ASH 

Ash scanned the details of the red folder in his hand with furrowed brows. Everything was going well with the Hawaiian plan but an internal conflict has messed up the smooth process. A misunderstanding with the bank had stopped the procedure of putting up the newest chain of expensive hotels that Ash had join invested in alongside Paul. 

He swiped his phone open and called Paul who picked up in a few rings. He could hear Paul's voice from the other end. "Hey, buddy. How is everything going?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Just a bit troubled about something" Ash explained, massaging his forehead with his hand. He could hear Paul letting out a 'hn' as an acknowledgement before replying with a statement that made Ash stood rooted to the spot as his heart skipped a few beats in anxiety.  

"Worried about Leaf, isn't it? Don't worry. I called her just yesterday and asked her about her fractures. She said she was doing good" the purple headed hummed. Ash was glad that Paul couldn't see his shocked expression. He bit his lips and narrowed his auburn eyes. Did Leaf really got injured? But he would be the first one to know about that after his mother. Perhaps she covered up for his lies. In any case, Ash couldn't be more relieved. He had no idea whatsoever as what he would have told to Paul if his cousin would have told the truth. 

"Yes, that right. Actually I wanted to talk about the Hawaiian Project" Ash cleared his throat, feeling his heart rate going back to normal. He could practically hear Paul growl from the the phone. Damn, he was angry. 

"About that, those morons have spoiled the entire process. The money we were supposed to get from the bank is stopped mid-way and they are saying that the transaction process cannot be done before three months!" the purple headed snarled in frustration. "I am so sick of them. I just came back three weeks ago after solving a rift and this came up now. No peace for me" 

"What can you do?" Ash sighed hopelessly. "But I guess I have to book my flight tickets to Hawaii anyway. They won't work properly if they are not supervised correctly. Besides, I have to solve the money problem as well. Are you going to come with me or do you have something important here?" 

"Nah, I am coming with you. The other minor things can be postponed for a later date. This thing, however, will take a lot of time if you go alone to sort it out so I would rather help you with this" Paul tched in response before smiling. "Now that is done, are you up on the plan to meet at Starbucks today evening with others?" 

Ash grinned, forgetting about his stress from before at the mention of his other friends that he trusted. "Of course. I will be there at 5 pm. So I will see you then" 

"Sure. Talk to you later" Paul beamed and hung up. Ash couldn't help but let the small smile remain on her face. Their friend circle had six people including him. They were his bestfriends, sticking together in every situation. He could trust them. 

SERENA

Serena woke up as sunlight flooded into the gigantic guest room. She rubbed her eyes slowly as the memories of the previous day washed over her faster than a tide upon the shores. She was still happy that she had gotten the job. She took out her [hand-me-down] phone and groggily checked the time. 5 : 45 am. 

She yawned and was about to pull the blankets over her face again when her eyes shot open in realization. She quickly stumbled out of the bed in panic. "Holy Moly ─ its 5 : 45 am. already! I was supposed to get ready at 5! What the hell am I going to do now?"

A knock interrupted her as a familiar voice came from the other side of the door. A small lemon blonde girl made her way in as her pale blue orbs lifted to meet Serena's sapphire ones. She grinned with mischievous glint in her eyes. "Good morning, Serena! Did you sleep well?" 

Serena couldn't but smile at her despite her initial panic. "Yes, Bonnie. I slept really well. How come you are up so early?" 

Bonnie was in eleventh grade and lived here with her big brother.  Apparently, their mother had died long ago and they were living with their father but he wanted to settle in a small town near the countryside. That didn't sit well with Clemont's plans because as a young scientist and robotics expert, he needed to stay in Paris itself. And since he was the closest buddy of Ash from childhood, they decided to move in inside his mansion. 

"Of course he had invited them in, nobody in their sane mind would live alone in such a huge and quite a lonely mansion after all" Serena had remarked the previous night to herself. But she couldn't help but respect him anyways for letting his friend move in with him. He was a generous one, wasn't he? The blonde smiled. 

"Yep!" Bonnie beamed a classic sunny smile before clapping her hands together. "Oh and come along with me! We need to go somewhere!" 

Serena's protests went in vain as the lemon haired teen dragged her down the hall. They stopped in front of a door that was carved in wood. Bonnie grinned cheekily at the older blonde and opened the door as Serena entered, soon gasping in awe. There were rows of dresses and costumes for every occasion the honey blonde could think of. They all hung cautiously on the mannequins. She marveled. "These are so beautiful" 

"Aren't they? I made them all by myself!" Bonnie nodded proudly as she pointed to herself. Serena touched the nearest gown and spun around to see the shorter blonde. 

