The Deal With Mr. Amir

Chapter 1

"Miss Nakamoto, thank you for being here earlier. When Boss Hina went missing, our COO Liam was looking for you."

"Girl, hurry up! Our DB is turning into hell. Yeah, but why are you late?" the assistant said.

"Gosh Rica, calm down. Okay, I'll handle the DB now. I'm only 5 minutes late. Maybe later, we might get scolded by everyone here," Akari said as she and Dali hurried to her boss's office.

Take a deep breath before knocking.

Knock knock

"I'm f***ing busy," the boss shouted loudly from inside, looking angry.

"I hope I'm still alive to get out of here later," Akari thought to herself, blaming John because he saw her being late.

"Boss, good. What? You're late, huh? Where's my f***ing schedule?" her boss shouted so loudly that Akari could only squint.

Before, whenever he got angry, his legs would shake, but now, damn, he was used to it. Every day he yells here and there. It feels like he's going to fire her every day.

"Sorry, boss," Akari said.

"You always say that. Sorry, sorry, sorry every time you make a mistake," Amir shouted.

"How dare they, Arabs or Turks, what do you want? To ridicule me every time I make a mistake? It would be nice to roast you like a turkey," Akari thought to herself.

"Where's my schedule?" Amir insisted, narrowing his eyes at Akari, suddenly shouting at his boss.

"Ah, it's in front of you, boss," Akari replied.

"What?" Amir responded.

"High blood pressure again, probably thick-skinned from eating steak all the time," Akari thought.

"Akari Nakamoto, wake up! I said, where's my f***ing schedule?" Amir demanded.

Akari jolted awake and looked at her boss, who looked like a buffalo.

He walked over to his table, cleared the scattered papers, picked up the MacBook, and handed it to his boss.

"Last night, Payan. Boss, there's no meeting this morning. At 1 PM, you have a meeting with Mr. Lockwood at the Italian restaurant. At 3 PM, you have a meeting with Miss Zsa in his office. Then at 4 PM, you're going to the new site. By 7 PM, you have a family dinner. That's all," Akari said, but her boss didn't respond. He was silent but had a bad look on his face.

"What's the problem with our DB? I said where the schedule was, then I gave it to you. I even explained it, and you're still angry. Should I say that Ma'am Sahara might be crazy too because her child is like this?" Akari thought.

"You made me look like a fool," Amir said, and Akari looked at him.

"What do you mean by that? I'm just okay, sir," Akari thought.

"Make me a coffee," Amir demanded.

Akari quickly ran out of her boss's office.

"Aki, I heard you were late earlier," Mika, the marketing manager, said. Mika was older than her, married with children, and was also her friend, as were all her friends here.

"Aki, I heard you were late earlier," Mika, the marketing manager, said. Mika was older than her, married with children, and was also her friend, along with everyone else here.

"Yeah," Akari replied, feeling lazy.

"They're making you angry again," Mika said while drinking water.

"Not only that, it's worse because he's angry at you," Akari said.

"If I were you, Akari, a young woman, I wouldn't stay here for 24 hours, right? You're already married, Akari. It's hard to manage. Oh no, Rica and Lily are already married, but they have their own affairs. You don't have any, Akari. It's a shame to become an old maid. Just go," Mika said.

Akari's eyes rolled. She wasn't ready for that; she still had a big problem to face.

"Wait, I'm leaving. By the way, Morgan's birthday is today. We're doing something at their house. What do you have to do?" Mika said.

"I need to think about it, ate," Akari replied, taking a deep breath.

*Knock knock*

"Come in," Amir said. Akari entered and saw Amir's face.

And he turned around.

"I'm hungry," Amir said.

"Oh, okay," Akari thought, realizing she was all out.

"Did you forget your assignment? You're my secretary," Amir said.

"Secretary: a person employed by an individual or in an office to assist with correspondence, keep records, make appointments, and carry out similar tasks. Not a personal maid," Akari explained.

"So you made me look like I shouldn't be treating you like this or ordering you around because you're a secretary, not a maid. I'm right, Miss Nakamoto," Amir said in a cold voice.

