I've always thought that getting a breakfast set of hash browns would be a great way to start the day. I'm here to tell you that I thought wrong.

In my defense, I had been trying to survive on eggs for...well, for a day. It worked for dinner in the very least, but for some reason I felt like today—my first day of work with a very hot guy—was the day to treat myself.

I'm sure you understand that feeling. It occurs once in a while (depending on your personality, it might occur to you weekly or even never ever ever) when you're feeling down in the dumps and absolutely nothing goes your way (which is, actually—everyday). That's when you decide to treat yourself to a caramel Frappuccino with chocolate sauce and whipped cream at Starbucks or...some humble hash browns, in my case.

"Good morning."

"Hi, can I get a hash brown set, please? With a side of bacon and uh, some ketchup," I ordered at the counter with bubbling anticipation, checking the time and promptly congratulating myself for coming an hour early.

Way to go Ace! You're not going to be late for your first day and you're about to have a sumptuous breakfast at a neat café in the office building. You must be some sort of genius—

I opened my wallet.

...fuck.

It was empty.

"Um...that would be a total of four dollars and twenty cents...?" The cashier behind the counter repeated awkwardly, waving her hand in front of my face to catch my attention. "Are you alright?"

She followed my gaze to my wallet before snorting.

"Oh God I'm so sorry," I swallowed apologetically. How did I always get myself into such embarrassing situations? And I thought it was going to be a good day.

I had completely forgotten that I spent my ten dollar note on two cartons of eggs and the subway ticket that I bought yesterday (just so that I wouldn't have to waste time queueing this morning) and look what it's done!

Argh...I even congratulated myself for thinking ahead and ensuring that nothing would go wrong today. Wow Ace; sometimes I marvel at the extent of your stupidity.

"Not even a cent?" The cashier peered over with a smile that I couldn't quite tell whether it was meant to reassure or make me feel worse. For all I knew, she could have been laughing at the dumbass in front of her counter.

I nodded meekly, not daring to turn around to observe just how badly I had jammed the queue.

Either way, I could feel the hard gazes of hungry office workers cursing my very existence so I was about to apologize and request the cashier to void the order when—

"Add a coffee. Black. No sugar."

I felt myself being gently pushed to the side as a hand with a ten dollar bill came into view. Confused, I turned to face the person.

Oh Karma does this have to get any more embarrassing?

What did I do to deserve this ;_;

Scratch the emoticon, it's just an exact representation of my withering innards and salty tears of Fate. Leave me. I need to be alone.

"Um," The cashier blinked, equally confused as I was before her gaze alternated between us in understanding. "Oh, okay, so you're paying together?"

Blake nodded. "Will it be inconvenient?"

"Oh no, it's fine. On the other hand, I think he'll be a hundred percent grateful," She laughed, glancing at me as she mentioned my existence.

The moment I felt a strong heat rise to my ears, I wished I hadn't existed at all.

"I. Um—"

"Go find a seat," Blake said almost indifferently, raising a hand to drive me away from the counter. "You can't possibly fuck that up."

I gulped. "O-Okay."

What he thinks impossible—I often made possible. Honestly, it was as if Karma wanted my boss to see all my worst sides. I hope she doesn't actually want me to get fired...on my first day of work.

To my relief, I actually did find a good spot by the window for two. Pulling out one of the chairs and sinking in it carelessly (just like how my heart often sinks in my chest), I waited patiently for Blake to arrive with my not-so-anticipated hash browns—

Whilst wondering if, just by sitting here, lightning would find its way to my head for some unknown reason.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Blake]

For some unknown reason, I didn't need anyone to tell me that Ace was the unluckiest guy on the planet. I already knew.

What I knew wasn't the problem. Rather, it seemed to be how I knew this that made me particularly concerned.

Across the span of two miserable days I had met him thrice in a fateful encounter where I could have never met him. Someone putting a dent in your car doesn't happen every other day. Neither does that very person turning up as a potential employee count as an entirely normal coincidence; and definitely not meeting him in a café on his first day of work.

The moment I had spotted an unusually long queue in the café, I knew something was wrong.

Pia was never one to hold up the queue.

