Lapse in Judgment
Chapter One
-Invitation-
Keys clicked on a state-of-the-art laptop as the owner typed away, their forest green gaze trained on the screen. It was the only sound that could be heard in the office, the only sound he would allow most of the time. The room was spacious, with a large mahogany desk situated before what appeared to be a wall of windows into the outside world. Not that he ever took notice. Shelves lined the walls, filled with books and a few figurines and pictures. One painting hung on the wall, an ocean scene, and was only there because his friends had insisted his office needed more color. The thick door was always kept shut, keeping out the sounds of the hustle and bustle of the people that worked for him. He simply didn't care for the small talk they liked to indulge in whilst they worked. He had a job to do, something to prove, and he was going to do it.
Despite his young age of twenty-seven, he had a seriousness about him that belonged to someone much older. His spiky ebony hair was kept mostly short, so that it went along with the crisp tailored suits he wore almost every day. He was leanly built, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and handsome features. Many a time he had heard some of the women commenting about how attractive he was, but he didn't pay any mind to it. It was bad to sleep with your employees, and if his father ever found out he would throw a fit. Such was the price of being the vice president of a multibillion dollar company.
The phone rang next to him, and without looking away from his work, he picked it up. "Uchiha Akito." He said.
A deep chuckle could be heard from the other side. "You always sound so serious when you answer the phone."
His brow furrowed, and he actually stopped what he was doing, leaning back in his leather desk chair. "Toshiro?" he asked, glancing at the clock on his desk to make sure he had time for this call. "Why are you calling me at work?"
"Because I know you don't answer your cell." His friend replied.
"My cell phone is for outside the office." The Uchiha said, as if that were explanation enough.
"Exactly. I knew you'd answer if I called you at your desk, and what I have to talk to you about is important." He said, almost smugly.
Akito held in a sigh. "So what is it?"
"Something I think will make your life a little bit better. So what do you say? Drinks after work?"
His gaze slid back over to his laptop. "I don't know…I have a lot to get done today, I was thinking of working late."
"Oh, is that so?" Toshiro mused. "Well looks like you're not anymore, so I'll see you at six. Don't be late, or I'll come over there and make a scene and kick your ass in front of all your employees tomorrow." He said before the line went dead.
Akito glared at the phone before hanging it up. "Fucking moron didn't even tell me where he wanted to get drinks." He grumbled, though he figured it was their usual place. Calculating how much time he had until the end of the day, he realized that in order to get everything done he would have to work through lunch. Again. He sighed. Toshiro better have something interesting to tell him, or it would be the redhead's ass that got kicked.
At five forty-five sharp Akito walked in to the bar he and Toshiro used to frequent quite often. He looked over the crowd of people and spotted a shock of red hair on the other side of the bar, sitting at a booth. The man looked up then and waved when they made eye contact, prompting Akito to make his way over to him. He was a lean, tall man, though his arms showed muscle that would make any guy envious, and any woman swoon. He had on a white, un-tucked button-up shirt with black slacks. His red hair was spiked out slightly and his jade depths were shadowed with a hint of sleep deprivation.
He sat down across from his friend, not seeming too pleased to be there. "So what did you want to tell me?" he asked, wanting to get straight to the point.
"Calm down man, I haven't seen you in a few days. Just relax." Toshiro looked over to one of the cocktail waitresses and gestured for her to come over.
"What can I get you?" she smiled, looking to the both of them.
Toshiro smiled and leaned back. "Jack and coke please, and my friend here would like an apple martini." He snickered.
Akito glared. "Actually, I would like an order of nachos, a glass of water, and scotch on the rocks." He told her.
She nodded, writing everything down. "I'll have that right out." she told them, going off to put in their order.
When she was gone Akito shifted his glare to his friend. "Really? An apple martini? You know I don't drink that frilly crap."
"I just like to make you look gay sometimes." Toshiro chuckled.
He rolled his eyes. "Keep it up and people will think we're a couple."
"I think you're the only one that's bothered by that." Toshiro said, though he was still feeling devious.
Akito smirked. "So long as I'm the pitcher, I think I'll be fine." He said, a hint of humor finally peeking through his façade.
"Yeah right!" the redhead scoffed. "I am."
He scoffed. "Please. You may be older, but my personality is more dominant."
"I got you here didn't I?" he asked, arching a curious brow.
