Summary: Attorney Haruhi Fujioka has been assigned a possibly very high profile case. It wasn't easy especially if her client was the devilishly handsome and mischievous business magnate, Hikaru Hitaachin. Can she finish this case with her sanity and heart still intact or will her infuriatingly good-looking client be capable of breaking down her iron-clad self-control? AU.

Love and Legalities

Chapter 4

"Hello, sweetheart. I wasn't aware you already arrived," Hikaru smoothly walked over to Haruhi who sputtered incoherently upon hearing the unwanted endearment.

Kyouya merely raised his brow over the exchange happening in front of him. Sweetheart? He looked at them and wondered how the hell that relationship came about. This kind of development was impossible to miss through his network of information.

"Well… It seems that I don't have to introduce you both since you apparently know each other very well," the bespectacled man remarked. A subtle dig aimed at Haruhi who was beyond frustrated over the scene unfolding before her.

"I don't know this person!" she screeched earning her a few curious stares from the customers enjoying their meal. She cleared her throat as a way to distract her homicidal thoughts about a certain annoying pest.

Hikaru laughed from her outburst. He was right about the petite brunette. Teasing her was absolutely entertaining for him. "So she was Kyouya's employee?" he then thought. Things were getting more interesting while he was in her presence.

"She's being difficult right now, senpai. Keeping up appearances, and separating her personal matters from work. You can go ahead to our table while I talk some sense into her," Hikaru grinned, prompting Kyouya to shrug and leave the two of them to settle their differences. The latter wasn't one to meddle with his workers' personal matters as long as it will not affect the firm.

"Ootori-san! Wa—" Haruhi wasn't able to finish her sentence as Hikaru quickly stepped in front of her, effectively blocking her way. If looks could kill, Hikaru would've already dropped dead from the daggers Haruhi was shooting from her eyes.

"Easy now, darling. There's no need to rush," he chuckled while raising both hands in mock surrender.

Haruhi wasn't a violent person but right now she really wanted to wipe off the amused smirk from the bastard's face using her fist. Speaking of her fist, she remembered that she was still holding on to his phone. She angrily pushed the offending gadget towards his chest earning her a surprised 'Oof!' from Hikaru who wasn't prepared for the action.

"I have a name and it's not sweetheart or darling," she grounded out before sidestepping him and following her boss' footsteps. She didn't look back as she heard him chuckle behind.

"Would you prefer to be called 'love' then?" he asked upon reaching Haruhi. A derisive snort was her answer.

"What about –-"

"Do you wanna die?" she cut him off before hurrying her steps.

"Wait for me, baby!"

"Shut up!" she spun around, hit his arm then continued walking.

"Ouch. Don't be so violent, doll-face," Hikaru smirked while nursing his lightly injured arm.

"Bastard".

"I love it when you talk dirty to me."

Haruhi groaned before turning back and quickly slapping her palm against his lips to stop him from sprouting anymore nonsense.

"I don't know what your problem is, Mister. But can you just please cooperate and get this lunch over quickly?" she pleaded in a strained voice while Hikaru raised his brow. A few seconds ticked with neither of them moving from their current position until—

"DID YOU JUST LICK MY HAND?!" Haruhi all but screamed while pulling her hand away like she was burned.

"It's Hikaru."

"What?" She stared at him incredulously.

"Call me Hikaru," he gave her one of his dazzling smiles.

"I don't care! Why the hell did you lick my hand?"

"How else was I supposed to answer if your hand was in the way?"

"You could've nodded like a normal human being!"

Hikaru rolled his eyes and scoffed, "being normal is overrated". Before Haruhi could retort, the bastard took her defiled hand and pulled her along. She tried to struggle but his grip was firm.

"Wha-"

"As much as I enjoy our sweet verbal teasing, I doubt you'd love to continue it in front of an audience," he gestured with his other free hand and Haruhi saw that almost everyone inside the restaurant was watching them in amusement. "And besides, we can't make Kyouya-senpai wait much longer. You might get in trouble," he winked.

The reminder made Haruhi come to her senses. She continued to grumble until they reached their table which was thankfully situated at a more secluded part of the establishment.

