if l/n y/n knew in advance that she would be getting a new assistant right then and there- she would've at least tried to make an effort on making the office presentable.

the two adults walked past the glass doors of her office and were greeted by the strong scent of coffee and air freshener- the young woman chuckling to herself in remorse that someone else other than her father has seen the state that her office was in.

she quickly made her way to the corner of the room to arrange the piles of folders that were left on the floor to be forgotten- or was already forgotten to say the least.

dark eyes followed her every movement, humming to himself in thought as he let his eyes scan the room to see what he was working with.

kokonoi hajime wasn't the one to judge the room's current state- because he was just like this way back when he was a middle schooler and studying his life away about finances.

the room wasn't that much of a pigsty, it's just disorganized and a little bit all over the place but it was still a manageable workplace for him.

a window wall behind the (h/c) haired woman's desk served as natural lighting for the room- illuminating all of its four corners to light. the left side of the room had a drink and snack corner stationed, noticing the full coffee maker that seemed to have been used just recently.

on the other side was just a shelf full of documents and other books that seemed to serve as the woman's pastime- nodding to this when he saw a particular book, knowing that she has good taste in stories.

his attention was brought back to the young manager who was now tidying up the sofa chairs right in front of her desk, the loud crumpling of her designer clothing bags created this white noise to avoid any awkward tension between the two.

"heh, sorry about the mess. please sit down while i go brew something to drink- do you prefer tea or coffee?"

y/n gestured at the now clean chairs for him to sit on, going to the drink bar, and immediately started looking through the cabinets in search of something to fit kokonoi's aura or at least personality- not like she was aware of who he is in the first place.

she silently thanked her father for making her office albeit large for it not to look as messy as the room's original state.

"i'll have tea, thank you." the young woman hummed, pulling out her tea tins to inspect their flavors.

"any preferences?"

"none."

silence enveloped the two, the faint hum from the water boiler acting as their white noise- golden teaspoons hitting the expensive porcelain as y/n stirred in honey to his jasmine tea, one that matches with his elegance if the woman can say so herself.

the soft smell of the hot drink mellowed down the strong scent of the brewed coffee that she had prepared for herself.

after preparing a plate full of macarons and a side of grapes, the (h/c) haired woman placed everything on a tray and took it to the coffee table in front of where kokonoi was sitting.

he was a tad bit grateful that she wasn't the type of woman to run her mouth on useless topics- enjoying the silence that he had the liberty to bask into away from his co-workers.

"i am not aware of how you like your tea, so i used a teaspoon of honey for your sweetener. feel free to add more if you want it to be sweeter." his dark eyes watched her elegant movements as she placed his tea along with the plate of snacks, a small jar of honey beside his hot brew.

the silver-haired man nodded in gratitude, taking his cup as the woman went to sit on her desk with a mug of coffee.

for a woman of class and with the title- she sure was a bit spontaneous in subtle ways.

"alright, mister kokonoi hajime- did i pronounce it right?" when he nodded, y/n looking down on her mug with a straight face, seemingly inside of her own world.

her eyes met with his dark ones, putting her mug down as she leaned forward with her hands on her chin.

"let's get straight to business mister kokonoi, you are free to return back to your position in bonten as their executive." the man rose a brow at this, leaning a bit to the side as he watched her with amused eyes.

"it's not like i don't trust you with my line of work- i just don't need any help."

"miss l/n, i'm afraid to crush your pride but i signed a contract with your father and my boss stating that i am to work with you as your assistant- as for the whole sponsorship that's a whole new different contract that your father and sano manjiro had talked about."

(e/c) eyes narrowed themselves at his figure, clenching her hands together tighter as she leaned her forehead on them- god how she wishes that she was asleep right now.

not only was kokonoi hajime under her father's contract, but his boss basically agreed on making one of his executives her assistant.

the silver-haired male placed down his cup, straightening his back as he sat there with an aura of professionalism.

"i can assure you that me being an executive and your assistant is nothing but child's play for me."

it's not that y/n had anything against him, no. but god she hated relying on men- especially if she gets to have no say in anything whatsoever.

alright, it's okay. this is just temporary. as soon as f/n gets situated in her new life as a mother, she'll surely have her back as her assistant and kokonoi would return as bonten's executive.

for now, she'll have to suck it up and make the best out of this situation.

the (h/c) haired female sighed, leaning back with her eyes closed as she absentmindedly reached out for her mug of coffee.

"i understand that. then, mister kokonoi, you now work under me as my assistant." she waved him off, spinning her chair so that she can get a clear view of the setting sun that began sinking into the horizon of buildings.

"you start tomorrow morning. i'll see you then."

silence answered her, the sound coming from the cars below acted as her white noise as her mind began drifting off to wherever they planned on taking her.

a new assistant- her pride kept stopping her from admitting that she indeed need help. the (h/c) haired woman growing tired from seeing the same stacks of folders on her desk and on the ground.

she knows that she was in the wrong here, all because her mind kept being occupied by someone who was already married.

the young woman chuckled to herself, half-lidded eyes looking at the different buildings that could be seen to take her mind off of him.

oh how stupid she was, letting a single man ruin her and the business that she had grown to manage.

the sponsorship was a different topic- not really expecting her father to go out of his way to not only ask for help but for the help of a known criminal organization just because their funds were decreasing monthly, something that she was supposed to handle.

as much as she hated admitting it- she felt stupid that she sank down low enough to sink the entirety of the corporation along with her.

"if only i had listened to my father..."

"miss l/n, all of the documents ranging from complaints to other queries have been arranged based on importance."

y/n almost jumped out of her seat at the sudden intrusion of another voice, swiftly turning her chair around to see kokonoi hajime fixing the stacks of folders that were on her desk.

the man had a look of concentration as he skimmed each folder and separated them from what's important and what was not.

"koko- didn't i tell you that you're starting tomorrow?!" she exclaimed, placing a hand on her chest to calm her racing heart as the silver-haired man simply looked at her.

"and didn't i tell you that i'm under the contract of your father and my boss?"

y/n didn't know if she was supposed to feel insulted or what- but she wanted to throw the cup of coffee that was sitting on her desk at him in retaliation.

a stiff smile etched itself on her face, faux innocence covering her irritation as she watched the male finish up on his little organizing activity.

kokonoi placed a hand on a small pile of documents and placed it on the middle of her desk before he looked at her with amused eyes that he had hidden very well in his neutral look.

"i suggest you start with this one first- they've been filed eight months ago." (e/c) eyes landed on the pile with a look of laziness and just utter disgust.

"how about we start tomorrow-?"

"you're starting now miss manager."

and that my friends, was the start of something that would blossom into this long relationship built in nothing but professionalism.

or so the two thought.