"That has nothing to do with who would be the pitcher and who would be the catcher." Akito argued. "You're just lucky I worked through lunch for this. And I only did it so you wouldn't come to my office and make a fool of yourself."
The waitress came back then, looking at the two and placing their order down before walking off. Toshiro stole a nacho and bit down, enjoying the flavor of the meat. "So, how's work going by the way? What's it been, a year since your dad plopped you down in that VP position?"
The Uchiha nodded, beginning to eat his dinner. "It's alright I suppose. Different than what they teach you in business school, but then again I practically grew up in the business world, so it wasn't difficult for me to assimilate into my father's company."
"That's good, cause' you've kinda been drifting off. You never want to go out anymore…Minako says you've stopped coming over and playing dominos, and you know how she loves her dominos." He sighed, looking off. "Not to mention you're looking a little worn."
"I look fine." Akito huffed. "I spend my time playing a game called life, okay? I have things to do, people to keep in line, money to make…I'm a busy person. We're not kids anymore Toshiro, we can't hang out every weekend and play dominos, which your psycho girlfriend always wins at anyways. We already know the outcome, so there's no point in playing." He ranted, finishing off his nachos.
"That's not the point." Toshiro argued. "Spending time with your friends is important. Which is why I've decided that you're going to take a vacation." He smirked, speaking up once more before Akito could protest. "Don't worry, it's not long, you just have to take one Friday off and the following Monday for recuperation."
His gaze narrowed slightly. "Where is it you want me to go, exactly?"
"Vegas."
"Nope, I have better things to do than go get wasted and blow hundreds of dollars." He shook his head, swallowing the rest of his scotch and moving to get up. But just as he was about to slide from the booth, a curvy, ebony haired woman sat down next to him. She had bright blue eyes, and a friendly smile.
"Hello Akito." She greeted, propping her arm on the table and making it clear that she wasn't going to let him leave.
"…Minako." Akito almost seethed, his gaze moving to his friend and turning into a glare. "You planned this, didn't you?"
"What?" Toshiro gasped, looking offended. "You really think I would have some sort of elaborate plan to trap you into agreeing to have some fun? Now does that sound like something I would do?" he asked, though he looked at Minako, a small smirk tugging at his lips.
She glanced at her boyfriend, returning his smirk, before moving and bumping into Akito. "Scoot over, you're hogging the bench." She said, making him do that, albeit reluctantly. "Now, Toshiro and I have already figured everything out. We're going to stay at Caesar's Palace, go to the Hard Rock Café for dinner the first night, and do most of our gambling at the Bellagio. It's going to be a lot of fun, and we don't even have to play dominos while we're there." She giggled, poking him in the side.
Akito tried to swat her hand away. "I don't care. I can't miss any work. Mondays and Fridays are the most important days of the week."
"It's just one Friday, and you don't even have to take the Monday off, I was only saying as a recuperation day, since we're getting back late Sunday evening." The elder man explained.
"I won't need to take that Monday off because I won't be going to Vegas. I'd just be a third wheel anyways." he said, not budging in his answer.
Minako sighed. "Akito, we already thought of that. Natsumi's going to come with us. She needs a break too, and this way neither of you will feel left out." she smiled.
He appeared interested, but veiled it so as not to get their hopes up. "Can't Satomi just go then?" he asked his friend.
"The point of the trip is to have fun." Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Why on earth would we bring Satomi when we're trying to have fun?"
Akito sat back against the bench, appearing to be thinking things over. "Are you wanting to leave Thursday night, or Friday morning?"
"Probably Thursday night. We'll fly out and arrive just around eleven p.m., check in and head to bed for a Friday filled of awesomeness." He replied, trying not to show his victory.
"And leave Sunday evening?"
Minako nodded. "That way we can have time to relax on Sunday and enjoy the scenery after two days of drinking, gambling, and bonding." She brightened, knowing they had already won the argument. Akito was just trying to draw it out so that it seemed like less of an easy win.
He sighed, rubbing his chin. "I suppose…I could move my meetings around to make sure that I don't miss anything the Friday that we're gone." He said eventually.
Toshiro smirked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a plane ticket. He slapped it down on the table in front of him before he and Minako scooted out. "Alright! See you in two days!" he declared, taking Minako's hand and dashing out of the bar.
Akito slowly reached out and picked up the ticket, reading the dates with a glare. "Sometimes…I fucking hate that idiot." He sighed, pulling out his wallet to pay the bill, before going off to prepare for his trip.
