57Chapter 1
I don't own CCS.
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How does a sweet innocent Sakura ended up working as a secretary to the most arrogant, overbearing, egotistical jerk, a.k.a. Li Syaoran? It's simple. Fate brought them together. Even the most obnoxious man finds it hard to resist the naive girl.
Sunlight stream into the room, bathing everything in warm ray of lights as morning came.
A very pronounce groan followed by a stretch filtered the room as one slim finger darted out of the pink comforter to shut off the alarm. Peeling the blanket away from her warmth body, Sakura Kinomoto stepped into a pair of pink bunny slippers and walked toward the bathroom to get ready.
Today is finally the day she get her chance at the world most renown Li real estate Enterprise. She can hardly wait to show off her talent since the interviewer was one of her long time friend's of her last employer. Isn't that the reason why she had left her hometown Montana for the big city like Tokyo in the first place? She'd told her parents that she simply wanted a good job after studying so hard at Montana University, and managed to graduate at the top ten percent of the whole university.
The real reason however was that she needed to see the world as it really is. Since she was little, she'd always been surrounded by her family love as well as her neighbors. She had grew up with the neighbor's kid since birth and seeing them everyday gave her the feeling that she had sibling instead of being an only child. She had grown up in a small town of Montana where everybody knew everybody. She'd loved it, but she also yarned for the freedom to explore the real world where she can go from place to place without someone recognizing her. Deciding on that, she'd packed up the next month, used her saving to rent a decent apartment and shipped out of the quiet state altogether.
She had hold down a job at a small local real estate company for the few first months in Tokyo before deciding to look for something that her degree was paid for. Ellie, the nice lady who owned the company had informed her that with the master degree she had, finding a nice job in Tokyo was easy as long as connection was at hand. With that said, Ellie had agreed to talk to her friend and finally Sakura had an appointment to meet with the Finance manager at the Li Enterprise.
Taking a quick shower, she'd gone through her morning routine of teeth brushing and feeding her dog, Fanny at the same time. Slipping on a pair of sleek black dress pants and a white dress shirt, she brushed her auburn lock that reached her mid back and put on a studded diamond earring and a thin silver chain with a cherry blossom pendant her mother had given her at her high school graduation, she looked at herself in the mirror and smile at what she saw.
Sleek and professional. That's what Grace, the manager had describe about the dress code. Sakura grabbed her purse and car key and walked out of her bedroom. Her apartment wasn't big but it was a decent size. Giving her flat coated retriever a kiss, Sakura giggled when Fanny nuzzled her nose into her hair.
"Let's go, Fanny. Sylvia is going to watch you today. Aren't you excited?" Sakura asked happily as she ruffled the fur. Fanny gave a soft whine and nudge her toward the door.
"Alright, alright, let's go." Sakura said with a laugh as she slipped into a low heels shoes and locked the door behind her. Walking down the stairs and stopped in front of a metal door, she rang the door bell and waited.
Sylvia, a young girl at the age of ten opened the door and gave a squeal before hugging 's leg.
"Kura- onee-chan" Sylvia squealed.
"Hello to you too, Sylvia" Sakura grinned at the use of her middle name said as she bend down to give the young girl a hug.
"Mama said that I can play with Fanny today. I can right?" Sylvia said hopefully.
"Of course you can. Fanny could always use a friend." Sakura encourage as Fanny sniff the little girl suspiciously then the dog bark happily.
"See, she like you already."
"Yay. Come on Fanny, let's go for a walk in the park." Sylvia said as she lead the dog out the glass door. Sakura smile and waved them off. Walking into the apartment, she found Ellie in the living room cleaning the table.
"Good morning, Ellie." Sakura said.
Ellie turned around with a surprise. "Good morning to you to, dear. You look stunning today."
"Thanks. I needed that." Sakura reply with a sheepish smile.
"Nonsense. You're a beautiful girl, there's no need for me to tell you." Ellie replied mildly. "I hope you do well on your interview."
"Thank you." Sakura said as she glance down at her watch. "I have to go. Thanks again for watching Fanny for me."
"No problem. Keeps Sylvia out of trouble when she have a playmate to bother." Ellie said with a smile.
Sakura laughed and waved as she closed the door behind her. Walking toward her parked car, a gift from her parents when she entered college, she unlocked the car and got in. True that it wasn't something fancy, but she's not picky. Besides, she loved the car because it's from the love her parents had put into getting it custom made especially for her.
Pulling out of the lot, she headed straight for the highway hoping to avoid morning traffic. With any luck, she'll arrive at the place ten minutes early and have time to stop at Starbuck for a cup of hot chocolate.
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"YOU'RE FIRED.'' a voice rang out the quiet room as a frightened middle age woman stumbled out of the room looking a little scared. She hurriedly left the area before more damage was done. Her boss was a total hottie, too bad he's got such a bad temper of a raging bull. With her stuff already packed she bolted out of the room in a record time ignoring other employees attention that was gathered during the episode.
