll fix this, I promise you!",
She ran out of Kro's office. Kro scoffed as she shook her head. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't hate that girl.
...…
20 minutes to call it a day!
Ukraine was busy fixing Kro's schedule for the next day, getting all excited already. But that didn't seem to last. His exercise was interfered by the door falling open and Sue together with the HR manager walking inside.
He was somehow caught off guard, and just like that, he started feeling uneasy about it.
Kro fished out the responsible file from the drawer and walked to the sofas where her guests were already seated
"Ukraine, come join us", she told him
"Yes boss!",
He had to stop what he was doing and go sit with them too. He felt like the odd one out, being the only person who had no idea what the meeting was all about
"I hope you received my email on Sunday", said Kro to the HR
"Yes I did, ma'am",
Uk now saw himself as the biggest loser in history, he thought he outsmarted her, but he was so wrong. He started getting an idea of the meeting's agenda, making him more nervous
"Sue, have you finished with the preparations?",
"Yes boss, I have",
"Great!",
Kro faced Uk, finding him with the most pitiful look on his face. But she had no time to be empathetic,
"Ukraine", she called him
"Yes, boss",
"Starting tomorrow, you'll officially join the marketing team",
And he was not expecting that at all. He froze, he just froze, without moving or saying anything. He could see his mission crumbling down the hill, washed away by floods. The HR and Sue looked at him, and his silent reaction didn't add up
"Thank you for working with me these past few weeks, I hope you'll do the same with your new team_",
"Why?", was the first word which came out of his mouth after the long silence. If the look of serious determination was a person, then that person would be him, at that moment
"Because you didn't apply for this position_",
"Do you still accept applications for the assistant job?", Uk asked the HR manager,
"No, it's closed_",
"I'll still send you my doc_",
"Ukraine, stop!", ordered Kro, her eyes closed with annoyance, "Sue, Mr. Poh, please leave us",
And they quickly did that. She was finally the fiery CEO she never wanted to be. When she heard the door being closed, she opened her eyes. Uk was seated on the same spot, he didn't move a muscle. She was already so mad at everything happening, and he just added on to that
"What's wrong with you, Ukraine? Why're you acting like this?",
"I just want to know why you decided to speed up the interview process. Do you hate me? Let's say you do, why though?",
"I told you about this since last week. I'm not doing this because of you, it's for my company",
"Was I not doing a great job?",
"Gosh, Ukraine! You applied for the marketing department, not as my assistant!",
"You could've just asked me first before doing this. What if I was ready to be your official personal assistant?",
"How dare you talk to me like this? Are you questioning my decisions? You think you're the smart one now, huh?",
"If it's protocol you want me to follow, I'll apply for this position_",
"Don't even bother, because even if Poh accepts your application, I won't let you get the job. You're going to lose everything if you keep acting like this",
"Kro_",
"I'll turn a blind eye only this time and pretend we didn't have this conversation. I expect you to report to the marketing team tomorrow, if you won't then I'll take that as a resignation!",
He wanted to say more, but he was also too angry to do that. He went back to his desk, grabbed his bag, and stormed out of the office.
Kro put her hand on her chest. Her anger slowly faded away, and she became sad. She didn't want to let him go. It was then that she also realized that she had started caring about him, because his anger hurt her.
*****