Full summary: Sakura's been waiting 26 long years for prince charming to come to her doorstep and she starts believing, hoping that her boss is the one. But what happens when fate tells her no and that the one she's been waiting for all this time is actually the sarcastic, arrogant and not-so-prince-charming jerk sitting beside her at work?

PRINCE CHARMING

Chapter 1

At her desk, Sakura Kinomoto turned her chair around so she could watch her boss of almost three years now, Soshi Matsumoto, step out of the elevator. She felt her heart sigh at the sight of him. She had admired him for a long time, because he was just so...perfect. From the way he carried himself to the way he dressed, even to the way he spoke. He was beautiful.

She had experienced two relationships in all her life. Both were somewhat doomed to failure and nevertheless ended amiably. She hadn't experienced love either time. In truth, both relationships had been pathetic from the get-go. And here she was now, at the age of twenty-six years old, and had no clue what it was like to be in love. As much as she admired Soshi, she knew this was infatuation. Her heart yearned to experience the real thing. But why the hell was it taking so long to get to her?

Now waving at Soshi as he passed her with a friendly smile, Sakura hoped she was getting closer to feeling it. When Soshi was out of sight, she let out a happy sound.

"Wipe that drool on your face now," a dry voice from the cubicle beside hers suggested.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. This guy really made it a mission to get under her skin at least once a day.

Syaoran Li flashed a grin. "You should just ask him out if you're this desperate."

"Syaoran…!" She turned around completely on her chair, throwing him a furious glare. "Can you just mind your own business for one day and let me do what I want to do without giving me a hard time about it? Is that so hard to do?"

"Yeah, it is." He leaned back against his chair, swinging it from side to side. "You're too funny when you're pissed off, Sakura."

Syaoran Li was her junior in this company, having been hired a year after she was employed. So as the senior, she was supposed to have authority. Instead, he took the reins as soon as he'd stepped foot into the company, despite her best efforts to keep him from doing so. It wasn't a surprise that she immediately disliked his personality the first time they were introduced to each other. He had been and still was full of confidence and cockiness.

She shoved her palm in front of his face. "Do not let me see your face the rest of today or I swear I will punch your jaw out." Sakura pushed her chair in the desk and hid her face behind the cubicle divider.

When her phone rang, Sakura picked it up quickly, hoping for Syaoran's sake it was Soshi, and it was. "Good morning, Soshi." Feeling her mood brighten immediately, she inched forward on her desk and held the phone closer to her ear.

Syaoran glanced down at the papers in front of him, but left an open ear. Teasing Sakura was so much more fun than doing work. There was something invigorating about breaking that starry-eyed look in her face. She was so damned naïve and romantic about everything that it was almost comical to watch. She was definitely one of a kind. Hearing her phone conversation from his own cubicle, Syaoran laughed obnoxiously.

Suddenly, he felt himself inch away from his desk. His chair rolled along the marble floor. He looked up and saw Sakura's foot sticking out. Amused that he'd gotten right under skin just enough, Syaoran got up from his seat. "And who would have thought that you have incredibly powerful man legs?"

At that, she turned, her fist ready to land on his face. He dodged it gracefully, capturing her fist in his larger hand. Realizing people were beginning to stare, Syaoran grinned as he released it then put his hands up in surrender. When she continued to shoot icy daggers with her eyes, he sat back down and pushed his chair in.

"Go die, Syaoran." She said after she put the phone down.

At that, Syaoran's grin faded. Sakura didn't notice. Instead, in frustration, Sakura buried herself in her work. Let's face it, she thought. The guy had no substance. He may look decent, but his personality was badly lacking. And that was just too damn bad.

...

When the day ended, Sakura turned off her computer and tidied up her desk. As she stood and pushed her chair in, her gaze fleetingly travelled to the prick sitting beside her. Syaoran was still buried in his work. Come to think of it, he was always still working when her shift ended. Sakura wondered why that was so, but left it alone. She reminded herself that he wasn't worth any moment of her time. Without saying goodbye, she turned to walk away when he spoke up.

"Hey, wait. I think Matsumoto's leaving his office. Here's your chance, Sakura!"

She quickly turned towards Soshi's office. There was no sight of him anywhere. Sakura's head shifted from side to side. Still nothing.

Oh that jerk! A frustrated sound came out of her throat as she spun around and met his gaze. He was sitting on his chair in a very relaxed position and seemingly having the time of his life. Oh, she wanted to punch him. When he started laughing, Sakura didn't hesitate and marched towards him, full of embarrassment and anger.

"If I could just put a curse on you, I really would!" Then she grabbed a chunk of his hair and pulled. Extremely hard.

"Holy mother of-" He grabbed at her hand, prying off her fingers from his hair. "Geez! You're not a woman, are you?" He fixed his hair as soon as Sakura let go. "I never knew you were this violent. What other bizarre traits are you hiding about yourself?"

Knowing it was a lost cause, she turned her back on him and went to the elevator. For the life of her, she couldn't understand why Syaoran had to irritate her to no end like this. It was frustrating to work with someone who knew her weaknesses so well and get made fun of for it. She guessed, as there were adorable, perfect guys like Soshi, there had to be their counterparts as well. A blood vessel on her forehead threatened to pop.

The elevator doors opened. To her surprise, Soshi stood inside, standing there looking...perfect. Even his posture was perfectly straight. His tailored suit had no wrinkles whatsoever. Caught off guard at how flawless he looked, Sakura felt her face flush as she stepped in. "Hi Soshi," she greeted with a bright smile. Syaoran really needed to take some lessons from this guy.

"Sakura. How are you? You worked hard today," he commented, flashing his white teeth.

Soshi Matsumoto was a fairly tall man. The ideal height of male models. He even had the slim body for that line of work. Sakura often wondered if Soshi ever made a career out of it at one point in his life. Despite his impressive physique, she still couldn't get over the fact that he stood eye-to-eye with Syaoran. Syaoran, the wild-haired, sarcastic brute she sat beside, was actually just as friggin' tall. Fortunately, unlike the latter, Soshi looked sophisticated and stunning. Syaoran was just... rugged and messy-looking. She bit back a disgusted look while picturing Syaoran in her head.

Looking at Soshi now, Sakura used the opportunity to memorize his face. His blonde hair was wild and wavy, framing his narrow and thin face. He wore rectangular white-rimmed glasses that accentuated his features. His lips were thin and his nose was angled much like royalty. Soshi, she guessed, probably had mixed heritage. He didn't look Japanese at all.

When he smiled, it was as though the rest of the world vanished. She could drown in his smile all day long. "Um, yes, it was a productive day," she responded.

"That's great. You're getting along well with your co-workers?" He asked, keeping his tone polite.

At that, Syaoran's face instinctively popped up in her head once more. This time, she mentally punched the guy's face repeatedly. "Mm-hmm. They're fabulous."

"That's lovely." Soshi's voice was so melodious and soft. He was just so prince-like, like out of a fairytale. It has to be him, she thought. This has to be the one I've been waiting for all my life.

"Soshi, I…" Sakura wanted to tell him, but the fear of rejection suddenly came over her, as it always did every time she was about to confess. "I…"

The elevator doors opened. Soshi just smiled again. "Have a good night," he waved goodbye after he stepped out of the elevator.

Sakura let her head drop against the elevator door when it closed. Feeling miserable, she asked herself why. Why couldn't she just tell him? So what if he didn't reciprocate her feelings? At least she wouldn't have to suffer like this. Syaoran was right, she thought gloomily. Why did he have to be right all the time? She was desperate. She wanted Soshi. Badly. It was almost pitiful.