Chapter 3

The girls day off had come and gone, they were back on the saddle. The two girls said their goodbyes to one another and went off to their desks.

-With Aurora-

Aurora knocked and entered Touga's office. "I'm back General." She said happily. "I hope you manage to survive a day without me."

Touga sat up and he smiled. He had managed but he wouldn't admit that he felt stressed again with her gone.

"I survived Aurora I left some files on your desk. Can you sort them and then we will leave for the meeting?" He asked as he rubbed his temples.

Aurora tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "You're stressed General, that's not good. Don't worry I will help." She said sweetly and went off to sort the files quickly.

He let out a sigh of relief and he began his work again. 'So intuitive.' He thought to himself.

Aurora hummed as she finished the sorting of the files several minutes later, she took the files and placed them on Touga's desk. "Here you go General."

Touga nodded and felt relieved. "Here's some more and I want to let you know that your benefits will be affective come Monday."

"Thank you General." Aurora spoke softly and grabbed the other files and took them into the crook of her hand. Touga nodded and he went back to prepare his materials for his meeting. It didn't take long for Aurora to complete this stack of files. In honesty it took 14 minutes at the east. She stood up and sat the files on Touga's desk. "Here you go." She stated and sat in front of his desk waiting for the meeting since she had nothing else to do. Aurora took the time to really look at her boss's office, 'old Japanese...maybe feudal ornaments.' She thought as her curiosity tool the best of her and she went to the wall to observe a painting further.

"Something caught your eye Aurora." Touga asked as he continued to look at his desk.

Aurora blinked as she gently touched the painting. It was of a large ferrous dog with red eyes and jagged marking. It was towering over the land. She looked at it with a tilt of her head. "This painting is magnificent, the way the artist captured the elegance, strength, and stance of the dog is superb. The dog is...strong just as its eyes show, it is strong but also kind." She stated as her hand glide over the dog.

Touga looked up at her. "I suppose so." He said but his voice held no emotion. 'She's too damn intuitive. I need to be careful.'

Aurora took note of the tone of Touga. "It's a very nice painting. Does it hold any sentimental value?" She asks gently.

"It's just a painting Aurora." He said calmly. He couldn't let her know what it actually was.

"If you say so General, I just find it an exquisite piece of artwork. I may just want to pay the artist a visit." Aurora told him. She turned her hand and saw his fist was clenched. "Oh dear you're stressed again." She went behind him and massaged his temples gently.

Touga relaxed under touch. "Aurora I assure you I'm fine."

"So you say." Aurora says as she kept her hands on his temples. She slowly moved to his neck and rub gentle circles into his neck.

Touga let his eyes close and he allowed her to rub his neck. 'Definitely the best assistant I have ever had.'

Aurora smiled softly and lowered her hands to his shoulders. She added enough pressure to remove all the stress in his body. Touga's head moved back and he relished in the feeling of his assistants movements. She grinned to herself, she slowly moved her hands down his back. She started humming an old song that been around for a long time. 'Maybe he knows the song.' She thought.

Touga's eyes shot open. 'I've heard this before.' He thought to himself. But he quickly closed his eyes again as a deep moan came from the inside of his chest.

"Enjoying yourself General?" Aurora asks as she continued humming more loudly and moved her hands gently.

"Yes." He silently moaned as many years of stress seemed to be finally melting off of him.

"That's good Touga." She says gently and added more pressure on his lower back.

Touga's eyes rolled back into his head. He felt so calm that he could fall asleep. The phone on his desk rang but he couldn't even hear it.

Aurora stopped her massaging and grabbed the phone. "Inu no Taisho's office, this is his secretary speaking...yes of course...I shall let him know soon...of course sir...yes and have a good day sir." She answered the phone and wrote the note on a sticky.

"What was it?" Touga asked his eyes still closed and he was half asleep.

"Well General seems your meeting has arrived sooner than planned." Aurora stated as she straighten out her outfit. "Now get up you old dog. Once the meeting is over you can sleep." She says rousing him from his relaxed state

"Alright well follow me." Touga groaned in annoyance. 'Dammit. I need this too.' He thought to himself.

"Oh don't be like that General, there are many massages to come." Aurora says as she took his hand helped him up. She handed him his briefcase and got hers, which had all her notes.

Touga smirked at her and walked with her to the elevator. "This meeting is very important Aurora. So please make sure you pay attention."

