New Job (1)

It took Kevin all night to find the appropriate attire for the job. He chose to go with a white dress shirt and black slacks, hoping it'd be okay that he didn't have a suit jacket to complete the look. He figured he could go to a store nearby and find a tie as a last minute idea in the morning.

That was the plan but Kevin had forgotten about his bad luck in life. When he got up the next morning he ended up missing both the alarms he had set the night before leading to a frantic morning of rolling out of bed in fright and a messy outfit. Before leaving he took a look at himself in the mirror that was hung on the back of the bedroom door. Cracked and dirty but still allowed one to see their reflection.

He almost collapsed in sadness when he saw the person staring back at him. Shirt crumpled. Pants nowhere near pristine. His hair was sticking out in every direction possible, to which he quickly patted down making it look somewhat decent. There was no way he would make any amazing first impressions.

His eyes widen when he sees the time on the clock sitting on the old bedside table. There was no way he'd be able to buy a tie and make it in time. He was already pushing it as it was. If he wasn't going to be there early then he might as well show up late, which he wouldn't allow. He quickly put on his best looking loafers he had in his closet before grabbing his phone and wallet and walking out.

——————

When Mark got to work that morning he wasn't in a good mood. Their summer collection was failing miserably, sales were dropping. He didn't know what to do. When they had approved the designs it wasn't even a passing thought that they wouldn't be a hit, especially amongst the women. The dress they had released was designed by the biggest name in the industry so why wasn't anyone buying.

Everyone in the building could feel the tension and didn't dare utter a word to the CEO unless asked or spoken to. The last thing they wanted was to get on their bosses bad side and have the worst thing happen, they be dismissed. They sat at their desks working diligently and quietly.

Amy, the woman who worked at the front desk was doing her job with no issues, with nothing peculiar. It was about an hour after Mark Lu came in that something strange happened. A man walked in, small and average. Amy would have completely overlooked him if he hadn't come walking towards her, a nervous look on his face. She thought that maybe he was lost, he seemed to have a quiet demeanor and everything about him seemed to be in a disarray. His clothes were a bit roughed up and his hair a bit wild.

He looked at her and smiled, "Sarah Hu sent me..?"

Amy offered her best smile, "Sarah? The secretary?" She was having a bit of a hard time understanding if he was talking about the secretary or some random stranger on the street. She knew the answer but was in denial.

He nodded slowly as if he was thinking about it, "y-yes. She told me to just tell you that she sent me… for the job…?"

Amy didn't notice the slight shift in his gaze, as if nerves were taking over, she felt a bit of pity, "ah.. the secretary job! Of course."

Who knew if he was telling the truth of not but with how he was speaking, Amy had no choice but to believe him. What other Sarah Hu could he be talking about and job. She just wished he'd speak clearly without so many statements sounding like questions.

He nodded shyly and didn't say anything else, waiting for her to say something else. She felt a little awkward because of the strange tension around them.

She smiled comfortingly at the mousy man, "just go to the fifth floor and they'll be someone to sort you out," she finally said after getting off the phone.

He nodded and walked to the elevator. She sighed and shook her head before thinking, I really hope he doesn't meet the boss today.

Mark sits at his desk tired and frustrated. He knew his employees were acting extra careful around him and he was glad. He was glad because if they didn't anything wrong, he'd probably snap without realizing it. He shakes his head and looks at the paper in his hand, he couldn't risk another failed design.

Just as he was about to stand up and talk to the design team, there was a light knock on his office door. Whoever it was, better be about something important because his patience was nonexistent.

"Come in," he sighed.

When the door opened he didn't expect to see someone who he's seen before and someone he'd never expect to see in this specific building. A mousy man, very short and very nervous looking. His clothes a mess and hair a bit out of place. Although he looked a bit out of place and awkward, the man offered Mark a polite smile. His hand outstretched.

"Hello, I'm Kevin Lee and I'll be your secretary for the time being."

Kevin would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a bit surprised at the handsome man who was in the office when he opened the door. After he had introduced himself the man, Mark Lu, leaned back against the deck and just stared at him. It was a bit uncomfortable to Kevin but he didn't know what else to do in a situation like this.

He knew the man who he kept bumping into was probably someone important but it really didn't cross his mind that he was someone of such a high status, especially the CEO of Lu Fashion.

After what felt like an eternity, Mark finally spoke, not bothering to shake the others hand. The only thing Kevin's could do was put it to his side and act like nothing had happened, awkwardly of course.

"So you're the person Sarah said she'd found," he sighed and shook his head, "I honestly didn't think she'd find someone so…" he didn't finish his sentence.

Kevin didn't know if he should've been offended or upset. All he could do was nod without saying a word.

"You don't remember me?" Mark asked unexpectedly.

Kevin looked at the man in front of him, how could he not? He was a God of men, someone so handsome and had an aura that you couldn't ignore. It was impossible to forget someone like him.

"Of course I remember you. You gave me the bouquet of tulips…" saying it out load was more embarrassing than Kevin had thought it would be.

The other man chuckled, it was low yet soft. A kind of chuckle that would cause a heart to skip a beat but cause Kevin to become even more embarrassed.

"Yes… I thought we would never see each other again after that but who knew…" he smiled and shook his head thinking about it before grabbing a manila folder on his desk and handing it to Kevin.

"Your first task for the day then. Take this to the design team, they're on the floor above us. Tell them I need something better than this and that although I never look at the designs, the last ones failed. I need better," when he finished talking he motioned for Kevin to leave and went back to sitting down at his desk, thinking of the man who had just come into his office. It either could be a disaster or it could all be perfectly fine. Maybe Sarah had made a good choice or maybe he'd have to have a long conversation with her when she got back.