Hello my amazing and wonderful readers! I'm on vacation right now…or at least I was when I started writing…Lol. So again, I don't own Naruto or the world…yet….BWAHAHAHA! *cough…* yes…so, back to the fic.

Recap: Sasuke touched his face gingerly. There had been some real power behind that slap. This girl was different from the others. He could tell. And it wasn't only because she had yelled at him and slapped him. There was just something different about her. He resolved to find out what that was. He smiled. He was going to keep her around for now. This could turn out to be interesting.

Sasuke deliberately dressed in different clothes from the ones Sakura had picked out and laid on his bed. Though he had to admit, looking at the outfit she had chosen, she didn't have bad taste. He moved toward the door. It swung open to reveal Sakura, fist in midair, just about to knock. He smirked again. Sakura flushed. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off with a wave of his hand. He saw her notice his sleeve.

Annoyance flitted across her face as she took in the fact that he was wearing a completely different ensemble from what she had chosen. Asshole. Sasuke was perilously close to laughing. She was pouting. Actually pouting.

With great difficulty he kept a straight face and said 'I'll make you a deal. I won't fire you, and I will forget the incident back there if you perform well for a week.' Sakura was shocked. I'm not fired? Maybe he isn't such an asshole after all. 'If you slip up at any time during this week, though, be warned, I can have you fired and reported for assault so that you will never get another job again.' He watched her reaction.

She seemed to be swelling from the inside. And then the gears started turning in her brain. He could almost see it. And he smirked again as he saw her come to a decision. He already knew what the answer would be.

'O-of course Uchiha-san. Thank you.' She had to choke the words out. This was blackmail!

'Good. Now follow me.' He moved off at a fast trot. She hurried to keep up. 'First thing, I want a decaf caramel macchiata, half and half, cinnamon sprinkle on top, second, set up a meeting with the Haninozuka family for later today, and while you're doing that send a large condolence package with sympathies from the Uchiha clan on the death of Haninozuka Miyavi, then shift the video conference with the Switzerland companies, Feldschlösschen in particular, to tomorrow and in place of their appointment a call to the Prime Minister. Then I need some files reorganized, and after you've done that place a reservation at a nice restaurant; your choice, as my mother's birthday is next week. And when I say nice, I mean appetizers upwards of say one hundred thousand yen. Give them specific instructions for music and entertainment. Those will be sent to you via email later today. Then I want a meeting with the Hyuugas set up for tomorrow after the video conference…actually, set the meeting for the time of the conference call. They will appreciate it. And lastly, I want my dry cleaning picked up. Got that?'

He stopped suddenly outside the door of his office. Sakura fumed on the inside. She was supposed to do all that on her first day and do it well with no screw ups? Oh, he was good. He was pushing her on purpose. She took back her earlier thought about him being less of an asshole than she thought. There it was, back in full force.

Well. If he was going to push, she would push back. Hard. There was no way she was going to let him walk all over her. And as she finished that thought, he opened the door, smirked at her and slammed it in her face all in one fluid motion. She gaped at the closed door in front of her. Then she turned to her right. There was a door with a sign on it saying Uchiha P.A.

Apparently that was her stop. She turned the handle and walked inside. The room inside was beautifully furnished and just as elaborate as the rest of the house. A wrought-iron and glass desk were in one corner; a large Mac computer resting on it.

There was also a large pile of paper on the desk. Her eyes narrowed. She guessed those were the files that supposedly needed reorganization. There was nothing much else in the room. She decided that she would add her own flair to it over the course of the week.

And then she saw the door. She realized all of a sudden that that door connected the two offices. She flushed angrily at the thought of the Asshole (as she called him in her mind) waltzing in whenever he wanted. She resolved to keep it closed. And with that thought she marched to the desk and sat down. Also on the desk was a phone. It had been behind the pile so she hadn't seen it before. She examined it closely.

