One Fateful Night
AN: For those who have read my other work, I apologize for saying it would probably be my last smutfic. Apparently all my works will be in that genre since I only get the urge to write when the topic involves a lot of … well … smut … whatever.
Warning: This is the first chapter so … well, there's no smex scene yet. It took me too long to build up the characters unfortunately. Will try to put it in next chapter, maybe. Sorry.
Disclaimer: Still don't own it. I do have two naughty kittens named Shizuru and Natsuki, so there!
Chapter One: Unexpected Invitation
Fujino Shizuru leaned back against her seat, allowing herself to take a good look at her surroundings. The music was much too loud for her liking, she herself having a preference for classical and jazz music. The constant change of lighting a few feet away was about to give her a headache.
Looking at her companions, she wondered why she had actually agreed to come along. Not that she had anything against socializing with her employees, she even encouraged it. However, she had ended up feeling disappointed after such events.
Most of the invitations had only been given for a chance at self-promotion. She could not count the number of times she had to listen and smile politely while turning down whatever her host or hostess wanted from her.
Other times she was invited out of politeness. At such times, she felt her presence was more an inconvenience for those involved as they couldn't seem to act naturally in her presence.
So she found herself liking this particular group.
A few hours ago …
She was about to meet her fiancé for dinner and was just waiting for the elevator at the top floor of their office building when she heard laughter followed by the appearance of Yuuki Nao along with Harada Chie and Senou Aoi.
Yuuki-san was the brilliant and ambitious Senior Vice President of the Sales Division. Although she was relatively new to the Fujino Corporation, she quickly rose up the ranks with a speed that left a lot of the older executives disgruntled.
They could not voice their complaints, however, since the 'young upstart' produced unimaginable results which boosted the company figures in the short time she had been there.
Shizuru had to smile as she suspected that the manner in which the young woman conducted business was, shall we say, rather unorthodox, perhaps bordering on the illegal. As long as she was discreet and the lawyers needn't be called upon, she supposed she could overlook such … activities.
Harada-san, a Vice President under the Marketing Division, with Senou-san as her secretary, also rose up the corporate ladder with her uncanny ways of gathering and using information. The pair happened to work well with Yuuki-san and together, the three of them were an unstoppable force.
In truth, Shizuru also had suspicions that the intelligence being gathered did not solely center on marketing strategies nor rival companies, but also included those within the organizational chart, namely among the upper echelons.
As the Chief Executive Officer, she knew she should discourage such acts. However, despite being the Chairman of the Board's daughter, she also had to work her way up. Working alongside them had thought her many things, lessons she did not learn in her business course despite the honors she received.
Besides, the ruckus they created had all the other young officers of the corporation vying for a promotion, and the result was a collective pool of ingenious executives striving to outdo each other. It was brainstorming at its best and, as a result, business had never been better.
So, as the three rounded the corner towards the elevators they came upon Shizuru who greeted them warmly.
"Ara, you three are working late. What mischief are you planning to inflict on the unsuspecting populace?"
"Captain, we actually do some work here, you know." Harada-san remarked smiling.
"Once in a while, at least." Yuuki-san laughed.
"Good evening, Fujino-san." Senou-san said softly.
"Senou-san, I believe I have asked you, and Yuuki-san as well, to call me Shizuru. I have already given up on Harada-san," she smiled.
"Yes, you have, all the while calling us by our last names, Shizuru-san." Nao pointed out still laughing.
"Ara, so I have. My apologies, Nao-san, Aoi-san, and Chie-san." she nodded to each in turn.
"No need to apologize, Captain. We all started at the bottom so we can't help but respect you for taking a chance with us." Chie said with a flamboyant bow.
"I merely perceived your talents and took advantage of them, Chie-san. It was all for my own benefit."
"Well, your benefit sure did wonders for our careers, Fuji … I mean Shizuru-san. It's still kind of hard to call you that, really." Nao commented.
Shizuru smiled, appreciating their efforts. She had felt a kinship with these three young women. They were close to her age, and thus, they all practically joined the corporation at the same time. As the elevator doors opened she preceded them in entering.
"Are you on your way home, Shizuru-san?" Aoi-san asked.
"Actually I'm about to meet Reito-san for dinner."
"Oh," was her non-committal response.
Shizuru looked at her companions and noted the varying degrees of pity she found on their faces. She kept her smile on. Only people genuinely concerned for her gave such reactions.
"Ara, is there something wrong with Reito-san?"
"N-no, not at all," stammered a flustered Aoi-san.
"It's just that … well, Captain, it is an arranged marriage and all …" Chie-san tried to cover for her friend.