"I know this sir, and you can expect that I will pay extremely close attention to this meeting." Aurora's demeanor changed to seriousness.

Touga nodded and he held the door open for her to walk in and he followed her in and sat down in his seat.

Aurora seated herself beside Touga and placed her notepad in front of her. Some men walked in and took their seats. They had a holier-than-thou attitude about them

"I must say gentlemen I didn't expect you to show up this early." Touga said as he stood up and he greeted them.

"Yes Lord Inu no Taisho, we've come earlier because we have other matters after this. I would like to know how we can strengthen our partnership." The man stated. Aurora looked and read the profiles of the partnership between Taisho Company and this man's company. The terms were...shady.

"I see. Well that all depends if you can deliver what you promised." Touga said firmly.

Aurora read the terms again and narrowed her eyes. The man gave Touga a file and he went through it. Touga nodded his head and was going to accept but she placed her hand on his. "Pardon me sir, but I must stop you from accepting this man's proposal. His terms are not in the best interest of the company. The terms state that should Taisho Co should ever go bankrupt they will take all the proceeds that belong to you sir." Aurora stated clearly.

Touga reread the file. "It seems you are right." He mumbled and he closed the file and he threw it back at the businessmen. "Do you take me for a fool?"

The men looked shocked. They probably thought that Touga wouldn't catch it or that his assistant would be incompetent. Aurora took initiative and touched the phone. "Being that you have nothing to say I shall call security to escort you gentleman out and call this meeting to court. Or we can keep this...meeting in secret if you gentleman provide compensation for this behavior. You will give Taisho Co. 65% or your profits or we will sue you for what you are worth." She stated clearly and leaned forward with narrowed eyes. The men paled and wrote up written agreement and she took the paper and smirked inwardly. "Thank you gentleman you shall not have to worry anymore. Now leave." She added and they left. Aurora gave Touga the paper.

Touga looked shocked to say the least. "Normally in this position I would say that was highly inappropriate of you to step in but you handed that well Aurora. I'm very impressed."

"Thank you General, I have your best interest at heart." Aurora says and leaned into her seat. "Now I find it an insult they thought I was some incompetent girl with a nice body. I saw their looks at me..." She drawls.

"Yes well many men in this business think as such of many women." Touga said.

"Bakas the lot of them General. At least you don't see me as a piece of meat to stare at." Aurora said innocently.

"I do not." He said as he stood up. "Cancel the rest of my meetings today. I'm too aggravated to deal with them." He walked to the door and he held it open for Aurora.

Aurora went to her desk and canceled all Touga's meetings for the day. She sighs a bit out of exhaustion. She stood up from her desk and went to Touga and gently massaged his shoulders. She hummed the old song to calm his nerves.

"Damn fools." Touga muttered as he sat back in his chair. His shoulders were stuff again.

"Don't you worry about those bakas General. The best thing that happened is that you now have more money coming in your company's bank account." Aurora says softly. "Also you now have blackmail material to use should they wish to try this act again." She added and put a gentle pressure into his shoulders.

"I suppose your right...more pressure if you would." He said and he closed his eyes and he tried to relax.

Aurora smiled as she put more pressure into his shoulders. 'He is handsome...' She thought. Aurora slowly moved her hands to his neck massaging it then his temples. She made small soothing circles.

"Release your frustration and clear your mind." Aurora whispered softly as she moved her hands to his lower back.

Touga moaned and his head rested on his arms on his desk. He could feel himself falling into a slumber. Aurora's hands were so soft and skilled and he couldn't remember the last time he felt this relaxed. 'I could stay here for hours as long as she does this.'

Aurora smiled at Touga. "Is there anything I can do for you Touga?" She asks softly.

Aurora smiled to herself. "Of course Lord Inu no Taisho." She whispers and kept the massage going. It continued until they were both lost in time. Neither paying attention to the time. Touga couldn't help but softly fall asleep under her touch.

Aurora saw he has fallen asleep. His breathing slowed down. She didn't want to leave him there. She looked up and saw his office couch. She gently placed his arm over her shoulders and carried him to the couch and laid him down on his stomach. She begins to continue massaging his back on this new surface. "I do not like to see you stress General..." Aurora whispers into the air. Touga moaned and his eyes slightly opened seeing that he was on the couch.

