Chapter 16
Tuesday afternoon, employees of Dragneel Art Corporation were all agitated to get home already but they still had an hour to work before their official time off. However, that was not the case for Lucy. She was agitated to see the president of DAC not because she was longing to see his face but to talk to him about the upcoming presentation for the event.
She has been clicking her pen on and off as she glances at the entrance of their working area. Besides from the other employees who were part of the art department, there is no other employee specifically an executive officer that has been walking around the art department floor and this is beginning to annoy Lucy.
As she softly grumbles in annoyance, an employee suddenly takes notice of this and asks her, "Ms. Luciya, is there a problem?"
"Nothing in particular," Lucy replies back without looking at the employee for her attention was at the glass door. When she felt the eyes of her inquisitor, she looks away from the door and looked down instead at her files. But still, she still felt the gaze of the young worker. So looking up, she smiled and asked, "Do you want to ask me something, Aika?"
"Oh, uh! Sorry," Aika then looked away and began her work again
Lucy then sighs as she went back to her work. As she tries to read the report regarding the previous international art exhibit, Lucy found herself thinking about something else again, making her unable to understand what she was reading.
When Lucy repeatedly tried to reread the paragraph she has been reading for more than five minutes already, she suddenly slams her palm on the table making other employees seated close to her startle.
"Ms. Luciya?" Aika, the employee seated next to her, calls the blonde when suddenly Lucy looked up at the employee, who quickly quivered in fear
"Aika!" Lucy exclaims, making the girl even more nervous
"Y-Ye-yes, ma'am?" Aika stutteringly answers
"How long have you been here?" Lucy sternly asks
"N-N-not long enough, ma'am, I'm sorry if I did something wrong!" Aika then continuously bows her head to the blonde, who was suddenly shocked at the gesture. Seeing the young girl flinch in fear, Lucy realized she might have looked like a monster to make Aika nervous so much. So, calming her voice, she called the girl once more and as she looked up, Lucy smiled.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound mad…I'm just confused right now," Lucy then exhales again, finally making everyone on the table relax
"What are you confused about Ms. Luciya?" an employee with short dark purple hair asks
"Oh uh…" Lucy then trails off, suddenly shy to ask the older woman, who seemed to be part of DAC longer than anyone on the table, "Ms. Enno?"
"Yes?" Enno replies back with a smile
"Have you been here in DAC for years?" Lucy timidly asks and her shyness even intensifies when she hears the others chuckle at her question, "D-do-don't take me wrong! I-I'm not asking about your age or something," Lucy then fumbles with her fingers as she looks at the older woman
"Don't worry Ms. Luciya, I'm not worried about that…" Enno then places her crossed arms on the table as she leans forward, "What do you want to know?"
"Well…" Lucy then looks at the others, who were all waiting for her question, "Just curious…Is Mr. Dragneel, always busy? No time to drop by in this department because I don't know, he finds this place chaotic, so he doesn't like it here?"
Everyone on the table then begins to laugh, making Lucy blush, thinking if she said something wrong. But when Enno shook her head and stopped the others from laughing, Lucy immediately paid attention to the short-haired woman.
"You know Ms. Luciya you are right about the Art Department as chaotic and obviously loud. But there is one thing you're not right about, and that is Sir Natsu not loving the department just the way it is," Enno then tilts her head when she saw the uncertainty in Lucy's face
"So he likes this place noisy and full of commotion?" Lucy asks perplexed, "But it seems like his personality doesn't like that…"
"No, he does…" Enno then looked afar as she recalls her early days in DAC, "Back when I was just starting, and he was just a trainee, this department was boring as hell. Like, in a snap, you'd fall asleep 'cause everybody was serious, quiet, and workaholic"
Lucy and everyone on the table then began to lean close to Enno as they listened to her story.
"But when Sir Natsu came as an artist scout," Enno then shakes her head in disbelief, "everything changed. He was noisy, playful, plays a prank on the boys, loves to eat and the art department head didn't like it. He was called in the HR and reprimanded about his behavior"
"Mr. Dragneel was called in the HR office even if his family owns this?" Lucy questioned, astonished
"Yeah…he was just like everybody else and because he was part of our team, he stood up for us. There was this time that the art department was on crisis and the team was threatened to be cut down. Everyone was sad about it but Sir Natsu didn't give up to that negative emotion. He cheered, encouraged, and pushed us to keep on fighting to prove everybody else that we were doing the right thing. The next thing I know, the whole department was different. We were more positive thinkers, expressive, and happy"
Everyone even Lucy was then left silent with the sharing that has been done. She couldn't believe it, Levy and Lisanna's story were not really biased but instead was the truth. The Natsu she is seeing is not the real Natsu people all know.
