CHAPTER NINE — UNPROFESSIONAL THOUGHTS
1172 Words
Yoko spent most of Wednesday pretending she had not inhaled her boss’s blazer like a lovesick teenager.
She told herself it was purely scientific.
Smell memory. Stress relief. Completely normal human behavior.
“Stop lying to yourself,” she muttered while fixing her hair in the office restroom mirror. “You are in dangerous territory.”
Very dangerous.
Because somewhere between spilled coffee, sarcastic arguments, and unexpected kindness, Faye Malhotra had quietly stopped being just her intimidating employer.
She had become a problem.
A tall, elegant, beautifully complicated problem.
The day began suspiciously peaceful.
No emergencies.
No disasters.
No angry billionaires.
Yoko sat at her desk organizing files, secretly grateful for the calm.
Then Faye walked in.
And calm immediately felt impossible.
“Morning,” Yoko said, forcing normalcy.
“Morning.”
Faye paused, eyes landing on the blazer neatly folded on Yoko’s chair.
“You kept it.”
“You told me to,” Yoko replied quickly.
“Right.”
Yoko handed it back. “Thank you again. It saved me from freezing to death.”
“Dramatic as always.”
“Occupational hazard.”
Their usual banter returned, comfortable and familiar.
But underneath it, something new lingered — an awareness neither of them quite knew what to do with.
At 10:30, Faye called her in for a meeting.
“Sit,” Faye said.
Yoko obeyed, notebook ready.
“We’re preparing a major proposal for the Tokyo expansion,” Faye explained. “I need you fully involved.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“That sounds important.”
“It is.”
Yoko straightened in her chair, a small spark of pride warming her chest.
Faye noticed.
“Don’t look so surprised,” she said. “You’ve proven yourself.”
Another almost-compliment.
Yoko decided to frame it mentally and hang it on a wall.
“I won’t let you down,” she promised.
“I expect you won’t.”
Their eyes met across the desk — professional, serious.
Yet somehow charged with something neither acknowledged.
The rest of the morning passed in intense focus.
They worked side by side, discussing figures and strategies, arguing over wording, debating timelines.
For once, it wasn’t a battle.
It was collaboration.
And Yoko discovered she liked working with Faye when they weren’t trying to verbally assassinate each other.
“You’re smarter than people give you credit for,” Faye said at one point.
Yoko smiled. “So are you.”
“I’m aware.”
“Of course you are.”
A small pause.
Then, unexpectedly, Faye laughed.
A real laugh.
Soft. Brief. Beautiful.
Yoko nearly dropped her pen.
Oh no.
She was in serious trouble.
At lunch, Yoko decided she needed advice.
Not from HR — absolutely not.
From someone safe.
She called her best friend Mai and whispered into the phone while hiding near the stairwell.
“I have a situation.”
Mai groaned. “What did you do now?”
“I think I might… slightly… maybe… be developing feelings for my boss.”
There was a dramatic gasp on the other end.
“Our scary CEO boss?”
“Yes.”
“The one you said you hated?”
“Yes.”
“The rich, older, terrifyingly beautiful one?”
“Please stop describing her like that.”
Mai laughed. “Oh my god, you’re doomed.”
“I know.”
“Does she like you back?”
Yoko peeked around the corner to make sure no one was listening.
“I have no idea,” she whispered. “And I absolutely cannot find out.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s my boss. And also probably emotionally unavailable. And way out of my league. And did I mention my boss?”
Mai sighed. “You’re already in too deep, aren’t you?”
Yoko closed her eyes.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
The afternoon brought an unexpected challenge.
At 3:00 p.m., a delivery arrived for Faye — a large bouquet of expensive white lilies.
Yoko blinked at the card.
“Dinner tonight? – R.”
Her stomach twisted before she could stop it.
Of course Faye had admirers.
She was Faye Malhotra.
Elegant. Powerful. Gorgeous.
Yoko carried the flowers into the office trying to look neutral.
“Delivery for you.”
Faye glanced up. “From who?”
“Someone named R.”
Faye’s expression tightened slightly.
“Ah. Him.”
“Him?” Yoko echoed before she could stop herself.
Faye raised an eyebrow. “Is there a problem?”
“No,” Yoko said quickly. “None at all. Just… very nice flowers.”
“Put them somewhere.”
Yoko set them on the side table, feeling an irrational urge to throw them out the window.
This is ridiculous, she scolded herself. You do not get jealous over your employer’s dating life.
Still, the rest of the day felt oddly heavier.
By evening, Yoko was in a strange mood.
Focused. Efficient. And annoyingly emotional.
As she prepared to leave, Faye stopped her.
“Yoko.”
“Yes?”
“About the Tokyo project — you did good work today.”
Yoko softened. “Thank you.”
Faye hesitated.
“Are you… all right? You seem distracted.”
“I’m fine,” Yoko lied.
Faye studied her carefully, like she didn’t quite believe it.
“If something is bothering you, tell me.”
Yoko almost laughed.
If only you knew.
“Just tired,” she said instead.
“Get some rest.”
“I will.”
Another one of those silences stretched between them.
Thick. Uncertain.
Finally Yoko turned to go.
“Goodnight, Madam Malhotra.”
“Goodnight, Yoko.”
Outside, Bangkok buzzed with life.
Street food smoke curled into the humid air. Motorcycles zipped past. The city glowed in gold and neon.
Yoko walked slowly, thoughts tangled.
She hated feeling like this — uncertain, emotional, vulnerable.
Especially over someone she was supposed to keep professional distance from.
Her phone buzzed.
A message from Mai:
“So… hot boss update?”
Yoko typed back:
“Worse. She got flowers from a man.”
Three dots appeared.
Then:
“Oh honey. You’ve got it BAD.”
Yoko groaned.
Bad didn’t even begin to cover it.
Back in her office, Faye stood by the window long after everyone had gone.
The lilies sat untouched on the table.
She looked at them with mild annoyance.
Then her gaze drifted to the empty desk outside her door.
Yoko’s desk.
Faye replayed the day in her mind — the easy conversation, the shared work, the way Yoko’s face lit up at praise.
And the strange shift in her mood after the flowers arrived.
A thoughtful frown crossed Faye’s face.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she whispered to herself.
But the question refused to disappear.
Was Yoko jealous?
The idea should have felt inappropriate.
Instead, it made Faye’s heart beat just a little faster.
And somewhere in Bangkok, two women went to sleep that night pretending they weren’t already standing on very dangerous emotional ground.
- Writer
