naivety

noun

1. lack of experience, wisdom, or judgement.

2. innocence or unsophistication.

We were sitting in Wallace's office in the glass enclosed staff pantry, just outside where his numerous secretaries and assistants work. Drinking warm drinks and eating pastry left overs from Wallace's morning meeting, it had taken us a long time to settle down. The secretarial staff were all very nice and caring, helping provide Sunny and I with warm blankets and Jackson with much needed medical aid. Someone even managed to put butterfly strips on the cut on his forehead to close it up to promote healing before it was bandaged.

I still had the shakes that I was trying hard to hide this fact. It is not every day that you have a literal run-in by the mob. I seriously thought that the bang I heard was a gun shot and seriously feared for my life. Freaked me out. And now my car has a huge dent in the back fender.

"Stuff-a-duck." I murmured. Grant patted me gently on the back and pulled the soft blanket up over my shoulders when it slipped. It was supposed to help me calm down, or something, as it appears that I am the only one still in shock.

When we arrived at Wallace's office, Grant had to carry me up the lift as I'd been shivering and my temperature had dropped quite a bit. Like, real medical shock, the kind that can kill if it isn't treated.

Wallace wasn't happy when he heard what had happened to me and my friends. Within fifteen minutes, he was able to arrange the local police and local council staff to release to him the footage of both the supposed car incident last Friday night outside the boss' club and today at the park. When he watched it alone in his office, a good fifty meters away from the staff pantry where we were situated, I still could feel the rage of his dragon aura permeate the whole office floor – and then some – causing me to begin shivering all over again.

"Someone's head is gonna roll." I whispered. The office staff were all watching Wallace's office, wide eyed and curious. I even saw some rub their arms as they worked at their computers and desks. "Seriously, he is pissed."

"Lily, I want to thank you. You probably save both our lives." Sunny was sitting on Jackson's lap at this point. Not really office behaviour, but the big guy wasn't letting her go after what we'd all been through. She kept rubbing his neck carefully, trying to keep him calm, like taming a tiger really.

After a hot drink and the medic's advice, we were all able to sit calmly and chat quietly while we waited for Wallace to do what ever he was going to do.

"You think he's gonna sue someone's pants off?" Grant asked. I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. Child, you have no idea what he is capable of. That was the thought that went through my head in response to Grant's naivety.

"Probably remove the head of the underworld or demand huge amounts in compensation." I murmured. Grant looked at me, then went all wide eyed.

Underworld? He asked without making a sound. I nodded.

"You didn't know?" I asked quietly as he took a sip of his drink while still watching me. Then I mouthed mafia and he went all wide eyed and choked on his drink. Hahaha I laughed at him.

Sunny's phone rang, it was her boss at the place she worked part time.

"Yes, no. Sorry, Mr Chang. No please don't. I need this job," she spoke quietly, while still sitting on Jackson's knees. The grumpy teen just turned away from her call and snorted. He wasn't impressed with Sunny's boss. Then he looked at me and raised his eyebrow, reminding me of my job offer for Sunny. I smiled at him, but waited until Sunny apologised to her ex-boss and hung up her phone with a sigh.

"Did you lose your job, Sunny?" I asked with a small smile. She nodded and sighed again. "Good." I stated. She looked at me inquisitively. "How about you come and work with me? I need a life assistant, someone to work along side me, keep my calendar, get me to appointments on time, take notes, and run errands. Two and a half grand a month, staff apartment, one day off each week, either Sat or Sun, you choose. Starting tomorrow."

"Wah-what?" She looked flummoxed. "Are you serious?" She asked, turned to Grant and said again, "Is she serious?" Jackson bumped his knee, jolting her out of her bewilderment.

"Take the job. She told me about it days ago." He grumbled. Sunny looked at his face, then realised what he had said and that I was serious. She quickly got up off his knee and sat down on the chair beside him and pressed her jeans down, trying to tidy up.

"Ms Twice, your job offer comes along at the right time. I am currently available for hire and come with a long list of two references. May I please inquire as to the nature of the contract further?" She spoke in a serious voice with aplomb, that gorgeous 'goddess' confidence radiating from her in waves.

I sat up in my seat, mirroring her behaviour and replied, "I will arrange with my PA to get the employment contract to you asap, and we will go from there." I then turned to Grant and asked, "Grant?"