"No, boss. It's your fault. I thought you were asking about the meaning of 'secretary'," Akari replied, trying to cover up.

"Do I look like a weak-minded person, Miss Nakamoto?" Amir said, glaring at her.

"Damn it," she thought.

"No, boss. You're the smart one, that's why you're the chairman," Akari said.

"Good. Here, buy me some food faster," Amir said, handing her his black card.

Akari took it and turned around.

"B***it, I've been working as a secretary/maid for 5 years at this company. It's really nice to roast you like a turkey. I'm a secretary, not a maid," Akari muttered.

"What are you whispering, Miss Nakamoto? Are you backstabbing me?" Amir said. Akari faced her boss with a big smile.

"No, boss. I was just remembering my tasks for today," Akari said and turned around.

"I'm not backstabbing you, boss. I was just trying to kill you in my mind and imagined a half-Arab and Turkish man tangled up with lechonan," Akari thought while leaving Amir's office.

How did he manage to get to this point in our demonic company?

FLASHBACK

"You're fired."

"You're fired."

"Get out."

"Pay all. Since you broke it."

"You can't stay here. Your face is..."

Every day, that's just the result of his training before he accepted everyone else. They all failed.

"Waaa, I'm just going to go back. Maybe no. Okay, I'm leaving. Just fight, believe in your stance, you idiot. I did the right thing, but if not, I'm really going home." Akari had been looking for a job for a week. She's always getting fired since the first day. They've been here for 2 years with Carla in the city. Now they're broke. They really need to look for a job, not just rely on their neighbors.

"I'll take it first," Akari said and sat on the bench. Luckily, Carla gave her a sandwich.

Just as she was about to take a bite, it slipped.

"B***it," Akari groaned, looking at the man who was supposed to be there now.

What she heard was just laughter.

"Do you know that I'm already hungry and you even make me wait?" Akari said, slamming her bag on the man lying down.

"According to him, sir, a police officer," Akari heard. He didn't care about him; he was pouring his anger on the man and everyone else had bad luck today.

"Miss, you're right," she froze as the police officer approached and took the man away.

"Thank you, ma'am. What's your name?" the woman asked.

"I'm Akari," Akari was confused why the woman asked her such things.

"Thank you for helping, ma'am. What do you want in return? Money or something else?" the woman opened her bag.

"Yes," Akari was surprised.

"What do you want as a reward?" the woman asked.

Akari was confused, wondering what the reward was for.

"Ma'am, what is the reward for?" Akari asked.

"For catching the thief stealing bread. Accept this," the woman said, giving her a bundle of money.

"Sorry, ma'am. I can't accept that. The thief is lying down, so I can't. I'll just throw my sandwich out of annoyance and hit him," Akari innocently said as the woman laughed at her.

"You're so innocent, ma'am," the woman said.

"Here is your money," Akari returned the money.

But Akari only received 2k.

"She should have paid for it. Carla struggled to get the bread from our neighbor last night, but she didn't pay. It was missing, and Carla almost got caught last night when she stole bread," Akari thought.

"Wait, ma'am. Are you looking for a job?" the woman said. Akari glanced back, and it looked like she saw the resume she was holding.

"Ah, yes. Do you know anything?" Akari said, wondering about her face.

"Of course, come tomorrow. I'll take you there. Here is my phone number, okay? Call me tomorrow," the woman said.

Akari frowned again.

"Dragon Empire Shala"

"Alright, ma'am. I'm leaving now. Thank you again," the woman said. Akari didn't pay attention to it because she thought she heard it somewhere, but she forgot where.

"Carla," Akari called.

"Oh, Akari, are you home? Did you find a job?" Carla said.

"She can't work because she only finished elementary school, and no one accepted her, not even one person," Akari said.

"Yes, but she gave me a calling card today. She said to call her tomorrow," Akari said.

"Really? Yes, thank God," Carla said.

"She also gave me 2k. I bought food with the woman's money," Akari said, lifting the bag she was carrying.

"Thanks, now we won't go hungry and have to steal from the neighbors anymore," Carla said.