There was a list of extensions next to the buttons. One of those was a 'coffee' extension. She chuckled. The man was so addicted to caffeine that he had his own coffee button? Still smiling, she picked up the receiver and hit the button. Someone on the other end picked up immediately. 'Yes?'

'Um, hi. I'm the new PA and Mr. Uchiha ordered-'

'Let me guess…today is a Monday so a decaf caramel macchiata, half and half, cinnamon sprinkle on top ,yes?' Sakura gaped slightly and then found her voice.

'Um, yes. That's right-' The person cut her off again.

'It will be there in about thirty seconds.' The receiver went dead. Sakura slowly replaced it. Their efficiency was kind of scary. Then she turned her attention to the gigantic pile of papers in front of her. She sighed. This was going to be a lot of work.

She had just reached for the first one when a knock came from the door leading to the hall. She paused. 'Come in!' The door opened and an orderly walked in carrying a small round tray with a styrofoam coffee cup on it. Sakura was confused. 'Um, I think you've got the wrong room.' Mr. Uchiha's office is across from mine.' She said indicating the connecting doorway.

The orderly shook her head. 'Actually, he specifically asked if it could be delivered by the PA.' She carefully placed the tray on the piles of paper. It leaned and wobbled precariously. Sakura's outrage burned afresh. How dare he? The orderly smiled at her and said 'You're lucky. You seem to be a new favorite.' And then she backed out of the room. Sakura was trembling with anger. She wasn't a servant! She reached for the tray muttering to herself.

Oh, what she would give for something to put in that coffee that would keep him occupied in the bathroom the entire night. She pushed the connecting door open with perhaps a little more force than was necessary. She poked her head inside.

A large mahogany desk topped with a leather layer dominated the room, filling it with a sense of power. Behind the desk was a wall made of glass. It looked out onto a beautiful and expansive garden. There were also several filing cabinets (the contents of which she was sure were sitting on her desk) two armchairs and some shelves overflowing with books. The entire room was in a state of disarray. She spotted Sasuke in the chair behind his desk.

Fixing him with her brightest, most dangerous smile, she approached the desk. Sasuke looked up. Sakura was walking towards him holding his coffee with one of the scariest smiles he had ever seen in his life plastered across her face. He looked at her warily. She placed it in front of him. 'Thank you.' He said. She smiled even wider.

'Oh it was no trouble at all. Enjoy your coffee Uchiha-san.' She spat out the last bit with venom. He looked from the coffee to her and back again. She backed out of his office, keeping her demented smile trained on him the whole time. Finally she closed the door behind her. He let out a breath, not having noticed that he was holding it.

He surreptitiously pulled off the cup's cover and inspected the surface of the coffee for oil on the surface, or for any unusual smells. He had been trained to detect poison from an early age. There was nothing that he could identify, but he was a little shaken. Who knew what she might have done to it?

Eventually he just gave up on the idea of coffee that morning and tossed it untouched, into the trash beside his desk. He knew he couldn't order another one because Sakura would undoubtedly see if he hit the coffee button because it flashed on her phone too. It was a stupid remnant of paranoia that his grandfather had had. He had distrusted orderlies and only wanted his PA to bring him coffee if he took it and so it alerted the PA as well. Damn. He really had to get that fixed. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing that she had made him go coffee-less.

Sakura giggled to herself as she listened through the closed door. She heard the coffee cup hit the bin. Score 1-1. The satisfaction she felt was immense. Happily, she skipped back over to her desk to begin sorting the files.

Two hours later she was finally finished with the papers. She stretched and sighed. She checked her watch. Good God! It was only 10:20. Well. Maybe she could be finished with the other host of things she was supposed to do today before lunch. She decided to first give the enormous pile to the Asshole. Despite the fact that the stack was about twenty pounds, Sakura knew she could handle it easily. She infused her hands with some chakra (medic-nin in training remember?) and effortlessly shifted it. She walked with it, looking like a body with a mound of paper for a head. When she came to the door she turned it with her hip and a deft maneuver, and bumped the door open.