"Shh...Sleep General...you've earned your rest dear. You must sleep dear." Aurora whispers as she lulled Touga to sleep with her voice. Touga wanted to fight her on it but he couldn't and he fell into a deep sleep. His face peaceful and calm.

As Touga went into a deep sleep, Aurora noticed something he seemed even more handsome at ease. She smiled and looked at the time. 'It's passed my time to leave.' She thought as she place Touga's suit jacket on him as a blanket. "Sleep well General." She whispers and left a note on the desk and took her leave.

-With Val-

"Sesshomaru I'm back!" Val said as she knocked on Sesshomaru's door and then she sat at her desk and started working on the files that he had left there. She smiled as she smelled the kava root tea in the air. She started silently singing

"Welcome back Ms. Val, I hope you had an enjoyable day off." Sesshomaru says as he placed his cup of tea down on his desk. He let out a sigh of relief and he began his work again.

She was singing lowly to herself as he worked on the files. "Don't forget Sessh you have that meeting today." She said and she went back to singing and working.

A pen broke literally. Sesshomaru looked down at the broken pencil. 'Dammit...forgot.' He sighs. "Thank you Ms. Val."

"That's the fourth pen this week. Something troubling you Sessh?" She asked calmly as she went back to work.

"Nothing is troubling me Ms. Val." He stated and took a drink of his tea. "The meeting slipped my mind." He mutters.

"Well I guess you shouldn't give me any more days off then." She joked and she took her hair out of the bun she had it in and her hair came down in soft still a little wet curls. She walked into his office. "Would you like me to rub your shoulders? To help you relax of course you seem really tense."

"No, I do not wish to trouble you on my behalf." Says Sesshomaru as he typed on his computer, entering codes and data.

Val rolled her eyes and did it anyway. "Your shoulders are tense and I can't just feel the knots. Just let me help." She said softly. Her hands were soft and they were skilled.

Sesshomaru stood stiff and slowly melted into the touch. "Very well..." He drawls.

Val's hands felt warm and Sesshomaru could feel a soft energy radiating from them that was easing his fatigue and stiffness in his shoulders. It was soothing and relaxing.

"I took a massage class in college." She said softy trying to make conversation.

"Nice...to know." Sesshomaru mutters as he lean into the touch. He has never had such soft and warm hands touch him in a caring matter before.

"Let me know if you need more or less pressure." She worked slowly to help him relax and to help get all the kinks and knots out of his neck and shoulders. She had a soft smile on her face. "I've never seen you so relaxed before."

Sesshomaru grunts. "I'm rarely relaxed...more pressure." He closes his eyes savoring the touch.

"Well maybe if you didn't work yourself to death you would be." She said softly and she applied more pressure to the knots in his neck. She softly sang to herself while she gave him the massage.

Sesshomaru grunts and ignored her as he enjoyed the sensation of his assistant's hands. She softly sang and she smiled at him and she used her elbows to rub into his shoulder blades and applied more pressure to get the deep knots out. Sesshomaru groaned lowly. 'Damn, definitely keeping this one...' He thought.

Val blushed and smiled as she continued to massage her boss. Her hands worked along his spine applying soft pressure enough to make him feel the pleasure but no pain. "Are you feeling any better?" She said softly her hands still massaging him.

"Yes..." Sesshomaru says dragging the word.

"Good that's what I'm here for." She said softly into his ear and her hands slid up his back applying pressure and back down again. Sesshomaru grunts again not wanting to say anything

Val giggled and she brought her hands back up to massage his shoulders and then her hands slid down to biceps and she massaged his muscles. "You really are stiff." She said and she applied pressure.

The phone rang in Sesshomaru's office he ignored it and kept his eyes closed. Val grabbed the phone and she had it rest on her shoulder. "Yes Sesshomaru's office...they are here now? They weren't supposed to be here for another two hours...alright I'll tell him." She said and she hung up the phone.
"The firm you are having the meeting with, their plane landed early and they were hoping they could meet with you now." She said as she rubbed his shoulders once more for good measure.

Sesshomaru sighed. "Fine...let's go." He said with a bit of disappointment in his voice. 'Damn them.' He thought angrily. Val smiled and she grabbed all of her materials for the meeting. She walked to the elevator with Sesshomaru led Val to the meeting room where a long, strenuous meeting would be held.

Three Business men walked into the meeting. Val took her seat behind Sesshomaru who sat at the head of the board table."Ahh Sesshomaru, thank you so much for meeting with us this early."

