some of the most notable businessmen and women out there always told her that once you sit down at the head of the corporation- you'll never have to lift a finger.

it'll be all breezy for you, sit back and enjoy as you watch your company grow under your very eyes.

that's what they always tell her, but boy were they so wrong.

l/n y/n didn't know what company those old fools manage at, but it sure as hell wasn't as breezy as they told her it was- because she's now currently sitting in front of her desk with stacks of paperwork covering her hunched figure.

after managing the bouncing ball corporation for twelve years, the stress and pressure was now chasing after her. couldn't they just come again another time?

nope, they wanted to bother the manager who was at her wit's end.

a lot has happened the past twelve years and eight months- and by a lot, i mean a whole shit load that gave the young woman a tornado of emotions.

ten years ago, she and her high school sweetheart had broken it off- witnessing his wedding eight months ago which wasn't the best decision that she had done.

her father now gave her the title of owner and manager of the company yet still helping out since he knows that his daughter would just let all his efforts collapse.

her best friend and assistant got pregnant- eight months pregnant. which left her all stressed and assistant-less.

now the twenty-seven-year-old manager was doing everything she was mentally capable of to make sure that everything is going by smoothly.

"who in their right minds would chase an employee with a knife on floor three?"

this was getting ridiculous, utterly and totally ridiculous at this point.

"that's it- we're taking a break." y/n groaned, leaning her forehead on the cold surface of her glass desk that helped cool her warm temperature.

where was f/n when you needed her?

as she allowed her mind to take her off to neverland, her office door suddenly swung opened, and in came l/n f/n in all of his forty-nine-year-old glory.

his dress shoes hitting the polished tiles as he strode into the messy office.

"y/n, what is the meaning of this? all of your documents are disarrayed- how can you find stuff over there?" the old man tutted, earning a tired groan from her as she lazily propped her chin on her table.

"i work here, i know where i keep my things." she muttered, watching as her father sat down on one of the chairs that weren't preoccupied with either clothing or more paperwork.

f/n let out an exhale, crossing his legs as he looked at his daughter with a straight face.

the young manager knew that look, straightening her back as she waited for what her father was about to tell her. she's guessing that it was because of the mess- wasn't her fault though.

"we need to talk about your performance as both an individual and the manager of this place." this made the (h/c) haired woman raise a brow, wondering what her father was talking about while the man gestured at her workplace.

"for eight months, that pile of documents has been sitting there for the past eight damn months."

y/n looked down at her desk with solemn eyes, knowing that her father was in the right this time. as much as she wanted to deny everything- she couldn't weasel out of this one.

"ever since you've come back from that damned wedding you've been neglecting your responsibilities and even your health. how can you lead the corporation when you're sick?"

"i haven't been neglecting everything... i still do my best answering and looking into all of these files." the young woman couldn't look at her father in the eyes when he rose a brow in her direction, motioning to the corner of the office where there was another pile of unanswered complaints.

the older l/n groaned a bit walking towards his daughter with soft eyes as she toyed with her pen.

"please, y/n, forget about that man already and do your responsibilities. many families are in your hands- what'll happen to them if the company goes down?"

y/n scoffed, furrowing her brows. as if it was that easy as he says it is- she's been trying for the past ten god damn years but look at her now.

you may have been expecting her to be sipping her martini on a private jet, pampering herself with the most expensive of clothing and jewelry are known to mankind but no- she was wallowing inside of her office for the past years.

agreed that studies have shown that a broken heart lasts up to a day or so- but she just couldn't accept the fact that mitsuya takashi would do that to her.

oh curse that man with all of her being for his empty and half-assed promises.

"then... i'll just look into them more-"

"you need an assistant y/n. you're used to having f/n by your side- if you do this alone you're bringing the company down along with you."

how can she be that careless enough to need a new assistant?

"and as for the company status, we're almost hitting rock bottom." f/n looked at his daughter with a hardened gaze, seeing at how tense and just stressed the young manager was at everything.

"please- just leave. i'll look into sponsors for the reputation, i'll search for the best assistant there is in japan and-"

"you're lucky you're my daughter."

the (h/c) haired girl looked at him with an insulted look. first, he comes in here judging her workplace, then he'll remind her of the man she's trying hard to forget, and now this?

wow, the best father of the year i tell you.

l/n f/n looked down at his wristwatch, fixing the cuffs of his suit before turning to leave the cramped office.

"we're having a meeting with our sponsors in fifteen- fix yourself up and head to the fifth floor for our discussion."

y/n raised a brow at this, but nevertheless took her bag from the floor and immediately started retouching her makeup.

"and as for your assistant, stay after the meeting."

and with that, the old man left her office. the sound of her metronome providing her with white noise as she gazed into her reflection.

the bags under her eyes weren't noticeable thanks to the products that she was using every day- but it was still there.

for a twenty-seven-year-old woman, she looked about twenty.

y/n snapped her hand mirror close, letting out an exhale as she stood up, dusting and patting down the creases of her blouse and slacks before she changed into her work heels.

if the meeting was with sponsors, then she'll need to be extra to sell the look.

the young woman walked up to a mirror at the side of her office, checking herself out to see if she was presentable enough for the meeting that's starting in ten minutes.

her eyes traced her figure, nodding in satisfaction about her looks.

