Possessive CEO And I, His Secretary

"Honey, why don't you do something about this since you have a friend who knows the Chairman of Flamingo Cosmetics," suggest my Mom, to my Dad who is currently assaulting the keyboard with his large fingers and not even focusing on the conversation. "We must not allow her to be transferred to Seoul, never." Mom adds.

As expected, she doesn't like the idea of my work transfer. She can't bare not having someone around her to disturb.

Last year, I moved out of my family house and started living alone in my studio apartment away from home, but Mom often comes over to sleep and bother me with gossips about her Friend's son whom she wants to set me up on a blind date with.

"Eomma, I don't want to feel favored or make my colleagues think that I'm incompetent for my job," I say, trying to look serious. "Some of them already think that I got the job only because of my family's connection. I want to work hard on my own so please don't interfere in my professional life."

"But I find it strange that they're transferring you all of a sudden. You're not the only staff there, why does it have to be you?"

"Our CEO's secretary has passed away last week. I'm the only young person without kids who can quickly replace him for the time being. I'm not going to stay there, I'm going to transfer back as soon as they get a replacement. This is an emergency and I already told our Manager that I can manage."

"Sarah can handle it. She's just like me when it comes to showing off her competency at work. Let her do want she wants to do." Dad says in support of me, still typing and staring at his laptop. Though he said it the wrong way and I feel the need to correct him.

And perhaps, stir up some troubles for him.

"Appa, i'm not showing off my competency. And why are you saying I take after you when you threatened to disown me yesterday?" I say, louder so that Mom can hear the words clearly.

From the corner of my eyes, I can see my Dad glaring at me. He has completely stopped typing and is now waiting for me to look at him.

"Honey what is she talking about?" Mom ask, with a burning curiosity spreading fast all over her face as she tries to divide her attention between Dad and I. "Is it true you threatened to disown our Sarah?"

Dad gently place the laptop on the couch as he stand up to his tall height. "I'm thirsty." He announces, and then he starts walking away, hurrying towards the kitchen, with Mom's short height trailing after him. "Why would you say such harsh words to our baby, honey? Explain what you mean by disowning her, for what reason? Do you have anyone better than our Sarah? Do you know the severity of saying horrible things like that to your own child? You're not responding to me honey," nagging continues. . .

I laugh to my satisfaction but feel a little bit bad for my Dad after. Mother's nagging can be very scary sometimes, I wonder how they managed to stay in love for thirty one years.

A sudden thought of having myself getting stuck with a partner like Mom makes me shiver internally, and I quickly snap out.

I glance at my watch only to see that there's just about an hour to my flight.

Following my parents to the Kitchen, we say our final goodbyes and Dad helps me to leave quickly before Mom will finish gathering the bean powder she's planning to put in my already loaded luggage.

Because Dad has a lot to do and needs to rest before tomorrow, Monday, I refuse to allow him to follow me to the airport.

*

Monday morning was super quick to come by. I only slept for about four hours before my alarm woke me up.

Last night was hectic because I did all my stuff arrangements alone without receiving any external help. My new place is also a fairly large and well equipped studio apartment which our company provided me with.

Manager Ahn said a car will be given to me as soon as I meet with the CEO.

Talking about the CEO, Mr Jung Jae-young, who goes by his English name Jay, everyone at work thinks I'm lucky to be given such a big opportunity to work for him. I've heard and seen a lot about him on TV, but not even once in reality.

A lot of people admire his face and success given his young age of twenty eight. However, rumors are circulating that he has a narcissistic personality disorder and his temper is unimaginably shitty. I have already heard enough about how he treated his former secretary like a dog, and how miserable he made the man, yet the thought didn't hinder me from accepting the role when Manager Ahn talked to me.

Manager Ahn said the CEO rejected all the young employees working at the head office which was why he had to pick someone from our office in Daegu.

Well, I'm going to see for myself before forming any judgements about him.

I dash out through the door in a hurry that I left my overall coat which I'm supposed to be using to guard myself against the cold.

As I head back in to grab it, I stop at the mirror to adjust the sleeve of my inner shirt.

My suit is black but my heels are red in color so they stand out. I'm contemplating changing the heels and opting for a comfortable sneakers, but again, I don't want to show up looking like a rookie in front of the CEO.

