The playful banter continued. Ma'am glanced at Rin and asked, "Where's Aki?
"He should be here by now…" said Miss Rin
Just then, a voice cut through the air, "Did you miss me?"
Everyone turned to see a man standing beside Miss Rin. A smile bloomed on Ma'am's face as she rushed forward and engulfed him in a tight hug.
"Aki!" she exclaimed. "Yes, I missed you!"
Miss Rin pouted playfully. "Hey, where is my portion of love?"
"Why should I? I see you all the time…", replied Ma'am with a playful tone.
"That's not fair…", Miss Rin said with a grumpy tone.
Ma'am chuckled and pulled Miss Rin into the hug, " Of course, I love you stupid"
"Heheh…"
As I, Miss Mary, and Miss Shin watched the scene.
Miss Mary remarked, "There they go. But I never get tired of seeing these three."
Miss Shin smiled warmly and agreed "Yes. I love to see them all together"
Miss Mary chuckled, "I know right"
A warmth spread through me as I watched Ma'am, a side of her I hadn't seen before. It's like she can bare herself in front of these two people, she is carefree and open, the opposite of the composed businesswoman she usually presents. Unconsciously my smile mirrored theirs as Ma'am beamed like a happy child.
Sir Akito, finally free from Ma'am's embrace, greeted Mary and Shin with a booming laugh.
"Hello there beautiful ladies", Sir Akito greeted Miss Mary and Miss Shin with a warm playful smile.
"Hey/Hello Aki,", Both of them greeted in unison
Their conversation quickly devolved into good-natured teasing, with Miss Mary poking fun at Sir Akito's supposed muscle gain.
"Did you bulk up again, Aki?" Mary quipped
"Huh, Do you think so?", Sir Akito asked while looking at his own body
"Maybe a little!!", Said Miss Mary with the eye of an observer
Sir Akito scratched his head "Well, maybe, I don't know."
"You look the same to me", said Miss Rin
"Me too," Ma'am chimed in
A sigh escaped from Miss Mary's lips, "Because you both are always with each other idiots."
Ma'am turned to me. "Oh right...Aki, this is Cia, my personal assistant."
"Oh, the one you mentioned?" Aki inquired.
Ma'am confirmed with a nod.
Akito extended a hand for a handshake. "Finally! It's a pleasure to meet you, Cia. I'm Akito and I've heard a lot about you from Ryo and Rin."
"Hello...About me?" I stammered, surprised.
"Yes," Aki replied. "They told me all about how you took care of Ryo and never left her side. Thank you for that, Cia."
I blushed. "Oh no, it's the other way around! Ma'am always takes care of me."
Ma'am playfully swatted his arm. "See? I told you I take excellent care of her."
Sir Akito chuckled. "Yes, yes, please keep an eye on this little one for me."
"Yes"
I smiled, secretly thrilled that Ma'am had spoken about me to her friends. I wonder what she talked about me?
Suddenly, Miss Rin's voice caught my attention. "Ryo, what was that in the afternoon today?
"What?" Ma'am inquired.
"Calling Aki and wanting the information of someone.", said Miss Rin
Ma'am eyes turning a little dark, "Oho that, yeahh…"
Ah..is she talking about that time when Ma'am bought that designer shop? Right! At that time, she called someone…if I am not wrong she called him Aki!
"Yeah, Ryo, What was that?" Sir Akito pressed gently.
"Cia went to a designer store to buy something for her sister," Ma'am explained, her voice taking on a protective tone. "But the salesgirl dared to insult her and kick her out."
A collective gasp went up from Mary and Shin. Even Sir Akito's smile turned cold
"WHAT???" Miss Rin almost shouted, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"Yes," Ma'am continued, her jaw clenching slightly. "That's why I wanted the contact details of the owner to buy the store."
"Please tell me you kicked that girl out of the store," Rin said in an angry voice, her gaze burning with fierce protectiveness.
"YOU BET", Ma'am declared proudly.
Miss Rin with a serious tone and thinking deeply said, "Should I contact all the stores and make her a lifetime unemployed?"
"Should we?", Ma'am joined Miss Rin
I felt a chill running down my spine while listening to them...Hey hey…what are you guys talking about? And why are saying it in with such a serious and scary voice?
