**Please read**A/N: I was starting to not like the way the story was turning out. So I rewrote some of the parts and added other parts to the story. I made sure to not take away from what was already written. Only a few parts that I deemed unnecessary and awkward were taken out. Please enjoy the new rewrite!

Also, this story is connected with another story that I am writing entitled 'For Your Entertainment' with Grimmjow and Ichigo. The two stories do not need to be read together to understand what is going on, but reading them together might increase your reading enjoyment. XD Enjoy!

Upper Management; Chapter 1

Renji unloaded the box from the delivery truck and stacked it with the other boxes. He wiped the sweat from his brow and grinned. "There, that's the last one." Ichigo came over and handed Renji a drink he had bought from a vending machine. "Thanks," Renji opened the drink and quickly downed the cool contents.

Ichigo opened his own and took a drink, "Hey, did you hear about the manager?"

"Yeah, he was rigging the vouchers so he could sell the extra supplies for money right?" Renji asked. Ichigo nodded. "I didn't really like that guy anyway. I'm glad he's gone." Renji took another swig from his drink.

"Yeah, and now a higher up is coming in and picking a new manager. I heard they're going to hire from within if anyone is qualified." Ichigo added.

Renji's drink spewed from his mouth. Ichigo dodged the liquid as best as he could. "Really?" Renji asked excitedly. "They're going to check us out to see if we'd be good managers?"

Ichigo smiled and nodded, "I'm totally going to recommend you."

Renji grinned and patted Ichigo on the back. "Thanks man, I'll try and be the best manager. I won't work you too hard."

Ichigo grinned, "Don't get ahead of yourself. You might not get the position."

"Please," Renji waved off Ichigo, "I'm the hardest worker here. I'll definitely get the position."

Ichigo laughed, "Yeah…hey, do you think that's the person who will be evaluating us?" Renji followed where Ichigo was pointing and saw a man in a black suit and tie with shoulder length black hair walk into the warehouse.

"Yeah, that's gotta be him. How many guys wearing a suit enter a warehouse without a reason?" Renji grinned. Renji couldn't tell if the man in the suit was lost or just looking around the warehouse. The expression that the man wore on his face was emotionless and hard to read. Renji decided it would be best to approach him and see if he needed any help. Renji walked up to the man in the suit and smiled and held out his hand, "Hey, I'm Renji Abarai. You must be the upper management that's coming in to give us evaluations."

The man in the suit glanced down at Renji's hand as if he was determining whether it was clean or not. He must have decided that it was because he took Renji's hand and shook it. "Yes, I'm Byakuya Kuchiki. Would you be so kind as to show me to the manager's office?"

Renji grinned, "Sure, anything to help out. Follow me." Renji led Byakuya to the manager's office and opened the door. "The break room is just a room over if you want to make yourself coffee or anything. If you need help with anything else just let me know." Renji placed his hand on the door knob and was about to leave when Byakuya spoke.

"As a matter of fact, there is something you can do for me." Byakuya started, "You can stop kissing up to me and tell all the other workers that brown nosing is not going to work. Also, a warning: I came here to evaluate the warehouse and see what kind of damage was done by the previous manager. So anyone who is used to slacking off better start working hard because if they don't meet my standards then they are fired."

Renji's grip on the door knob tightened and he turned back towards Byakuya and frowned. "I'm sorry Mr. Kuchiki, I didn't realize that being polite was kissing up and for your information, all of the workers are already used to working hard. I can speak personally for everyone when I say that you won't find another group of employees that work as hard as we do. The manager may have been bad but that doesn't mean we are."

Byakuya gazed calmly at Renji, "You would bet your job on it?"

Renji glared at Byakuya seriously, "Yes. If you have to fire any of the employees for not working hard enough then I'll quit."

"What makes you think that you might not get fired for not working hard enough?" Byakuya asked.

Renji grinned, "Me? Not working hard enough? Please, I'm never going to get fired for that. If I get fired it'll be for punching a superior." Renji opened up the door to the office. "If you need anything, just ask." He left and shut the door behind him and headed back to the floor to work.

Byakuya watched Renji go. When he left the room Byakuya smirked to himself. "Heh, what an interesting character."

