Summary: Atty. Fujioka Haruhi has been assigned a possibly very high profile case. It wasn't easy especially if her client was the devilishly handsome and mischievous business magnate, Hikaru Hitaachin. Can she finish this case with her sanity and heart still intact or will her infuriatingly good-looking client be capable of breaking down her iron-clad self-control? AU.

A/N: I had to re-upload this story because some glitch decided to not show it as part of the recently published stories. Anyway, big thanks to my friend, A.P.P., who is a Dan/Phil shipper, VIP and lawyer in the making, for helping me with the terms and legal process included in this fanfic.

Love and Legalities

Chapter 1

"Fujioka Haruhi. Kind. Intelligent. Patient. Hardworking. Loyal. Has a spectacular transcript of records, graduated from the prestigious Lobelia Girl's Academy as their only scholar, and most importantly, not one losing streak in your exemplary career as a lawyer."

Haruhi exercised extreme self-control to stop her face from twitching as her boss, Ootori Kyouya, continued to enumerate her attributes and achievements. She had worked for him for three years now and from all her experience as one of the top performing lawyers in his firm, she knew that he did not compliment his employees without a catch. She was waiting for him to get to the point although her gut has been telling her it would be quite a task if he was sprouting off face value flattery to butter her up before the kill.

"Do you know why I summoned you here?" he asked after placing down the folder where her name was printed neatly across the front. He pushed up his glasses and continued staring at her, patiently waiting for her response.

She had the urge to roll her eyes at her employer for his choice of words. Summon? Really? She had wanted to retort but immediately held her tongue to avoid sounding rude. She took the most obvious route and took a deep breath before replying.

"You have a case for me," she deadpanned trying to sound as flat as possible. Only God knew what kind of twists he had in mind if she had even an ounce of hesitation and uncertainty in her voice. She didn't dislike her boss, not at all. If someone were to ask her opinion about him, she would say that she admired his work ethic. He was a great boss, mentor and lawyer. He can be frighteningly blunt and cunning but he was always fair. He wasn't blinded by her credentials when she first applied and worked her so hard she was strictly running on a tight schedule by the minute. Without his constant expectations and even reprimands, she doubted she would be as great as a lawyer as she is today.

The slight nod he gave her was expected. He gestured for her to sit down and she complied not trusting her black peep toe pumps to hold her balance for this meeting. Haruhi placed her hands on her lap and gently smoothed out the wrinkles on her white tapered pants. Her pristine look was finished off with a cream colored Oxford shirt and a pair of pearl earrings. She adjusted her position on the double stitched leather seat before giving him her full attention.

"I have a friend who is in dire need of a lawyer to help solve his problem. The more intimate details of which will be provided to your office by my secretary once you accept," he handed her a folder which she immediately began to scan.

"It's going to be a high profile case if word goes out to public and we want to avoid that as much as possible. I would have taken the case up myself but my tray is quite full and I believe with your capabilities, a trial would not be needed," he remarked not waiting for a response from her.

Kyouya gave her a few minutes to browse over the case and quietly observed his employee. Haruhi has been a great addition to his law firm. Despite working for him for only three years, she had already earned the title of junior partner which was a huge achievement in this line of work. No one dared to question her promotion because they could see just how great of a lawyer she was. She wasn't as cunning and manipulative as he hoped her to be but it didn't deter her from winning cases. She had that pull to her that when words poured out of her little mouth, people would have no trouble believing them. Her clients trusted her wholeheartedly and her enemies unwillingly respected and feared her.

Haruhi pondered over his choice of words. The client was his friend. She knew that he had business partners, persons of interests and family acquaintances who needed their legal services but it was the first time he referred to someone as a friend. This person had to be on very good terms with her boss to warrant that kind of title. The case was going to be quite a hushed event if he had intimidated that the public must not be aware of it. She was already feeling the pressure upon learning that he wanted this case to be settled between the parties and not let it reach the courtroom. Her eyes scanned the written information in her hands.

The plaintiffs were five employees of Hitachiin Fashion Co. while the defendant was the CEO and owner himself, Hikaru Hitachiin. There was an accident at one of the company's factories that happened two weeks ago which caused major and minor injuries to said employees. Haruhi's brows furrowed upon seeing the medical reports. She had enough experience to deal with fraudulent medical records and right now she was sure that what she had just read were all true. If that was the case, she had a very serious question burning at the tip of her tongue. Her gaze flicked towards her bespectacled superior.

Kyouya noted the steely gaze she had bestowed upon him. If it were another person, he would have scoffed and felt offended for the rude gesture but since it was Haruhi, he merely raised a brow to challenge her openly. If she had something to say, she must have the courage to do so herself without any prompt from him.

"What is your opinion on the case, Ootori-san?"

He wanted to smirk at the emphasis on formality. Trust her to ruffle his feathers with a single word. He had lightly teased her before by telling her to call him by his first name to which she consistently refused not wanting people to misjudge her character and work ethics. He dropped the whole ordeal at that time, highly amused by her reaction.

