Narrator
"Need you to attend the new building tour on Monday," Pham Hanni told her favorite employee.
Y/n just nodded in response.
It's not like Y/n could say 'No' to the owner of the company.
"Great. See you Monday!" Ms. Pham waved the rest of her employees goodbye and made her way home.
- Y/N POV -
"Ooohh, you get to see the new building before everyone else!" My colleague Hyein suddenly exclaimed.
"You really are the favorite!" Another colleague rolled her eyes.
I hated that rumor.
I never understood why everyone in the company thought I was Miss Pham's favorite.
"I am not her favorite," I objected like always.
I had only been in the company less than a year and I had the least experience in the industry. I didn't understand how anyone could think that I was anyone's favorite.
"Oh c'mon, she takes you to fancy investor dinners. She gives you confidential information and even hands you projects she doesn't even trust other managers with," Another colleague interjected.
It was true that Miss Pham did do all those things, but it wasn't as people saw it.
"Even if it was true, being the boss's favorite isn't a flex. There's nothing good about being handed more responsibility than others," I sighed in annoyance.
Suddenly, everyone got silent.
"Fucking thinks I'm her personal assistant or something. I got other shit to do than follow her around taking notes," I mumbled under my breath as I packed my things for the day.
"If I were you, I wouldn't be complaining," The department manager suddenly walked up behind me.
I froze for a second.
The department manager probably hated me more than anyone else in the company.
He always thought I was going to replace him.
"Sorry," I lowly mumbled in response.
"Whatever. Will you be joining us for dinner today?" The department manager scoffed a bit.
"Do I have a choice?" I raised an eyebrow at him.
"You do, but it would be very unprofessional of you to do so," He snarked.
I took a deep breath and gave him a fake smile. "Alright, then let's go!" I tried to get excited.
Before I knew it, I was trying not to get too drunk while listening to all the gossip going around the office.
"Miss Pham is dating that millionaire, isn't she?" One of my colleagues asked.
"Tf do I know?" I answered a bit annoyed.
Truth is, I did know.
Miss Pham liked me because I wasn't one to run my mouth around the office. She also liked me because I wasn't lazy. I always did more than anyone else in my department and I was one to always think outside the box.
When I first started working at the company, I liked to show my skills... but not so much anymore...
It was too much work to be depended on.
"Oh c'mon! We know you know!" The Department Manager drunkenly exclaimed.
"If you don't know, you must at least have an opinion. Do you think she's actually dating that guy?" Hyein suddenly elbowed me.
I furrowed my brows and took a sip of my soju.
I didn't like to speculate or give my opinion, but I knew there was no way out when I was being cornered.
"I think it's just a rumor," I tried to be as less opinionated as I could be.
Miss Pham wasn't dating the millionaire. It was just a publicity stunt the millionaire pulled. He had even called Miss Pham to check with her if it was okay.
Miss Pham didn't really care if she was on the news. As long as the story running didn't hurt her business then she didn't really care.
So, it was really all just rumors.
"So, it's not true!" A colleague gasped.
"I don't know!" I was getting frustrated.
*RING, RING*
My phone suddenly started to ring.
I reached over to grab my phone and groaned when I saw the Caller ID.
I excused myself from the table and walked out of the restaurant.
"Yeoboseyo," I answered.
"Where are you?" Miss Pham said on the other line.
"Company meeting," I tried not to slur my words.
"Great! I have an unexpected investor meeting. I'll come get you," Miss Pham quickly said before hanging up the phone.
I groaned in frustration the second the line went dead.
Miss Pham knew where I was just by saying I was at a company dinner. We had a running tab that she paid at the restaurant everyone in the company always went to.
I walked back inside the restaurant and started to grab my things.
"Where are you going?" The Department Manager asked.
"I have an emergency," I lied.
I just wanted to leave before Miss Pham reached the restaurant.
"Oh okay. Everything okay?" He asked a bit worried.
"Yup, just need to go," I said in a hurry and speeded my way out of the restaurant.
I was too late though.
Miss Pham's limo was waiting in front of the restaurant.
"Not running away from me, are you?" Miss Pham said as she lowered her window.
"Umm..," I didn't know how to respond.
"Get in," Miss Pham ordered.
I did as she asked and was a bit stunned.
