DEFEATED

"This is injustice! I'll report this to Mort." She seethed. Anger curled hot and unstoppable in her gut, like a blazing inferno that wanted to burn him from the inside out. While Klauss on the other hand, had a big grin on his lips, he was obviously satisfied with Sumire's reaction.

"Go on. Even if you report to the Boss, nothing will happen. This is my place and you are my apprentice. I can fire you anytime I want." Klauss replied that Sumire's nostrils flared.

"Try me." She said and stormed to the middle of the room, fists clenched, then kicked the chair beside his desk. Her face darkened as she turned her back on the secretary and walked out of the office, slamming the door shut.

Klauss immediately followed her who was now walking down the hallway to his Boss's office. His strides were big and immediately caught her up.

"Where do you think you're going?" Klauss was about to hold her hand but quickly retreated out of disgust. When the maiden didn't turn to him, he pinched off the edge of her neckline dress making Sumire stop walking and looked at him darkly.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" She squealed and slapped Klauss' hand on her back. "If you touch me the second time, you won't have hands." She warned, threatening him in a low but ominous tone.

He let go of her as he shakes his hand to get rid of the dirt and rubbed his hand on his business suit like he has direct contact with a virus. They were outside at Mort's office door, noisily quarreling as their voices echoed the corridor.

"Do you really need to report such a small trivial matter to my Boss?" Klauss asked in disbelief.

"Do I look like I'm kidding? Yes! I will report this neglect and ill-treatment." Sumire was about to hold the doorknob of the office door when Klauss spoke again.

"Seriously? You're just wasting my Boss's time. He doesn't have time to entertain you coz he's busy running the company and his future wife."

Her body temperature rose, and she could feel her blood boiling. She breathed heavily, almost as if she would burst. Sumire turn to him, her eyes narrowed and her teeth clenched together. "So, if you want to stay, go back to my office and behave like a good girl or I'll fire you. Your choice." Klauss added with the side of his lip playfully curled.

She flashed a smile, imagining setting Klauss on fire. 'This ugly clean freak demon....'

"Oh, cry me a river, then drown yourself in it," she scoffed. "If you don't like me disturbing your Boss, then treat me like a human being," Sumire said with head held high, raising an eyebrow at him as she met Klauss's degrading look on her.

"Beggars can't be choosers. If you can't stand it, then leave." Klauss challenged her. Like a dog and a cat in the hallway, they exchanged intense and hostile glares. The crowd of employees passing around looked at them out of curiosity and were thrilled by the scene. Klauss leaned slightly closer and Sumire looked up, staring at him menacingly.

"If I had a gun with two bullets and I was in a room with a psycho, serial killer, and you, I would shoot you twice." She swears, squinting her lips pressed into a thin line.

A murmur of approbation and satisfaction, giggles, and flushed faces ran through the small crowd. Some exaggeratedly shake their colleague's bodies out of elation and squealing.

"It's just a lovers quarrel...let's give them a space..."

"Is that Mr. Michaelis and Ms. Massoullève?"

"Aren't they a cute couple...hihi..."

"Wait, are you sure they're a couple? Isn't she Mr. Aslanov-"

"Whatever! Enemies will always end up lovers anyways."

"Oh! My ship is sailing!!! ihh!!!"

"Oh! Shut up!!!" Klauss and Sumire shouted in unison making all the employees gathered around them fled quickly.

"Fine," Sumire responded firmly and brazenly narrowed her eyes at him. She then turned the door open and the scenario where Charlotte laid a lunchbox on Mort's table immediately greeted her.

Charlotte looks like a real wife serving her husband. The sight is such a sore in her eyes. Sumire was petrified from her position and was stunned to speak with her goal in Mort's office. Klauss standing behind her drew a big grin on his lips at the sight.

When Charlotte felt the presence of Klauss and Sumire in the office, she immediately leaned close to Mort who was busy reading and perusing the documents piled up on his table. She brought the sushi she was holding to the hunk's lips.

"Try this." Charlotte sweetly smiled making Mort immediately pull his face back and looked weirdly at the food Charlotte was holding.

"I have hands." Mort aloofly said without even glancing at Charlotte. His face was frozen cold but his large build made him so fiery hot.

"Come on, eat it. This is a normal thing for a fiancé. I don't want to upset your grandfather, so I try my best here." Charlotte stubbornly insisted. Looking detached, Mort move like a robot and was about to eat the food offered but was quickly stopped. His eyes landed on Sumire, her face burning with jealousy and anger near the door while Klauss is like a proud father watching him standing next to her.

