Leave Me Breathless by Hikari-chan
Disclaimer: As usual, if you recognize it, it´s not mine. Even if you don´t recognize it, it may not be mine. That said, the plot and writing IS mine.
AN: School´s back, and exams are just around the bend. . So I guess you can all consider this a bit of a cheering-up present. I´m obsessed with "The Two Towers," and too much in love with Legolas for my own good. LOL. Anyways, that´s completely off-topic.
Heart Soul: I think we need to make it bi-weekly. Otherwise, I´d never be able to deliver.
Sailor Grape: I´m sure Rei will get an earful from our dear Usagi when the time comes. =D
the Desert Fox: *brownie points* ^_~ One of the few people who picked up on Wufei having a wife. I like it when my reviewers manage to pick up little things. You´ll find out in this chapter.
Cherry: Probably because I was partially inspired to actually write down my ideas after I finished reading that one. I thought about writing this whole businessman thing after reading Crystal Heart´s "Masquerade." (Don´t ask me where you can find it. I don´t know anymore. It´s an old Usa/Mamo story.) I didn´t actually do it till "Cherry, My Love" popped up and I read it, also reading Judith McNaught´s novel "Whitney, My Love" in the process. I did not, however, plagiarize either authors. Anyone who doesn´t believe me can go check.
Star Flame: Uh. . .sorry, can´t do that. ^^;;; Heero has to be relatively smart. If you were super smart and witty, I don´t think you´d want a boyfriend who´d lose in a snap at verbal chess. ^_~ It´s just not fun.
Lady Espelle: Bravo! I applaud you for guessing one of my intended pairings.
Tenshi-chan: I thought it was normal? Doesn´t the human resources handle all personnel hiring?
JamieGirl: *hugs* That´s so nice of you. ^^ I´m actually not planning (or ever planned) to pursue the arts, but I´ll keep that in the back of my mind.
Krys-chan: *tackle glomp* My God, it´s been so long! Wow, I´m so surprised to see you pop up in my reviews. LOL. Yes, yes, go ahead and post my fics on your site. Tell me when you´re done. I want to see. =D
Mingming: Update within a reasonable amount of time? *nudge nudge* Speak for yourself. =)P I think we´re in the same boat here. It´s Legolas´ fault. He´s too distracting. *ROFL*
Minna-san: I took up a page in responses. O.o I need to start putting these at the end or something. Again, I appreciate all the reviews, and I´m sorry I can´t reply to all of them. Thank you, everyone, for all your suggestions, comments, and encouragements. You guys are the best. ^^ By the way, if anyone is interested, the majority was that I concentrate on Usagi and Heero, so I think you´ll enjoy this chapter. I will, however, do side-tidbits on the other characters, as suggested by many people as well. Thanks again.
Warnings: OOC-ness galore. Beware. Ah yes, the Japanese. "Chibi-chan" more or less means "little one." Chibi = little, and the -chan suffix is used for affection.
On with the show. . .
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Chapter 5 – Second Impressions
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"Is that everything?" Heero asked from the head of the long oak table.
Une stood up from her position beside Trowa on Heero´s left. She looked around the table to scrutinize everyone at the board meeting. Wufei was on Heero´s right, and about ten other people, not including the ones already mentioned, were present: the vice-president, the head of secretaries, the head of marketing, etcetera.
"There has been a new group of people promoted, seeing that some have retired. Necessary training is under way," Une reported.
"What of the finances needed for this procedure?" Wufei interrupted.
"I will get those to you as soon as possible," Une replied, nodding in his direction.
Wufei inclined his head in reply, and made a note on his notepad. Une continued, "And I found you a secretary, Mr. Yuy."
This earned numerous smirks from around the table, all of which Heero ignored. He was infamous for switching secretaries all the time, so he didn´t really see the amusement in the matter as his fellow co-workers did.
"The record is a month, and the record keeper is a woman named Rei Hino," Wufei announced, looking up from his notepad.
Calls of bets for the amount of time this new secretary was going to last started being shouted out, and Wufei quickly and deftly recorded the bets. As he surveyed all this, Heero leaned back in his chair with amused tolerance. This seems to be an entertaining point in his co-workers´ lives, so who was he to deprive them of their mindless gambling? Instead, he looked over at Une, whom he knew shared his opinion of this game.
"Do you have her personal information folder?" he asked.
Une raised an eyebrow at him. "How do you know it´s a woman?" she returned.
