The Hitachiin Company had been fairly quiet of late. Usually with the normal ruckus going on, one would think that someone shot and killed everyone inside. And well...that was an understatement of course. Because very faintly there was a scream…some shrieking…and a loud slap.

"Itai," a light-brown headed adult whined, holding his red cheek very painfully. "You didn't really have to hit me you know."

The woman in front of him turned light pink; her hand over her pounding heart. "Hikaru-san, you crept up on me…AGAIN!"

Hikaru frowned as he took several steps back from her. "Well, I'm sorry…Haruhi," he said guiltily, looking down at the mess of papers that she had dropped. His secretary rolled her brown eyes at him and bent down to collect the strewn papers.

"I was just going to go to your office, and you scare me right before I even knocked!"

"Again, I apologize," he said bluntly, rubbing his cheek ruefully. Haruhi sighed as she straightened it in her hands.

"Hikaru-san…" she trailed, not knowing what to really say. But matters must be moved on to the paper works. Haruhi opened the door and walked in while saying blandly, "Anyways…the company you sued…"

He slammed the door behind him and continued on inside. "Yes, yes?"

"Well, they paid the money."

"Are they sent to jail?" he asked hopefully. Haruhi gave him a tired stare and then placed the papers onto his desks. Dragging out her words, Haruhi said, "Hikaru-san…it. Doesn't. Work. Like. That."

The older Hitachiin brother slumped.

"Anyways, with everything going on around here, I actually can't believe that I finished this stack of papers," the twenty-five year old women said, giving Hikaru an accusing glance. "You'll find everything in here done, and I filed most of the papers-…Hikaru-san, are you even listening to me?"

The young president snapped out of dreamland and blinked at her stupidly. "Huh? What were you saying?"

A vein popped on her head, and irritation grew in her voice. "Hikaru-san. I'm trying to do my best as your secretary, so please try to cooperate with me."

Hikaru scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, was spacing out again."

"I swear, Hikaru-san…you're playing too much these days," Haruhi muttered to herself. "Kaoru-san's actually doing far better then you in his half."

"Does it matter? He took care of all the important stuff and told me to relax!" Hikaru said, dropping into his chair with a plop. The assistant stayed silent as she watched Hikaru stay limp in his reclining chair. Seriously…this man's all fun and play.

'It was much better when he was stressed out,' Haruhi thought, her eyes shifting to the side. Of course, a stressed-out Hikaru acted much more serious than the dope sitting in the chair right now. Except…when under stress, the president would take out his frustration on his secretary.

Which…is something that Haruhi found quite intolerable, but she would have to get use to his 'lovu-lovu' attitude sooner or later. "Hikaru…san…" she said. This must be how people feel like when dealing with an immature child.

Seriously…

One of the presidents of the leading Hitachiin Brand…

Plays around 24/7, excluding the time he sleeps, eats, use the toilet, and deal with annoying plagiarists…Hikaru's actually a kid at heart. And Haruhi…found that annoying…slightly.

Except…these days, Hikaru had stopped calling for Haruhi for a while and had been missing from his office whenever Haruhi would walk in. It was an irregular pattern whenever he would disappear. And also…

Haruhi couldn't help but notice that…strained smile on his face…whenever he would talk to her.

"Yes?"

"Here's the stack of papers that you have to sign," she said, slamming a large bunch of them in front of Hikaru. He raised his eyebrows at it curiously. "I already filled out the forms for you, so don't even think about excusing yourself to sign them later."

"And don't forget to put it in the same order, Hikaru-san," Haruhi said. "Now…is there anymore paper work for me to do?"

"In fact…I'll let you rest this day off," Hikaru said, with a con smile on his lips. He waved his hand as if dismissing her. "It's alright, Haruhi. There's nothing for you to do."

"Well, I'll be leaving." The woman gave him a glance as she turned towards the door. Right before, Hikaru could even twitch his fingers, she turned to look sharply at him. In a scolding voice, she commanded. "Don't. Even. Dare."

Hikaru froze as he watched his beloved walk out the door. Letting his hand fall on to the desk, he sighed at the abnormally huge stack of papers on his desk and clicked his ball point pen several times.

"There was a reason why I didn't give you anything to do…"

He bit his lower lip and looked into the air for a while; a troubled expression came on his face and his eyes narrowed slightly. Hikaru picked up the phone and stared at it for a very long time.

'…Should I tell…?'

After a long silence, Hikaru's fingers slowly dialed a number.