"I will eat later." Mort brusquely said, staring at Sumire, cold and unmoved in her place. Charlotte sneaked a peek and glared at the maiden.

Charlotte failed to make him eat just put the sushi back on the plate and faced their uninvited guest rudely barging into the office. She tried to hide the look of annoyance on her face.

"Why are you here?" Charlotte asked but none of them answered her. Sumire walks inside with grace, calm and collected. She went straight in front of Mort and Klauss followed her, completely ignoring Charlotte's presence in the place.

"Mr. Aslanov, I was mistreated by your secretary first day of my work." Sumire quickly complained and pointed at Klauss.

"She's lying. I gave her the table and chair next to my desk. I even welcome her with great hospitality," Klauss defended himself. Mort already knew this would happen. He was no longer surprised.

"Hospitality my ass. Do you call that a table? It's fucking small," She hissed and crossed her arms on her chest. "I'd rather lie on the floor than sit in a chair that doesn't even fit half of my buttcheek. It's making me uncomfortable." She scowled at him. Klauss unbelievably gaped and raised both of his eyebrows.

"You're just an employee. This is not a vacation place to make you feel comfortable." He sternly said. Their voices were now echoing inside the office. Sumire can't believe how unscrupulous Klauss is. She is convinced he is not a human but a devil in disguise. She looked back at Mort, eyes pleading for help. She looks like a kid getting teased by a big bad bully.

"Do something about it," Sumire demanded to him that Charlotte who was behind them gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. Mort was about to utter when his office door suddenly opened and Narco was spat from there.

A silence quickly flooded inside as Narco looked at them all. Klauss gave him a warned look not to cause trouble today but Narco just gave him a mischievous smile. The young tanned guy slowly stepped forward in front of them.

"Is she your new maid, Dad?" Narco asked Mort but his eyes scanned at Charlotte's appearance from the head down to the toe.

Sumire fell into a quiet stupor and darted her eyes at Narco. 'So, this is his son?' She asked in her mind.

"He is my son." Mort introduces him with his rigid face that only had his eyes on Sumire.

"You finally introduced me to your future wife," Narco said, sighing in relief and turning to Sumire with a big smile on his face. Sumire flashed a triumphant smirk at Charlotte who was still stunned in her place.

"What do you think you're doing?" Klauss scolds Narco but instead of answering him, Narco just ignores Klauss.

"Let me introduce myself properly, I'm Sumire Caste-Leone Massoullève." She smiled genuinely, her eyes sparkling with felicity.

"You forgot something on your name," Narco said who now stood in front of her, making her frown.

"What do you mean?" Sumire slightly tilts her head on the side as if thinking.

"There should be Aslanov at the very end. Your name should be Sumire Massoullève Aslanov." Narco said that Sumire's beaming smile widened even more, reaching to her eyes.

"I prefer that." She then turned to the man now standing tall, dark, and handsome beside her with an affectionate smile on her face. The hunk just stared down at her and didn't utter a word.

Narco faces Mort who didn't even pay any attention to Charlotte. Her presence seemed to be third wheeling his future parents.

"Dad, the furniture for Sumire's office is here," Narco said after he did what Mort ordered him to do.

"Sumire has an office?" Klauss suddenly interfere and looked at Mort questioningly.

"Yes, she will share half of your office."

........

Klauss was feeling so defeated and devastated when he saw his Boss's men bring all the office furniture into his heavenly white office room. From the glassed black table that serves as her coffee table, her name is written on a fiery red desk name plate. An executive Big Boss swivel chair with a small bookshelf stood on the corner filled with picture books of Death's masterpiece. The luxurious dark grey desk lamp stood enigmatic modernly embellished next to her computer.

It was a dark theme, well-blended together, and looks very palatable. A chromatic dance of fiery red and black shades decorated the white tinted wall: a number of adorned bizarre images, depicted and characterized her.

Sumire walked forwards and, finally, the dark element of the room came in sight, completing the painting, irradiating her personality on her surrounding brought to life by her majestic presence.

Klauss gritted his teeth after seeing the result. The place looks divine, it's like heaven and hell took place in his office. He could barely recognize his office as more than half of the room is now occupied by Sumire.

'That's more like it.' The maiden felt really satisfied at her new office while Klauss frowned and faced Mort.

"Is this what you called half?" Klauss asked with a tinge of sarcasm as he looked at the place in disbelief. His area was now small and it seemed the table is now flipped between the two of them. 'I won't forgive this!'

