Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't...eep! Flying-buzzing-angel-of-death thing with...oh. It's the other muse. Nevermind.
A/N: If you really want to know about my muses, go to my site, then to the "about Panabelle" section (the link to it is the Goten button that reads Squirt) and you'll learn there. Anyhoo, keep reviewing, I'll keep writing.
Also, anybody here feel this fic is too long or/and that I should just write one long chapter and finish it? Anybody who does, kiss my ass. If you have a problem with the length, why you still reading it?
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Petrified Tears
chapter 65
"Ms. Pan, could you please come in here?" Trunks repeated, his face heating from his slight of tongue.
"If you can give me a moment, Mr. Briefs," came the voice of his longtime friend, slightly out of breath, "I will be right there, along with the paperwork you asked me to gather for you."
"Thank you, Ms. Pan." Trunks dropped his hand from the intercom and coughed into it, clearing his throat.
"Might you, have something for your secretary, Mr. Briefs?" asked the old man, his voice hinting that he thought Trunks might be smitten with the young girl who had seen him into the office almost an hour and a half before.
Trunks felt his face threatening to grow red, but quickly told himself that if he could put up with ChiChi and his mother, then he could definitely put up with an old man.
"She's an old friend of the family," he replied curtly as the door opened and Pan stepped in, closing the heavy oak door with her foot, her small form lost behind a tower of papers and folders. "Just set them on the desk, Ms. Pan," he told her. She obeyed quietly, then stepped back and looked to the two men, waiting further instruction.
Trunks smirked; something deep inside told Pan to steel herself, she could kill him later.
"You called me, Mr. Briefs?"
"Yes, Ms. Pan, I would like you to put some paper in the fax machine, for one, and for two, I would greatly appreciate it if you could call in some sort of order for lunch."
Pan nodded, resisting the urge to ask him if his arms were broken. But knowing Trunks, he probably figured that she had a thing for the fax machine too.
Not likely, she hated that thing with a passion.
But instead, she smiled, and did as ordered, then moved back to the door, pausing as she opened the it.
"Any special place you'd like your lunch from Mr. Briefs?"
He paused a moment, glancing down at the desk, then smiled up at her. "Actually, if possible, I would greatly enjoy the special at ChiChi's."
Pan stared at him blankly, then ground her teeth. "I would be happy and most delighted to call in an order for you, Mr. Briefs. Any particular meal you'd like to order?"
Trunks steeled himself to keep from laughing as he watched a tiny muscle under Pan's eye start twitching, her teeth bared. "Whatever the current plate of the day is will do."
She moved to go, then paused as a thought hit her, but Mr. Summers cut her off.
"ChiChi's? I've never heard of that establishment; is it a new restaurant?"
Trunks hesitated, then smiled at the old man. "It's just a quaint little place out in the mountains, very…what's the word I'm looking for Ms. Pan? Very…"
"Members only," she provided quickly.
Trunks shrugged. "Wasn't quite the word I was looking for but, yes. 'Members only' describes it well."
"Ah, I see," Mr. Summers mused, glancing back and forth between the two semi-saiyans. He crossed one arm over his chest, and lifted his other hand to hold over his mouth, as if in thought, but in reality just hiding a smile.
Trunks turned back to his desk, but paused as he didn't hear the door close behind his "secretary". "Yes, Ms. Pan? Is there something I forgot to mention?"
She smiled sweetly at him. "Yes, actually. You're just misusing my name, that's all."
Trunks's head snapped up, his eyes wide. He blinked innocently, baffled.
"I am?"
"Yes…it's not 'Ms. Pan', Mr. Briefs. It's 'Ms. Son'."
Trunks felt his face catch fire.
"Oh…yes…I'm sorry, Ms. P—Son."
She smiled again and moved to leave. "Quite alright Mr. Briefs. It's been a long week, and it didn't do any harm."
She slipped out, closing the door behind her, smiling broadly at the wall across from her as she heard the door click shut, stifling giggles.
On the other side of the door, Trunks glowered at her departure.
She did that intentionally.
Mr. Summers was chuckling as he dialed his office overseas and asked his secretary to fax him the blueprints at Capsule Corps. Trunks merely watched as he did, shocked by the man's sudden transformation from shy and awkward, to suddenly sure of himself and comfortable.
"Mr. Summers?" he asked as the man placed his celphone back into his jacket.
The man looked back up at him warmly, then smiled again.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Briefs. It's just so obvious that neither you nor Ms. Son are used to formalities between you."
Trunks rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, suddenly feeling as if he and the older man had switched places.
"Well, no…not really," he confessed, his façade of knowing what he was doing falling away. He glanced back up at the man, and felt all emotion fall from his face as the man's eyes made it all to clear that he found Trunks smitten with the dark haired secretary. "She's my sister's best friend, and mine too, I guess you could say…"
The old man chuckled. "By the looks of it, she's more than your best friend."
Trunks felt his face flush even redder, and resisted the urge to clean his glasses with a silent curse.
"We're here on business, Mr. Summers, not my personal life."
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A/N: *groans* How many more of these things do I have left to post tonight? *goes back and counts* One more! And at least 10 after that....like I said. If you don't like the length, that's your problem. I'm not gonna skimp out b/c my story's too long; 'sides, half of these chapters are barely one typed page anyways. PT ain't that long.
-Panabelle ;P
Shrine of the Saiyan Squirt