"Everyone changed all because of Mr. Natsu's encouragement?" Lucy finally spoke
"Not just because of his motivational words but because of his personality. Sir Natsu always looked like he was not carrying any problems in his life. But in reality, he was actually burdened with so many expectations from his family, especially from Chairman and CEO. He is the best example of just going with the flow with the most positive outlook on life,"
"So you're saying the president that I know is not the real Mr. Natsu?" Lucy asks to clarify
"Yes, he seems busy nowadays so he might look too serious for your taste but Sir Natsu is the most fun person I have ever met and his energy just doesn't waiver…" Enno nods her head in confirmation to what she just said
"May I ask, why do you call him, Sir Natsu? Shouldn't you at least call him Mr. Natsu or President Natsu?" Lucy wondered, finally sitting up straight as her questions are one by one being answered
"We called him that before when he became the president. But right at his first day as the new president, he emphasized to us that he was just sir Natsu in this department and that would never change..." Another employee states, who sat next to Enno. When Enno nodded her head, Lucy took the time to reflect on what she heard.
Maybe after all these stories she's been hearing about Natsu, she could start to believe that Natsu is indeed a fun person. But she still needs to see it, because she still believes that Natsu is just the same as the other officials of the company, the boring and workaholic people.
"Last question," Lucy said raising a finger to catch the attention of the others, "Doesn't Mr. Dragneel come down here to check up on the progress? This is really annoying how he doesn't show any concern," Lucy finishes by crossing her arms over her chest and gives a stern look to others but it all melted down when Enno answered
"He cares so much about this event, Ms. Luciya. Trust me, I've seen Daichi run back here five times just to get an update," Enno then chuckles as she remembers running into the secretary
"Well, he should have at least showed up personally," Lucy then began to gather her things and immediately stepped down from her high stool chair, "I guess, it's five, see you tomorrow!" And with that, Lucy turns and heads out of the working room to return back to her office.
It's late evening already when Lucy finished revising the written report that she needed to submit to the executive board of both MAI and DAC. She barely noticed the time and she continuously ignores it. Lucy sighs as she rests her back to her office chair, twirling a little to face the painting displayed in her office, to give herself some break.
She stares at a painting of a woman sitting on the grass in the garden, with a book in hand, and her dress sprawled around her. As Lucy continuously stares at the painting, she suddenly remembers a time when she was younger, when her mother would read her books in their garden while her father sat at the tea table, reading his own newspaper.
Lucy was too engrossed to the painting, that when her phone suddenly rang, she yelped in surprise as she turns again in her chair to look at the source of the sound. Grabbing her phone, Lucy saw that Levy was calling her. Sliding her finger across the screen of her mobile, Lucy quickly places it to her ear as she greets.
"Hey, Levy-chan..." Lucy softly greets but with a smile on her face
"Hey Lu, are you free tonight? I hope we could grab some late dinner," Levy said on the other side of the line
"Late dinner?" Lucy then looked at her desk clock and saw it was past eight already, "Oh, but I'm still in the office,"
"Office? Why? Isn't your out like three hours ago?" Levy questions with pure surprise in her voice
"Yeah, but I had to finish something because it's needed immediately," Lucy then leans to her table as she plays with her pen
"Well, I know someone who works late as you...maybe even later," Levy sounded teasing but her voice quickly changed to concern, "And I'm not liking that Lu. You might get sick again, trigger your asthma,"
"I can't believe, you still remember that..." Lucy smiled to herself as she remembers that Levy was like her mother too whenever she would overwork herself back in high school
"Of course! I would never forget that you scared the hell out of me back in high school," Levy exaggeratively exclaims
Laughing at the memory, Lucy then cups her cheek when it ached a little after all the laughter and smiling she has done, "I'm sorry," Lucy says while trying to slow down from her giggles, "I just forgot that I had that illness and I kept on sleeping late during those days,"
"Obviously!" Levy then laughs with Lucy, "I guess, you can't come tonight?" Levy suddenly asks and soon, Lucy becomes apologetic as she answers, "Sorry, no...But I'm about to go home if that's good news"
"Of course it is!" Levy then smiles and gently reminds again, "Well, you better get started in fixing your things. Let's have dinner some other time,"
"Yeah, we should..." Lucy then smiles down to her report as she bids goodbye to Levy, "Well, I'll hang up now,"
"Alright, Lu, bye!" And with that, Levy drops the call as Lucy pulls the phone away from her ear.
When Lucy puts down her phone, she lets out a heavy sigh before she pushed her chair backward and stood up to start fixing her things. Within a few minutes, Lucy has fixed her things, turned her computer off, and turned the lights off before she stepped out of her office.
She no longer roamed around the department office since she knew she was the last employee working around the floor. So, quickly, Lucy rode the elevator and headed to the first floor. As expected, Lucy saw the guard, Mr. Joe, sitting on his post once she stepped out of the elevator. So putting on her smile, she decided to greet the security.
"Good evening, Mr. Joe!" Lucy beams as she walks towards the stunned guard
"Oh! Luciya!" The guard greets back as he turns in his seat to look at the blonde. As Lucy walks in front of the counter, the guard also turns, "Going home?"
