Mr. Slack Boss

Chapter 1

"Where would you like this ma'am?" The bell-hop asked with a gentle smile on his face.

"Would you like a double or a triple scoop, ma'am?" The butler asked, holding out a scoop and bowl.

"Your Dior dress is ready, ma'am. Be sure to check in to the spa by 5pm tomorrow," another one of the concierge men smiled at me from the door.

I giggled. My head felt like it was on a cloud and the robe around my body felt like heaven. It was so soft! I took a good look around the spacious holiday suite I was living in. The doors, the ceiling, the furniture, all screamed posh and perfection. I wiggled my toes, perfectly pedicured and painted.

"Be careful, ma'am! You'll get hurt," the lady doing my manicure smiled at me.

I smiled and turned to look at the television. This life. It was pure magical.

The door opened and two waiters walked in, carrying a huge blue dress. It shined so much that everybody in the room had to practically shield their eyes from the glow.

"Wow!" I gracefully glided off the bed and walked towards the shining dress as they placed it on one of the single arm chairs. The waiter handed me a pair of sunglasses and I keep them on my face, to look at what I would be wearing tomorrow, to the Royal ball. It was so shiny that to look at it directly, you needed a pair of shades.

"Perfect!" I exclaimed.

"Of course, it is perfect," the waiter smiled at me. "Things in dreams are always perfect."

"I know, right? Doesn't it all feel just like a dream-"

"It isn't like a dream, ma'am," he cut me off. "It is a dream."

I looked at him-

"Hey Big Sis! Come have some breakfast!"

My eyes pop open and I sit up. I'm not in that perfect holiday suite anymore. Instead, I'm in a small, stuffy room with sagging curtains, a book shelf and closet and I'm lying on a small, stiff single bed. I draw my arms around my knees and drop my head on them, letting my dark hair fall all over my face.

The room door bursts open and my brother stumbles inside, "Sis! Aren't you going to eat? You'll be late for your interview."

"Hey!" I yank my head up to look at him. "Are you sure I wasn't adopted? Maybe my real parents are somewhere out there? I could contact them or- maybe I could find a- aargh!"

Tito just stands there stupidly, holding a ladle in one hand and scratching his head with the other. He's also wearing an apron around his waist with a strawberry design on it. "Uh, I don't think so. Maybe we could try the yellow pages?" He chuckles quietly.

"Forget it. What's the time?" I groggily look for my phone.

"Almost 7," he replies.

"What?!" I screech, jumping down from the bed and standing. Tito actually backs away from me, as if I'm Sadako or something.

"I already woke you up three times-"

I don't hear the end of it because I've already bolted into the bathroom. Stripping, I jump under the warm water. I look at my reflection in the mirror and man, I really do look like Sadako. My mascara ran all the way down my cheeks, my hair looks like a bird's nest and I actually have drool on my chin. Shuddering, I let the water do its magic. I rub shampoo in my hair and simultaneously shove my toothbrush inside my mouth. I quickly grab a towel and almost trip near the door. A white top, black jacket and a professional skirt are hanging by the hooks. I yell a thankyou to Tito before throwing them on.

Then I run to my room and dry my hair, put on light makeup, grab heels and after becoming presentable, run to the tiny dining area infront of the kitchen. Tito is already sitting on the table, solving one of those daily crossword puzzles.

"You went overboard with the cooking again, didn't you?" I mutter, shoving a sandwich in my mouth and gulping it down with a glass of juice. "Man, this tastes good."

"I just made a few dishes with the left overs from last night," he shrugs, putting aside his pen and paper.

I observe the dishes infront of me. Sure, he made these with the left overs. There is plate of sandwiches, some lasagne, pot fried Frittatas, tiny honey pancakes and glasses of fresh mango and pineapple juice.

"The whole drinking party you had last night with Lia helped," he adds.

I swallow the bite painfully, "We didn't- overspend last night again, did we?"

He shakes his head, laughing. "Nah. Her mom sent in some lasagne, so that's there. And I had some pancake batter left in the fridge, so the pancakes. And Frittatas are made from the cheese I got off from the lasagne."

I sigh, relieved. I get up and grab my bag. "Okay. Wish me luck. I'm about to show the world what Olivia Harley is made of."

