Work Text:
Sam would never admit this, but Google has become her fourth unofficial best friend over the years. Google doesn’t judge her like Jim does or make a spectacle out of everything like Kade. If anything, Google is most like Tee with its practical, straightforward advice.
Yes, Google is helpful in so many ways.
It contains a world of information at her fingertips.
But nothing can prepare Sam for the new girl at the office.
Sam’s already irritated when it happens. She has to fire two employees today because of inappropriate workplace relations. Not that she has tolerance for any workplace relations.
Work is for work.
Not for giggling and flirting and making out in secret.
But while everyone is welcoming this newcomer, Sam walks right up to her and asks for the time. Purposely within an arm’s length so she can detect any hint of a shiver.
Any… intimidation.
Of course she spots the new girl again during the meeting where she’d revealed the disloyalty. She looked so out of place with her kind smile that Sam picked her out of the crowd immediately.
Sam doesn’t know her name. Human Resources is in charge of hiring, but her look is also intriguing. Not just her dimpled cheeks or her soft pink blazer, but there is something so different about her.
Unique.
Well, Google won’t be any help solving that mystery, but maybe Sam can get her file from whatever-her-name-is in HR. But it’s not long before Kirk is blowing up her phone wanting to chat about business stuff which is fine until he wants to discuss their ever-looming wedding.
Which just irritates her even more.
In fact, it irritates her so much that she storms out of the office…
And bumps into…
The other employees shrink when they see Sam coming. They cower in fear at their desks or hide behind furniture or pretend to be working when they never are. But this girl makes eye contact right away, never breaking until Sam glances down to see a pair of hands touching her chest.
The girl trips again, clumsy thing, knocking them both off their balance. On instinct, Sam catches the girl, preventing her from falling. She cradles her head with her hand. Meanwhile, the girl looks up at her from the stairs, mouth agape, and it’s like Sam malfunctions.
She doesn’t know how to react to this doe-eyed creature’s intensity, so she tries to yank her hand back, but her stupid bracelet is caught in her wavy hair and it won’t come out and she needs her hand back and –
That bracelet cost a lot of money, okay?
It’s too tangled in those waves to let go though, and Sam just wants her wrist free, and to get away from… whatever this is.
Like always, Sam lets her rude mouth get the best of her and insults the poor girl by threatening to cut off her long, luxurious locks just so they can get themselves out of this mess. She even grabs a pair of scissors, dragging her newest employee along with her. But the girl uses her quick thinking and is able to untangle them before the damage is done.
So not only does Sam have her bracelet back, but she can finally retreat to her office, stomping down the hallway in her Saint Laurents. Shaken, but never one to show it, she pulls up her trusty fourth best friend.
How do I know if… she begins to type before erasing it.
She tries again. Can you tell…
Why do women…
But Sam sucks at words and Google sucks at feelings so they’re at a standstill. Then again, Sam also sucks at feelings, too. So maybe this is a job for her non-search engine buddies.
But how could she even begin to describe what happened?
That a chance encounter with an employee had an effect on her? That despite never wanting to be touched, her hand had lingered just a little too long on this beauty? That Sam liked how divine the girl’s perfume smelled?
That’s scarier than any ghost story.
No, Sam cannot and will not tell her friends about this. And Google is safe from her questions. For now.
She makes plans with Jim, Kade, and Tee for the evening anyway, hoping she’ll forget all about it by the time work ends.
She’s on her way to Kade’s when she gets Grandmother’s call.
Visiting her is the last thing she’d rather do, but she knows better than to disobey. Sam is the good one, the obedient one, the dependable one after all. And Grandmother has always provided for her.
But even at Grandmother’s estate she’s distracted by today’s events. Even when the servant comes to greet her and take her bag. Even as she’s sitting down to dinner.
Right up until Kirk sits across from her.
There’s no mistaking why he’s here. Grandmother takes any opportunity to shove them together. Like they need her help. They aren’t teenagers on their first arranged date, although it might seem that way given how reluctant Sam is to see him.
It’s still annoying.
Although Kirk is surprisingly a good business partner. When he stays silent. It’s just the dating aspect that Sam dislikes.
And his Edward Cullen hair.
Grandmother brings up the topic of marriage and children again and scolds Sam when she starts to slouch down in her seat.
She blows her friends off after that.
She’d rather light every candle in her house, sip her wine, and soak in her tub than meet up with them and discuss her woes. Her house may be lonely, and bare, and grey, but it’s the perfect place to think. No distractions.
And she knows she has to come up with something to save her company.
Fifty million bahts.
That’s a nearly impossible task given the state of the company as is and she only has a year. Otherwise she’ll have to give up everything she loves. But she can’t fail. This is too important to her.