"Hn...you are welcome." Sesshomaru says nodding his head at the men present. "Shall we get this meeting over and done with?" He stated as he leaned forward in his seat.

"Yes, now Lord Sesshomaru it seems that the numbers of the fiscal year have been increasingly accurate." The business man said with a sense of pride.

Val sat quietly and took notes. 'Lord Sesshomaru?' She thought to herself.

"Yes they indeed had increased this year." Sesshomaru stated in few words

"I was wondering if we can see your assumptions for the numbers for the next year. Also and your plans for furthering our partnership." The business man said Val took notes and she stared at Sesshomaru's handsome profile.

"The furthering of our partnership depends on what you put forth." Sesshomaru stated calmly.

Val looked at him.'Somethings not right the air is very tense.' She thought to herself.

"Yes well my lord it is why we have brought this." The business man said and he slid a folder down to Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru looked at the folder going through it and nodding. 'Seems reasonable.' He thought.

Val peaked over his shoulder at the document. 'Wow that's a really nice offer.'

"Now Lord Sesshomaru we can only agree to this partnership if you brought along your plans if we were to continue in this partnership. I assumed you brought it with you." The man says

Sesshomaru looked towards Val. "See if you can find some hidden clauses." He whispered handing her the file. Val took the file and she read it over carefully.

"Now Sesshomaru there is no need to let some lowly secretary be involved." The business man spat.

"Hn...Yet she will provide a second opinion." Sesshomaru proceeded in giving Val the file.

Val read the file thoroughly. "Article 5 subsection C, the Okami Company will receive any all profits made by the Taisho Company. Should Taisho Company ever claim bankruptcy, they will lose their funding from not only the Okami Company but all others involved with Taisho Company as well. They are playing you for a fool Sesshomaru." Val said plainly as she showed Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru clenched his fist and uttered one word. "Leave." he says

"But Lord Sesshomaru that's just a formality to protect our best interests. We've known you and your father for years longer than you have known this little harlot." The business man spat and Val stood up. Sesshomaru felt a spike in her energy.

"I'm sorry gentleman but you heard him. Leave." Val said in an angry but composed tone that she never uses.

Sesshomaru stood up and placed his hands on the table. "I believe I said leave!" He spat out narrowing his eyes. The men stood up and glared as they left the office. "Cancel my meetings." He stated and went to his office. Val quickly canceled his meetings and she made him some tea and she brought into his office and she massaged his shoulders. 'They are stiff and there is knots again.' She thought to herself and she applied more pressure.

"Bastards..." Sesshomaru hissed out as he broke a pen. He took the cup of tea and sipped it.

Val softly smiled at him and handed him the pen that she had in her hair. "Number 5." She tried to joke and she rubbed his neck softly. "The important thing is you didn't go through with it. Karma will get bite them in the ass don't worry." She said softly.

"You are correct..." Sesshomaru leaned forward and laid his head on his arms. Sesshomaru groans and closed his eyes. His muscles was slowly becoming loose and relaxed

Val felt Sesshomaru start to loosen up and she smiled and blushed. "Any places you need me to apply pressure to?" She softly whispered to him and her hands slid down his spine in a fluid pleasuring motion.

"Lower back." Sesshomaru grunts and breathed slowly. 'So wonderful.' He thought

Sesshomaru grunts not answering her. His breathing slowed and he slowly drifted.

Val smiled enjoying the time with Sesshomaru and continued massaging his back and shoulders. "You need to relax more. It worried to see you stressed." She said breathlessly into his ear.

Sesshomaru stayed sleeping neither moving nor hearing his secretary's words. 'He'll get sore if he sleeps here.' She thought to herself and she pulled his office chair and held him in and she carefully moved him to the couch. She continued to rub his back. Warmth was radiating from her hands into his muscles. Sesshomaru noticed he wasn't in his chair but didn't make any oppositions to it. He laid down and let sleep claim him. Val noticed a change in his breathing and she looked at his face and she smiled knowing that he fell asleep.
"Rest easy Sessh." She whispered into his ear. She softly rubbed his shoulders and neck now. His face was so calm while he slept and Val couldn't help but stare. Val smiled at Sesshomaru as he slept soundly. She wrote a note for him on his desk and she walked to the door. She turned around to look back at his sleeping face and she smiled softly. "Night Sessh." She said and she dimmed the lights in his office and she took her leave.