Sasuke looked up and saw a mountain of papers with legs…very nice legs in fact. They were smooth and elegant, and they went on and on and on and….Sasuke shook himself mentally. What the hell was wrong with him?

Sakura continued to his desk and asked 'Where do you want it A-, I mean Uchiha-san?' Sakura was intensely glad for the mass covering her face. She had been about to say Asshole, and her face had heated up like a kettle. She could almost feel the steam coming out of her ears. Sasuke frowned. She had been about to say something else. He wondered what it was. He shoved it to the back of his mind.

Injecting as much nonchalance and disinterest into his voice as possible he said 'How did you organize it Miss Haruno?' She blinked. He had called her by name, instead of 'you' or without an address at all. Weird. But what was up with that tone? And then she remembered he had asked her a question.

'I organized by date with subsections in alphabetical order and then by category. Then on the very top are the newest ones that still need to be seen by you Uchiha-san.'

Sasuke was impressed though he didn't show it. But besides. It wasn't like she could see him behind that load. Speaking of which, she must be a lot stronger than she looked. He knew how much that pile weighed. He was the one who had dumped it on her desk in the first place! And he had firsthand experience of the power behind her slaps. He winced and gingerly touched the place where she had hit him.

He was pretty sure that was going to leave a mark. 'Well Miss Haruno, I suppose that is adequate. You can re file them over there.' He gestured towards the filing cabinets before remembering that she couldn't see him. Sakura was yelling on the inside. (A:N/ bold type is inner person yes?) 'What the hell? Adequate? Who does he freaking think he is?'

'Well I'm sure he thinks he's Uchiha freaking Sasuke, that's who.'

'Oh shut up.'

'Is that any way to talk to your inner self?'

'I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP!'

'Alright, alright…jeez…somebody's cranky…'

Sakura took a deep breath. Arguments with herself were entirely and utterly unhelpful. She made her way over to the filing cabinets and dropped the pile as hard as possible. There was a muffled Whump! Sasuke looked up and smirked. This was revenge for the stupid coffee. Sakura knelt and yanked the first drawer open hard. She started putting the files away.

Sasuke kept looking. Her hair was unusual…very pretty though. It was sort of shimmery. He wondered what it would look like loose. Sakura suddenly turned like she could feel his gaze. Her eyes were narrowed and he looked up quickly, feigning nonchalance.

Suddenly the door burst open. 'Yo! Teme! I have a couple- ' 'Wait a second…Sakura-chan?' Sakura whirled around. She knew that voice.

'Naruto? What are you doing here?' Naruto crossed the room and hugged her hard.

'I work here. Remember? I told you I worked for an important businessman.' He grinned, and stuck out his chest. Sakura smiled too. 'Well, now I work here as well.'

Said important businessman cleared his throat. Two heads turned his way. 'Dobe? Your report?' Sakura was confused. What was with the random names? Naruto saw her puzzled expression and chuckled. 'We've known each other forever…and those have always been our nicknames.' He explained. (OMG! 0_o Naruto explained something?) She nodded, still looking a little confused. Then he turned to Sasuke saying 'Our Korean connections reported that they could guarantee about a 43.2% increase in productivity on our side, which equals quite a large profit margin so…we need to meet with them about this and confirm the deal.' Sasuke nodded, looking pleased. 'Thanks dobe.'

'No problem teme.'

Naruto returned his attention to Sakura and whispered 'Sakura-chan, stop by my office sometime and I'll introduce you to everyone! But don't let teme know!' She smiled.

Another cough from 'Teme' brought a large grin to Naruto's face. 'See you Sakura-chan!' Naruto practically skipped out of the room. The door closed behind him. It was quiet for a few moments and then Sasuke said 'Out of curiosity, how do you know him?' Sakura turned quickly, still smiling.