"Thats amazing, Bonnie. I can't believe that someone as young as you could do something as marvelous as them" the honey blonde gushed in adoration. "Where did you learn this from? This is just simply awesome" 

Bonnie grinned cheekily as she skipped to a pistachio green ballgown. "Dawn taught me how to make these. I am very passionate about fashion designing and so I keep on trying to mmke outfits for nearly every occasion. And I have a perfect attire for you to wear on your first day. Wanna try it out?"

"Definitely! Thanks a lot, Bonnie but hurry up though. I am already late" Serena exclaimed as she checked the clock on the wall but managed to smile when speaking. The lemon blonde hopped behind some curtains and emerged with a mannequin soon after. The sapphire-eyed woman couldn't help but stare.

It was a simple formal wear consisting of a black coat and black suit pants with a white-colored top. It wasn't much to swoon over but Serena felt a tinge of pride as she imagined herself wearing that. Bonnie gestured at it before looking with hopeful eyes. "So what do you think? Its nice, isn't it?" 

"Its perfect" Serena praised truthfully. The pale blue eyes immediately lit up in excitement. The honey blonde took clothes off the mannequin and Bonnie excused herself out to give the older woman the privacy to change. She quickly changed into the new ones and looked at herself in the mirror. Serena never self-praised herself but even she couldn't deny that she looked - pretty. It felt good. 

She opened the door and Bonnie walked in. She looked mesmerized as she took the sapphire-eyed woman's appearance. She squealed. "Oh my, you look so beautiful. It looks stunning on you. Here!" 

Serena stumbled back a bit as the lemon haired teen shoved a pair of blood red pencil heels in her arms. She blinked in confusion as Bonnie laughed. "Wear it. They are for you and I wouldn't take a 'no' for an answer" 

"Okay then" the honey blonde shook her head, smiling gratefully. She slipped her feet inside them as she stood up. She could felt a bit conscious as her height became remarkably tall, almost three clean inches in contrast to her original height. She wasn't able to dwell on it for much long when Bonnie stroked her chin with a smug smile on her face. 

"You look beautiful enough to have guys falling for you, Miss Personal Assistant. And you have brains already; getting a job here is not what everyone can achieve" She joked but Serena could only muster a nervous chuckle. Bonnie had no idea whatsoever. The honey blonde didn't dare tell anyone, not because she was scared of the consequences but because she was too thankful to Ash to tell on him. 

"Well, I need to go now. I will see you in the evening?" Serena questioned the teen who was focusing on straightening the creases of her outfits. The lemon haired girl nodded with a bright smile. 

"Ofcourse" 

ASH

Ash took a last bite of his burger as he fully devoured it before sighing in satisfaction. A few snack now and then kept him focused. Nobody can think properly with an empty stomach and Ash loved this quote. He had been sitting in his private office in the east wing of the mansion while waiting for Serena. He had already informed her about the routes to each and every important room so it wasn't like she could get lost. 

She was too sharp to not remember them. He didn't really expected her to be so smart from the timid and short-tempeted way she had behaved at the café the other day but she was slowly proving him wrong. She was quite intelligent and her communication skills were outstanding. She could easily manipulate anyone with her sweet talks if she wanted to, but the female didn't appeared to be such sort of a person. Infact she was actually nice. 

Ash leaned back comfortably when suddenly his door burst open as he jerked straight with a startled look. Gary stood there with sweat dripping down his forehead as he quickly shut the door from behind. Ash glared at him. "The hell is wrong with you, Gary? Why do you never knock before coming in?" 

But Gary couldn't care less about the piercing gaze of his friend as he plopped on a couch whilst sighing in relief. His emerald eyes dug into Ash's auburn ones as he groaned in exasperation. "There is nothing wrong in barging in inside my bestfriend's office, unless -"

Ash growled at him with disgust when he saw the mischeveous look on Gary's face. "Shut up, pervert. Why did you come here and what happened to you?" 

Upon hearing the question, the smug grin vanished immediately and got replaced by a panicked expression. He wailed in distress. "Help me, Ash! That lunatic old man is behind me again. Hide me somewhere!"

"You shouldn't call your grandfather that, Gary. And a man as intelligent as him doesn't even need to use a tad bit of his brain to guess that you are sneaking in here" Ash deadpanned. "Besides, if he asks the security guards at the gate then they would tell him anyways. Although I can't understand why would be hiding in a place where Professor Oak would find you so easily. It is a hell lot better to lock yourself in your personal apartment"

"Gramps is crazy! He will unlock it someway or other. Thats why I am hiding here. He won't scold me in front of your mom since he hates to leave bad impressions" Gary tched as he rolled his eyes while crossing his arms. Ash sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"My mom is in Japan" He sighed again. Gary's jaw dropped instantly as he stuttered incoherent words to himself. Ash could only make out some, with them being about 'insane gramps' and 'long lectures' as the brown headed kept mumbling in a barely audible voice. Suddenly a knock came on Ash's door as Gary bolted up and quickly jumped behind the couch. Ash face-palmed. 