Haruhi opened the door to her office and slammed it shut once she was inside. "Hikaru-san's so hard to handle…" she sighed into her hands. Looking at her neat desk, Haruhi walked to it and sat on her chair, sinking into its cushy goodness.

After several minutes of sitting in the chair in silence, Haruhi opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. Thoughts that questioned her very position as secretary floated into her brain. Why was she here when she could have gotten a regular old job?

Yeah, Hikaru was nice enough to pick her out of everyone, and it was fate that he chose her without a second thought. The job as secretary was helping her with the tuition for Law school, but of course…

Every good job has to have its downfall, whether it's disgusting rusty toilets or annoying bosses who screech in a whole different language…

In Haruhi's case, her downfall was her boss himself. Sometimes serious, sometimes not. Always uses her as a model (on rare occasions), always does…things…to her. (His kisses are starting to get waaaay too passionate for her liking), asks her to get him commoner's coffee (that he found strangely addicting with the way Haruhi made it).

Why then would she stand by and let herself get harassed by one of the presidents of the Hitachiin Co.?

Beep, beep, beep

Haruhi's first action was to glare at the phone that was placed on her desk. No doubt it's Hikaru calling her to his office…again. Picking up the phone to her ear, she said, "Yes?"

"Haruhi, I have something I need to talk to you about."

Realizing the voice was different from its usual peppy and childish one, Haruhi raised her eyebrow. "Kaoru-san? What's wrong?"

The voice on the other line seemed to be urgent, and in a hushed voice Kaoru whispered, "Haruhi, I can't talk to you like this, but come to my office NOW."

"I'll do that."

"Yes, Kaoru-san?" she asked once she's inside the office. Haruhi immediately became silent when she saw that Kaoru was not alone. Hikaru was there, silent for the first time in a week. There was Kaoru's secretary standing by wordlessly and…

"Who's she?" Haruhi questioned quickly, her eyes directed at the girl who was clinging onto Hikaru's arm. For some reason…she couldn't help but feel slightly strange at the sight of them together. Why was she even clinging onto him in the first place?

The girl brushed her fingers through her light brown hair and gave a frown at Haruhi. "Oh dear, Hika-kun, is that thing your secretary? She's so rude."

Haruhi's stare turned cold as she saw Hikaru giving her a 'just-go-with-it' look. Haruhi had to stop herself from firing a very rude comment at the new woman. Instead, Haruhi said, "Excuse me, but…what's going on?"

"Haruhi…meet Renge-kun," Hikaru said passively, while glancing at her indifferently. Haruhi's eyes widened at one point where he was starting to sound like the stressed Hikaru that she met on the first day. "She's…"

"His new secretary," Kaoru finished. Hikaru closed his eyes, unable to face Haruhi's surprised expression. Her mouth hung open and she stared in silence. This…Renge seemed to be smiling at Haruhi in this evil disgusted way. But either way…

Did she just hear…Kaoru say…

Secretary?

Hikaru's…new secretary? Wasn't she already his secretary? And the gravity of the situation smashed against her, ramming her out of her thoughts. "Wait! Aren't I your assistant, Hikaru-san? Did I do something wrong that made me lose this job?"

Hikaru shook his head and looked at her with his golden orbs. "You're still working here, Haruhi, but your position is moved. You deliver papers to people and you're in charge of monitoring one small part of the Hitachiin Co. Is that understood?"

"I…" she found herself unable to speak after that. Hikaru nodded to Renge and managed to escape her clingy arms. While walking towards the doors, he said, "Renge-kun's obviously more experienced in secretary work than you are. Your new office is located on the tenth floor. I wouldn't call it an office…but…make yourself comfortable."

K-chak…slam

Haruhi's eyebrows twitched and she looked at the door in disbelief. Why the heck? She tried so hard in finishing the papers and all Hikaru does was fling it aside and replaced her with some…some…

"Haruhi, is it?" the woman with the ribbon said with a smirk. "How sad your position as secretary is gone. Don't worry about Hika-kun, I'll be sure to be the one who takes care of the papers for him." Renge gave her a sweet smile. "Have fun in that little new office of yours, I'll be taking your spot from now on."

Renge walked to the door and gave them a wave. "Good bye now!"

Slam

"No…way…" Haruhi whispered. She couldn't believe it…at all. Why would Hikaru replace her? Didn't she do his papers correctly? Didn't she tolerate his strange behaviors? Didn't she take care of work so that his work wouldn't pile up? Didn't she straighten out his agenda?

Didn't she…do a good job as a secretary?

"Hikaru is…" Kaoru began, his sentence obviously leading to something untold. "A con artist."