'He used to be my neighbour, and a really good friend but he moved to a different apartment block about three years ago, and I haven't seen him much since…I was kind of scared when he showed up because when he lived next door he had a huge crush on me.' Her smile grew wider. 'One time he showed up where I worked on my birthday and hung a huge banner from the second floor balcony railings…He even had a giant cake delivered.' She didn't mention the part about him having asked her out on a date in front of her whole office…or almost getting fired because she 'couldn't keep her love life out of her professional life' That's why she hadn't told him when she switched jobs. 'I thought it might have been my birthday today.'

She giggled, and then stopped. He was laughing. Why was she telling him this? She flushed and shot a glance at him. He was still chuckling. His whole face was lit up. She noticed suddenly. He's adorable when he laughs. She shook herself mentally. What was wrong with her today?

Another glance showed her that Sasuke was looking at her funny. Why? Then she realized she had actually shaken her head. She blushed even more. 'I'll just…the last of them away…' She hurried to the last of the files, stuffed them in and went through the adjoining door to her office in a rush. She closed it quickly and leaned on it breathing a little heavily. Why was she flustered?

She sighed, and walked to her desk. Hmmm. She would deal with the appointments and meetings and then take Naruto up on his offer. She wanted to be away from Sasuke for a while. Being around him made her feel…strange.

Twenty minutes later she had finished the list he had given her that morning minus the dry cleaning. That would have to wait till she left for lunch…if he let his employees have a lunch break. She stretched, and rose from the chair. It really was very comfortable.

She started to go towards the door when she realized she had no idea how to get to Naruto's office. The place was like a maze. With this last thought, she didn't put her foot down to take another step, but turned on the heel of her shoe with a graceful spin, and walked back to the desk. She picked up the phone, and called an orderly. Before she had finished putting down the receiver, one had arrived. She shivered.

It really was a little strange how efficient they were in this place. The orderly bowed. 'How may I help you Haruno-san?' She blushed. He was calling her –san, and all she was going to do was ask him for directions? 'Um, could you point me in the direction of, um, Uzumaki Naruto's office please?' The orderly bowed again.

'Of course. Right this way.' He swept out of her office and she followed him. Two minutes later he stopped in a hallway and pointed her to the right door. She thanked him profusely, and he disappeared, needed elsewhere in the house. The corridor was richly furnished, much like the rest of the house, and as she went along she heard voices. Not voices. Naruto's voice.

She came to the door and was about to push it open when – 'C'mon Tenten! I promise it really is in the magazine! You have to answer the questions to find out which product is best for you! Look!'

'No Naruto!'

'Please!' Sakura stifled a giggle at the thought of whoever was on the receiving end of Naruto's puppy dog face. There was a sigh. 'Alright fine! Ask your damn questions!'

'Yes! Ok, first one: What's your zodiac sign?'

'Aquarius. Why does that matter?'

'You'll find out at the end! How often do you buy and or wear makeup?'

'Really? Well, Mr. Avon Representative I don't buy makeup unless it's a really special occasion and I only wear lipgloss, unless it's a very special occasion.'

'Whoa…it says most women in Konoha at least own lipstick and blush! I guess you're just strange Tenten.'

'You wanna own my fist?'

'Sorry, sorry…ok next question.' Naruto giggled. 'What's your bra size?'

'What the hell? Naruto, I am going to fuck you up!' There was a loud crash, and a whimper. 'Sorry Tenten! Don't hurt me!' Sakura was about to go in and stop the fight when a new voice joined the argument. 'You know Dickless, that was probably a stupid question to ask her.'

'Thank you Sai! Now come over here and help me chop off his balls and shove them in his mouth!'

'Oh my pleasure. We'll see if he really is dickless.'

At this last comment Sakura burst out laughing and pushed the door open. A woman with two brown buns on either side of her head had her foot on Naruto's chest, hand poised to strike. She was glaring at him, murder in her eyes. Naruto was flat on his back under her foot, trying and failing to calm her. There was a man leaning casually against the wall watching the scene unfold.

His face was like a human mask; completely expressionless. They all looked up at the same time. The man immediately smiled; a plastic smile. Naruto cheered 'Sakura-chan, you're just in time to rescue me!'