"You show them sis!" He pumps me up, rubbing my shoulders.

"Make sure you study for that entrance exam!" I yell as I bolt outside.

Tito smiles sweetly at me from the door, "Don't be hard on yourself!"

I run back, ruffle his hair and then race back on the road. I hear him click the door shut behind me. That's what life has looked like for me and my brother since the last 4 years. I've woken up, spent the day outside either looking for a job or partiming and he has stayed home, studying or cooking.

I walk towards the town tram stop, joining the crowd of menial people waiting for it to roll by. The tram never waits for anyone so I have to take it by the time it arrives or I would've had to go by foot to the bus station, which isn't anything better. I do not like travelling by bus. It's so stuffy in there everytime.

In all honesty, it still felt weird. It felt new. When my parents went bankrupt and we lost our home, our cars, our servants. Living on the streets for two days and then struggling to get hired by companies because of our tarnished reputation. Mom and Dad got too much burden on their shoulders so me and Tito moved out. I am old enough to fend for the two of us anyway. Our parents went to the village and became farmers while we stayed in the city. Well, the town next to the city.

I usually take a tram and a bus to reach the main land before I move around, looking for a job. After I'm done, I come back by 6 and then go to my part-time job at Hoover's, a tiny snack bar near our small house.

The tram rolls in and I quickly run behind the door, climbing on just behind an old male. He walks in slowly and takes a seat near the front while I run all the way to the back and drop in a single chair. I pull out the application I had submitted a week before and it had gotten approved.

It's the job of an intern for the HR Department at Colossal Foods. I really have my hopes pinned on this one because not only will it help me earn a steady income but also help Tito get into the annual, end-of-the-year Young talent and Food Prodigy contest conducted by them. It is so exclusive that it even has a waiting list. I figured if I got in, I could somehow mix his name up with the finalists for this year. The winner would get the position of junior chef at one of the company's very successful restaurants and cafès.

In terms of grades and experience, I've always been an Ace. I was the head of the Marketing Department at my father's company, Harley Insurance. I used to be so rutheless, people were actually scared of me. But I couldn't help it. I've always been passionate about work, about winning, about standing first.

But all that went down the drain once the company filed for bankruptcy and we lost every penny we ever had. Now, each day brings a new struggle and a new pain. I clasp my hands together.

Oh God. Just let me get through this one. I promise, I'll be so good, even I won't recognize myself.

After 30 minutes, I'm standing infront of the tall, glassy building of Colossal Foods. It is entirely made of green and blue glass and is so high, it could easily have 21 floors or more. I clench my fists as my stomach churns with excitement and nervousness.

Lets do this. Liv, you got this.

"Applicant number 7. You're up next. Please come this way," a young lady calls out to the guy next to me in a sweet voice.

He gets up, lazily fixes his tie and walks into the interview room. I scoff. I could tell by his resolve that he wasn't here because he needed the job. His rich father probably threw him out of the house so he could get his lazy a*s to do something and threatened to get rid of his credit cards.

I used to have a lot of those coming in at Harley Insurance. I kicked them all out one by one. Man, that felt satisfying. One guy, I specifically remember, a rich spoilt brat wanted the job too much. His father had snatched his new Lamborghini or Porsche, I don't really remember. Anyway, we hired him and after insulting him for about a week, he took the matter to his pride. A rich fool, he thought he could scam me by working tardily and getting away with it. I even insulted him infront of the entire team before I finally kicked a lazy bug like him out. Companies need hardworking men, not slack offs.

"Applicant no. 8. You're up next. Please, come this way," the lady says to me.

I smile, bow my head slightly and walk behind her towards the huge wooden doors. This is it. This will decide whether I get the job or not. My future and Tito's dreams all lie behind these doors.

She opens the door and I step inside. Taking that single chair infront of the interview panel, I quickly launch into my introduction without even taking a breathe.

The interviewers seem really impressed by my application and throw some questions here and there. None of them seem to recognize me as Kriss Heggins' daughter, though.

Guess the different surname technique is finally working.

Dad had the surname Harley from his birth father's side, whom he'd never met. He was brought up by his mother, whose surname he took up at 20. When everyone recognized me and refused me jobs, Mom suggested I change the name from Heggins to Harley. Dad couldn't do the same for the company but I was able to benefit from it.