"I think it's a terrible idea! How can you just marry some bastard your parents picked out for you?" Nao-san exclaimed angrily.
"Reito-san comes from a most respectable family. Our parents have been doing business together for years now." She was touched by their reactions and felt the need to defend her fiancé, and thus, herself.
"I know what kind of family he comes from, but would you marry him if your folks hadn't picked him out?" Nao challenged.
"Perhaps. He is rather handsome, charming, and quite the gentleman," she replied.
It was true at any rate, Reito-san was a perfect gentleman. Any woman would want to marry him. Any woman, perhaps, except for Fujino Shizuru. To her it was a mere business arrangement, and she supposed the same was true for him. It was something they had come to expect, given their family backgrounds. Even if love was not in the equation, they still respected one another, and that was enough. She was puzzled, however, as to how Nao-san knew about him, or what else she might know.
A loud "Hmmmph!" was heard coming from the red-head's direction.
The elevator doors opened and they stepped out into the parking lot. She noticed the familiar silver Jaguar waiting for her and paused while Reito-san stepped out to head in their direction.
"So, will you three be heading home now?" she asked, changing the topic.
"Oh no, Shizuru-san, we were going to have dinner then go to a club," Aoi-san replied since Nao-san and Chie-san were giving the newcomer an unfriendly look.
"Ara, that sounds like fun," she said amused.
"Well, you're welcome to join us," Chie-san turned to her with a grin.
"I'm afraid I already have dinner plans."
"What about after dinner? You could join us for a few drinks," Chie-san continued.
"Yeah, I think it's about time you had some fun for a change." There was a smirk on the red-head's face.
"My apologies, I hadn't realized I had been boring you, Shizuru-san," Reito had finally reached them and smiling, took her hand and gave it a kiss.
"Not at all, Reito-san," she returned the smile, "these young women were just inviting me to go to a club."
Reito-san turned to the other women. "Good evening, Nao-san, ladies."
"Good evening," from Chie-san and Aoi-san.
"Yo, Reito-san," from Nao-san
Curious that the two knew each other, Shizuru nevertheless kept her facial expressions neutral as she introduced Chie-san and Aoi-san. He gave each of them a kiss on their hands.
"Ah, so you want to go to a club then?" Reito-san seemed to consider for a moment. His next words caught Shizuru by surprise.
"I think it sounds like a wonderful idea."
"Well, you're not invited!" Nao-san snapped.
"What she means," Chie-san explained, "is that it's an all-girls night out." She poked Nao-san with her elbow.
"Yeah, that's what I meant," Nao-san glared at her companion and stepped on Chie-san's foot.
Shizuru watched her employees with amusement. "I believe we have dinner reservations, am I correct?" she turned to her fiancé.
"Dinner would not take all night. I would not want to keep you from having fun," he explained.
"Ara, you're not trying to get rid of me are you?" she teased.
"Not in the least, I would be quite lonely without you," he took her hand and placed it on his chest dramatically.
"Then it's settled. We'll pick Shizuru up at her place around 9:00?" asked Nao-san, looking like she wanted to throw up.
"Ara, that late?" she was surprised.
"That's when the fun starts," Reito-san explained.
She raised an eyebrow at him.
"At least, according to my sister, anyway," he added smoothly, glancing at Nao-san.
"I think I'd like to meet this sister of yours," she laughed.
"I'm sure she'd love to meet you, too," Nao-san snickered.
"I suppose you should meet her. She's just a little … elusive," he explained, a little reluctantly.
"Elusive, that's one way of putting it," there was open laughter from Nao-san this time. Reito-san merely gave a rueful smile.
"As long as I get to meet her before the wedding, I hope?" she was beginning to wonder about this mysterious sister, and what Nao-san's connection to her was. She was the only member of the family she had yet to meet.
"Of course. I'll see if I can arrange it."
"Anyway, we should get going if we're to meet up later," Chie-san remarked.
"Alright, I'll see you later then, I suppose," she replied as Reito-san started to lead her back to his car.
"Yeah, see you later," Nao-san was now beaming at them.
After she got into Reito-san's car, she glanced back to see them waving at her. She raised her own hand back before they turned to their own cars.
"Are we all set?" her fiancé asked politely, after sliding into the driver's seat.
"Yes, let's be off." She replied.
Meanwhile, back in the parking lot…
"Oi, Nao, are you sure this is a good idea?" Chie asked the red-head as they started to walk back to their cars.
"What are you talking about? You're the one who invited her!" Nao glared at her.
"But the club we're going to …" Aoi began.
"So, what about it? I'm sure the boss will like it," Nao insisted.
