Disguise

Blue Sonnet

Legend:

""- dialogue

' ' - character thoughts

The Great Halt

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! I'M LAAAATE!!!!!"

Her digital alarm clock read 03:36. Stupid freaking clock.

"Dammit!! First day of the jackass on the job and I'm late!" Sakura swore as she put on her office attire, a hip-length black skirt with matching blazer over a white blouse. It was one of Tomoyo's creations, made to look similar to their office uniform.

"Sakura! Breakfast is ready! What are you doing up so late?" Tomoyo was calling downstairs.

"Alright, I'm there! Tomoyo, what time is it?!" Sakura called out while struggling to pull up her stockings and going down the steps at the same time.

Tomoyo grinned at her when she reached the kitchen. "It's already 7:45. Tell me what happened later. I have to go. I have an appointment. Bye!" She grabbed her coat and dashed out of the house.

"Please let him be late! I beg Your everlasting mercies, let him be late!" Sakura groaned while stuffing her mouth with toast and heading towards the car. The building of Li Corporation was a 30-minute drive from their apartment, and she was due at work at 8 o'clock. Good luck.

"Good morning, Sir."

Sakura was panting by the time she reached Li's office. The minute hand on her watch was pointing at the number two. She made good time, but she was still late. And the blasted man was already seated at his desk. Sakura readied herself for the worst.

Syaoran looked up and noted his secretary. "Good morning, Kinomoto. What's my schedule for today?"

'That's it?! No 'You're late, Kinomoto. You're fired!', no 'Overslept, Kinomoto?' or some equally nerve-grating comment? I got worried for nothing. Maybe he is a nice guy,' Sakura mused as she composed herself.

"Well? I'm waiting."

Sakura tapped her pad and smiled at him, thinking how nice he was not to reprimand her on being late. "You have two calls scheduled for the morning until 9:30, and a 30-minute meeting with Mr. Hireigezawa and the finance staff. You'll have lunch with Mr. Yokoyama at 1pm to discuss the new branch. After that, your afternoon's free."

Unsmiling, Syaoran nodded his approval and turned back to his work. "Thank you. You can go now."

Sakura turned to go. She was smiling silly and her opinion of Syaoran Li was totally changed. But of course, as the saying goes, no good thing lasts forever.

"And one more thing, Kinomoto."

Still smiling, Sakura turned and was met by the most evil grin.

"You'll have to go on overtime as punishment for being late. We can't expect the company to grow with such tardiness, can we?"

After four hours, the vein popping at the side of her forehead still wouldn't go away.

"Punishment?! TARDINESS?! For the first time in my life, I was ten minutes late! TEN!!"

Five. Xu decided that enough pencils were broken. "Come on, Sakura! Let's have lunch. It's no good working out your anger here. Mr. Li might hear you."

"Oh yeah?! Let him hear me for all I care. And you know what? The saddest thing is, I really thought he was a nice guy when he didn't immediately mention my being late. More fool me." Sakura stopped before she made any more fool out of herself. "Sorry, Xu. I'm just really annoyed. It bothers me to no end that I'm the only one he's being mean to."

The Operations Director shrugged the apology off and winked. "If you're still worried about me, you could appease me by taking up my offer to go out for lunch. My treat, of course."

Sakura laughed and retrieved her shoulder bag from behind her desk. "Sure. I've a craving for chocolate right now. There's a really good restaurant-bakeshop somewhere near..."

Syaoran was currently hearing every word said inside the adjoining office. And laughing his head off.

"Man, I know of a good hospital that's reputed to heal mental illnesses like that in two weeks. That means, you can go through a whole round of tests and cures and be back in no time at all. I'll take care of the company while you're gone." Eriol crossed his hands in front of his face and moved them in semicircles to the sides. "Think of it! You'll be cured, and no gossip."

"Shut up." Syaoran was embarrassed at being caught savoring his amusement. "Don't you know how to knock? That's why doors are built, you know."

Eriol's glasses flashed. "No they're not. A thousand years ago, people used to—"

Syaoran cut him off. "One more word, Eriol, and you won't be seeing daylight for at least two hours. My fist guarantees that, and an extra black eye too."

"Well, well, such manly talk so early in the day. What stimulating conversation."

"Agh! Do I have to post a "Knock Before You Enter" sign on my door? What are you doing here, Meiling?" Syaoran addressed the newcomer.

Crimson met amber as Meiling tossed back her long black hair. "I'm here for lunch, as you haven't visited me once since you came back! And that was four weeks ago! If I hadn't called Aunt Yelan, I wouldn't see hide or hair of you! So you're stuck with me until dinner tonight."

Syaoran gave a loud snort. "Don't be a spoiled brat. I've got appointments I have to keep. I can't cancel them all just because you suddenly decide that it's a good day for a date! I have my responsibilities."

Fake tears streamed down Meiling's cheeks. "Waaaah!!! WAAAAAH!!! It's your fault! You can't treat your fiancé like this! Right, Eriol?" She hid her face in Eriol's chest and smirked.