Miss Pham was wearing a super revealing dress for an investor meeting.
"Ummm, exactly what investor are you meeting at this hour?" I asked a bit confused.
Miss Pham wasn't one to dress up for investor meetings or at least not dress like that.
"You know which one," Miss Pham was almost staring into my soul.
"Urgh," I unconsciously rolled my eyes.
"What's with the attitude?" Miss Pham suddenly raised her voice at me.
I turned to glare at her and unconsciously spoke.
"I've told you many times before that I was not hired to be your personal assistant. My check does not reflect all these extra hours of work. If you want someone following you around at all hours of the day then hire someone to do that. I'm tired of this," I didn't even know what words were coming out of my mouth.
But it was true.
I had told Miss Pham before that I wasn't her personal assistant and needed to get back to my actual tasks...
But she never listened.
"Are you drunk?" Miss Pham suddenly reached over to caress my check.
"I'm fine!" I pulled my face away from her.
Miss Pham was a nice boss, but she crossed the line one too many times.
"Driver, let's get Y/n home," Miss Pham suddenly ordered the driver.
"No, let's go to your meeting. But this is the last time I make myself available for you at this hour," I huffed out.
"It's fine-"
"I said let's go," I tightened my jaw.
I was probably the only one who could talk to Miss Pham like that.
People always assumed that it was because I was the favorite, but in reality... it was because Miss Pham respected the fact that I respected myself... and my time.
"Okay," Miss Pham sighed.
- Miss Pham POV -
Y/n was being more assertive than ever during the recent weeks.
It's not that I saw a problem with it. It's just that I didn't like what I realized when Y/n spoke to me that way.
Y/n was right most of the time.
Y/n didn't get paid enough to follow me around or attend high profile meetings. Y/n also didn't get paid enough to deal with my tendency of crossing professional boundaries.
"Y/n is going to be upset," My driver said as he made his way onto the highway.
"I know, but they didn't let me explain," I sighed.
I didn't realize that Y/n was actually pretty drunk when I picked them up. I only realized it once we were 5 minutes into the drive and Y/n passed out.
I didn't even get to explain that my meeting was an over the weekend thing in another city.
I wasn't letting my driver get Y/n home to rest. I was saying that so Y/n could pack an overnight bag.
I guess I was really selfish at times.
But, to be honest, sometimes I felt like I couldn't do anything if Y/n wasn't by my side.
Soon enough, the sun started to come up and we finally arrived our hotel.
"Y/n, wake up," I gently shook Y/n awake.
"Are we here?" Y/n yawned.
"Well, we're at our destination but it's not time for the meeting yet," I tried to explain.
"Why is it so bright?" Y/n began to complain.
"It's morning," I tried to pinch their cheeks.
"Morning? We drove all night?!" Y/n's jaw dropped.
"Yeah, I'll explain later. We need to check into our hotel," I gave Y/n a smile.
"Ugh, whatever!" Y/n rolled their eyes and got out of the car.
- Y/N POV -
Miss Pham had been really crossing the line in the last few weeks.
This was the 3rd time she had kidnapped me to a random location and stuck me in a hotel room for a whole day.
"Here's your room keys," The hotel drink desk staff handed Miss Pham two room keys.
"Thank you," Miss Pham didn't seem to notice that she only got keys to one room.
"C'mon!" Miss Pham pulled me by my wrist.
I was a bit confused but figured maybe I had misunderstood.
It wasn't until we reached Miss Pham's bedroom that I realized it wasn't a mistake.
"Is this a one day thing?" I cleared my throat a bit.
Miss Pham walked over to the nearest window and looked out of it. "This is a nice view," she whispered under her breath.
"This is a one day thing. Right?" I sternly asked again.
Miss Pham sighed and shook her head at me.
I groaned in annoyance and rubbed my face in frustration.
"You can't keep doing this. I'm tired!" I raised my voice.
"I told you. I Don't Want To Be Your Assistant!" I was starting to get upset.
Miss Pham couldn't seem to understand that I left my last job to get away from bosses like her.
"I know. You've said that multiple times," Miss Pham sighed.
"Then why can't you respect that?" I sighed as well.
"Because I like you," Miss Pham answered like always.
"Aargghhhgh," I was losing my cool.