"Yes, Mr. Joe, it's late…" Lucy said as she shrugs her shoulder while a smile was present on her face
"Yes indeed, but not too late for a certain boss…" Mr. Joe snickers, making Lucy cock her head in question, "Oh you know…" Mr. Joe tries to give hint to the blonde but the woman was still clueless, "Mr. Natsu…" the guard finally reveals, making Lucy awe
"Oh…" Lucy expresses as she nods her head, "The president…right of course…" Lucy then shifted from one foot to another as she wants to ask something to the guard but has been hesitating to do so
"What do you want to ask?" Mr. Joe suddenly asks, making Lucy widen her eyes as she mentally asked herself if Mr. Joe was a mind reader
"How'd you know I wanted to ask something?" She wonders as she tilts her head in confusion
"Oh, you looked like you wanted to take something from me, which is not my body. So, I thought, maybe you wanted something else,"
"Oh…" Lucy then began to sarcastically laugh. When Mr. Joe joined her in her laughter, Lucy began to slow down her chuckles as she asks the guard, "Does Mr. Natsu overtime usually?"
"Not just usually, Luciya. Always!" Mr. Joe corrects the blonde, who was slightly taken aback with the response of the guard
"Really?" Lucy said astonished, then she questions one more, "Like for how long?"
"Well, it depends on what he wants. Sometimes four, five, six hours…" Mr. Joe shares before shrugging his shoulders, "Usually five hours…"
"And he comes to the office at seven?" Lucy baffled asks and Mr. Joe shakes his head in disagreement, "No, earlier. His latest time in would be around 7:10 in the morning,"
Lucy was then silent again for the nth time for that day. She has been discovering a lot of things about the president and her emotions towards those facts that she has discovered, she couldn't explain why her emotions were so jumbled.
"I think you should start heading out," Mr. Joe suddenly interrupts the silence of the blonde, making the woman flinch in surprise
"Right! Yes! Yes!" Lucy frantically twirls, as she thought she has been caught. But to her surprise, the guard didn't tease her about her weird behavior, "Bye, Mr. Joe!" Lucy states, enthusiastically too much for her liking but she just went on. And with that, Lucy walks away from the guard and headed out. Before the guard could greet back, Lucy was gone already from the door.
As Lucy descends the flight of stairs, Lucy thoughtfully looked at the night sky of Magnolia. Unlike the usual, Lucy would have admired the sight, but her mind was just elsewhere. She was thinking about the pink-haired president.
"Natsu comes to work early then goes home late…" Lucy says out loud as she tries to comprehend the stories she has heard from other people, "He's either workaholic or he just loves work," Lucy then begins to fasten her pace as she goes down the stairs, "But either way, he knows his responsibilities, and that's awesome…"
Wednesday came and everyone started their work immediately once they were settled in their cubicles. Once they were complete, the whole art exhibit team started preparing the documents and presentation they needed on Friday. Everything was going smooth already except for the fact that their ideas were still not approved by the head of the art team of DAC, the president.
"Uh, this is too much!" Lucy suddenly exclaims as she slams her palm to the table, making everyone on the working table flinch in nervousness
"Woah, Blondie, what's wrong?" Cana looked at Lucy shocked, who quickly threw a glare back
"What's wrong?! I've been making all the decisions here and yet they can't be preceded because my decisions are to be agreed by the DAC team leader, who is not here!" Lucy then heaved after her rant
After some time to breathe in and breathe out, Lucy finally relaxes her shoulders as she slumps forward to the table to hide. Knowing her friend, Cana couldn't help but shake her head and try to hide her laughter. When Lucy started hiding, Cana looked around the table and saw the other members to be silent and surprise to the sudden outburst.
"Okay, what you saw was an example of a person who is pressured in their work…and you don't want to live like that forever 'cause that would be tiring," Cana then mischievously grins at the others, making the others chuckle a bit.
As Lucy hears some faint laughter, she slowly peeks at her team then lifts her head as she bashfully looked away from them.
"And this is the aftermath of a shy person who just outburst in public" Cana teasingly looked at Lucy, who was even more bashful
"Cana~" Lucy whines as she looked away and sigh. After gathering enough courage, she looked back at the whole and bowed her head, "Forgive my outburst," Lucy then lifts her head, "I'm just feeling pressured right now because everything that we have been planning needs to be finalized today, by being approved by me and Mr. Dragneel…but without him here…" Lucy then trails off but quickly shakes her head and smiled back at her team
"You know what, forget what you saw and let's just proceed…" Lucy then looked down at her file as everyone nodded their head and looked back at the document they were supposed to discuss.
"Okay, we have settled with who will be joining us for the international art exhibit, both in arts and in fashion," Lucy looks up at the two teams, both in fashion and arts, "Now, we are to discuss the floor plan. As you know, it is part of our presentation. Ideally, we need a 50-meter square lot to ensure enough space for all the participating artists and fashion designers. So now, we would need an ideal floor plan design for the exhibit. So-"
"Aiko is one of the best floor designers we have for the artists' exhibits" a voice suddenly spoke, making everyone on the working table look up and glance at the back. There, they found the pink-haired president, holding a folder in one hand and a tumbler in the other.
Lucy quickly turns in her seat to look at the newly arrived officer. As she sees Natsu stand by the doorway, she was left speechless. She wants to shout and get mad at the pinkette, and tell him how insensitive he is and only decides to show up when he is dreadfully needed. But no words came out as she just stared madly at the man, who seemed to be not fazed at all as he walks closer to them. As Natsu takes his seat next to the blonde and, gently places his folders to the table and smoothly passes one to the other team leader.
