SURPRISE.

The alarm clock rang, and Hayami turned it off somewhat lazily. She got out of bed and put on a song on her cell phone while she took a bath. When she got out, she dressed in a black skirt. It was circular; it reached below her knees, and a long-sleeved blouse that was a bit sheer. Her black bra was slightly visible. She sat on the bed and put on black sneakers. She didn't like high heels, but coming from a family where image was the most "important" thing, she got used to wearing them when necessary. She combed her wavy hair and let it fall down her back and shoulders. Her makeup was very natural, nothing heavy. She put on a dark red lipstick. She loved those colors. When she finished, she grabbed a few things and put them in a white bag. Leaving her room, she grabbed some sunglasses and, going downstairs, headed to the kitchen, where she sat at an island in the middle of the room. The maid served her a juice.

"Don't be mean, give me a strong coffee instead, please."

"Yes, miss, right away."

"Thank you."

She rested her head in her hands; she'd been doing this for a long time, but she still hated hangovers.

"Good morning. How did you wake up? From what I see, not good."

Isabel laughed as she sat down next to her sister, who was still resting her head in her hand.

"Nothing a good cup of coffee can't cure."

"Are you leaving now?"

Hayami took a sip of the coffee they'd already served her and got up from her highchair.

"Yes, I'm leaving now. I have a meeting today."

She looked at her watch on her wrist.

"I'm leaving. I'll see you later."

She approached her sister, placed a sweet kiss on the cheek, and walked with her back to her.

"Have a nice day."

Hayami stopped in her tracks and turned to see her sister looking at her.

"Thank you, doll," I assure you that more than a good day, it'll be a very fun one."

She said with a smile and waved goodbye.

Hayami left her house, got into her car, left her bag on the passenger seat, put on her sunglasses, and set off.

Noah arrived at the company very early; he looked very handsome, like every morning. He approached Ariel's desk and looked at her with those green eyes of his.

"Good morning, Miss Ariel."

"Good morning, sir."

She couldn't help but blush; she had been in love with him for a long time.

"Tell me, did you call everyone to a meeting?"

"Yes, the new secretaries too. You said they'd be at the meeting with the new partners. May I ask... Why?"

"Yes, I know they're usually done separately, but in the end, it's all for the same reason. Secretaries will be assigned their areas, so it's good for them to know their bosses and what each area entails from the start."

"Oh, I understand."

"I'll go to my office to sort out some things; they'll be here soon. You can have them come to the meeting room."

"Yes, sir."

Noah entered his office where he was sorting out some pending paperwork.

Hayami arrived at that enormous company, parked her car, got out with her bag, and boarded the elevator. When she reached the sixth floor, the elevator opened, and she stepped out. She walked to a desk where a very beautiful young woman was sitting. She walked over to the desk. The girl was on the phone, and when she hung up, she looked at Hayami.

"Good morning, I'm here for a meeting."

Ariel looked her up and down, her reddish hair; Her lips stood out against that lipstick color; he couldn't see her eyes because of the dark glasses.

"Good morning, yes, it'll be in the conference room. It's over there."

Ariel pointed.

"Thank you."

"What are you doing here?"

Hayami turned around when she heard that familiar voice; when she turned, she saw him coming out of his office.

"The lady is coming to the meeting."

Ariel replied, unaware that the two had already met.

"Thank you, lady. I'll move on to the meeting room now."

Hayami walked to where Ariel had pointed. Noah, without thinking, walked beside her.

"Don't tell me you were one of the new secretaries?"

He began to laugh mockingly.

"I never thought someone so rich—well, her parents—would want a secretarial position."

Hayami, who had remained silent, took off her glasses. He looked into her honey-colored eyes.

"What's wrong with it? It's a job, after all."

They both arrived at the meeting room where, upon entering, there were some girls and two men sitting at the table. The gentlemen stood up when they saw Hayami.

"Good morning."

They greeted Noah and Hayami, who were entering. Noah approached the chair his father had occupied for many years and sat down; Hayami sat opposite him. The gentlemen did the same.

"Well, first of all, thank you for coming to the meeting. I'm the new president. I didn't call this meeting with all the departments because I wanted us to get to know each other first. My father was the one who spoke with you."

He addressed the men.

"And as for you, it was Human Resources who requested you, so I didn't have the pleasure of meeting you."

Noah stood up from his seat.

"I'm Noah Márquez Quivera, and I'll be in charge of the presidency from now on."

He sat back down.

One of the men stood up; he was also very young, with brown hair, just like his eyes.

"I'm Alejandro Castañeda. I'll be in the accounting department. Nice to meet you."

He looked directly at Hayami, who just smiled at him.

"Nice to meet you," Noah replied. Hayami looked at the two girls next to him and smiled gently, but only one of them responded; the other ignored her and turned her head away.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm Julio Beltrán. I won't have a job here; I'm just a partner, so I'll only be here for committee meetings."

The older man said as he stood up.

"That's right, Mr. Beltrán. You can request any information you need at any time."

Noah looked at Hayami, who was sitting, and looked at the watch on her wrist. He knew immediately that it was an expensive watch. He noticed it was a BVLGARI SERPENTI TOBOGAS. He was a fan of fine and expensive watches. He knew very well that the watch had a minimum price of 300,000 Mexican pesos, almost 16 thousand dollars. He didn't understand how she had applied for the secretary position; he felt lost, since he didn't have the updated form with him to verify it. He hadn't quite figured that out when she stood up from her seat.

"I think it's my turn..."

Well, I'm Hayami Rivera Méndez, the new partner and the new commercial and sales director. It's a pleasure to meet you... Now I'd like to take the liberty of choosing my secretary, who, I assume, is one of the girls here. Isn't that right? Of course, if you'll allow me."

She smiled flirtatiously. The two men looked at Noah, who was still in shock. He knew his father had done a few things before leaving.

"Yes, yes, that's fine," Noah replied. Hayami walked toward the two women, stood behind one of them, leaned in to the right side of her face, her hair falling to one side.

"What's your name?"

Hayami gently asked the girl who had returned her smile minutes before.

The girl blushed at seeing her so close. It was the first time she'd done so in front of a woman, but she was beautiful, and Hayami's confidence was what sparked an inevitable attraction.

"Uh. My name is Angélica Ruiz, miss."

"Nice to meet you, Angélica."

Hayami pulled away from Angélica's face and touched her shoulders with her soft hands.

"You'll be my secretary; I hope we get along very well."

Angélica turned her head back and raised it to look at her, only to be met with her smile.

"Oh! Thank you very much!"

Hayami looked at Noah and knew she hadn't corrected him when he'd told her about the secretary position, precisely because she wanted to see that surprised reaction from him, if it was having a fun day for her.