The CEO and his Appointed Secretary
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Chapter 4: Challenge Accepted
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"CEO Jeon." That voice again. It's already affecting him. How is Jaehyun supposed to survive when he has to hear this every day?
"Secretary Park," Jaehyun says, twirling the glass in his hand.
"Please, just Jihwan is fine."
The low lighting of the lounge is not helping Jaehyun's libido at the moment.
Jaehyun knows himself. Alcohol amplifies his already high sex drive through the roof. Maybe drinking wasn't a good idea.
"Sure."
"Congratulations on becoming CEO. I'm really…excited to work with you." Jihwan says with yet another smile directed at Jaehyun.
He picks up the glass passed to him by the bartender with a quiet thank you and walks away.
Jaehyun breathes.
"Who's the hottie?" Taemin asks him, interested.
Jaehyun follows the line of his gaze to where Park Jihwan is now standing, once again beside Kim Namgi. Those two seem to know each other very well. Namgi leaning in just a bit too close to Jihwan's ear to tell him something and Jihwan laughing loudly at whatever he's saying.
Jaehyun can't help but do a full body once over. Park Jihwan is shorter than himself but his body…is…well.
"Park Jihwan. My secretary."
"Oooh," Taemin says with a mischievous grin.
"Get your mind out of the gutter, he's my secretary and I just met him," Jaehyun says, taking a sip of his drink.
"Has that ever stopped you before?"
"I have to work with him." Jaehyun mumbles, for whose benefit, he's unsure. "Besides, he might not even like men."
Taemin raises an eyebrow. "With an ass like that? Come on."
Jaehyun can't exactly argue with that, especially after observing what appeared to be interest in Park Jihwan's gaze. He shrugs.
"Then you won't mind me swooping in, would you?" Taemin continues.
Jaehyun looks up at him. "What?"
"He's hot. I'm sexy, free and single. I want to meet him. Do your bro a favour. Be a good bro." Taemin says, sipping a suspiciously coloured drink with a little umbrella on top, raising his eyebrows at Jaehyun.
"Come on, no." Jaehyun whines, gulping down his drink.
"Aww, Jaehyun. You wound me." Taemin pouts, as if that's going to make him change his mind.
"Keep it in your pants, please."
"But I want to meet him." Taemin whines.
Jaehyun hopes no one can hear them because this conversation is so inappropriate for a place like this but alcohol, as always, tends to lower his inhibitions.
"Fine." Jaehyun agrees half-heartedly, why he's not too into the idea, he isn't sure.
"How cute. Jaehyun, I've known you for too long. I know interest when I see it. Not that I blame you." Taemin continues.
Jaehyun knows he's eyeing Jihwan too.
From head to toe. From his parted black hair down his proportionate torso. Down to the shapely thighs that are filling out his pants very nicely. And that ass. Fuck.
Jaehyun is so screwed. Being attracted to his secretary, at their first meeting to boot.
How cliché can he get?
"Oh, is that Namgi-hyung?" Taemin says, squinting his eyes.
"Don't tell me…of course, you know him too. I'm actually a little surprised you haven't met Jihwan yet then."
"Oh, it's Jihwan now. I thought you just met him."
"Come on, Taemin."
"Respect, brat. Show your hyung some respect."
"Yeah, okay," Jaehyun mumbles, still eyeing Namgi and Jihwan chatting together.
"You know..." Taemin trails off.
"What?" Jaehyun asks.
"You told me to keep it in my pants. But can you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you're really not going to lay on the signature Jeon Jaehyun charm, flirt with your new secretary? Will you be able to put your interest aside?" Taemin asks as he's twirling the last of his drink in his hand.
"Why wouldn't I be able to?"
"Jaehyun, I've known you for years."
"I don't know what you're implying."
"Sure you do. I wonder how long you're going to last."
"How long—Listen. I'm not some weirdo, I can keep it professional." Jaehyun whispers furiously. "Besides, he's not even that hot. I've been with hotter guys. You know this." Jaehyun continues, a bold-faced lie and it doesn't even sound convincing to himself.
"Liar." Taemin clearly picks up on it, sipping the last of his drink.
"Taemin…" Jaehyun warns.
"I think…no, I know you won't even last one month around this guy. You'll lay it on the Jaehyun charm, like, within the first week."
Jaehyun sits up on the barstool. "Is that a challenge?"
"It's not really a challenge if I know you're going to fail." Taemin continues as he signals to the bartender for another concoction with a huge grin.
"We'll see about that. The only failure here will be your prediction, which is completely wrong."
"Sure, Jaehyun , sure. If it helps you sleep at night."
"Talk to me again in a month."
"Will do," Taemin says with that annoying grin of his.
"You do realize that I can have sex with anyone that I want, right? Why would I bother with someone whom I have to work with?"
Taemin shakes his head with his index finger pointed up. "Nah-uh. You can't, Jaehyun. You have to keep it in your pants."
"Hyung." Jaehyun refuses to admit he whines at that.
"I told you you would fail. Listen to your hyung for once."
"I won't fail. What do I get if I win this challenge or whatever?"
"Bragging rights."
"That's it?"