"Okay, before I start checking up on-" a loud slamming of a folder was suddenly heard, making Natsu stop from speaking and he looks at his side. He raised his brows at the blonde as he mentally thought of a reason why the blonde was being furious, "Ms. Hart?"
"Would you look at that?! Finally, you showed up!" Lucy rolled her eyes to look at him and give him a mean look, "Why are you here?" Lucy questions, menacingly
"Well the last time I checked, I'm still part of this team, which means I should be around," Natsu then grins at the annoyed blonde, who was obviously fuming in anger
"Well, the last time I checked, you have been absent in team planning and discussion for two days," Lucy returns the sarcasm, making Natsu defeated for a moment
"Alright," Natsu raised his hands in surrender, "I'm sorry..." Natsu then looks at the blonde, timidly, trying to avoid making the blonde even more furious, "I should have told you what I was busy about..."
"Then explain now, not only to me but to everyone who has been working their ass off just to meet the deadline for the presentation," Lucy said sternly and Natsu nodded
"Okay..." Natsu then turns to look at everyone as he opened his folder, "Recently, we have been told that we were going to be the country sponsoring the International Art Exhibit. But, a few days after titling that to us, another country has bid to sponsor the event. So, as one of the appointees for this event, I had to seal the deal with the International Art Association about us sponsoring the exhibit solely,"
"What's the result?" Lucy asks eagerly as she leans a little closer to the man. As Natsu, glances at the blonde, he slowly grinned at her then back to the whole team
"Well...we'll solely sponsor the International Art Exhibit!" Natsu said in an ascending voice and when he finished everyone cheered and applaud for the good news. As for Lucy, she sighs in relief and drops her head to the table gently, grateful that her work isn't going to be wasted.
Without thinking of what he was doing, Natsu began to tap the head of the blonde as a means to calm her down. Natsu continued to laugh and smile with the others while his right hand was busy patting the blonde locks of the woman next to him. He barely noticed he was doing it until he saw the look Cana was throwing at him. She was kiddingly gazing at him and when he tilts his head in question, Cana turned her gaze lower. He followed the gaze of the brunette and was surprised to see his hand over the head of the blonde. His hand immediately stops from stroking the hair and gently lifts his hand.
As he thought Lucy was not going to notice, when he lifted his hand, Lucy's head began to rise as well. When she was fully up, Lucy glared at the pinkette and questioned dangerously, "Why did you pat my head?"
"Oh, this?!" Natsu raised his guilty hand and grinned at it as he tries to make an excuse, "Oh-ha-ha-ha, nothing! I just thought your head was a table!"
Lucy's frown deepened as she tries to kill the man next to her with her glare. As Natsu swallows hard as he looked at the deadly glare, his laughter slowly died down, and silently prayed that the woman would be distracted.
"Ms. Luciya?" one employee called, making Natsu sigh in relief as he mentally thank that employee when Lucy slowly tore her gaze away from him and looked at the inquisitor
"Yes, Kyoru?" Lucy replies back calmly
"I guess we could continue now," Kyoru said as he genuinely smiled at the blonde.
As Lucy nods her head in agreement, she began discussing the ideal floor plan. She addressed what was needed to be present in the floor plan for both art pieces and fashion runways. She was asking for other suggestions as well, and as they gave ideas that they all took note of. When they had enough picture of what they wanted to have in their floor plan and design, Lucy asked for volunteers who could help Aiko in preparing the floor plan and design.
"Come on, guys, at least three people who could assist Aiko. This is essential, it needs to be well executed because we need to impress IAA" Lucy states as she glances at the members of the team
"Fine, I will," Lisanna suddenly states as she lifts her head after she has written the last agenda of the meeting
"You can't Lisanna, I need you to help me regarding the artists' credentials," Natsu then looked at the blonde, who nodded in agreement
"Who else?" Lucy questions again but no one raised their hands. As she was about to sigh and make some motivational speech, Natsu suddenly talked beating her in motivating the team to work harder.
"DAC, come on. Step out of your comfort zones and do something out of your league. That is what a real DAC employee is, we take risk and create something we are not good at until we become masters of it," Natsu contently looked at his employees who were all affected by his words until Lucy added
"If there is one thing that MAI lacks that DAC has, it's the guts to make something that is bigger than they could handle. And that is what I'm learning now…I know none of you wants to make a mistake in this part, but you guys have to remember that we are a team, and we work hand in hand,"
"So, let me ask this time…who volunteers to help Aiko in creating the floor plan and design before Friday?" Natsu asks, and soon one-by-one, hands were being raised and the two team leaders couldn't help but smile at the sight.
"Thank you," Lucy exclaims and soon their names were being written in the minutes of the meeting, to keep a track of record on who's going to be in charge of the floor plan and design.
Soon, their meeting ended and everyone on the table except Cana, Lucy, and Natsu left the working table to continue their pending job. As Cana and Natsu talked about the kind of runway that they needed for the event, Natsu could sense some eyes gazing at his back, but he tries to ignore it as he tries to converse with Cana.
