NEW LIFE : A SECOND CHANCE

Kyle looked at Charles, and Charles looked at Kyle.

Charles had no idea what Kyle was looking at him for. Kyle sighed internally. CEO Charles had a lot of work to do. Both on himself, and for the company.

[I think it's too much to expect him to change overnight, dear brother]

[I know. Yet, I was still hoping he could take the first step]

[You've got to show him how first. I know you're itching to do it anyway]

Kyle couldn't help the smirk that the comment produced.

Kay was right about that. He had been suppressing himself, for the Kylie in him wanting to guide Charles since Charles inherently was a good person. Just a bit weak. He wanted to be kind and nurturing to the sincere man who was trying.

The Kyle, however, wanted to whack Charles to get him to get his head out of his a**, smash the faces of all the useless people in the company, raze everything to the ground and let the survivors rise from its ashes.

That thought got him pretty excited and he had to clamp it down. Kyle coughed to cover the maniacal grin he was sure he would be making at that moment.

At the same time, Charles was a bit surprised to hear the printer nearby start. He looked at it and waited until it finished and his eyes widened when he read what it was. He looked up at Kyle, who simply tilted his head to one side and raised an eyebrow.

Charles finally understood what Kyle had been trying to convey earlier.

He nodded imperceptibly, sighed internally and signed the termination notice for Pauline Hans.

[Nicely done, Kay] Kyle praised [The timing was perfect]

[Of course] Kay said smugly [Next step is yours]

Charles was obviously still struggling as he held that piece of paper while Pauline was looking at him strangely.

"You know, Pauline," Kyle began, deliberately speaking slowly, "I knew you were incompetent, but I didn't think you were this stupid."

"It can't be helped, Kyle," drawled Ali who snorted as he looked at the tea and biscuits she had served in disdain. The mugs were of different shapes and sizes, the tea looked like it was watered down and the biscuits were plain crackers.

They were VIP guests, not Charles's family. Even then, this was not something you serve to guests. It was unacceptable and a direct indication of lack of respect towards them.

Pauline bristled, her face clearly showing her anger. She turned towards Charles, pointing a finger at Kyle and his group as she demanded, "Why are you letting them talk to me like that?!"

"My God, Kyle," exclaimed Xing Han, "You're right! She really IS that stupid."

Kay smiled, got up and slowly walked over to Pauline, looking at her straight in the eye, "Pauline, you are nothing but a mere secretary. An executive secretary, but a secretary nonetheless. Yet, the way you're acting, it's as if you're the boss here. Do you not know who is the real boss here?"

Pauline stood there proudly, not fazed as she said, "Of course. I'm not stupid!"

"Enough," came an extremely cold voice from behind Kay.

Pauline froze. Why did that one word make her feel fear like never before?

Kay merely smiled, shrugged and looked at Pauline with pity in her eyes as she said, "Oh dear. Looks like I can't try and help anymore."

She then leaned forward, to get close enough to say softly, "Just try not to faint. Won't be fun otherwise."

Kay then stepped aside, letting Pauline get the full blast of Kyle's oppressive gaze. She went to Charles desk and leaned on it while crossing her arms.

"Get ready for a good show," Kay said to Charles, "And learn why our Father put Kyle in charge to turn Company LV around."

Kyle just sat there, not saying a word as he looked at his fingernails, spread out his fingers then finally, looked up at Pauline.

It was like a wave.

Even those who were beside him felt it.

There was this force that spread out from Kyle, heading straight for Pauline who stood there frozen. She was held in place due to the intensity of his blue eyes and she felt as if her body was literally, becoming ice.

Then she felt a huge pressure descending on her, as if it was pushing her down to the ground. Her knees trembled but she did not fall down. She felt a huge lump in her throat and swallowed repeatedly but the feeling did not go away.

"Ms. Hans," Kyle began, "My sister tried to warn you nicely yet, you cannot seem to understand a simple, basic, concept."

"You are the CEOs his right-hand man, not his boss," said Kyle, "You have NO right to speak to him like that!"

Kyle growled, his face full of anger as he stood up and continued, "And you certainly have no right to address me by my first name."

He was walking closer to her as he spoke. The pressure kept getting stronger as he got closer.

