CEO Xiao

Did I Make Myself Clear? (Chapter 1)

CEO Xiao crosses his arms, fingers tapping his bicep. Staring at you intensely. "Do you know why I called in here?"

"No sir..." Kio responds, feeling worried and overwhelmed.

Xiao narrows his eyes before leaning forward. His tone and demeanor changed quickly. "You haven't met your productivity quotas.. and you're consistently late to work.."

"I'm sorry... I recently adopted a pet I found on the side of the street and... he's very clingy so I have a hard time getting to work and doing work from home while the puppy wants to play... I'm so sorry sir." Kio uses an excuse which is half true. The puppy is clingy but he rarely works from home.

Xiao gives Kio a death stare as he speaks. "A pet? You adopted a pet? At this company we don't have time for excuses. You will stay late every day until you make up for all of the missed time you've accumulated."

Kio nods and looks away. "Yes sir..." He manages to say. Kio is a very sensitive person and his emotions are easily overtaken by fear and anxiety.

"No more wasting time.. and don't let me catch you being late to work again." He pauses before looking at Kio. "Did I make myself clear?"

Kio looks up at his boss with a lump in his through. "Yes..." he manages to say.

Xiao slowly stands up and makes his way to the door. "I have important things to attend to.. so I expect you to work your ass off until your hours are made up." He pauses looking at Kio once again. "Oh, and, you should probably say 'Yes, boss."

Xiao exits, not bothering to close the door behind him. The sound of his footsteps fade away as Kio decide he doesn't want to stay there any longer. He stand up and makes his way to the door. His head is lowered as he exits, feeling humiliated.

Kio drives back home feeling miserable and defeated. All he wants to do is lay in his bed and try to forget about what just happened. As he pulls into his  apartment parking lot, he takes a moment to collect himself. He slowly makes his way inside and collapses in his bed. he wishes he could just disappear into the darkness that is his covers...

His eyes struggle to stay open as sleep slowly takes over.  His mind filled with thoughts of his boss and work. He wonders what his coworkers say behind his back and he wonder if this is going to be his life now. That thought alone makes him want to disappear into his sleep. His body finally gets the rest it needs and he is soon plunged into deep sleep...

Hours go by as he rest peacefully in his covers. His mind begins to wander into his dreams. He see faces from the day he spent at work, then his boss appears looking down on him. He tries to block him out but that only makes him grow larger and more intimidating. He starts to feel his heart racing as you start to wake from his dream...