Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. All characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi

*Hey people, so I realize it has been a while since I updated but taking summer classes was much more demanding than I anticipated. I am really very sorry that it has taken this long and I hope you like this chapter* Please Read and Review

Chapter 4

Kagome went back to seventh floor to grab her things before she left for the day. The elevators opened and she saw Sango leaning against her desk looking a bit impatient. Kagome approached her and asked if anything was wrong.

Sango looked up at Kagome and said "Yeah I'm fine Kagome, I'm just waiting for that idiot Miroku" releasing an annoyed sigh.

"Miroku? I thought you hated that guy. Why are you waiting for him?" Kagome asked a bit confused.

"I don't hate him, Kagome" she said with a giggle, "he just gets on my nerves from time to time. We live in the same area so we carpool and he happens to be the driver today" she said. As soon as she finished talking, Miroku approached them while putting on his coat. "Well it's about time!" Sango said gathering her things.

"I am sorry my fair Sango for keeping you. You should teach me a lesson for being so rude" he said while wiggling his eyebrows. Kagome let out a laugh while blushing at the same time.

Sango turned red like a tomato was about to throw her purse at him when Kagome stopped her while continuing to giggle. "Sango, he was just trying to be funny" she said.

"Yeah but he was being a jerk at my expense! Oh Miroku, you are so lucky that Kagome was here to stop me from beating your ass otherwise you would be licking the floor right now" she said while putting her arm down.

Miroku gave a nervous gulp and turned to Kagome. "Thank you so much Kagome, you are as generous as you are beautiful. I had missed your gorgeous face today, were you ill?" he asked.

"Yeah come to think of it, you never came back since delivering those papers to Sesshomaru" Sango added.

Kagome blushed slightly and told the two how she was supposed to be Sesshomaru's secretary until Kikyo returned.

"Kikyo wasn't there? Inuyasha didn't return from earlier either" Sango contemplated. "I hope everything is okay" she added.

The other two nodded and Kagome said that Inuyasha instructed her to stay as Sesshomaru's secretary. Miroku chuckled a little bit and Sango had a smug look to her face as she said "Well you lucky girl! I know girls who would kill to be in your position, especially after joining the company so recently. Now don't forget to do your work while you're up there, Kagome, and refrain from staring too long if you want to keep your job" Sango teased, causing Kagome to turn beat red.

"Sango!" she yelled as both Miroku and Sango scrambled to the elevator, all the while laughing at poor Kagome.

Kagome went to her old desk and grabbed her purse. She walked to the elevator and it opened to reveal the man who had been torturing her all day. She politely gave a small nod to her boss and he reciprocated in kind. "You are still here, Ms. Higurashi" he said more than asked.

"Yes, Mr. Taisho, I just had to grab a few things" she replied. He did not say anything after that but she knew that he understood. They did not say anything to each other as they got off the elevator and went their separate ways. Kagome walked out of the building and waited at the bus stop.

She quickly caught the bus back to her apartment complex. She quickly took off her shoes and fed her cat. She could feel the soreness of her back and feet from running around all day. She could not believe the amount of work Mr. Taisho had made her do just in one day. She decided to take a warm bubble bath to relax her aching muscles.

As she soaked in the hot water, she reflected on all the changes that had happened in just one day. She could not ignore the fact that she was attracted to her boss. It was no wonder that so many women were always fawning over him, he was gorgeous. But his behavior left much to be desired. Kagome knew that the only way she would earn his respect was by, as Inuyasha put it, not "mixing business with pleasure". She did not want him thinking that she was incompetent. She knew she could do the job and she was not going to let everything she had even worked for to go to waste all for a silly little school-girl crush.

She quickly got out of the tub when her hands had started to become prune-like. She put on her lotions, and made herself some dinner. She was about to start eating when someone knocked on her door. She opened the door to reveal her neighbors, a nice elderly couple. She would sometimes ask them to watch her cat when she went to visit her family during the weekends. "Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Sato" she greeted them.

