Author's Notes: Here it is – the long awaited Chapter 6! Sorry for the delay, but I was REALLY sick. My health was never that great. I'm also sorry for the previous chapter. I did that one in a rush when it was near midnight, so it wasn't as good as I had hoped. Sorry again and enjoy! It's a nice LONG one. By the way, THANK-YOU loyanini for the names!
Disclaimer: ME. NO. OWN. INUYASHA!
Title: Fragile Heart
Chapter 6: Cat Fights and Dog Fights
The meeting room was huge. Since the building itself was made almost entirely out of glass, the room had a beautiful view of Tokyo making it seem larger than it already was. However, it's most notable feature was a picture of a white dog, roaming around in a huge forest, on the wall opposite of the door. The emblem was a representation of the Inu of the West Corps, and the company name could be seen on top of it in gold letters. A large leather chair was set in front of it at the head of a large, black table in the middle of the room. Chairs were placed on either side of the table…and they were all filled except for one.
Rin's observations were cut short when she felt someone behind her.
"I think it would be best if we take our seats, so we may begin," a soft voice whispered behind her ear.
Rin turned to see Sesshoumaru standing behind her with an indifferent expression. Does he like to sneak up on people like that, or is it just me?! Rin thought, trying to calm her wildly beating heart. I just had one HELL of a time getting here to say the least. I bumped into ten people at least, almost dropping all the files in my hand, and I would have fallen over if someone hadn't caught me. I sooooo do not need to have ten years of my life scared away from me! Rin glared at him as he motioned to the seat beside him at the head of the table.
Ignoring her glares, Sesshoumaru started with the introductions. "Everyone, this is Rin the new intern." Despite everything that happened that day, Rin bowed politely and smiled at everyone. "She will be accompanying me on all of my meetings and business trips. You may introduce yourselves to her if you wish."
"Hi, my name's Shippo. I'm the Vice-President of this corporation. If you need any help with anything, don't hesitate to ask me," said Shippo, extending his hand with a smile on his face.
Rin looked at the man to the left of where Sesshoumaru was sitting. He had short red hair, and his light brown eyes seemed to sparkle as he smiled. Rin could tell that he had a nice build behind his suit, and he was pretty tall. Rin was a bit surprised that the Vice-President looked so young. He looks no more than twenty-five, Rin thought. But he seems really nice. Rin shook hands with him and smiled. "I will. I just hope that you won't find me a nuisance."
Shippo laughed as he sat down and said, "Not at all. I'm sure we'll be fast friends."
Rin continued to shake hands with everyone as they introduced themselves. She abruptly stopped, and the courteous smile she had on vanished when she saw someone that she didn't want to see – Brian.
Not wanting to make a scene, Rin forced a smile on her face and said, "Hi, I'm Rin."
Brian said nothing for a moment that was probably a few seconds, but it seemed like hours to Rin. Finally, he said, "I'm Brian. It's nice to have you here." Brian shook her hand and sat down.
Releasing a breath that she didn't realize she had been holding, Rin continued but stopped again when she reached the last person sitting to the right of Sesshoumaru. She looked to be a very beautiful, but cold woman. She had long golden hair and icy blue eyes. She also had a slim waist that was accentuated by her tight clothing. As Rin stared at her, she stared back in return assessing Rin with her cool gaze. Apparently she didn't like what she saw, as she sat back down without shaking Rin's proffered hand. Then in a silky voice, she said, "I'm Asakusa the CEO of this corporation."
"Nice to meet you," Rin said, sitting back down.
Shippo noticed that one name hadn't been introduced and looked around. Seeing the empty chair, he asked, "Where's Miroku?"
"After the paramedics came and pulled him out of the wall, they rushed him to the hospital," someone said.
"Really? Third time this week…a new record," said Shippo thoughtfully. Turning back to Rin, he said, "Miroku is also the CEO here. I think he has some sort of incurable brain damage. How else can you explain his inability to grasp the concept of 'look but don't touch'? You'll think he'll finally get it after all the slaps he got from the women."