Cana could see the way Lucy was staring madly at the man next to her. She wants to laugh but she knew that if she did, her show would end quickly. So, trying to finish the discussion with the pink-haired president, she secretly gazes at the blonde who never waver her gaze to the man.
"Alright, we'll settle with that idea," Natsu said concluding as he gathers his things
"Okay, I'll head to Aiko and ask for a soft copy of the floor plan before we finalize it for our presentation," Cana replies back before she jumps off her high chair stool. As she gathers her things, she looked at the blonde once more and said, "I better go before she starts sucking your soul out of your body," Cana then smirked and winked at the blonde, who was suddenly woken up from her intense glare.
With the brunette's comment, Natsu slowly turns his head to look at the blonde. As he did, he immediately saw the reddening cheeks of the MAI artist scout, who tried to look away fast to hide her blush, but it was too late for he has seen her red cheeks.
"Are you still mad at me for not showing up to any team discussion you had with the team?" Natsu starts as he watches the blonde gather different documents and files
"No," Lucy shortly answered without looking at the pinkette
"We're in good terms, right?" Natsu asks as he leans a little to see the face of the woman but Lucy would try her best to keep her face hidden
"Yes," Lucy answers frankly and adds nothing else, making Natsu want to make her speak up more
"Do you despise me right now?" Natsu questions again
"No," Lucy replies quickly
"You're not mad anymore?"
"Yes,"
"Will you ever look at me?" Natsu asks while slowly smiling as he expects the answer negatively
"No," Lucy replies back robotically
"Did you miss my face?" Natsu, now grinning as he tries to catch the blonde unexpectedly
"Yes…" Lucy then lifts her head and looked at Natsu, confused, "Wait, what?" Lucy asked back but all the response she got was a boisterous laughter from the man next to her. Right at that instant, when she heard him laugh hard, it clicked to her, Natsu was tricking her. In an instant, her hand flies and slaps the man in the arm as she gawked at him, "You playful prick!" Lucy shouts as she tries to make the pinkette stop from laughing.
Soon enough, people around the working station looked back at the meeting table and saw the two team leaders were getting along. Smiling to see the two, the others began to express how the two looks perfect in a picture.
"You said you missed my face!" Natsu teases again as he slowly sat up straight while Lucy crossed her arms over her chest, "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I caught ya!" Natsu laughs again, making Lucy groan in annoyance
"I didn't say that," Lucy hisses as she stares at the laughing man
"Yeah, you did!" Natsu slowly tones down his laughter as he wipes a tear from his eye and looked at the pouting blonde, "You said yes to my question,"
"I wasn't fully paying attention to your question," Lucy denies as she looks away from the pinkette, but Natsu didn't mind knowing the blonde could be totally red
"But still, you were staring at me awhile ago, which could only mean, you really did miss my face," Natsu then smirks mischievously as Lucy looks back at him and glared. When it was obvious that Lucy has lost the debate, Lucy grabbed her folders and jumped off her stool and headed straight to Cana.
Natsu just then sighs in content as he watched the blonde walk away from the meeting table. He felt light and joyful. It has been a long time since he played tricks on someone in the office, even laugh wholeheartedly. He definitely missed that feeling. As he watched Lucy head to Cana, Natsu decided to keep this feeling of cheerfulness and happiness for the next coming days. So he smiled and sighed contently before standing up from his stool and head to the artist scouts' working area.
Hours went by and people from DAC barely noticed that the day was about to end. One by one, employees said their goodbye to head home while others still stayed for a few minutes just to finish their work.
Lucy and Cana were in the fashion design side of the working room as they sorted out different profiles of designers that would be participating in the international event. Cana was so immersed in her work that she didn't quickly notice that Lucy wasn't in her usual fast pace during work.
Finally finishing reviewing the last profile of a designer from Clover town, Cana sighed in comfort as she closes the folder of the designer while exiting the soft copy of the design in her laptop. She quickly glanced at her friend as she thought of asking the blonde to join her to eat in a bar she recently discovered, only to find her smiling by herself as she from time to time glances up and looked ahead.
Following the gaze of the blonde, Cana saw who Lucy was looking at, Natsu Dragneel, with his wide smile, loud laugh, and playful aura. As she stares at the pink-haired president, making jokes and laugh along with other employees, she realized Levy and Lisanna were right. Natsu Dragneel was a fun and loud person; different to the man she met at the bar and at her first day in DAC.
