Text to my father chapter 2

Sasuke sat at his computer staring at the document on the screen. He had to have it edited and submitted by midnight tonight or his boss would have a conniption fit. It wasn't a difficult job but it was tedious as all hell. Why people couldn't edit their own documents was beyond him. However, if they did he would be out of a job. His fingers glided effortlessly across the keyboard switching their and theres with the expression of a person who would rather be getting a root canal than doing what he was doing at the moment. He felt more than saw a presence enter his office. He glanced up from his screen seeing a head full of blond hair and a flash of blue eyes.

Sigh.

"Good morning, Sasuke."

Sasuke's eye flicked back down to the screen. Christ, every... damn... morning. The unwanted visitor pulled out one of the two wooden chairs that sat on the opposite side of his desk. The smell of Chanel wafted throughout the office. Not unpleasant but not to Sasuke's taste.

"Good morning, Ino." he replied, his tone bland but not unfriendly. His irritation could easily be written off as being distracted. She smoothly crossed her legs and adjusted her smart, knee length, purple pencil skirt. A sleeveless button-down blouse with a modest ruffle along the buttons and collar was tucked in and set off with a camel brown belt that matched her heels and handbag. Her long blond hair was pulled up into neat bun. She recently got a straight bang cut across her forehead just beneath her eyebrows that framed the color of her eyes. Sasuke noticed but he would be damned if he mentioned it. It would just encourage her. She was pretty, smart and well put together but Sasuke just wasn't interested.

Ino subtly eyed her coworker appreciatively. Sasuke was a handsome young man. His skin was pale but not sickly. His rich, thick black hair was always glossy and shined like raven wings. He kept it short cut but spiky. She could tell he put effort into it every day but tried to look as if he hadn't. His suits weren't bespoke or expensive, but she could tell they weren't cheap and were carefully chosen off the rack at a higher quality store. He wasn't quite six feet tall but he was close. He had a 'prettiness' to his face that she usually found unappealing in men but he pulled it off with a nearly annoying effortlessness. He was far from the rugged type which is usually what attracted her but Sasuke was unique. He was complicated. Soft spoken but when he spoke people would listen. He radiated an inner strength and never needed to be ostentatious. He wasn't as perfect as other women seemed to think he was though. He wasn't approachable by any means. He basically was the living embodiment of resting bitch face. He clearly didn't like people and was awkward in social situations. Yet, she still found herself interested in him. After working together in the same office for a year it was obvious that he just wasn't biting. However, Ino had more self-respect than to keep throwing herself at a man that clearly wasn't interested. That didn't mean that she couldn't appreciate the view and indulge in some harmless, mild, office flirting.

"Would you like to have lunch with me today? I have to go through some proposals, and I'd like to pick your brain a bit." she asked brightly. Sasuke's fingers paused for a moment and his eyebrows knitted together as he considered the offer.

"Where did you have in mind?" he asked after a brief moment of consideration. It wasn't the first time they had lunch together, so Ino didn't read too much into it. Sasuke was always a great coworker, and their lunches were always civil and respectable.

"I'm not sure. I was thinking the café across the street. I had an excellent salad there the other day. I heard that have they have a mushroom burger there that is to die for as well."

Sasuke felt his mouth water at the idea. Mushroom burger with extra tomato. Was there any doubt?

"Ok. Usual time?"

"Perf! I will come back at noon, then." Ino adjusted her handbag on her shoulder and stood up pausing briefly to adjust her skirt. She stifled a sigh as she noticed Sasuke not noticing her before turning and walking out the office, her heels clicking smartly as she passed. She smiled and waved brightly at the secretary as she left. Chocho responded in kind before standing up and stretching. She made her way to the doorway before crossing her arms and leaning against the door jam.

"She's still got the hots for you, Sas." she said with a knowing smile. Sasuke breathed out a humorless chuckle as he stopped typing and leaned back into his seat.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." he responded.

