Katherine"s long chestnut hair was tied into a ponytail with a soft curl at the end. Her outfit was a simple white s.h.i.+rt and black pencil cut skirt that stopped just right above her knees. The pair of polished black heels that she wore wasn"t too high as she was already blessed with the height. She didn"t look too lacking and her clothes were just right for function. Yet despite all these preparations, it did not calm the fast beating of her heart.
She had just stepped out of the elevator as she arrived at the top floor of Crown Resort Group when she noticed that Secretary Natasha was not at her desk. Pursing her lips, Katherine braved herself to walk towards the oversized door.
Standing outside, she could feel the pounding of her heart. She bit her lower lip so hard that it almost bled while she was trying to talk herself into facing the big boss again. The man who seemed to know her name but no matter how much she thought about it, she really did not know who he was.
With this in mind, the image of yesterday"s scene flashed before her once again and she could only imagine her erratic heartbeat whilst antic.i.p.ating his perfectly chiseled jaw and soft lips approach her face.
Exhaling a long and deep breath, Katherine shook her head clear, adjusted the large frame eyegla.s.ses on her face, and slapped her cheeks as if she was trying to erase the memory from her mind. "Stop thinking about it, Katherine!" she scolded herself.
Clearing her throat, she straightened her back and plastered on a forced smile as she raised her right hand to knock on the door. Just as her knuckles were about to hit the hard door, it opened and Damien Park appeared before her.
Startled by the unexpected appearance of someone by his door, Damien"s brows raised as he looked at the woman whom he had been waiting for since yesterday. His gaze landed on her raised hand and wondered if she was going to hit him with it. He could still remember the agony he felt from her attack yesterday.
Shocked that her boss suddenly showed up before her, Katherine stepped back and abruptly lowered her hand. "Good morning, President Park," she greeted, bowing her head slightly.
Seeing that she looked "tamed" compared with yesterday, Damien relaxed and tried a more gentle approach. "You"re here. I thought that you said you were going to quit?"
Katherine"s eyes darted to the side, pursing her lips while she thought of how she was going to go back on her words in front of this obnoxious yet handsome man. Her thoughts were obviously fighting against each other.
She straightened up and looked at him in the eye without reservation. "I apologize for my behaviour yesterday, President Park. But I need this job," she spoke with a smile on her face. "I also need to know what you know about me."
"And I"m apologizing not because I"m really sorry but I just really need the friggin" money," she rea.s.sured herself in her thoughts. She could feel her mouth almost twitching from what she just said but she forced herself to maintain her immaculate appearance.
Noticing that she tried so hard to say those words, Damien chuckled inwardly and a faint smile slipped on his face. "Come inside."
The two of them sat opposite to each other on the large and comfy sofa in the middle of the s.p.a.cious office. Damien crossed his legs, one arm resting on the armrest of the sofa while the other on his leg. He stared at her who was sitting on the opposite side while noticing the way she carried herself even while sitting down looked like she had been taught proper etiquette - one that can"t be learned just overnight. Just like the Katherine that he knew.
Damien was still feeling bitter about the kick that she gave him yesterday but Markus" advice of keeping it cool and not giving her pressure kept him from crossing the line. "Just be patient. You"ll get the answers in time." He comforted himself.
Without looking forced, Katherine stared directly at Damien"s gorgeous black eyes and said, "I want to apologize for what I did yesterday. I… hope that it… you"re okay." She gulped.
"Why? What did you do to me yesterday?" Damien"s face was expressionless, making Katherine unable to read his true feelings.
She didn"t intend to but her eyes unconsciously glanced at his nether regions. It was just a quick second but Damien caught it all. He clenched his jaw as he tried to compose himself. He wasn"t sure if he found it funny, though it was definitely painful, but the look on her face was too amusing for him. Deciding that he should help her a bit, he nodded. "Apology accepted."
s.h.i.+fting his position, he uncrossed his legs and bent a little forward. With a serious expression, he slightly lowered his eyes and said, "I… also apologize for what I did yesterday. I was out of line."
Nodding, Katherine did not want to linger on the subject anymore and so to put things aside, she added, "I hope that it won"t happen again. I would like to adhere in maintaining professionalism in this company. I would like to work for you as your secretary, President Park. I hope that I can be of service to you."
Tilting his head, Damien thoroughly studied her expression. She looked exactly like the Katherine that he knew back then, but how come she feels different? No matter how he tried to think of reasons, he still could not come up with an answer because even though she used to look different almost every time he saw and met her years ago, he would still recognize the dangerous aura that emanated from her. However, at this moment, everything just felt… different and he could not explain it.
"I want to ask you something. Can you promise to answer me honestly?" Damien lightly rubbed his chin.
Katherine had nothing to hide, so whatever his questions were, she was ready to answer. "What is it?"
Damien interlaced his fingers together and observed every little change in her expression as he asked, "Where were you five years ago?"
Katherine slightly raised her brows, seemingly unsure why her boss would ask her this question. Weren"t employers supposed to ask "Where do you see yourself in five years?" Her boss seemed very strange and obsessed with what had happened five years ago. She also recalled the same question he asked yesterday about her being five years late.
"Why do you ask?" Her brows knitted. "Even I don"t know where I was five years ago." That"s when Katherine decided to brave herself in asking her boss. "Do you possibly know-"
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. A second later, Markus Lee came inside Damien"s office.
"Boss, the car is ready. We should leave."
"Alright. Let"s go." Standing up, Damien grabbed his coat from the hanger and headed towards the door.
Katherine hastily followed after them and bid goodbye. "Have a good day, President Park."
While Damien was fixing his coat, he glanced at her, "What do you mean? You"re coming with me."
"M-me?" She pointed at herself.
"Try to keep up. I walk fast." Damien hurried towards his private elevator with Katherine following him from behind, still confused why she was going with them. Wasn"t she supposed to be learning her responsibilities from Natasha?
Since no one else was allowed to use the elevator except him, they did not have to wait. As soon as they got inside, Katherine asked, "Where are we going? Do I need to go? I mean, I thought I was going to learn from Ms. Saunders before she leaves."
Damien remained facing forward as he tapped his phone. "As my secretary, you have to always and constantly be with me. You go wherever I go. Stick with me like a gum sticking on a shoe."
Katherine"s lip twitched upon hearing her boss" ridiculous words. Did he just told her to be a gum on a shoe? "I don"t know how to feel about that."
"Also…" Damien looked at her from head to toe. "Why are you dressed like a librarian?"
Confused, Katherine looked at her reflection on the elevator mirror. "Librarians wear this?" She didn"t see anything wrong with her outfit. She was actually wearing decent clothes.
Reaching the ground floor, the elevator doors opened. With a teasing smile on his lips, Damien stepped out of the elevator and replied, "Yes. A s.e.xy librarian."
Katherine bit her lip as a blush crept on her cheeks. She clenched her hands as she watched his s.e.xy broad back walking towards the exit. "This guy…"
"Let"s go, Ms. Miller," Damien called, making her walk faster to catch up. Katherine sighed and did not dare to respond to his comment. She wasn"t sure if she should take his comment as a compliment.
When she caught up with them, she was supposed to hold the door for her boss to allow him to go inside but to her surprise, Damien let her in first. Something was weird about the scene but she did not have time to ponder too much on it as they were in a hurry. So for now, she"ll just zip her mouth shut and endure the rest of her "first day" with her boss. Everything will be okay, right?