Syaoran was as yielding as a concrete wall. "Don't listen to her, Eriol. Don't let the puppy-dog eyes beat you. Be a man."

But alas, the enemy had captured the weakling. "Come on, man. It won't hurt to relax for a day. Besides, you can take this time for sightseeing around Hong Kong with Meiling."

Syaoran was exasperated beyond belief. "Are you crazy?! It's just my first day on the job, and you're already telling me to relax! As if I'd get an inkling of relaxation with Meiling around. And why would I go sightseeing in MY OWN hometown?!"

Eriol sweatdropped. "Oh, hehe. You're right. I forgot. Well, gotta go now! I'm meeting Tomoyo."

Syaoran smirked as the door closed. "Coward."

Meiling shrugged. "Alright, Syaoran. You win this time. But you have to promise to show up at my sister's birthday party next week, or I'll kick your sorry ass to kingdom come." She planted a feathery kiss on his cheek before going to the door. "Bye, sweetie!"

"Bothersome kid." But he was grinning as the door closed.

"Yes... Yes, of course... No... No, of course not... You're quite right, that's definitely wrong... Eh-hmm... Eh-hmm... Yes, alright... No, that's fine... Well, bye then!" Brows knit together, Sakura put back the receiver. That call took three minutes of her time, which was a minute more than what was needed. Pesky guy couldn't take a simple no for an answer.

"You sure can carry a senseless phone conversation. I couldn't understand a thing," Syaoran drawled from the door.

"That's because it was meant to keep eavesdroppers from poking their noses into somebody else's business. Can I help you?" she inquired sardonically.

Syaoran raised an eyebrow and sauntered to her desk. "Don't tell me that was an admirer?! Seriously, more optical clinics need to be opened here in Hong Kong."

Sakura smiled from ear to ear. "No, mental hospitals are better. And you can start one, since you so badly need it! It'd even be profitable, since everyone you touch gets contaminated, and your hospital will be the only one that has the cure! I'll start the inquiries. Time is running out, you know."

The smile was already plastered to his face. "Yeah! And we can give free vaccine to everyone, so that no one will get infected with your virus! An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. One less fatal illness to worry about, if you ask me."

There was an uncomfortable silence after that. Sakura was staring right at him, no, Syaoran corrected himself, it was like she was staring through him. As if he wasn't there. Syaoran cleared his throat and startled Sakura out of her trance.

"Oh, sorry for spacing out. What was it you wanted me to do?" Her eyes were glazed, and her voice was thick, like something was clogging her throat.

Syaoran didn't want to admit it, but he was worried. "Nothing. I just came to tell you that you don't need to go on that overtime I said earlier. All the paperwork I looked at earlier are done to my satisfaction. Nothing's lagging behind schedule either, so you can go ahead after office hours."

Sakura was nonplussed. "But I thought—"

Syaoran laughed. "Just shows what you get for thinking—a complete waste of time."

And he closed the door to a fuming Sakura.

"He's crazy. And I mean it." Sakura muttered as she sat on the floor of their apartment.

Tomoyo was sitting on the sofa beside Sakura, scanning her portfolio. She turned the page around and pointed to a beige halter-top dress with a straight cut. "Do you think this dress will still look good in blue? Or should I add more accessories?"

Sakura wasn't paying attention either. "Yeah. He's mean too. And completely arrogant, with the way he walks and talks."

"I've heard he treats everyone as his equal. You don't find a boss like that just anywhere." She pointed to a glittering, off-shoulder, ankle-length black dress with a long slit on the left hip and little frills protruding from the slit. "What do you think? This'll look better on you than on anyone else!"

"Yeah, it looks nice. He exudes authority in every move." Sakura reached out for Tomoyo's hand. "Tomoyo, I... I... I spaced out in front of him."

Tomoyo pulled her up from the floor and hugged her hard. "Don't think about it, Sakura. Just forget about it. You deserve to live your life in happiness."

Tears were already streaming down Sakura's cheeks. "I know. I know. But somehow, I can't just forget about it. When I'm with Li, I let down so much of my guard that they worm their way out with just one word. All the memories come back. I don't know what's wrong, but I can't concentrate when I'm with him." She wiped her cheeks and made an attempt to smile. "Maybe it's because he keeps annoying me to no end."

Tomoyo smiled too, and began scanning her portfolio once again. "Yeah, maybe that's why. Anyway, enough about that! I've got a show next week, and I want you to model for me. It's actually a birthday party of one of my dearest clients, but she wanted to turn it to a charity ball. So I agreed, and half our sales on that night will be given to the foundation she's currently sponsoring. That would be my birthday present for her."

Sakura was immediately in agreement. "That was very nice of her. Of course I'll come! It's the only thing I can do to help."

"Then help me pick out which ones you're going to wear. I should have at least fifty clothes on ramp that night for my donation to make a difference."

Tomoyo's excitement was contagious. "You know you're going to sell them all out anyway. You're just too modest."

That's all for now! Long time no write! Sorry for the long wait, but I've had so many things to do this semester. Anyway, that's all finished, and I've decided to write longer chapters so that my readers can appreciate the story better. Please read and review! Thanks!