Chocho walked into the room and sat in the very chair that was previously occupied by Ino. She was wearing a pale pink pantsuit with a white blouse and black kitten heels. Sasuke liked Chocho. She never took herself too seriously and had a great sense of humor. Her work was always done ahead of time and Sasuke never missed a meeting or message since she had been hired. To be perfectly honest he'd have been more receptive to her trying to date him than Ino. Her laid back demeaner didn't exactly match her snappy dressing style and when he first met her he was surprised to find that she was very easy to talk to. Plus, her mocha skin and hazel eyes gave her an original look that wasn't often seen in Japan and when she greeted him the first time with perfectly executed Japanese he was taken aback. She was sharp and very forward. Her American-ness was sometimes off putting to others and she had the propensity of being outspoken. It made her quite popular. Many male visitors would sometimes make a second appointment to meet someone there just for the chance of a second encounter with her. Chocho was no fool though. She knew that it was really about novelty and a man's hope of 'riding the white horse' as she called it. She claimed it was a term she picked up while studying in Korea.

"Why do you go out with her if you aren't interested in her? You are just making her more hopeful." she asked, clicking her manicured nails on the armrest of the chair. Sasuke pursed his lips and gave a slight shrug.

"Free lunch."

"That's pretty fucked up, Sas." she replied giving him a deadpan look.

"If I wanted to date her, I would. If she wants to keep giving me free meals then that's pretty much on her." he replied as if speaking to a child. Chocho rose an eyebrow not appreciating the tone. She pulled out some money and placed it on his desk.

"If you would be so kind as to bring me back a chef salad I'd super preesh. And please keep the change." she said as she stood and began walking to the door. Sasuke liked the way Chocho walked. It was... femininely cocky he supposed was the best way to describe it. Plus she had a very round rear that he appreciated a great deal. He wasn't ever going to try anything with her but he appreciated works of art when he saw it.

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Ino handed the waitress her menu and swept a glance around the café. It wasn't crowded thank god but there were enough people to make the place buzz with a drone of quiet talking and rustling papers. Sasuke had a slightly faraway look on his face for the briefest of seconds. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. She watched him look indecisively at the screen for a moment before he began to swipe. It was rare that he would bring out his phone on one of their "lunch dates" so she assumed it was something important. She began to talk about the proposals and what they would mean for the company. At times he didn't look to be listening, but he would always give appropriate responses when she would pause. He alternated between glancing down at his phone, staring off contemplatively to the side or looking intensely into her eyes. This was one of the things about him that she found a little less than appealing. Sasuke had the uncanny ability to make you feel as if he is either dismissing you completely or trying to unlock the secrets of your soul. There was no in between. It took some getting used to at first, but she grew to understand that it was one of his quirks. Yet, he never missed a beat. She knew he could probably reiterate the whole conversation if he needed to. He was focused on their conversation, but she was willing to bet that he was focusing on something else as well. He never had to divide his attention; he could give all of his attention to two things simultaneously. It wasn't a gift that she herself had and she sometimes envied it. She once watched Sasuke edit a document while actively participating in a Zoom meeting. She had no idea how the hell he did that and she suspected that he wouldn't be able to explain it if she asked. It was just one of the many talents of Sasuke. She noticed that he had stopped talking and was staring intently at her. She blinked.

"I'm sorry, what was that last part?" she asked hiding her embarrassment.

"I asked if it would be a better move for you to just 86 the initial document and focus on the other two. It seems like the client would be a nightmare to work with as it is, and you can put more energy into the others. I know they are paying less but at least they are taking thing seriously. Your time is valuable so invest it in clients who respect that. We aren't a startup so we can reject clients. Don't spread yourself thin for bullshit." he repeated with a tone of obviously forced patience. Ino nodded consideringly. She never thought to just drop a client. It felt a bit counterproductive to turn away money, but she could always request to have them reassigned to someone else in the office.

"Is that what you would do?" she asked him curiously. Sasuke's eyes flickered behind her as the waitress approached with their food. She sat down their meals, and he requested a carry out order of a chef salad. When the waitress left he pulled the bun off of his mushroom tomato burger and began to dissect it.

"I probably wouldn't drop them personally. I tend to overexert myself and never take my own advice regarding these things. Just consider this a case of 'do as I say, not as I do'. Good old-fashioned hypocrisy." he admitted before removing a ring of white onion and setting it to the side with the others. He scraped the bun on the side of his plate to remove what he considered to be an excessive amount of ketchup.

"Why don't you ever just ask for no condiments?" she asked in confusion.

"I like condiments."

