Chapter 22- "You're my father…"
"Kiba told me the board's been praising you, Hinata." Hiashi's voice crackled over his speaker phone, but Hinata strained to hear every precious word.
"That makes my day." She was in a crappy mood, just back from a meeting in the conference room where Kabuto announced that OSA was seriously considering a buyout offer from Akastuski LTD. Hinata had filed out of the room in a stupor. "Did Kiba tell you I'll present an overview of the ad for the next board meeting? If you won't be there, I'll send you a copy…"
"That's why I called. I've got a business meeting so I won't be able to attend but on Friday I'll be in the area for a conference at this hotel. I'm staying at until Saturday for a workshop. Why don't we meet there? My secretary can reserve you a room, and you'll be my guest at the banquet. We'll find some time to go over your presentation."
Something about the offer didn't sit right with Hinata. "I'm in kind of a pressure situation at work. Seems we're a takeover target."
"Relax. Enjoy it. Hopefully they'll be as gentle as I am… when I take over a company."
"I appreciate the offer, Hiashi, but I'm sure you'll be too busy…"
"The only time I have is the time I make, and I haven't made much for you. I am very hot on this package you put together. Been bragging about it to some very influential people in Congress. I get a kick out of telling them how the private sector gets results while they're still waiting on a fact-finding study to tell them what any idiot knows. Besides, they'll be people at the banquet you should meet, unless you have all the contracts you need."
"You can never have too many phone numbers on file." Hinata always said no when that's what she meant, but she couldn't make the rule apply to Hiashi Hyuga. He was offering her entree, and she was acting like a scared little girl. 'Why do I have such trouble reading him? It's all that nonsense Naruto put in my head.' "Okay, I'll join you, but I'll have my secretary take care of the room. My expense account can use the workout."
"That's right! I'll wager you negotiated yourself a pretty nice package to go with that new promotion! I'll congratulate you properly when I see you Friday."
Hinata hung up and sat twirling the phone cord around her finger. It had been a very good year. Kakuzu moved to senior VP, head of operations and true to his word, he orchestrated Hinata's elevation to VP, Head of Broadcasting. She made sure Hiashi was sent an announcement. The promotion quadrupled her pressure, but she handled to load and enjoyed the perks. She bought her jaguar and closed on a two bedroom condo the same week. She even planned to scout for a place in Martha's Vineyard this August. Hiashi would probably be on island then too.
Once Kiba realized Hinata wouldn't blow his cover with Hiashi or Tamaki, he cooperated on her proposal for THFC. Hiashi spent most of his time managing the Hyuga companies' holdings and politicking for a cabinet post, so overseeing THFC was Kiba's domain. Hinata's ad campaign would mean a higher profile for the organization, a definite plus for him as well as for Hiashi. Within a short time Hinata had the boards approval to move ahead with the project, and Hinata's ascension to VP gave her the clout to move her pet project smoothly. So far Hinata's contact with Hiashi had been minimal, and she had preferred it that way. She worked her show and called in favors to make sure the final product was solid, and now the prize was in sight. And she fantasized about the moment when she would finally share her secret with her father, maybe over dinner in Martha's Vineyard.
'Naruto was wrong about him.' Hinata played with the buttons on her phone. 'He still hasn't called me back?'
Last month when Hinata heard Naruto had re-injured his arm, she was speechless, but she wasn't surprised. Everybody tried to tell him it was too soon. He had worked so hard, and in an instant, it was all gone. She found out he was in town seeing specialists and left a message at his hotel on top of texting him. She wanted to lend an ear, encourage him to look for the next door to open, whatever he needed to keep going. 'What would I do if that happened?' Hinata shook off the thought, grabbed the notes for her next meeting, and told her secretary she wouldn't be in on Friday.
Hinata had planned to get up early Friday to pack, but the intercom woke her predawn.
"You picked a hell of a time to respond to your messages! It's four o'clock in the morning in case you hadn't noticed!" Hinata stepped aside to let Naruto in. She smoothed one hand across her just woke up wild hair and pulled her robe to with the other.