"Another one gone."
"I wonder what she did this time?"
"Li -sama is hot but I wouldn't want to work as his secretary."
"You're right. I just hope someone fill in the spot soon before he gone berserk."
Ignoring the whispering around her, the ex-secretary ran out the door and out the building bumping into various people.
"Did I only hired incompetence people around here?" a voice bellowed out and the staffs shrank back into their chairs.
Grace came out of her office with a shake of her head. Another one gone already! It had only been three months the most since Riki came and now she's gone, not that she hadn't thought about it. Riki was more than qualified for the position but her nature of flirting hadn't lead her to successful ending after all, it seem.
Grace Kelly turned back toward the young woman she was interviewing and found only a vacant chair. Blinking her eyes confusedly, she took the sticky note left on the polished table that read ' I'm sorry, I'm not interested in working here anymore.'
Sighing with defeat, she crumpled the note and threw it in the trash can near the door. Well, she had another three interviewers to go through in the next hour or so.
Her office phone rang and she picked it up wearily. "Finance office. Grace speaking."
"Grace, I need you to come to my office." came a gruff voice.
"Yes, sir." with that said, she stood up and glance at the clock. She had ten minutes left until the next interviewer showed up. Walking briskly towards her boss's office, she didn't bother knocking as she pushed through the heavy door.
"You bellowed?" she asked with a raised brow.
"We both know that I do not bellow." Syaoran grumbled loudly.
"Can't you just give me a heads up a few weeks before when you fire your secretary next time? That way I can find another replacement on time."
"Didn't even think of firing Riki this morning, but after walking into my office to see her half naked on my desk..." Syaoran trailed off throwing his pen on the table with a frustrated scowl.
"That bad, huh?" Grace questioned.
"Incompetence people." Syaoran said rubbing his eyes.
"Well, whatever you decide to do boss, leave me out of it. I have an interview to conduct, so..."
A curt knock on the door interrupted. "Grace, we need you at twenty-third floor. The computer system had gone wrong and the files are all mixed up."
"All right." Grace said as she walked out the door. "See you later, boss."
"Oi, I need another secretary now." Syaoran hollered after Grace but she didn't seem to hear.
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Sakura ordered her hot chocolate and waited for it to be delivered. The three blue glass building in front of her belonged to the Li Real estates branch. Glancing at her watch, she had at least twenty minutes until her appointment.
"Here you go ma'am." a young girl of seventeen said handing her the hot content. Murmuring a thank you and a smile, Sakura left the shop and crossed the busy intersection toward the intimidating building complex. She'd parked her car two blocks from the building seeing that the chances of her parking near the building was slim to none. Sakura had learn that if you want to get anywhere in Tokyo, walking through green lights was only the beginning. Stopping in front of the building, she hastily throw away the empty cup and settled herself. Muttering an an encouragement under her breath, she walked up the steps and smile at the doorman who pulled the heavy glass door open.
Sakura was amazed at the extravagant of the posh lobby office complex. Sparkling chandeliers graced the ceiling along with glass elevators, mahogany furnitures and sleek black marble floor. She felt rather intimidated by the surrounding but willed her nervousness away with steel determination that she thought she possessed. Walking toward the receptionist's desk, Sakura asked for the direction before heading toward the elevator with the destination of the fiftieth floor.
The soft ding implied that she'd on the fiftieth floor. Walking out hesitantly, her eyes looking around the place wildly. The golden hue of the place reminded her of twenty-four carat gold covered every inch of this place. Her heels clicked on the marbled floor as she entered through the double door. A few women dressed in impeccable fashion lined up outside of an office. They were all very beautiful and exotic looking compared to herself. Shrinking back momentarily, she walked toward the office and took a seat in one of the empty chair. She can hear the women's chattering endlessly to one another while putting on lipstick and powder on their faces. Sakura thought of her fresh free-face make up and wince. maybe she should have put on some makeup instead. Though wearing the uncomfortable excess stuff was annoying in her opinion.
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Syaoran sat back against the leather chair and stifled a sigh. God, women can talk forever and frankly, this one in front of him isn't any different. He'd asked her to described her past experiences in real estate field and she's been talking non-stop since then. Damn Grace for putting him in this situation. Rubbing his eyes wearily as he tried to get a grasp on what...his eyes trailed down to her open resume on his desk. Natasha Williams, was saying at the moment.
"...And then I transferred to..."
"Excuse me, Ms. Williams, would you mind describe in a few short sentences on why were fired from your last employer?" Syaoran cut in as he flipped her resume to another page.
"I...er...well...that is..." Natasha stammered as she think of what to say.