I guess I just have to go with the heels. I'm not willing to let the CEO find any flaw in my dressing which is why I put on my best work clothes to blast him with my impressive first impression.

The taxi drops me off opposite our Company's skyscraper building. I head out and walk to stand at the crosswalk.

Waiting for the traffic light, I glance up at the massive skyscraper, feeling myself struck by awe and admiration. I can't believe that our company's head office is this huge and elegant in reality. A bold and colorful calligraphy written 'Flamingo Cosmetics' is fixed above the building, along with the statue of a Flamingo bird perching atop the skyscraper which makes the building to appear even more elegant and original.

Once again, I feel so proud of our skincare brand. We are one of the best cosmetic brand in Korea so our job is quite tasking and the competition is very high, but I really want to do well.

I don't notice that people have already start crossing the road until someone slightly graze their shoulder with mine. The young man turn and murmur out an apology before he hurriedly cross the road while I follow after him right away, causing the cars to start honking at me impatiently.

This is Seoul for you. Everyone tend to always be in a rush as if they're racing themselves to the end of the world. And in fact, this is the part of the country where people don't normally apologize whenever they graze your shoulder or push you. I think this man must be a real gentleman.

Surprisingly, he and I are both heading for the skyscraper entrance. I assume he also works at our Flamingo, judging from the rainbow color of the tag he has around his neck.

As we pass through the censored double doors, he stops walking and turns himself around. "Are you new here?" He asks, all of a sudden.

"Hello," I nod a little to greet him, and then I raise my head up wearing a warm smile, "Yes, I'm new here." I say. "I'm Sarah Han. Do you mind directing me to CEO Jay's office?"

"Ah, sorry for my bad behavior. I should've greeted first and introduce myself. I'm Kim Jin Woo, I work at the Make up department. It looks like this is your first time here, why do you want to meet with the CEO himself?"

"I'm from the Daegu branch office. Possibly the temporary replacement for the CEO's Personal Secretary position."

"Ah, congratulations. In that case, please ask one of the receptionist for a proper directions. Hwaighting!" He cheers for me as he flash out a set of splendid white teeth before turning and walking away in a hurry.

Such a strange, gentleman he is. He shouldn't have asked why I want to meet with the CEO if he has no intention of directing me to the office isn't it?

I walk towards the counter, trying to measure my steps and walk steadily to avoid tripping over my legs and causing a scene in front of all the employees. They're roaming everywhere across the spotless white tiles which is covering a wide expanse of space. There's a powerful lighting which has helped to enhance the neatness of the floor.

"Hello." I say, pulling out my ID Card and issuing it to the first young lady who's smiling from behind the spotless, marble counter. "I'm here as the new replacement for the CEO's Personal Secretary position. I'm Sarah Han." Isn't that obvious already? Of course you're Sarah Han!

"Welcome." She kindly hands back my ID.

"Please hold on for a minute let me make a call." And then she turns around and press the telephone.

Just witnessing how this young lady clutches the phone in her hand is causing my stomach to churn. She's speaking with honorifics dripping out of her lips as if the lives of her entire bloodline depend on it. It seems like the employees are not at all comfortable with the CEO, how can an outcast like me survive here?

"Use this in the elevator to go up the thirtieth floor," she says, issuing me a security pass which I kindly collect with both hands. "The elevators are here." She adds, pointing towards a bend.

"Thank You." I smile.

I walk my heels to the first elevator and enter, along with six more employees who all got off at some point until I am left alone again.

And finally, the engine shoots me up to the thirtieth floor.

The doors part open and I step into a massive lobby. This thirtieth floor looks like a whole different place than the first floor because there are no doors or windows or cushions or anything but an expanse of another spotless white marble flooring. The walls are made of glasses, revealing my reflections at three separate angles.

Oh, there's a door actually. Just one lonely looking door fixed into the glass wall at one end of the lobby.

My heels make a click-clack sound as I walk to the door and stand, feeling the knot in my stomach tightening. I'm lost, my brain has turned to jelly and I don't even know what I'm supposed to do -whether to knock or just open up.

