Azutara #49
oooooh prompt 49 is boss/intern au
this is going to be fun 😈
***
Katara bites her lip in anticipation. "Should I be scared?"
"Oh, definitely." Sokka nods his head without taking his eyes of the screen. "Your knees should be giving way underneath you right now, trust me."
Katara gulps. She looks all around in nervousness. It's a huge bull-pen. Eight in the morning and the whole area is already bustling, telephones ringing insistently, loud chatter providing a strange ambience, exchanges of good morning and news about their weekends.
Everyone's pristine and crisp here at Agni Incorp., and Katara already feels overwhelmed. She has no idea how her brother does it sometimes, being the Head of Engineering at the most prestigious and posh company like this one. She's just managed to land an internship opportunity here, due to her brother's heavy recommendation, and it's just her first day! Because the company had been looking for young and brilliant minds to do their work, she'd been instantly selected by someone called Zhu Li.
She tries not to worry too much. But Sokka's recent updates on who'll be leading them for the next 6 months had already made her gut bottom out.
Azula Agni.
People knew very little about her. Mostly because she always worked in the shadows of their company, Sokka had told her. There's a reason the main hall, Which Ozai Agni runs, is somewhere below them in an easily accessible, busy floor, rather than high up at the top floor, which Azula was allocated to.
It also did not help when Sokka told her about the time Azula had made an employee literally pee his pants the very first day she arrived here at the Strategic Management Department. Sokka had been complaining the whole time about what an engineer is doing 'strategically managing', but then he'd also said that he's never worked more in his entire life. Azula's been taking over things here. She's brought forth humongous changes that always boost up the sidelines.
There's a reason they call her the Shadow Director of the entire company in just two months.
Sokka's eyes lift up to Katara from where he's stitting at his desk, a lowly shift from what he was accustomed to in Ozai's floor. "Don't worry. You're a smart girl. You'll fit in just fine. Also, make sure not to talk back. She hates that."
Okay, now Katara's pretty sure that Azula isn't that haughty. Sure she's a little intimidating from what she's been hearing from not just Sokka, but literally everyone present at the bull-pen, talking about how they need to get something right cuz if Azula finds even a single mistake, she's gonna burn the whole place to the ground.
But how bad can it be, right?
Right?
Wrong.
All heads suddenly turn to the elevator when it dings sharply at 8 on the nose. Silence falls heavily inside the great hall and Katara's heart rate increases tenfold. The elevator door opens and it first reveals a short woman with Harry Potter spectacles on her button nose, her hair in a bun and her body clad in official dark green, business suit. She has short bangs that frame her forehead and she walks out in crisp strides.
And then, Katara's heart really does stop.
Behind her, is one of the most beautiful girls she's ever laid her eyes on, if not the most beautiful girl in the world. Her skin is pale, compared to Katara's darker complexion, and her hair is also in a bun, but two strands of hair loose from the bun frame her face perfectly in the most mind-numbingly gorgeous way possible. Katara tries not to drool. But it's hard not to.
She steps out of the elevator, her posture as straight as a rod. Unlike the first woman, she takes slow, deliberate steps into the bull-pen, sliding in, right into the middle of the whole hall. She pauses.
From this angle, Katara can see that the girl is quite young. In fact, Katara's sure she's not older than herself. She's clad in a simple but quite a fine suit Katara's ever seen. It's a black shirt with a deep red blazer thrown over her delicate torso, completing the look with a black pant and a red tie.
The girl turns her head in deadly precision, sweeping the room with her eyes, looking at every single person present. If it's not for the occasional telephone ringing somewhere in the corner, you could've droped a feather and it would've made noise, Katara's pretty sure.
Everybody is on alert and that immediately puts Katara on edge, her body stiff as a post. The girl's head is turning, slowly, and for some strange reason, Katara feels like she's going to pass out, from all the anticipation and the stress that this whole situation brings her.
When the girl's head turns completely to her right, the first thing Katara notices is that her eyes are striking golden. A rare gold mixed with brown that she hasn't seen on anyone ever.
And she almost does pass out when those eyes suddenly fall directly on her.
She lets out a silent whimper, not really sure why she's having a physical reaction to the girl just looking at her. But it's not just any look. It's the kinda look that could melt stone if you point at it long enough. Katara feels her face heat up under the scrutinizing gaze, completely giving herself over to the girl's stare.
Then it's gone. The eyes are completely gone and they move on to Sokka standing next to her and then to the next person whoever that is, and Katara's breath returns back to her lungs.
She feels her head spin for a second, but she holds her composture. And suddenly, there's a snap of fingers in front of her face. She looks up and almost jumps out of her skin when she finds the girl looking directly at her, again.
But this time, she gestures with a finger to follow her into her office, and then, like a whirlwind, she's gone. Completely out of sight.
Katara remains frozen in place, her brain in a frenzy, not really sure what just happened. Chatter and indistinct noise returns back to the bull-pen and Katara feels the world come crashing down.
She feels a sharp nudge to her ribs. This time, she does jump out of her skin. "Wha-?"
"What are you standing here for?!" Sokka whisper-yells in her ear. "Azula just called you into her office!"