Looking back once more at the blonde, Cana quickly notices the different atmosphere that was surrounding her blonde friend. Smirking at this sight, Cana couldn't help but tease. So slowly leaning close to the blonde, she whispered, "He looks cute and hot when he shows that kind of smile…"
"Yeah…" Lucy mindlessly replies as she stares at the pinkette. But she quickly snapped out of her daydream when she realized that the voice she just heard was not her own voice. So, turning her attention to her side, her eyes grew wide as she stutters, "W-wait, what? Cana!" Lucy calls the brunette, making the woman chortle out loud when her face became red
"What? I'm just saying…" Cana replies back as she grins mischievously at the bashful blonde
"Well, you can't say that around the office, okay? People might hear you and start spreading rumors about you fantasizing on the president," Lucy scolds, trying to ignore the fact that her face was red and that it was her really day dreaming about the pinkette
"So, what? I bet, almost all the girls in the company have eyed that pinkette and wished to kiss him," Cana then wiggled her eyebrows, making Lucy even more flushed
"Cana!" Lucy reprimands but Cana just laughed and shook her head
"Oh come on, Blondie. Just look at him," Cana subtly spreads her arm as she indirectly point the president, "He's hot, he's sexy, he's tan, he's lean, he's tall-"
"Okay, Cana, stop," Lucy interrupts the brunette as she looks at her and closes her fist as if to cut off the sound
"I can go on…" Cana teased but Lucy just widens her eyes as a threat, "Oh, come on, you were ogling over him awhile ago,"
"I did not," Lucy sternly states back with wide eyes
"Oh, yes you did honey," Cana said with a raise of a finger as if she was stating a fact, "I saw it in your eyes…" She whispers seductively, "Your cheeks were glowing, your eyes were twinkling,"
"Cana, I'm serious, stop it," Lucy was now even more flushed, hating the way Cana was seeing things and how she describes the man with the way she has thought
"Alright," Cana surrenders, but deep inside she knew she won this teasing game, "I'll keep my mouth shut,"
Lucy then shakes her head as she looks at the smirking brunette. She was about to comment again when suddenly an employee softly called her name and came over her. She was handed a letter, which she had to sign and so as Cana. When the brunette was done, Lucy immediately asked the employee to let the president sign so that the letter could be forwarded to the different offices. But before the employee could do that, a panicking employee ran up to them and asked for help.
"Hiyora! I need your help!" the panicking employee said as she grasped the arm of the brown-haired employee
"Wait, Nayuki! I just-"
"Go on, Hiyora, help her out," Lucy suddenly says, making the two subordinates stay still as they listened to the blonde, "I'll be the one handing this over to the president,"
"But-" Hiyora tries to reason out but the blonde just smiled as she told her once again to help the other since she was needed.
Soon, Lucy took the letter once again and looked at her friend, who was grinning playfully at her.
"Is this your ninja moves?" Cana taunts but Lucy just rolls her eyes
"Whatever, Cana. I'll see you at the office," Lucy then steps down from her seat and quickly headed to the president, who was at the other side of the room.
As she headed to the table full of artist scouts, Lucy looked down to the paper she was holding. She realized, she signed a paper without reading. So, as she was taking her walk towards the president, she also busied herself reading the letter.
Without knowing, Lucy was heading for a riot table, wherein some artist scouts were enacting a certain scenario they were talking about. Natsu began to stand as he tries to add up to the story that was being told. They were all laughing and they barely noticed that a certain blonde woman was heading their way. So, when Natsu started taking some steps back as he continued to tell his story, he suddenly to spins and quickly bumps into someone, making him lose his balance.
"Kyaaa!" A female voice screeches as Natsu loses his balance and let his weight overpower the person he has bumped into. But right at that scream, Natsu knew it was someone he has caught once. So, quickly, he wraps his arms around the person and switches their places.
BOOG!
"Oh, my god!"
"Sir Natsu!"
"Ms. Luciya!"
"Oh, my gosh! Help them!"
Employees around the working room quickly react as they hear a loud thump, while for others who were looking, their eyes grew wide as they witnessed the two bumps each other and fall on the floor. When everyone had snapped out of their surprise, they all ran up to the two fallen team leaders.
Natsu hits the floor first, making himself the cushion for the person he has bumped into. Groaning a little after the hard impact of his head and back to the tiled floor, Natsu tried to move to make his position a little comfortable. But the moment he moved, he felt the person above him twitch. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw blonde locks covering his chest.
Luciya
"Are you alright?" Natsu questions as he tries to reach out to her when suddenly Lucy lifted her head and her eyes were wide. She couldn't speak because she didn't know what to say. All she knew was that she was staring back at his eyes, in which she believes are very enticing.
"Lu-" Natsu started but he was immediately cut off when other people started gathering and helped them up.
As he stood up, he kept his gaze to the assisted blonde. Lucy was then handed a paper, which he expects she was holding moments ago. Despite seeing her being fine, he still had to know from her if there was anything painful.
"Does anything hurt?" Natsu asks as he takes a step closer and pulls gently on the arm of the blonde. When Lucy was a little closer, he eyes her from head to toe, trying to find any spot of blood.
"I-I'm fine..." Lucy said before taking a step back, "I should be the one asking you that,"
Natsu then stiffens when he felt Lucy's hand caress his head, looking for a bump. When she did find one, he quickly flinched, which he regretted because it only made the blonde more worried.
"Oh, goodness, I think you have a bruise in your head," Lucy said with her hand still on his hair. When Natsu gently took her hand, he smiled at her and replied, "It's fine..."