After Renji's talk with Byakuya he made sure to inform the workers to continue working hard and to not give Byakuya any reason to fire them. Renji hadn't mentioned the bet he had made with Byakuya. All of the workers on the floor respected Renji as their unofficial leader so they always listened to him. If they knew his job was on the line they would become worried and might not do as well. Renji had no doubt in his mind that Byakuya would see that this was a good group of workers.

Renji always made sure his fellow co-workers had what they needed and got the best working conditions possible. That's why he was glad to see the manager go because he was always reckless and endangering the employees. That was also why Renji really wanted to be promoted to manager so he could make sure that all the people he cared for were taken care of.

Renji heard some of his co-workers talking about Byakuya and how he was cold and mean. Hisagi saw Renji passing by and motioned him over. "Hey Renji, you actually talked to Mr. Kuchiki. What do you think of him?"

Renji sighed. "Hey listen guys, I know Mr. Kuchiki is cold and seemingly emotionless but we all need to work hard to make him feel welcome. So let's stop gossiping about him already and get back to work. We don't want anyone to get fired do we?"

Hisagi frowned, "You didn't answer my question…but alright, we'll get back to work." Hisagi and the other workers headed off to their stations.

Renji smiled and continued heading towards the office. It's not like he didn't like Byakuya he just didn't know him very well. He had no opinion of him. Renji knocked on the door to the office. He heard Byakuya give him permission to enter and opened up the door. He poked his head in and saw Byakuya sitting at the desk looking at some papers.

"What can I do for you Abarai?" Byakuya asked without looking up.

"Ah…um, actually, I came to see what I could do for you…" Renji felt a bit embarrassed but he didn't know why.

Byakuya looked up at him, "Oh really?"

Renji stepped further into the room and nodded, "Um, yeah, the old manager always had me go out and get him some coffee….How do you like your coffee?"

"I am not lazy like the old manager. If I need anything I am capable of getting it myself." Byakuya said.

Renji frowned, "Yeah, but you're also doing more work than he did and you won't have the time to get it for yourself."

Byakuya gazed at him for a moment then went back to the paperwork. "Thank you but I don't like coffee. You may put your free time to better use."

Renji sighed, "Alright, if you say so…You know Mr. Kuchiki you don't have to be so cold all the time."

Byakuya looked up from his paperwork, his face unreadable as always. "There is no reason for me to be friendly. My sole purpose is to come here, find a manager, then leave. That is all."

"Wow…that's really business-like of you…." Renji mumbled.

Byakuya sighed and set down his paperwork. "Yes, I believe that's what this is. A business. Now if you'll excuse me I have some work to do."

Renji had now formed an opinion of Byakuya: He was too cold and stuck up for his own good. "Then I'll be leaving you to get to work…" Renji said quietly. Renji sighed on the other side of the office door. Why was it that he always felt like an idiot when he talked to him? Renji pumped his fist. "That's it! I'll strive to be his friend! Maybe then he won't be so cold." The office door suddenly opened behind him. He screamed and jumped away surprised.

Byakuya frowned, "If you're going to be loud I suggest you do it somewhere else."

"Ah…sorry…" Renji bowed apologetically. "I'll get back to work now…"

Renji worked quickly to unload the trucks so that he would have time during deliveries to devise a plan to make friends with Byakuya. Ichigo brought over some drinks and sat next to Renji. He handed Renji his drink who accepted it thankfully. Ichigo looked over Renji's shoulder at what he was writing. Ichigo frowned, "Operation Meltdown? What's that?"

Renji blushed and covered up the paper, "Um, it's nothing! It's just something to help pass time…"

Ichigo looked skeptically at Renji, "Alright…" Ichigo took a drink from his juice can. "So, how is your plan to make friends with Kuchiki going?"

"You know about that?" Renji asked surprised.

Ichigo smirked, "Renji…you yelled it to the whole warehouse. Kuchiki most likely knows about it."

Renji blushed, "Really? Great…now he's going to think I'm weird…"

Ichigo patted Renji on the shoulder reassuringly. "Nah, I think you still have a lot more damage you can do before he thinks that."

Renji frowned, "Thanks Ichigo…"

"Hey, how bout you invite him to lunch with us?" Ichigo suggested.