Sir Akito chuckled, placing a calming hand on Miss Rin's shoulder. "Calm down both of you,"
[Yes yes…you guys need to calm down]
"But Aki", Miss Rin protested
Sir Akito said gently. "I'm sure that's not what Cia wants, right?
"Yes, I don't want that," I mumbled
"If Cia says this then I guess I can leave her," Ma'am said, her voice softening slightly.
"Yes," Miss Rin agreed reluctantly.
For some unknown reason, both Miss Rin and Ma'am sounded so genuinely sad when I agreed with Sir Akito.
"Hahaha…and I'm sure that girl has learned her lesson," Sir Akito chuckled, breaking the tension. "If not, I will take care of her. But for now, let's enjoy tonight...okay?!"
My brain froze for a second after I heard that. Oh God..who are these people? How can they talk like this? I never want to be on their bad side!
But the fact that they love and care for me so much made me damn happy too!!! It's just that they are a little bit scary when they are angry or provoked!
The conversation took an unexpected turn when Miss Rin asked, "By the way, what are you going to do with that store now?"
Ma'am turned to Miss Mary, "Hmm, Hey Mary, do you want a store here in Bali?"
Mary's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What? Here?"
"Yeah, the location's prime, and it's already set up as a designer store," Ma'am explained. "What do you think?"
Miss Mary pondered for a moment. "Sure, why not? But whose store was it anyway?"
"A designer named Ellen, I believe. She is a famous designer it seems," Ma'am replied
Recognition dawned on Miss Mary's face. "Ellen? I remember that name… but from where?"
"Isn't she the one who confessed to you when you were her instructor?" Miss Shin chimed in with a knowing smile.
"Ah, right… that rookie!" Miss Mary exclaimed with a hint of amusement. "She was one of my first and last underlings."
Ma'am inquired with a playful edge, "You mean the time you decided to take someone under your wing?"
Miss Mary agreed. "Yes. Later she confessed her feelings for me and got rejected…"
"Sad for her," Ma'am remarked with a shrug.
"Yeah…yeah…" Miss Mary trailed off, then added with a decisive tone, "So it's her store huh?! Sure, I would love to get a business here."
Curiosity took hold of me and I asked, "Umm...Miss Mary, are you a designer?"
Miss Mary laughed. "Right, I forgot to properly introduce myself, didn't I? Yeah, Cia, I am a designer. Did you know about the Mashi Brand?"
"Mashi?! Yes, it would be a shame not to know about that brand. I mean, it's the most famous brand in the design world." I replied with excitement in my voice.
Miss Mary beamed at the compliment. "Hahaha, thanks for the compliment, sweetie. That's my baby."
"WHAT?? Really?" I stammered, disbelief coloring my voice.
Miss Mary simply nodded. "Yes."
WOWW… This night just kept getting more surreal. Here I was, working for a woman who not only ran a powerful corporation but was also the owner and designer behind the most prestigious fashion brand in the world. I never thought I'd meet such amazing and talented people. Our boss was truly on a different level – first the Vice President of Crimson, and now the owner of Mashi!
The conversation continued as Ma'am and Mary discussed splitting the profits from the new store.
"Then how about a 60-40 profit split?" Ma'am proposed. "You keep 60 and me 40."
Miss Mary countered with a playful smile, "Hey, come on, give me a discount here! How about 75 and 25?"
Ma'am considered it for a moment. "Hmm…"
Miss Mary pressed her point. "Come on! I don't even know how it will go here."
Ma'am finally conceded. "Okay then, how about this: for one year it would be 75 and 25 profit mine. And after that, we can see. What do you say?"
"Sealed," Miss Mary agreed readily.
"I'll send you the contact papers later then," Ma'am said.
"Will wait for them," Miss Mary replied with a wink.
The opening party went smoothly, filled with laughter and good company. As the night drew to a close, Ma'am said, "See you guys tomorrow," followed by Rin's farewell, "Good night Guys, Good night Ryo and Cia."
I bowed politely and left with Ma'am, completely oblivious to the unexpected events that awaited us upon returning to our room.