Kill for Me

Chapter One: Mysterious Phone Call

Ella Song looked up at the tall building of C & R and felt a wave of panic rush through her. Somehow, she had managed to land this job, though she had no idea what she had done to deserve it. She found it difficult to find a job after graduating and had to resort to working at the bookstore that was only a few blocks from where she lived. She had waited all her life for this pivotal moment, though now that it was here, she wasn't sure she could go through with it.

At that moment, a black car pulled up front and the back door opened. A tall and slender young man got out of the car dressed in crisp black dress pants, black blazer, and pinstriped-collared shirt. His hair styled to perfection, an expressionless look on his face. It was her boss, Jumin Han.

Ella gulped, her heart pounding against her ribcage, threatening to leap into her throat. She watched as he walked towards the building without even giving her a second look. She wasn't used to people not looking at her. On the contrary, people always looked at her as her physical appearance was something of an oddity. Height wise, she fit in, but the fact that she had tan-colored skin and bright emerald green eyes, and smooth natural light brown curly hair made her stand out like a sore thumb. Despite the fact that she had lived in Korea her entire life and spoke Korean fluently, she didn't look Korean except for the slight slant of her eyes.

Then again, her boss was the Executive Director of C & R and next in line to inherit his father's company, so she couldn't blame him for not noticing one of his own employees.

Taking a deep breath, Ella straightened her black blazer and smoothed out her black skirt. She then lifted her head high and walked towards the glass doors of the building, her heels clicking on the pavement as she walked.

Upon entering, she had to scan her identification card at the next set of doors in order for them to slide open, allowing her access to the elevator. She made her way to the top floor where her new cubicle waited for her. While other employees' desks had pictures of their families and other things that identified with their personalities, hers was bare. She just had a desk, Banana computer, chair, phone, and a small filing cabinet. There was nothing else on her desk. There never would be.

Ella felt the other employees staring at her as she walked past their desks and she avoided their eyes and double-takes as she strode purposefully towards her desk and set her purse down just under the desk in a little cubby that was tucked at the back corner. She turned on the computer and used her new login ID and password to enter the system so she could get to work.

Once she logged in, she received an alert on her computer notifying her that they had a meeting first thing. She had half an hour to gather materials and information that she would need for her first meeting. She smiled to herself and opened up the internet browser, finally feeling in her element and forgetting all the eyes that were still staring at her until their own computers beeped at them.

....

Half an hour later, Ella was following the other employees to the meeting room where Jumin's assistant, Assistant Kang, was setting down all the necessary materials. Ella found an empty seat near the door and sat down, setting her folder down in front of her. The other employees filed in and sat down, talking among themselves and casting her curious looks. She ignored them, staring straight ahead at the blank whiteboard.

Once all the employees were settled, Jumin walked into the room and made his way towards the front of the room. All talking died down the moment he walked in. Ella could feel the tension in the room as Assistant Kang stood next to Jumin.

"As you can see by the reports," Jumin started without as much as a greeting. "We have maintained our sales this quarter. I would like to see an increase in profit for the next quarter of at least fifty percent," Jumin continued. Ella heard the woman next to her inhale sharply. Ella quickly shuffled through the reports in front of her as she continued to listen to him talk. Fifty percent was a lot.