While Rin was giggling at Shippo's comment, Sesshoumaru decided to begin the meeting. "What's on the agenda?"
"Our sister enterprise in Hong Kong is facing bankruptcy, and they are asking for our help. Their lawyer has spoken to me about selling their corporation to us. They believe that we would make good use of their company. We have settled the price to half a million U.S. dollars. All we need now is your approval and signature, Sesshoumaru-sama," said Asakusa, handing Sesshoumaru a file.
Sesshoumaru looked through it, as Shippo countered, "I don't think this would be the best solution. Although we had many business dealings with the Kum Kei Corps in the past, I do not believe we could truly make a large profit from such a transaction."
"The statistical profit that can be gained is actually 5% higher than before."
"I doubt your calculations included the expenses required for workers, equipment, and such things."
"Besides, it would be a downside for some of our other business dealings," Shippo added. "The other corporations are already looking down on us for even associating with such a small company, although it is their own ignorance that is keeping them from realizing its true worth. The Kum Kei Corps is only valuable to us as a business ally, not as a joint corporation."
"Then, are you suggesting that we sit back and allow the Kum Kei Corps to close down? If that is what you're suggesting, then are you aware of the amount of losses this decision would lead to? If we don't buy the Kum Kei Corps, no other company would, and we would lose one of our major assets," replied Asakusa heatedly.
Rin stared at the arguing sides blankly. But the solution is so simple…or at least I think it is. Rin looked to her right to see Sesshoumaru flipping through the file nonchalantly. Is he even paying attention? Rin saw Sesshoumaru look at a page, and in less than two seconds, he goes on to the next. Forget that, is he even reading the report? It's like he's just quickly scanning through it…
Snapping out of her thoughts, Rin decided to speak her mind. What's the worst thing that can happen to me that didn't happen already? Rin took a deep breath and said, "I agree with Shippo. The Japanese and Chinese governments are not exactly at the best of terms to begin with. Both governments fear a monopoly, which such a transaction can create regardless of how small the Kum Kei Corps is. The only way to deal with this is to offer them a loan. Regardless of the amount of interest we can gain, the profit in itself will most likely double."
Everyone just stared at her. Rin gulped and blushed under their gazes. Did I say something wrong? Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. No one really expected me to have an opinion on the matter anyway. I only looked over the reports while I was running down the hallway.
"And what you know about the situation?" Asakusa asked with a raised manicured eyebrow, mirroring Rin's thoughts.
Rin grew redder, but before she could say anything Sesshoumaru spoke up first. "Rin's right." Tossing the file on the desk, he continued, "Nothing good could be gained from this. I will settle the matter personally in Hong Kong at my earliest convenience. Meeting adjourned," Sesshoumaru stated firmly, leaving no room for arguments as he got up to leave.
Rin let out a breath the second time that day. I'm going to have to thank Sesshoumaru for this, Rin thought, forgetting about her earlier annoyance with him. Before she got up as well, Rin leaned towards Sesshoumaru and whispered, "Arigatou, Sesshoumaru-sama." Sesshoumaru nodded slightly, acknowledging that he heard her and left the room. Then, Rin noticed that Asakusa was glaring at her from across the table, before she too left the room. What's her problem? Rin thought, as she left the room.
As she was walking down the hallway to her office, Rin saw Sango running up to her. "So how did it go?" Sango asked a bit breathless from all here running.
"It went fine," said Rin. Then, she remembered the glare that Asakusa gave her when she left. "Sango, do you know anything about a woman named Asakusa?"
"Don't tell me you got into trouble with her?!" cried Sango, practically screaming. A couple of people turned their heads to see what all the commotion was about as Rin pulled Sango into her office.
"Shhh! I don't want everyone else to know about this!" Rin said. "And no, I didn't get into trouble with her…well, not really. She glared at me as she left the meeting room."
