Office Diaries

SHHHHHHHH! SHHHHHH!

Water fell like short rain cascading down her back. Mist filled the glass walls of the huge cubicle as she slowly rinsed the shampoo from her hair. Yanee's lean fingers massaged her scalp to help herself relax.

It was almost nine in the evening. She was back in her hotel room at Maison Pierre. She had finished the interview with the Li couple early and the couple took her out to dinner. It was quite a lovely evening with the small family, but Yanee still felt a little off from the interview. It was a good thing that the Li couple was really busy and so after eating, they did not linger.

Yanee returned to her room feeling restless and stuffy, and so she decided to take a shower. She also used this time to sort out things in her head. The hot water on her back made her body relax, and when she finally stepped out of the bathroom, she felt refreshed.

She crossed the room and sat on the bed. She wiped her hair with a towel, forgoing the usage of the blow dryer as it would damage her tresses. Glancing at the table, she saw her notes and decided to write some things she learned that day. When she finished, she frowned.

Er…

Yanee totally agreed that Ashley's and Alex's story was amazing. However, there was something that's bothering her. She smacked her lips together before biting the tip of her pen as she tried to figure out what exactly it was. She was in the midst of analyzing the problem when the screen on her phone lit up followed by vibration as a call came in.

Huh?

Yanee picked it up and was surprised to see the potato calling her.

"What does he want?" she wondered. They had just seen each other earlier in the day when Tohru took her to the airport. She wondered why he called now but then thought that there might have been some changes again that couldn't wait tomorrow.

"Yes, Boss?" Yanee answered.

In any case, it was a good thing that he called now so she could ask him what's been bothering her about the second interview. If she could finally get it off her c.h.e.s.t, then she might be able to stop being restless.

"Ms. Lee," the familiar baritone spoke on the phone and Yanee couldn't help but shiver.

Since she had spent more time with him, it was easy for her to conjure his image in her mind. His voice sounded as if he was directly speaking to her ear. As to why she thought so, Yanee suddenly refused to dig deeper for the reason and focused on the task at hand.

"How was the second interview?" he asked casually and Yanee frowned a bit.

Did he call just for that? She was thinking there would be changes to her business trip plans it's why he called at night. Even if she's on a business trip, it's way past working hours. Besides, if there were no changes she'd be back in Tokyo tomorrow. He could have asked her then.

"It's fine," she said and she told him the brief summary of the story.

"So it went well?" he prompted, but this time, she hesitated.

"Er…Yes, boss. It went well," she answered finally.

Tohru James already told her that she was not doing the interview to write the stories of the couples as they were. She was told to just base their experiences and write them. Still, what's the use of doing the interview if that was the case?

"Yes, but? If it's all good then why are you troubled?"Tohru prompted, and Yanee was surprised to realize how s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e the potato was with her mood.

"Well…"

How did he know she was having trouble? She was amazed that she had a potato psychic for a boss.

"Actually it's not really 'trouble' per se," Yanee explained. "I just wonder why I have to do the interviews in the first place since I won't be writing their real stories."

Even if Ash and Alex's story was indeed a type of romance that happened at the office at the beginning, it wasn't the case anymore with the story Ash told her.  

"Ash and Alex did have an office type of romance," Yanee said.

Ashley was the secretary of the CEO who came back from Europe to step in her father's shoes before he died. They met outside of work through a bet at a bar, but their romance started at work when the CEO saw that she was his secretary and pursued her. They did fall in love but it took three years for them to finally settle down their issues.

"But the one they told me was their trust issue before getting married," she ended.

"Oh? What about trust?"Tohru asked and Yanee sighed as she lay on the bed.

"I mean about the relationship not working without trust," she explained.

There was silence at the other end and Yanee wondered if the potato fell asleep in the middle of their conversation. But before she decided to say goodbye and hung up, her boss spoke again.

"Ms. Lee, when you did the first interview, what did you learn?"

Ynee frowned.

"You mean about Yunjae and Jinho's story?" she asked.

She had no idea why Tohru mentioned this, but she humored him. If this would help her with the project she had no issues discussing whatever. She stared at the ceiling as she tried to remember. Yunjae's story was a very emotional one. Still, now that she could think about it, if there was a specific word she could use to describe their story it would be…

"Fear," she said.

"Oh?" There was interest in Tohru's voice, and Yanee was sure he would ask for an explanation. "Why?"

"Because Yunjae and Jinho loved each other that they feared losing each other. But because they were afraid, they did lose each other for a while."

Yunjae was scared that Jinho hated her because she thought she destroyed his dreams of being the swimming champion. On the other hand, Jinho feared knowing that Yunjae's love was not what he thought it was and so he ran away.

"And how about Ash and Alex's story?"Tohru asked afterwards.

"Trust," Yanee answered readily. "And it's the type of trust that starts with yourself. Like what Ash said, if the person doesn't trust herself to make the correct decisions, then the person can't trust other people as well."

And without trust, the person couldn't live happily…

"If you love someone you have to trust, isn't it?"Tohru prompted.

However, this line made Yanee's eyes flicker as a familiar pain throbbed in her c.h.e.s.t. "Is that a generic question boss or are you asking my opinion?"

"Why? Aren't they the same?" Tohru countered.

Yanee was quiet for a while. "Kind of. I'm a pessimist."

Hearing her answer, laughter erupted on the other end, and Yanee's heart jumped at the melodious sound.

"Why are you writing romance then?" he asked, making Yanee stare at the phone as if the one she's speaking to was insane before placing it back on her ear.

"Boss, are you sure you're asking me that question?" she countered, making the other laugh harder.

Yanee's nose flared as she pouted. If she were a dragon she'd have breathed fire by now.

This senile potato! Who was it that threatened to fire her if she didn't take on this project? Huh?

"Just kidding," Tohru suddenly said, and Yanee was a bit appeased.

It's a good thing he didn't forget that he forced her after all. Else she'd really complain.

"By the way, when you return here tomorrow, you can take the morning off. Ria and Michael are in Tokyo so you will have your next interview immediately in the afternoon," Tohru informed her.

"Woah, that was quick," Yanee commented. "Why are they in Tokyo, by the way, boss? I thought they're based in Singapore?"

"Have you forgotten what their business is?" the potato asked and Yanee's eyes widened in realization.

Ria and Michael were bosses of a huge advertising firm. Well, actually, Michael was the boss of a big company and the advertising firm was just one of the many businesses under it. But he's mostly always tagging along with his wife on her business trips.

"Ria has a project in Tokyo?" she asked and Tohru laughed, indicating that she was correct.

"She's going to do a project proposal to AI Inc. tomorrow morning," he said.

"I see," Yanee murmured, impressed.

AI Inc. stood for Arcus Iris International, one of the biggest companies based in Tokyo. Under the company were schools, educational institutions, and publishing houses. Actually, Niji International was one of the publishing companies under it as well as her own office since Niji was their publishing house's mother company.

Grandma company then? Yanee giggled at the thought.

"Do you still have a question?" he asked afterwards.

"Well I still can't imagine what I'd write," she answered honestly.

"Just write something related. You can change the sequences. It's the emotions and the lessons that are important," he answered enigmatically, but Yanee was too preoccupied to notice the change in her boss' tone.  

"Rest up. You have an early flight tomorrow," he said before he whispered. "Goodnight, Ms. Lee."

Yanee didn't know why, but the last part made her heart skip again and she blushed. She nervously looked at her phone that was now all black as the call ended. She asked herself why she was turning more and more into an idiot before going to sleep.

Tomorrow, she's going back to Japan, back to her potato boss.

"No, he's not mine," Yanee rephrased herself. It's a figure of speech, okay?