“So, is the new secretary coming in tomorrow?” Hyung asked.
“Yep. I talked to her today. She seems like a good girl,” Mia said. “You should have met her before. Making me hire someone on your behalf was too much pressure.” She sighed as she took a seat in one of the two empty chairs.
“You know what the my secretary has to do so you’re the person that knows who's qualified for the job or not.” Hyung shrugged. He trusted Mia, and it wasn’t just because they were friends. He knew he shouldn’t worry about the new girl, not when she'd been approved by her.
“Don’t give her a hard time, okay?” Mia warned. “You can be a jerk when you’re stressed.”
“Wow, you’re really letting it all out now that you’re leaving.” Hyung chuckled. Mia smiled and stood up again.
“Kristel called, by the way. You were in the meeting. She was at the airport.”
“You should have told me earlier,” Hyung said as he reached for his phone.
“I forgot. Sorry.” Mia pursed her lips and walked out the door.
Chapter 3
Talia stood in front of the tall building. She was breathless, her heart was hammering louder than the traffic that echoed behind her. She ran a hand over her pastel dress, smoothening the wrinkles she’d gotten on the subway. She held onto her bag tightly, so tight that her knuckles turned white. It was a side-effect of the nerves, of the anxiousness she’d been feeling for days. She hadn’t slept for the past two days. The dark circles under her eyes were hidden beneath a thick layer of concealer. She was excited beyond imagination, she was finally getting the opportunity she'd been dreaming of all her life. She hoped that everything would turn out as she’d imagined, she wasn’t ready for a disappointment.
Talia hadn’t met the CEO as he'd been in a meeting during her interview, so she wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. She'd prepared for the worst, she was ready to take it all for the sake of her dreams. She could have looked into him. She was sure the internet was filled with articles about him and his successful business. But she didn’t want to do that. She knew how the press overdid stuff, she didn’t want to fill her head with fake assumptions. Talia hated putting tags on people before she got to know them herself. Her new boss was no exception. She knew that as long as she did her job well she would be fine. That was the most important thing. By the time she’d finished those thoughts Talia was inside the building. She walked thorough the large double doors with careful steps. She was overwhelmed by the amount of people that ran from one corner to the other. They all seemed in a hurry, unaware of the things going on around them. She knew she’d soon be like that, but she was looking forward to it. She wanted to have a purpose, just like those busy people. She studied every single person in that lobby, and especially the receptionists. They were tall and beautiful. The smile with which they greeted the people was fake, but mesmerizing nonetheless. Their dresses were tight, way too tight to be comfortable. They were perfectly cropped images out of a magazine. She suddenly felt self-conscious.
Her dress was plain in contrast to the bright and expensive ones those girls wore. Maybe she should have worn a bit more makeup too. Every girl that passed by her surely did. Talia studied herself in the elevator mirror. She took the advantage of being alone to ruffle her hair a bit. She wanted to make a good first impression.
“It’s not like it matters,” she muttered to herself. “Let them be beautiful. You just be good at your job.” That was all that mattered in the end. By the time she’d finished her small pep-talk she’d reached the tenth floor. The entire floor was reserved for the CEO. There was only his office, the secretary’s office and the meeting room. Mia gave her a tour shortly after her interview. Talia couldn’t believe she worked there now. It was so fascinating and surreal.
The layout was simple and the walls were all white, with abstract paintings scattered all around. There were different decorations all around. Most of them had geometrical shapes. They were all made of the same gray metal too. The place was classy and chic and just the right amount of modern.
Talia took in a deep breath just as she came to stand in front of the large office. The door was closed, but she could see a silhouette through the blurred glass edges of the door pane. Talia didn’t think before she knocked on the door. If she thought for too long she was only going to panic more.
“Just go in, introduce yourself, and start working,” she told herself.
“Come in.” The voice was distant and low, she barely heard it at all. But, it had been enough to make her knees weak. She was so nervous, it was like the first day of school all over again. Talia stepped in not a second later, the sound of her heels vanishing under the effect of the blood that buzzed in her ears.
“Good morning,” Talia greeted. The man had his back to her. He was searching through the shelves behind his desk, but he turned the second he heard her walk in. That had also been the moment in which everything crumbled around Talia.
Her previous nerves and anxiousness suddenly turned into shock and confusion. She closed her eyes then opened them again, her lips were parted but no words came out. Talia wasn’t even sure she was breathing anymore. She was incapable of even performing such a vital action. Her brain was too focused on the familiar face in front of her. Her hazel eyes were glued to the brown orbs in front of her, to the pools that reminded her of the trip she was never going to forget. She first remembered Korea and then the hours she’d spent waiting. It all passed in front of her like a blur. The images played like dancing shadows. They were so vivid and so real that she could almost taste the disappointment she’d felt by the Han river.
She remembered the stiffness of the bench on which she sat while she waited for him. She’d spent so many hours waiting. She’d counted the people that passed by to help pass the time. She still remembered the number. A hundred and three. She’d been disappointed, but she’d talked herself through it. She wasn’t supposed to see him again, so she refused to spend too much time thinking about the reason for being stood up. That had been the plan. But it didn’t seem plausible anymore. Not when Hyung was standing in front of her.