Renji stood up excited, "That's a great idea Ichigo! I'm sure once he gets out of the work environment he'll be much friendlier."

Renji ran up to the manager's office and knocked on the door. He didn't wait for an answer and entered. "Yo, boss, Ichigo and I are heading out for our lunch break did you want to come?"

Byakuya sighed, "No thank you Abarai, I've got too much to do."

Renji leaned on the desk, "Aww, come on, you need a break. Join us. It'll be fun." He grinned. "I'm not going to take no for an answer." Renji saw Byakuya's expression go cold and a chill ran down his spine. "Um, I mean, you should go…if you want…"

Byakuya sighed and stood up, "Fine, I shall go with you."

Renji grinned, "Really? …I mean…cool."

Renji blushed embarrassed as they sat in a McDonald's restaurant. He whispered over to Ichigo, "I feel like we should have gone somewhere more elegant or something with him…"

Ichigo whispered back, "I know what you mean, but this is the most elegant lunch I can afford…"

Renji glanced over at Byakuya. Byakuya was still staring at his tray of food. He didn't know what to order so Renji had ordered something for him. "Is there something wrong with your food?"

Byakuya looked up at Renji, "No…its…" he stopped to take a bite of a French fry "…..edible."

Renji laughed at the slight expression on Byakuya's face, "Haha, your refined palate just isn't used to this type of food." Byakuya gazed coolly at Renji. Renji blushed, "Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed at you…"

Byakuya nodded. "Yes, you shouldn't have, but I accept your apology."

"So… how's your work coming along boss?" Renji asked before taking a bite out of his hamburger.

Byakuya took a sip of his soda at first then took a longer drink, obviously deciding that it wasn't that bad. "I still have a few more things I need to check out before I can move on to the interviews."

Renji smiled, "Well, I've no doubt that you will find everything to your liking."

Byakuya lips curled into a small smile, "Your confidence in your co-workers is unwavering."

Renji blushed at Byakuya's smiled, "Um…of course."

Ichigo grinned as he ate his French fries. It was entertaining to see how quickly Renji's expressions changed because of Byakuya.

"Your lunch break is almost over," Byakuya stood up and discarded his food, "we should be getting back."

Renji looked at his watched surprised, "Really? …it feels like we just got here…"

After work Renji headed to the grocery store. It was the beginning of the work week which meant for Renji that it was time to get more groceries. Renji was on his way to the check-out counter when he spotted Ichigo. Renji smiled and approached him. "Ichigo?"

Ichigo quickly turned and blushed. It almost looked to Renji like he was trying to hide what he was shopping for. "Ah, Renji! W-what are you doing here?"

Renji grinned, "Well, I was buying some groceries…what are you doing?" he glanced over to the shelves next to Ichigo that were stocked with lubricant.

Ichigo's face turned red. "Ah, nothing…just shopping for…yeast infection cream…no um…preparation H…um…no…I was um…"

Renji laughed. "Man, if you're buying lube just say so. There's nothing wrong with that."

Ichigo sighed, "I know…I just…I don't know which one to buy. Why does there have to be so many?"

Renji looked over the different lubricants on the shelf. The thought crossed his mind that it must look weird with two guys looking at lubricant together but he pushed the thought out. Ichigo probably wanted to get out of this section as soon as possible so Renji decided to help him. Renji picked one up off the shelf. "Well, how bout this one? It is for him and her."

Ichigo looked at the lubricant in Renji's hand. "Um…I don't think that would really apply to my case…"

Renji looked at him puzzled, "Huh? What do you mean?"

Ichigo blushed and shook his head, "Just…isn't there something simpler?"

"Ah," Renji smiled, "well then here." He handed him a lubricant. "Just regular old lube simple with nothing special."

Ichigo looked over the lubricant. "…will this really be okay?"

Renji nodded. He chuckled internally. 'Ichigo is such a virgin.' He thought. "Lube is lube. It's all the same."

"Well, if you say so. Thanks." Ichigo waved goodbye and went off to purchase his items.

Renji had caught a glimpse at the contents in Ichigo's basket. They were definitely some weird items to be buying together. Renji glanced at the shelves of lubricant. "Since I'm here." He grabbed one of the tubes and tossed it into his basket then headed off to the check-out counter.