Katara blinks. "Wait- That's Azula?!"
"No, it was the queen of Ba Sing Se." Sokka gives her a look. "OF COURSE IT WAS AZULA! And if you aren't in her office in about 10 seconds, she's gonna burn the whole place down. Go! Go! Go!"
He pushes Katara heavily towards her office door at the end of the bull-pen. She stumbles across, trying to find the strength to face the golden-eyed girl again. For all the accounts she's heard, she didn't expect Azula Agni to be as pretty as that. In fact, to be honest, Katara was imagining Ursala the sea witch the whole time.
When she nears the door, she notices a big, secluded booth, where the lady with the Harry Potter spectacles is seated, her eyes lazer focused on the computer screen in front of her, looking like she's going over a dozen different things at once. And it hasn't even been like 5 minutes since she got here.
Feeling Katara's presence loom over her, she talks without looking up from her work. "Tell her I asked you to be here and she'll leave you alone." She states, her voice almost sounding like a robot.
Katara frowns, not really sure what that means, she doesn't really stick around for clarifications, seeing that the woman is already back to her work, not that she ever looked up.
Katara sucks in a deep breath before she raises her hand to knock but the woman's robotic voice beside her halts her. "Don't bother. She hates when people knock."
Katara's hand falls limply to her side. Okay, so this Azula seems to hate a lot of things. It's almost as if the things she hates are literally everything that makes a human, well, human.
She hesitantly opens the door, her body strangely building up confidence that she really needs right now as she steps through into the room.
It's huge. Everything is huge. The first thing she notices is the giant floor to ceiling glass window that has this incredible view over Republic City, as if it's some kind of a palace that governs over the whole of the city. The second thing she notices is the deep red couch placed right beside the window, and how fucking comfortable it looks. And only then does her eyes fall on the desk that is placed far inside the rectangle room, and the most comfortable swivelling chair she's seen, occupied by a tiny figure clad in red and black.
Katara looks at her nervously for a second, before walking inside, her confidence fading with each step. When she gets closer, Azula's face becomes clearer and well-defined and Katara has to physically stop herself from ogling.
A few seconds pass and Katara doesn't know what to do with herself, standing there awkwardly, staring at the girl. Then suddenly, the golden eyes fall on her and Katara has to stop herself from falling down on the ground with the sheer force of the glance.
"Who are you? Why are you here." The girl demands after a second, leaning back in her chair.
Katara blinks. "You called me here-"
"I was talking about your general presence in this building." each word is ice-cold, hitting like bullets inside Katara's brain. "Are you a spy?"
"Spy?"
"To the Cabbage Corp."
"No. Of course, not." Katara's well aware of the rivalry between the Cabbage Corp., and Agni Incorporation. She'd even briefly considered applying for a job in the Cabbage Corp., before her brother pestered her to come work here.
Azula doesn't answer. Instead, she just narrows her eyes, and Katara knows that she's looking for an explanation. So she provides her with one instantly. "I'm the new intern here." Azula's eyes narrow to slits, and Katara continues, noticing it. "Today's my first day."
Azula still doesn't answer, her face now sporting a full-on scowl. Katara immediately panics, not really knowing what she should be saying here. She squeezes her brain in a hurry, and then suddenly, she remembers.
"I was selected by her." Katara jerks her thumb in the general direction of the robotic lady sitting outside Azula's office.
That seems to do it. Azula's eyebrows immediately raise up slightly. "Zhu Li selected you?"
Katara nods slowly, finally putting a face to the name Zhu Li.
"An intern for what?" Azula asks her sharply.
Katara gulps. "I was told I needed to be assesed for at least a week before getting assigned for a catagory of work that I would go to."
Golden eyes scrutinize her for a long minute silently, making her feel suddenly naked. She looks all around the office room awkwardly, not really strong enough to meet those sharp, calculating eyes anymore.
"You will shadow Zhu Li for not one but two weeks. Learn what and why of the things we do here. When I get a report from Zhu Li at the end of the two weeks, I'll decide whether to keep you or kill you."
Wait- Kill her?!
Katara's eyes widen comically.
"Dismissed." Azula waves her hand non-chalantly, and Katara feels her feet getting a life of their own, following the order Azula Agni's hand gave them.
When she comes out the door, Zhu Li's voice sounds beside her. "How long?"
Katara turns to her, her eyes still not back to normal from the shock. "Two weeks. I'm supposed to shadow you for two weeks before she apparantly keeps me or kills me."
And only then Zhu Li looks up from her hectic typing on the computer, giving her a smirk. "Then you better start right away."
...
It feels like a whole year was cramped into one week, cuz that's how long the week was for Katara. Her neck hurts, her feet hurt, her back hurts and even her butt hurts!
She now understands why this was such a big deal. Why when she got here, all heads were either buried in their work or drowning in copius amounts of diluted cactus juice, cuz this shit is hectic.
She was looking forward to her weekend like she was crazy. She'd followed Zhu Li around like a puppy, taking notes of her notes, keeping track of Azula's schedule that Zhu Li had provided her with, and typing through endless amounts of transcripts of meetings after meetings Azula seemed to attend.