Haruhi blinked several times at his sentence. "E-Excuse me?"

"A con artist," Kaoru repeated, leaning against his desk. He closed is eyes knowingly, "He's a great actor; you can never tell when he's being his true self." Kaoru smirked at Haruhi's surprise. "Even…" His golden eyes softened. "I can't tell. But it's nice for him to finally open up to someone."

'Open…up to someone?'

"She met him…for only one day, and he completely opened to that person."

'Com…pletely?'

"Spent most of his days talking to her and doing things with her…"

'That explains why he was gone for several days…'

Kaoru laughed softly, "I guess Hikaru…really likes her. It's so obvious." His golden eyes gleamed with amusement. "What a surprise. Never thought Hikaru would actually love another…right?"

'He likes her…'

Haruhi's eyes started to cloud, and the last sentence that he had said struck her. Struck her hard.

'And not me.'

"Hika-kun," Renge cooed, draping her arms over the man's shoulders. He remained emotionless from the contact and only glanced at her from his work. "I finished filing your documents, dear."

"That's great," he said bluntly, as he shifted the papers aside on his desk. Hikaru didn't rip away his gaze from the papers he had on his desk. Absently he asked, "Can you get me a cup of coffee? And don't forget to get me a jar of maple syrup."

"Mm, that'll be a definite," Renge said in a low purr, and she got off from him. That was when the Hitachiin president glanced up to see Renge leaving the room. It was eerily quiet without her around, and without anyone there to monitor him working…

Click

Hikaru placed his ballpoint pen on the glass counter and stared into the air. That look of surprise…and hurt on Haruhi's face…was…glued to his head. Hikaru couldn't even get that image out before it came onto his mind again.

Frustrated, Hikaru had to chide himself for removing his little toy from position. But he caught himself and gave an excuse for doing it. 'Renge's a better secretary, Renge's a better secretary-'

His chant ended when his eyes swept over to his forgotten phone.

How long has it been? Two hours…four hours…one…five minutes…?

Since when was the last time he called the secretary to summon her? Feeling very tempted and out of habit, Hikaru pressed the button that was sitting idly on his phone. He waited for the speaker to come on.

"Hika-kun, I'll be right up there, so please wait," a voice answered him cheerily. Hikaru blinked and finally reality said to him: Haruhi's no longer working there. Smiling, Hikaru said to the speaker.

"Alright, Renge-kun. Please come up soon."

There was a faint giggle and the line went dead. Hikaru sighed and leaned back to look up at the ceiling. A deep sigh escaped from his lips and his mind drifted. Since when did coffee take THAT long to prepare?

Knock, knock

"Come in," replied Hikaru, as he placed down his pen from the sheets of paper. The door opened to reveal his favorite brunette, in one hand she was carrying a small glass jar filled with a goldenrod liquid and in her other hand…

"Coffee's ready, sir," she said bluntly, before strolling over to his desk. Hikaru's face lit up as she placed down the heavenly golden-filled jar. She sat down on an extra chair in front of the desk. "There weren't any maple syrup, so I had to go down to the supermarket personally to get it for you."

Hikaru didn't reply but immediately grabbed the sides of the jar. Haruhi blinked at his very strange behavior, but nonetheless, she saw strangeness every day for almost a month. He peeled the glass lid off and almost dipped his finger into it, if Haruhi hadn't swiped it back.

"Hikaru-san," she said, covering it back on instinct. "Don't devour the syrup here of all places. God, do it somewhere else."

"But…"

Haruhi rolled her eyes as she popped open the jar. "If you want syrup, how about I add it to your coffee?"

He stared in disbelief, "Does it taste good like that?"

"I don't know, I never tried."

He frowned. "If it tastes bad, we're having a punishment game," he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement. Lucky for Haruhi…she caught his game. Pouring a decent amount into the coffee, Haruhi stirred it with the spoon she had.

"How about…I make you try on this bunny outfit?"

"No," Haruhi replied bitterly. "Why not I drink it for you, and if it tastes bad, I make a new one."

"But it's no fun that way!"

Haruhi sighed, as she readied the cup in her hands. She said blandly at the twenty-five year old in front of her, "I rather choke than you gag on it, Hikaru-san. I can be fired for sending you to the hospital for food poisoning."

"Still no fun," he replied in a sing-song voice. The secretary sighed at his childish behavior and took a rather large gulp of it. Hikaru was staring at her as if she would explode anytime soon.

Drip…

An icky color of yellow and brown fell from her lips and she slowly put it onto the desk. Haruhi found the contents…too hard to swallow, possibly because of the foreign taste of it.