"Hey, roasted chicken, where did you get that?" Akari said, craving the chicken.

"Ah, it was next door. Come, let's eat. I'm hungry from earlier," Carla said.

"They already ate the chicken. They don't have it. Earlier, they only have rice," Akari said.

"They already ate the chicken. They don't have it. Earlier, they only have rice," Akari said.

"I also bought a Coke," Akari gave Carla a can of Coke.

"Grave, the chicken is too tasty," Akari bit her foot.

"You even said that it tastes better," Carla said, laughing.

"Lorita, where's the chicken panabong Kong?" They heard from the neighbor.

"Well, I don't know, Alberto. Just every day, you're the only one stroking me. If you don't stroke me even once, I'll roast your chicken," they heard them shouting.

"Being married is hard, isn't it?" Carla said.

"You even said that every day they're fighting, right?" Akari said.

"I'll really kill whoever took my chicken. Alert, my chicken is titing-titing, calling daddy alert Chocho," they looked at each other and laughed.

"Hey, where did you get our chicken?" Akari said, shouting.

"They borrowed it because earlier, a chicken flew into my basket. I hit it with a board, so it died. I just cooked it. Now we have nothing to eat," Carla said.

"Wait, don't say that," Akari said.

"Don't make a noise, Akari. We're out of it now, oh," Carla said, causing Akari to glare.

Knock knock

They both looked at each other.

"I'm going," Carla stood up but still held the chicken before going to the door.

"Carla, ma'am, thank you so much for your chicken. It's delicious. You're good at cooking, even Berto likes it," Lorita said.

Akari's mouth dropped.

"That's not it, Miss Lorita. Please tell Mang Alberto to eat more," Carla said.

"She already finished the chicken," Lorita said.

Akari almost laughed.

To Be Continued..

Chapter 2

"Girl, why are you frowning?" - Liam asked. Their boss wasn't around, having left for a meeting, and Liam was curious why Akari wasn't included. She figured it was better that way, so she could avoid being ordered around.

"Ugh, it's so annoying! All these orders, it's exhausting!" - Akari said, gripping her pen tightly in frustration.

"I thought you were used to it?" - Rica asked.

This was how they acted whenever their boss wasn't around-gossiping in the pantry.

"I am used to it, but it's just so tiring. My body hurts!" - Akari complained. Earlier, she was told to photocopy 100 documents, each 50 pages long, making it 500 pages in total. Afterward, she still had to file them all.

"Wait, what if Sir has some secret grudge against you, and that's why he makes you suffer?" - Rica suggested.

"What are you talking about? Gosh, Akari is kind and beautiful. Wait, what if Sir is my classmate and he's jealous of Akari's face?" - Liam joked.

"You have a point!" - Rica said, and the two high-fived.

"Ugh, I feel like my body is about to give up," - Akari said, rubbing her neck.

"If I were you, girl, I'd just resign. I feel sorry for you. You only get one day off, and sometimes, you don't even get that because the boss calls you in. It's time to love yourself!" - Liam advised.

"Liam's right, Akari. You've changed so much. You used to be so slim, and we found you adorable. Now, it's like you're a bamboo stick!" - Rica added.

Akari sighed. Carla had already told her this many times.

"I'll think about it. My contract is ending next week, anyway," - Akari said.

"Oh well, congratulations! You're finally leaving this hellhole!" - Rica said.

"True, just two more years for me. After that, I'm applying abroad right away," - Liam shared.

"Yeah, the salary there is much higher. Not like here, where you get your salary today and you're broke tomorrow. It's eggs every day!" - Rica laughed.

Akari couldn't help but laugh along with them.

"I keep telling you to resign. Your parents will kill me if something bad happens to you. Good thing John found you last night." - Carla said while serving food on the table.

"She got caught in the rain yesterday. Her demon boss let her go at 8 PM, and now she's got a slight fever. Though it went away by morning, she was late earlier, and now it seems like she's cold again."

"That's bad luck, Carla. Not good. Do you think John might have reported it?" - Akari asked, looking at Carla.