"You want a doughnut!" He brushed past her and trudged toward the kitchen.
"Maybe the sugar will wake me up." Hinata followed him, flipped the coffee-maker on, and rummaged through the doughnut bag.
"Any cinnamon buns?"
"Who used to make cinnamon buns and donuts when we were kids?"
"Aunt Meb.. Sakura's mother."
"How come y'all stopped speaking?"
"You did not wake me up to discuss me and Sakura!" She bit into a cruller.
"Look, I'll leave, ya'know. I shouldn't a come in the first damn…"
"Relax. Let's take the doughnuts in the living room. The coffee will be ready in a minute." 'Maybe he shouldn't have come.'
Naruto sat on the sofa. Hinata saw him wince as he moved his arm. "Does it hurt bad?"
"No. It's getting better everyday," he protested and tapped the cast. I'll beat this."
"You wanna talk about it?"
"Nothing to talk about. It was a bullshit AAA game. The pitcher hung one up where I like them and I was aiming for left field. Then 'crack!' I felt my arm snap like a dry tree branch. The California docs told me I could forget baseball. I came here to see my own doctors, but they said the same damn thing. Is that what you want to know?" Naruto stared down at the floor. "I don't even know what the hell I'm doing here."
"I don't either, but you could eat doughnuts in your hotel room. If there's something else on you mind, and you came here to talk then spit out." Hinata went to get the coffee.
When she returned Hinata saw his jaw working even in the dim light.
"Shit, Hinata…you don't get it!"
"Get what? You got hurt, but you were hell-bent on coming back for spring, no matter what anybody said to you. And guess what? You're in a damned cast again. Now the doctor can't piece you together enough to play ball. When will you be satisfied? When you're crippled? Naruto, you won the series with two different teams. Yeah, you could have had an even brighter career if you weren't injured, sometimes things happen beyond our control."
"It's not time yet, can't you see that?" Naruto pounded his fist on his knee.
"How much money do you have to make?"
"It's not the money! I'm not done yet. I have to leave my mark so they won't forget."
"Forget that Yahiko should be where you are? You're the one who can't forget that."
"He was my brother, and he's dead. I'm never gonna forget." He slid back on the sofa, scrubbed his hand over his face. "I hired a car this afternoon, went out to Hidden village. I haven't been back since Mom and Dad left. The house is painted different, but there were two boys in the driveway, working on their bikes." His eyes clouded over a second. "I wasn't sure I could find your old place, but as soon as I turned down the block I knew. It's all boarded up graffiti everywhere. You know something? I wanted to burn the place down."
"Sometimes it seems like it was a hundred years ago, and sometimes it feel like…"
"Yesterday, I know. You remember the park by the high-school? There was a game going on, so I had the driver stop." He smiled. "I had fun there…racing to catch fly balls, digging in that old dented cooler coach used to bring. I'd freeze my arm off trying to find the last Orange Soda. I'd brag that I was going to be better than A-Rod"
"Naruto, that was Yahiko, not you. You didn't even like baseball." He sucked his teeth, looked away from her, somewhere far beyond the room. "Sometimes I think this baseball thing is more about him than it is about you."
"Yeah, well, he didn't get his chance to play 'cause he's six feet under."
"Why am I talking about this? You don't know shit about it." Naruto got up to leave.
"I don't? I was there. I saw the whole thing, probably better than you cause I wasn't wrestling. Yahiko was wrong for hiding that Kunai in his bag. Period! Anyone else could've got hurt with that thing."
"He's the only one dead."
"And I'm sorry, but I don't think it should of been somebody else instead, do you?"
Naruto didn't answer. She walked over and stood in front of him. He sidestepped her and headed for the door. "Haven't you once been mad at him for pulling such a stupid stunt? I have. That situation changed all our lives. Forever. Yahiko was old enough to know better. He was your brother, you loved him, but he did it. Not you! And it's time you stopped beating yourself up for it."
"Somebody's gotta carry the weight."