"OK, that's bad. Well, there's not much that I know about her other than she's a rich, spoiled brat. Her father is a major business man, and our company even has some associations with him."
"Then, why does she work here?" Rin questioned.
"There are rumors that say she's in love with Sesshoumaru-sama and wants to be with him. Others say that she is helping her father bring down the Inu of the West Corps. But those are just rumors, no one really knows for certain. What I do know is that she's nothing but a lying, cheating scumbag! I don't like talking about people behind their backs, but with her I'll make an exception. One of my friends used to work here as her secretary, but she got fired because she lost an important file. But I remember seeing Asakusa taking that file and shredding it when my friend went to the restroom."
"But why would Asakusa do something like that?"
"I don't know. I remember my friend telling me that she liked Sesshoumaru-sama once, and it was nothing but just girlish prattle. Then, Asakusa passed by and glared at us. She just left without saying anything. The next thing I knew, my friend was already packing her things to leave," Sango said a bit bitterly.
"Excuse me, but I didn't know you had company, Rin."
Rin froze. She turned around to see…
"Brian! What are you doing here?" Rin asked, trying to recover from her earlier shock. Well, at least it wasn't Asakusa…
"I wanted to speak to you…alone," said Brian, looking at Sango.
"Well then, I'll just leave you guys here," Sango said leaving. She gave Rin an encouraging smile before she closed the door.
Cutting straight to the point, Rin asked, "What do you want to talk to me about, Brain?"
"Why didn't you wait for me to pick you up?" Brian asked, equally as blunt.
"Well…" Rin started, getting a bit uncomfortable. Why does he have to be so difficult…but, I have to set him straight. Rin opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Come on you can do it, Rin… "I thought you wouldn't be able to make it because of traffic," Rin lied. Nice going, Rin. Really smooth, Rin thought sarcastically, silently berating herself.
Brian smiled as he took Rin's hands into his own. "Really – that's all? For a moment there I thought you were trying to avoid me," Brian admitted a bit sheepishly, as Rin berated herself some more. Kneeling in front of her, Brian continued, "Rin, I know that we've only known each other a really short time, but I've come to care about you…"
Rin felt a feeling of dread come over her. Is this what I think it is? Rin thought, getting more nervous.
"…deeply…"
Remember that feeling of dread? Triple it.
"…which leads me to my next question…" Brian took out a small velvet box from his pocket and took a deep breath.
Getting really nervous, Rin frantically tried to think up of something to say to stop him from asking "the question." Please someone, anyone, save me! I promise I'll never trick Inuyasha into pigging-out on ramen again!
"Will you mar…"
"Am I interrupting something?" asked Sesshoumaru. His left hand was holding onto the doorknob, while in his right hand he was holding his jacket.
Rin was never happier to see Sesshoumaru right at that moment. Yes! My knight in shinning armor! I love you, Lord! "No, you're not interrupting. Can I help you with something?" Rin asked smiling.
"I wanted to know if you like to have lunch with me…but if you want to speak to Brian first, then I'll just leave," said Sesshoumaru, as composed as ever. He started to turn and shut the door, when…
"WAIT!!!"
Sesshoumaru stopped and looked at Rin.
"I'll be more than happy to have lunch with you, Sesshoumaru-sama. You won't mind, right Brian?" Rin didn't even wait for Brian's answer, as she hurriedly grabbed her jacket and left with Sesshoumaru.
Dog Fight(s)
First Prize: Former most sought after bachelorette of the Western Lands, both beautiful and intelligent Rin
Second Prize: Jealousy and hate that goes beyond all reason
Sesshoumaru Brian
Score: 1 0
Round Two: NEXT!!!
Cat Fight(s)
First Prize: President and founder of Inu of the West Corps and former Lord of the Western Lands Sesshoumaru
Second Prize: A fountain of tears
Rin Asakusa
Score: 1 0
Round Two: Sometime in the future… (the far, far future :) )
