IX

"What. Are. You. Doing?" Emma asks with a somehow forced looking smile while she looks at Zen putting his work items in a box. Putting away items in an office could only mean two things.

First. Either he's fired. One that Emma is secretly hoping for.

Second. He's being promoted.

"Oh, I got promoted."

'Dang it.' Emma's nose flares from her rising anger but she still flashes a smile to maintain her kind image. Although, she looked like a cartoon from her flared nose and forced smile. It looks really unnatural.

Zen remained oblivious to Emma's true feelings for him.

Meanwhile, Sevastian Claude went to the company extra early. He couldn't miss seeing his secretary's face first thing in the morning.

He even bit his inner cheek so it would leave a canker sore. And so it did! After all, he still hasn't used the ointment Zen gave him. He was treasuring it to use for a special moment and he is positive that today could be that moment to use it.

Zen arrives outside the CEO's office. He knocks on the door and enters the room promptly after hearing an assurance to come in.

"Good morning, Mr. Claude."

"Good morning to you as we— auegh!"

Zen drops some of the papers he has been holding and wiggles his hands in the air in worry. "Sir, what's wrong?!"

He feels entirely grateful to his boss, he wouldn't want something to go wrong with his health after all the good things he has done to him.

Mr. Claude who was standing by the huge glass window raises his palm mid air as he holds his wounded cheek with the other hand. He then coughs weakly adding it with a groan to make it seem worse.

"Nothing to worry about, Mr. Alfonso. I just have a canker sore."

Zen fused his brows a little in uneasiness. "Would you like me to buy you an ointment, sir?"

This is it. This is the chance Mr. Claude has been eagerly waiting. He hid a smirk whilst still touching sore cheek. "Just grab the ointment by my desk drawer."

Zen nods and quickly opens the top drawer only to find a single unopened box of canker sore ointment. He was taken aback. The brand written on the box was the very same brand he had bought him when the first time the CEO had canker sores.

He knows because the brand itself is only a generic one and costs cheaply which is quite unlikely for the boss since well, you know, he's rich rich.

"Give it to me." The CEO seemingly nonchalantly says.

"This brand..."

"Yeah?" Zen looks at the boss which then raises his confusion since the CEO's lips are forming a small smile.

"...Uh— Did you... perhaps? Wait, nevermind." He draws back his words as he was growing embarrassed for making a big deal out of it.

'I mean c'mon. It's not much of a big deal, Zen.' He thought to himself.

Mr. Claude, whose eyes were looking straight to Zen's, slowly moved downwards to his secretary's hands.

His small smile then changed into a complete smirk.

"Ah that. Well someone suddenly gave me an ointment that I didn't need out of nowhere. I thought to myself, 'That was random.' but still, I kept in my precious drawer since it was a gift given by my cute little secretary."

"???" Zen's eyes were filled with complete confusion.

"Gif— Gift? That wasn't a gift! And didn't you have a canker sore a while back?"

Mr. Alfonso shrugs. "Not at all."

Zen scrunches his face in a cute way while still wondering. "Then why were you always holding onto your cheek as if you were aching? You got me worried over nothing."

"I wasn't aching, rather I was  reminiscing about a special moment."

Okay, weirdo.

"Anyways, Secretary Zen, what are you waiting for? Help me put the ointment. I'm dying of pain here!"

"Right away, sir." Zen found some q-tips from the other drawer so he grabbed one and came near the boss.

Zen suggested for Mr. Claude to put it himself as he was being a bit self-conscious with such a handsome man but the CEO insist that his secretary should do it which leaves Zen no choice but to surrender to his order.

Mr. Claude's face is so close to his. If it weren't for the fact that Mr. Claude has his mouth wide open and Zen putting ointment in it, it would look like they were about to kiss.

The CEO's dashing coal eyes kept staring at his. Normally, the patient would have looked anywhere but the doctor's eyes because of how awkward the situation is, but here's Mr. Claude, not an ounce of shame, staring bravely at Zen's face as if he was keenly observing him.

Zen stops. His face turns a light shade of red. "Mr. Claude, please look everywhere aside from my face." But Mr. Claude simply laughs and says something incomprehensibly audible due to his mouth being filled.

It was unbeknownst to Zen but what Sevastian said was, "But I like looking at you."

"Stop talking, sir." He then presses the q-tip firmly on the wounded part which made the CEO groan in pain. It was only for a short while but Zen felt a weird satisfaction doing that.

After all, Zen is aware that Mr. Claude likes teasing him.

After a short while of torture for Sevastian's end, Zen finishes the treatment and throws the dirty q-tip into the nearby trash bin. He clasps his hands. "All done, sir. Please make sure to put the medication regularly until it fully heals."

"Wow, I didn't know my secretary was also a part-time doctor?" He teases.

"Sir, would you like this doctor to put more ointment into your wound?"

Sevastian recalls the painful treatment. He laughs nervously and sweats a little, "Nevermind that, let us now talk about your job and roles."

Zen sighs in relief. 'Good grievance.'

"I'll give you a company tablet so that you can use that to schedule my meetings and messages and emails to our business partners."

The temporary secretary's eyes glints in excitement. Although, he already has a rough idea of how a secretary works, hearing it first hand never felt so fulfilling.

"Ah. I'll call Secretary Tan first." Then, it suddenly felt like Zen's excitement shattered into pieces like broken glass.

'Secretary?? What's this that I heard?' He looks down to the floor with an increasing disappointment. He thought that the CEO had no current secretary since the prior had resigned. To the point that Mr. Claude had a distinct tone of desperation in making him his secretary even just temporarily.

Without noticing Mr. Alfonso's sudden change of expression, the CEO had dialed the phone number of this 'Secretary Tan.'

Zen was disinterested in hearing their conversation so he immediately excused himself, "Sir, I'll just go to the bathroom."

He went outside the office, disheartened.