Sakura was still laughing, great gasping fits of laughter. The woman called Tenten didn't let up. She pulled her fist back. Sakura stopped laughing enough to choke out between giggles 'No…wait…haha…don't…hahaha…hurt him…'

Tenten looked from her to Naruto and back. Finally, she grudgingly released him, and stepped back, brushing at her suit. Naruto sat up, holding his head. 'Jeez Tenten, what did I say?' Sakura had calmed down by this point. She casually walked over to him and held a hand out, while she infused chakra into the other one. He grinned and gripped the outstretched one. She yanked him up and punched him on the head so he fell right back down. 'Ouch! What the hell Sakura-chan?' She dusted her palms.

'You idiot. You don't EVER ask a girl what her bra size is.' Tenten snorted, and grinned.

'Nice one. I'm Tenten.' She walked forward, stepping on Naruto's stomach, extracting a loud Oof! Sakura shook her hand.

The man sidled up next to Tenten. 'And I'm Sai. How are you?' She shook his hand too, a little creeped out. 'So I'm guessing you heard all that back there?' said Tenten. She rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed.

Naruto was picking himself up for the second time. 'Aw, Sakura-chan you hit hard…I still don't get what I did. All I wanted to know was her -' Tenten looked imploringly at Sakura. She nodded. Tenten jumped forward, shoving off the desk and decked him on the cheek. He flew backwards and landed on a filing cabinet. 'OW!'

She landed in a crouch, and quickly straightened. Sakura snickered and high-fived Tenten. 'I think I'm going to like you.' She said. Tenten laughed and then checked her watch.

'Hey, do you wanna grab some lunch with us? Mr. Uchiha gives us a good while. Sai, you come too.'

'Thanks, Tenten.' Tenten turned and grabbed a purse from her worktable. Sai started out the door and they followed leaving a groaning, bruised Naruto on the cabinets.

Ten minutes later, all four of them were at Ichiraku's. Naruto's choice, of course. Sakura was between Naruto and Tenten, with Sai on the end. Naruto had quickly forgotten his pain, despite the colorful purple mark blossoming on his face, after eating ten bowls of ramen.

While Tenten goggled, Sakura giggled. She had forgotten how much he could eat. He sat back and patted his stomach, sighing contentedly. 'So Sakura-chan, does this count as that date?' Sakura glared at him. 'No Naruto. In case you forgot, or just didn't notice, there are two other, living breathing people here.'

There were snickers from behind her. She turned sharply. Tenten's cheeks were bulging with the force of keeping her laughter contained. Sai was actually laughing, a real human laugh. Not like the plastic emotions he'd had back in the office. 'Oh go ahead.' She said, huffing. Tenten shrieked with laughter, and fell off her stool.

Naruto was confused. 'What's so funny?' Sakura bit her lip, and smiled. 'Never mind Naruto.' Sai and Sakura lifted a shaking Tenten to her feet, back onto the stool. She apologized in between giggles. Sai looked at Sakura suddenly. 'What emotion is that? I don't think I've read about that one.' Tenten smacked him. 'Later Sai.' Sakura felt weirded out. This guy was one of the stranger people she'd met. They finished their meal, and headed back to the office.

At the door of the office, Naruto stopped suddenly. Sakura looked back at him. 'What's up?' she said. He looked like he had just had an epiphany. He looked at her. 'I just realized…Tenten-chan was laughing at me.' He said. He looked so devastated that she ran over and gave him a hug. Then she held him at arm's length. Now he looked like his birthday had come early. So she slapped him for good measure. 'Ouch! What the –' he stopped.

'Oh. Sorry Sakura-chan.' She shook her head.

'C'mon. I have to get back to work.' He nodded and then followed her.

'Wait a second. Sakura, do you know how to get back to your office?' She blushed. She hadn't thought about that. 'Um, no not really…' He chuckled at the expression on her face.