"Thank you. We'll contact you to let you know the result." with that dismissal, Syaoran place the resume back on the desk and picked up another one. He didn't noticed Natasha running out of the room sobbing.
Women, honestly. He dread to think what the next interviewer would be like.
Sakura stared at the sobbing woman running past her in confusion. Was the interview that bad? She was practically shaking from head to toe now.
"Sakura Kinomoto." a voice called out her name from inside the room. Straightening out her poster, she noticed the other women waiting on line looked at her from head to toe. Willing herself to fight down the blush that rose up her cheeks, she walked toward the opened office door tentatively. She found a man sitting behind the oak desk flipping through folders distractedly.
"Have a seat please." he said looking at her and dismissing her just as quickly. Syaoran took the seat in front of the desk and pressed her shaking hands on her hidden lap.
"Tell me a little bit about yourself." the man said, still not looking at her. Sakura found this to be incredibly rude and felt that she'd being ignored on purpose.
"Well, I-I graduated from University of Montana with a Master Associate in Real estate management and development. I-"
"You've only had one job?" he questioned looking at her with a raised brow.
"Well, yes." Sakura said a little hesitantly. She looked up to see him furrowed his brows. "but I'm a quick learner. You can train me however you want and I will try to follow to the best of my ability."
"Ms. Kinomoto, do you have any idea how busy this company is? Without any experiences, do you think you can handle the stress of working without any solid idea?" Syaoran asked as he tossed the folder on the desk lightly.
Sakura blushed slightly. "I know that I may not seem that dependable, but I deserve the benefit of the doubt. As I told you, I'm a fast learner and I also don't have any bad habit, like running late."
"Ms. Kinomoto, you look like a reliable person. In my opinion, I think you are suitable for this position, but I'm still having some doubt." Syaoran said and almost smile when the woman in front of him drooped her head slightly. "But, I would also like to give you the benefit of the doubt as you put it. I would like to offer a training session with one of my employee. If he or she sees that you are fit to do as you had described, I will personally hire you."
Sakura bit her lips slightly. Well, anyone would have already tossed her resume into the trash can and told her to go home. This man seemed like a reasonable person, but he sounded a lot different on the phone. She glanced at the name plate on the desk that read ' Grace Kelly.'
"Any question?" Syaoran asked as he steeple his hands together.
"I don't mean to pry or anything but,..."
"It's okay." he said with a slightly amuse look on his face as he lifted a water bottle and brought it to his lips.
"It's just that, you sounded a lot more...feminine on the phone. I'm sorry for thinking you were...you know-" Sakura trailed off with a blush on her face.
Syaoran was once in his life speechless as the water poised near his lips and he gaped at the woman in front of him with barely suppressed anger or amusement. He couldn't decide which one.
"I mean that it's okay that you are...you know. I'm just not used to being around one but now I see that they're a lot more nicer than male or female alike. But, it's just that you look more prettier than anyone I've met, guys or girls alike-"
"Ms. Kinomoto, what the hell are you talking about?" Syaoran cut into her mid tirade.
Sakura's face burned hot as she tried not to fidget under his narrowed gaze. "I didn't mean to offend you or anything. I'm sorry if I...already did."
They were both quiet for the next minute or so. Sakura didn't know whether to simply get up and leave the office while Syaoran looked like he was trying to hold in his anger. Without warning, the door slid opened and a tall graceful woman stepped in with a surprised look on her face.
"Li-sama. I didn't know you were still interviewing." Grace said carefully as she looked between her boss's face and the girl in the opposite chair.
Syaoran then did something that neither expected. He burst out laughing as Sakura's face turned even redder. " Have a good day, Ms. Kinomoto. Your training is scheduled for next Monday. I'll see you then."
"Right. Thanks." Sakura mumbled as she shot up from the chair and left the office as fast as she can.
Grace watched the woman exit the door with a raised brow. "What was that all about?" she asked as she took a seat in the vacant chair.
"I just found my secretary." Syaoran replied as he took another sip of the water.
"Her? She was supposed to be in my department." grace asked with a surprised as she picked up the resume and read over. "Yes, that's the one. I met her briefly through my friend. Seemed like an honest person. A little naive, maybe." grace mumbled as she flipped through the pages. "Do you think she'll last?"
Syaoran chuckled. "She thought I was gay."
Grace pressed her lips together in a tight line to prevent the giggle from slipping out. "You don't say. Should I send the rest home then?"
"Please. Ms. Kinomoto will be under your training for a while. I doubt her ability to work here, but it look like she's got the potential." Syaoran said as he got up.
"I see." Grace answered as she walked out to tell the rest of the interviewers to go home.
Syaoran walked back to his office and sighed then a smile tugged his lips. Ms. Kinomoto had thought he was gay.
That was something he hadn't heard before.
A/N: Second attempt at writing CCS fic. Hope this one will be finished. LOL.
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