"Yes Ma'am." He was already typing away on his phone, then asked Sunny for her email address and contact details. It went from there. By the time Sunny had finished asking all the follow up questions she had about the job and the contract, the employee perks and insurances, she was back to her usual happy self, and Jackson's thunder cloud had dissipated a large amount. He was actually watching his excited girlfriend with a small smile on his face.

Grant had managed to ask one of the office secretarial staff members to print off the contract for Sunny – and Jackson – to read then she signed it there on the spot, in duplicate, handing one back to Grant for our files to keep.

When Wallace came back to meet with us again, we were a much happier, and healthier bunch of teenaged brats.

"Are you all doing well? Sorry to keep you waiting." He stood tall in his dark charcoal tailored business suit, looking every bit the giant business mogul he is.

"Yes, Dad." I responded. He smiled briefly then sat opposite us at the centre of the pantry table.

"I'd like to make clear one thing before we go further into today's matter. Ms Ishida, I need to know if you have family or someone here in the country who can back you up. If you are here on your own, it will make things difficult in the near future."

"Dad, I've just employed her as a PA, starting yesterday." We had back dated the contract by one day to help deal with this whole thing. She was an overseas student on a visitor's visa who was living off her teenaged boyfriend and living alone. Pretty certain that she needed our custodial oversight if we were going to keep her out of the trouble that was chasing her.

"Good idea. If she is now working for you – my daughter, then she comes under my protection." He turned to Sunny. "Does that make sense to you? If something like this happens again, you call Lily or my assistant, I'll give you his number, and you make sure whoever is causing trouble knows that you can't be touched." Wallace waited until Sunny and Jackson by default, acknowledged his statement. He stood up after they nodded and pointed to two female staff members waiting at the side with garment bags.

"Alright. Lily, I've had Assistant Jones pick up a dress suit for you and clothes Sunny to get changed into. You have ten minutes before we are expecting visitors. Grant, please show Jackson to the men's room for his change of attire." Wallace took one look at the motorbike mechanic and grinned a little. "He can keep the leather jacket, just have him clean off the blood." Wallace waved us all to our various locations and went back to his office. There was no doubt that any of us wouldn't follow his directions.

After changing and freshening up – nervous break downs cause a lot of sweat and it is gross – I put on the dove grey suit that Wallace's staff had arranged for me. Sunny was dressed in a white blouse and high waisted navy skirt that just seemed to show off all her curves, and although she kept her leather boots on her feet, she looked amazing. I frowned as I looked down at my slightly plump frame, wishing I hadn't had that last scoop of ice cream last night after my microwave dinner.

"OK, if I get this right," I began filling Sunny in on what I believed was about to happen. "Wallace has probably arranged the big boss of the club's boss to come and bring his lacky to apologise to us. Compensation will always be involved. If you are asked if you are happy with what they are offering, you look to me, I'll look to Wallace. Let Wallace do all the talking. Don't say a thing. Raise an eyebrow or shrug if you have to say anything, but keep it brief and uninterested." She nodded, then raised a question.

"Is Wallace like the boss of everyone in the city or something?" She asked as she stuffed her dirty clothes in a bag and brushed her fingers through her long black hair. I looked at my new assistant in the mirror while I dabbed some lip gloss on my lips.

"Or something." I replied, very seriously. "Just don't ever betray me or mine and you'll never have to find out just exactly whose boss he is." I shrugged off the heavy atmosphere and smiled at her. "Let's go." I said and turned to the exit of the bathroom. I didn't mean to sound so doom and gloom, but I knew from personal experience just how powerful Wallace was in my last life.

Sunny quickly caught my arm and pulled me gently to a stop. She brushed stray hair off my suit at the back, then squeezed my hand.

"Lily, thank you for everything. Your kindness, your rescue, the job and a new home? I don't know how to thank you enough."

I smiled at her and squeezed her hand in return. "No worries. Just please let me warn you that two thousand five hundred a month is going to be a lot of work. I currently have exactly..." I paused to count the number of projects that I currently have on my books. "Six business investments, two full time business projects, a down town high rise building to manage and there are two new major projects in the works. My portfolio currently stands at nearly a hundred million and none of it was borrowed from my parental units or the Overmeyer Estate. Welcome to the team, Ms Ishida. It is going to be a riot!"

I gave the stunned girl a winning smile, tucked my arm into hers and dragged her out of the women's bathroom and towards Wallace's oversized office.