Just the incompetent ones

A few days went by as if he never asked her to marry him, and Ying Yue had been acting like the perfect secretary, only occasionally teasing him during work with snarky comments about his domineering behavior during his meetings. They still had their lunch together, but she insisted on going home to rest each night.

In Fei Huangjin's mind, however, that night's conversation was alive. He left her apartment that night with a kiss on her forehead and a promise to give her some time to think. She'd had a couple of days to herself. Surely, she had an answer by now, right? His eyes constantly flitted to the door as he waited for Ying Yue to bring him his coffee. He'd long wanted to ask her about it again.

He'd been hardly able to keep himself still, and he occasionally found himself spacing out with thoughts of marriage. If this wasn't quantum entanglement, he didn't know what was.

Two sharp knocks rapped against the door to his office and he straightened himself in his seat, fixing his tie. "Come in."

There was a flash of disappointment in his eyes as the door opened to reveal one of the project managers bringing in a report. His lips thinned in disapproval as he glared at him with a frosty look.

The project manager stilled. "CEO--CEO Fei, should I come back at another time?"

"You're already here. Why waste my time coming back later?" He went back to studying the documents he was holding and didn't look up at the manager again. "Stand there, summarize that report in 2 minutes, then get out."

"Yes sir. Uhh, well…" Rattled, the man hurriedly flipped through the report he had painstakingly put together for weeks. "We've had a 5% jump in sales since the opening of the new wing of Mall C, however, there's an… um… uh…"

Fei Huangjin frowned. His keen memory allowed him to remember almost anything he encountered and he had the habit of keeping tabs on his employees' faults. This was the second time this particular project manager had disappointed him. He glanced at his watch. "A minute and 30 seconds left."

The manager quickly prattled on regarding some issues that have cropped up, making Fei Huangjin's frown sink deeper. When the two minutes were up, the manager closed the folder he was holding and wiped away the beads of sweat lining his eyebrow. "CEO Fei, sir, what do you suggest we do with the issues that we--"

"I didn't hire you people to solve the company's problems myself."

The man froze, realizing his mistake too late. "I apologize sir, I didn't mean to--"

"This is the second time you've shown me how incompetent you are. Need I remind you that you'll be fired after the third strike?" Fei Huangjin raised an eyebrow at him with a fierce look.

The project manager shook his head as he stammered out a reply. "N--no, sir."

"Get out. Solve it and give me another report after you've done that. If it doesn't get resolved, you can hand in your resignation letter instead." He waved him away with a flick of his wrist and the man retreated out the door.

Ying Yue, who was listening through the slightly ajar door, stepped away as the project manager scuttled out with a pale face. She used her foot to stop the door from closing and gracefully drifted inside with a steaming cup of coffee.

"You're very mean to your employees."

Fei Huangjin looked up at the sound of her voice and reflexively sat back with his spine straight as he looked into her mocking eyes. "Not all of them. Just the incompetent ones."

Liar, she thought. She had watched him for over a year and he'd been more than just strict and cold to his subordinates. She set the cup on his table and leaned on his desk to wink at him. "You're not mean to me."

"You were never incompetent. You've been perfect from the start." He said the words without blinking, causing her cheeks to flush a bright red. Fei Huangjin cocked his head to one side, as if thinking of something, and he paused in the middle of opening his mouth to speak. Finally, he decided to just ask her. To hell with waiting. "Have you thought about my proposal?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, suppressing the need to roll her eyes in disdain. "Oh, was that a proposal? I thought it was a demand."