"Good evening Kagome," they replied. "We are so sorry to bother you dear but an emergency has come up and we will be out of town for a few a week or so. Would you mind watching our cat, Mimi? We would be very grateful. We should be back by next Friday, my dear" said Mrs. Sato.

"Of course, Mrs. Sato! You guys take care of Buyo all the time, so I would love to watch Mimi for a few days" she replied happily. The elderly couple thanked her profoundly and dropped off their cat and her belongings before leaving. Mimi and Buyo got along just fine while Kagome continued her dinner. She eventually brushed her teeth and went to bed. As she lay in bed, she promised herself that she would act more professional around her boss and not let her attraction interfere with her work. With determination burning in her heart, Kagome slept before facing a new day.

It was now Friday. This was her ninth day working for Sesshomaru Taisho and she could not wait to go back to being Inuyasha's secretary. Inuyasha had come back last week but since Sesshomaru had not yet found a replacement secretary for Kikyo, he had kept Kagome and told Inuyasha to find another secretary for the time being, which upset Kagome. It was not that the older Mr. Taisho was a terrible boss, he was just so mean. He would talk rudely to his other employees and she was working harder than ever. There was always five things to do at once, and she was starting to feel the burn. But no way was she going to show her boss that the work load was starting to affect her, no, she would push on. But the least he could do was be nicer to her.

Ever since she vowed to be more professional and less school-girly around him, their working relationship was very good. She did not blush or get embarrassed around him, and did everything efficiently and effectively. She was always on top of her work, and things were going very smoothly. Even though his face did not show any emotions, she knew that he was satisfied with her work.

Kagome looked over at the clock and was that it was 4:55. She had not realized how close it was getting to 5 and had not packed up her things in time to make the 5:05 bus once get got off work in 5 minutes. She would have to take a later bus, which was not ideal since it would not come for another hour and the days had started to become shorter. Sighing, she quietly got her things ready and knocked on Mr. Taisho's door. She walked in when he allowed to her to enter.

"Mr. Taisho, I am leaving for the day" she informed him.

He did not spare her a glance and he continued to type away at his computer but said "hn". She took that as her dismissal and fought the urge to huff and march out. She quickly turned on the spot and gracefully walked out. She gathered her things and saw that it was now 5:03.

'Nope, definitely won't make it' she thought to herself. She sighed and went down to the elevator. She met Sango along the way down. Over the past week, the two ladies had struck up a friendship. It was hard to believe that these two ladies had only just met, the way they interacted. They were almost like sisters! They got lunch together every day and on some days, Miroku would join them. Kagome would see the way the two would look at the other when the other was not looking and would laugh to herself. 'These two have no idea how the other feels' she would think. She knew that they both had crushes on the other, Sango was just too proud to tell him and Miroku was too afraid of rejection.

"Hey Sango, where's Miroku" Kagome asked as they headed down towards the lobby.

"Oh he went ahead cause I had to use the bathroom" Sango replied. "So any plans for the weekend?" she asked Kagome.

"I was thinking about going to visit my family this weekend" Kagome replied. Sango only nodded.

"How's your second week been? I'm actually impressed you've lasted this long. Most girls usually run away crying by now, except Kikyo. But that's because she is with Inuyasha and isn't in love with Sesshomaru" Sango chuckled.

"It's been okay. Hasn't been easy, I'll give you that. He is so rude to people that I can totally see how he and Inuyasha are related" she replied. As they reached the ground floor, the two ladies parted and wished each other a good weekend. Kagome walked outside and pulled her coat a little closer. 'Oh great, it just had to be one of those cold nights' she thought. She finally made her way to the bus stop and planned to wait for the 6:05 bus. Looking at her watch, it was only 5:10. "This is going to take forever" she said to herself.