'I'll take you back. You really have to learn your way around.'

'Hey! It's only my first day! Don't be so mean!' she said, punching him lightly on the arm in mock protest. They chatted all the way back. She stopped at her office. 'Thanks Naruto! I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?' He grinned.

She opened the door, and closed it gently. And then she remembered. Shit. She'd forgotten the dry-cleaning. Wait. That was what delivery was for right? She breathed a sigh of relief. She went to her desk, and sat in her chair pushing it so it spun around. Despite her rough morning, she'd had a really good day so far. She picked up the receiver again, and looked over the array of cards on her desk. Tailor, Limo & Co.,..dry cleaning! She dialed the number, and arranged for it to be delivered.

They asked her if it should be delivered to the limo or to the house. She wondered why, but said the house anyway. Then she hung up, and realized that had been her last task. Wonder if the Asshole wants anything else done. She had better go ask him before he fired her for some reason of his creation, like how she didn't put his files in order of his favorite companies or some crap like that. Sighing with resignation, she trudged over to the door, and knocked softly. 'Come!' came the voice on the other side. She entered the room.

Sasuke was looking out of the window in his office, and his mother was sitting in a large, comfy armchair. Mikoto Uchiha burst into smiles. 'Sakura-chan! How are you? How did your first day of work go? I hope my son didn't try to scare you off.' With that last comment she shot a look at Sasuke.

He had turned around, and was watching the two of them, with a funny expression on his face. 'Um, it went…fine. Sas- I mean Mr. Uchiha has been very…welcoming.' Sasuke turned quickly to hide the look of amusement on his face, and had to bite his tongue hard to stop himself from laughing out loud. Welcoming? Well she could say that. He turned again, and his mother was beaming happily at Sakura, still gushing. She was just nodding, with a small smile on her face. She looked like she could be rescued about now, but he thought he'd let her sweat it out a little, as another small revenge for the coffee that may or may not have been poisoned. Finally, she sent him Save me look. He smiled inside and said, 'Mother don't smother her.' His mother turned to face him like she'd forgotten he was there.

'Oh yes! I'm sorry dear, what was it that you wanted?'

'Oh, um, I just wanted to tell Mr. Uchiha that I had finished the list he gave me this morning.' Mikoto smiled again. 'See Sasuke? Beautiful and efficient.' Sakura blushed.

'Yes, Mother.' said Sasuke.

'Anyway, I'll leave you two be. I'm sure you have some business to finish.' Sakura's color rose a few more degrees. Mikoto swept out of the room, gracefully, like a tiny dancer. As soon as the door closed, Sauke said 'So you finished the list did you? Well I gave you a light load as it was only your first day. Oh, and by the way, if you finished, then where's my dry cleaning?'

Sakura looked slightly annoyed by this comment.

'On it's way. I had it delivered.' She said in a flat voice. As if on cue, there was a knock at the door followed by a delivery man, and six or seven suits all shrouded in plastic. Sakura stared at the delivery man. He was dressed in a suit, like he was on a special business occasion or something. But he was holding out an electronic clipboard. 'Someone to sign for the delivery?' he asked.

Sakura moved forward after realizing that since Sasuke hadn't moved, that he probably didn't stoop to such low class activities. The thought that he would do something as heinous as signing a clipboard unless it would seal him a deal for several billion yen was probably ridiculous to him. She signed quickly. The delivery man thanked her, and she opened the door for him.

Just before she closed the it, he looked her up and down, and quickly said, 'You want to grab dinner sometime? Or you know…' He smiled a dirty smile at her. 'Play a game or two…' Sakura's anger boiled over instantly. She beckoned him closer. 'I'll tell you what I want…' He leaned forward, eager to hear what naughty message she might have for him. She put her lips to his ear, and then brought her knee up with the force of a rampaging bull where it would hurt.