Initially (upon groaning internally that it was Ace out of all people), it did not cross my mind to pay for an employee's breakfast. Not my secretary's; and not on his first day of work. It was, in simple terms, unprofessional.

Fortuitously for the helpless guy however—Xander's amazing Audi had put me in a good mood.

Though it wasn't as hot (IMO) as my Merce, I'd take any car over the pains of a taxi any other day.

"Add a coffee. Black. No sugar," I said upon reaching the counter. Of course, murmurs swept the growing line behind Ace but right now, I couldn't care less.

Nah—truthfully, I was pissed.

I could also tell that Pia was trying hard not to laugh. She cleared her throat and spoke formally. "Oh, so you're paying together?"

"Will it be inconvenient?" I raised a brow in return, supposedly questioning her mischievous smile. I had seen this way too many times to miss it.

"Oh no, it's fine. On the other hand, I think he'll be a hundred percent grateful," She was full-on suggestive by this point of time but I rolled my eyes while Ace seemed to not notice a single thing.

He only stuttered a little; spluttering unknown words that were practically incomprehensible to me.

Pissed, I told him to go find a seat.

He left hesitantly—unsure as to what he should do.

I had some serious doubts after that; regarding what Janna said about him and what I personally felt.

"So..." Pia dragged the word impishly, handing me the change. "Finally gave in to your true nature?"

"No."

Let me explain—Xander and I come here for breakfast every once in two weeks. And yeah, she gets the wrong idea all the time.

"Don't lie. What, did you break up with the hot one?" She whispered across the counter before passing me a restaurant coaster pager.

"Look," I said, forgetting that I never had the chance to tell Pia this, "He already has someone he loves, and also—"

"I'm the hot one." Then I took the pager and walked away, not turning to see the look on her face.

*

"Uh, um. I. Thanks. I'm such an embarrassment," was what I heard the moment I arrived at the table.

Taking the seat opposite Ace, I snorted with a laugh. "Yeah you are."

"You need to learn that it's not going to do you any good by telling your superior about the details of your incompetence. Or going around showing that side of you to him," I added.

Ace bit his lip.

"Hey, it's not as if I do it purposely—" I raised a brow.

He stopped.

"Um, never...never mind..." He averted his eyes. "I'm sorry. And thanks again."

I sighed, folding my arms across my chest and leaning back. "At least you came early."

"Yeah, I made sure to," Ace brightened up, lifting his head a little to return my gaze. "It's not nice to be late on the first day."

"Not bad," I admitted. "Basic courtesy, Salander. Not too much experience prior to this job, though."

He laughed sheepishly. "I delivered pizza."

"Yes, Salander. You submitted your resume and if you didn't know, I can read perfectly well."

His gaze lowered to his lap in embarrassment. "Right, yeah. Um...yeah."

Wow, apparently he's quite the bad converser too. Strange; he seemed fine yesterday during the interview.

"Do you—" "I—"

We paused.

"Speak." "You can—"

"..." "..."

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. It was simply way too early for me to be getting a headache.

Just then—as though Fortune had its way with the wheel of life—the coaster pager beeped. I grabbed it without hesitation.

"Wait here."

"O-Oh. Okay."

*

Pia had cleared the queue by the time I came back to the counter; and as I had predicted—she was waiting expectantly beside a tray that held a plate of piping hot hash browns and a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

"You never told me Xander was attached."

"I never got the chance to, Pia," I laid out simply. "Besides, it's complicated. He's not attached."

"Wait—so you mean it's unrequited?" She frowned. "Hold on, is it a girl or a guy or like complicated? ...You know what I mean. If it's a girl, I'm not interested in knowing." Pia went on as if this was a side dish of the main conversation.

I rolled my eyes, exchanging the pager for the tray. "It's a guy. And no, it's not exactly unrequited. Hell, how would I even know? I'm not Xander."

"Fine," Pia huffed, but she appeared mildly appeased or curious. I couldn't tell.

"Make friends with the blond cutie. He seems like a helpless case," She added.

I gave her a look.

She averted it with a hum.

The moment I arrived back at the table Ace (said blond 'cutie') and I shared, he instantly poured over the plate of piping hot hash browns as if he hadn't been eating for years. Well that was before he realized that steam was practically rising out of his breakfast and when he did realize, it was too late.

