29 She's going to be difficult

Mei sucked her breath in, preparing to get bullied again. Ayu's non-kabedon hand was still in a cast after her beastly boss attacked her.

"Meimei, I am your senior sister...you must show me more respect."

Ayu was very tall, with her exquisite bone structure and confident aura. She was hard to resist even for women. She bent down, her face now close to Mei's.

A blushing Mei tried to look away. But the shorter, bespectacled girl was too flustered.

"Meimei, don't let me hear you trash talking young master again. Remember, that your boss will never outshine mine."

For an accomplished and high ranking employee, Ayu was a petty woman. She liked nitpicking and imposing her superiority. Especially when it came to the annoying madam's little secretary. They went around thinking they were so important, without a second thought for her and how hard she worked by her great boss' side.

In Ayu's head, her work with Shen was of prime importance. The madam and Mei were little flies, playing childish games.

Mei had enough of Ayu's arrogance. She suddenly looked her straight in the eye, surprising Ayu.

"I'm honestly concerned about boss. She's been working 16 hours a day, eating only by young master's hand, hardly sleeping or resting and trying to compensate for an absence where she was the one attacked. I wouldn't sit here mocking someone that strong. So CUT IT OUT."

It was okay to humiliate her, but not her amazing boss. Lina had plucked Mei straight out of university. Even though she was bad at multitasking, Lina had picked up on her die hard attitude and drive to learn. The spark in Mei was something Lina needed to keep the consultancy running.

Ayu was ignorant and underestimated Mei. She considered her a silly child, wide eyed for the silly, annoying madam without any personal goals. She despised idolising and worshipping. She was used to working in a man's world at Moshi Corp and dealing with a temperamental, devilish boss everyday.

After having said so, Mei mustered all the courage she had and slapped Ayu's injured hand away. She cheated, knowing that a woman as physically powerful as Ayu could not be escaped from on any given day.

Ayu yelped in pain and watched in astonishment as the little rat, Mei scampered away back to her madam.

'Ugh, creating trouble, as always. Why can't she just sleep peacefull?!'

Ayu was annoyed, she had come to discuss an important matter with Shen concerning James. But the madam, once again, had distracted him from his duties.

-- in the study --

Shen rushed to Lina's side, as she whimpered and cried and choked in her sleep. She was perspiring, making her face glow slightly. She'd fallen asleep with her head on the desk, so Shen gathered her little body into his arms and carried her to the sofa.

He signalled to Dr. Hayama, who had followed him up to the study, to enter the study quietly and observe Lina's symptoms. He didn't want to wake her up to a new face. But at the same time, Dr. Hayama was a specialist and probably the only one who could help heal his wife's mental scars.

As the doctor quietly observed her with a poker face, he turned around the abruptly left the room. Right outside, Mei had just hurried back from her encounter with Ayu and ran head first into Dr. Hayama's chest.

Poor little Mei felt like she ran into a hard wall. The pain she felt was accompanied with a surge of pleasure and butterflies as she inhaled his scent and tried to mentally picture how well formed his muscles were.

Dr. Hayama simply ignored her and walked a little distance away and stood in a corner. He whipped out his cell phone and started recording his observations.

Mei was flabbergasted. He'd hardly observed boss for a couple of minutes and could recite every twitch of hers without a hitch. His mental strength was just too powerful. Coupled with his looks and heavenly body, Mei was convinced she had fallen in love with this man.

As she stood away and gaped at him listing the possibilities for Lina's behaviour in his smooth, low, magnetic voice, Mei felt transfixed.

Towards the end, she picked up a few words, tips and notes Dr. Hayama was leaving for himself.

"She's going to be difficult."

*************

Inside, Shen gently kissed Lina's head and whispered calming words, begging her to wake up.

Lina slowly came to her senses, and stared into Shen's deep black eyes, brimming with concern. She felt a familiar wave of comfort washing over her.

But it disappeared all too soon. Her face changed to one of panic in a split second.

"Shen! My notes! I haven't completed them! The meeting with the PM of B nation is tomorrow morning. How will address all the concerns during this meeting if I feel so unprepared?"

As Lina panicked over her work, Shen shook his head. This wouldn't do.

His wife needed rest and mental peace, but she was stressed in her sleep, as well as awake.

Immediately, Shen decided to make a suggestion to lower her burden.

"Baby, how about I finish making those notes-"

"STOP. NO."

Lina's raised voice reverberated through the study.

"Hubby, don't come within a 5 foot radius of my work!"