Winning you over

Sai sipped his drink and shook off the unease creeping up on him. He knew his boss, the woman he spilled his coffee on, would be here tonight. He had been feeling a little anxious to see her and for the life of him couldn't figure out why.

Would she fire him?

Would she even remember who he was?

It wouldn't be like he would step up to her and say, 'Hi, I'm the new employee you hired, also the guy that spilled hot coffee over your blouse. About that, no hard feelings, right?' He sighed, annoyed, and took another sip of his coke and rum.

There was a tap on his shoulder and he turned, staring into a sunny smile and glittering brown eyes.

"I knew it was you," Tenten said cheerfully. She turned around momentarily, waving a couple over. As the two walked closer, Sai recognized the tall, blond male.

"Sai, this is my cousin in law, Hinata and her fiancé Naruto, you've surely met him already. Hinata, this is the handsome photographer I was telling you about."

Hinata giggled and extended her hand in greeting. "I'm Hinata, nice to meet you. I hope you know, Tenten hasn't shut up about you since you two met," she said with a serene sort of smile.

Tenten looked shocked, whilst Sai nearly choked on his drink. "It's a professional attraction," Tenten quickly explained. "I really loved seeing your work and I hope you think of tanking an internship with me once you have your degree," she offered.

After blotting away the spilled drink from his pants, Sai smiled gratefully. "Thank you for the opportunity. If it weren't for work, I would be willing to take it now."

"No problem at all, I can see you have talent." Her eyes grew slightly bigger then, before a passionate smile reached her face.

Sai followed her gaze to see her staring at a tall man with long, brown hair, tied up in an elegant ponytail. His body was covered in an dark designer suit which suited him perfectly. The man's stoic expression faded into a smile as his lavender eyes caught sight of Tenten.

"We'll talk later, then," Sai said with a smile, waving her off to go to her fiancé. Tenten smiled back, placing her hand on Sai's shoulder for a gentle squeeze before disappearing in the throng of party-goers. Taking a few more sips of his drink, he began to make his way around them, ignoring the offers of a drink or a dance.

As he rounded a particularly large, green plant, he nearly ran right into the person he was dreading to see again. Ino's eyes sparked as she recognized him as the coffee spiller from before.

"Hello," he blurted.

She gave him a dubious glance and then offered a hesitant smile. "Hi. You're the coffee guy, aren't you?" she asked.

Sai gave her an embarrassed look and nodded. "I'm sorry. I was a bit nervous that morning. I was on my way to a job interview," he said rapidly, amazed that the she had even understood his rushed words.

Ino had to smile. He was terribly cute, with big, ink-black eyes and short, black hair, not to mention he was dressed quite well. Black slacks and a well-tailored dress shirt, a shade lighter than his eyes, complimented his dark features nicely.

"I hope you got the job," she said pleasantly.

That solved the mystery of whether or not she knew who he truly was. Sai offered a small smile. "I did. Thank you." And you can take it away too, he thought anxiously, but decided to play it cool. It was then that he noticed what she was wearing and he couldn't help staring at her long, shapely legs. He cleared his throat and looked back towards the bar.

"Would you… join me for a drink?" The book of dating rules and manners quickly rushed back into his head.

Ino gave a look around, as if searching for someone, and then nodded, smiling at his offer. "Of course," she said, taking his arm.

Sai led them both towards the bar slowly, and he felt his hands begin to sweat a little as they took seats at the stools and ordered something to drink. "Listen, I'm very sorry about the coffee episode. I'm not usually that clumsy."

Her gaze was soft as she looked at him. "Nothing to worry about," she said, honestly. "Luckily for me, I always keep spare clothing in my office."

They lapsed into an awkward silence and Ino found herself inspecting the man in front of her. He was young, maybe her age, and handsome, but he seemed a bit nervous to be talking to her. She sighed inwardly; she supposed that being successful and the editor of a major magazine could intimidate some men from showing interest in her. She slowly realized, though, that there was something about him that screamed to her memories, something in her childhood. "I feel like I've met you before," she said.

Sai smirked. "If I knew you better, I'd be able to tell if that was a pick up line or not," he said casually.

She laughed and her cheeks coloured a little. "Isn't that what the girl usually tells a guy? But honestly, I feel like we've met before, a long time ago," Ino said thoughtfully, leaning towards him so that she could inspect his eyes up close.

