Monday mornings were the worst, or so every office worker thought. They meant the return of problems left behind, in the rush to get home early on a Friday night. They meant sleepy meetings, mugs of coffee and strings of curses for the boss. But for one particular man, Monday Mornings were nothing short of wonderful.

Wonderful because it meant seeing you. Kim Xia. The Korean-Chinese founder, and Chairwoman of Xia Gaming. The sensational corporation and its booming market was an enigma for the common man and a threat for most businesses listed in the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The inspiration for such an inventive foundation had been simple. Kim Xia’s little brother had loved to spend hours glued to his precious console and Kim Xia loved her brother more than anything. What better way to gather his attention than to design a game he could play with ease and intelligence? At the age of 25 years, the double degree holder combined her knowledge of animation design and computing science to deliver what was known to be ‘’a gamers paradise.’’ Zhang Yixing however, could not care less about her professional status. Although immensely proud of her achievements, the 28 year old statistics analyst paid more attention to the way she twirled her hair before tucking it behind her ear. Yixing had been irrevocably in love with his boss for the past 3 years of his employment and had failed in more ways than one to tell her of it.

‘’We have a department meeting in 15 Lay!’’ said Feng Mi, Yixing’s colleague and confidante. The professional but caring, working mother of two had joined the company at the same time as Yixing. It had been easy for Feng Mi to find common ground with a man who knew so much about world affairs, language and art. Thus, striking a conversation with the shy but confident chief analyst had proved to be a piece of cake. It also hadn’t taken long for her to discover his obvious crush on their CEO and she had made sure to grasp every opportunity to and watch his cheeks flush with colour.

‘’I know Mi…I organised it myself.’’ Replied Lay as he gathered his paperwork into a neat bundle and switched off his desktop monitor.

‘’You did? Is today Miss Kim’s lucky day? Is the man who loves her so dearly, finally going to pluck up enough courage to ask her out!’’ said Feng Mi, clasping her hands in happiness.

Looking down at his toes, Yixing sighed and rubbed his forehead with concern. ‘’I asked her out last Friday Mi…’’

‘’You did what?!’’ she said, almost shouting. Her voice had gained strength from screaming at her 5 year old twins and it was quite amusing when she raised her tone unconsciously in the most mundane of conversations. Although in such a state of affairs, it was sure to turn unwanted ears in the direction of Yixing’s office.

‘’I asked her out on Friday Mi…And speak any louder will you? Perhaps the whole office can hear of my failures.’’

Just then the boisterous but kind, Head of Finance decided to make his appearance known. ‘’Failures! Don’t tell me she said No?’’

Feng Mi pulled him into the glass office and the two highly intrigued individuals perched themselves onto the wooden desk. ‘’I don’t know Mr Wang! That woman should’ve thought twice before saying No! I mean look at this Man! He’s obviously head over heels for her, heck he even knows when she’s stressed out from the crease in her clothes or how many cookies she eats when she’s treating herself after a hard day! I mean…to anyone else he may seem to have borderline stalker tendencies but our Mr Zhang only means well. He loves her so much as to notice such petty things-‘’

‘’You know when she’s stressed out from the crease of her clothes? Boy, you must really love her. I don’t know when my wife is stressed out even if she tells me she is. I presume it’s something she says, just so I can take her shopping.’’ Said Mr Wang, sipping on his chamomile tea.

Feng Mi shrugged at his indifference and turned her head towards Yixing, only to find him staring longingly at the glass windows of Kim Xia’s office. Sure he hadn’t asked her out in the most suave of ways, blurting out the words in a bizarre fashion as he stood in her doorway. But she understood perfectly well and was quick to decline his offer for a weekend coffee date, stating she had private affairs that needed tending to. Yixing hadn’t wanted to push his luck any further and exited swiftly, without sparing a glance at her sighing form. If only he had stayed just a little longer, he would’ve witnessed the look of pure disappointment gracing her pretty face.

‘’What was it she said to you bub?’’ said Feng Mi, addressing Yixing as she did her babies.

He turned around picked up his documents, ready to head over to the board room for the 9 am meeting. ‘’She sai