Natsu was still holding Lucy's hand as he stares at her like he usually does whenever he got the chance. But it quickly ended when he hears someone clearing their throat. So looking at the surrounding employees, he suddenly let goes off her hand when he saw them acting like they didn't see him and the blonde act so caring to one another. He looked at the blonde and saw that she was embarrassed as he was but the woman barely was able to handle the gazes of the others. And with that, she quickly shoves the paper on his face as she timidly said, "You have to sign,"
When he pulled the paper away from his face, Lucy was already walking away from the crowd while she mumbled to herself and glared at her own hands.
Night has fallen and nearly all the employees of DAC have gone home already. And like the usual, Lucy has stayed overtime again. She just finished editing her report that would be handed on Friday for the first meeting with the IAA and she knew she worked longer than the previous days.
So, once she was finished, Lucy immediately fixed her things and decided to go home. It was a quarter to ten in the evening when Lucy got out of the office and was heading to the elevator. As she waited for the small contraption to arrive, her stomach suddenly grumbles, telling her that she was definitely hunger already.
Looking down to her flat stomach, she mumbles to herself, "I probably should eat first before heading home..."
Soon, the elevator arrived and she immediately went inside. As she was about to press the Upper ground floor, her eyes stopped at the number 58 button, the Executive floor.
"What am I thinking? I should get going," Lucy then presses her desired floor and soon the small contraption went down.
Lucy went to a simple diner called Fairy Tail. It was just across the Dragneel Art Corp and it was a homey place. It had the view of a small park but full of tall trees and flower beds. The diner was full packed but thankful, the place had an outdoor dine, so Lucy didn't mind to have her dinner outside.
As Lucy was having her dinner by herself, she enjoyed watching people come and pass by. There weren't many individuals working on a night shift but she saw many families walk by to relax and enjoy the cool breeze. There was one family, spending their night at the park, playing around. Lucy then smiles to herself as she remembers something from her childhood days but that smile quickly fades when she thought that she misses her parents.
Looking away, Lucy was suddenly now staring at the DAC building. The building is beautiful, a piece of art as well. It's so different with MAI since it was more of a school than an art recruiting agency.
As expected, Lucy gazed at the dull looking building since all offices were closed already. But what she didn't expect, when her eyes scanned higher, was a certain room from the top building was still lit. Tilting her head in confusion, she thought maybe it was the executive floor.
Lucy suddenly looked down to her wrist watch and saw it was half an hour past ten already. It was so late already and yet the room was still alive. So, looking back at the only office that was still occupied, Lucy suddenly thought about the man owning that office.
"Hi, Miss, may I clean this up?" A voice suddenly grabs the attention of the blonde, making her look away from the building. As Lucy sees the waitress and asks for her permission to clean, Lucy quickly smiled and nodded her head
"Yeah, sure..." Lucy then grabbed her strawberry juice and drinks it while the waitress cleaned her table. Looking back at the DAC building, her gaze was stuck on the 58th floor, and this was noticed by the waitress.
"You know, ever since I started working here, I always see that room in that building, to be light up at late night..." The waitress suddenly shares, making Lucy look back at the worker
"Like how late?" Lucy inquires
"Ummm..." The waitress thought with a finger tapping her chin, "I think until we close? Or later than that?" The waitress says with uncertainty in her voice
"And what time do you close?" Lucy asks again
"Midnight," The waitress finally stands up straight as she carried the tray full of used plates and utensils, "I'm actually worried..."
"Why's that?" Lucy turning a bit to look up at the waitress
"Well, every night, a man from that building orders up two spicy chicken with extra rice and instructs to deliver it to the 58th floor...but tonight, we haven't had any delivery request received from him. Usually, he'd call around nine but until now, he hasn't ordered..." the waitress then sighs before she looks back at the blonde and bow her head as she heads back inside
Leaving Lucy alone to think, she was suddenly worried too. She didn't want to admit to herself but she cares for the president. She reasoned to herself, this care that she was feeling was just because he was part of the team and she cares for her team. So, as she has agreed to her reasoning, she looked around the diner and looked for an available waiter. When she saw one, she quickly lifts her hand and calls the attention of the waiter. Soon, she asked for two orders of spicy chicken with extra rice and a large cup of coke, all for takeout.
Lucy once stood before these Mahogany double doors, just two days ago and now, she is standing before it again. If two days ago, she came to the president's office for an official welcome, now, she was to hand over a big paper bag full of spicy chicken and a big cup of soft drink.
"What am I doing?" Lucy asked herself as she stared at the door before her, "Is this even appropriate?" she then shook her head as she remembers her reasons, "Right, this is just Luciya who has so much care for her team…and that includes Natsu…"
She then lifts her fist to start knocking when suddenly she caved in again. But this time, she turns away from the door and quickly walk down the halls again.
"I guess I'm hungry…I could eat this at home…" Lucy mumbles to herself as she hugs the paper bag close to her chest while she headed back to the elevator.
Right at the corner, her feet suddenly stop from walking. Lucy looked back at the double doors that she should have knocked moments ago, "Luciya, get a hold of yourself…" and with that, Lucy turns once more and headed back to the front doors of the president.
