| Chapter One |

The elevator doors slid open and a woman stepped out, heels clacking with each swift step she took. A maroon pencil skirt hugged her waist snuggly, fashionably paired with a Burberry cropped trench jacket that hit her waistline, resulting in an elegant overall look.

As she stepped into the office, heads turned and eyes secretly glanced her way.

“Good morning, Miss Jung.”

“Morning.”

“Morning, Miss Jung.”

“Morning, Yunho. Meeting’s in ten so you’d better finish that up.” She said without even bothering to turn her head, strutting off towards the meeting room before he could respond.

In a moment, the man seated behind his desk stuffed the remaining chocolate donut into his mouth before sweeping his hands clean. As though panic-stricken, he started pulling files and documents out of the drawers, slamming them onto the desk and flipping through them rapidly.

“…” He grumbled when he realized he had failed to update one of the most important files.

“Unprepared, huh?” Asked another voice.

“Who the heck does she think she is? Calling for meetings as and when she likes.” The man retorted, pushing the files aside before reclining into his chair, exasperated.

“Uh, the CEO? Besides, I don’t think the head of marketing should speak of his superior like that. You’ve worked your way up here, Yunho. Reckless comments like that could compromise your position, not that I care.”

“Forget it. I forgot I was talking to her best friend.” He rolled his eyes at the lady before him.

“With a memory like yours, I wouldn’t be surprised. Also, you might wanna…” The redhead motioned towards the side of her own lips, “Wouldn’t be nice if everybody knew what you had for breakfast, would it?” With that, she walked off.

“Damn women.”

---

“Morning, Jess.”

“Hey, Fany.” Looking up from where she was seated, the woman smiled upon seeing her friend, one of the rare few whom she chooses to speak with.

The two got acquainted back in high school and had remained good friends since then. Tiffany always had her back and vice versa.

“As always, love the look.”

“Well, it’s Monday. You know what I always say about a good outfit, it never fails to--”

“Combat the blues.”

“Exactly.”

“Talking about the blues, you should’ve seen the look on Yunho’s face after you told him there was a meeting. These are the times when I seriously question how he managed to get promoted. Would’ve been better if he stayed as an admin.”

“Well, you can’t not applaud him for managing to win Chairman Wu over. Kris isn’t exactly the easiest person to talk to.” Jessica answered, shuffling through the documents in her hands.

Tiffany only shrugged, sighing as she took her seat. Before long, the rest of the heads filed into the room and there was only one empty seat left. It did not take long for Jessica to determine that it was the new head of human resources, who just resumed his position a month ago – Do Kyungsoo.

Drumming her fingers on the table impatiently, she mentally calmed herself lest her thoughts about putting a knife to Kyungsoo’s throat became a reality. Did he even know who he was messing with? Fancy not turning up on time for his first ever meeting. Seemed like somebody could really use a copy of The Complete Guide to Jessica Jung’s M.O. Rule Number One: Be late and you’re dead.

There was utter silence in the room for her aura in itself was formidable enough. A few people occasionally coughed and sniffed but no separate conversations went on apart from that. They all knew better than to incur the wrath of this greatly intimidating woman. As her eyes travelled from one person to the next, not a single one returned the eye contact. That was how much people actually feared her.

Ten minutes passed and her patience officially reached its limits. Making it a point to display her dissatisfaction with their crappy work attitudes, she slammed her palm against the table, startling everybody, “Let’s get started.”

Fidgeting in their seats and putting their devices away, everybody did their best to sit up straight and look attentive.

“Before we beg