It's Friday afternoon and Katara can't wait to hit the bed in the lovely apartment she shares with Sokka.
She'd had a couple of run ins with Azula, her golden eyes poring into her soul every time she looked at her. And if Katara has learned anything in the past week, it was that Azula was ruthless.
She always wears red and black, and always holds her poise. Every time Azula walks into the bull-pen at sharp 8 o clock, she scans the room completely before heading into her office without fail. Katara's never once seen her lose her composture, sharp and to the point all the freaking time.
Katara still hasn't had the privilege of attending Azula's meetings. But she can imagine what it's like, just by reading through the transcripts. Every word she types as Azula's is pure golden, akin to her eyes. They hold such brevity and clarity that Katara can't help but be fascinated by the girl.
Every time she walks into a room, she holds this kind of regality, as if she was born to rule over them all, and Katara shudders thinking of the way Azula's eyes seems to peruse her, leaving her breathless and unnerved with just a singe glance.
The intern shakes her head, to pull herself away from day-dreaming. She's almost done with typing out the transcript for the meeting Azula attended to in the morning. And another meeting seems to be going on now. If she's done typing that out too, she's free to go and enjoy her weekend. So, her fingers fly on the keyboard as fast as they could possibly go.
She suddenly pauses, her eyes drawing attention to one line from Azula in the meeting minutes laid out on her desk :
"Perfection is always one step better than what you thought was perfect."
Katara blinks, flabbergasted. That is one of the most thoughtful things she's ever heard someone say. Or in this case, seen. And Azula's said it in a room full of the board of directors. The amount of power she holds just stuns Katara. The way she demands respect from every one that meets her is mind-blowing really.
It takes a long moment for Katara to move on from that line, as she wills herself to start typing again. She gradually forgets what's happening all around her, as she drowns herself in her work, making progress at record speed.
She's almost done with the work when she hears her name.
"Katara." Zhu Li is looking directly at her, standing before Katara's desk with a phone pressed against her ear. When Katara looks up snapping her eyes away from the monitor, Zhu Li gestures with her eyes and a tilt of her head to follow her.
Katara immediately springs into action, grabbing her notepad and pen, to rush behind Zhu Li. If she's supposed to be Zhu Li's shadow, she's gonna be just that.
Zhu Li makes her way to the other side of the bull-pen, where the meeting room is. Katara's heart starts beating faster when Zhu Li leads her straight to the meeting room, opening the door.
Katara's stomach flips in excitement. She's never been to the meetings and she's eager to see one where Azula's at the top of her game. Zhu Li steps inside through the door, and Katara follows right behind her.
". . . preserving the quality but also the cost. Design B is fuel efficient as well." Azula's saying, standing at the head of the table. When Zhu Li walks in, Azula's eyes snap to her. "Anything important, Zhu Li?"
Her tone is dangerous, and Katara's been here long enough to read it as, "This better be important or i'm gonna fire you for interrupting my meeting."
"Are you sure you wanna hear it here?" Zhu Li asks, looking around the meeting table, filled with board members and Katara guesses, the top order people of the company.
Azula narrows her eyes, seeming to contemplate it. But then she nods once, giving Zhu Li a green light.
Zhu Li hangs up her phone, the one that was pressed against her ear before saying, "Our shipment's been stolen."
Katara's eyes widen.
So does Azula's. "What?" She snaps.
All eyes in the room swivel to Zhu Li.
"I got the news just now." Zhu Li says, her usually robotic voice now tinted with a dash of worry. "An entire shipment's been stolen."
Shocked whispers begin to erupt from all around the table.
"Which shipment?" Azula asks, her brows furrowing together.
"The one with the parts for our new airship design." Zhu Li is quick to answer.
Azula breathes out a quiet curse. "Okay. I'll look into it."
One of the board members pushes his chair back and stands up. "You'll look into it?! Really?! That's all you have to say?!"
Azula braces her palms on the table in front of her and leans forward, hanging her head.
"Yeah." Another member quips. "We've just lost our latest technology. And all you have to offer is looking into it?!?!"
Another voice speaks up. "Having our valuable shipments stolen isn't exactly very strategic of you, is it? And my sources have reason to believe that this has been happening for months now. Maybe it's time for you to step down and let Mr. Zuko take care of things here, Miss Azula. Shouldn't you be taking action already? Looking into it isn't really going to help, now is it-?"
Azula snaps her head up and the asshole that was talking shuts his mouth in a hurry.
The whole room falls silent when they notice the look Azula's giving the guy. A chill runs up Katara's spine, and she permanently decides that she definitely does not want to be at the receiving end of that piercing glare.
"Loosing composture in a time like this isn't going to help either." Azula's voice is even and cold. "So, unless you have a trick up your insolent little sleeves, I'd like to see you all presenting your design idea on another day. The meeting's adjourned."
Everybody shoots out of their seats in a hurry, wanting to get the hell away from Azula's raising wrath before they get caught in the middle of it.
"Your father will be hearing about this when he returns back from Ba Sing Se, Miss Azula." The asshole says before walking out of the room.
Azula just stares at his retreating figure, her face surprisingly even.
