My One-Sided Affair

Under One Condition

On the top floor, at the back of the house, was Aoftion's personal quarters. NuNew had never been invited there before today. Normally he would be very excited to be in Aoftions personal residence. On this morning, he was of no mind to be curious and sat stiffly on the couch, with his hands placed neatly on his knees. The feeling in his gut reminisced of being called into the principal's office.

Somewhere in another room, he could hear Aoftion talking on the phone while he was preparing a tea service for them to have, during their talk. NuNew did not want to listen in on the older man's conversation, but there was no way to avoid hearing it. Unless he put fingers in his ears, which he considered doing briefly. When Aoftion suddenly, entered the room balancing some cups of tea and snacks, NuNew immediately jumped up, as if caught in the act. Which Aoftion took to mean that Nu wanted to help with the tea.

"Sit sit sit sit sit sit."

Nu sat down as bidden and settled his hands back on his knees. Aoftion handed NuNew a cup of tea and gestured to some macarons on a plate. The sweet loving boy's hands twitched towards his favorite dessert but remained wrapped around the hot cup of tea, his eyes never leaving the macarons.

"So, NuNew. How are you feeling?"

"Okay, sir."

"Okay?"

"Yes, sir."

The CEO, hummed consent and took a sip of his tea. Placing the cup on the table between them, he picked up the plate of macarons and held it up for NuNew's review. NuNew's eyes were wide and serious as he considered his options and picked a purple macaron. He immediately took a bite and his entire face lit up. Nodding his head NuNew chewed and turned grateful eyes on Aoftion.

Aoftion shook his head smiling at the resilient boy in front of him.

"I want to talk to you about Park.

NuNew's face fell, cheeks full of macaron. He had temporarily forgotten the purpose for the visit, his sweet tooth taking over his reason. Nu chewed quickly and swallowed.

"Krub."

"I want to apologize for letting the situation go unchecked. Everything that happens here at Domundi is my responsibility. How Park handled partnering with you is not how we do things here. Not at all."

Aoftion took another sip of his tea.

"I have spoken to Park and will continue to work with him. In the meantime, he will not be attending the remainder of the workshop. I hope you will continue to be discreet and trust me to handle the situation."

The boy nodded mutely. Wishing he dared to take a sip of tea to wet his parched mouth.

"Good. Good. Now, I want you to tell me everything, from the beginning."

The door closed behind NuNew, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He had told Aoftion as much as he dared. Omitting anything about Zee because Zee had nothing to do with what happened with Park. What Aoftion needed to know, he already heard yesterday during Park's jealous rant.

When Aoftion was satisfied with New's recollection he brought up NuNew's future. The CEO wanted to be more involved with NuNew's development. He asked New about selecting an acting partner for him. It would not be Park, but it was time to find him one. Several projects were in the pipelines, and he wanted NuNew to be involved in some of them.

The meeting ended with Aoftion assuring NuNew something like this would never happen again.

"I will always protect you, and anyone who works for Domundi. You have my word. Promise me you will come to me or Mark if you are ever uncomfortable or need help."