Sai nodded, wondering what it was about her that was giving off that familiar vibe. There was something about her smile, and the kindness of her eyes that was holding his attention in a way that hadn't happened before. It was becoming increasingly easy to talk to her, despite the fact that she was his boss. "I get that feeling too. Where did you grow up?" he asked.

Ino's memories took her back to her hometown, some happy times at school before the whole ordeal made her leave, a time she wished to forget at that very moment. "I-… I'd rather not talk about that right now," she said, lightly touching his arm. "It's just not something that brings back good memories for me."

"I understand," Sai replied with a reassuring smile.

"You know, before we even start, we need to introduce ourselves. I don't know your name," Ino started, "or do you want me to call you 'coffee guy' forever?", she added with a hint of amusement.

Before he could say anything, pain exploded across his face and he heard Ino let out a gasp as he found himself on the ground, staring up at a man with angry brown eyes and equally brown hair. Ino turned a glare to the man who had attacked him, and Sai had a feeling that he had overstepped some kind of boundary with Ino, despite her being his boss.

Sai was on his feet in a second, but found himself pushed back by Ino's slim hands as she attempted to keep both him and the new intruder at bay.

"Shika, don't you dare hit him again," Ino hissed.

"He was touching you," Shikamaru nearly snarled.

"I was touching him," she replied through her teeth. "Don't cause a scene here or I will be forced to have security escort you out."

The taller man growled in anger. "The least you could've done was pick someone who could fight his own battles."

Sai's hands fisted in rage. He brushed past Ino and rammed his own fist into the other man's face before anyone could stop him. If there was one thing he hated, it was having someone else attempting to protect him. He had lived half of his life with Shin trying to protect him. In the end it even cost him his life. To see the life fading from his brother had been painful, and vowed from then on he wanted nothing more than to prove he could protect himself, that he wasn't weak. Shikamaru fell back against the bar stools, but quickly got back to his feet, unadulterated rage in his eyes.

"Please stop. I don't want to have to kick you both out," Ino said, turning to look at Sai with pleading eyes.

Sai clenched his jaw and was highly aware of the fact that his lip was split and bleeding. He turned to look at the man behind Ino and wondered if he was her boyfriend. The man was much taller than he was, chestnut brown hair pulled up in a ponytail, brown eyes, and the look of a person who regularly went to the gym. Still, Sai was confident that he could take him in a fist fight. He didn't feel like upsetting Ino, and the thought bothered him because he wasn't thinking of her as his boss anymore. He needed to separate things before he got in way over his head.

"Fine," he said in a low, dark voice. He turned to the bartender for a shot of liquor and left Ino to her man.

Kakashi approached Ino quickly, having been keeping an eye on her as she chatted with a black haired man at the bar. He had seen the entire thing transpire. Shikamaru, Ino's ex, had nearly stomped away from Neji and his two brothers when he had caught sight of Ino with another man. Kakashi had been on the move then, watching Ino attempt to diffuse the situation before the press approached and decided to film what had been happening right at their backs. Scandals would not bode the company well at such an important party.

"What's the problem?" he asked, eyeing Shikamaru in challenge.

Ino shook her head. "Nothing. Shikamaru was about to leave after the little stunt he pulled. Weren't you, Shika?" she asked in a steely voice.

Shikamaru's brown eyes narrowed into slits as he grabbed her arm. As Kakashi began to react, Ino waved him away and allowed Shikamaru to pull her away from the bar to a more secluded area. "What the hell was that? We haven't even been broken up for a week and you're already hitting up another man," he hissed.

Ino scoffed and looked at him incredulously. "The fact that I was talking to him doesn't mean I'm trying to get into his pants! I'm not you," Ino retorted angrily. "And besides, you're the one who cheated on me! How dare you do this to me. We're over, get that into your stupid little head of yours."

Shikamaru shook his head. "I won't have that argument with you again," he said, looking away from her.

"Then stop acting like you're still my boyfriend," Ino said quietly. "I'm sorry you're hurt, but we're over. You have no right to attack innocent bystanders. Your jealousy, lies, and your inability to control your anger are what drove us to our break-up. Your cheating was the last straw. I hope this is the last we see of each other," Ino said before turning and walking away from him.

Kakashi was waiting for her by the bar, a serious look on his face. "Well?"

