The Secretary's Morning

Sunlight spilled in from the windows and curtains, casting its soft lights onto the bed. It provided a natural wake-up call for sleeping inhabitants… if they hadn't been sleeping under the covers. A blaring sound soon filled the entire room. It resembled a cross between a firetruck and a school bell. A person emerged from her blankets with bloodshot eyes, a drool was visible in the corner of her mouth as she wiped it and glared into the distance.

Her phone was on the other side of the room.

It was placed strategically to force herself to— "Oh god, five more minutes." Ying Yue He turned back to her bed and covered her head with her pillows. She snuggled a dog plushie to her chest and tried to block out the noise from her alarm. She tried to sink back to the comforting darkness, along with her dreams of coffees and pandas.

With much skill or rather a habit… the woman fell asleep as the noise faded away.

Until it rang back with vengeance. And compared to the earlier alarm? This time it sounded like a hyena laughing. Wait. Wasn't that her fourth alarm? A groan escaped her lips as she reluctantly uncurled from her precious blankets and stretched a little, "What time is it now?"

She rubbed the corner of her eyes and stepped off from her bed.

She approached and grabbed her phone and turned off the alarm—until she saw the actual time and cursed underneath her breath. It was half past seven in the morning and with how much traffic would be, Ying Yue He dropped her phone back on the table and raced to her closet for her towel and zipped into the bathroom.

After a quick five-minute shower, she emerged and started changing her clothes. She slipped on her dark pencil skirt, buttoned her white blouse and pulled her still wet hair into a ponytail. Her backpack was always prepared (she never removed anything inside it) so she wore it. Snatched her heels and began to slip and strap it on right outside the door before she finally made her way out of her apartment—

"Oh, shit." Ying Yue He looked back at the door and pushed back inside the room. Her death showed itself to her. Five flights of stairs for her boss' suit coat left on the rooftop to dry when the rain had stopped last night. She was already running late. The young woman forced herself up the stairs and tried not to fall off the narrow staircase with her black pumps.

There were many times she almost slipped—and would have broken her back if she did, but she continued on until she reached the top of the building. Ying Yue He clutched her chest and panted for a moment. Instead of finding enjoyment in the glorious sun, Ying Yue He wished she didn't grow sweaty as she wiped her forehead self-consciously and wished that her breasts weren't too sticky.

She scrunched up and caught her breath. She wished she could have air-dried the suit coat in her room but it wouldn't have dried even if she steadied her fan on it. And so the rooftop was where all the laundry was air-dried to save electricity. "Okay where is it—"

A white sheet shot towards her face.

"Oh crap, sorry about that." A man apologized and pulled the sheet away from her face. There was a sheepish smile on his face as he tucked the white sheet in a laundry basket, "Was too windy—"

She moved past him and stomped towards the clothes lines, "Sorry, I'm rushing." Ying Yue He barely breathed. She paid no heed to the man and searched for her boss' suit coat, if she was early to work then it was possible to…

"There you are!" She took the suit coat from the clothesline and hugged it to her chest, she breathed in the distinctive scent of perfume that didn't seem to fade away even when she had washed it. "I was almost afraid that someone stole you here." She sighed it in relief and began to work herself down the staircase once more.

She carried it in her arms with a relative amount of care.

"I think I can still make it by ten minutes past eight?" Ying Yue He muttered to herself as she half-jogged down the stairs—even more careful not to trip and fall down. She wished she had been earlier so she could return the suit coat without anybody else seeing it?

No it wasn't that either.

Although the man would probably appreciate it if no one had seen her do it. Ying Yue He's heart dropped slightly but she shook her head, "I'm not expecting anything."

Instead she had other reasons for wanting to be early.

The secretary was aware that CEO Yang Li often skipped breakfast. He did it in lieu of coming to work early. He was more focused on getting most of his crucial tasks done before the other employees arrived while it was still bright and early. Mid-morning was the time for meetings. A quick brunch. Then he was back to work in the afternoon which may or may not contain meetings—and then finally he responded to emails and other lighter concerns.

That was to say…

"Can I make you coffee?" Ying Yue He asked herself aloud. "No, not that—that's too… How about, hey, Mister Li! Here's a fresh brew of black coffee for the one last night? He did say I should repay him but..."

"Uh…"

She caught the stare of a much younger woman leaving her own apartment room. Ying Yue He felt her cheeks color and raised her gaze up and noticed that the apartment number was 503—she was still on the fifth floor?!

"W-What…?" Ying Yue He realized she had stopped walking as she practiced her lines.

Ying Yue He slapped a hand over her face, "For Pete's sake, I hope I don't get fired before I can even actually make him coffee." The secretary raced down towards the next flight of stairs.