Office Diaries

"Oh, you're busy?"

Jisoo's beautiful face crumpled into a pout. She was obviously disappointed, and Yanee wondered why.

"Give Little Bro a break Big Sis Jisoo," Nixie Tan, one of the ladies who was a very famous fashion designer spoke teasingly as she pulled Jisoo to her and gave her a comforting pat and leaned her head against the older woman.

What Yanee didn't know was that while Nixie leaned over, she also secretly whispered something in Jisoo's ear.

"Little brother will go on a date tomorrow. We should fuss over him some other time," Nixie said, her tone totally hush-hushed that Yanee had no idea why the sullen Jisoo suddenly perked up.

"Ah, it's fine. Let's just have another gathering when the book's finished – but your treat," Jisoo imposed on Tohru, making everyone give him a knowing smile.

Yanee wondered what his boss would answer when the potato suddenly flashed a smile so charming it killed her brain cells.

Huh?

"Sure," Tohru answered. "I'll treat you all to whatever you want after."

"Ah, you heard him, right?" Jisoo told the girls who giggled. Mischief sparkled in their eyes which gave Yanee an idea that they were planning something that would semi-bankrupt or totally bankrupt normal people.

"How about us?" Alex complained to Tohru, making him laugh again.

"If the project is successful, sure," Tohru agreed right after, and to Yanee's confusion and nervousness, everyone's eyes were suddenly all on her then.

Urgh… What did I do?

"Yanee, we're counting on you," Yunjae said enigmatically, but Yanee misunderstood and thought she was referring to the book.

"Er… I'll try my best," she answered shakily since she didn't know what else she could say. However, the pressure of finally realizing how big the project she was handling finally sunk in, and she felt a bit stressed.

In another hour, the event finished, and the group reluctantly bade them farewell. It really seemed the girls liked Yanee too much that some of them even wanted to take her home if their husbands didn't stop them.

"Be patient. Yanee will be visiting you and you can spend time with her then," Liam rebuked Marian when she gave Yanee puppy eyes.

As it turned out Liam's wife was three months pregnant and she wanted to really invite Yanee over to stay with her.

"That's right, big sis. Let her do her job for now, okay? We'll come to see you some other time," Tohru told her which sounded odd to Yanee, but didn't pay much attention to it as she was more focused on pacifying Marian.

"Yes, we'll visit," she agreed hastily to console her, which surprisingly made her agree and even cheered her up a little.

When they were finally able to finish saying goodbye, Yanee had the feeling akin to leaving a family gathering suddenly that she shook her head, and thought about her schedule instead.

The car from Grand Blue Hotel picked Yanee and Tohru up from the place to return them to their hotel. As soon as they got in the vehicle, she felt a gaze on her skin and she turned her head up to see her boss looking down at her from under his long lashes.

Yanee swallowed.

At close proximity, if she were only not feeling worried at the moment, Tohru Jame's handsome face would have K.O.ed her on the spot.

'Why is this potato looking at me so intensely?' Yanee thought as she squirmed in her seat. When she couldn't take it anymore, she asked.

"W-What's wrong, boss?"

"Nothing," the man answered as he shifted his gaze from her to the driver. "Do you have food here?" he suddenly asked, and the ȧssistant immediately recited a list of snacks Yanee was surprised they had in the car.

Soon, they were served with dried fruits and nuts and some sandwiches along with flutes of rosé.

"Eat," Tohru James told her. "You haven't really eaten anything at the party," he explained when she threw him an inquiring look.

Eh?

Yanee was both surprised and touched. She didn't know that her boss paid her enough attention to know that she hadn't really touched her food at the party earlier.  She also hadn't realized that she still had on a stupefied expression on her face as she looked at him.

"Why do you seem surprised?"Tohru asked with a chuckle. "I told you I got your back, didn't I? It's only natural to think that I was watching you the entire evening."

EEEEH?

If Yanee were a romantic idiot, she'd totally mistake those words for something else. She was confident that her boss watched her so she wouldn't mess up and cause trouble with their clients, considering they were all part of the upper echelon of society.

"Boss, you lied. You totally left me alone there," Yanee grumbled, reminding Tohru that he suddenly disappeared and let her be taken away by the girls.

"That's not true. I just stayed with the men but I was watching you," he countered. "Besides, you were with the big sisters, what could ever happen?"

Yanee, of course, couldn't refute that. The overly friendly bunch was very harmless, and they seemed to genuinely like her.

"Boss, why do they call you little brother?" Yanee asked.

Tohru shrugged. "Why are you asking me that? They call you little sister too," he reminded her which basically meant that he had no idea why but he was also adopted into their group out of the blue just the same as what happened to Yanee.

"Er… okay…"Yanee had no choice but to accept that answer – not that she was expecting something else since to her, the probability of the girls just adopting him too was high. With a sigh, Yanee started munching on the snacks laid out for her as they drove back.

When they reached the hotel, Tohru ȧssisted her out of the car and into the hotel. Yanee didn't mind that Tohru walked into the elevator with her as she knew that he stayed on the same floor as her. As soon as they stepped out into the carpeted corridor, the two of them would separate to go to their respective rooms.

However, before Yanee could turn away, Tohru called out to her.

"Yes, boss?"

"Do you like them?" he asked, and when Yanee looked confused he continued. "The big sisters and the big brothers," he reminded her. "Do you like them?"

Oh…

Finally understanding who he meant, Yanee smiled, making the edge of her eyes turn up like a cat's. "Of course. They're a lovable bunch," she answered truthfully.

All the ladies intimidated her at first, but her awkwardness towards them vanished after speaking to them the entire time at the party. They were all quirky, down to earth, and sweet. They acted like true big sisters – heck they're even nicer than her own sister, Ami, even if her sibling was not that bad. Their husbands were the same. They were all cool and kind.

Unbeknownst to Yanee, because her brain was preoccupied with thoughts about the girls, Tohru's light brown eyes flashed with happiness as his lips turned up into a gentle smile.

"That's good then," Tohru James told her as he nodded his head and turned away. "See you tomorrow Yanee. Good night…"