"Well, Fujioka-san, what do you think my opinion would be?" he retorted. He had a habit of answering questions with one of his own to encourage his lawyers to embody critical thinking. This time she had openly frowned at his answer but still decided to humor him and thought hard about it.

"You believe he's innocent," she concluded.

"Everyone is innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt," his eyes twinkled in amusement but his smirk was all she needed to see to know that her line of thinking was correct.

He knew that if he believed his client was anything but innocent he would not have picked up this case, friend or not. He must believe that there was a legal basis or evidence with which she could work on to turn the case into their favor. He would have just referred this case to other firms if it was the other way around.

She was relieved that she did not have to represent a selfish, rich bastard and trample on the laborers' sweat, blood and pride. When she started her career as a lawyer, she had trouble in representing clients who were guilty of civil offenses. She had to grit her teeth and swallow her pride, but in the end she couldn't take it and transferred to another law firm. Upon applying for a position at her current workplace, she had informed Kyouya of her shortcomings.

Kyouya was a bit intrigued by her personal belief but that was it. He wasn't easily impressed and gave her a lot of pro bono work for starters but when he learned that she had finished all her cases in record time, he began to take interest in her work and observe how she deals with her cases. He wasn't disappointed and here they were right now.

"Do you accept the case?" he finally asked, his face now completely serious and devoid of any emotion. They were back to business.

After gathering her thoughts, Haruhi gave him a firm nod. Her eyes had been set in fierce determination and excitement. She knew that this case was going to be another great stepping stone for her career and couldn't wait to get started.

"Great. You can meet your client after lunch. I'll have my secretary arrange a ride for you," he dismissed her quickly opting to pick up his phone and inform said secretary to secure her transportation.

Dammit. She knew her face betrayed her excitement but that did not mean she was prepared to meet her client just three hours after she agreed to take the case. Not really having a choice in the matter, Haruhi stood up and bowed respectfully before leaving the spacious office. The clicking of her heels could be heard outside Kyouya's door as he put down the receiver. He smirked, somewhat proud that he was able to pass off the case to one of his promising lawyers. He could've easily handled it by himself since he was not incapable of managing his cases but he realized this could be a great opportunity for the brunette to toughen up when faced with people of interesting personalities. Not that he was doubting her abilities, no. He just knew that they were two of the most and if not the most stubborn people he had met in his entire life. He had a feeling that their personalities would clash and wanted to let Haruhi experience dealing with a hardheaded client who despite being labelled as arrogant and selfish was actually quite innocent. All her previous clients were victims of various abuses and it was easy for her to offer her legal advice since she was very sympathetic and had a high regard for justice.

An obnoxious tone from his phone disrupted his thoughts. He frowned at the offending sound and answered the call.

"I could sue you for invasion of privacy," Kyouya said in a clipped tone. The person on the other line merely laughed at his threat.

"Is this any way to treat your clients, Kyouya-senpai?" Hikaru Hitachiin joked, still reeling from the amusing prank he placed on his senior. His fingers continued to play with his honey blonde hair as he waited for the stop light to turn green. His gaze shifted to the right upon noticing that people on the sidewalk were gawking at his brand new light blue Koenigsegg Regera. He smirked feeling quite proud of his outlandish purchase. He bought this metal masterpiece right after seeing it at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show and had the urge to drive it around the busy streets of Tokyo. He could care less if people called him an arrogant spendthrift. It was his own money he spent and he wasn't breaking any rules anyway, maybe a few car-loving hearts but like he said before, he really doesn't give a damn.

"If that client somehow bypassed regular security and protection placed on mobile cellular devices then, yes."

"Oh please. At least I didn't spread your number to different dating sites."

"Hikaru."

The unmistakable warning in Kyouya's tone was enough to throw him into a fit of laughter but he managed to stop himself. It didn't do well for him to antagonize his longtime friend and lawyer especially if he needed his legal services at the moment.

"I'm kidding. I called to move up my schedule to meet you to discuss the case. Apparently, Kaoru will be hosting a charity dinner tonight which completely slipped my mind so I'm on my way to your office right now to settle matters earlier," he grinned enjoying the mental image of Kyouya being annoyed by his unexpected change of plans.

"Very well. You know where to find me," was his only reply before cutting off the line leaving a confused Hikaru to his thoughts.

"Whaaat... So mean," he pouted before pressing buttons on the screen of his car. Rock music blasted from the stereo enveloping the inside of the vehicle while the young billionaire merely tapped his hands on the steering wheel in time to the beat of the song. He looked at his sleek silver Cartier watch and smiled. If he hurried, he would be able to reach his destination by lunch time. He really didn't want to get stuck in Kyouya's boring office so he immediately called up one of the restaurants near the law firm to reserve them a table. It was bad enough he had to deal with this personally. He didn't need to kill himself with boredom while doing so. Feeling quite proud of his productivity, Hikaru stepped on the gas and grinned at the smooth purring of his car. So far, everything was going all according to his wishes.

Or so he thought.

A/N: Reviews are definitely welcome!

Couldn't decide which hair color of Hikaru I should follow, the anime one (the weird orange like hair) or the manga one (auburn) so I just searched for a hair color that would fit the middle ground (or so I believe).