"Only the person responsible, and that not you! Yahiko would've called you a chump for taking the heat for what he did. Nobody blames Naruto Uzumaki but Naruto Uzumaki. All your pennants and records aren't gonna change that, as much as you want them to."
Naruto paused, his hand on the doorknob. "Look, I just figured you'd understand what I'm going through. That you'd be pulling for me…"
"I am pulling for you."
"You got a funny way of showing it."
"It may not be what you want to hear, but I say it the way I see it."
"You're good at giving advice. You should learn to take it."
"If you're referring to Hiashi Hyuga, I have that under control,"
"You tell him he's your father?"
"Not yet, but…"
"Then you don't have nothing under control." He opened the door. They stood face to to face for moment. "Later."
Hinata fumed at Naruto all the way to the convention center. She stood impatiently in the hall waiting while the bellman unlocked her room on the executive floor, handed her the key card. He flipped on the light, stepped aside and she saw the roses, scarlet, with blossoms the size of her fist, arranged in a cut crystal vase. She opened the card. "Cocktails at six-thirty. Looking forward to the evening. I hope you wear something red."
Hinata had planned to a wear a red chiffon dress, but she was glad she brought a black one ,too..or maybe the eggplant sheath, Suits, dresses, shoes, duplicates of everything because she couldn't make up her mind. She tossed them on the spare bed, over chair backs. 'What's appropriate attire for introducing yourself to you father?' After a shower she was all shaky thumbs with her hair and makeup, like a divorcee on her first blind date.
By six o'clock she was dressed but the room was a disaster. She phoned Hiashi's room. He answered on the first ring. She thanked him for the roses and they arranged to meet at six-thirty in the lounge. "I like to be early, so I can pick my spot," he said.
Hinata saw him as soon as she walked in. He looked at ease in his tux. Scotch in hand, he leaned against the bar laughing at a story being told by a man next to him. Hinata detected a hint of disappointment when Hiashi saw her, dressed in black, not red, but he greeted her with a firm handshake and a wide-open warmth. He introduced her, by her name, company and title, to his companion who shook her hand.
Hiashi led her to the scenic elevator. "Perfect timing. He could bore the paint off a wall, but his company makes good products. He's drowning in poor distribution though. I'm trying to buy him out and sell the company."
"Remind me not to play poker with you."
"I'm very unlucky at cards," he replied.
Only a handful of guests had arrived, and bartenders bustled with last-minute setups. Hiashi gave the room a 360 degree once over and selected a spot by a column just opposite the entryway. Then he snagged a waiter, slipped a fifty in his breast pocket, and had a chat about making sure he and Hinata had drinks in their hands as needed.
"You leave nothing to chance." Hinata stepped back. He seemed overpowering up close.
"Not if I can stack the deck in my favor. I treat every party like it's mine. I enjoy it better, and I always feel I'm supposed to enjoy it." He paused a moment. "I like your perfume. You know, you always remind me of somebody, but I can't figure out who it is."
"Oh…"
"So, tell me…this agency merger. Are you on solid ground, or the slippery slope?"
Hinata explained the OSA-Akatsuki LTD saga, relieved he had changed the subject.
"My advice is don't get caught between somebody's loyalty and a great big check. They'll knock you out of the way before the ink dries, and they won't stop to say excuse me."
By the time the waiter returned with their drinks, people streamed in at a steady clip and three quarters of them stopped first at the column where Hiashi was holding court. Names rolled off his tongue and he had a clap on the back and a glad word for each one.
Hiashi introduced Hinata to publishers, radio network owners, builders and importers. While Hiashi entertained, Hinata was at the center of another social circle as she discussed common links with her new acquaintances. She was aware that many were curious about this woman with Hiashi Hyuga, but that was her secret. She'd glance at Hiashi and think how smooth they were together. They could both chat up anybody and not break a sweat. She was impressed with how far his smarts had gotten him and eager to study at his knee.
"You still not ready to let go of my lazy sack a grandson-in-law yet? I got the perfect job for that Kiba. Got a mop and a bucket with his name on it. You just give me the word." Nekobaa, Tamaki's grandmother said. Hinata had to hold back a smirk at that comment. Nekobaa came to say hello to Hiashi.