Whenever I raise my hand to knock, it will tremble and cause me to put it back on my side. I'm going to stand here for a minute and practice my breathing exercise to calm down my racing heart. Breathe in. . . Breathe Out. . . In. . . Out. . . In. . . Out. . . In. . .

"What are you doing?"

I gulp and shoot my eyes open only to be seeing a large brown eyes framed by glasses which soon becomes a full face of an unfamiliar young man in my view.

No, I've seen him before, but he looks far better than what I am used to seeing on magazines and TV.

The CEO of our brand; our Flamingo Cosmetics. He's so tall and very good looking; thick dark hair and eyebrows, straight average nose and a cute upturned lips.

His black, fur coat perfectly fit his straight, broad shoulders as far as my eyes can see.

The one thing that mess up his look is the unwavering scowl that is plastered on his face like a living, angry kakao emoji.

"I know I'm good looking, but don't stare at me without my permission, Miss Han."

I snap out of my daydream only to notice the close proximity of his face almost about to touch mine.

I stagger backward quickly, but my high heels unfortunately loose balance, causing my left leg to flip over like a pancake. My weight descends onto a bone. . . Ouch! I yelp out in agony, mentally preparing myself for a crash. I'm ready to get buried in my pain and disgrace.

I'm waiting for the fall with eyes closed, but instead, I feel strong hands on my waist, holding and steadying me. His face is inching close to mine, and oh, shit, he just lets go of me.

I find myself flat on my bum with my hands on the floor as I Inwardly start cursing out his damned generation.

"Miss Han," he calls in a thick, masculine voice that cause my heart to start palpitating faster. "You look like you need to visit the hospital, don't you?" He ask, pulling his desk drawer as it makes a slight, uncomfortable sound to my ears.

I am sitting on a soft cushion on the opposite side of his desk, facing him who sits like a deity on his executive office chair.

The office is unnecessarily large but I don't even have the time to look around because the pain in my foot is eating me to the point of loosing focus. And why does he even care to ask, when he's the one who let me fall in front of his office?

"No, Mr Jay. . . I -I mean, Sir. I'm fine, its not serious." I try to resist the urge to shift in my seat again. The pain feels like my bone is being crushed by a grinder, yet I just lied to him that it isn't serious.

The last thing I would want to show this man is my weakness; he look like a sadist, who'll be very glad to know that I'm in pain.

My heart keeps on palpitating louder and louder. I didn't know I could get this nervous around any living human being until now. I could even count how many times I breathed and blinked in the minutes his eyes scrutinized me through his glasses earlier.

Mr Jay ccontinues looking into his drawers as though he's trying to find something very important. There's a certain kind of smell on his clothes and office which smells very familiar, yet my memory can't place where exactly I have previously smelt something similar.

Again, I'm not in the right state of mind to be thinking about this!

"Your CV says you're twenty three years old, Miss Han. And you didn't have any experience working as a personal secretary anywhere before joining my company as an intern, yet you are here. Do you think you're qualified enough to serve me?"

Why does he have to use the word 'serve'? I hate the way he speaks!

"I may not be qualified for the position Sir. But given the emergency situation, I hope you won't mind giving me a chance to serve you for the time being." Gosh, I can't believe I'm using the word 'serve'. "I know you can manage me temporarily, if you put your heart into doing it." I put up a smile on my face in hopes that he takes my illogical answer as an answer.

"I'm a businessman, Miss Han. Keep your emotions in check and stop talking about hearts. Maintain professionalism."

You rude, narcissistic little piece of garbage. Just because you're the CEO doesn't put you on top of the world. I've seen better, good looking rich men who chose to remain humble. What makes you think. . . Anyway, this is not the right time. "Ah, yes. . . Sir. I'll keep that in mind Sir."

"Miss Han?"

"Eoh?. . . Yes?"

He stops rummaging through his desk drawer and swing his eyes to me, relaxing his back against the seat. "Come here, to this side quickly," he says, with urgency in his voice.

"I?"

"Who else?"

"I -I'm sorry. Yes, Sir." Slowly, he's beginning to piss me off but I'm trying to act cool and pretend to be unaffected by his rudeness. The way he let me fall earlier. . . I'm going to make this man pay. But for now, I have to survive whatever evil he's planning to put me through again.