Ino shrugged. "He seems to think that we're still together. The nerves of that man." She turned to look around for the man she had been talking to and realized she hadn't even gotten his name. Now he was gone. "We're lucky the press was focused on what the celebrities were doing," she whispered.

Kakashi nodded. "Take care of yourself, Ino. I know you're physically capable of defending yourself, but we both know that Shikamaru is nearly a foot taller than you, and it worries me that he doesn't seem to accept that fact that you're through with him."

She nodded and offered him a wan smile. "Thanks for not telling me you'd kick his ass if he hurt me. I'm completely capable of doing that myself," she said.

His mismatched eyes gave her a shrewd look. "You do know that it goes without saying that I will, right? I'm your uncle and it's up to me to protect you whether you're okay with it or not," said Kakashi seriously. "I promised your father that I would. Otherwise it would be me needing protection," he murmured.

"I understand," she said, smiling and wrapping an arm around his waist for a sideways hug.

"Ah, what I wouldn't give for a camera right now," said someone from behind them. Both turned to look at the voice to see a female slightly taller than Ino with big blonde ponytails, and brilliant honey eyes. "I must say though, I do have the most attractive family members in the world."

Kakashi snorted and turned away while Ino giggled. "I didn't think you would make it in time for the party," Ino said.

"I'll be there when there's sake," Tsunade answered truthfully, ignoring the disapproving look her nephew was shooting her. "Besides, since my dearest godchild won't show up on our dinner dates, one must come to her, no?"

Her honey eyes searched the room, but failed to spot a certain pink-haired someone. She sighed, before she turned to the two in front of them. "You've done a wonderful job with the setup."

"You can't give me all the credit. Kakashi helped a lot, though I bet he would've preferred to stay at home drinking tea and reading his book with his bifocals on," Ino said with a smirk.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed in annoyance. Was she implying he was old? He wasn't even forty yet! "Well forgive me for preferring a peaceful night to one that almost always ends up in a hangover," he countered.

Ino gave poked him in his side with her elbow before she hooked her arm with Tsunade's. "Why don't you come along and meet some of the representatives of our sponsors. I'm sure they'd like to meet the boss of this badass empire."

Kakashi shook his head and watched his family walk away before he moved to the bar to order a glass of wine. He was leaning with his back against the counter, savouring his drink, and watching Anko mingle from far away when a familiar, irksome presence caught his eye.

He noted that Sakura looked quite different tonight, with a dress that revealed way too much to his eyes. His eyes traced the line of her leg, accentuated by the slit in her dress and high black stilettos that made her at least four inches taller than her normal stature. What bothered him the most was the fact that she hadn't even bothered to say hello to him or even look at him the moment she had arrived. Currently, Sakura's attention was on her on-and-off again lover. The man with messy, spiked brow hair, tattooed face, and a slightly fanged smile. They were laughing about something and Kakashi couldn't explain why, but their laughter was grating on his nerves.

He was in love with Anko, his beautiful Anko; he shouldn't be watching anyone but her. He gulped down his wine and ordered another while he inwardly beat himself up. He turned to look at his girlfriend and watched her smile and pose with her fellow models for the camera and answer the questions of the reporters. Inevitably, his eyes slid back to Sakura, who was now standing alone, overlooking the party and finishing off a glass of champagne. Damnit, I did it again!

xXx

Sakura turned towards the bar and spotted him there, blatantly watching her. She cocked her head to the side slightly before excusing herself from her conversation and walking over to the bar. She didn't know how to interpret the look Kakashi was giving her, but it wasn't the usual bored or annoyed look he reserved for her. She didn't know why she found the man so alluring, especially after he had started to ignore her passes at him, chalking it up to her age or to her lack of maturity. The fact of the matter was that Kakashi was an attractive man and she wasn't all too willing to give up on him yet, despite the excess baggage that came in the form of his girlfriend.

Sakura knew that Anko didn't appreciate him and that she really wasn't taking him seriously. It didn't take a genius to see that all Anko wanted to do was enjoy her fame and her youth. Kakashi wasn't an old man, but he couldn't see that Sakura was more than willing to be by his side, even at her young age. If there was ever a man she had wanted more than was normal–or healthy, for that matter-it was Kakashi Hatake.