"Nekobaa, you are too hard on Kiba. He's doing a fine job. THFC has grown so fast that I got him keeping tabs on all that government regulations we have to comply with on our job training contracts. He's in Cleveland tonight, scoping out a site for a new center."
"Humph. Whatever he's doing, you must be paying him too much." Even in the climate controlled hotel, she wore a sheen of sweat. "Kami, you shoulda seen the bills he and Tamaki had the nerve to ask me to pay. But, you keep those big fat paychecks of his coming you hear?"
Hinata thoroughly enjoyed telling Nekobaa about how she knew Tamaki and to send her regards.
"I wish Tamaki had spent less time running man-wild with that Ino and more time with girls like you. Maybe then she could have seen past the smooth talker she married."
'Maybe not.' Hinata just smiled.
Hiashi was on the dais. He had arranged for Hinata to sit with his companion he was talking with earlier at the bar. During dinner he talked her ear off non-stop. She then turned and talked to a fuel oil distributor sitting next to her, but his wife wasn't crazy about that. Occasionally she'd look at Hiashi, wanting to be up there, listening to his stories, basking in his attention.
After speeches and coffee Hiashi came up behind her chair, put his hands on her shoulders and whispered in her ear, "Thanks for baby-sitting."
Hiashi's hot breath on her ear gave Hinata the creeps.
Hinata thanked everyone at the table for great conversation then they proceeded to exchange business cards.
"Business is officially closed for the day. How about a nightcap?" Hiashi had looped her arm through his, and they strolled to the elevators. That felt like trouble. On a date it's when she would decide if she was sleeping alone or not. But whatever was going on in Hiashi's head, she knew this was not a date.
"I'm about done for the night." They rode to the lobby in a crowded elevator. Hinata stared out at the atrium until they reached "L".
"A brandy won't kill you. Don't tell me you're gonna let an old man outrun you."
"No, it's just that we'll have to get up early to watch video before your seminar. I had the hotel reserve a conference room." Hinata edged over to the elevators that went to the guest floors and pressed the button.
"You're very intense. My eagle eyes tell me you're extremely tense, too." He let go of her arm, stepped behind her, and massaged her shoulders. "But now's the time to relax."
Hinata grew more rigid as Hiashi kneaded. She slipped from his grip and faced him. "I've just had a long day. And after you see video, I'll be able to relax. If you like it, that is."
Doors opened and Hinata hurried into the elevator, pushed for her floor. Hiashi followed and pushed every number in between.
"You need to let the feel-good catch up with you." He looked squinty-eyes and rangy, edging toward her, but then two giggling preteen girls dashed in. They looked back and forth at each other for several floors then one ran off and the other followed.
'Just let me get to my floor.' "What time tomorrow? Eight o'clock?"
Hiashi eclipsed the space in front of her. "How about whatever time we wake up?" His lips approached hers in slow motion.
'This can't happen!' Hinata did the first thing that came to mind and started to cough, dry and unstoppably, until tears ran from her eyes. At her floor she stepped off. "I've gotta quit smoking." She blocked the door with her hand. "What time tomorrow?"
"Eight-thirty. My suite. I'll order breakfast." He looked peeved.
"Good night." Hinata's pulse throbbed in her temples like she'd dodge a bullet aimed between her eyes. She hurried to her room and fumbled clumsily with the key card. Finally inside, she sat on the bed, trembling so violently she needed two hands to light a cigarette.
She'd never thought of Hiashi Hyuga as a man, only as the father who would welcome her if she could prove herself worthy, but he obviously had other ideas. 'What am I gonna do?' What seemed simple before was now as clear as day. Being claimed by her father would make up for years of feeling like a miserable mistake. But she hadn't considered her interest could be misconstrued.