I suppress the urge to grit my teeth as I take off my top overall to reduce pushing more heaviness to my legs. I keep it on the cushion before I manage my heels and move close to his side, biting my bottom lip so as to contain the pain troubling my leg.

"Sit," he orders, standing up to his height. I pause in my stance and stare at him for a more explanatory phrase. What does he mean by sit? I should sit on his head or where? "I asked you to seat." He repeats again, with a slight tone of irritation.

"On. . . On your chair? Sir?"

"The floor." He points to the floor, and I curse him under my breath as I glance down at the white, marble flooring. Cool down. Stay Calm. No anger. No panic. Okay? Let's see the end of whatever madness he's planning to do here.

I lower down close to his desk like he instructed me to, dropping my bum on the floor and stretching out my legs like a toddler about to start playing with toys.

I watch him as he steps away from his chair and also lower his height and suddenly, he just grabs my left leg, forcing me to wince as I bite my lips in reaction to the pain. "Don't move," he says as he carefully takes off my heel. He begin to observe my leg, his hand delicately touching around the spot where my skin has slightly turned purple.

In a swift motion, his hand moves into the already opened drawer, and he brings out something which he instantly tear open to reveal a patch.

Wordlessly, he use the patch to bandage my leg while I watch him closely, suddenly wondering what has happened to the rude and arrogant man from a minute ago? Why is he being nice to me?

Something catches my attention in his hair and I look. Its shiny and perfectly parted in two, each part slicked to their sides in over-done perfection.

I'm suspecting his hairstylist of having an OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). His forehead looks so smooth and inviting to the touch. . . Can I touch it?

"Don't ruin your health before you start work." I flinch to the sound of his voice close to me. His eyes abruptly shifts from my legs to my face, and for a split second, I think I just saw his eyes checking out my lips before it fluttered back up to my eyes, and now he's glowering at me like a bull. An angry bull.

"I don't like dealing with damaged goods, Miss Han." He shoves my leg out of the way and returns to his seat, leaving me choking on my yelp.

I feel so foolish. It was naive of me to have thought for a minute that he cared about my health. Of course he needs me to be healthy in other to use and abuse me to his maximum satisfaction. This wicked human.

"Leave my office. Work start tomorrow and I expect you to be here by 7am. I don't tolerate unpunctuality." He throws something at me, which hit me straight across my forehead before it falls onto my laps. I can see that its a car key. A remote car key.

I must not get angry no matter what! "Yes Sir." I say, through gritted teeth which I'm sure he must've seen before he looks away, pretending not to see it. The patch makes the pain feel a little bit better.

I put my heel back before I stand up and walk to the cushion chair. I grab my overall top and start motioning for the door.

Stopping at the door, I swiftly turn around only to catch his framed eyes checking out my curve-less figure with a pen hanging between his fingers, but then he shifts his gaze so quickly, pretending to be in a critical thinking session and spinning around with his pen.

He's so full of pretense! But men will always be men, huh! I know when to get back at him!

I plaster what I hope will be a fake adorable smile on my face as I say my final "thank you for giving me the opportunity Sir," very loudly before I dash out through the door. Embarrassment instantly sweep over me as the memories of my stupidity begins flashing into my head.

I make for the elevator.

How silly of me to have put on such a show on my first day. I should have wore my snickers.

The thoughts of everything that happened at the office clung into my memory like a tick, bothering me all through the rest of the day and even at night while I was nursing my leg to sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about him. I don't know how I ended up dozing off on the couch after munching down on junk food.

*

My alarm didn't ring. Or maybe it did, but not loud enough to wake me up from my deep slumber. What awoken me instead, is another disturbing swinging and smashing sound. Turns out to be the sound of the balcony's glass window which I had left opened, smashing against its frame with the force of the cold wind.

I set my feet out of the couch, wiping off the sleep in my eyes and yawning as I shut the balcony window and turn the lock in.

I return to the couch with the intention of sleeping a little bit more, but then my phone begins to ring.

Lazily, I swipe on the call and pick without wasting a second to verify the caller. "Hello," I say, yawning into the phone again.

"I do not need lazy and disrespectful people in my company. You're fired, Miss Han. Don't bother coming here." A gruff voice blares through the speaker, causing me to flinch as confusion clouds my memory and my ability to think.