I've been Olivia Harley since last year.

"Okay. You'll get the confirmation call by tomorrow. I have high hopes, though," the young, handsome panelist comments.

He really is handsome with rough brown hair and pale, silver eyes. He has that whole macho sort of look going on and his build is extremely drool-worthy. But I snap out of my fantasy faster than I thought I would.

"Sure."

I slide off and wait till I'm out on the sidewalk before I do the whole "yay" cheer. I bump my fists in the air and dance around multiple times before finally stopping.

"Wooh, Liv. You did it. I knew you could." I breathlessly pat myself before walking over to Lia's cafe.

Lia is a good friend of mine. I met her on one of my job finding expeditions at her cafe, Sun Down. She couldn't give me or Tito a job because of the humble profit and since I needed money in bigger amounts, I refused as well. She'd only get burdened with the extra salary and everything.

I push open the glass doors and excitedly run behind the counter. She's hunched up over a tray of baked bread, her blonde hair covering her face. Her body's thin and model like, with a height of 5'7. Pretty decent to enter the entertainment business but she says she doesn't like it.

"Lia! Oh Lia!" I yell in a sing-song voice. "Guess what news I've brought."

She straightens up and looks at me, eyes narrowed. "If you're here to tell me you won another Buzz toy at the local lucky dip, I'm not hearing it."

"Hey! Buzz is a very good guy and I really like my collection of him!" I protest. "But that's not what I'm here for today. I got good news." I grin.

"What?" She's growing excited now too.

"Won't you offer me some hot coffee first though?" I pout.

She sighs and leads me over to one of the empty tables. She always has a modest number of customers so the cafe isn't packed full and neither is it empty. Her family runs the place so her mother's running the orders while her father's in the kitchen helping the chef.

Once she gets our coffees, she perches on the chair opposite to mine, "Now tell me. What good news?"

"I've got a job!" I squeal.

"That's great! Oh Liv, I'm so happy for you! Where where where?" She jumps up and down in her seat. Her mother throws her a weird look and some of the customers too.

"Okay, okay. Calm down a bit." I whisper. "It's at Colossal Foods!" I smile proudly.

"You got a job there?" One of her eyebrows quirk.

"Well, technically it's not official yet. They said they'd give me a call but they have high hopes for me. I'll be an HR Manager in no time."

"I'm glad. My Dad knows their Hot Crust Pizza place owner. Maybe I could ask him about who your new boss's going to be." She quickly got up and hurried into the kitchen.

I leisurely sip my coffee and get up to help Mrs. Pfeiffer with the orders until Lia jumps out of the kitchen, holding a magazine and looking super excited.

"Liv, Liv, Liv!" She whisper-shouts, pulling me into a corner. "I just found out who the leader for the HR Department is."

"Really? Who?"

"Well, he's technically not a Team Leader or Manager. The HR at Colossal is under the leadership of a director at the company." She explains, still holding the roll of magazine. She's twisted the copy so badly in her hand, it looks like it could rip any second now.

"Why is that?" I ask, eyeing the poor magazine.

"The CEO is about to retire so that specific director is soon-to-be CEO too. Maybe, the HR employees might get special raises after his promotion! He's the CEO's son, by the way." She quips.

I haven't even gotten the confirmatory text yet and I already feel pressured.

"Tell me who it is already!"

"Here. See for yourself. For bonus, he's hot as hell too," she hands me the magazine, giggling like a teenager excited about her first prom.

I take it from her and unroll it, opening to an image of an Armani model rival. Lia wasn't kidding, he really is hot! He had sleek dark hair, a sharp jaw and the suit he wore defined his body perfectly, even in the picture.

"He's notorious for being ruthless though," Lia frowns.

My eyes fall onto the written paragraph underneath. That's when I feel all world stop around me. Lia's still jumping up and down yet I can't hear her. People are chatting in the cafe yet it's all silent around me. I stare at the picture, wide-eyed.

It's him!

Nathan Woods.

The rich slack off I fired from Harley Insurance 4 years ago! And he's my new notorious-for-being-ruthless boss!

**Unedited

I apologize in advance for all the mistakes I made. Also, please vote and comment. Thankyou.

^_^