"Lucky guess," he answered flatly, never doubting his assumption. "Go ahead and tell me it´s actually a man."
"It´s a woman," Une confirmed, handing him a simple, thin, brown folder. "A young one."
This time, it was Heero´s turn to raise his eyebrows at her. "I thought you hated any female specimen under the age of thirty," he stated, opening the folder and flipping through the sheets. His eyes caught the name of his soon-to-be secretary, and anything he may have been feeling lately due to stress and confusion quickly turned to mirth.
Une shrugged. "She had no idea who you were, and I liked her attitude," she responded. "She´s different."
To her surprise, and everyone else´s around the table, Heero gave a short burst of laughter. "She´s different, alright," he agreed, closing the folder and handing it back to Une.
"You´ve met her?" Une asked.
"I have," Heero admitted, his lips twitching into a smirk. "But I never said I was head of Aegis, and I doubt she knows, otherwise, she wouldn´t be here."
After a moment of thoughtful silence in the room, he added, "She should make coming to work interesting," he drawled. Standing up and tucking all of his folders under his arm, he stood up and walked towards the door, fully intending on leaving. "Wufei, whatever the longest time is on that list, put me down for a week more than that," he called out before leaving the room and its occupants staring after him.
"Well," Trowa spoke up once the door closed, "if anything, this is going to be a new experience. Remind me to drop by his office more often."
~*~*~*~*~
Usagi was panicking. That was the only way she could describe how she felt right then. The day before, after having gotten the job, she had quickly gone to Minako´s apartment. No one had been home, so she had picked up her stuff, left a quick note for Rei and Minako, with her new address and phone number, and moved into her new place. Around dinner time, Rei had called to tell her that her own interview had gone well, and that the two of them should go out and celebrate, since Minako had gone out on a date. However, Usagi had refused, saying that she had to unpack everything and get enough sleep for her first day of work, which Rei accepted graciously.
Yet, even with all this preparation, she was still nervous. She pulled her favourite silver blouse from the closet, and looked for a skirt and jacket to match, finally settling the ice pink ensemble that Hotaru had given her for her last birthday. Looking in the mirror, Usagi realized that she looked like a deer caught in the headlights, and managed to laugh at herself, enough to cheer her up.
She left her hair loose, picked up her purse, and left the apartment, hurrying through the streets to her workplace.
She walked in through the front doors and smiled brightly at Noin. "Good morning, Miss Noin," she greeted the older woman, who looked up and smiled at her.
"Good morning, Miss Aino," Noin replied. "I´ll take you up to meet the boss."
Usagi nodded, somewhat nervous. Did she look too young, too girly in the pink, too short? Was her new boss going to find her incompetent? Lacking in experience? Unable to help the company?
She was thinking so much that her hands were shaking, a fact which Noin took a note of once they were inside the elevator and on their way to the fifty-ninth floor.
"He´s not that bad," Noin half joked, half reassured Usagi.
The young woman replied with a small smile, "It´s not him, I suppose. This is my first job."
"I´m sure you´ll be fine," Noin replied. "Une and I are both good judges of character, and if we didn´t think you can handle this, we wouldn´t have picked you."
Usagi let out the breath she hadn´t realized she had been holding. "Thank you, that´s very kind of you," she stated.
"Not at all," Noin grinned. "A week later, you may be frustrated enough with him to curse me for selecting you."
Usagi laughed. "Didn´t you say he´s not that bad?" she asked, her good humour coming back.
"Not enough that you should be scared," Noin answered. "Come on, girl. Just take a deep breath. Shaking in fear is not a good first impression."
Usagi nodded, and did as she was told just as the elevator dinged, signaling that they had reached what she thought was the top floor. The doors opened to a very empty hallway, brilliantly lit with flood light. The hall was actually very short, leading out to a large empty space which held a large desk complete with an advanced computer system. Off to one side were large amounts of filing cabinets and bookshelves, and against the other wall was a series of couches and coffee tables, along with stacks of magazines and a coffee maker. To the left of, and behind the desk was a set of double doors, which Noin was now knocking on.
"Mr. Yuy," she called out. "Your new secretary is here."
Usagi startled. Mr. Yuy? It couldn´t be. . . .
Noin opened the doors and led her inside the spacious office, and suddenly, Usagi didn´t know whether to laugh or to go into shock. There, sitting behind the magnificent desk, was her new boss, and no other than the last person who she wanted to work for.