I lower the phone down as my eyes roughly check the time. It says 7:04AM.

Crap. . . I'm about to scream as my brain makes a recall, but thankfully I don't. I'm expected to show up at work by seven and not nine; the usual time of going to office in Daegu.

Before I can catch my breathe and respond to the caller, he hung up the phone.

Aishh. . . Why can't I stop creating more problems for myself? What do I do now? I'm so stupid! I'm scolding myself aloud, knocking my head hard over and over again as I rush to the bathroom.

I multitask by brushing my teeth and showering at the same time. I had previously thought that my leg would be problematic for me, but turns out it's just a minor strain. The pain has significantly reduced and I have no problem walking with the soreness.

I'm dressed in a black maxi skirt, a milky blouse which I tucked into my waist, and completed the look with a milky top coat.

Instead of putting on a high heel however, I opt for a white sneakers to avoid repeating yesterday's mistake.

Looks like I'm going to have to keep my self esteem aside and do a lot of begging. Or maybe not?

Twenty seven minutes later, the elevator is shooting me upwards to the thirtieth floor. I'm out and running into the lobby, heading towards the lonely door.

This time, I do not hesitate before pushing the door open and jumping into his office which is surprisingly empty.

That's strange. Where has he gone to? The receptionist gave me the security pass but didn't say anything about Mr Jay's absence.

I see a brown door to my right, which I'm sure is the bathroom. Could he be in there? I'm debating on what to do as I look at a smaller black door to my left, close to his tall, glassy and elegant bookshelf. Perhaps, that might be another secret office where he stays when no one is around. I don't know whether to knock on the brown or black door or to just sit and wait for him on one of those blue leathered couches?

But what if he doesn't come out? Up here is very lonely and silent. Anything can happen to a person without the security men knowing since they're not allowed to come up.

I don't realize my feet it taking me to the black door until I knock my head on the shiny surface. Stupid me! Aishh. . .

I push the door open as I step inside, throwing my eyes around the darkness which is not so dark as a result of the large, intimidating screens fixed into the walls everywhere. They're CCTV monitors, showcasing bustling people; mostly employees, places, floors, corners, elevators, and even. . . a bathroom? Really?

"You're not only lazy, Miss Han. I see that you're a brazen and stubborn woman." There, he stands in a dark corner ahead of me, framed eyes boring into my soul. I didn't even notice his presence when I entered because my attention went directly to the screens.

"Mr Jay. . . I really didn't mean to. You weren't in the office so I just thought that this place is lonely and silent, and anything can happen to you without anybody knowing." He takes a long stride closer, his bored expression quickly fading only to be replaced with a look of surprise and something I may call amusement in his sharp eyes.

"So you were worried, about me, is that your conclusion?" I nod at him to greet. "Good Morning, Sir. I'm sorry for coming late. I don't have any excuse, however I don't agree with your decision of firing me through a phone call. I don't think its professional of you to do that. Consider writing a letter of dismissal if you really want me gone." I don't answer to his question as to whether I was worried about him or not. My attitude can be defiant sometimes, depending on my mood.

Of course I can be normal, sweet, obedient, submissive and calm. However, most of the time, people tend to find me strange, brazen, rude, pompous, name it anything you want to. But at least, nobody knows that I am messed up in the head except for Mom and Dad.

They don't talk about it. They don't tell me how I got into that place about twelve years ago. They only sent me to the States to receive psychological counseling after the deed had been done.

The counseling didn't work. I'm still secretly messed up.

"How. . . Dare. You." Mr Jay is standing and towering over me because I'm not wearing a high heels. It's a flat snickers so I'm considerably shorter than him. "This is my company, you don't tell me how to run my own company, you follow and obey my rules. Are you brazen or are you just messed up in the head?"

Okay, he's yelling into my face and I'm beginning to loose it. But he didn't just called me messed up in the head, did he?

"I'm not messed up. Maybe you are, but I'm not. . . Sir. If you don't have better things to discuss with me, I'll have to leave right away. And point of correction, Mr Jung Jae Young. You did not build this company from scratch, you inherited it from your Father who worked so hard for an arrogant brat like you. I guess you're not familiar with the rules of handling employees, thus, I consider you unfit to be a CEO. I'm only forced to obey you because I want to keep my job. However, you can fire me if you think you can't handle my criticism. Just make sure to do it professionally."