Klauss narrowed his eyes at Sumire. She is the only employee who is more favored and spoiled by their Boss than his secretary.

"I specifically told Narco to split it in half," Mort responded, whose eyes perusing the inside of the room, unconcerned.

"Oh, I did this for my future mother," Narco answered Klauss's question which made Sumire teary-eyed. Annoyed, Charlotte rolled her eyes inside her mind on the side.

"Awww, thank you." She wiped at her tearless eyes and peek at the unwanted woman standing next to Mort. Sumire leaned to his chest and teased Charlotte with her smirk.

Klauss was about to say a word when Leroy and Dieu suddenly arrived, ruining his mood even further. They were also surprised to see the newly designed room as they entered Klauss' office without his permission and looked around until Leroy's eyes landed on Narco.

"Why are you here Narco?" Leroy asked at his presence in the place. He senses Narco is up to no good.

"I just prepared the office for my future mother." He said casually, behaving like a child, and helped to arrange Sumire's things on her table.

"Ah, Charlotte and Klauss will share an office." Dieu butts in that Narco turn and faced Sumire with a frown.

"Is your nickname Charlotte?" Narco asked her unwittingly even though he knew who Charlotte was that Dieu was referring to. He just likes to stir things up for fun.

"No, it's me. I am Charlotte, Mort's fiancée chosen by his grandfather." Charlotte with a serene tone and then raised her chin with pride. She has been restraining herself from not exploding in anger. She tries not to unveil her true nature, especially in front of Mort.

Narco then confronted Mort. "Wow, Dad. You already have your future wife, yet you have a mistress."

Narco's words struck Charlotte like a bolt of lightning in her place, and he obviously doesn't care if he hurts someone's feelings. She knows it was her the mistress he was referring to.

"Yeah, scold him," Sumire persuaded Narco and encouraged him to reprimand Mort.

"I'm not a mistress." Charlotte coldly said and eyed Sumire and Narco brazenly. Narco was about to answer her when Laurel suddenly arrived at the scene. She went to Mort's office after arriving but she didn't find anyone there.

Laurel looked around awestruck at Klauss's office and noticed the vast changes. She looks at them with her brows knitted when she sees them gathered.

"What's going on?" She asked and start reading the situation. A smirk quickly appeared on her face, which only made Klauss sigh heavily, and slap his forehead. Another troublemaker like Narco.

"Oh, the future wife and the mistress."

With that word, Charlotte walk out and left the place with the severe humiliation she received since earlier. Her cheeks flushed, and her facial muscles became rigid. She feels like she has no ally and is completely out of place. She expected Mort to correct them and defend her but the man did nothing.

Charlotte's face looked dark as she traverse the hallway and killed Sumire over a thousand times in her mind, bitingly remarked. 'I will do everything in my power to make her look atrocious in their eyes.'

When Charlotte's presence vanished from the place, Klauss erupted and angrily confronted Narco and Laurel.

Gritting his teeth as he said, "Look what have you two done," his voice slowly grew louder "You put Boss in trouble!" Klauss hissed, he was close to screaming. Laurel just bitchily raised an eyebrow at him and Narco shrugged his shoulder, both were unconcerned after they created chaos inside.

"It's not our problem anymore." Laurel and Narco said in chorus and left the place together. Sumire turned to him.

"What do you mean?" She asked, Klauss confronted the maiden with face contorted in annoyance.

'The audacity of this louse to ask...' Klauss condescendingly said in his mind that he wanted to scold Sumire who was the root of all the trouble today.

"Charlotte will surely report this to Boss's grandfather and you wouldn't like what he will about to do." He answered that Sumire immediately spun around and look at Mort with a worried face.

Mort was about to hold Sumire's hand when suddenly his phone vibrated and rang in his pocket. He immediately took it.

"I'll just answer it." He said, but Sumire curiously asked.

"Who called?" She noticed the irritation lingered on Mort's emotionless face.

Mort was about to answer the call when it suddenly died and Dieu's phone rang at the same time. Everyone's attention was focused on Dieu and the young angelic man in the room answered that call.

"Yes...yes...he's here...I'll tell him." After hanging up, Dieu looked Sumire straight in the eye, causing the maiden to flinch in antsy. Mort held her hand tightly and intertwined it together with his, marking the boundary. The place is gradually tense and Klauss can feel the sudden heavy pressure and menacing aura dominating inside their office. Dieu coldly turned his gaze to Mort.

"Grandpa wants you to the mansion and bring Sumire with you."