"Well, what do you want then? You're loaded. You have everything you could possibly want." At Jaehyun's pointed stare, Taemin rolls his eyes. "Fine, you can speak to me informally for two months."
Jaehyun smirks. It's going to be too easy. He's not some sex-crazed maniac.
He can keep things strictly professional. He can handle this no problem. "Make it four and you got a deal."
"Fine, but only if you can do it for the whole month. No sex, no nothing."
"Wait, what do you mean no nothing?" Jaehyun says quietly, already dreading whatever Taemin is going to say next.
"No Netflix and chill for one."
"What?! No! Are you trying to kill me? A man has needs you know." Jaehyun frowns, whispering heatedly.
"I thought you had self-control."
"Fine, whatever." It's not like Taemin will know.
"Oh and no porn either."
"What the hell is wrong with you? How do you come up with these ideas?" Jaehyun angrily sips his drink.
"This is for your own good, you know. You are the new CEO of a multinational empire. You need as much brainpower as you can get."
"What does that have to do with any of this?"
"This challenge thing is supposed to increase your cognitive performance and productivity."
Jaehyun stops at that. "Wait...really?"
"Yes, see I told you I'm doing this for you!"
"This really helps productivity?" Jaehyun asks somewhat suspiciously, Taemin might be playfully mischievous at times but he's super smart too.
"Yes! There are tons of men who do this challenge! It's for your own benefit. Truthfully, some discipline will do you some good." Taemin says earnestly.
"Huh," Jaehyun says, thinking about it for a second. He could do this no problem, it's only four weeks anyway. A month of abstinence, he could do this. At the end of it, he'll have bragging rights and he will be able to wipe the smug look clean off Taemin's face. "What do you get out of this?"
"If you're so confident, you don't have to worry." At Jaehyun's unimpressed look, he rolls his eyes yet again and continues, "Fine, I'll get to say I told you so and you have to be my slave for two months."
"Fine, easy." It's all sounding a bit too easy to Jungkook.
"So, you'll do this? Remember, one month of no sex and no masturbation. Complete abstinence."
Jaehyun nods confidently. "Of course, I can do it. I'm Jeon Jaehyun."
"Good. I'll check up on you. Every day. You know, to make sure you don't go off in the deep end." Taemin says to him, a bit condescendingly, which pisses off him to no end.
"Stop being so dramatic. I'll be fine. Watch me." He replies, taking another angry sip from the drink in his hand.
"Okay...whatever you say." Taemin shrugs noncommittally, continuing to sip his suspiciously coloured drink.
Jaehyun grits his teeth. He can't wait to shove his accomplishment in his best friend's face. So what, he has a hot secretary? He is not some creep who's going to hit on his secretary if Jihwan is not interested. He is a human being. He'll treat Jihwan professionally and focus on work. This will be a piece of cake.
"Oh, Jaehyun." Taemin waits until Jaehyun looks up at him. "Remember no porn."
"Fine."
"I mean it. You don't want to fail, do you?"
"I won't fail," Jaehyun says and hopes he doesn't regret all of this in the morning when he's completely sober.
Maybe Taemin will forget it all.
"We'll see. It starts right now." Taemin says, finishing off the last of his drink and putting it down on the bar, umbrella and all.
Jaehyun takes a look around the lounge and realizes that not that many people are left at this point.
Jaehyun thinks this will be the easiest bet he's ever attempted with Taemin because, come on.
He just became the CEO, starting work on Monday at seven am sharp. He's already stressed enough as it is. He doesn't even think that he'll feel like cleaning the pipes or even going out to get laid.
It will be more difficult now anyway.
There are too many eyes on him now, waiting for him to mess up, waiting for him to be the fuck up that they expect that he is.
Jaehyun won't be that. Absolutely not.
This challenge will work in his favour, he convinces himself.
Jaehyun looks around the room and his eyes settle back on Park Jihwan, who is walking towards him again. He tears his gaze away and swirls his drink.
"CEO Jeon." Park Jihwan calls, making Jaehyun whip around on the barstool.
Is it just Jaehyun's imagination or is Jihwan's voice lower and is he looking up at Jaehyun through his lashes? Jaehyun gulps, that blinding smile is directed at him once again.
It's all in my head. It's all in my head, he repeats like a mantra. He's just thinking of the damn challenge that's all.
"Y-yes. Secretary Park?"
"Oh, just Jihwan is fine." He reminds him again. "I just wanted to congratulate you again. You know, on becoming CEO. I look forward to working with you." He says with another dazzling smile.
"T-thank you. I do as well." Jaehyun gulps again, hands itching to grab the glass of drink behind him.
He can feel Taemin staring at them. He looks over Jihwan's head to see him smirking knowingly.
"Anyway, see you on Monday, CEO Jeon."
"Yes!" Jungkook manages to get out.
Taemin is barely suppressing his giggles now.
When Park Jihwan turns around with one last smile, Jaehyun tries not to stare at his ass. He really tries, but it's so…perky. And Jaehyun has to admit it looks fantastic in those pants, pants that seem just a bit too tight to be appropriate.
Don't look, don't look.
When he's completely sober and doped up on caffeine on Monday morning, all of this will be like a distant dream.
He's got this in the bag.
Absolutely.