Walking away from the situation wasn't an option. She had entangled herself and a lot of colleagues in THFC, and she felt obligated to finish the project. 'I could complete the commercial and disappear. Nobody's gonna come looking.' But she couldn't let him believe Hinata Hyuuga, she mean Mitarashi that's who she really is no matter how much she doesn't want to be, was a flake. That would be devastating. 'I have to tell him. Tomorrow.' That way she could stop ducking his advances and begin with him again. This time with no secrets.
The monogrammed cuff link was in her purse. There was nothing to it, but to get it over with. She showered a long time, deciding whether to bring it up before or after he watched the commercial, rehearsing how she would tell Hiashi Hyuga she was his child.
'Does the name Anko Mitarashi sound familiar? Did you ever notice my eyes and hands are like yours? You know how you said I remind you of somebody? I know who it is. Why did you let your family run us away? Why did treat Hitomi the way you did when she took me in? How could you not remember nor acknowledge you had a child out there?'
She called the front desk for a wake-up call. Then she lay awake smoking and waiting while morning took its sweet time to dawn.
Portfolio under her arm, cuff link in the pocket of her plum suit, Hinata trudged down the hall. 'Hiashi, the truth is, you're my father…I'm you daughter..Daddy?' No matter how she began or ended, it sounded deranged, the kind of outside nightmare you have when you start sipping at happy hour and find yourself home when the bar closes. The kinds of sick dream that makes you swear you'll stop drinking. At eight-thirty-five Hinata knocked on Hiashi's door.
"It's open!"
She turned the knob, with the weight of her whole life dragging behind her, and stepped into a living room furnished in taupes, tans and creams as tranquil as a sigh. The only splash of color was a massive array of magenta flowers that filled the mouth of the fireplace. The aroma of coffee surrounded her as soon as she stepped in. Reflected in a wall of mirrors, she saw champagne chilling in a silver cooler next to a dining table, set for two.
"I hope you're a big eater." Dressed in Navy silk pajamas, a glass of champagne in hand, long hair down and not pinned back. Hiashi relaxed in an overstuffed chair. "Champagne or coffee, pick you poison."
"Coffee for me." She sat her purse and folder by the table and made a beeline for the pot, to him in his seat. "Have they brought up the dvd player yet? I requested that do that."
"No. Which means you have to relax with me until they do." He patted the ottoman in front of him. "Why don't you bring those shoulders here and let me work on them a while."
"I don't think that's a good idea." 'I'll have to tell him before the tape.' Hiashi was clearly starting where he left off.
"You think too damn much. Let me ask you this, have I offended you in anyway?"
"No. Not at all."
"Are you married?" Hiashi put down his glass and got up.
"No." She had planned to take control, but Hiashi was leading this tango.
"A lesbian?"
"No."
"Some kind of religious zealot?" He slithered in her direction.
"No. It's just …"
"Then I guess you're just an old-fashioned cock-teaser. I like that in a woman… to a point." He grabbed her hand before she could move it. "Let me show you the point."
"No!" She yanked her hand away and edged around the table.
"What kinda crazy shit is this! Act like you never been with a man before!"
"You're my father, Hiashi!" The monumental words were out, and she braced for her world to shift on its axis.
He looked at her a moment, expressionless, then sputtered with a spiteful laughter. "I've been told all kinds of crazy stories before but this beats them all."
"I'm not lying! Anko Mitarashi was my mother." She shoved the cuff link across the table at him. "Remember this?"
He picked it up, twirled it between his fingers by the stem. "I've lost more of these than I can count. It means nothing." He flicked it on the table, and it rolled to the floor.
"You were registering voters in swan city, North Carolina. You used to drive her home. She followed you to Konoha where she met Hitomi… she said to tell you, fuck you."
Hiashi examine Hinata slowly, shaking his head. His eyes had a mean glint. "Son of a bitch." He shuffled back to his seat, flopped in the chair, and drained his glass of champagne.
"I wasn't going to tell you like this." She sank into a chair at the table. "You didn't give me a choice." Hinata recalled the first time she saw Hiashi. "I never blamed you for leaving. Anko didn't care about anybody, including herself. She dumped me as soon as she got the chance, twice. When she told me about you, I vowed to make you proud of me. I'm not like her. I made something of my life."