"Zhu Li." Azula says.
"Yes, Miss Agni?" Zhu Li perks up.
"My office. Now."
...
The door to Azula's office automatically shuts close the second Katara walks into it. Azula's already pacing back and forth in front of her desk as Zhu Li walks up to her.
"It's the Cabbage Corp., I'm sure of it." The secretary says.
Azula stops on her tracks, mid-pace. "Of course it is. Who else would it-" Then her eyes suddenly fall on Katara and she stops talking.
Zhu Li seems to follow her line of sight. "Oh, don't worry. Katara's fine. We need all hands on deck if we're gonna handle this."
"And you think she's capable of it?" Azula points a lazy finger at Katara.
"More than." Zhu Li says and Katara feels a rush of affection towards the woman.
Azula nods once before taking in a deep breath. "Zhu Li . . ."
"Yes?"
Azula stares at her for a second long, before her sculpted full lips curve up in a smirk. "They swallowed the bait and the whole damn hook!"
Zhu Li's usually neutral face morphs into a genuinely surprised one. "Wait- WHAT?!"
Azula lets out a loud guffaw suddenly, throwing her head back and clutching onto her chest tightly.
Zhu Li looks at her like she's gone completely crazy. "Azula?!"
"Hmm?" Azula hums, before losing it and staring to laugh again.
"What is going on?!" Zhu Li panics, and Katara can't help but silently watch the whole debacle. "What bait?!"
Azula wipes at the corner of her eyes. "Oh god, this is perfect!"
Zhu Li blinks at her. "Should I be worried?!"
"No." Azula says before humming in mirth again, letting out a small chuckle.
Azula walks over to her swivel chair and plops down heavily. Zhu Li and Katara take the queue, confused out of their minds, and sit down on the chairs opposite to Azula's across the desk.
"Okay." Azula clears her throat. Then she looks at both Zhu Li and Katara in the eye with mirth dancing in her normally striking cold eyes. "What I'm about to say, must not leave this room untill and unless I give you explicit permission to do so."
Zhu Li nods and Katara does the same, already not believing her luck.
"Especially you, new girl." Azula's eyes fall on Katara. "If I find out you're a leak, it'll be years before the cops shovel out your bones."
Katara gulps, her eyes widening.
"Will you just tell us already?" Zhu Li impatiently asks.
Azula rolls her eyes. "Fine. The whole shipment? That was my bait. And the Cabbage Corp., gobbled it up hook and meat."
Zhu Li gives her a look. "So you're saying, you purposefully left a shipment unattended for the Cabbage heads to take it?"
"Yes." Azula leans back in the chair and crosses her legs, fingers clasping in front, her elbows resting on the arm-rest.
"Why would you do that?!" Zhu Li sounds annoyed. "You know they've been swiping our stuff for months right?"
"Yes. And that's exactly why I was forced to come up with this."
Zhu Li raises her brow. "You have a catch." It's not really a question but a statement.
"Of course I do." Azula leans forward, waving her hand. "I'm not an idiot."
Zhu Li holds her silence for a second before speaking. "Cameras?"
"The size of a pea." Azula smirks. "It can even fit in a pen." She says before tapping one one of the many pens kept in a cup on her desk.
"And if they found it out?"
"Oh, I'm counting on it. It'll be really nice to see the look on their faces if they discover it, don't you think?" Azula types something quickly in her keyboard and then a second later she turns the whole monitor of her computer towards us. "This is going to be my soap opera from now on. Zhu Li, make sure to get some fire flakes, yes?"
Zhu Li's too busy looking at the screen. There are at least 12 camera footage that Katara notices is definitely live, trained on a bunch of people gathered around a huge warehouse, playing Pai Sho. Near them are huge containers with the Agni Incorp., emblem on them. Clearly, they're unaware of the little eyes that are watching their every move. What's even interesting is that the emblem of Cabbage Corp, is blatantly visible behind their Pai Sho table.
Katara almost face-palms at their stupidity. Thank god Sokka insisted her on joining Agni Incorp., huh?
"Are they really this dumb?" Zhu Li's face screws up in disgust. "Good work, Miss Azula." She stands up. "I'll make some calls to Long Feng, arranging a meet up."
"Make sure you stay quiet about this." Azula warns. "I wanna see that scum's face personally when he realises what's coming for him."
Zhu Li gives Azula a smile before clip-clopping her way out of the office.
Katara should've left with her. She should be helping Zhu Li set up the meeting. Yet, the wheels in her head are turning and she stays rooted to her chair, mind racing a hundred miles per second.
A snap in front of her face, jolts her awake from the spiral she just fell into. She looks up to find Azula's fingers in front of her face, looking at her with a slight tint of annoyance.
"I said, 'dismissed'. And I believe that's your cue to exit my office immediately." Azula is saying, but Katara's not interested.
Katara's brilliant blue eyes snap to Azula. "What will your meeting with Long Feng be about?"
Azula stares at her. "Do not take advantage of your position, new girl. These are matters that do not require your concern."