"You can leave now, Miss Noin," he said curtly, nodding in her direction.
Noin seemed surprised that he actually stopped typing to acknowledge their presence, but she quickly did as he said, knowing that Heero was a man who hated to repeat himself. As she passed by Usagi, she gave her a encouraging smile. "Good luck," she said softly as she left and closed the door gently behind her.
"It´s nice to see you again, Miss Aino," Heero began, hiding his amusement as he quickly swept his gaze over her body. "Don´t we look grown up this morning?"
"If I had known that I was going to be working for you," Usagi replied sweetly, "then I would have made sure to dress my part."
Heero raised a mocking eyebrow. "Meaning?"
"I would have come in overalls and a white turtleneck," she answered flatly, crossing her arms over her chest.
Heero smirked at her behavior, wondering briefly if she realized that he could fire her any second he wanted to. "Don´t dress up on my account, child," he replied.
Usagi sighed and rolled her eyes. "I´m twenty-three," she informed him as civilly as she could, "which is hardly a child, Mr. Yuy. How old exactly are you?"
"Thirty-two, which is hardly old enough to need a cane, Miss Aino," Heero pointed out, leaning back to watch her.
"You´re also old enough to be married, which I know you aren´t," Usagi remarked, "so what does age have to do with anything?"
"Therefore, child," Heero commented with a smile, "it doesn´t matter how old, or young, you are."
"Well, this child is going to be doing up all your documents from now on, so you better bring out the crayons," Usagi retorted.
"I don´t have any crayons," Heero answered with another infuriating smirk. "Should I give you allowance to buy some? Or do you want me to ring for someone who knows how to cross the streets?"
"You need skill to cross the streets of Tokyo?" Usagi said, pretending to look astonished. "Last I checked, all you needed to do was push and shove."
Heero laughed, and Usagi was surprised to find that she was pleased with herself to have been the cause. "I´ve never noticed," he replied truthfully, regarding her with glinting Prussian blue eyes, which Usagi adamantly resolved to avoid looking into.
"Probably because people part for you like the Red Sea," Usagi teased. "I must the only person in the city of Tokyo who doesn´t know who you are."
"Which makes it all the more refreshing," Heero finished, standing up from his desk and walking towards her.
His frame would be large in most circumstances, but when it was compared to Usagi´s petite one, it was frighteningly so. For every step he took forwards after the distance between them had lessened to ten feet, she took a step back, much to Heero´s amusement. After another thirty seconds, her back was to the wall, and she was staring at him with huge sapphire blue eyes.
"Please don´t come any closer," Usagi requested softly.
Heero ignored her and came up until he was mere inches from her. Putting his hands on the wall on either side of her head, he leaned so close that Usagi could feel his warm breath on her face, smell the slight tanginess of his obviously expensive cologne. Her eyes regarded him frightfully, but he made no more move to continue his advances.
"If I didn´t know better, Miss Aino," he began huskily, "I would think you´re afraid of my proximity to you."
"And if I didn´t know better, Mr. Yuy," Usagi replied softly, unaware that her sweet breath tickled both Heero´s lips and his senses, "I would think you´re trying to seduce me."
"What makes you think I´m not?" Heero answered, staring into Usagi´s eyes, which were now calmer than they had been before.
From the moment their eyes met, Usagi knew she was fighting a losing battle. She was drowning in the depth of his eyes, and the sad thing was, she didn´t even want to save herself. Mentally kicking herself as a reminder that she was his secretary, and that he probably had enough women, not including Miss Peacecraft, lined up at his door, and that she really was a child compared to him, inexperienced and naïve, Usagi forced herself to respond, rather lamely, "Because you should not get involved with your employee."
Yes, that really was reason enough, but ever since the first time he had laid eyes on her, her exquisite beauty, her charming smile, her witty disposition, he had been drawn to her. He wanted her. That was reason enough, in his mind, to seduce any willing woman.
A coughing sound from the doorway interrupted whatever Heero was going to say next. Angrily, he whirled around to face the intruders and give them the reproach of a lifetime when he realized that the people at his door were none other than Trowa and Wufei, who were both looking in on the scene with restrained amusement and shock.
"Have either of you ever heard of knocking?" he snapped irritably, glaring at his friends.
"Since you never answer the door, we thought it would be a waste of time," Wufei answered. He glanced at Usagi, who blushed because of the scene they had walked in on. She didn´t even know whether to be thankful or embarrassed.
