ur hr manager, ms. cho, had stopped u before u could even reach your desk. “good, you’re here early,” she’d said, her tone brisk but not unkind. “let’s go introduce u to ur boss now—he’s been out of town, but he’s back today, and he wants to meet u.”
ur stomach had twisted. you’d known, logically, that you’d have to meet him eventually. but you’d hoped for at least another week to settle in, to maybe practise not sounding like a complete disaster in front of someone whose opinion could dictate ur future here.
ms. cho led u down a hallway that felt too long, yur fingers fidgeted with the hem of ur blazer, ur mouth dry as u mentally rehearsed ur greeting. nice to meet u, sir. looking forward to working with u, sir. please don’t think i’m incompetent, sir.
then the door opened, and all those carefully prepared words dissolved into static.
because jake sim was— he wasn’t just ur boss. he was a vision.
“ah,” he said in an unfairly smooth and deep voice. “u must be the new hire.”
ur mouth opened, but nothing came out.
“nice to—nice, sir. i mean. meet. u.”
the second the words left ur mouth, u wanted to claw them back. ur voice had pitched up, cracking like u were 15 and going through puberty all over again. ur face burned, ur ears hot with humiliation, and in a desperate attempt to play it off, u let out a laugh—or at least, the mangled, high pitched attempt at one but it echoed in the silence.
ms. cho coughed politely. jake’s eyebrow lifted, slow and deliberate, his smirk deepening like he’d just discovered something fascinating.
in ur panic, u took a step back—only for ur heel to catch on the edge of a decorative potted plant. ur arms pinwheeled, ur balance teetering dangerously, and for one horrifying second, u were certain u were about to crash directly into the very expensive looking side table beside u.
somehow, u didn’t. but the damage was done.
jake’s gaze flickered from ur flailing limbs back to ur face, his expression shifting into something dangerously close to amusement. like u were the most entertaining thing he’d seen all week.
when hr informed you that you'd been reassigned as his junior assistant, your first reaction had been to laugh—a high, slightly hysterical sound that made the hr manager eye you with concern.
how were you supposed to maintain eye contact when looking at him for too long made your palms sweat and your thoughts scatter like startled birds?
you'd been reviewing project updates at your desk, your notes meticulously organised, your thoughts clear and focused. you were prepared. you were ready. and then—
"did you get those figures from marketing?"
his voice, smooth and deep, came from directly behind you, closer than you'd expected. you could smell the faint, expensive scent of his cologne—something warm and subtly spicy that made your stomach do a slow, treacherous flip. your fingers froze over the keyboard.
you'd meant to say, "i'll get you those files right away." but what came out was "i'll get you anything."
the second the words left your mouth, time seemed to slow. your brain, in its panic, replayed the sentence on a loop, each repetition more horrifying than the last.
jake didn't move. when you finally dared to glance up, his expression was unreadable—just the slight tilt of his head, the faintest arch of one eyebrow. then, slowly, his mouth curved into something that wasn't quite a smile.
"that's a dangerous thing to offer," he said, his voice low and far too amused.
before you could even attempt to salvage the wreckage of your dignity, he was walking away, leaving you sitting there with your face burning, your hands clenched into fists in your lap.
that's how it went on for weeks, with each encounter more embarrassing than the other. the office cubicle spread with rumours that you had a crush on jake. but the encounters were just too embarrassing. like how you once sent him an email saying "i need you to look at me." when it was supposed to say "I need you to look at the reports.". or when you accidentally spilled water on him and he didn't even have a reaction.