Katara's face hardens. "I've typed enough transcripts of your meetings in the past week to know more about your management than any other person on this whole floor." She states. But then she tilts her head slightly to the side. "Well, except Zhu Li, of course, but that's Zhu Li."
Azula leans forward in her chair and places her forearms on the desk, clasping her fingers.
Katara mentally cheers herself for speaking up and continues, hearing no response from Azula. "If I were a spy, I'd be halfway to Ba Sing Se by now, selling all your information. But I didn't. So, tell me. What are you going to discuss with the Cabbage Corp's first director?"
Azula scans her face for a long moment. So long that Katara almost ups and leaves from the sheer weight of her gaze. It's piercing and calculative, making Katara squirm in her seat, feeling oddly heated and flustered.
Azula speaks finally, much to Katara's relief. "I was thinking of giving him the scare of his life. But I haven't really gotten around to the details yet."
Katara's face lights up.
This is it. This is the perfect opportunity laying itself in front of her and Katara reaches out and grasps it so freaking tightly, you'd think she's crazy.
"They've been giving you hell for the past few months, right? What if I tell you, that we can take their obvious stupidity and use it to bleed them dry?"
Azula's brows lift up ever so slightly. She stares at Katara a second longer before yielding. "What are you suggesting?"
The smirk that takes up Katara's face could've summoned a fleet of dark spirits. "The perfect scam." She sneers, her mind already racing, making out the details.
...
The clip-clop of Azula's heels probably alerted them or something, Katara isn't sure, but the moment they enter an empty warehouse for the meeting with Long Feng, the little group huddled together right at the middle of the room turn to look at them.
"Ah!" A guy, almost in his 50's, with long hair plaited behind him and adorned in an extremely exquisite kimono, tilts his chin up, turning to Azula and Azula alone. "Miss Azula. We were expecting you for a while now."
"No, you were not." Azula's quick to reply.
The meeting was set up for 4 o clock Saturday afternoon and Katara was pretty sure they were walking in right on the nose of it, given the obsession Azula had for being perfectly on time. No, scratch that. Being perfect all the time, Katara thinks.
Zhu Li had told her that Azula had specifically asked for the 'new girl' for the meeting, and Katara couldn't help but feel euphoric. Every time she's even thinking of her boss, she gets all dizzy and alert at the same time, it's annoying really.
Now, walking behind, just shy of Azula's steps, she's sure they look like professional demons, here to destroy Cabbages, not with swords, but with pens and words.
A smile almost takes up Katara's face at the thought, but she schools her features. No, professionals are supposed to hold a neutral expression, practiced and poised. She glances slightly over to Azula, the perfect example and straightens her back on instinct.
When they near the small group of elite officials, Azula halts abruptly, in a calculated step that only she can master, and Katara almost stumbles behind her, before regaining her composture just as quickly.
A young guy suddenly appears in front of us, carrying a huge video-camera on his shoulder.
Azula rolls her eyes. "Seriously, Mr. Feng? The camera crew again?"
"If we're going to make a deal, I need all the precautions, Miss Azula." The guy with the long plaites looks smug. Katara realises him as the First director of the Cabbage Corp. "I'm surprised you didn't arrange for the same." He cocks his head and gives a smirk that's supposed to indicate his silent victory or something.
Even Katara knows it's a pathetic attempt. And a poorer execution. She can't even begin to think how Cabbage Corp., even achieved this level of power in the market.
"Oh, I like to keep things simple." Azula says before tapping the suit pocket on her chest, which holds a rather unique pen.
Katara's eyes widen when she realises what's inside that pen.
Hot diggity dog! Azula's amazing!
Long Feng's smirk falters as he catches on too. But then he manages to boost his composture back. "Shall we begin?"
...
"Your resources just took a massive hit, according to my sources." Long Feng crosses his legs. "You're at the brink of collapse, if you don't recompense yourself fast. Why would I want to deal with you?"
Azula doesn't answer. She stares at him without a single expression on her face. Katara squirms in her seat. They've sat down for like, what, ten minutes? And this guy already thinks he owns Azula. It's pathetic because Katara knows what's gonna hit him. And the second-hand embarrassment that she's feeling for him right now is unbearable.
Long Feng, seeing that Azula isn't going to answer him any time soon, continues. "Since I have a particular interest in watching other companies shine and provide me with a better competition, I'd like to offer you financial aid. To recover from your loss. What do you say?"
Azula smiles. "I think you're very generous. But I had something else in mind."
Long Feng narrows his eyes. "Oh?"
Azula looks all around the warehouse, non-chalantly, before letting out a short breath. "A merger."
Her words hang in the air. Katara's face can't help itself but break out into a slight smirk. The whole thing was her idea and she's never been prouder for coming up with anything than when she came up with this. But Azula's making it 10 times better.
Long Feng looks at Azula for a long moment. Then he bursts out laughing. He laughs so hard that he almost falls out of his chair.
"Y- You're serious?!" He asks inbetween peels of laughter, before guffawing out loud again.
Azula looks at him with a smile on her chiseled face. She holds her hand out, and Katara immediately gets her cue. The blue-eyed girl carefully fishes out the laptop from the bag she's holding and opens it.