"Your new secretary?" Trowa asked, studying Usagi as well. Contrary to Usagi´s belief that they were probably thinking she was another one of those girls who came for the boss, Trowa and Wufei were actually wondering what kind of woman could make Heero step across that line between personal and professional relationships.
"Hn," Heero grunted, still annoyed at being interrupted. "Meet Trowa Barton, head of research, and Wufei Chang, head accountant. Trowa, Wufei, this is Miss Usagi Aino, my secretary." He glared at them, but both men ignored him.
"It´s nice to meet you," Wufei greeted graciously, shaking her hand.
"You as well, Mr. Chang," Usagi replied. Then she looked at him thoughtfully. "Do you know an Ami?"
"Ami. . .?" Wufei prompted, now fully focused on the woman in front of him.
"Well, her maiden name was Mizuno," Usagi supplied, "but she´s married now. I didn´t go though, because it was during the week of university exams."
Wufei chuckled. "Doctor, plays a killer game of chess?" he continued.
"Yes!" Usagi exclaimed. "You are the one, aren´t you?"
"What," Heero interrupted flatly, not liking the extreme friendliness that seemed to have developed in a matter of seconds between his new secretary and his old friend, "is going on?"
"It appears that your secretary is acquainted with my wife," Wufei informed him with a grin.
"I knew it! You looked exactly like the man Ami described in her emails," Usagi stated triumphantly. "I haven´t seen Ami since high school! You must bring her sometime!"
"Better yet," Wufei responded dryly, "I´ll give you her cell phone number, and you keep your girly reunions away from me."
"What, afraid that the tears of joy will drown you?" Usagi mocked lightly, grinning at him.
Wufei smiled and shook his head before strolling over to Heero´s desk to scribble down the number for her. She was definitely going to make life interesting around the office. On the spur of the moment, he asked, "Do you want to come to dinner tonight? I feel like surprising Ami."
Much to Trowa´s amusement, it looked as though Heero was debating whether to murder Wufei on the spot or kick them both out of his office so he could continue what he had been doing before.
"I can´t," Usagi answered apologetically. "I want to, but I already promised to dine with my sister and her friend tonight."
"That´s fine," Wufei responded wryly, glancing at Heero. "At least I wouldn´t have to fear for my life."
Usagi merely gave him a strange look, not having caught the dark glare on Heero´s face since he was standing behind her, then, dismissing the comment, she turned to Trowa. "It´s nice to meet you too, Mr. Barton."
"Likewise," Trowa replied, shaking her hand.
"I´ll leave you to your discussions," Usagi began. "Mr. Yuy, could you please tell me what needs to be done. . . on the computer."
Heero smirked, knowing that she didn´t want him to mention the crayons discussion. He grabbed a couple of folders off his desk and handed them to her. "I need those notes typed up formally, and the second folder has a contract that needs to be proofread and prepared for signing," he stated monotonously.
Usagi nodded, then bowing quickly to the three men, she left the room, wondering to herself how Heero could change so quickly from being seductive to businesslike. Immediately following that line of thought, she kicked herself again for falling under his spell. She did not plan on falling in love, and if she did want to, Heero Yuy would be the last man she should consider. He was arrogant, condescending, and much too dangerous for someone like her. So, instead of thinking about those smothering eyes, she should consider the best way of letting him know that she wanted to switch into Trowa´s department.
~*~*~*~*~
"Never knew that was your type," Trowa commented brief seconds after the door closed. The room was more or less soundproof, with the heavy wooden doors and thick walls.
Ignoring the bait, Heero asked, "What are you two doing here?"
He sat back down and continued to type, hoping that they would leave if he acted the way he usually did. It was too bad that Wufei and Trowa had known him too long for that.
"It´s not a crime to visit a friend in the office," Trowa replied.
"It is now," Heero retorted, glaring at them.
"Really, Yuy," Wufei joined in with a smirk, "it´s not right to mix professional and personal relationships."
"Are the two of you quite done?" Heero questioned darkly.
"We will be once you explain," Trowa answered sensibly, shoving his hands into his pant pockets.
"I don´t think any explanation is necessary, unless, of course, you´re blind," Heero responded tonelessly.
"She´s your secretary," Trowa pointed out.
"And?" Heero prompted, leaning back in his chair.
"And you hate getting involved with your employees," Wufei finished.
