CHAPTER 18
1020 Words
As Joshua walked inside the JHS Ent. building, he still can't take Miss Manoban's past off his mind. It's been haunting him all night—even in his dreams, he couldn't take her performance off his brain.
He sighed. Is he starting to fanboy on his new boss? He shook his head violently.
Nope. That'll be inappropriate.
"Ya, Joshua. Take it easy or your head might fall off."
Miss Manoban folded her arms as she watched him slowly turn to face her. She gracefully took her sunglasses off and raised an eyebrow at him. Her flowy dress followed the movement her body and her long straight hair in a half bun caught him on a mesmerized trance. He couldn't stop saying 'wow' inside his head.
He managed to snap back to reality when he felt someone push his chin up to close his agape mouth.
"I didn't think I had that effect on you, Secretary Jeon," she said as a playful smirk started to form on her face. "Couldn't sleep straight after last night?"
Her smirk grew wider as they heard some bystander's—more like eavesdroppers, gasp. He was caught off guard once again turning him into a panicked mess.
"M-Miss Manoban!"
"What?" she feigned innocence. Then she took a couple of steps closer to him and fiddled with his tie—straightening it out. "Stop looking like a nervous wreck, love. Everyone would think you're a guilty virgin."
He felt his face burn at her statement and sudden action. The woman looked fairly contented with what she's done so she proceeded to walk away with a huge grin plastered on her face. Well, not forgetting to pat his cheek, of course.
"Well, aren't you going to follow me to my office, Secretary Jeon?" Miss Manoban called from a few meters away.
And like a robot, he immediately snapped out of his trance and followed. With the gazes of almost every employee present at the lobby following his retreating form.
The burning sensation on his face and ears did not stop even if he was left sitting alone by his cubicle. It did not help that he had actually started to harbor a small crush towards her with all the research he had done. And that certain hint of genuine-ness in her smile him smile as well.
"Aish..." he mentally scolded himself. Having a crush on your boss is inappropriate in all levels.
"You two look comfortable."
Joshua jumped at the sudden voice. He turned to his side and saw his former boss, Asher Jung grinning.
"C-CEO Jung!" he exclaimed then bowed immediately. The older guy waved his hand signaling him to stop what he was doing. "You... Have... uh... are your treatments done?"
"I'm not CEO anymore, Joshua," he states then pats him lightly on his shoulder. "And to answer your question, no. My treatment's not done yet. Anyways, I need you to talk to you about something. Care for some coffee?"
He gave his former boss a curt nod before heading towards the nearest café.
-
"I just arrived last night after Veronica called days ago informing me about the sudden plummet of our stocks," Mr. Jung answered after Joshua asked why he came by. "Thought I'd come back to help out but it seems like my sister has everything under control. I was worried she would burn down Dispatch or something."
"She almost thought of that but fortunately we were able to come up with a more practical solution," he explains.
"Yes, I've heard," Asher smiled. "I was actually shocked to see the article as Serena don't usually go out with the public eye prying on her every move. Imagine my surprise when I got the call."
"She just wanted to thank me for what I did for her last time..."
The guy pouted.
"So, where's my 'thank you' dinner?"
"I uh—"
The ex-CEO sported a wide grin.
"I'm not one to pry on my artists' love life but are you sure it wasn't a date, Joshua?" he questioned. "I've always thought that you're extra attentive with Serena. If you two are really dating, I wouldn't really mind. And stocks would just go back up."
"No!" he immediately answered. "I mean, we're not involved with each other or anything. I uh... I do my best for all artists comebacks, Mr. Jung. And Miss Lee wouldn't go out with someone like—"
"Joshua," the guy cut him off. "Why wouldn't she—if it was true, go out with someone like you? You're a handsome man with a stable career. You're driven, hard-working and the nicest cinnamon roll I know. Serena would be lucky to be with someone like you. I just want to know the real deal since an article was published saying that my sister's your girlfriend. I don't want her getting involved with the media."
"I swear, Mr. Jung. There's nothing going on between me and Miss Lee," he replied with conviction. "Miss Manoban just thought that the showing a tangible face to the public would stop the rumors once and for all. We initially wanted to stick with the privacy thing but..."
He trailed off as he remembered what happened the other night. This made Asher raise an eyebrow.
"Did something happen, Joshua?"
On impulse, his right hand went straight to the back of his own head.
"Uhm... Some fans attacked me from outside the company with eggs and flour..." he explained. He had hoped his former boss would be convinced enough.
But alas, he's wrong.
"I know my sister. She wouldn't agree to something that drastic if it was just eggs and flour," he stated while folding his arms. "I think a new suit would've sufficed given the case."
He couldn't help but be amaze at how accurate Mr. Jung's words were. Indeed, Miss Manoban bought him a new suit and relieved him from secretarial duties for the rest of the day. Even though the shopping for a new suit did take them the whole day.
"There was a sasaeng..." he mumbled. But judging by how the guy sitting in front of him suddenly sat upright, he knew he'd heard him clearly.
"Serena's sasaeng?” CEO Jung’s face darkened. “Say, a high schooler with a height close to 6 feet?"
He nodded. A kid with that height would be hard to spot especially among high schoolers.
“You shouldn’t have let him get away, Joshua.”
- Writer