“Talia?” Hyung breathed her name out. Talia swallowed the lump inside her throat and urged herself to calm down.
“Mr. Harrison. I’m Talia Williams, your new secretary.” Talia smiled politely. Did she have any idea what she was doing? No. Not the vaguest one. “Your previous secretary told me about what my duties are, so you shouldn’t worry about giving me any extra instructions—”
“Talia, what are you—” Hyung trailed off in confusion.
“I haven't seen your schedule yet, so I’m not sure if you have any meetings this morning,” Talia interrupted. She was indirectly telling him she didn’t want to mention Korea. She wasn’t sure if she even want to continue being there. So, until she figured it out, she wanted to pretend they’d just met. It was the only way she could get over what had happened. Hyung was clearly about to object, but he stopped in time. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he considered their situation.
“We don’t have any meetings. I’ll have to go over a few documents for the day, so you can use the day to accommodate and sort out everything,” Hyung finally said.
“Thank you. I’ll get to my desk, then,” Talia said before walking away. Talia thought he was going to object. He surely didn’t seem content with the way she was treating him. But he didn’t. He remained silent as she walked away. She wasn’t sure how she managed to finally get to her desk, her knees had been so weak and shaky. But she did. She exhaled loudly when she slipped into her leather seat.
She looked at the office door and then at her shaky hands again. There was so much adrenaline surging through her. It made her heart weak. Everything happened so fast. Her previous worries became nothing but a phantom of the past, they were now replaced by new ones. How could it be true? How could he be her new boss? He’d said he worked for a company, was that his way of being shady about what he actually did for a l
iving? Why had he kept it a secret?
There were so many questions. So many things that didn’t make sense. The coincidence was too much for her to handle. She thought about what should be done. There weren’t many options for her. She could either quit or keep acting like she had a couple of minutes before. The thing was, she wasn’t a quitter. Life was about the opportunities one got, and she wasn’t ready to give up on such an opportunity yet. She was going to try to work there, she planned to get over the awkward moments and be good at her job. Of course, there was also the possibility that Hyung was going to fire her. He probably didn’t want a summer fling to be around. If she could even be called a fling at all.
“I won’t let that happen,” she mumbled under her breath. “I worked so hard for this. I won’t give up on it so easily.”
He hadn’t cared about her back in Korea, so she wasn’t going to care about him in America. She forced herself to forget all the memories they shared, and she meant to force him to keep her as a secretary by being the best one he'd ever had.
“Yes. I’ll do that.” Talia sighed as she turned towards the computer. There was a notebook there. It had her name on it. Talia immediately guessed they might be written instructions from Mia and she was been right.
Talia spent about an hour there, she read through the lines carefully and even wrote up a couple of notes to stick around. Up until that moment, she’d gotten only two phone calls and they’d both been directed immediately to Hyung. Talia was about to go and see if he needed anything, but she was stopped by a sudden visitor.
She’d been so caught up in her work that Talia hadn’t noticed the woman until she reached her desk. She was Korean. That was the first thing that popped inside Talia’s mind. Then, she noticed her beauty and the expensive clothes she wore. Her brown eyes trailed over Talia, inspecting her from head to toe before she even greeted her.
“Hello. I’m—”
“Where’s Mia?” she interrupted. Talia was beyond annoyed by the superior voice the girl had used, but she wasn’t going to pick a fight.
“I’m Talia, the new secretary. I just started today. How may I he—” The girl didn’t even wait for her to finish her sentence, she walked past Talia and to the door that lead right inside Hyung’s office.
“Excuse me, you can’t go in there. I—” Talia said as she stood up. She wanted to stop her, but the girl moved too fast. By the time Talia reached her she was already halfway inside the office. Talia closed her eyes and bit her lip. Why was her day going so badly? Why did she have to deal with such a woman on her first day?
Talia was almost sure she was in trouble. She looked past the woman’s shoulder and at Hyung who was sitting behind his desk, his wide eyes set on the two girls.
“Hyung! I thought you were coming to the airport,” the girl said in a high voice. Hyung didn’t say anything, he seemed frozen in place. The girl was already walking around his desk, her slender arms reaching for his neck. She planted a kiss on his cheek and then straightened her back again. She turned to look at Talia, her gaze was as obnoxious as the first time.
“I see Mia’s substitute is here.” Her filled lips rested in a thin line. “I’m Kristel, his girlfriend.” She faked a smile.
Talia looked at her but she didn’t dare look at the man standing right next to Kristel. She felt his gaze, however. It was burning through her, speaking louder than words could. Did Talia feel betrayed? No, why would she? They spent only one day together, and nothing even happened. But she did feel mad towards herself for feeling attracted to him. Maybe the reason for being stood up was now in front of her. Maybe the beautiful Korean girl was all she needed to know in order to understand his actions.
“Nice to meet you.” Talia forced a smile.