A few minutes later a silver Mercedes stopped next to her, the windows rolled down to reveal her boss. "Get in" he simply said.

Kagome looked at him incredulously and said "I don't know if this is a good idea, Mr. Taisho, giving your secretary a lift. People might get the wrong idea" she said with a hint of teasing. Kagome wasn't sure if she had gone too far or not when she saw her boss looking at her with a blank expression. She silently and swiftly opened the door to the car and got in.

He asked for the directions to her home, which she quickly gave, and she buckled in. The ride to her place was pretty silent and she took the time to appreciate the interior of the car as he drove. The interior of the car was very clean, just like she would have expected. She could not even find a speck of dust! She looked to see that the black leather interior contrasted greatly with his beautiful silver-white hair. She continued to look at him discretely. She saw how his face kept its stoic and chiseled look as he focused on the road, his muscles slightly bulged out of his suit as he shifted gears and steered the wheel, and how his body kept perfectly still against the seat as he drove.

He was such a tease against womankind. Kagome had this fleeting urge to touch his hair but the thought went as quickly as it came. 'Come on Kagome, this is your boss! He'd fire you! Then how would you help out the family', she reprimanded herself. "Ms. Higurashi, I failed to tell you in the office that I must attend a meeting in Paris the following Monday. You are going to accompany me. We are leaving the day after next" he said abruptly.

Kagome just stared at him with her mouth agape, trying to keep her temper in check for ordering her around. "Me sir? Why do I need to come along?" she asked.

He glanced at her quickly and looked back on the road, "Of course Mr. Higurashi. You are now my secretary and this role requires for you to travel with me on any business trips" he said.

She looked out of the window and thought about this. She had been hoping to travel back home to see her family this weekend. She knew she could not disagree with her boss but her family was important to her. "Look Mr. Taisho, I just became your secretary recently and did not realize the responsibilities that came with the job. I was hoping to see my family this weekend…" she said when he looked at her.

He looked displeased and Kagome inwardly cringed. "Ms. Higurashi, this isn't up for debate. If you want to keep your job, then pack your things by tomorrow night to accompany me to Paris. Your family visit will have to wait for another time", he said, effectively ending the conversation as they stopped outside of her apartment complex. She looked at him angrily, opened the door, got out, and roughly closed the door before stalking away from the car.

She walked up the stairs in her building and opened the door to her apartment. She was angry that her boss had been so rude to her. She could not believe he was such an asshole to prevent her from seeing her family. She took a deep breath and released it. She reminded herself that he didn't know her family situation, so it wasn't fair to be mad at him as much as she was. She carefully picked Buyo from off the ground and cuddled him as she walked to her sofa. A picture of her family was on the side table next to the sofa. She placed Buyo on her lap, where he decided to take a nap, and picked up the picture. She stared at the picture of her mother, father, grandparents, brother and sister. She remembered the terrible day when her world fell apart.

*begin flashback*

Kagome had been going to university in Osaka. Her family was coming to visit her for her birthday and Kagome was excited to see them after so long. She waited outside of her dorm for about three hours longer than she had anticipated. She started to grow concerned and called her mother. She didn't get an answer and instead left a voice mail "Hey mom, it's Kagome. I'm a little worried because I know you guys should have been here by now. I hope everything is alright. Alright, call me back" and with that she hung up. An hour later she got a call and Kagome hastily accepted the call without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello, mom?" she asked with a sense of urgency.

"Sorry but this is inspector Koga Yoro, is this Ms. Kagome Higurashi?" he asked.

Kagome's heart sunk into her stomach as she replied shakily "ye..s… this is…she".

"Ms. Higurashi, I'm sorry to inform you that your family was in an accident. They are currently at Osaka general. I can send you an officer to come pick you up" he said.

"Oh my god are they okay?! What happened!? Is anyone hurt? Who was hurt?!" Kagome yelled into the phone.