"If John reported it, we'd be in big trouble. Most likely, your parents would be here by now if he did. But I don't think he did. I trust John." - Carla reassured.

"I hope you're right. I don't want him to tell them he saw us," - Akari sighed.

"I miss Kaloy," - Carla said suddenly.

"Kaloy or his mango trees?" - Akari teased with a smile.

Carla and Akari had been childhood friends, though Carla came from a wealthier family. At just 15, Carla had become a helper in Akari's household due to the hardships her family faced. Back then, Akari was still a kid who didn't even understand the concept of 'help.' All she cared about was getting out of the house, exploring, and picking fruit she found interesting.

"I don't know with you, Akari," - Carla chuckled, and Akari laughed too.

"Alberto!" They looked at each other and shrugged. Those people were always shouting every day.

"What are we having for lunch? What's this called again?" - Akari asked.

"Chicken Tinola. I'm sick of your steaks and pork," - Carla replied.

"But you don't even eat steak! You always say it's raw and bloody. Ugh!" - Akari rolled her eyes at Carla.

"Well, it's the same thing. It still has blood. I'd rather eat dried fish than that raw meat," - Carla laughed, making Akari chuckle too.

"Where did you get this, though? I haven't given you any money yet because I haven't withdrawn any." Akari eyed the Tinola that Carla cooked.

"Oh, you know..." - Carla looked away.

"Hey, what do you mean 'oh'? We didn't buy chicken last Sunday. Where did you get this?" - Akari questioned.

"It's heaven-sent! Just drink your soup before it gets cold and your chills return. I'll eat too." - Carla started serving herself from the bowl.

"You better make sure, Carla. I'm telling you, it's fine now because we're alone." - Akari warned.

"Yeah, it's heaven-sent. Believe me, just eat." - Carla insisted.

"I'm telling you, Carla!" - Akari said.

"There's nothing to worry about!" - Carla replied.

Carla

She was sweeping the backyard of their house, which actually belonged to her deceased aunt. Thankfully, her mother had mentioned before that they had relatives here and that there was a house left behind, so she thought of bringing Akari here. How foolish of them to run away. They brought money, but didn't know the password to Akari's mini vault. They forgot about it, so they endured for a month, surviving by asking their neighbors for food and helping out. She was practically a slingshot expert back then, shooting down mangoes and guavas.

"You shameless cat! Give me back my fish!" - Carla just shook her head. Every day it's like this. Their house isn't really a slum, it's a decent size with a small yard, but the houses here feel like a slum because of the noise. People yelling at each other every hour, gambling, gossiping, and then the fights end in hair-pulling. That's what their neighborhood is like.

"You lazy bum, Danding! I told you to cook this dish I bought, I still have to do the laundry!" Carla heard someone from behind their house.

"Alberto, get up already!" came from the other side of their house. It must be Aling Lorita again.

"Ugh, no wonder they don't have kids. Their baby must have gotten squished inside from all the yelling," Carla thought as she swept.

"I don't care, Lorita! It's your fault Alert is gone!" - Alberto

"Poor Alberto, that's been six years. That baby got flushed down the toilet, and now it's compost. Eat something, Mang Berto," Carla whispered to herself, laughing.

"Fine, don't eat. No one's eating later, Danding, did you hear me? Because I'm not cooking! Damn it!" - Rosing

"What should Akari and I eat later? There's a lot of food in the fridge, but it's all steak and pork," Carla thought.

She looked up, thinking about what to prepare for their meal.

"Akari still wasn't feeling well yesterday. She needs some soup. I might lose my head if she gets sick, and Doña Isabella finds out. I hope John doesn't tell on me. Who knows?" Carla thought.

She continued sweeping, and when she finished, she held her aching back.

"Ah, my back hurts, but at least the weather's nice today," Carla said, looking up at the sky.

"Oh, my papaya tree has grown big! It looks like it's ready to be picked for some tinola... but we don't have any chicken in the fridge," Carla remembered that they forgot to buy chicken.

"Ugh, I hope some blessing falls from the sky," Carla sighed.

She was about to grab the dustpan when, suddenly, a chicken flew right into her dustpan.