"You deem us unimportant enough not to inform the reception about our arrival?"

"You regard us as trash to be left waiting without any word for half an hour?"

"You gossip about us loudly amongst your colleague and give degrading comments as you lead us to this office?"

"You disdain us so much that you can't even serve us proper tea and snacks?"

"You sure are brave, to belittle the person who is your boss's boss," Kyle said, as he reached right in front of Pauline, "Did you really think I would let all that you did, slide? I was merely seeing how far you'd actually go."

By now, Pauline was in a slump on the floor, her legs having lost all its strength long ago. Her blouse was stuck to her body as it was drenched in sweat, her eyes wide open in absolute fear as she looked up at Kyle, unable to look away.

"When was the last time you actually performed your duties and responsibilities properly? How many times has CEO Charles been affected adversely by your incompetence and lack of professionalism?" Kyle asked.

He reached out his right hand towards Kay, not breaking eye contact with Pauline. Kay placed the termination letter in his hand and he squatted down, to look at her squarely in the eye. Without a word, he stuck it on her forehead. Her sweat allowed the paper to stick for a while before her shaking hands took it off to read it.

She looked at the content in shock, her mouth open. Before she could say anything, Kyle got up and pointed towards the door.

"You have 5 minutes to pack up and leave before I call security. If you're not done by then, I'll have them drag you out rather than escort you," Kyle said, "Sam, make sure she only takes her personal items."

Sam got up immediately and stood in front of Pauline. He gestured towards the door and said simply, "You have 4 minutes left."

Pauline didn't dare say anything else. All she wanted to do now was run. Run as fast as she can away from this Devil. She cursed herself mentally. She had such an easy job. CEO Charles hardly chastised her for her work no matter how badly she performed - if she ever did.

If she had known this boy had the capabilities to actually fire her, she would have not acted the way that she did. There was no use crying over spilled milk. No matter how angry and frustrated she was right now, she couldn't do anything. She had dug the hole herself and jumped straight in.

The termination letter was effective immediately. Normally, she would get two months notice before her services were terminated, or she would be given two months pay in lieu of notice. However, the letter had clearly shown her misdemeanor, which gave Company LV the right to terminate her without notice and without having to pay.

So now, she was without a job. No reference. No severance pay. Just like that, her prospects to work at another company as a secretary was sealed shut. Which sane company would hire her when her record showed clearly her incompetence?

What was she going to do?

She sniffed, tears threatening to spill out.

"You have one minute left," said the emotionless Sam, not pitying her at all, "And that is company's property. You can't take that."

Pauline glared at Sam but didn't dare say anything. She quickly put back the notepad that had Company LV's logo on it and walked out. She didn't want to talk to anyone at that point and so, ignored her colleagues - now former colleagues - as she ran to the lift.

Everyone stared at the quickly retreating back of Pauline and the room suddenly broke out in pandemonium.

"Wha-what happened?!" shouted one in shock.

"Pauline got fired? What did she do? I mean, she was useless but CEO Charles always forgave her no matter what she did," another said.

"Serves her right," another scoffed, "Good riddance to bad rubbish!"

As the door was slightly ajar, all of these words were clearly heard by Charles and the others. His face got flushed as he thought about it. Even his people out there knew about Pauline yet said nothing to him? He was beginning to feel more and more useless.

Then he felt someone patting him on the shoulder. It was Kay.

"Cheer up," she said with a smile, "Kyle will be the Bad Guy and get rid of all the tumor in the company. Your role after this is to heal it and grow."

Kyle cricked his neck and smoothed his suit down and brushed off some imaginary lint on both of his sleeves. He then looked towards Ali and Xing Han, who promptly got up. They saw the slow smile that was forming on his face and noted the fact that he had not retracted that chilling aura yet. It wasn't as lethal as before, but it certainly was still there.

"Time to start the purge," Kyle said as he walked towards the door.

Xing Han noticed that the smile on Kyle's face got bigger.

"Why does it seem like you're enjoying this?" he asked as Kyle put his hands on the doorknob.

Kyle turned to grin at him, an eyebrow raised as he answered before reverting back to his cold persona, "That's because I AM enjoying this."

Sam furiously started taking notes.