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Unfulfilled

By RisingSun

PROLOGUE

It was a warm, sunny day, and, on the thirty-fifth floor of the high-rise, the steady roar of traffic was muted to hushed drone.  Gentle music wafted from the small stereo in the corner.  The wall-to-wall windows gleamed in the afternoon light, furnishing a spectacular scenic view.  The woman pulled a heavy pen out of the holder, and scribbled a memo while murmuring into the phone.  She concluded the conversation, shuffled some papers, sighed, and leaned back in her chair.

"Miss Tendo?"  A beefy redhead poked her head into the room.  "Your sister is here to see you." 

The brown haired woman smiled.  "Send her in." 

Nabiki Tendo sashayed into the room, stiletto heels clicking on the hardwood floor.  "Hey sis." 

"Sometimes I wonder," Kasumi replied, still smiling, "what would happen if I told Ms. Hiroshige to tell you that I was busy." 

Her sister snorted.  "You tried that once already, remember?"

"Oh, of course.  I remember now.  She had to take four vacation days to recuperate from that lecture you gave her." 

Nabiki snorted again.  "I still don't see why you didn't fire her.  What's the point of a secretary if she can't keep out unwelcome visitors?" 

"Nabiki, you're hardly a normal visitor." 

"Point taken.  Pocky?"  She pulled a bag out of her briefcase and tossed it over to Kasumi. 

"You're a savior.  Please, sit down."  Kasumi gestured toward a chair, and Nabiki sat, still smirking. 

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"   

"I just wanted to double check some things with you about the Ando account.  There's a few numbers that seem a little suspicious."  She pulled out some files. 

Nabiki sighed.  "I was really hoping that the rest of the day would be light.  C'mon, it's Friday for crying out loud," she said, in response to Kasumi's stern look.  "I have a dinner appointment and seven!"  Kasumi's expression didn't change, and Nabiki sighed.  "Fine, fine, let's get this over with." 

At five thirty, two hours later, both parties leaned back in their respective chairs, one smiling quietly, and the other loosening her shirt collar. 

"Whew, I'm pooped.  What was that, two hours?  I think we've broken our record."  Nabiki ran a hand through her short hair.  She chuckled.  "You should have heard Mr. Ando's voice when I told him we were onto his little marketing scheme.  At first I thought it was the static, but now I'm pretty sure it was him." 

Deftly, Kasumi shuffled a stack of papers and labeled them.  "You would think that by now people would stop trying to pull things over our eyes.  It's no secret that Tendo Enterprises is soon going to be the newest multi-billion dollar corporation.  We've crushed all competition ever since Tendo & Co. went international.  I don't see why everyone still thinks we're incompetent, just because we're girls." 

"Spare me the history lesson," Nabiki said, rising.  "They're probably trying to take advantage of the fact that Akane's on maternity leave.  By the way, you're coming to Nerima with me tomorrow, right?"

"Akane is still productive, Nabiki, even though she's working from home," said Kasumi, avoiding the question.  "If anything, she's working even harder than she did when she was here at the office." 

"I know, I know."  Nabiki cut her sister off hurriedly.  "Cripes, I gotta go.  You'll come?"

She fidgeted with her ponytail.  "I don't know… I have a lot of work…"

"Great, I'll pick you up at ten tomorrow morning."  She sauntered out of the room, apparently oblivious to her sister's weak protests. 

THREE MONTHS EARLIER

Normally, Person of the Year means Person of the Year.  But editor-in-chief of TIME MAGAZINE was willing to sacrifice grammar and redefine the definition of Person, if he was guaranteed that the issue would be successful. 

It was. 

It hit the stands early Monday morning, and was sold out by noon.

The glossy cover of three beautiful women in smart business suits was soon seen on every street corner and at every bus stop. 

The headlines blared: THE TENDO EMPIRE: THREE SMALLTOWN SISTERS WHO TOOK OVER THE WORLD.

To be continued….

So, what d'you think?  Decent?  It'll get better, I promise!  C&C please!

PS.  To those who read Nabiki's Laws, my other fic, I added an epilogue, in case you missed it.