Chapter 04

Sakura heaved a sigh of relief when the door behind Tobirama closed. She hadn't been discovered right off the bat. So far so good, but she was still going to tread lightly and remain professional.

She moved over to the empty desk and set down her work-bag, and the box of new work items. She pulled out her laptop and set it up, plugging in the charger cable and connecting it to the private WiFi of the higher ups. She set up her devices to sync all the information across platforms and then looked through her boss's schedule.

She familiarized herself with the company handbook and started memorizing the directories. When it was fifteen minutes before his appointment with Nara from Marketing, she got up swiftly and knocked on his office door before entering. "Tobirama-sama," she addressed her boss with a polite smile, "Nara-san will be here in fifteen minutes, would you like me to prepare refreshments and pull out necessary files from the storage room?"

Tobirama looked up briefly before returning to the paper in his hands, "Yes, please. There's a budget report and first quarter surveys in the storage room related to Konoha Industries, Konoha Condominiums, and Konoha Estates, please prepare them."

Sakura bowed politely at the waist before leaving just as quietly as she had entered. She opened the utilities closet door and pulled out a coffee maker, still in its box and set it up in the corner of her office room. She went to the elevator and took it down to one of the middle levels where she remembered there being a cafeteria.

She picked up some croissants, a few bowls of fruit, yogurt, tea packets, and asked one of the staff for some coffee grounds. She explained her situation and the man behind the serving table was more than happy to give her a new can of coffee from Suna. Said it was what the head honchos preferred. She thanked him kindly before swiping her card at the register and returning to the top floor.

She boiled hot water and prepared some clean mugs. She also prepared coffee in case either man preferred an alternative. She wasn't entirely sure which Nara, specifically, the meeting would be held with, but based on her knowledge, they were more tea people than coffee people. But she wasn't sure about her boss. Time to rectify that problem.

She set up a tray with refreshments and knocked on the door once before entering. She set the tray down on the coffee table in the center of the armchairs and looked at her boss, "Tobirama-sama, Nara-san will be here in momentarily, could you like coffee or tea, and how would you like it?"

Tobirama looked up again, he wasn't used to being asked these questions. He had to think for a moment before answering, "Hojicha or Kukicha would be acceptable." His assistant nodded before leaving the room again. A minute later there was another knock at the door, heavier than his assistant's. He called for the person to enter and in walked Nara Shikaku, the head of Marketing.

They greeted each other as Tobirama stood and moved to the arm chairs. Nara took a seat opposite of the man and held out the folder that was previously under his arm. He set it down on the table just as another softer knock sounded on the door.

The door opened at Sakura entered with a tray of steaming hot mugs of tea. She bowed politely without really looking at the other person, before walking around behind the Nara and setting down the coasters followed by the mugs of tea. When she raised into a standing position and her eyes locked with the Nara's, both sets widened in surprise.

Just her luck to run into a father of Twelve. She inwardly cursed her fortune. Then again, everybody she knew in her age group worked for Konoha Industries in one capacity or another, why would it be strange if their parents happened to work at the parent company. She bowed again politely introducing herself before one of her father figures could speak, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Nara-san, I am Haruno Sakuya and will be working as Tobirama-sama's assistant starting today."

She sent the man a slight pleading look when she noticed his jaw was still slack. But she could see the gears turning in his head. The look in his eyes promised an interrogation either for herself or Shikamaru the next time they met. But for now the man settled for regaining his composure and returning a polite bow with his head.

Relieved internally that she narrowly avoided another dangerous situation, she moved to the armchair beside Tobirama and set down the files he had asked for. She placed notepad on her lap and poised to take notes on this meeting.

The men began their meeting taking occasional breaks to drink their tea and snack on the refreshments. Sakura made sure to use insulated cups and brought a thermos with hot water to keep their drinks topped up. The discussion went back and forth between the various budgets and strategies for the subsidiary companies and Sakura continued to take notes, paying utmost attention to important details and figures presented.

An hour later, the meeting finally ended and she escorted Shikaku to the elevator. As he waited for the lift to arrive he turned to Sakura and eyed her transformation, "Should I even ask?" he said gruffly, used to seeing her in more masculine clothing but never for the sake of work.

Sakura sighed heavily, "You probably don't Shikaku-san, all I can say is this was Hashirama-sama and Tsunade-sama's idea." Shikaku raised a brow and didn't pry any further. Those names were enough to answer most of the questions in his mind. When the elevator opened, he patted her head fondly before entering and returning to his own floor.

She returned to Tobirama's office and cleaned up the files and refreshments. She looked up when Tobirama's cellphone rang and he took the call. He swivelled around in his chair to look out the windows. When he finished his call he turned back and got her attention, "Haruno-san, please book an appointment with Restaurant Hanae for a table of six. It is a business dinner with the directors of Konoha Hospital and Kaguya Labs and their secretaries. You will also be attending."

Sakura nodded before leaving the room to do as instructed. She never thought her new job position would be a walk in the park, but she also didn't think she would run into so many acquaintances on the first day.