Feng Xuan had asked for her office to be in The Kingly so she would not have to be so far apart from the CEO as she adjusted to the new company.
When they were finally in the car Feng Xuan turned to Qing Chen. "Did you see their faces?"
Qing Chen laughed. "I loved that part when you asked if you were in the right room."
"But they couldn't say anything!" she joined in the laughter. "God, all those people are so uptight. I don't want to be that kind of person when I get old. They barely do shit in the company but they get to have this privilege to look down on us just because we're young? I don't think so."
Qing Chen leaned back and gave her an appreciative glance. "You look nice."
"Nice? I dressed up like devil spawn," she said and gestured to her outfit. "I feel like I'm Death, you know?"
Qing Chen gave her a grin. "Those are really nice shoes."
"Yes," she nodded and reached for them. "And they are killing me." She slipped them off and pulled her feet under her thighs. She applied pressure on her aching muscles. She closed her eyes and groaned. "It's still going to be a long day in the office."
"You'll get used to it," he said. "You don't have much to do this morning."
Feng Xuan was tasked to interview the potential secretaries. There were seven candidates on the list that was sent to her but she could already tell she was not going to choose any of them. Human resource told her that she could not ask for another list unless she already had the ones sent to her checked.
"Can't we just share a secretary?" she asked.
"I am about to get another one. I don't think Mrs. Chi can handle all the workload coming in our way. They are sending Father's secretary every other day to make sure that I get everything in order."
She nodded then a sudden thought occurred to her. "I have a question, but you're not allowed to get mad."
"Okay."
"Didn't your father try to date after your mom? Surely, he had gotten together with someone else. Or even some people who are younger than him."
Qing Chen shook his head and a smile appeared on his lips, amused. "You know, he did try dating but it didn't work for him. And about the younger people, he had never been fond of younger girls. I don't even think he ever cheated on my mom. Like, he fits all the categories needed for a mafia lord, but a cheater is not one of them."
"It's just a fleeting thought. Now I know that the chances of you and your brother cheating decreased drastically."
"Because my father's great example of a man who sticks with one woman?"
"Yes, psychology is such an interesting topic." Then the lightbulb appeared on top of her head. "I would've love to be a psychologist. Sit down and listen to people's problems then knowing what it was that made them be the person they were that day. I think it's fascinating and everyday would be interesting."
"Yeah, that would be an interesting job."
"Do you like your job, Chen?"
"Yes," he quickly answered. "It's kind of wild to think that your decisions carries the thousands of people working for you and their families on your back. The pressure is on always but there is nothing else I would rather be doing." Then he seemed to remember something. "Right, we're not going home early tonight."
"Why?" she grinned. "Are we going to have some fun in your office?"
He shook his head. "Nope. Not that. I didn't get to show this side of the mafia to you the last time. But tonight, you'll see the other side of the coin. It's pretty much the same, but with class—or more like, with more money."
Feng Xuan lit up. "I'm excited!" Now she could not wait to get to know her potential secretaries. Once she was through with them, she would be with Qing Chen again.
**
Feng Xuan dreaded for the last interview to be over. She was just asking nonsensical questions like 'if you had a superpower, what would it be and why', 'milk chocolate or chocolate milk', 'in what order do you get ready in the morning' and 'which foot do you slip on a shoe first'.
Her office was still bare and she was told she was free to do anything with it as long as she would refrain from puncturing holes on the walls.
When the last applicant was out her door, she took the folders from the meeting earlier and smiled at Qing Chen's secretary. She knocked on the door and she heard his muffled answer.
"Why do you even bother with knocking?" he asked, his eyes intent on the papers in front of him. "You can come in here as you please."
"Of course, you're still my boss. We need to set boundaries here."
Qing Chen flicked his eyes to her. "Can you really?"
"I'll try my best." She sat in front of him and put the folders on the bottom of the pile on his right side. "Until what time are you going to sign those papers?"
His lips pulled out a smile. "Well, I honestly haven't timed my current workload. But I guess I'll be done in a couple of hours."
Just looking at the amount of work was on his desk, it was as if Feng Xuan's own brain was deteriorating. "How do you even store all that data in your head."
"With a great filing system."
Feng Xuan transferred to the sofa. "Wake me up when you're done."
"Yup, will do."
Qing Chen worked while his wife slept.
Later, he got to the folders she worked on. He could not help but feel grateful when he saw that she had written the summaries sticky notes.