Live footage of the hidden cameras placed in Azula's stolen shipments, starts to play and Katara instantly places the laptop on her boss's extended arm.
Azula doesn't even look at it, when she turns it around towards Long Feng.
And, oh boy. Katara's pretty sure she would watch how the colour and mirth drains from Long Feng's face, over and over again for the rest of her life after she gets hold of Azula's pen camera footage. It's just so damn satisfying when his laughter slowly turns to chuckles and finally stops abruptly as he makes sense of what's being shown to him.
"I believe we have an excellent deal in our hands. It's a shame about your generous offer though, Mr. Feng. I might not accept it, considering my busy schedule of managing two companies simultaneously from now on. I'll even be kind enough to let you work in the inner circle of the board after the merger, if you're willing."
Long Feng's eyes almost fall out of his head in shocked rage. He grits his teeth to the point where it makes a racket and echoes along the large warehouse.
"My secretary will meet you in a week's time, with the necessary documents regarding our merger. Be sure to bring your camera crew too! They're most welcome! Good day, Mr. Feng."
Azula stands up and turns on her heels, walking crisply away from the chaos she just caused. Katara follows right behind, not exactly sure why she's so fucking turned on at the moment.
...
[Three months later]
Katara's desk is filled with notes and diagrams and draft proposals of anything and everything Azula's been engaging with. It's late. Friday night, 10 PM to be precise. Katara leans back in her chair with a sigh of relief, looking up and all around, having completed her work just moments ago, observing and absorbing how strange it is to see the bull-pen so empty.
She's beat and would do anything to have a nice, long, warm shower and a comfortable snuggle only her bed gives.
She packs her things up from the mess of her desk, tidying up a bit so that she won't have to worry about it first thing on Monday.
Then she hears it
And because it is so quiet, she hears it clearly. The soft clicking of keys on a keyboard. Her sharp ears pick out the sound immediately and she decides to follow it, trying to figure out where it's coming from.
She wanders around the empty desks for a few seconds before halting abruptly in front of Azula's office. The sound seems to be coming from there.
She hasn't gone home yet?
Katara frowns. Maybe she got too caught up in her work to realise that Azula hasn't gone home yet.
Pumping herself with some much needed assurance, she slowly opens the door to Azula's office. She knows the girl hates knocking.
Katara peeps inside the room tentatively. Her eyes fall on her boss, typing feverishly on her computer, brows furrowed in concentration. And Katara, knowing that it's too late to be doing heavy work like what Azula seems to be doing right now, decides to go interrupt.
She steps inside the room quietly. Her boss doesn't seem to notice. But when Katara starts walking towards the desk, closing more distance, Azula's eyes snap up to hers suddenly, without turning away from her computer. Katara stops dead on her tracks, panic griping her heart, faster than a race horse. She stares at her boss, not really sure about what she's doing with herself, praying to all spirits silently that she isn't overstepping any boundaries.
Azula considers Katara for a moment, her fingers halting for a second, before she snaps her golden eyes away to the screen again to continue typing. The blue-eyed girl's heart begins to beat faster.
She's not encroaching any boundaries?!
Katara takes a tentative step forward. And when she meets no resistence, she walks freely, closer to Azula's desk. Her boss, seemingly, is absorbed in her work. And Katara doesn't like it. It's Friday night for spirits sake! And she's the boss! She doesn't have to work this hard!
Katara reaches the desk and walks around it to the side where Azula's seated. It's a large desk, and it gives Katara ample space to lean her butt against the edge of it and stand facing Azula with her arms crossed over her chest.
She watches her boss type so fast, she's sure they keys are just minutes away from flying off the keyboard. It's silent between them. Katara knows that her boss is blatantly ignoring her, so she just waits in order to get her attention.
A moment later, Azula finishes up in a flourish, ending her furious typing, and shuts her computer down, before she turns in her chair to face Katara.
"Why aren't you home yet?"
"Haven't you gone home?"
They both speak at the same time. Katara purses her lips, and looks down at her feet, trying to hide her fast forming blush.
"And not to mention," Azula gets up from her chair, unbuttoning her sleeves, "You've walked in here without permission. I could fire you right here."
Katara looks up in a hurry. "No, you won't."
"Oh, yeah?" Her boss begins to roll up her sleeves. Katara gulps, tracing her eyes over Azula's hands. "What makes you so sure?"
The intern averts her eyes away to her boss' face. "I'm too valuable."
Azula gives her half a shrug. "Meh. You're tolerable."
Katara smiles in reply, teasing and taunting. She takes a moment before asking. "You know, you're the boss right?"
Azula finishes rolling up her sleeves before meeting Katara's eyes in an answer. So Katara continues. "You can go home whenever you please. Why haven't you gone already?"
Azula stares at her silently, reaching her hand up to the back of her head and pulling the band that holds her hair together in a bun. The volume of her hair comes crashing down to her shoulders and her back, and Katara can't help but not take her eyes away from the girl.
Katara knew she was attracted to her boss, months ago. But this . . . this is too much. This is like watching the always poised and alert exterior of Azula that she's spent half an year to build, come crashing down; and Katara's the glad witness of the mind-blowing event, all in slow-motion that her brain seems to put her in.