Hikaru blinked. "Does it taste that bad?"

No reply. An idea prodded at his mind, and he leaned forward towards Haruhi, his hand pulling at her chin. Asking in a seductive manner, he whispered. "Will you give me a taste?"

'Get it from the cup, you idiot!'

And yes…you guessed it. Hikaru's lips locked with Haruhi's. His tongue prodded her tight-pressed lips, demanding for the stuff in her mouth in which Haruhi refused to swallow or spit in his mouth, because either way, they're both disgusting options.

Feeling slightly impatient, he pinched her. She yelped, and the coffee…disgusting ol' coffee…finally spilled from her mouth.

Silence.

"EW, EW, EW, UGHHHHH!" Hikaru said as he was forced to swallow it. He gagged and coughed several times. Haruhi, on the other hand, was also forced to swallow her half of it, and of course. It tasted disgusting. He wiped his tongue desperately with a napkin whipped out from somewhere. "Ew…that was just disgusting!"

She glared at him weakly.

'Disgusting in so many ways…have you no shame?'

Haruhi had her mouth covered by her hand. She wanted SO much to throw up on the spot. Dang…if Hikaru wasn't the president, she would oh so love to throw up on him. Well, at least he ate it too…that…was good enough.

He glanced at the clock…it's already fifteen minutes, and Renge STILL haven't come back with his coffee. He was getting grumpy and pissed. Hikaru closed his eyes. 'Damn…how long is Renge-kun going to take?'

Haruhi stared at the small compartment that was now her office. She stared around her, there were other people there working furiously on their computers. She had nothing to do, not with any papers that were assigned for her.

After sitting on the small chair in the small cramped up work space, Haruhi stood up and decided to visit the lounge. She wanted to see what little snacks they had in the afternoon at three.

Once she walked inside of the fairly empty lounge, Haruhi came face to face with Renge. She couldn't help but notice that there was a cup of coffee in front of her and…what the hell...was that a jar of maple syrup?

No doubt, Hikaru sent her to fetch him a cup. On reflex, Haruhi briskly walked over to Renge and pulled away the cup of coffee before Renge could even pour anything in. "Haruhi! What are you doing?"

"I have to ask the same to you, Renge," she said bitterly. Renge huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Replying hotly to the old secretary, she said, "Hika-kun wants coffee and maple syrup, what rights do you have to stop me from pouring it in?"

"Hikaru-san doesn't like maple syrup with his coffee," Haruhi said truthfully.

"Oh? And you're what? His secretary? Sorry, Haruhi, your position is gone now," Renge said harshly, swiping back the cup of coffee. "Go and fantasize somewhere else."

Her eyes twitched. "Yeah, you're right. I have no rights to stop you," Haruhi said. In an instant, she grabbed away the maple syrup and prepared to run. "But I remember Kaoru-san telling me to get this for him-"

A vein popped. "Hey! I got it first, you woman!" Renge retorted, grabbing hold of it. Haruhi ripped it away from her, causing the coffee that was held in her hands to splash over her light brown hair. "Haruhi!"

"I apologize, Renge, but he really needs it!" she said hastily, breaking into a brisk walk towards the door. Haruhi waved the jar of maple syrup in victory.

'Now Hikaru-san won't have to have food poisoning again-'

Haruhi stopped in her walk and stared at the jar. Why does she care about that bastard who scrapped her job? Yeah, sure, the pay from the job she currently has is just slightly lower than the one being a secretary.

Haruhi could still pay for Law School. No…it wasn't the pay.

Why the hell did she save Hikaru from the yucky taste of maple syrup and coffee? Haruhi waved the disturb thought from her mind and started to walk quickly to Kaoru's office. Even though the statement of Kaoru wanting it was a lie, she better give it to him or Renge might have her head soon. Walking to one of the halls where she had not paid attention to, she knocked on the door and opened it.

K-chak

"Sorry for intruding, Kao-…"

The man sitting at the table doing paper work glanced up at her with a curious expression. He placed down his pen and started, "Haru-"

Haruhi's breathing hitched. This was Hikaru; Kaoru was never that serious about doing paperwork. If she stayed longer…oh god, Haruhi didn't even know what to say to him. She bowed quickly and exited. "Gomen, wrong room."

Slam

There was silence, and Miyu appeared from one of the file rooms with a curious face on. She glanced at the man who was still staring at the door. "Kaoru-kun, was that Haruhi-san?"

"Er…I think…so?"