He scrunches his flushed face, brows knitting together in multiple folds, eyes shooting straight daggers, nose flaring up continuously and lips slightly parting in what I'm assuming to be shock.

For a while, we're both silently exchanging a heated gaze. The heat from his raging eyes seems to be having an impact on me because I'm all sweaty and I want to take off my top coat.

"When I say you're fired, it means you're fired, Miss. Get out of my office. And hand me the keys to the car and apartment before you leave. Now!" He shouts.

Anger finds its way to my throat. I can feel the rage and bitterness about to make me explode. His good looks are useless, in-fact, I can't seem to find anything admirable about this man. Maybe he thinks I'm going to sleep on the street if he take away my keys? How disgustingly stupid!

My hand plummets into my coat as I fish out the car remote and the key to my apartment and drop them to the floor. He can have my clothes and even under-wears if he so badly wish to have them. Useless piece of rotten garbage.

I turn to the door and storm out.

*

Its been more than seven hours now and I'm still sitting on the long, deserted bench. I'm at the closest bus stop to our office, I don't know why I can't bring myself to conclusion on whether to go back to the company or not.

Damn my ego and self esteem. Is it okay to go and beg?

No. Definitely no.

I had only realized the huge mistake I made when I was about to take a taxi earlier, and the harsh reality came to bash me in the face. My handbag, phone, atm cards and every essential thing I need are in the car, and I don't even want to imagine myself in front of that jerk, begging him for the car key.

I honestly don't know what to do at this point. So I'm just sitting in the cold and zoning in and out. . . In and out. . . In and out. . .

"Hello," says a cute little girl who has just run over to me, her Mom is calling out her name Mi Kyung, but she's here smiling at me and holding up a. . . A teddy. A fat, smiling teddy bear?

I hate it!

I feel something beginning to choke my insides as my eyes get stuck on the smiling teddy bear.

I hate it. I hate it.

My thoughts are spiraling. . . Yanking me back into the room with smiling teddies. Lots and lots of smiling teddy bears everywhere. I'm being pushed into a dark tunnel, where my head is spinning around in circles. I'm breathlessly floating in space and looking for a way out in the blinding darkness. My way out. . . I have to find my way out.

I'm screaming and trying to push away the person touching me. Hands. So many hands all over my body, I can't fight them. I can't. I should run away!

"She's having a panic attack! Call the ambulance!"

"Don't go closer. . . Let's go, sweetheart. . ."

"Hey, get away from her!"

"And who are you, Mr? Are you her boyfriend or her husband?"

"Miss Han! Miss Han! Miss Han, breathe. . . Get a hold of yourself and breathe. . . I'm here. You're okay. Just breathe, Miss Han."

And everything stops; the spinning and spiraling and breathlessness stops. The world stops for two to three seconds before it bounces back to life, and I open my eyes and find myself crumpled; a warm fur coat draped all over me.

Looks like I'm still at the bus stop, but not on the bench anymore but the cold ground, rather. Together with someone cradling me protectively in their arms.

Tears are streaming down from my eyes but the long, perfectly straight fingers are working tirelessly to wipe them off gently. I just want to stay like this for the rest of my life. Its warm and comforting.

But wait, those hands undoubtedly belongs to a man. . .

Shoot. . .

My eyes flutters up to the face of a handsome Mr Jay without glasses. There's tension, curiosity, shock and a look I can't decipher in his darkening brown eyes.

For a moment, I still want to stay, however, the shock overwhelms me and I try to get up. His hold tightens around me as if he doesn't want me to move at all.

"Stay. . ." His lips tremble. "It's my fault for sending you away like that. I did wrong. I didn't know you have anxiety and panic attacks, your medical records are clean. I'm sorry. Sarah. I'm so sorry and ashamed."

Now I'm speechless. Not because I don't know what to do or say, but because he just apologized to me and I'm afraid. I'm about to have my second panic attack because I'm very scared and shaken. Thoroughly shaken to the point that goosebumps are under my shirt at the moment, and I think something is definitely wrong with CEO Jay.

But what is his problem? And why is my heart suddenly fluttering this much?