As she reached the bar, she motioned for the bartender to pour her another glass of champagne. Might as well allow Kakashi to believe that she had lost interest in him for now. If there was one thing she had learned from Kiba, it was that men hated to be ignored. Sakura bit her lower lip when she felt his gaze on her, no matter if it was a sideways glance. She received her glass and turned fully to look at him.

"It turned out rather well, didn't it?" she asked conversationally.

Kakashi gave her an uninterested look and nodded once. "It did," he replied simply.

Sakura made a slight humming noise and then shook her head before walking away, slowly swaying her hips. She was aware that his eyes were following her movement. It made her feel a little smug to see that for all that he acted as if she were nothing more than a pain, he still couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

Hmm, maybe drawing him away from his infatuation with Anko wouldn't be as hard as she had initially thought. It was devious and wrong, but Sakura Haruno wasn't someone who usually backed away from what she wanted. Passing some of the jungle-themed décor, she caught sight of Anko posing with her fellow models once more. Nothing seemed amiss at first sight, except the man standing to her left seemed to have misplaced his hand and it was now on Anko's ass.

Sakura rolled her eyes to herself and shook her head. "Two-timing hussy," she muttered under her breath.

"I hope you weren't talking about me," said Ino as she came up behind her.

"Look," Sakura said, motioning towards Anko.

Ino turned and then narrowed her eyes. "It's not like he's grabbing her ass. His hand is on the small of her back," she pointed out.

"It wasn't there a minute ago." Sakura huffed. "Do you really want her as your aunt-in-law, or wouldn't you prefer lil' ol' me?"

"Is that a trick question?" Ino seemed to think about it for a few seconds until she snickered at Sakura's peeved expression. "Of course I would prefer you. We've been best friends the moment you moved in with Tsunade."

"But…?" Sakura prompted.

"You can't force it. Kakashi is completely in love with Anko and she hasn't really done anything to hurt him. My dislike for her is more than likely a projection from you, I think. You know… I haven't seen her do anything that should make me question her feelings for Kakashi."

Sakura let out a long breath and then nodded. "But… you wouldn't be opposed if, say, I went after him anyway?"

"You want to turn my uncle, who I view as a big brother, into a cheater?" Ino asked, eyes narrowed.

Sakura peered at her nervously. "I'll… make sure he breaks up with her first. I'd have to, you know, worm my way into his life."

"So… you're asking me permission to pursue Kakashi, who has a steady girlfriend, and you want me to be on your side after you sabotage his relationship with her?"

"Yeah, that's about it," Sakura replied, nibbling on her lower lip.

Ino stared at her for a long moment, until Sakura began to fidget, and then sighed. "You really want to be with him or is this some sort of whim? A challenge?"

Sakura shook her head and her eyes strayed towards Kakashi, who was placing his wine glass to his masked lips and was still gazing at her from above the rim. She had to slap away the fluttering butterflies and the silly grin that threatened to overcome her features. She turned back to Ino and shook her head.

" I think… no, I know he's the one, even though I know he sometimes sees me like I'm gum stuck onto his expensive shoes. I can promise you that soon enough he'll see me differently."

"Fine," Ino said quietly. "But, Sakura… promise me you won't hurt him, or get hurt yourself."

"I won't," Sakura assured her. Never, ever in a million years would she hurt the man she loved.

xXx

The following Monday was full of meetings and supervising the next issue of the magazine. Sakura would be out of the office, handling her PR business for the company at various places, and Ino knew that they wouldn't be able to share lunch together.

Her phone beeped, bringing Ino out of her thoughts as she enjoyed her latte break, and she pressed a button on the intercom to answer. "Yes, Moegi?"

"Miss, Sasuke Uchiha is here to see you and he's not taking 'no' for an answer. Even after I explained that you're extremely busy," said her assistant nervously.

Ino let her head drop onto her hand before she let out a long breath. "Okay, Moegi, send him in."

She braced herself for her confrontation with Sasuke. She would exchange pleasantries, try to be polite, and hopefully get him out of her office before she blew up on him.

She busied herself with putting away important documents into their portfolios when she heard the door open and he walked in slowly, taking his sweet time, looking as if he owned the world.

"Good morning," he said in a suave tone, dressed impeccably in a white suit.

Ino bit back a scoff and looked at him coolly. "It is. How can I help you, Mr. Uchiha?"