"A blessing from the heavens! Thank you to whoever sent this chicken, truly a gift from the skies! My prayers have been answered!" Carla rejoiced.

"You're the best! You listened to my wish. Thank you for the meal, amen!" Carla said and rushed inside.

"You idiot, Danding! The chicken is missing! Did you just feed it to the cat? You're such an idiot! What are we going to eat now? The cat is lucky, while we're stuck with dried fish!" - Rosing yelled at her husband.

Knock knock

Aling Lolita stopped in the middle of lifting a pot when someone knocked.

"Oh, it's you, Carla." - Lolita

"I brought you some food, Aling Lolita. I overheard you didn't have any. It's perfect, I cooked a lot earlier for me and Ate, and I added way too much, so I bought extra ingredients," - Carla

"Thank you, dear. You and your sister are truly blessings to us. You always share your food. It really shows what being a secretary can do for you." - Lolita

"No problem, Aling Lolita. Just return the container tomorrow," - Carla

Akari woke up early, worried that her boss might yell at her again. It was only 5:30 a.m., but it was already bright outside.

"Aling Pasing, can I buy some pandesal, and the one with the red filling, please?" - Akari

In the six years she's lived here, she's gotten used to the place and even adopted some of the loud and gossipy habits of the people here.

"Oh, it's you, Akari dear. Just a moment." Aling Pasing owned a bakery nearby, so it wasn't far.

"You know, last night, Natoy's papayas went missing," - Akari's ears perked up as she slowed down her pace.

"Oh really? I bet Lolita's the culprit again. I saw them last night; they had chicken tinola for dinner," - Akari's eyes widened.

"And then Rosing was yelling that their chicken was missing, and Danding supposedly fed it to the cat. Maybe the cat brought it to Lolita, and then Lolita cooked it," - Akari closed her eyes in disbelief. She had suspected something was off when Carla didn't answer her last night. Where did she get that chicken?

"Carla! I knew it!" - Akari thought and hurried home.

"Carla, where did you get the papaya yesterday?" - Akari asked when she saw Carla making coffee.

"From us," - Carla

"What do you mean, 'from us'?" - Akari asked, confused.

"Oh, Akari, of course from our garden. What are you thinking?" - Carla

"What? As far as I know, we don't have a single papaya tree in our yard. We don't even plant anything! And you said it yourself, why would we plant when there's so much in the neighbors' yards?" - Akari

"Well, you know what they say, if the plant grows past the fence, it's yours. So, it's ours!" - Carla

"Waaa, I give up on you, Carla. You're going to make me old faster," - Akari

"Wait, does anyone actually grow old early? I thought you only age when you're a senior," - Carla looked at Akari.

"Waaa, I'm going crazy because of you, Carla!" - Akari went upstairs, clutching her head in frustration.

"Hey, Akari, your coffee's ready," - Carla

"I don't want it anymore! I'll just take a shower!" - Akari yelled.

"Fine, then I'll drink it!" - Carla

To Be Continued...

Chapter 3

"Sigh" Akari muttered as she took a sip of her coffee.

"How many sighs is that, girl?" Liam teased.

"You seem troubled these past few weeks," Rica added.

"I'm just torn on whether to give it or not," Akari admitted.

"Give what? If it's *your* flag, don't do it, girl! Especially if you're just dating," Liam advised.

"Wait, don't tell me you have a boyfriend now?" Rica asked in surprise.

"You guys, it's about Sir Devil Boss," Akari clarified.

"Are you giving up your 'Bataan' to DB?" they both teased in unison.

"What are you even talking about? What Bataan? Gosh, what I mean is my resignation letter!" Akari corrected them.

"Ohhh," was all they could respond.

"Hey, what's the gossip here?" Girly, Rica's team leader, who was also quite close to them, asked.

"TL, Akari is still deciding whether or not to resign," Rica explained.

"If you ask me, I'd say go for it! Sure, you have a high salary, but your body is taking a beating. Honestly, Akari, there are plenty of jobs out there where you won't be as exhausted. Look at us-we're out of here by 5 p.m., while you're sometimes here until 8 or even 11 p.m.," Girly said.

