Chapter 10

I apologize for the long wait; I've been incredibly busy, surprisingly. I'm so sorry! I have to sing Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (A famous 1940s song) with my cousins so I've been practicing A LOT. KAnyways, I'll try and update more often. X.

The next morning, Gingka and Madoka headed to work completely silent. Madoka was still upset at him for ruining her almost kiss last night with Sam while Gingka looked like a he wanted to rip out someone's throat. She had no idea why he looked so angry but she figured it had something to do with what happened last night when he went out.

"How was your date last night?" Gingka asked out of nowhere, glancing down at Madoka with hard eyes.

Madoka looked up at him and blinked in surprise. "Uh, it was great." She replied awkwardly before looking back down at her laptop.

Madoka inwardly groaned. This is going to be an awful day…

Looking down at her French-manicured hands, Madoka stifled a yawn. It's been about 2 hours of sitting at a conference table, talking about boring politics. Gingka wasn't bored, he was obviously dealing with the situation at hand. He looked pissed, but she couldn't blame him. The board they were talking to were a bunch of jerks.

Gingka informed her that she didn't need to take notes for this meeting; in fact, he stated that the meeting was so worthless, there was no point on even going. Therefore, Madoka sat in a room full of older men, staring either at her nails or at Gingka, who glared at the man standing in front of him.

"I'm aware of the circumstances, but we also need to look at the-"

"No, we don't." The man interrupted Gingka for the hundredth time that meeting. "The facts are all right there-"

"If we just look at the facts, we risk the chance of ruining our sales. We need to look at everything in order to stay at the top-"

"The facts are all we need to look at, Mr. Hagane."

Madoka slightly flinched at Gingka's expression. She was honestly surprised at how angry he was at the board. Perhaps it was something else that fueled the anger. But what?

"Looking at just the facts doesn't allow us the opportunity to change and grow." Madoka spoke up, causing every single man to look at her. She glanced between the men, looking at their shocked expressions. Shrugging, the 21 year old continued. "If we look at more than just the facts, we have the chance to grow from the sales and prices. It's not just about facts now a days. It's about costumer compatibility, the sales percentage, and so much more. Mr. Hagane is right. And we should all listen to him."

"You're just a little girl," The jerk growled, standing at the front of the table. "You don't know anything!"

"I know enough," Madoka glared as she stood up. Placing her hands on the table, Madoka glued her eyes on the jerk. "Who is in charge of this entire company, huh? Is it me? Or you? I don't think so. Let Mr. Hagane make the call. Hagane Corporations have been the number one business for years. There's a reason for that; and it's his choices. You're the one who doesn't know anything."

Silence engulfed the room soon after that, every single man in there staring at her. Some were shocked, some were impressed, and some were down right pissed. Feeling uncomfortable, Madoka straightened her back, fixed her work outfit, and sighed.

"Well, I think this meeting is over. Right?" Madoka looked toward Gingka, who blinked in surprise.

"Uh," He mumbled, glancing over to the man standing next to him.

The man had absolutely no words; he stood there, still staring at Madoka in shock. Then, after 2 minutes of just staring, he slowly nodded.

"Great!" Madoka stated, giving the men a bright, almost fake, smile. She grabbed her purse and walked out the door, needing some air.

"That was…impressive." Gingka commented, as the two stood outside the office building, waiting for their ride. "I never knew you had that in you."

"Well, that meeting was useless. You said it yourself." Madoka smiled up at Gingka who smile back. Ignoring the butterflies fluttering in her stomach, she moved her eyes away from his. "Plus that jerk needed to be put in his place."

"You're definitely right." Scoffing, the 25 nodded in agreement. "I can't stand him."

Just then, the black SUV pulled up to the curb. The man quickly got out and opened the back door for Gingka and Madoka. Madoka smiled at the driver and then got in first. After Gingka got in, the driver headed out, looking at the rearview mirror for directions.

"Take us to Roman's." Gingka stated, giving his driver a smile. He glanced down at Madoka, his smile still on his handsome face. "They have the best sandwiches in town."

"Great, I'm starving." Madoka replied, her stomach growling. She ignored her heart that skipped a beat when she met his eyes. Shifting her gaze, the 21 year old tried to hide her blush that was increasing every second. Why must this happen all the time? She thought to herself as they pulled up.

Madoka tapped her heel onto the ground as her eyes traveled around the menu. An old habit of hers, whenever she was ordering. She had to tap her foot and she's been doing it ever since she was little.

Since Gingka already decided what to order, he glanced down at her heel and looked back up. "Nervous tick?"

"More like old habit." Madoka replied, her eyes searching for a turkey sandwich, her favorite. "My mom did it too, so I guess I got it from her." She continued.

"Do you see her often?"

"I did." Madoka whispered, knowing that Gingka would apologize seconds later. Everyone always did.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry-"

"It's okay." Madoka cut him short, sending him a quick smile. "It's been 5 years. I'm fine." That last sentence might have been a lie, but she couldn't tell him that she was still broken over her death. No one knew, not even Hikaru.

Gingka nodded, seemingly quieter, as he looked down at the table. "I lost my mom too." He stated his voice quiet.

Placing her menu down, Madoka stared at Gingka with soft eyes. "I'm sorry."

The 25 year old smiled sadly and nodded. "It's okay. I lost her when I was a kid, so I don't really remember her. Whenever I try, I just imagine my father. He's really stepped up to the mother role since her death. It might sound weird but, he's like my mom too." He laughed softly as he shook his head.

"It's not weird." Madoka replied. She reached out and placed her hand on his, unknowingly. Butterflies shot up her arm but she ignored them. "My dad does that too."

Gingka glanced down at their hands and then met her eyes, quietly. They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, neither one backing away. Her heart filled with happiness as the moment carried on. She wanted to desperately tell him that she felt something for him…but she didn't even know exactly what it was. So she stayed silent, just as he did.

"So what can I get you guys?" A waitress walked up suddenly, ruining their quiet yet powerful moment.

Coughing awkwardly, Madoka quickly pulled her hand away and looked at the menu. Gingka stared at her as she ordered but when she looked at him; he glanced down at his menu and told the waitress his order.

The waitress eyes lingered on him just a second longer than necessary and smiled seductively. "Well let me know if you need anything else." She stated, only staring at Gingka. When Gingka never returned her gaze, the waitress turned and strutted away, hoping he was looking after her, but to no success.

He had his eyes on another woman right in front of him. But unfortunately, Madoka never even noticed.