"So?" was the next short answer from Heero.
"So we want to know what´s gotten into you this morning," Trowa said.
Heero shrugged. "Let me take a trip down Memory Lane," he responded sarcastically. "I recall taking a piece of buttered toast and two cups of coffee. Other than that, the usual things are in me, like organs and tissues."
"Now, I wish she was back in here, because she´d have a witty comment for this and we don´t," Wufei stated with a sigh.
"What´s the real reason you´re here?" Heero asked.
"Wufei has some financial issues he wants to resolve with you," Trowa answered.
"Wufei can speak for himself, thank you very much," said-man replied dryly. "I´m also here to tell you that my wife wants to hold a charity ball next Saturday at the estate. The hospital needs money, and she wants to help raise it for research and equipment. I´m helping her put out the invitations, but beware that donations are necessary."
"Am I to presume that this is an invitation?" Heero said, lifting a sardonic eyebrow, "Or did you want me to help you put out the invitations?"
"Both," Wufei returned with a shrug. "And you can bring a date, of course."
"Unless I´m mistaken, it won´t be Miss Peacecraft this time around," Trowa observed with a smirk of his own.
"And unless I´m mistaken, you will be out of a job if you don´t start keeping your opinions to yourself," Heero replied, obviously irritated with his longtime friend. He turned back to his screen, which had flashed to a screensaver in the time he had spent talking to Wufei and Trowa. He entered the password necessary to get back into the file he was working on, then swore under his breath as he stood up.
Trowa, who´d been about to retort, glanced at him. "What now?"
"I forgot to give her the password to get into the system," Heero answered blandly, stalking out of the room.
Surprising enough, Usagi was seated at the desk and typing away at the notes Heero had told her to type up.
He frowned darkly. "How," he started dangerously, "did you get into the system?"
Usagi literally jumped when she heard his voice, then turning to meet his foreboding glare, she smiled weakly. "I guessed the login and the password?" she asked rather than stated, making Heero eye her suspiciously.
"How?" he repeated.
Usagi sighed. "You need a better security system," she muttered, staring down at her lap.
"Meaning?" Heero prompted.
Usagi looked up to find Trowa and Wufei looking at her curiously, waiting for her answer. She winced. "I half hacked, half cracked the password," she admitted.
Instead of blowing up at her like Usagi expected any normal employer to do, Heero merely stared at her in disbelief. Usagi glanced sideways uncertainly to meet his surprised stare, as well as Trowa and Wufei´s looks of disbelief.
"Why?" Heero continued.
"I thought it´d be challenging, and fun, I guess," Usagi confessed, feeling like a criminal on trial. "Plus, I didn´t want to interrupt whatever discussion you were having."
"I don´t believe this," Wufei breathed. "You cracked Aegis´s password system?"
Usagi nodded slowly, not quite sure if she was in trouble or not. Mentally, she berated herself for doing it. At the time, it had seemed like a good idea.
"We have to put her in the research department," Trowa suggested, turning to Heero, which made Usagi´s head snap up. "This kind of talent is rare, and currently, we need it."
Usagi looked hopefully at Heero, whose face was now unreadable. "No," he stated plainly.
"No?!" came outraged and shocked cries from the other three people present.
"I´m not hiring another secretary," Heero decided, staring hard at Usagi, his eyes now frigid with lack of emotions.
Feeling an overwhelming annoyance with the arrogant man in front of her, Usagi glared back at him. "You don´t hire another secretary. Miss Une does," she pointed out.
"I pay for her salary, therefore, I´m the one who hires her," Heero replied.
Without another word to anyone else, he stalked back into his office and almost slammed the door shut. Outside, Wufei and Trowa both stared at the doors in silence.
"What´s shoved up his ass?" Wufei frowned, his short temper obviously lighted by the earlier conversation.
"I´d say a stick, but I´m assured that it´s something bigger," Usagi answered dryly, spinning around in her chair to face the keyboard. She began to type at a furious speed, an uncharacteristic frown marring her pretty face.
"You´re not really here for secretarial work, are you?" Trowa observed quietly.
Usagi sighed. "You have two guesses to that yes or no question," she replied with a brief smile in his direction.
"There´s something wrong with this situation," Trowa informed her, making Usagi momentarily stop her work.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I mean that Heero´s usually on the look-out for talent like yours. He wants these gifted people to work where their skills will give him the best advantage over any other competitor," Trowa explained. "Hence, it´s really strange that he refused to switch you to the research department."