"Oh, don't be that way. We go way back, you and I, and once upon a time we could've been more," he said, taking a seat without invitation. His dark blue eyes watched her every move intently.

Ino's pleasant smile tightened in slow, burning anger. "Did you come see me with the express idea to dredge up a past I'd rather forget? Because if you did, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I don't have time for this."

His own smug smile seemed to turn a little more fake. "There's nothing left of that sweet country girl I met when I was sixteen, is there?"

Ino surged to her feet; so much for being polite and pleasant. "I was fifteen and naïve. You walked into my life only to tear it apart, Sasuke. It took me years to put the pieces back together," she hissed, losing her composure. "I have no interest in reacquainting myself with you. I have no interest in married men either. I need you to leave, now," she said, making a sweeping hand gesture towards the door as she walked towards it, presumably to open it for him.

Sasuke stood and followed her in quick strides. He grabbed her arm tightly, but not painfully, and turned her around quickly to face him. "Don't try to be the victim here, when we both know that it was all your fault. You turned my life into hell," he hissed, his eyes like dark blue fire in a handsome face. His dark hair fell over one of his eyes. "I know we were still children, but I loved you and you—"

She couldn't wrap her mind around what he was saying to her. "Don't you dare talk to me about love, not after you left!"

"I left because you wanted me to," he said darkly, watching her eyes—colder than he remembered them—turn hard like granite.

"You left because you were a coward," Ino said in a low tone, snatching her arm from his grip.

He tensed in fury. "I'm married and you're not. What does that say about you? There's no other man in your life and there really hasn't been one in a long time," he said smugly. "We can't very much count all of those little trysts you've had now and then with those random men."

"What, have you been investigating me?" Ino asked, resisting the urge to slap him for his audacity to think that he had any right to give an opinion about her love life.

"I guess it pays to be a rich boy," Sasuke said in a mocking tone. "Are you going to tell me why you haven't been able to keep a serious relationship?"

"What makes you think I don't have a serious relationship? You may have all the money in the world to invade my privacy, but that doesn't mean that all the information you've gathered is the truth," Ino said disdainfully.

Sasuke regained his cool demeanour and gave her a shrewd look. "So, you're trying to tell me that my sources are wrong and that you do have a new boyfriend?" he asked condescendingly.

Ino grit her teeth. The fact that Sasuke was so sure that she didn't have a man in her life meant that he knew that she and Shikamaru had broken up.

"Why don't you stop with the whole angry charade and admit that I'm the one you've been waiting for?"

She was perilously close to slugging him, forgetting momentarily that her magazine needed to keep up a strictly professional appearance and that she was supposed to act like a mature woman. Well, she also had to think about Tsunade and Kakashi, they had both worked hard to bring up the company to the empire it was now.

"He's not my boyfriend, per se. We're just now starting to date, you see," Ino said. Even to her own ears she sounded insecure.

The look he was giving her was amused and haughty all at the same time. He parted his lips to mock her just as there was a knock at the door and the black-haired coffee-spiller stepped into her office, a messenger bag slung on sideways. The young man paused and looked at the them both.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were busy. I'll come back," Sai said, turning to close the door.

"Wait!" she called, walking quickly towards him.

He gave her a hesitant look as she raced towards him—more than likely looking a little crazy—and caught his hand in hers. "Please follow along," she said under her breath.

The man gave her an even more confused look followed by a hesitant nod.

Ino turned to back to Sasuke and smirked.

"I'm dating him," she said triumphantly.

To be continued..

Answering reviews:

Helter Skelter: The history behind Sakura and her achievements will come along in the story don't know which chapter but soon. But one thing about Sakura though is that she is already at the top of her career. I'm spoiling this already a bit for the future chapters but isn't a major one: Sakura is one of the well-known and most successful PR in the business and highly requested. Next to Fire Style she works with lots of other companies, celebrities and alike. They all want her to handle their publicity. So in that part, she is as high on her career ladder as she can be.

Starsonfire24: I'm glad you like the story so far, it always give the writer and ego boast whenever a reader says that and it helps us remembering why we're writing in the first place. I hope this lil' chap on seeing more of Kiba and Shikamaru. I tell you know already though, that Shika has a really small part in this story, but Kiba will come around more often.

Ilygodot: You'll find out what Sasuke did later on in the story ;) You just have to keep reading to find out =3