She saw Kyouya who was quietly sipping a glass of wine while waiting for their arrival. She sighed in relief when Hikaru let go of her hand only to grimace upon realizing that he pulled a chair out for her. She wanted to scoff at the uncharacteristic display and was contemplating to leave him hanging while she sat in another chair. However, the rational part of her mind reasoned out that it would be quite rude and being rude wasn't in her vocabulary even if the other party deserved it. Also, he was a valuable client. Her client. Her boss' friend. The brunette silently ground her teeth and tried to calm her nerves after taking the seat. The jerk even had the guts to wink at her.

"I don't want to ask how you two know each other but for formalities' sake, Hikaru, let me introduce one of my best lawyers in the firm, Haruhi Fujioka," Kyouya gestured, "Fujioka-san, this is your new client, Hikaru Hitachiin."

Haruhi nodded once while Hikaru merely grinned back.

Lunch was an absolute horror for the brunette after Hikaru's several attempts to spoon feed her. She glared and wanted to slap his hand away but the latter managed to pull away before she could do so. She was grateful for her boss who had resolutely decided to ignore them in favor of eating his food quickly. After finishing their lunch, Kyouya asked the waitress to clear their table.

"Based on the evidence the police gathered so far, I think it's safe to say that all safety protocols were followed by your company during the time of the incident," Kyouya stated while bringing out his briefcase containing pertinent documents regarding the case. He gave Hikaru and Haruhi a copy of the police report.

"Yes. I also had one of my assistants procure a copy of the monthly inspection reports. It was only three days before the accident that the factory received an excellent rating for safety measures," Hikaru remarked while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Haruhi read the paper in her hands, quickly scanning through it in case she missed something this morning. She was relieved that her new client had the decency to leave behind his annoying personality when they began talking about work.

"Mr. Hitachiin, have the victims been given due compensation after what happened?" she asked.

"Our company provides workplace accident insurance for our employees. We already did everything in our part," Hikaru nodded solemnly.

"I still need to talk to the victims though. There is still something missing from all of this," Haruhi informed him.

"Fujioka-san has already prepared a draft settlement agreement for both parties," Kyouya said before handing Hikaru the document. The latter, however, pushed the paper away.

"Look. I don't really care for the details of the agreement. I trust your judgment, senpai. I just want this matter to be resolved fast. If word goes out to public, even if untrue, it will undoubtedly have an impact on my company."

The remark made Haruhi frown.

"We'll do our best, Mr. Hitachiin. But the victims feel wronged and we can't just shove money on them to make them agree. We need to find a common ground for both parties," she said in a high tone.

"I never said I was shoving my money in their faces. I didn't want to prolong this mess because they'll be the ones affected the most. Instead of recuperating they would have to attend trials, meetings with lawyers, police, and not to mention the resources they would spend for this. Their money, time, and energy would be wasted," Hikaru calmly replied. This made Haruhi bite her lip in embarrassment. That was so unprofessional of her! It was the first time in her career that she showed such disrespect to her client. She was never one to jump to conclusions but he just somehow managed to push all her buttons to make her angry and forget herself at times.

Before she could apologize, Kyouya cleared his throat and caught their attention.

"I'll have Fujioka-san schedule a meeting with the plaintiffs and then we'll give you a call," the bespectacled man stated before standing up and offering a handshake to Hikaru.

Haruhi followed her boss and stood up as well, still not looking at their client.

"That's fine," Hikaru said and shook Kyouya's hand. He turned his gaze to the brunette to his right and saw that she was avoiding his gaze.

"I'll leave first. I have another meeting to attend. Fujioka-san, call Matsumoto-san to have one of our drivers pick you up," Kyouya instructed.

"I'll take her back. I'll pass by your office anyway," Hikaru volunteered.

"That's-" Haruhi wanted to protest and explain that she can easily take the bus back to work but Kyouya was already walking away leaving the two of them behind.

"Let's go," Hikaru said prompting Haruhi to grudgingly follow after him.

She quietly observed the man in front of her. He wasn't teasing her right now and that made her feel guilty for her earlier remark. She wanted to apologize but the air around them was a bit tense.

Upon reaching the entrance of the restaurant, they waited for the valet to retrieve the car. Haruhi was surprised when Hikaru opened the door of the passenger's side for her.

