Office Diaries

"Boss?"

Tohru looked up to see Chummy waiting for him outside his office door. He stepped out and closed it behind him before inquiring about what she wanted with his arched brows.

"Er…Where is Yanee?" she asked and Tohru smiled.

He lifted his hand and pointed at the closed door of his office with his thumb. "She's back there, sleeping."

Chummy's eyes popped out – or close to that in her shock.   "Sleeping?"

Tohru nodded. "There's a nap area there. I made her use it so she won't be sleepy later at the interview."

Chummy's mouth formed an O in understanding, but her eyes told something different. She squinted at him as if trying to analyze something on his face.

"Is there a problem?"Tohru asked as he walked over to Yanee's table and sat there.

He had brought all his paperwork with him and he planned to do it on her desk. The sound of paper shuffling could wake her up and he didn't want to disturb her. Chummy followed and continued to study him as he started going over the doc.u.ments. He looked up at her finally and saw the assistant step back, looking guilty as if caught doing something bad. But he was not angry. He totally understood why she was acting like someone who wanted to ask something important but unsure if she could.

"Yes?"

"Er… Boss, are you…"Chummy's voice trailed off as she squirmed. Her hands twisted in her front and she looked totally conflicted.

If he only was not curious as to how she would ask the obvious question, Tohru would have laughed. "Am I what?"

Chummy pursed her lips as she blinked. Her eyes remained focused on her boss, though, and Tohru would have given her award for bravery. Aside from her and Yanee none of the other employees dared to even look at him or ask him personal questions.

"Do you…perhaps like Yanee?" she asked, her curiosity finally winning the battle.

"Oh? Sure. I actually like you too, and my kimchi, and my…" his voice trailed off.

He looked and sounded nonchalant, testing if the lady would be discouraged and give up asking him. But he was surprised that not only it didn't. He got scolded too – indirectly, of course.

"Ah, okay. So basically speaking, the boss likes to flirt with everyone," Chummy commented, the interest in her eyes dying out.

There was also a disappointed twist on her lips, and she turned around to go back to her table without another word. This left Torhu dumbfounded. He couldn't believe he just got accused of being Casanova. The way she said those commented made it seem like he was a total playboy – and he wasn't. He's a very loyal boyfriend – not that he ever had been one before. Well, he almost had a girlfriend before but it didn't push through so it didn't count.

He pouted. Normally, he would ignore this type of thing. He didn't really care about other people's opinions of him, but Chummy was Yanee's friend, and it's a bad idea to make her think that he's a player. What if she dissed him to his lady love? He was already having problems trying to find a way for Yanee to believe in relationsh.i.p.s again. He didn't need an enemy next to the leading lady. He preferred if Chummy would be on his side. It was why he openly flirted with Yanee in front of her earlier.

Tohru let the doc.u.ments on the table and walked towards Chummy who now busied herself with her laptop. He stood next to her table and cleared his throat loudly. As expected, she looked up at him from her work.

"Yes, boss?" she asked almost formally this time. This made Tohru unhappy.

"I don't like Yanee," he said seriously, and he watched as Chummy's face turned into a cold mask before he dropped the bomb on her. "I'm in love with her…"

Chummy's face froze – not with cold indifference but due to shock. Tohru grinned at her and it widened when she opened her mouth only to close it again like a fish. Several seconds already passed and she was still like that, and so Tohru glanced at the watch on his wrist to check the time.

"Want to have lunch together?" he asked, and Chummy soundlessly nodded her head.

Soon the two of them headed towards the building cafeteria where other people were also already there. The others looked at them as soon as they appeared. The ladies' eyes glinted as soon as they saw the literature department's editor in chief, but gave a slight frown when they saw Chummy was with him. They found it odd as Tohru often dined alone, so not only they gave Chummy curious glances, they gave her envious looks as well.

"Ms. Tan, I think we better go somewhere else," Tohru commented seeing the crowded place.

Cynthia Tan AKA Chummy usually wouldn't care, but since they were going to discuss something very important, she agreed with her boss. Tohru suggested a restaurant near their building and she agreed, unmindful of the buzz they left behind.

The place was a little bit high end as their office was situated in Shinjuku. Chummy didn't feel guilty though. Just like Yanee, she belonged to a rich family although not the same level as Tohru. The two ordered their food and when it arrived, Chummy jumped in for the kill.

"Boss, you're in love with my ancestor?" she quizzed and Tohru laughed.

"Who is your ancestor?" he laughingly countered but didn't make it difficult for her this time. "If you're talking about Ms. Yanee Lee, then yes, I am."

"But… but 5WH?" she asked, making Tohru more amused.

By 5WH, Chummy meant, "who, what, where, when, why, how". It's a technique to brainstorm assignment questions and to help in researching topics they used at work.

"You already know the 'who' and the 'what'," Tohru said. "As for the 'where' and 'when', it was months ago when she did the interview. As for how… hmmm I don't know. I just saw her and I stopped functioning."

"Woooooah!"Chummy looked delightedly bewildered if there's such a thing. She was shocked but a happy kind of shocked. "So it's love at first sight thing? Oh my god, boss, I didn't know you of all people can have that experience."

"Why not? What's the difference between me and other people?"Tohru countered.

"I mean, you don't seem like a person who gets bothered by worldly things," Chummy commented.

"Worldly things? I'm not a god. I have very worldly worries – making business work for example," he countered.

He got irritated when he got referred to as something out of this world. It was one of the reasons why he didn't have a girlfriend until now. It's because when he found himself even slightly interested in someone and tried to get close to that person, she suddenly changed. When people found out who he was and his background, they lost their personalities to accommodate him – which was something he disliked. He wanted to be with someone who knew her own mind. This was also why he kept his identity hidden.

"Well, boss, you have to face it. You are good looking, rich, and very good at your job. If not a male god, what are you? Ask anyone at work and they will tell you the same," Chummy told him matter-of-factly.

"How would they know if I'm rich or not," he grumbled, but Chummy rolled her eyes on the ceiling.

"Boss, you're not seriously going to deny that bit to me, no? People are not so dumb. Everyone can see the Patek Philippe you love wearing around. I'm sure that's the grand complications men's hand-wound perpetual calendar watch that's worth 316,400USD in retail."

Tohru was taken aback as he unconsciously pulled back the sleeve of his sweater to show the inconspicuous timepiece on his wrist. He chose to wear it because it was not flashy. He also dressed ordinarily as well, preferring plain shirts or sweater over jeans. But it seemed he couldn't fool the esteemed eyes of experts.

Chummy was a fashion expert. She used to work at the company's fashion department before. Her eyes could discern quality at a glance.

"Well, alright, I'm rich," he confessed.

"It's something you don't have to hide. If I knew it, Yanee would too. She has better eyes when it comes to fashion than me. Also, it would be bad for you to try to deceive the lady. If you want to win Yanee's heart, you have to win her trust first."

"Oh?"Tohru's eyes flashed with interest. Now, this was a topic that he'd been waiting to hear. "How do I do that, then?"

Hurrah for free advice from the best friend of his girl. He was correct in thinking to get her assistance.

"Simple. Don't pretend. Show her who you are," Chummy stated.

"Meaning?" he prompted. He wanted information.

"Meaning you should stop being a frog that is, in reality, a prince." Chummy grinned. "You have to really tell her who you are and that you are coming after her openly."