"Girly's right, Akari. Girl, you're wasting your beauty here," Liam added.

"True. If I had a face and body like yours, I wouldn't endure this either. Lots of companies would hire you in a heartbeat," Girly emphasized.

"If I had your looks, I'd be a model," Rica chimed in.

"Akari's got the face, but not quite the height," Liam joked.

"What's this all about so early in the morning?" They all turned to see who it was.

"Here comes the suck-up CMO again," Liam whispered (Chief Marketing Officer).

"Sir Liam's courting Miss Nakamoto, Miss Matilda," Girly said, teasingly.

"I don't care. Get back to work," Matilda snapped.

"Miss Matilda, you seem to forget that I'm higher up than you. You're acting like you're the chairman when you're just the vice-chairman," Liam said in a deep, stern voice.

"My apologies, Sir Liam," Matilda quickly responded.

"Alright, get back to work. Miss Nakamoto, remember what I told you," Liam said with a wink at Akari.

"Suck-up," Akari heard Matilda mutter as she passed by.

"Oh, the missing thing? Sure, I'll inform the boss. Thanks for the info, Sir Liam," Akari replied.

Matilda immediately glanced at Akari, as if she wanted to say something.

The three of them just smiled at Akari.

There's a rumor going around their floor about some missing funds, and the five of them suspect the CMO and CFO since they're the only ones with access to the company's codes and funds, but they still need evidence.

"Miss Nakamoto," Amir called out.

"Sir?" Akari responded as she was about to enter Amir's office but bumped into him instead.

"Your gossiping took too long, and you've forgotten what time it is," Amir said, glancing at Akari.

Akari looked at her watch. It's only 11:06; she still had 14 minutes to spare.

"It's only 11:06, sir," Akari pointed out.

"Did you forget?" Amir asked sharply.

"Excuse me?" Akari replied, confused.

"I told you earlier to be back by 11 because Megan is coming here for lunch with me," Amir said loudly.

"He never told me that," Akari thought to herself.

"You know I hate incompetence and laziness in this company. I told you that before I even hired you as my personal secretary," Amir snapped.

"I'm sorry, sir," Akari said with her head down.

"All you ever say is 'sorry, sorry' whenever you make a mistake. F***! Has your head gotten too big just because you've been here for a while? Let me remind you, Miss Nakamoto, I don't care how long you've been here. Don't act like you own your time. You're not the boss here. Got it? Next time you mess up, I won't hesitate to fire you," Amir threatened.

"Then go ahead and fire me now," Akari wanted to say, but no words came out. She felt like crying. She didn't know why she felt hurt by her boss's words this time. He's cursed at her and yelled at her before, so why now? Maybe Rica was right-does her boss secretly hate her? They don't even really know each other, right?

"Don't you dare cry in front of me. Faster! I want that food in 20 minutes," Amir barked, turning his back on her as he entered his office.

"I've made up my mind. I'm resigning. His attitude is terrible. I'm a secretary, yet sometimes I'm sent to deliver flowers to his women, and now I feel like a maid. I've had enough," Akari cried in the elevator.

FAST FORWARD

Knock, knock.

"Come in," she knows it's Megan just from the voice.

"Ma'am, sir, here's your food," Akari said as she placed it on the table.

"Thanks, Miss Akari. Still the same Miss Akari," Megan replied.

"Yes, ma'am, your favorite, just as Sir said," Akari replied, bowing her head.

"Thank you, babe," Megan said.

"Why are you late?" Amir only asked, and Akari looked at him, focused on the paper she was holding while signing with her other hand.

Akari thought, "Why does Amir ask? He only had to wait for a few minutes for his boss. I want to tell him, why don't you ask yourself why I'm late? I was stuck in the bathroom because of what you said to me. I really appreciate that, sir."

"So, don't say sorry, Miss Akari. It's okay. Amir, be nice to her. You're still aggressive. You can go now, Miss A-did you cry?" Megan said when she saw Akari's swollen eyes.