"I get that you like me, but I don't like that you like me. I don't like the rumors it creates. You don't even like the rumors it creates. "The bosses' favorite".. wtf is that? I thought we had agreed to only seek my assistance when you absolutely need it," I started to set boundaries again.
- Miss Pham POV -
Y/n was upset.
As expected.
"We did agree on that, but just hold out a little longer. Once we're settled in our new building then I won't need you anymore," I tried to calm Y/n down.
I understood that Y/n was stressed.
I was stressed too.
But, we both needed to keep it together until this huge problem of ours was over.
"Fine," Y/n huffed out.
I never liked it when Y/n talked back or put me in my place.
I don't think any boss liked to be told when they were wrong or that they had flaws to work on, but Y/n was special like that.
Y/n wasn't scared to give out constructive criticism and they weren't scared of receiving it.
I guess it was one of the many things I liked about Y/n.
"Let's go buy you some clothes for tonight. I wasn't able to get you to go home last night," I took a deep breath.
Y/n tightened their jaw and didn't respond.
Usually, if Y/n didn't respond when they were upset... it meant that they felt like they had no choice...
"I think a nice two-piece or at least a nice jacket would do you good," I walked over to caress Y/n's arms.
Y/n still tried to avoid eye contact.
"My treat. What do you say?" I tried to get Y/n to look at me.
Y/n just shrugged.
To this day, I still didn't understand why I had such a soft spot for Y/n... but I always attributed it to their work ethic...
Y/n always felt more deserving than most of my other employees.
"Can't have you underdressed at an event like this," I dropped my hand to grab Y/n's.
Y/n took a deep breath, before sighing out... "Just nothing brand named this time. I can't afford to owe you more than I already do."
I chuckled.
"They're gifts. Stop acting like we have some kind of ledger between us," I teased.
I finally got a smile out of Y/n and I felt myself starting to blush.
Y/n had a nice sense of humor too.
"How about something Chanel or Prada?" I shyly asked.
"Nope," Y/n quickly rejected.
"Gucci?" I raised an eyebrow.
"I would much prefer something cheaper," Y/n cleared their throat.
"Fine!" I sighed out.
- Y/N POV -
Miss Pham was getting dressed for her dinner date and I patiently waited outside her bedroom.
Miss Pham had a public "date" with that millionaire everyone was always talking about. The reason why she wanted me to come along was because of the press.
Miss Pham thought that if she brought me along then it could create confusion for the press. Basically, if she brought her "assistant" along to a "date" then it would not solidify the rumors of her dating that millionaire. It would just look like another business meeting.
"She's all done," The makeup lady told me on her way out.
"Okay," I gave her a respectful bow.
I fixed my jacket a bit and cleared my throat, before walking back into Miss Pham's room.
As soon as I walked in...
I chocked.
Miss Pham was wearing a blonde wig and she was resting on the bed.
I couldn't lie that Miss Pham was actually very attractive, but she was also my boss. So, I quickly got a hold of myself.
"You're blonde!" I nervously cleared my throat.
"What other way to make a statement?!" Miss Pham chuckled.
I pursed my lips and respectfully looked away from her.
It seemed like Miss Pham wanted to get the best publicity out of this "investor meeting".
"Really?" I asked.
"Absolutely!" Miss Pham giggled.
- Miss Pham POV -
Y/n was as sweet as ever.
Opening my car door and helping me out of the car.
"Can I hold your arm?" I asked as we entered the restaurant.
Y/n always had a habit of becoming protective of me in these types of settings. It was almost like having a mini bodyguard.
"Mhm," Y/n hummed.
I giggled a little and grabbed a hold of Y/n's arm.
Y/n escorted me all the way to my date and pulled my chair out for me.
"Oh, this must be your assistant!" Yeonjun looked up.
"I am. So, please do not even think about touching her," Y/n smugly replied.
Y/n didn't like Yeonjun.
It was mostly because Yeonjun liked to have meetings outside of business hours.
Y/n and Yeonjun hadn't actually met before. I usually made Y/n wait at the hotel or had them sit at a different table, but recently...
I felt like it was best to have Y/n as close as possible during these meetings.
"No touching. Got it!" Yeonjun chuckled.