"But it's …" from Aoi.
"Aarrghh, it's too late now anyway. Unless you want to change venues?" Chie questioned the other two.
"Hell, no! Besides, this might turn out to be interesting," Nao appeared to be considering something.
"Stop! Whatever it is you're hatching in that crazy head of yours, just forget it! I don't want to get fired yet, thank you very much," Chie frowned at Nao.
"Nao, please?" Even Aoi looked at Nao worriedly.
"Geez, you two sound like I'm gonna pimp her off or something. She's a big girl and as far as I know, doesn't need a baby-sitter anymore."
"Yes but she has led a sheltered life. You remember what she was like when we first started to work here." Chie reminded her.
Nao rolled her eyes. "How could I forget?"
"A magna cum laude still doesn't guarantee success in the real world, I guess," Aoi observed.
"No, but it sure helps a lot when you have it on your resume. Of course, so does being the Chairman's daughter. But the Captain was willing to learn and she worked hard. Her promotions might have come faster than usual but she did excel in everything she did," Chie said defensively.
Nao nodded. "She probably knows the company from the bottom up. And her being a woman also paved the way for us. I heard that there weren't many females holding the top positions before she came along."
"That's right," Chie agreed. "So, are we still going to do this?"
There was a moment of silence.
"Hell yeah!" Nao smirked.
Aoi merely sighed. She knew it was hard to make the red-head change her mind once she decided on something. Even Chie wasn't against the idea.
So after picking out a restaurant, they decided to continue the conversation during dinner. They made plans on how they would pick up Shizuru-san, and how they would get to the club.
Getting home caused a small problem as they weren't sure if their CEO ever took a taxi but agreed that she could always call for her limo if necessary.
Back to the club…
Shizuru took another sip of her drink as she turned back to her companions. It was only her second glass but she was already feeling its effects.
"There is no tea in this," she observed.
The other three burst out into laughter, making her laugh as well. They had already had four shots each and were going for the fifth.
"Shizuru, that is priceless! No tea …" Chie would have fallen to the floor if Aoi's arms hadn't been wrapped around her.
They had all dropped the honorifics by now.
"I would have thought you'd be sick of tea by now," Nao said, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Ara, I would never tire of tea." She declared, finishing off her glass.
"Whoa! Take it easy Captain, those things pack quite a wallop."
"Speaking of wallops, you have yet to finish yours," Aoi dangled a shot glass in front of Chie.
"Ah, of course, milady, forgive me for my inattention." Chie then proceeded to properly finish off her drink.
Shizuru had already seen it enough by now not to blush, or perhaps the alcohol level in her system had made her stop caring. She did look away though, but only because something on the dance floor caught her attention. Or rather, someone…
TBC
Omake:
Shizuru: Ara, what is this place? smiling with eyes wide open
Nao: What? Never been to a gay strip club before? smirking
Natsuki: WHAT? How could you take her to a place like this? one eye twitching
Nao: Hey, you're not in this chapter yet! Maybe you won't even be in the story. eyes challenging
Natsuki: Read the summary asshole! It says 'Shiznat'. S-H-I-Z-N-A-T! You're just a page-filler! feeling triumphant
Shizuru: … watches naked women dancing on stage
Chie and Aoi: … also watching
Nao: Why you little …grabs Natsuki by the hair and starts pulling
Natsuki: OWWWWW! You rotten piece of … puts hands on Nao's neck and tries to strangle her
Shizuru, Chie and Aoi: … engrossed in the show, don't notice the two
Club's Bouncer: notices the two and kicks them out
Shizuru: … Hmmm, where did those two go? puzzled
Chie: Dunno. Aoi? doesn't take eyes off the stage
Aoi: Ladies' Room, maybe? looks around
Chie: shrug
Shizuru: Ara, I'm sure they'll turn up eventually. turns attention back on stage
Chie: Yeah, I'm sure they will. nodding
Aoi: agrees silently
Shizuru, Chie and Aoi: … keep watching
Lindred: also watching
AN: No, they didn't really go to a strip club. Pervs!
This was originally titled 'One Night Stand" but I changed it after being wracked with feelings of guilt. 'I'm really sorry' to the other author.
A really big "THANK YOU!" to OolongSingy for betaing (I hope I got them all down), for nudging me to write (with a whip - jk), being my source of information and research, and for providing all sorts of help whenever I need it. You get an advanced Kiss! Hug! And Grope! I won't tell if you won't. XD
Those who also want some, you know what to do…
PS: I tried doing this while listening to music but 'Papaya' and 'Don't matter' only seem to distract me …