(e/c) eyes darted on her neck, where a tattoo of a dragon was slightly hidden by her blouse and blazer.

she clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"if the old man told me about this meeting a day before i would've worn turtle necks." she muttered, heels clicking on the tiled floor as she made her way out of her office- locking it behind her of course.

"this will be one pain in the ass."

employees greeted her left and right, albeit shocked that the manager has finally left her cocoon of an office and stepping out into the world.

they watched as she walked with pride in each strode that she takes, turning the corner and into the meeting room where her father and sponsors would surely be.

this makes her wonder, who were they? other agencies with the same visions as the bouncing ball corp?

ah who cares, her father took care of this one- she's just there for clarifications and such.

y/n stood in front of the misty glass doors, collecting herself before she placed a hand on the cold surface and pushing it open.

"-and as for the financial stability, we're a million short for reaching our yearly count." f/n looked up from his powerpoint and onto the young woman who was standing there.

heads turned to her direction, the (h/c) haired woman looking around her with slightly wide eyes at some of the familiar faces around her.

"ah, y/n. glad to know you're finally out of that damned office of yours."

her father motioned for her to seat at the other end of the long glass table, just beside a familiar blond-haired man with bags under his eyes.

despite the dark circles surrounding his once lively eyes, he still looked like the sano manjiro that she had once known.

but seeing him wasn't the one that made her all shocked- it was the fact that the entire bonten executives and leader were all sitting at the table along with her.

y/n wasn't that naive at her surroundings. there were many positives that came in shutting herself out inside of her room and office such as watching the latest news about the famous criminal gang.

so this is how her father will resurrect the company back to its original glory... man what the fuck?

what're they gonna do? sell drugs? hide bodies? the manager may have once craved freedom and excitement but not like this.

"as i was saying- we need to come up with a way to get back on our financial track. at this rate, we'll have to cut the salary in half and spend less on renovations."

her eyes scanned the men in front of her as sano rose up from his seat and shook her father's hands.

"don't worry about financial stability f/n, with bonten now on your side that isn't a problem anymore." the blond said, f/n smiling at this knowing that siding with a criminal organization was the best solution for this.

"as for the costs and fees, we'll handle them. just continue on with your business and we'll do our best at our end."

the (h/c) haired woman sat there not knowing what to do. she wasn't that late, was everything over then?

she internally groaned, wishing that she had just stayed inside of her office if her father handled everything.

speaking of which, her old man turned to the table and gave them a smile.

"thank you for helping us, sano manjiro. without you our company will be in shambles." the blond man held a hand up for respect, heading out the door as the executives followed suit.

y/n sighed in relief, thankful that she wasn't needed that much, and stood up to follow the crowd out of the room.

a cough interrupted her escape, turning back slowly to see her father and one of the executives sitting at the table.

her eyes scanned his figure- silver hair with one side of his hair shaved and styled, quite elegant if she would say so herself.

the man wore an expensive yet simple-looking red outfit- narrowed eyes looking at her with an unreadable look.

"i ought you've forgotten that you're having a new assistant under your belt, y/n." f/n stood up and motioned at the man who also followed suit and bowed at the young woman who was standing in front of him with the doors now closed.

"pleasure to be at your service, miss l/n."

her father patted the man on the back, him clearly showing a slight irritation at his gesture.

"meet kokonoi hajime, your new assistant."

"excuse me, what?"

her father sat at a random chair with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as y/n stared at the scene with wide eyes.

the old man gestured for kokonoi to sit back down which he gladly did. if he was gonna be here for quite some time then he'll gladly sit down and watch.

"y/n, you can't possibly do everything when you can't even take care of yourself." the comment made the young woman fume in her place, fists clenching by her sides.

"you can't forget about that mitsuya man- how else can you focus on your job?"

"i said i'll-" she was cut off when f/n stood up and gave her a stone-faced look.

"this is final. from now on bonten will be our sponsors and kokonoi hajime will work under you. do you understand?"

(e/c) eyes shakily looked at her father with rage, clicking her tongue in annoyance because she knows that she can't have a say in this despite being manager.

"yes sir."

her father gave a satisfied nod, motioning for the silver-haired man to follow his daughter as she waited for her words of dismissal.

"good. take kokonoi to your office and show him the works around there. you're dismissed."

y/n didn't think a second time as she darted out of the room with hasty steps, heels loudly clicking beneath her as kokonoi silently followed behind her.

god could this be any worse for her?

back in the meeting room, l/n f/n took out a flask from underneath his suit and sipped on the whiskey that he had brought.

he swiveled on the chair with a thoughtful look on his face, albeit proud at himself for what he has done.

"don't make the same mistake as before, y/n."

presenting to you l/n f/n, owner of the bouncing ball corporation, and a part-time matchmaker.