Office Diaries

Even before Ria Davis had seen their boss in person, Michael Chen had already been very famous for his shrewdness in business. Like his retired mother, he was a cold hearted entrepreneur. He didn't trust anyone, she reminded herself as she nodded and shrugged, and proceeded on placing the roses in the vase.

Surveillance cameras should be the norm in MCA. 

An awkward silence filled the room after that, only broken by Charle's audible sigh. "Have you finished the report I told Park to tell you to revise?"

"I haven't done anything yet. I just got them," Ria said as she pointed at the papers on her table. 

Charles looked a little bit thoughtful before he sighed once more. "Don't change them anymore."

"What?"

"Don't change them anymore. Just memorize the details on your meeting with Aqua," he informed her as he scratched his head. "You only have five minutes to do that."

"WHAT?" This time, Ria was really surprised. "The meeting's tomorrow!"

"With Aqua, yes," he answered before he grinned. "With Chen, no."

"Chen? The CEO?" Even Dylan looked confused and Charles rolled his eyes once more. 

"No, the janitor," he snapped. "Dylan Ng, why do you always ask the obvious? Of course it's the CEO. Do you know any other Chen here that would bother with contracts?"

With that, it was Dylan's turn to scratch his head. "I think I'll leave now," he said as he excused himself. It would be best to retreat to his own office than to continue looking like an idiot here.

On his way though, he passed by identical flower pots and he tried to lift the fake leaves for cameras and scratched his head when he couldn't find them.

"Sometimes I can't decide whether he's an idiot or not," Charles commented loudly as he and Ria watched Dy's retreating back.

Just like her, Dylan Ng's one of the company's advertising geniuses. He had some oddities however and most times he was naïve.

"He's not an idiot. He just got selective memory." Ria couldn't help but giggle at her own words and then stopped as she remembered what Charles said earlier. "What do you mean by the CEO earlier?"

"Chen's coming here."

He's coming WHAT?

Realizing that what she thought she misheard was right, Ria's heart started to beat fast and she swallowed hard. 

"Why? He hasn't bothered with this department before," she commented nonchalantly although deep inside she was anticipating meeting the young CEO again.

Ever since she joined the company, to her dismay, she never had a chance to see much of the CEO – and when she did it was only from afar. Michael only met with Charles if he had concerns in the department and with no one else.

"Why?" she asked.

For a moment, Charles looked thoughtful before he spoke. "Beats me. I don't know how that man's brain works— nor would I want to bother to know. But he'll come just about…" his voice trailed off as he turned to the door, and as if on cue, it opened and the CEO in question suddenly stepped in, looking immaculate in his lean suit. "…now."

Nooooooo!

She was not ready yet. But who cared about that? The man who looked at her intensely with his pair of obsidian eyes certainly didn't. Ria Davis was not able to do anything but grit her teeth and bore with the situation, wishing silently that she'd survive. 

And she did…

A couple of hours after, a sleek black car stopped in front of the huge iron gates of a ritzy subdivision, and security guards immediately ran to open it.

Watching the entrance open, Ria leaned back into her seat inside the car and closed her eyes as the drive resumed. Today had been so taxing, both mentally and physically. She'd heard how the CEO was tagged as the devil in a suit, but she'd always thought it was just an exaggeration.

It wasn't.

The CEO didn't even bother with greetings earlier. He just sent them moving round and round while squeezing their brains with a series of questions which he followed up with more squeezing questions.

From the moment he stepped in in her office, Michael Chen only glanced at her and the vase she was holding and raised his brow before he fired orders like a drill sergeant that even Charles immediately followed.

"Ms. Ria, we're here."

At the chauffer's voice, Ria opened her eyes and realized they had already stopped. "Thanks," she murmured as she gathered her suitcase and jacket and stepped out of the car.

In front was a huge three-story house equipped with five bedrooms, a huge kitchen, a study room, a den, a hobby room, entertainment room, living room, a dining room complete with a mini bar, a pool, a garden and a huge garage.

In short, the house was in fact an exquisite mansion, and this, along with the chauffeured car were lent to her by the company.

Aside from these, when she's not at home or when she's sleeping, people came to the house to clean and cook for her. Although the company was weird since she signed a contract that she couldn't use any other phone except the one the company gave her and that there was no calendar anywhere in the house or in her office, she was well taken good care of. 

Her belief that Michael Chen was one paranoid control freak boss was true though. But since she could work so comfortably, she didn't care. She felt spoilt rotten actually. Every morning, she woke up to a hearty breakfast and came home to a delicious dinner. She'd never seen anyone doing these things though, and so it felt like she had elves in the house with her.

With this thought in her head, Ria smiled as she trudged back into the empty house towards the dining table where a warm plate of steak and mashed potato awaited her. Truthfully, she was so tired to feel hungry but she reckoned that the one who made the food would be offended if she didn't at least taste what was cooked for her.

She was glad she did.

The food was heavenly. The steak was great and the mashed potato was buttery that it melted in her mouth. Feeling happy, she smiled as she cleaned her plate, forgetting the fact that she had been contemplating on not eating a while ago.

Finishing her food, she got up and brought the used plate and glass to the sink. She knew that if she left those there, someone would wash it for her, but she washed them herself anyway. She might have all the servants now, but she grew up doing them and doing chores somehow made her feel closer to home where she had eight elder sisters and a very supportive mom and dad.

She missed her family. Ever since she transferred here in this huge house, she hadn't been able to visit her family back in Seoul, South Korea, where her father was permanently assigned yet.

Grand as it might be, the company didn't allow visitors so she wasn't able to ask any of her family members over although she could go to them. It was one of the downsides of the luxury she attained, and it was lonely.

Going to her room, she threw her suitcase and jacket haphazardly on the table nearby as she directly marched towards the shower.

As she undressed, she recalled the events of the day and sighed. Regardless that Michael remained stern and unsmiling all through the day, Ria still couldn't deny that seeing him up close again made her heart beat faster.

She totally wondered what made the man like that— so reserved that he was basically chilling like an ice sculpture. If she hadn't seen him walking, or speaking, she'd definitely think he's a statue. 

He must have been though a lot…

Ria Davis had read somewhere that people's temperaments were nurtured from childhood. It was a popular rumor in the business world that Michael Chen's mother, the former CEO and chairwoman of MCA was a very strict and proper empress of the financial empire. She wondered if Michael's personality was because of her before. But there was another gossip that she heard while still in university that although Madam Chen was like a dragon towards other people and was borderline snobbish, she doted on her one and only son. 

So, what made Michael Chen like that? Hmmmnnnn…

Half an hour later, after a nice soak in the bath which soothed her aching body, she sat on the bed as she nursed a glass of wine from the unnamed wine decanter on her bedside table; the handsome face of her unrequited love filled her mind.

As the unknown but delicious wine played with her senses, she imagined Michael Chen walking through her bedroom door and joining her on the bed— and she, the poor besotted mortal would open her arms and welcome her Eros in her embrace once more.