The Second Unexpected Meeting

"I am late! I am so late!"

Rock Lee frantically tied up the shoelaces on his brown leather shoes while munching down on a piece of toast. His tie was askew as he grabbed his briefcase and rushed from his apartment like a mini-tornado. He barely paused to lock the door behind him.

People on the street jumped as a green blur zoomed past. Lee dodged pedestrians, bicycles and cars on his mission – this was one mission he couldn't afford to fail, not when his boss needed him at work on time. He could see the railings on the other side of the road and rushed across the busy street.

Honk! Honk!

HONK!

"Sorry! Sorry!" The man waved at the cars and rushed to the railings. He darted down the steps and paused at the ticket suspensors. His hands shook as he deposited ¥1000 into the machine and it spat out a ticket, which he tucked in his pocket before racing to the platform. The train was pulling in just as he arrived and he nearly cried in relief. He joined the pack of other business people making their way onto the train and nosed around for a seat as it began to move. There didn't seem to be one. Wait…

A man who looked around his own age was taking up two seats. The man was odd-looking with long hair and pale eyes. Then again, Lee himself was very odd-looking with a vibrant green suit, a bright orange tie and a cringe-worthy bowl cut so he couldn't judge.

Lee approached the man and pointed to the seat beside him. "May I please sit there?"

The man turned a cold gaze onto Lee. "No."

"There is a space…"

"I said no. Go piss off and annoy someone else you retard."

Lee bristled. "I am not a retard."

The man raised a chiselled eyebrow. "Could've fooled me with that suit. I'll say it again: piss off."

Unable to take the insult, Lee simply turned around and crossed to another carriage. The man was all he could think about for the whole way to work.

o.O.o

Might Gai, head of Eight Gates, smiled as his favourite secretary walked into the shared office space. "Lee! You're on time!"

Lee straightened his blazer, brushed his hair from his eyes and smiled. "I am."

"I just sent Tenten on a coffee run. She should be back in a few minutes." Gai strolled up to Lee's desk and leant against it. "Are you still willing to do interviews today? Tenten said she'd be happy to do it if you didn't want to."

"I would be pleased to interview all possible future co-workers. This way I can choose someone who I think will balance out the dynamics between Tenten and I."

Eight Gates was a business that Might Gai and his friend Kakashi Hatake had begun twenty years ago. It began as a small shop in downtown Kohona where they imported, exported and generally traded sports goods. As the years passed the business grew and became more involved with charities and donations, earning it a government grant to have two shops operating at once. Kakashi had gone to Tokyo and now occupied a six-storey office block where he continued buying and selling sports goods. Gai stayed in Kohona but he bought a bigger office and employed more people. The business was so big that he required two secretaries to keep all the paperwork in check and now he was needing a third.

"You work too hard Lee." Gai clapped him on the shoulder. "Nice suit though. The colour really becomes you."

Lee looked down. "I arrived home from the gym late this morning. It was all I had time to put on."

"If I'm not mistaken, that's a suit of our design, made of the same material of the average workout pants. I can't believe you still have it."

"It is comfortable and when I sweat it goes unnoticed."

The automatic doors slid open and Tenten entered the office that the three of them shared. She held three coffees. "Hello again Gai. Good morning Lee. Espresso?"

"Of course." Lee set his briefcase down and bowed before accepting the paper cup. Gai also accepted one and Tenten moved to her desk while sipping her latte.

"You wouldn't believe how rude people were at the coffee shop!" Tenten exclaimed. "There was this one lady who pushed in front of me and had the audacity to ask if I could hold her spot while she went to the bathroom. Then this guy nearly ran me over because he was driving while on his phone."

"Tell me about it." Lee rolled his eyes and inhaled the coffee scent. "I had a man insult my mentality and fashion sense on the train here. He called me a retard and told me to piss off because I asked to sit next to him."

"People are rude," Gai surmised. There was a silence as they all sipped their coffee.

"How many people are you interviewing today?" Tenten asked.

"I have no idea." Lee looked between his boss and his fellow secretary. "I hope it will not take too long, though. We have work to do."

"Then we should stop standing around!" Gai crossed to Tenten's desk. "What's on my calendar today?"

"Well you have a meeting with the Reed Moon Charity at eleven…"

o.O.o

Lee opened his computer and switched it on. The interviewing room was actually an office that was disused because one couldn't get cell reception in there. Since he and the interviewee weren't going to be using phones during the interview, he figured it was as good a room as any.

There was a phone on the wall though. It rung and Lee picked it up. "Hello?"

Tenten's voice was on the other side. "The first person just arrived. I sent him down to you."

"Thank you Tenten. What is his name?"

"Neji Hyuga."

Lee rifled through a pile of files until he found the right one. "Thank you. Call me when another one arrives." He put the phone down and flipped through the folder. This Neji had some impressive recommendations, especially from the time he spent working at Hyuga Corporations and Uchiha Industries. They were two of the biggest management firms in all of Japan. Such an impressive résumé.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened and Lee opened his mouth to welcome the person who entered. He closed it, for the person entering the room was none other than the man who'd told him to piss off on the train.

He wasn't the only one speechless. Neji stood there like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar (which, in all honesty, he had). He gingerly moved forward and sat down opposite Lee.

"Um… hi." He seemed thoroughly uncomfortable by this turn of events and Lee found satisfaction from that. It was called Karma.

Lee just ignored him and opened an email to Tenten.

The man who told me to piss off on the train this morning just arrived for his job interview… with me.

o.O.o

Owari