"A-a hot, ohmyGod—" He yelped, lips parting after forcing the hash browns down his throat to fan his tongue.

Sighing at his helpless and ridiculous state, I passed a napkin over—wondering if I should get a glass of water before sweeping the thought aside. It was too troublesome and I didn't particularly care.

There wasn't even a need to. I was kind enough to pay for his breakfast even after offering him a place as my secretary. Going any further would do me no benefit and plus—I was no angel.

"I-I'm fine," Ace managed; eyes glistening as he held up a hand to reject the napkin. I shrugged, taking a seat and pushing my cup of coffee closer.

"What's the rush? Scared of me or something?" I joked, not expecting much of a response from his strangely introverted side.

It was just so different from how he was during the interview yesterday.

"No no I—uh, I'm just really hungry...so."

I raised a brow. "Hungry?"

"Yeah. I...didn't really eat much for dinner last night."

"What did you eat?"

I wasn't interested, really. Just a little curious.

"Um. A cheese omelette."

I blinked. "An omelette with just cheese inside?"

"Yeap!" Ace picked up his fork and started eating once again. "It's nice."

"That's not entirely filling for someone still in puberty."

He shot me a glare.

"Hey! I'm done growing alright."

I laughed. "That's too bad. You're very skinny."

"It's...it's not as if I want to be," Ace grumbled in protest, picking at his hash browns.

"You can't possibly not afford three meals a day, right?"

The moment those words left my mouth I sort of regretted speaking. Ace looked a little embarrassed. And upset.

"I dunno. It depends," He said awkwardly. "It's harder when my sister's home, 'cuz then I'll have to spend a little more on her meals instead of mine."

"You have a sister?" I prompted, drinking a sip of my coffee. "She hot?"

Ace rolled his eyes.

"She's my twin. Not sure if I can give an honest opinion on her looks 'cuz I'm ugly as shit."

I snorted. "Not really."

"What?" He blinked.

"I said not really," I shrugged. "You're not ugly. Which reminds me—remember I asked you whether we've met before?"

Ace paused mid-chew. "Um. Mmhm."

He looked slightly wary—as if cautious about the incoming conversation.

"Well I really think you look familiar."

"O-Oh," Ace finished chewing, but he wasn't looking at me. "If...if you're talking about the accident, I really didn't mean it. I was going to switch to the lane on the right a-and I think I accidentally stepped too hard on the gas pedal you see—"

I held up a hand.

"I've already heard your excuses at the station," Ace looked like he was about to protest. "Anyway, that's not what I was referring to..."

Out of instinct, I glanced at my watch.

Tsk, it's time already?

Strange.

It seemed to fly.

"Finish up—you're supposed to meet Janna at the office in five minutes." Ace panicked, choking on his hash browns as I sighed again at his helpless state. "I said finish up. Not force everything on the plate down your throat in one go."

"Mmfmhm—"

"Let's stop here," I stood up and grabbed my work bag. "We'll talk about this another time...including the car repairs."

Ace groaned.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Ace]

"Good morning Mr. Salander. I'm Janna Tallis. Mr. Mason has assigned me to...well, to teach you the ropes," Janna offered her hand for like, the third time since I met her. But she was nice and her handshakes were pretty neat so I thought this was part of the training as well—learning how to give good handshakes.

"I think I'm relieved that I'm under your care," I laughed nervously. "Um, how should I address you? Miss Tallis...?"

"Anything you will Mr. Salander," Janna smiled professionally as she led me out of the room.

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.

"Actually, it'd be good if you could call me Ace. I feel so strange having the 'mister' title."

Janna turned to me with a blink. "I see. For convenience sake you may address me as Janna then." I nodded gladly.

"Hm, I suppose this will be the end of our pleasantries?" She laughed, showing me into a room that looked very much like a lobby. There was even a reception desk, but it appeared to be unoccupied. "This will be your work desk, as Mr. Mason's secretary."

"For the majority of your day, you will most probably be spending your time here doing administrative work; organizing Mr. Mason's schedule; taking calls; recording appointments; making arrangements for meetings; etcetera, etcetera."

