Boss Complex

11. Rescheduled Meeting

Chanyeol's gaze travels over tall grey buildings, holding his head high as his restless emotions stir his confidence into a ghost of what it once was. Taking his seat at the throne of his father's company, he tries to focus on the thin gold needle of his Cartier, the seconds slipping away, but his discomfort never budges. True enough that time changes everything, and there's no need getting worked up over a moment that has already left you. But he can't just move on from this. He can't just pretend it didn't happen. The march of his schedule halted by a single cancelled appointment? One cancellation that throws his entire day off track? This was surely a first, even he would admit to. Byun Baekhyun had cancelled.

His intern cancelled the appointment. An intern. Who even gave him the right to stand up his boss? And as much as he wanted to give him hell over it, Chanyeol knew that giving Baekhyun a tongue lashing would do nothing. Stern reprimands wouldn't change a thing, and after seeing the exchange between the intern and his future father-in-law, he understood why. There was always the option of firing Baekhyun, but the more Chanyeol sat and thought about that option, the less feasible it became. Why would he fire Baekhyun? True, his numbers are slightly above average, but a slight glance over his analysis proves that he doesn't put in the effort he should. And if he did, all good things remain marked in his future. But there he had another question. His own future was predetermined, but he had agreed to it, generously. Chanyeol had agreed with the intent of making Baekhyun's life hell, but in fact, he would benefit from it more than he would be annoyed. The advantageous merger of the companies meant that he would face the ultimate wealth and freedom he seemed to yearn for. As his brother-in-law, he wouldn't force him to work at all until the punk figured out what the hell he wants to do with his life. He wants to make everything so as smoothly as possible, but he knows better than to assume that Baekhyun is going to let this all slide. Which is precisely why he assumed that when Baekhyun was so adamant about seeing him the day before, he was going to barge in and throw another fit. But Baekhyun, who had demanded to see him, had also cancelled the very same appointment. The indecisive little punk left him without notice to go work in a different department for the afternoon, and Chanyeol, who ordinarily would have stalked the kid down, couldn't even do anything about it because he was stuck babysitting Yifan and Yixing all afternoon. Victoria promised to re-schedule and reminded him of his title and how important it was for him to keep up good relationships with contacts. Though he could have cared less about any of that at 2, he did what any respectable acting CEO would do, and he followed through with his commitment.

Left were lingering questions about whether Baekhyun was going to transfer departments, why he needed to see him in the first place, and why he cancelled so easily. And more troubling than all other questions was the one that now reran through his thoughts without end. The repetitive montage of images of Baekhyun coming into work together with Kim Jongin, looking casual and familiar, shoulders pressed together.

Agitated, Chanyeol found himself watching the seconds pass, hoping to find comfort in the obedience of time, obedience that he didn't get from his intern. The thin gold hand skipped forward second by second, and he found that it quickened his pulse rather than slow him down. Finding himself inconsolably agitated he stands abruptly, just as Victoria enters the room. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, loosely braided hair over her other shoulder, and opens her mouth to speak. They stand still for a moment, Chanyeol still irritable, Victoria processing his stance and analyzing what he needs. She turns without a word, nodding her head in understanding, closing the door behind her and sitting back at her desk. Chanyeol pushes back his chair and proceeds to pace, finding the sudden urge to hold something in his hand: a stress ball, a pen, something that could be shattered or beaten, or Baekhyun's soft dainty hips...

"Mr. Byun Baekhyun will be in to see you momentarily." Victoria says over the speaker of his intercom phone, startling him briefly, playing on his anxiety.