"Baby, why don't you sit with us for a bit?" I asked, not realizing what had come out of my mouth.
"Baby?" Yeonjun suddenly pointed out.
"Yes, Miss Pham calls me endearing names. Most of the time it's babe, but it's just because she's like that," Y/n coldly answered him.
It was true that I called Y/n "babe" often, but even that was out of character for me. It was one of the main reasons why people thought Y/n was my favorite.
I still didn't know why I even called Y/n that so naturally...
However, "baby" was a new one for me.
"Never heard her say that before, but alright!" Yeonjun laughed.
"Ookkkaay, shall we sit down and order?" I tried to ease the tension.
"Yeah, of course," Y/n grabbed an extra chair and sat close by.
Before I knew it, I was a bit tipsy.
Y/n didn't like it when I was tipsy. I got too touchy and Y/n didn't like to be touched much.
- Y/N POV -
Miss Pham kept giggling and leaning up against my shoulder.
I kept having to remind her that people were looking.
"It's alright!" Miss Pham sipped on her last bit of wine.
"You are just like everyone says you are!" Mr. Yeonjun suddenly exclaimed.
I furrowed my brows a bit confused.
"You are quiet, but your actions say a lot. Hanni must see a lot of potential in you!" He chuckled.
"I do!" Miss Pham suddenly placed her hand on my thigh.
"Y/n is one of my best employees. I just wish they saw their worth," She squeezed my inner thigh.
I quickly placed my hand on top of Miss Pham's and tried to get her off me.
"I'm starting to feel like this date has reached its limit," I cleared my throat.
"Has it?" Miss Pham turned to look at me.
"Yes," I became a bit nervous by her proximity.
"If you say so," Miss Pham giggled.
"Go wait for me by the restaurant exit. I just need to keep my end of the deal," She whispered into my ear.
I nodded in response and did as she asked.
- Miss Pham POV -
My weekend went as expected. The news outlets were pulling out all the confusing headlines I expected.
"Pham Hanni is seen with her new boyfriend Choi Yeonjun!"
"CEO Pham is seen arriving with her assistant to a business meeting this weekend!"
"Is Pham Hanni dating her assistant?"
"Y/n is going to be upset," My driver told me early in the morning.
"When is Y/n not upset?" I sighed out.
Y/n always found a reason to be mad at me. It was always for good reasons, but I was used to it at this point.
Luckily, I wasn't yelled at too much during the weekend. But, now it was Monday. Which meant it was a new week's worth of yelling.
"Good morning," I greeted Y/n as I arrived at our new building.
"Miss Pham," Y/n gave me a respectful bow.
"Long time no see," I tried to tease.
Y/n just rolled their eyes.
I had kidnapped Y/n for a little longer than expected during the weekend.
"Go your notepad?" I cleared my throat.
"Of course! What else am I here for?" Y/n sassed.
I giggled to myself then got a hold of myself.
I liked to have Y/n around for note-taking. Y/n was also very good at asking all these very precise and important questions.
Y/n had a philosophy of no question is a stupid question, which brought forth a lot of information that could be easily missed.
"Good morning, Everyone! I want to thank you all for taking the time to be here this morning. I want to assure you all that we are excited to open up this new building. I want to say thank you to everyone for you for helping us make our vision come to life!" I started off.
"With that being said, I want to make sure that all the details needed are in order. I will hand it off to Y/n-ssi for some quick questions and announcements then we will walk around to ensure everything is in order," I looked over at Y/n, who already had their notepad ready.
"Hi, good morning everyone! I hope you all had a decent weekend. Spent time with the family, did your laundry, or had a well deserved lazy day!" Y/n always had a way of making people smile.
"That lazy day though!" Someone joked.
"Good. I'm glad!" Y/n chuckled.
"Very well, it's a new week and I know it's Monday but I just have some action items to get through," Y/n acknowledged every half asleep soul in the room.
I always smiled to myself when I saw Y/n lived up the room.
"Two weeks ago, we talked about the first floor having the thickest glass we could for all the jewelry. I know there was a cost issue with the vendor, but seeing that we have all display cases built I take it we had that handle?" Y/n was never scared to play their role.
Y/n always said... "there's no reason to be scared to speak in public when you're the only one with the knowledge everyone needs"...