Hiashi propped his head in his hand and smirked. "Snagged by some thirty-year old snatch. Ain't this some shit?"
"This isn't a plot. I'm not trying to con you."
"I know you don't expect me to believe you showed up with Father's Day greetings three damn decades late, looking for my love and devotion? So what's this going to cost me?"
"What?" The words inflamed her, like she had been struck by lightning.
"You must have a ballpark figure in mind. I could deny this, but then you would probably have your lawyer drag my ass into court ordering dan tests and send out press releases about it. I can see it now. 'Prominent man sidelined by his roving penis.' I won't have this mess all over the place. I can't have a scandal, but you knew that. I admit, you're smart. Nobody's ever blindsides me before…So, what's the number?"
"I don't want your money!" Hiashi's offer fanned the blaze, and Hinata's reply burned with an outraged fire.
"Save the high and mighty speeches. I heard them all from my mother and grandmother. Nothing I ever did was good enough according to them. They taught me and my brother the best way to deal with women is to say what you got to get what you want and ignore them the rest of the time. You could probably follow in their footsteps quite nicely, but you see, I already have a family…A daughter, the spitting image of her mother, twenty-five and never had a job in her life. Her crowning achievement is playing tennis, shopping, partying and even a greater fondness for my money. I haven't seen her since she turned twenty one and came into her trust. My nephew Neji is no better. But he's my brother's problem. He downed half a glass a the champagne. "Oh, yes I have all the kids I plan to acknowledge."
Hinata stood, swathes in the charred remains of her self-esteem. "I'll finish the commercial because I started it and because it benefits other people." She dug in her folio and dropped the dvd on the table. "Watch it or not. I don't care. Any comments, take them to the board." There was a knock at the door. Hinata gathered her things and sauntered toward it. Hand on the knob, she stopped. "Anko warned me years ago that you talked with a silver tongue, but I ignored that. She was right." Hinata mustered on last, venom-laced glare at her father. He gave her a cavalier half salute and refilled his glass.
Hinata yanked oped the door, startling the bellman who had dvd player. It was all she could do to keep her composure until she got back to her room, but it began to slip away when her key card wouldn't open the door.
"Shit! I hate these damned cards!" She muttered as she rattled the door. "Money! He asked if I wanted money!?" Hinata was desperate to be inside, alone with her shame and despair. "What the hell is wrong with a key?!" She kicked the door, wanted to rip it off the hinges, and was totally unnerved when someone opened from inside.
"What are you doing in here?" Hinata shot through the doorway. She saw the gray and pink blur from the corner of her eye and realized it was the maid, but she never looked at her. Hinata just wanted her gone. "I'm checking out! Doesn't anybody in this damned hotel know what they're doing?"
Hinata froze near the desk. "I know you don't expect me to believe you showed up with Father's Day greetings three damn decades late, looking for my love and devotion?" Hiashi's smug voice reverted in her head, and suddenly the red roses he sent reignited her anger. She hurled her folio at the the vase and sent it crashing to the floor. That's when she heard the gasp and realized the maid was still in the room. "Would you leave? …. NOW!"
'I have to go home.' Hinata snatched clothes from the floor and the bed and balled them in her suitcase. She pulled the red dress off the hanger and wanted to bury her face in it and cry, but the maid was still glued to her spot.
"Are you deaf or just plain stupid? I said get the hell out!" To keep herself from sobbing she continued packing until she heard the dull click of the door closing.
"He and his brother think they can buy whatever they want, and that includes people." Karin Uzumaki had told her that about the Hyuga twins years ago. It angered Hinata when she'd heard it, but Karin was as right as Anko had been. "Damn you! I hate you!" Hinata sobs and the tears flowed from the shatter place in her heart she had hoped her father's love would fill.
Hinata rode her staff with a crop and sort reins the next week. Hiashi Hyuga had blown up in her face, but she still had control of her career, and she needed to stay focused to maneuver through OSA's looming takeover.