"As Mr. Mason would have told you, work starts at half-past nine—but usually as his secretary, you would have to arrive slightly earlier to prepare the day's work and ensure that his schedule is organized."

"And also to prepare his daily coffee. Unless he says otherwise," Janna said this all very simply without a list or note prepared. I was struggling to take things down on my flimsy diary.

I raised my hand.

She laughed. "Yes Ace?"

"Uh, what exactly do you mean by arriving earlier? How early would that be?" I asked tentatively, hoping that it wasn't a stupid question.

"Sharp," Janna complimented with a smile, and I felt instantly comforted. "Well I would suggest at least half an hour earlier I suppose. The time required to prepare beforehand would reduce as you get used to it, so don't worry too much."

I nodded, taking it down.

Then a side question popped up in my mind.

"Janna, why aren't you Bla—I mean, Mr. Mason's secretary if you...well you seem to know everything about being his secretary."

She blinked; then laughed.

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you that I was his secretary until they moved me to a different department. That's why Mr. Mason's looking for someone to replace me."

Replace her?

Me?

Replace HER??

What in the French fries—she's like up there; and I'm like—down here!

"Which also explains why I was involved in the interview procedure. I did look out for a couple of qualities in the potential candidates, after all. And...well, considering the conditions that Mr. Mason have laid out for you, I thought it a reasonable decision."

No. No Janna, you don't understand how big a mistake I am.

"Oh he did tell you what they were, didn't he? The conditions." I nodded meekly and Janna laughed. "Brilliant. So...moving on with the orientation—this door's to Mr. Mason's office and that's to the pantry. Come, I'll show you the stuff you're allowed to use and which of them belong to Mr. Mason so you don't get things mixed up and...use his mug accidentally."

*

"—good. And what's Mr. Mason's extension number again?" Janna tested with a challenging smile. I paused, fingers itching to flip to the previous page of my diary where I had it recorded down.

"Uh, um...three...six...nine...?" I replied carefully—unsure.

Janna nodded, impressed. "Good. You're doing fairly well Ace. Well it'd always be great if you could say it instantly however," she laughed. "Now I want you to give a call to Mr. Mason."

I blinked.

"What?"

"Give him a call Ace."

"Huh what why?" I began to panic. "There's nothing I need to tell him. I-Is there...?"

Janna picked up the receiver and handed it to me. "Exactly. Just call him for the sake of it. Tell him your orientation is over or something—I just want to see if you know the procedure."

I recalled her vaguely saying something about a speed dial instead of just punching in the number for Blake's extension; but being the scaredy-cat I was, I didn't dare to do something I wasn't entirely sure of.

I pushed three; six; then nine, and waited.

He picked up almost instantly. "Yes Salander?"

I panicked. "Wait—what? How did you know it's me?"

Janna burst out laughing.

"There's something called caller ID, if you're unaware. This extension number you're calling from is used only for my secretary."

I think I said this before; but Blake's voice over the phone was hotter than any midsummer heat.

"Oh...yeah. Rrrright."

Janna couldn't stop laughing.

"Is that Janna?"

"Um, yeah. That's her."

"She sure has it easy."

I turned to Janna, signing my panic. "Uh, um well yeah I guess."

"Ace, oh God—" She managed before laughing more. "You—nnhahaha!"

"What? What did I do wrong?" I whispered, covering the receiver.

"Ace? What's up—"

"Ace!" Janna seemed to have difficulty breathing and I actually wanted to ask if she needed an inhaler. "Greet! Oh God, greet him!"

Oh holy cow I forgot—

"G-Good morning Sir!"

"..."

"Good afternoon, Salander."

"Mr. Mason, Ace! Mr. Mason!" Janna mouthed.

I hurried to correct myself. "I meant—I meant Mr. Mason. Not. Not Sir, Mr. Mason. I meant to call you Mr. Mason."

I English can.

There was a low laugh on the other end of the call.

"You owe me breakfast, Salander."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: Hello my dears <33 Thank you so much for reading hehe ^0^/ Ace is so funny I swear he's like me in his unfortunate state

The world hates cupcakes sometimes ;_; eep.

-Cuppiecake.