Her boss steps forward a little, getting a better view of Katara leaning against her desk. Golden brown eyes hold the intern in a daunting stare, before Azula looks away. "I had to draft a proposal."
"This late? You could've asked any of us in the bull-pen to do it for you."
"I don't trust them enough to do this." Azula moves a bit forward. She reaches for the red tie around her lithe neck and gets it loose with a few rough tugs. Then her delicate fingers wrap around her collar button and she unfastens it in the blink of an eye.
Katara's brain freezes over, her eyes trained on the sharp collarbone peeking out from under her boss' collar. "Y- You don't?"
Azula shrugs. "Trust is for fools. Fear is the only reliable way."
Katara gulps as she snaps her gaze to Azula's striking ones trained on her intensely. "What about Z- Zhu Li?"
"Ah, Zhu Li . . ." Azula takes another step forward. "She doesn't fear me. And that's the only reason why I respect her enough to remember her name. The others could be eaten by spirits for all I care." She waves her hand dismissively.
"What about me? I don't fear you."
Azula steps closer, almost a foot away from Katara. "You sure about that?"
"Y- Yes."
Azula just smirks in reply.
Then something clicks in Katara's brain. "Wait- Is that why you keep calling me 'new girl'?! You don't even know my name!"
Her boss moves closer again, and this time, Katara can differentiate the various shades of brown sprinkled in those golden eyes from how close she's standing. "Your achievements shall make me remember you. Not your worthless name. So, tell me, new girl. What have you achieved in order for you to make an impression on me and urge me to remember your name?"
Katara presses herself against the desk behind her like her life depends on it. "I- I um . . . I gave you the idea for the merger deal with the Cabbage Corp!!"
Azula leans forward and places her palms on her desk, on either side of Katara, trapping her. Katara's heart rate increases tenfold. She almost whimpers at the intoxicating smell her boss seems to posess.
"And that's supposed to have impressed me?" Azula raises one chisled brow, silently mocking Katara with just her eyes.
Okay, now Katara's definitely sure that this isn't something that's supposed to be happening between a boss and her intern. But does she care? Oh, spirits no! She finds herself slipping into a daze, her mind filled only with Azula's scent and her goddamn eyes.
"I- I . . ."
"You're gonna have to do lot more than that." Katara feels fingers as soft as silk place themselves on her thigh. They find the gap between her suit-skirt and her burning skin and slides inside effortlessly like butter. Katara shudders at the touch.
"W- What are you doing?" The intern's voice is unstable, riddled heavily with something thick; something raw.
Azula stares at her, slowly moving her hand higher up inside Katara's skirt. "Waiting for you to tell me to stop."
Katara closes her eyes, overwhelmed with a rush of new feelings she knows she shouldn't be having for her boss. She feels hot breath hit her face just and inch away.
"Do you want me to stop?" Azula whispers against her lips, taunting her; teasing her in a way that drives Katara crazy.
And Katara makes a decision. "No." She breathes. "Don't stop."
A smirk takes up her boss' face immediately before she crashes her lips against Katara with such force that pushes Katara flush against the desk, the edge digging into her butt. She pushes back with equal fervour, clasping her fingers tightly around Azula's loose tie and pulling her forward with it.
But Azula's having none of it.
She pushes Katara's skirt up, massaging the intern's thigh with her hand as she spreads the girl's legs apart. She wastes no time, moving forward to come and stand in between her legs, giving Katara a delicious friction to rub herself against.
Their mouths dance against each other, fighting in the most intimate way possible to gain control. Azula's hand that is not presently engaged with Katara's thigh, comes up to untuck the intern's blue blouse from her skirt, dipping her hand inside to caress the soft skin there.
Katara jumps on cloud nine. Her hungry desire for her boss ever since she laid her eyes on the girl, hits her with full force as her hand find Azula's shirt to crumple under her fingers. She lets out a needy breath when Azula leaves her lips to dip her head down to place a hot, wet, open mouth on Katara's neck, sucking the supple skin there in a way that makes Katara pretty sure it's gonna leave a mark.
It's wrong. Katara knows it's absolutely wrong. But it feels so damn right and so damn good that she silences all the other nonsensical thoughts riddling her brain and pulls the dark, raw, unadulterated hunger she feels for her boss to the forefront, throwing away all reason. She doesn't know when exactly she became this shameless animal, wanting, no- needing to be satisfied by Azula, and only Azula, but she doesn't seem to care.
Especially not when Azula's caressing hand unbuttons her skirt and sneaks its merry way down to pure, wet, heat. Katara feels herself pounding in time with her heart, gushing wetness all over Azula's now bold and teasing fingers. She arches her back, aching for her boss' touch, and gasping out loud when Azula finally, finally puts pressure exactly fucking where she needs it.
Katara's hand flies out to grip the desk and accidentally hits the pen stand and it comes crashing down with a loud BANG!
Katara jolts awake.
She sits up straight in her chair, blinking rapidly, her eyes adjusting to the sudden hit of light. She looks all around, shocked to find that she's at her desk in the bull-pen. She must've fallen asleep on her desk or something.