Don’t fail, don’t fail, don’t fail, she thinks to herself like that will help her come up with a groundbreaking idea. Coming up with content is easy, but enough content to generate that type of revenue?
That would take…
That would take a much bigger staff. Or at least a more competent one. Or maybe what they need is to branch out. She thinks and thinks until all of the bubbles in her bubble bath have popped and the water turns cold on her skin.
But she can’t give up without a fight –
Wait.
The bubbles have popped.
Ah, sometimes Sam is just amazed at her own genius.
Diversity Pop.
Diversity Pop, she’s sure, is the next greatest thing since TikTok. Or at least BeReal. Anyway, it’s bound to generate lots of viral content aimed at teenagers.
The problem?
The problem is no one on her forsaken staff seems very enthused by the sheer brilliance of it to Sam’s dismay. Because they know it will create more work for them. But they always have time to congregate and laugh and joke so this will be a good opportunity for them to prove their worth.
They should thank her, actually.
But when she tells them to wow her, they look at her like she’s grown another head. And all of their suggestions, once they dare open their stupid mouths, are stupid.
The meeting only gets worse as it drags on with Sam doing all of the heavy lifting as always. And why have a content creation team if they just regurgitate the same themes over and over again?
Isn’t she paying them to be… creative?
Then the new girl speaks up talking about tension.
If she wanted a less tense environment she could work at a spa. She could probably make good wages as an attendant there with her cheery smile and her good-smelling hair. Sam would even wager to guess that she gives really great massages.
Sam shakes her head because there’s no telling where that thought came from. Certainly not herself. It must be stress-induced.
The stress of having to deal with such idiots.
"Time," the new girl insists, "we need time."
Yeah, well, Sam needs a lot of things. And this is what she hired them for. So if they can’t deliver, newbie included, then what is the point?
Sam might as well dissolve the company now. Throw in the towel. Marry… Kirk.
For some unknown reason that seems like the worst-case scenario in Sam’s opinion. Sure, getting married is inevitable, but tossing aside everything she’s worked so hard for?
Not a chance in hell.
Kornkamon.
The new girl’s name is Kornkamon and Sam knows this because after Miss Kornkamon so boldly interrupts the meeting, they have their own private affair in Sam’s office.
No, maybe affair isn’t the right word.
Affair implies…
Ugh, why is Sam having such a hard time keeping it together today? After presenting her one-in-a-million idea, she should be on top of the world. But instead this little heavenly thing keeps staring at her and then shyly looking away.
What does Miss Kornkamon want, for the record?
Does she want to be scolded?
Does she want to be… punished?
Sam’s got a punishment for her alright. Not only for speaking out of turn, but also for her boldness. For all of her confidence in the meeting, she certainly is quiet now.
But Sam knows exactly how to handle it.
Miss Kornkamon will see.
They’ll all see.
In hindsight, maybe making her newest employee the head of the company’s newest division wasn’t the smartest business decision.
But what’s done is done and now Kirk is taking them all to the Japanese restaurant for what is sure to be another thrilling evening. Outside of the office, her employees are no different, still walking on eggshells around her.
She makes an unfunny joke and they laugh just to humor her.
Miss Kornkamon still looks at her sideways, same as she did in the bathroom when her belongings were in front of the sink. Same as she did when Sam went to get a paper towel. She even blushes.
So bold and yet so shy at the same time.
Sam leaves the table partway through dinner for a phone call with a client.
Alcohol loosens lips apparently.
Sam hears her employees leaving the restaurant. She’s only just outside, after all, with her client going on and on about metrics and next quarter and whatnot. And the senior Diversity members have plenty to say about her.
But to Sam’s surprise, Miss Kornkamon defends her.
She seems to know quite a bit about Sam including her love of dogs.
Which is odd because Sam can only think of one instance she’s ever said that out loud. And it wasn’t for an interview so there’s no way that information is online. Nevertheless, she kind of appreciates Miss Kornkamon doing that. It’s not every day someone comes to her defense.
She knows what a taskmaster she can be though, so rather than spoil their fun, she follows quietly behind them. Mr. Chin and the others drunkenly stumble off to find taxis until Miss Kornkamon is the only one left.
She must be walking home, Sam decides as Miss Kornkamon makes her leave as well, mindlessly strolling through the plaza. There must be something on her mind, some kind of trouble brewing in that pretty head of hers that makes her so careless.
Sam pulls her away from the street at the last second, saving her once again from an ugly fate, and once again her tiny fists make their way to Sam’s chest.
They’re pressed up closer than before, noses almost touching, a jolt of electricity running through both their veins. It’s the adrenaline. It has to be.
That’s why Sam’s heart is beating so fast and why her damsel in distress is looking at her like she’s a knight in shining armor.
Adrenaline.
Sam will Google it when she gets home just to be sure.