4*

“Dara, you can’t just kick the man out of his office.” Mr. Park rubbed at his temple.

“Fine. Then we’ll share the space. Move a second desk in, it’s big enough to handle two.” Dara stated, arms folded.

“I will not share an office with you,” Jiyong turned, facing off with Dara.

“Afraid?” she taunted, eyes flashing.

“Of who, you?” Jiyong snapped.

Mr. Park slammed his hand on his desk. “Enough!”

Jiyong reigned his temper back in and turned to face the chairman. Dara did the same. Mr. Park now wished he left the engagement in place just so that he could punish the two in front of him. He turned instead to his daughter.

“Dara, are you certain this is what you want? Sweetheart you’re not even fully recovered from your accident, why would you want to work? You should spend your day relaxing, shopping and…”

“Don’t coddle me, appa, I’m not a little child!” Dara’s eyes flashed darkly, surprising both her father and Jiyong. The old Dara would never show such defiance, especially to her father.

“I’m a grown woman and your heir. How do you expect me to learn the business and prepare to take my role if all I do is sit around at home arranging flowers and checking the day’s menu?”

In spite of the situation Jiyong found himself admiring this Dara’s pluck. He’d always hated the way the Chairman babied Dara in the past and how she would let him. Jiyong admitted he still found it hard to reconcile this ‘new’ Dara with the one he was previously engaged to.

“But you’ve never worked a day in your life,” Mr. Park pointed out. He loved his daughter and wanted to pamper her. “What else is my money for if not to lavish on you? I’ve built all this up so that you don’t have to work.”

Dara sighed, and Jiyong thought, ‘Oh no, here it comes. This is where she’s going to give in to him.’ But he was wrong as Dara spoke quiet but firmly.

“Appa, just because I haven’t worked doesn’t mean I don’t know how. I’ve got a degree from the highest university here and that your money paid for. I didn’t go to school just so that I could spend my days spending your money. I appreciate your sentiment but sitting at home is not what I want. And quite frankly it pisses me off that both of you think I can’t fulfill this job.”

Jiyong slanted a sideward glance at Dara. Who was this girl?

Mr. Park was thinking the same thing. But he had to admit he was beginning to see his daughter in a new light. Perhaps that thump to the head had loosened up all this courage she was exhibiting. Were these her real thoughts all along these years? Had he really been coddling her?

He took a deep breath and then looked over to Jiyong. “Well you’ve heard her, Jiyong. And she does have some valid points being that she is my heir and will one day take over this business. I’ll renovate the second conference room on that floor and the adjoining storage room to it to form a new office for Dara. But meanwhile let’s have you two share your current office. Working together isn't such a bad idea anyway since it will give you the opportunity to help her learn the ropes.”

He turned then to Dara and for the first time ever Jiyong saw the Chairman look at his daughter with the same stern look usually reserved for his employees. “I’ll expect you to work hard, Sandara. You wanted this opportunity and so I’m giving it to you. Show me what you can do.”

Dara broke out into a wide smile, eyes sparkling as she answered. “Yes Chairman, I won’t let you down.”

*

The PR team watched with interest their boss, or bosses, for the rest of the day. Maintenance delivered in a new desk and set it up in Jiyong’s office. It was identical to the one that was already in there, including the chair that came with it. The chairman had ordered that it be the same, his gut telling him that the two would end up arguing if it were not the same. And truthfully he had a feeling Jiyong would be on the losing end if that battle were to take place.

Still Jiyong sullenly moved his things to the new desk. He’d already lost a good 2 hours of work this day due to his ex-fiancee.  

Dara meanwhile was in the conference room interviewing her new Personal Assistant. Her father had said she could post an opening and hire someone but Dara surprised him by saying she already had someone in mind and that was already employed there.

There was a girl working down in the main lobby as one of three receptionist that she wanted to interview for the position. Her name was Park Bom. Dara had always found her friendly whenever Dara stopped in to see her father.  Despite being the boss’s daughter not all of the female employees were friendly towards Dara. They were respectful, bowing as she would walk by, but only Bom would smile at her genuinely and ask Dara how her day was.

“You want me to be your PA?” Bom asked, surprised and pleased at the same time.

“Yes. I pulled your resume from HR and saw that you finished three years of college before you stopped. Do you mind if I ask why you didn’t finish?” Dara asked.

“Not at all,” Bom answered. “I couldn’t afford the tuition fees. My family needed help financially so I quit school. I still plan to finish but I need to save up enough money first.”

“This job will take up a lot of your time,” Dara informed her. “But it will be a promotion for you and at a significantly better rate than what you’re currently making. I believe it’s important for a woman to have an education and be able to provide for herself. I’ll give you until the end of the day to look the job requirements over and if you’re interested let me know.”

Bom stood and bowed, thanking Dara before leaving. Dara sat down a moment and closed her eyes. There was a dull pain in her head that had been throbbing increasingly throughout the morning. After a moment she stood and went back to her office. Correction – back to her and Jiyong’s office.

She found him seated at his new desk, his coat off as he worked on something at the computer. He didn’t look up as Dara entered and went to her desk and sat down. She reached for her purse and took out the bottle of pain reliever inside. She didn’t see Jiyong watching her as she stood and went to the side bar where there was a pitcher of water and glasses. She stood there, her back to Jiyong, as she poured her a glass of water and then swallowed the tablets. Jiyong looked away and resumed his work as she turned and went back to her desk and sat down.

*