"I'm still a gentleman even if I am a bit irritated right now," he smirked and gestured to the empty seat.

Again, Haruhi had the inkling to reject his offer and go on her own way but the guilt was still prickling at the back of her mind. She clenched her fists and went inside the car, keeping her gaze to the front. She heard him chuckle softly before gently closing the door.

"About what I said-" Haruhi started to apologize but was stopped when Hikaru suddenly came close to her.

"W-what the hell are you doing?!" she squeaked out as his face was merely inches from hers.

"Your seatbelt."

"My what?"

The sound of the seatbelt clipping in place made Haruhi come back to her senses. She was gaping like a fish while he grinned at her reaction and put on a pair of sunglasses. She shook her head to clear her absurd thoughts and resolutely looked away praying to all the gods that this day would be over.

The car ride went by smoothly with the only sound between them was the acoustic music playing on the stereo. After deep calming breaths, Haruhi finally mustered up her courage to look at Hikaru and continue her apology but he spoke before she could utter a single word.

"I'm driving," he said.

"What?" she gaped.

"I said I'm driving. Don't distract me," he repeated, still focusing on the road ahead but his lips now forming an amused smile.

"How am I distracting you? I haven't even said a word!" she exclaimed while he kept throwing her side glances.

"You're staring at me. Again. Can't help but be infatuated?" he teased.

Haruhi audibly sighed before turning her head to the window. She realized that talking to him right now would be useless when he was stubbornly ignoring her attempts of apologizing. Upon reaching their destination, she didn't wait for him to open her door and quickly got out of the car. She looked back and was about to thank him for the ride but he was also getting off.

"Thank you for the ride, Mr. Hitachiin," she still bowed and was confused when he started walking towards her.

"Call me Hikaru," he said.

"What?"

"My name. Don't call me Mr. Hitachiin, that's what other people call my father," he explained as if that would make her agree with his request.

"I'm sorry but that would be unprofessional for me to do so," Haruhi replied, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Like what you did back at the restaurant?" he remarked, raising a brow at her.

Haruhi sputtered out an apology and wanted to explain her actions but was interrupted again.

"So which floor is your office?" he asked, his face gazing up at her office building.

"I beg your pardon?" she frowned, not understanding the reason behind the change of topic.

"I still need to talk to you about something. Like our relationship-"

"We don't have one!" she vehemently retorted.

"I meant our lawyer-client relationship, dear," he pulled off his glasses and winked at her.

Haruhi wanted to pull her hair out of frustration but refrained at the last minute. She mentally gathered her wits before stomping her way towards the entrance of the building with Hikaru following close behind.

When they entered the elevator, Haruhi quickly pressed the button for the 17th floor and stepped towards one corner away from Hikaru who was smiling at her.

The blonde, however, saw her attempt at placing some distance between and decided to stand a foot away from her. He placed his hands inside his pocket while his back rested against the wall of the elevator. People started boarding the elevator as well and couldn't help but stare at him.

Who could blame them? The scene looked straight out of a magazine. He was ridiculously attractive in his calm and easy-going demeanor. Others were whispering about the good-looking stranger and stealing glances at him hoping to catch his attention. Haruhi wanted to smack their heads to clear their lovesick gazes and see the horror behind the guy's handsome façade.

Her musings were cut short when the elevator finally arrived at the 17th floor.

"Let's go, sweetheart. This is our floor," Hikaru remarked loudly before placing a hand on Haruhi's back and guiding her outside the elevator. Haruhi and the other people inside were too shell-shocked to form a response. The sound of the closing doors made Haruhi turn her head back to the elevator and shout out her explanation but was too late. She only heard her name being uttered by the people inside before the doors fully closed. There was no doubt about it. Today's rumor mill was going to be blown away by one of the wildest topics to grace the floors of Ootori Law Firm. And to think that the scene of her and her boss going out to lunch was enough for today.

'Dear Mother in heaven, help me gain patience to deal with this infuriating man. I don't want to leave Dad alone when the police arrive to arrest me for murder,' Haruhi thought her fists itching to punch Hikaru who was now outright laughing while they made their way towards her office.

A/N: Thank you to all my beloved readers and those who are following this story! I gain my confidence to post chapters from all your lovely reviews.

Next chapter: The Bastard's Request