He doubled over immediately, groaning, clutching at his crotch. Then she punched him in the face, making sure she put enough chakra into her hands to break his nose. He stumbled backwards and slid down against the wall. She walked up to where he was sprawled, and bent over so she was at eye level with him. One of his hands was clamped over his nose trying to stop the blood, while the other protected his crotch from further attack. She said 'Ever say something like that to me again, and I'll put you in the hospital.'

With that, she turned on her heel and slammed the door behind her. Then she remembered Sasuke. He had seen the whole thing and was staring at her with wide eyes. After a few tense seconds, he began to shake with silent laughter. 'Remind me never to hit on you!' Sakura's face had barely had time to cool after her encounter with Mikoto, and now it once again looked like a cherry.

She looked quickly at the floor. 'I-I'll just go…' She tried to leave as quickly as possible without running. 'Wait Miss Haruno! I forgot to give you this.' She looked at him. He still had a smile on his lips. He was holding out a small black object. 'It's a pager.' He explained. She nodded. She took it from him, fingertips just brushing his outstretched fingers. She snatched her hand back, and brought it to her side. She whirled, and walked into the door, as she had forgotten to open it. Sasuke burst into renewed laughter, practically bubbling over with mirth. (Out of character I know…)

Trembling with embarrassment, she opened it, and shot across the room. She grabbed her purse and jacket, and then made a beeline for the door. Sasuke's laughter followed her all the way down the corridor.

Once there, she calmed down a little. She thought she could probably remember the way she had come if she really tried, and even if she couldn't, there were enough servants in this place to lead her to Brazil and back. And sure enough, when she concentrated, she only made a few wrong turns and was able to make it back to Sasuke's bedroom. She blushed again remembering the events of that morning.

Then she shoved the thoughts away and thought about getting out. She knew she had a couple flights of stairs and about a gazillion corridors to get through. She couldn't go back to office. Sasuke would be there. Wait a second. Were those footsteps? An orderly rounded the corner and head off to the other end of the corridor. Sakura jumped at the chance, and praying for the off chance that he was going outside, she followed him.

Sasuke was back at his desk, still smiling. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed or smiled so much in one day. Or had a PA that might have poisoned his coffee. That one was completely new. Or, for that matter, one that disappeared with no explanation for chunks of the day. He had meant to say something, but then the delivery man had appeared. The smile got wider.

He leaned back in his chair, laced his fingers together, and placed them behind his head. She was remarkably okay for someone who had almost been raped, though it had been a while, hadn't it? About six months he thought. Even with that in her history, he wasn't planning to fire her anytime soon. But he wasn't going to tell her that. He smirked. He didn't know why, but he kind of enjoyed being near her. The smirk vanished as his thoughts drifted to the dinner about a month from then. He was going to have to see him. And no doubt she would be with him too. His good mood went as quickly as it had come. He checked his watch. 2:38. Time to get back to work.

Ten minutes later Sakura emerged on the outside. The servant she had followed had taken some detours but she made it! Feeling some slight triumph, Sakura wended her way through the beautiful garden and across the bamboo bridge to the front gates. The guard was different this time. He smiled at her, and pressed a button. One side slowly swung open. She passed through, and walked out onto the streets of Konoha.

Sakura: why'd you make me look like an idiot in front of Sasuke?

Me: Cause I can…hehehehe….

Sakura: Your…you…you're evil that's what! *cries anime tears*

Sasuke: Yeah seriously, since when do I laugh? *Uchiha death glare*

Me: Oh shut up, before I make you clean a bathroom with your tongue or something!

Sasuke: You can't do that!

Me: *whips out laptop and starts typing*

Sasuke: OMG! You can! *goes toward bathroom sticking tongue out, crying.*

Me: Alright, alright. I'm not entirely merciless. *stops typing*

Sasuke: *is emo in corner*

Me: BWAHAHAHA..*cough cough* HA! Lol.

I am very sorry about how long this took! I feel like it's been collecting dust on my hard drive for ages. I had some serious writer's block, but then I was re-inspired and I feel like it came out alright. r&r please! Tell me if it came out ok…:D