"I just got a bit teary, ma'am. Excuse me," Akari quickly replied and hurried out. Amir glanced at her as she turned her back.

Megan stared at Amir.

"If something bad happens to her, just be ready for me. If she gets tired and leaves you, I'll let you be the one to regret it, Amir," Megan warned.

"What?" Amir looked at his cousin.

"Don't give me that 'what' look. You involve us because of your foolishness. I don't know about you; I'm just going to eat," Megan rolled her eyes at her cousin.

.... AMIR .....

Smiling, Amir entered the company. He arrived late because he had to meet with a client.

He frowned when he didn't see Akari. As always, when she wasn't around, she wore something different. He was curious why she was always with the CFO, so he wondered why those two were always together in the same place he knew Akari usually hung out.

The pantry. She was always hungry, yet she never seemed to gain weight. So, he quickly went there and saw one of his team leaders entering the pantry. He didn't know her last name and had no intention of finding out.

"Damn, this girl," Amir thought as he was about to enter when he overheard a conversation.

"Hey, what's the gossip here?" Girly asked.

"Because, TL, Akari is still thinking about whether to resign or not," one of them replied. Amir suddenly froze; it felt like his world stopped when he heard that.

"She's going to resign? No way, I won't allow that!" Amir thought and quickly returned to his office.

Kring, kring

"What's up, dude?" Lenon asked.

"I need your help," Amir said, explaining what he wanted to happen.

"F**k, that's unlikely to happen, dude. Also, it's against the rules. It would be okay if you hadn't given her a copy of the contract. It could have been changed, but if she has a copy, that's impossible, dude," Lenon replied.

"Sh*t, what should I do? She's going to resign, Lenon," Amir said.

"Don't ask me that, Amir. I'm not a lover boy," Lenon retorted.

"Thanks, womanizer," Amir replied and called him a jerk.

He stepped out just as he saw Akari heading toward her office, so he hurried to catch her.

"Miss Nakamoto," Amir called, but it seemed he still had that conversation from the pantry stuck in his head, echoing in his ears.

"Sir?" Akari glanced into his eyes, and he didn't want to make eye contact with her; it felt like he was losing his composure.

"Relax, Amir. It's not confirmed that she's going to resign," Amir thought.

"You're rambling, and you've forgotten what time it is," he said.

"It's only 11:06, sir," Akari replied.

*Damn, I keep noticing that they're always together now. I wonder if she's become bold because of that guy, Liam,* Amir thought, and he suddenly got angry again thinking about Akari and Liam being together all the time.

"Did you forget?" Amir asked.

"Excuse me?" Akari replied.

"I told you earlier to come back by 11 because Megan will be here for lunch," Amir couldn't help but raise his voice out of anger, especially when he thought about the resignation.

"You know I don't like anyone who's a slacker in the company. Didn't I tell you that before I hired you as my personal secretary?" Amir added.

"Sorry, sir," Akari said, bowing her head.

"It's always 'sorry' when you make a mistake. F**k, you should be more aware since you've been here for a while. Let me remind you, Miss Nakamoto, I don't care if you've been here long; don't think you control your time. You're not the boss here. Get it? Next time you slack off, I won't hesitate to fire you," Amir said, suddenly looking at Akari, feeling guilty, but he needed to do this.

"Don't cry in front of me. Faster, I want that food within 20 minutes." Amir turned away, afraid he might not be able to stop himself from hugging her.

Kring, kring

"What?" Megan answered the call.

"Can you come here?" Amir asked.

"What do you need from Amir the clumsy?" Megan replied.

"F**k, just come here, Megan. Ten minutes," Amir insisted.

"No, what are you talking about?" Megan said.

"Fine. I told her you were coming and that I asked her to get your favorite. Is that okay with you?" Amir said.

"I don't care about you if I didn't think of you as my cousin, and about the food-you're so clumsy," Megan replied.

*Tap, tap.*

Amir sat down in his swivel chair and rubbed his hands over his face.

He opened the locked drawer.

"F**k, I'm so sorry again," Amir said, looking at the picture of Akari framed in his safe drawer.

To Be Continued...