Heat flushes into Katara's face as her brain catches up with what she was dreaming. She looks toward Azula's office, and most definitely, there's not a single soul there; lights out and door locked.
Her body's still buzzing, completely on edge, still not over the mind-numbingly vivid dream she just had.
God dang it!
Now she's never going to be able to look at her boss in the eyes again. She packs her stuff up and heads home in a hurry. She's taking the coldest freaking shower known to mankind when she reaches home, for sure.
...
"The proposal's been approved." Azula's sharp voice rings around the meeting hall. "I want the draft for the first design by this Thursday. Any delay on your part and I will not hesitate to terminate you from my office. Understood?"
There are terrified nods all around the hall.
"Good." Azula narrows her eyes. "Dismissed."
Zhu Li, beside Katara, gets up to go have a seat near Azula, to run over the details regarding the discussions in the meeting, just as everyone hurriedly scurries out of the hall. Katara follows her mindlessly. Even after 3 months, Katara still shadows Zhu Li around, learning as much as can from the secretary.
The intern thought that if she spent the whole of the weekend having slumber parties with her friends, it just might take her mind off of the dream she had last Friday.
But, nope.
She tried all the trick in her book, but nothing seems to be working. Sitting here in the meeting hall, along with Zhu Li and Azula alone, she can't help but let her eyes wander to her boss' tie, noticing the way it stands crisp and how it came so beautifully undone under Azula's sculpted fingers in her dream. She can't help but imagine what witnessing the real thing would be like. It also does not help when Azula picks up a pen and starts twirling it inbetween her fingers.
Katara sucks in a sharp breath and pulls her eyes away reluctantly to her notepad.
"Katara?"
She hears her name and looks up instantly to find Azula's sharp eyes looking directly at her.
"Zhu Li's gone already. I said dismissed two minutes ago."
Katara looks around the hall, confused, and feels her cheek heat up at the realisation. She and Azula are the only ones in the hall. But then she frowns. "Wait-" Her eyes snap back to her boss. "You know my name?!"
Three months under Azula's leadership, and not once has Katara heard Azula call her by her name. And the same three months of experience tells Katara that the look Azula's giving her is the one she wears when she's confused.
"What do you mean?" The golden eyed girl asks.
"I- I thought you always called me 'new girl' cuz you didn't know my name!"
Azula arches her brow. "I always call you 'new girl' because you are a new girl."
Katara frowns. "Then . . . I'm not a new girl anymore?"
Azula snorts. "You've not been new since your mom pushed you out of her."
The intern scowls at her boss. "Not funny. My mom died when I was 5."
Azula stares at her employee for a second longer before shrugging slightly. "Sorry."
Katara perks up. Sorry? The great Azula, shadow director of Agni Incorp., is capable of uttering that word?!
Seeing that Katara's confused, Azula explains without prompt. "Look, you've improved the status of the company since you arrived here, so much so that I could kiss you with how pleased I am. So, it's importat that I don't treat you as just another employee although they're important too, but as a colleague."
Katara gulps. "Y- You could kiss me?!"
Azula raises her eyebrows. "Figure of speech." She says but there's amusement in her eyes. "Were you really about to say 'no' to Azula Agni kissing you?"
Katara's eyes blow wide. "What?! No! That's not what I was-" She notices Azula's expression. "You're playing me, aren't you?"
The corner of Azula's lips curve up into a smirk, her eyes twinkling. "You should've seen your face."
"I know, I know." Katara rolls her eyes. "Very funny."
Their shared moment hangs in the air softly, bathing Katara with an unnatural elation. She finds Azula staring at her with the twinkle never leaving her eyes. Her stomach flips involuntarily. She sobers up, playing with a strand of her own hair in sudden nervousness.
"Zhu Li's planning on resigning." Azula states and Katara looks up with shock at the sudden news. "I tried to keep her in, but it really is no use. She needs to work on her career and she can't do that wiping my ass for the rest of her life."
"When?" - Is the only thing Katara can ask.
"In three months." Azula looks down at the table. "She says she'll train you for another month and then issue me her notice."
Katara frowns. "Me?"
Azula's gaze finds Katara's confused ones. "Yeah, you. You're gonna be Zhu Li's replacement."
The intern's heart pounds against her ribs. Being Azula's secretary means being close to her at all times, arriving at her beck and call and . . . Katara really isn't sure if she's cut out for the job with the kind of dreams that she's been having.
"You . . . don't want to be?" Azula frowns slightly.
Katara decides to be honest. At least about one thing. "I don't think I'm cut out for the job is all."
Azula's frown deepens. "I just told you how I could kiss you because of how good you're at this job. Just . . . think about it and make sure to let me know before Zhu Li hands in her notice."
Katara knows that her decision is already going to be a 'yes'. But she nods to Azula's suggestion anyways, as if to mull it over.
"Dismissed."
Katara walks out of the meeting hall, with a light heart.
***
i've been writing this fic for THREE days. that's how long this is 😭🖐🏻
i hope i satisfied your prompt, anon!! if anyone wants a part 2 for this... all u need to do is ask me 👀 it's that simple.