When we first met, I thought Y/n was very self centered for saying that...
But it's true.
If you are the only one who knows that knowledge or the only one in charge of that topic, then you should be confident. It's your expertise. You shouldn't be scared to speak on it.
"Yes, we had another vendor who had what we needed and they gave us a decent price. So, we went along with what was needed," Our contractor confidently answered.
"Perfect!" Y/n acknowledged them.
"Great, now ok to security. We did ask for the same type of security all around the building and extra security on Miss Pham's floor. How did that turn out?" Y/n addressed our security team.
"We placed in all the card readers and fingerprint scanners needed," The IT manager answered.
"How about Face ID?" I interjected.
"Face ID isn't protected by law," Y/n leaned in to whisper.
"Ah, Okay!" I lowly answered.
"We'll have 7 guards stationed on the first floor. Along with 4 guards on each floor," The Head of our security department finished explaining.
"Let's make that 5 guards on Miss Pham's floor," Y/n pulled out their protective card.
"Yes!" The head of security respectfully ordered.
Y/n ran through a few more action items and almost every one of them was fulfilled.
I was always thankful that Y/n was by my side throughout this expansion. If it weren't for Y/n always taking notes of everything that was said and asking questions no one else thought of, this project would have taken longer.
- Y/N POV -
"What do you think?" Miss Pham asked as she posed next to a jewelry case.
"What do you think? You're the boss!" I chuckled.
"I think, I'm starting to see why people think you're my favorite," She suddenly stepped up to fix the lapels of my jacket.
I cleared my throat a bit embarrassed and stepped away.
"That doesn't answer my question," I cleared my throat a bit.
"I think this is perfect. We have a great building with all the floors we need. We even have room to expand and we have a great first floor. I think the VIPs will be pleased," Miss Pham giggled.
"Don't forget those first time clients!" I teased.
"Yes, you and our first time clients!" Miss Pham teased.
Miss Pham always teased me for my philosophies. She thought it was funny that I had an eye for new money individuals. Though, she understood why.
Miss Pham wasn't old money herself, but she wasn't new money either.
Miss Pham understood that new money individuals were more likely to spend more on brand names than most. So, she understood why I was always so adamant about opening up our exclusivity to millionaires and above.
"I think we'll see more profits than before," Miss Pham walked up to squeeze my arm.
Miss Pham was probably the only person I was okay with touching me.
"Else, I'm blaming our failure on you!" Miss Pham teased before making her way out of the building.
- Miss Pham POV -
Y/n was always a pleasure to have at these meetings. It eased my mind.
"C'mon, you need to get back to your regular job!" I called.
"Yes, Sajangnim!" Y/n quickly followed after me.
It didn't take long for Y/n and I to get back to the office. I had been wise with our money and had enough funds to get a building close to downtown.
"What's my schedule for tomorrow?" I unconsciously asked Y/n.
"Umm..," Y/n hummed a bit confused.
I knew the impending lecture to come.
"I don't know your schedule," Y/n angrily said as we walked into my office.
"I know. Sorry," I mumbled under my breath.
I was embarrassed.
I knew Y/n was tired of this behavior of mine.
"No, don't say sorry. Hire an assistant if this is what you expect," Y/n sternly responded.
I took a deep breath and walked over to sit at my desk.
"Okay. Turn in your notes," I ordered.
Y/n walked over and slammed their notepad on my desk.
"Don't be disrespectful. Give them to me in my hands," I tightened my jaw in anger.
Y/n wasn't one to be too disrespectful, so this was a bit new to me.
Y/n huffed a bit and picked up their notepad. Y/n then walked around my desk and stood in front of me.
"Here you go," Y/n coldly said.
I smiled to myself a bit and pulled on their messy tie.
"Really?" I tried to tease.
"Want the notes or not?" Y/n huffed out.
Y/n's attitude was pissing me off a bit, so I pulled harder on their tie.
"Don't talk to me like that," I ordered, With Y/n's lips inches away from my lips.
"Okay," I could feel Y/n's words vibrate against my lips.
For some reason, I couldn't understand why, but I pulled Y/n even closer and pressed my lips against theirs.
"Boss?" Y/n whispered against my lips.
"I guess now we know why you're my favorite," I whispered back.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-