Haruhi briskly walked down the halls, flustered that she had walked into the 'wrong' room. What would Hikaru do to her now? Degrade her until she becomes a janitor for the whole building? The horrors.

Knock, knock

Hikaru's head snapped up from the table and turned towards the door. FINALLY, Renge came back. He didn't care if it was coffee or syrup, either one and he's fine with it. The door opened, but it wasn't Renge like he thought it was.

"Sorry, for interrupting," Haruhi said, a nervous smile on her face. Hikaru blinked. What was she doing here? Haruhi silently closed the door behind her and walked towards him with a maple syrup jar in her hand.

"I just thought you wanted this," she said, absolutely having no clue who she was talking to right now. "So I went down and got it before the jar became empty."

Silence.

'Why the hell are you here?'

"Uh…thanks?"

"Can I sit?" Haruhi asked more cheerily. He nodded slowly to her, slightly getting weirded out by her behavior. Once she sat down, Haruhi let out a drawling sigh. "I don't get it."

"What don't you get?" Hikaru deadpanned, taking off the lid to the jar.

Haruhi's head was lowered and she fiddled with her fingers. "Why I'm replaced."

He paused and slowly looked at her. Is she that practical to ask him that…directly? Or is she that dense that she didn't even realize why she was replaced even though he told her. Hikaru answered. "You were replaced because…"

"Because what? Did I do something wrong?" Haruhi asked her gaze now at Hikaru. "I did everything didn't I? I tried to be a good secretary, but I can't believe that I got replaced." Feeling slightly angry, Haruhi stood up and grabbed away the jar from him before he could eat anything. "You know what?"

"What?" Hikaru growled. She just took away his jar of heavenly food. /Irritation, irritation/

"I'm just going to walk back downstairs and give this thing back to Renge and LET her put the syrup in Hikaru-san's coffee!"

"Thank you so much for your time, Kaoru-san. I hope I didn't bother you in your work," Haruhi huffed in sarcasm, while making her way to the door. As a reflex, Hikaru instantly grabbed Haruhi by the wrist and pulled her onto his table. His face was the only thing that she saw, and he was pinning her on the other side of the table too.

"You really disappoint me, Haruhi," he said, staring down into her brown orbs. "We've known each other for a month, and NOW you decide to get me mixed up with my brother. I was thinking that you'd know better."

Haruhi squirmed underneath him, and gulped nervously. "I was confused slightly."

"Now tell me, what were you going to do with my coffee?" His sentence was so cold towards her, but there was a small…if not tiny amount of amusement in his eyes. Haruhi's eyes widened slightly.

"Hika-kun!" Renge cried once she blasted in through the doors, her hair was moist and her white suit was splashed with a coffee stain. "Haruhi, she- YOU!" Renge screeched pointing at the woman who was lying on the desk. "Hika-kun!"

Renge complained immediately running over to the Hitachiin. "Haruhi spilled coffee all over me!"

"It was an accident, Hikaru-san…"

Hikaru looked at Haruhi accusingly, "Haruhi…what did you do…"

"H-Hikaru-san, I apologized and-"

Renge pointed at Haruhi, silencing her. "And you took the maple syrup that I was going to get for Hika-kun!" His stare at her turned hard, and Haruhi found herself trying to stutter her way out of it.

…wait.

Haruhi doesn't stutter. Why is she stammering NOW?

"She was going to put it in your coffee-"

The French girl retorted quickly with a huff, "I wasn't."

"You were-!"

"Haruhi," Hikaru interrupted, looking at her with his goldenrod eyes. He put a hand on her shoulder and made a gentle motion for her to leave. "Just go back to your office."

She was stunned. Hikaru wasn't even going to defend her? Haruhi felt the little confidence that she had dwindle until there was no more. She trusted him because they were friends, and he crumpled it and threw it away like he did with her job.

This man…

Haruhi felt herself grow slightly angry, her eyebrows furrowed.

Hikaru was truly a bastard, and Haruhi hated herself for not believing it. Swallowing the hurt, Haruhi glared up at Hikaru who had an emotionless face on. Shoving the jar of syrup into Renge's hands, she said coldly, "Very well. I'm leaving."

The older Hitachiin watched Haruhi walk away and disappear through the doors. He was staring at it with a stoic face on, but…he really wanted to call Haruhi back and…

"Hika-kun, don't care about her," Renge said, grabbing Hikaru's attention. The older twin smiled at her and turned away from the door, an unreadable expression now on his face.

"Don't worry, Renge-kun," he said smoothly, as he sat back in his seat. Hikaru closed his eyes, trying to mask what his eyes were going to say.

"I never did."