Every person who reported to her was called to account for their decisions. A usually reliable assistant producer lost a director's footage and Hinata fired him on the spot. She was a bitch on wheels, but she felt it would get her department through the intense scrutiny.
Soon the sight of Kabuto and Kakuzu were leading the advanced team from Akatsuki LTD through the agency became a regular occurrence. The enemy wore ventless Italian suits, spoke with Japanese accents and the longer they convened, the more the acquisition looked like a done deal, and the rumors circulating through the halls of OSA were at least as creative as any commercial the shop had every produced.
Some of the gossip had everyone at OSA fired and replaced by Akatsuki LTD personnel. Others theorized that key staff would have their brains picked, then get pink slips once their usefulness was exhausted. Clients were restless because Akatsuki handled their direct competition. Chaos was always the norm at OSA, but the office seemed to Hinata like a throbbing toothache that wouldn't be soothed until the molar was saved or pulled.
After weeks of uncertainty, Kakuzu took Hinata to a bar across town from the office and told her the merger was a go. He swore her to secrecy, then revealed that Kabuto was taking his megabucks and retiring since he was part owner of business once Orochimaru died the other portion went to his son in a trust. "Don't sweat it. Changes should be minimal. We'll be an autonomous shop with a global support system. It only gets better from here."
Hinata came in early the morning the official announcement was to be made. When Kakuzu called and asked her to come up, she figured it was to go over last-minute details.
"From the time I first met you I knew you had what it took to make it, in this business or any other."
She felt the vibe. 'This isn't good.' "There's a point here. Why don't you get to it?"
"I wanted this to come from me."
There was a weighty silence, then she realized what was happening. "Son of a bitch! You're telling me I'm fired!"
His lips moved, but the words were out of sync, like a bad dubbed anime.
"Nagato has someone slated for your position." Kakuzu was almost in tears. "I did everything I could. You'll have time to negotiate a settlement, and I guarantee it will be a hefty package. I'll see to it. I don't know what else to say."
"So I was promoted to VP what, to keep me quiet? To keep my crew rowing steady until they were ready to toss me overboard?" 'I did everything right, by the book.' Hinata couldn't feel her feet on the floor as she stood up. 'Be dignified.' "I'll be gone in an hour."
"Hinata, it's not you. This is politics. You've been a…"
She slipped her hands into the pockets of her jacket to keep them from shaking. "A fine, shining, visible example of forward thinking? Come on, Kakuzu, everything about my being here is politics! Who are we kidding? I've been good for the OSA image." Hinata turned to leave, but spun around to face him again. "So, who is it? Who's my replacement?"
He took his glasses off. "Karin Uzumaki. She's already in from LA."
"I'll be damned!"
In the halls, Hinata spoke to no one. She wanted to get her things and leave, before the chaos started. Before Karin came to claim her office and become the head woman in charge.
Hinata's secretary sat her desk, crying. Hinata didn't say a word. She couldn't. She walked into her office to find her desk emptied and her belongings in boxes by the door. A guard waited to escort her out the building. She had sweat blood for this company, and they were treating her like a criminal.
When she got home, Hinata dumped ice cubes in a tumbler, filled it with vodka, and started damage control glad she'd made a habit of keeping a copy of her office rolodex at home, she called everybody, clients , associates at other agencies, directors to vent her rage.
Hinata got up each morning, burning with the desire for revenge. She made lunch dates with executive at rival shops, who treated her to great meals, but told her they had nothing open at her level. She saw headhunters, arranged a flurry of interviews, but then one night she sat alone, in the dark, in front of the television. She couldn't keep her mind on the programs, but she surfed the channels dissected the commercials. She found each one sillier, more insulting and annoying than the next. 'Ive been killing myself to do this for ten years and for what?' She couldn't find one reason that made any sense. Not one she cared about, anyway. She'd even had to pull out of the THFC project because people had become involved, to stay on her good side, didn't have to anymore.
Suddenly her world had shrunk to a population of one.
AN: I'm really enjoying reading all your comments. I appreciate them all. Thank you for reading.