"Ms. Higurashi, I am very sorry about this but I cannot talk to you about this over the phone. I will come pick you up and drive you to the hospital. Please let me know your address to pick you up" he said calmly.

Kagome quickly told him her address and she hung up. She cradled herself as she cried and waited for the officer. She couldn't believe that this could happen on her birthday and she wanted to know what happened to her family. In a matter of minutes, a cop car pulled up and a man got out of the car. "Are you Ms. Higurashi? Well get in so we can be off to the hospital" he said when she confirmed that she was Kagome. She hurried into the car and they headed to the hospital. "Ms. Higurashi, I'm Inspector Koga. Your family was in an accident involving a drunk driver. I do not know the current status of your family but I'll get you to the hospital as soon as possible" he said as they sped down the streets.

As soon as they got there, Kagome ran to the emergency room and started yelling at the nurses, incoherently. "Higurashi…accident…NOW!"

After they got her to calm down and she told them who she was, they told her what happened. Her family had been driving across an intersection when a drunk teenage driver had hit them on the driver's side, the side where her father, grandmother, and sister had been sitting. They had died upon impact while her mother, brother, and grandfather had survived. By some miracle her brother and grandfather did not sustain any life threatening injuries. Her grandfather had dislocated his hip while her bother had broken his left arm, and both had a fair amount of scrapings. Unfortunately, her mother had critical damage to her skull and was in a coma.

Kagome broke down at the news of the death of her family members and the critical condition of her mother. She started to go into shock and she herself had to be hospitalized. She woke the next day and her brother was waiting for her by her bedside. They both looked at each other and then broke down crying. They held each other as they mourned the loss of their family members. A nurse came in to check on her and she was released a few hours later. They went to check on their mother and she was hooked up to a bunch of machines. The doctors told her that she still did not have any brain activity. Their grandfather still could not leave the hospital because of his hip.

Kagome knew she had to take care of her grandfather and brother. Her grandfather was too old to work and her father had been the big bread winner of the family, working as a construction worker. Her mother had had a part time job at a local flower shop just for some extra cash but now both incomes were gone. With the insurance on her father of more than a million dollars, she had been able to pay for all three funerals and keep her mother on life support for a few years. She had gotten a part time job as a waitress in a diner across the street from her university. Her income helped pay for the monthly payments for the family shrine and for her own college expenses. After the tragedy, the university gave her more grants and she didn't have to pay much to get through college.

Once she had gotten her bachelors, she decided to get her MBA in order to get a better job so that she would be able to afford the life support once her father's insurance money ran out and that's why she needed to open her own business as soon as she got enough experience. Her grandfather ran the shrine and Souta continued to attend school. Every month she would go back home and see her family. Together they would go to local hospital where their mother had been transferred, to see her and give her flowers from the flower shop she used to work at.

*end flashback*

Kagome snapped out of her memories. She looked to the clocked and realized only 15 minutes had gone by since she had gotten home. She looked at the picture of her family. She looked exactly like her mother with a few of her father's features. However, her personality was from her father. She was strong and independent, just like him. He wanted Kagome to get an education and be very successful. Her grandmother had been the sweetest woman she had ever known, always giving her advice when she ran into trouble and she was full of wisdom. Her baby sister had been the star of her life. She had been conceived when Kagome was a senior in high school, so pretty late in her parents' life. Although she was very young, Miyu made Kagome smile and took the stress out of her life. Kagome wiped the tears from her eyes and got up to change out of her work clothes. She took off her clothes, untied her hair, put on her robe with stars on it, and was about to head for her bathroom when there was a large knock on her door. Forgetting that she was only in her robe, she walked to the door and opened it.

So sorry for taking so long in uploading this chapter. I know it's been a while but I PROMISE the next chapter should be up in the next couple of weeks. I hope you enjoyed the chapter though! I love to hear any constructive criticism and if you have any ideas or suggestions, I am willing to listen Have a wonderful weekend!