Usagi turned thoughtful, slowly taking in Trowa´s explanation while the man exchanged a knowing look with Wufei. Usagi may be clueless, but they weren´t. Yet, at the moment, it was worth seeing how this drama will play out to keep Usagi temporarily at her secretarial post. Giving the young woman a brief goodbye, the two men headed back to their own work stations.
~*~*~*~*~
"Closer!" the cameraman yelled at the couple standing in front of the colourful backdrop.
Minako complied by leaning against Duo. She glanced briefly at the clock in the studio and noted that they were supposed to have finished fifteen minutes ago. Rei was not going to be pleased because she was going to be late. . .again.
"Great, that´s a wrap!" the cameraman called out, much to everyone´s obvious relief.
Duo let out a big sigh of relief and released Minako from his embrace. "Tell me again why I´m shooting this poster for shampoo?" he said, almost in a daze from the bright flashes.
"Because I´m gorgeous and you couldn´t resist getting closer," Minako flirted with a grin.
Duo grinned back, walking with her to the make-up artist where all the powder and whatever can be taken off. "Of course," he agreed, "we look good enough to attract any kind of attention for any ad."
As the hair stylist undid her hair, Minako suddenly spoke, "It´s too bad my sister never liked this industry. Otherwise, she and I would make a knockout pair too."
"Really?" Duo replied. "How come she doesn´t like modeling? Or acting? I thought most girls dreamed of being stars."
"Usagi isn´t ´most girls´," Minako answered with a shrug. "Her ambition when she was seven was to master the use of a slingshot, and she was the archery team´s best shooter in high school. Then, she got hooked onto the brain-numbing world of computers, and would rather be taking apart my VCR than sitting through makeovers."
Duo, genuinely interested, turned to face the beautiful model. "Your sister´s name is Usagi?" he asked.
"Yea, you might have met her. She was at the Stone party," Minako answered.
Duo´s face broke into a huge grin. "Do you think that, maybe, I could have her phone number?" he said hopefully.
Minako raised an elegant eyebrow at him. "Am I to understand, Duo, that you have a crush on my computer-crazed sister?" she teased. "You do realize that you know about as much as I do when it comes to those electric whatcha-ma-callits."
Duo put a hand to his heart, pretending to look hurt at Minako´s comment, and looking quite convincing while he was at it. "I´m heartbroken to think that you disagree with my choice in love, sweetheart," he responded. "I´ll have you know that true love does not need common obsessions between two people."
Minako laughed despite the brief hurt she felt at the knowledge that her longtime friend in the industry was interested in her sister too. For a second, she wondered what it was about Usagi that attracted the men. "Tell me something, Duo," she started with a smile, "what is it about my sister? Why do you like her? What did she say that made you interested?"
Duo shrugged. "She´s really pretty, as beautiful as you, but seemingly more touchable, warmer. She doesn´t have that awe-aspiring feeling that surrounds her, I think," he answered thoughtfully. "I don´t know why I like her. I mean, she´s funny, and smart, and cute. Unfortunately, she didn´t really say anything that would suggest she likes me too. In fact, she said she could call an ambulance for me."
"Sounds like something my sister would say," Minako responded with a giggle. "You know something? We´re supposed to have dinner tonight. Do you want to come? You can enjoy more of her. . .uh. . .insightful comments."
Duo brightened at the prospect. "Do I ever want to!" he exclaimed. "Any way it could just be me and her?"
"I´ll have to see," Minako replied. "I think she was looking forward to a nice evening with me and Rei."
"You could tell her you´re sick," Duo suggested.
"She´d cancel dinner," Minako pointed out. "No one goes out to dine by themselves."
"Wait a second," Duo backtracked, "did you say that a 'Rei´ was going too?"
"Yes I did," Minako confirmed. "She´s my best friend."
"I´ve met her," Duo told her. "She threatened to pour the contents of the punch bowl on my head."
Minako laughed merrily. "That´s sounds like Rei alright!" she said. "In this case, you just might be able to get that dinner date with Usagi. All you have to do is piss off Rei enough to have me drag her away."
"Sounds like a plan," Duo nodded, holding out his hand.
Minako shook it firmly. "Count on it, Duo. You can´t fail when you have the world´s best matchmaker on your side," she announced, hoping that Usagi wouldn´t get too mad.