"Come in" he said as the door slowly opened. Serena poked her head inside the room with an apologetic expression as she stepped in before closing the door gingerly. Ash almost forgot about Gary as he saw her. She looked - different and in a beautiful way. Her wavy blonde locks were pulled up in a neat bun with just a long strand on each side of her face. She looked professional and elegant. Nowhere near like the waitress of a café. 

"Ah, I am so sorry for coming so late! I actually overslept. I am very sorry!" She apologized, bowing a bit. Ash opened his mouth to say something when he was cut off by a sharp gasp from Gary who had came up from his hiding place behind the couch after hearing a female's voice, only to meet with the same woman who had insulted him not too long ago. Serena also gasped when she saw him as they both let out simultaneously. 

"You!" 

Ash face-palmed again. Why did his life had to be so troublesome? Now he has to make up explain something to Gary as well. He couldn't lie in front of Serena since there is a possibility that she might expose his lies but he didn't wanted to tell the truth to Gary. He was a loudmouth and nothing could stay inside his stomach. It wasn't as if he would willingly tell everything to anyone. It was more of his personality. He just couldn't keep secrets. 

"What is she doing here?!" Gary yelled in an accusing manner. Serena didn't say anything as she looked at Ash who only sighed in annoyance. 

"Calm down. She is my new personal assistant" he explained begrudgingly. Gary looked bewildered for a split-second before he pointed at the honey blonde in disbelief.

"You are joking, right? How could you give a role so crucial as a personal assistant's to someone with no qualifications and no experience in business? You do know how it can affect your business. Being a personal assistant to someone like us is no easy job. Heck, even the last person who came to interview for the position at our company got rejected. And he had ten solid years of experience in business!"

Serena gaped in shock. Ten years of experience? Was she really given such a crucial role that she didn't even deserved a percent of? A gut-wrenching feeling of shame washed over her. She was taking up such a high end position without any praiseworthy hardwork while people who deserved the spot were getting rejected. How come she hadn't realized it before; had the need of money made her forget about all of her moral values? 

Her head snapped up when she heard Ash speak, in a monotonous and dead serious voice. "I know that, Gary. But I have given my word to her and she has laid her trust on me. I don't need to further explain anything as I am sure that you understood"

Serena flinched at his sharp tone. She saw Gary wincing a bit from the corner of her eyes. He ruffled his hair. "Okay, I get it"

He turned to Serena as she stumbled a bit. The anger in his emerald eyes had died down and they softly hovered over her. She stood there unsure but he grinned slightly. "Serena, isn't it? Welp, we got on a wrong foot from day one but I think we can make amends, can we not? I would like to apologize to your friend too. But I guess I will apologize to you all the same. So, sorry for everything" 

Serena shook her head frantically as she bowed her head low. "I should be the one apologizing. Please forgive me, Monsieur" 

Ash smiled a bit as Gary waved it off with a toothy grin. "No probs. And no, not the formalities please. It makes me feel weird. Hey, as an apology from me, why don't you join us today evening in our gathering so that I can give you an apology treat?" 

Serena tilted her head in confusion as Ash's eyes widened. Seeing the adressed woman's confused expression, Gary shrugged nonchantly. "Misty's previous model that was supposed to appear in their upcoming photoshoot got sick so they had to remove her. Apparently, she is looking for someone to replace her and you have got the looks" 

Serena spontaneously shook her head while raising her hand. "I am no model and I can't pose at all, Gary, if that is what you are planning to get to" 

"Come on" Gary whined. "I promised her that I would bring someone back by the evening but it is practically impossible. She will pay you for that too!" 

Ash looked at them, interested. Misty was one of the Cerulean Sisters that had their business expanded in three continents - Asia, parts of Europe and Australia. They performed underwater ballets but when their business grew, they started selling merchandise and having occasional photoshoots of models in designer swimsuits. Her private life was hid from the public but Ash knew the full story. Misty's father died early and her mother committed suicide a few days later so it was practically she and her sisters that struggled on their own after being refused to be taken in by their relatives. 

Ash saw Serena struggling as Gary kept pressuring her. A sudden wave of defensiveness came over him as he shoved the brunette from invading her personal space. He narrowed his auburn eyes. "Stop it, Gary. This isn't the way you behave with a woman you have just met" 

"But - Misty will be will upset and I don't know what to do" Gary groaned in frustration. His eyes dropped in a disheartening manner and it made the honey blonde feel a tad bit guilty. She slowly approached him and stood a two feet away from him. 

"Um, I will help you" She said with slight hesitancy. The brunette immediately brightened up and grinned cheekily. Serena back off a bit at the sudden change of attitude while Ash just rolled his eyes. 

"Okay then! Come with us, Miss Personal Assistant!"