When she was standing before the mahogany doors once again, she took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders, "Alright…This is just pure professional business only," Lucy nodded as she continued to gather her courage, "I'll just give the food and poof! I'm out…"
Before Lucy could back out, she quickly knocked on the door and waited for a response. As she waited, she internally hoped that he wouldn't answer but then Natsu quickly answers back, "It's open"
Breathing out for the last time before slowly turning the knob of the door, Lucy then enters the room quietly. As she finally enters the room, she could feel her whole body tremble in nervousness. Lucy was not scared to face the pinkette, but she was more afraid of what Natsu would think as she brings him some food he didn't request.
Keeping herself quiet, she waited for the man to look up and take notice of who was standing before him. But she was taken aback when she hears him say, "Sorry, but I'll be working for another hour late. You can clean the office tomorrow morning,"
Lucy couldn't help but sigh as she realizes Natsu was working too much for his own good. She was a workaholic but she knew her limitations. She knew that meals shouldn't be skipped and that rest is also essential. So, finally contented with her decision, she softly answers the president.
"I guess I'll just have to say it to the janitor if I meet him…or her," Lucy then smiles as she sees Natsu stunned with her being present in his office
"Lucy?" He calls the blonde, obviously surprised
"It's Ms. Hart, president Dragneel," Lucy corrects and that made Natsu chuckle. Taking a step closer to the table of the pinkette, she then hands over the paper bag, which Natsu was curious about
"What's this?" He asks as he stands and takes a glimpse inside the paper bag
"Um…I brought you dinner…" Lucy timidly answers. When Natsu looked at her with a confused look, Lucy then continues, "I ate at Fairy Tail and a waitress told me that you usually order there for your dinner. But it seems like you forgot to call, so she was worried…"
"You're worried about me?" Natsu's smile then widens as he steps away from his desk to stand in front of the blonde. But Lucy quickly stepped back as she shook her head, "No, the waitress was worried…not me…Bu-um…I mean," Lucy then began to scratch her neck as she thought of what to say, "I-I was worried…too because you're a team leader…and um…I'm just a concerned employee…"
Natsu warmly smiles at the blonde, which made the blonde feel her heart race. But then again, she ignores it as she tries to keep herself calm. When Natsu turns to bring out the meal Lucy has bought him, he happily states how he loves the spicy chicken of Fairy Tail.
"How'd you know this is my favorite?" Natsu happily asks as he opens one of the meal boxes
"The waitress," Lucy quickly answers, making Natsu grin at her before looking down to his food again
"This is great, Luce, thanks," Natsu said as he looks up at the blonde, who was taken aback with the nickname
"It's Ms. Hart," Lucy corrects again, but Natsu just chuckles as he replies
"I know, you said that already…" Natsu mischievously smirks at the blonde, who suddenly blushed as she realized it was true
"T-then…stop calling me by nicknames," Lucy then crosses her arms as she tried to appear serious and confident, even though she was obviously not, "We are colleagues and we address one another formally,"
"Alright..." Natsu nods his head, "Colleague," he ends with a grin, making the blonde irritable a little
"Good," Lucy then stood up straight as she confidently says, "This is pure professional relationship only and I'm just a concerned employee"
"Noted," Natsu teases, successfully infuriating the woman
"Well then, I should go," and with that, Lucy turns her back to the man as she heads for the door, only to be stopped when Natsu asked, "Aren't you going to check if I would really eat the food you brought me?"
Lucy slowly turns to look at the pinkette and furrowed her brows, "I'm going to assume that you will be eating that…it's your favorite,"
"Yeah…" Natsu then stepped away from his table and walked to the blonde, "But I could also eat that tomorrow instead of now,"
"You wouldn't do that," Lucy then stood up straight, suddenly worried that Natsu really might do that, after all, he said he had to work for another hour
"Who knows…" Natsu teases, taking another step towards the blonde. Now, they were standing close, with his shoes touching the heels of the blonde, "I guess, you'll just have to stay and make sure I do eat…"
"And why would I do that?" Lucy questions
"For assurance," Natsu said as he bent a little so that they could be staring at one another in the same height, "Don't worry, this is a purely professional relationship only. You're just a concerned employee,"
To be continued…
Hey, Readers!
Long time no update for me, right? I know, you probably find me irritating because it takes for me so long to update. BUT guess what! I have an UPDATE SCHEME! So, recently I made a scheduling for myself about updating stories since I'm hating myself for my lack of effort to update sooner. So, yeah!UPDATING a
UPDATING a story would happen EVERYWEEK, which would be every THURSDAY or earlier and not later. Though I updated today, and it's a FRIDAY. So, peace! But anyways, every week, a different story will be updated and the currently updated story will be updated after a few weeks.
Currently, I have 6 stories that are on-going and all of them are being updated. So, this story will be updated again after 5 weeks...damn that's long. I guess, I still have to apologize. SOOOOOOO...
GOMENASAI, MINA!
Nonetheless, THANKS for dropping by to read this chapter. I do hope I gave enough NALU-time after being late for my updating scheme. I would love to hear your thoughts about the chapter and the whole story, so give me some reviews? Oh, and, FOLLOW and FAVORITE this story if you haven't yet...
PS. that's not mandatory...
Love,
FairyTailXNaLu