“Thanks,” the girl said in a bored voice. “Can you bring me a latte? Make sure it's made with almond milk.” She didn’t even wait for Talia to respond. She turned to Hyung the very next second, resuming her complaint about the driver Hyung had for after her.
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“Can you believe it? Who does private weddings anymore? I swear he only did that because he was too cheap to invest in it,” Kristel said as she took another sip of her latte. “I don’t know how Anna agreed to it. I swear, she’s too blindly in love with him.” She sighed. “When we get married, I want us to have a huge feast. It should be a three day festivity, worthy of our families’ names.”
Hyung nodded but he wasn’t listening to her anymore. He gave up on the conversation a long time ago, when she started talking about the cheap diamond ring Anna had received. Hyung simply sipped on his black coffee and nodded.
“So, where should we go tonight?” Kristel asked after she finished her gossiping. “I heard that there is a new restaurant in town. Amanda already went there. I can’t meet with her without going there myself.” Kristel sighed.
It was always like that. She always wanted to do things that others did and she always wanted things that others had. Hyung, however, couldn’t understand that greed. She was the only child of a very rich family. She always had what she wanted, so why was she so hungry for others’ fortunes? Hyung liked it to believe it was a way to validate herself. Kristel was living in such a plastic world, a world she created herself. Maybe being above others made her feel worthy of that world.
“Can’t we just go to a simpler place? We can have some wine at my place, catch up?” Hyung was trying so hard to make sense of his relationship. They had nothing to catch up on, but he was trying nonetheless. He wanted the relationship to work, not because of love, but because of reasons he couldn’t easily explain.
“But why?” Kristel pouted. “Let’s go. We should take some pictures too. People are starting to wonder if we’re still together.”
“And why should we assure people that we’re together?” Hyung asked in exasperation.
“I’ll pretend you didn’t ask that,” Kristel said as she got out of her chair. “I don’t like the new girl, by the way.” Hyung wasn’t surprised when Kristel said that. He’d been expecting the talk.
“You don’t have to like her. I have to. I have to like her work,” Hyung added the last part so Kristel wouldn't have too much to interpret. The same thing had happened with Mia.
Hyung was about to say something else but he was stopped midway. Damon suddenly appeared in the doorway. His eyes traveled from Hyung and then to Kristel. Talia stood behind him, a little startled by how many unannounced visitors Hyung was getting that day. He felt so bad for Talia. She picked the wrong day to start working for him.
“I’ll leave you then,” Kristel said when she saw Damon. “Call me later so I know what time you’re picking me up,” she said over her shoulder.
Kristel passed Damon and Talia, she sent them both a low goodbye, clearly annoyed by both their presence. Hyung chose to ignore it. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with Kristel’s character.
“Do you need anything?” Talia asked them. Damon shook his head and so did Hyung. Talia walked out the next second, leaving the two guys alone.
Hyung hadn’t seen Damon for the past week. He'd been on some business trip abroad, during which he'd gotten into quite a scandal with a girl. Damon didn’t seem too concerned about it, at least not as much as his family. Hyung had been a good friend and had tried to advise him to keep a low profile, especially now, when his company was in such a dire state. But Damon wouldn’t listen.
“I like the new girl,” Damon said as he slipped into the empty chair. “She isn’
t as stiff as the other secretaries downstairs.” Damon was right. Talia was nothing like the other girls. He knew that all too well.
“I know,” Hyung said absentmindedly. He hadn’t been aware of how lost in thoughts he'd been, not until his friend brought him out of his trail of thoughts.
“What’s wrong?” Damon asked. Hyung contemplated on how to answer but then eventually settled on telling his friend about everything that had happened in Korea. With Talia as his new secretary, he needed a lot of advice.
Damon listened to Hyung carefully. He didn’t even interrupt him once. He nodded and fought a couple of chuckles. He was both amused by the situation in which Hyung found himself and concerned.
“You’re not allowed to talk about my crazy personal life anymore,” Damon announced. “Yours is far more messed up.”
He raised both hands in surrender. “Stop making fun of me and tell me what to do. I’m going crazy here!”
“Well, first of all, do you like her?” Hyung almost choked on thin air.
“No! Of course not! I only spent one day with her!”
“You stupid man, you don’t need to spend years with a person to like them. It can happen instantly!” Hyung was silent. “Anyway, I’m glad there’s nothing going on between you two. I may hate Kristel, but you shouldn’t play two sides. Break up with her if something like that ever arises.” It was weird to hear Damon speaking so wisely. It was often Hyung that made those kind of speeches.
Hyung knew that. He wasn’t the guy to cheat. But he also knew he would never find himself in such a situation. He dated Kristel for a reason. “Still, you should explain to her. You have to tell her why you couldn’t make it to the date.”
“Do I?” Hyung wasn’t keen about opening up that subject. He regretted leaving without a word. He could have spared an hour, he could have waited a bit and seen her before he'd left. But his situation had been critical. He hadn’t been thinking straight.
The Asian One: BWAM, Asian Man, Billionaire Romance (Relatives From Money Book 5) Page 3