~*~*~*~*~
Heero slammed the folder about the day´s financial records shut, frustrated with his lack of concentration on his work. Normally, he could have finished today´s routine work an hour ago, and would currently be looking at plans for tomorrow´s schedule. However, the only thing he was able to accomplish today was see the image of a pair of laughing sapphire eyes in his head, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn´t get the vision of the petite blonde in his arms, her luscious hair spilled over her shoulders, out of his head.
I´m lusting after my own secretary, he thought with bitter irony as he got up to fetch himself a cup of coffee. Him, who was adamant about keeping personal feelings out of the office. Him, who could crook his finger and have dozens, if not hundreds, of women flinging themselves at him.
He sat down and gave up trying to get back to work. Instead, he let his thoughts take the direction they had wanted to since the second she had appeared with Noin in his office. He would not, even for a moment, consider the thought that he might be falling in love with her. Love was for idiots. He wanted to smell the fragrance of her hair, feel her body against his, stare into those twinkling eyes, hear her voice as she threw his remarks in his face. . . .
A knock at the door interrupted his train of thought, and reluctantly, he looked up, a bit surprised to find the subject of his thoughts in the doorway. She closed the door behind her, and with quiet and natural grace, walked up to his desk with the folders she had been assigned to work on throughout the day.
"This is a final copy of the contract," she told him softly, the teasing and bantering tone gone from her voice. "And those are the notes you wanted, and the research you needed on Workworld´s financial status. This one is a folder from Mr. Chang who said those are the company´s financial issues he wants to discuss with you, and-"
Heero held up a hand, silencing her. He studied her for a long moment before speaking. "Are you mad at me, chibi-chan?" he asked quietly, almost gently.
Usagi startled at the affectionate nickname, but quickly regained her composure. "No," she answered. "Should I be?"
"You obviously did not want to become a secretary," he pointed out. "I checked. You graduated in computer science, top of your class."
"Great access to information, being the boss of such a powerful company," she commented tonelessly.
Heero smirked and tapped one of the many folders on his desk. "Actually, chibi-chan, you had that down in your resume," he replied in a voice that contained hidden amusement. "I didn´t have to work that hard for the information."
Usagi rolled her eyes. "I´m flattered to know you wanted to have information about me," she responded sarcastically. "Now, can I please finish telling you about this massive folder from the research department so I can leave?"
"I´m as heartbroken as you to know that we must part so early," Heero returned dryly. "And no, you can just leave the folder on my desk."
"Yes, I´m sure that among your many amazing abilities, you can also read," Usagi stated, doing as he had said.
As she put the aforementioned folder down on his large desk, Heero reached out and clamped his hand over her petite one, preventing her from stepping back and making her head snap up to stare at him.
"Do you hate me so for refusing to switch your position?" Heero questioned in a low tone, his voice sending unexplainable shivers down Usagi´s spine.
"I don´t hate you, Mr. Yuy," Usagi corrected, shifting uneasily under his piercing eyes. "I´m just. . .disappointed."
Heero continued to study her face, the flawless camellia skin, high cheekbones, full pink lips, and huge sapphire eyes that had laughed with him this morning, but were now missing their spark. He breathed in deeply, wondering if his refusal to put her in the research department was the cause. He also pondered why he was so adamant about keeping her here, when she would help the company so much if she was under Trowa´s wing.
"I´ll think about it, chibi-chan," he decided, lifting her small hand to his lips and brushing them over her knuckles.
Usagi´s eyes lit up. "You mean?"
Heero chuckled, seeing her childish reaction to his words. "Don´t break anything on your way out, child," he mocked her.
"Of course not, your lordship," Usagi replied, failing to keep the sarcasm from her voice. "I would never dream of needlessly breaking one of your many priceless artifacts."
"But you have dreamed of breaking one over my head?" Heero teased, leaning back comfortably in his chair, satisfied that the glint in her eyes were back.
"No," Usagi answered, biting her bottom lip to keep from laughing out loud. "I have merely envisioned myself throwing something unbreakable at your head."
"I´m flattered, chibi-chan," Heero drawled. He gave a curt nod towards the door. "Don´t you have a dinner date with your sister?"
Usagi nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Yuy, I´ll see you tomorrow," she said with a brilliant smile in his direction.
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End of Chapter 5.
AN: Longest chapter yet. ^^ So now that I´m done cheering you up with this little chapter, cheer me up and review! Now, excuse me while I go finish my calculus work. *grumbles*