30 The Witch

"Hello? Why are you still awake?" She answered after looking at the caller details that were displayed.

"Nana? Did you miss me?" Came the voice from the phone, ignoring her question.

'Both of them asked the same thing. No wonder they are twins.' She smiled.

"Big Brother Wayne! My third fav bro!" She told just to piss him off.

"What? Why third?" Wayne asked in exasperation.

"You see, you stay away for too long with no contact whatsoever then you have to kiss goodbye to your position." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Is that so? Then what should I do with the gifts that Wind asked me to pass on to you? Whom should I give them to?" He asked, while sipping the coconut milk as he sat at the cold beach in the evening.

"What gifts? Of course you'll have to give my gifts to me!" She yelled.

 Her brother Wind always gave her the best things that he would find on his trips.

"My girlfriend would surely like them. I guess I'll just give them to her." He continued as if he did not hear what Lina just said.

"You dare! How long have you been with this new girl? A week or two? And you want to give away my gifts?" She huffed.

"Don't worry baby, I'll make sure he passes them on to you." Came a distant shout from the other side.

"Aunt Di..! I was just playing around with her." Lina heard Wayne talking to her mother on the other side.

"Thanks Mommy!" Lina yelled.

"Woah! Don't yell in my ear! I'll put you on speaker." Wayne put the call on speaker and held it for his aunt.

"Hi baby, how has everything been over there?" Diane Yang enquired about the situation at home and Lina told her everything that happened after her return.

"Hmmm… I've already spoken to your uncles. They'll tell you what you have to do later. Just follow their lead." She spoke in a serious tone to which Lina just nodded her head.

"Hi doll! Daddy misses you a lot. We'll be coming there soon!" Yelled her dad.

"Sure daddy! I'll be waiting. But first ask Wayne to get my gifts back safely. Make sure to count them before you send them with him." She whispered the last part.

"The phone's on speaker, genius." Wayne taunted and she heard her parents laugh.

"Whatever! When will you be back anyway?" She diverted the topic.

"Next week. Let's meet up then." He made plans.

"Not in your house though!" He hurriedly added.

"Sure, just give me a call." She chuckled and agreed.

The reason for this suggestion was of course, the two extra women in their house.

She spoke to her father for a few more minutes who repeatedly reminded her of how much he missed her. Finally her mother had to snatch the phone and say goodbye before hanging up.

Lina chuckled at how the great Simon Yang behaves when he's at home and then went back to work. 

She checked her emails and immediately called her assistant back in America.

'No wonder I felt like I've forgotten something.' 

"Benji? Sorry, I must have disturbed you. I just checked your mail about the consignment being ready." She inquired as soon as he answered her call.

"Yes, boss. The entire consignment is ready and will reach you in a week's time. Mr. Hitoshi will be bringing them to you. " He answered. 

Lina could hear the loud car noises from his side. 

'He must be on his way back home.'

"Great! That's all for now. I'll let you know if I need anything else. Thanks a lot, Benji. Good night!" She hung up, not wanting to disturb him anymore.

 Lina was excited that she could release her designs quickly.

Soon her stomach growled and not wanting to meet Mndy and Lucille downstairs, she asked Suzie to bring her lunch to the balcony so that she could eat while admiring the view of her garden.

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At Ming Enterprises, 

Assistant Kim walked with angry strides from the elevator to his boss' office.

Holding the file in one hand, he knocked on the door and waited for permission to go inside.

"Enter"  He heard a muffled voice and hurriedly entered and closed the door behind him.

He stomped his way over to the huge black table behind which his Emperor sat .

Reaching the Emperor, Mathew Kim looked around to see if anyone was around and then whispered in a low voice.

"Boss…" 

'What is this idiot doing now? We are inside my office, why is he whispering?' Thought Reuben looking at his assistant's actions.

"Assistant Kim, there is no one else besides us in this office. There's no need for you to whisper." Reuben interrupted him.

"Ahem.. Yes Boss!" He placed a pendrive on Reuben's desk and waited for him to watch the video on it.

"Boss, she did it again! That witch!" Mathew was so agitated after he saw that video that he immediately ran up to the Emperor's office to show it to him.

"Kim, mind your language." Reuben reminded him while watching the cctv footage being played on his PC's screen.

"Sorry sir, I was just angry seeing all our efforts being used for someone else's profit." Mathew said as he clenched his fists.

The cctv footage showed a woman dressed in a black suit sneaking into an office and searching for something on the computer. After she found what she was looking for, she downloaded the file and sneaked out.

"How long has Ms Lin been working here?" Reuben questioned while rubbing his temples.

'How long will I have to keep doing this?' He thought and shut the video off.

"For six months now?" Mathew answered after some thought.

"And how many of our projects were stolen from the planning department?" He asked another question.

"This will be the fourth, Sir." Mathew once again felt angry that the Emperor knew about this and still did not take any action against that nasty woman.

"Boss? Are you not going to do anything even with the proof in our hands?" Mathew couldn't control himself when he saw that his boss seemed to overlook this matter just like the previous times.

"What else can I do?" Reuben then displayed a helpless smile and asked Assistant Kim to make him a cup of coffee.

----

Walking out of his boss' office, the helpless smile on his face kept flashing in Mathew's mind.

'What does that smile mean? Like he can't fire her even if he wanted to?' Mathew pulled his hair thinking of such a possibility. 

The secretary who was making the coffee for Reuben was stunned looking at his behaviour. She just put her head down and poured it into a cup and handed it to Assistant Kim.

Holding the cup, he mindlessly walked back to the Emperor's office.

'Why can he not fire her? Does he like her?'

Mathew thought of how many employees in the office building were fans of Priscilla Lin, the assistant manager of the planning committee. Or as he had just called her 'The witch'.

'No…! I don't want that rat to become my lady boss. She isn't fit to be the future empress.'

He entered the office and placed the cup on his boss' table.

"Boss, I have one request." Assistant Kim spoke and Reuben just nodded his head while sipping on the coffee.

"Anyone but her, boss. Anyone but her. I beg you!" He then looked at his boss with pleading eyes and turned to walk out.

'Huh? her? who? This stupid eunuch surely is brain damaged!' A confused Reuben cursed Asst Kim as he saw him walking out.

Walking towards his seat outside, Mathew had only one thought.

'I'll help you find a better Empress. Even if you want to date that girl at the airport and be called a pedophile. I'll help you. Anyone is fine but not that rat.' Asst Kim made a vow to himself to help his boss get a girlfriend. 

'Please God, help me save my boss from the claws of that project stealing rat!' He looked up at the ceiling and prayed with his hands outstretched.

The secretary who passed by, witnessed Asst Kim's weird behaviour once again and decided to maintain a safe distance from him.