"You always just scrape it off."

"(shrug) Not all of it. I can still taste it. I just don't need to drown in the shit to appreciate it."

He completely dismantled the sandwich and reassembled it so that it was as close to symmetrical as possible. He shifted his fries to the side and completely disregarded the ketchup. She knew from previous lunches that this was his norm. She also knew that he didn't alternate when eating. He would first take a small taste of everything, then he would organize his food from best to least tasty. Polishing off what he considered the not as good portion so he could focus on the best part. However, with burger and fries he always ate the burger first after reorganizing it to his specifications. She wondered if Sasuke had a mild case of OCD or if he was just particular.

"We should go out for dinner sometime." she suggested before taking a bite of her salad. Sasuke paused momentarily before sighing.

"Lunch is for business. Dinner is a date. We aren't doing that."

"Not necessarily..."

"Ino..."

"Alright." she put her hands up in surrender, one still holding her fork. "I'm really not trying to force anything Sasuke, I just really would like to get to know you better." she said in a placating manner. Sasuke put down his burger and looked unblinkingly into her eyes.

"We are work friends. Meaning we are friendly during work hours. Beyond that we go our separate ways. If one of us leaves the company the likelihood of us remaining friends is minimal. I'm not trying to be mean or hard but it's just how I am. I don't collect friends. People come in my life and they go. It's the way I like it and I plan to keep it that way. It's not personal. I think you are a great person and I respect the hell out of you, but that's as far as it goes. If you try to push, I will push back."

Ino sighed but seemed to take the blatant rejection in stride. She knew it was a long shot but you miss all the shots you don't take.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I respect the boundaries you have set, and I hope we can continue this work friendship." she extended her hand. He reached out and took it in a firm handshake. She would be lying if she said she wasn't a little disappointed, but it was fine. She honestly did like Sasuke as a person and didn't mind being strictly professional friends. They began eating their meals again and carried on their conversation.

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Sasuke sat at his desk looking at his phone. During his lunch with Ino he had a sudden thought. He wondered if it would be weird to send that Naruto guy another text. He wasn't even sure why he wanted to. Maybe he needed to get out more...the idea made him mentally recoil. But sitting here and thinking about sending a text was stupid. Either send the damn thing or don't. Decided, he glided his fingers across the screen.

"Naruto... now there's a name you don't read every day." (send)

Chocho sat at her desk eating her salad. It was rare that clients came to the office without appointments so usually there was no issue with it, but it would seem that today was an usual day. Sasuke watched as a bouquet of roses on a pair of legs stepped out of the elevator. As it rounded the secretary desk he saw that it was a courier with a delivery. Chocho, caught by surprise, hurriedly chewed and swallowed her bite while shoving the salad behind a stack of documents. She quickly dabbed her mouth with a napkin and stood to great the man.

"Good afternoon, sir. You have a delivery I see?"

The courier smiled brightly at her and sat the flowers down on her desk.

"Yes, Ma'am. A flower delivery for..." he paused and read the invoice. "a Miss Chocho Akimichi." Her smile froze momentarily but didn't drop. Sasuke saw that she was obviously surprised but kept her composure.

"Oh, well, that's me! I will take that." she said picking up the flowers and setting them to the side.

"Excellent. If you would just sign here please." the courier requested. Chocho scribbled her signature and wished the courier a good day. He smiled, wished her the same and was quickly back on his way. Sasuke stood and walked over to her desk

"Wow. Those look expensive." he said. There were 12 long stemmed, red roses. Cliché' as hell but they made their point. Chocho reached into the bouquet and pulled out a card.

"To a goddess amongst men. From your secret admirer." she read aloud with furrowed brows. "Great, that really narrows it down."

"Don't worry. After making a statement like that he is bound to make himself known sooner or later." he comforted. She leaned forward and smelled the flowers. Their scent was already gently wafting through the office.

"I'm not gonna lie. I am both flattered and creeped out. This guy could be an insane stalker for all I know. I've had my share of perverts trying to rub against me on the train." she confessed. Her expression was both wary and interested. Sasuke turned to head back to his desk.

"If he tries anything weird just do what you did to the guys on the trains." he offered with a chuckle. An evil smirk crossed Chocho's fine features. She sent him a conspiratorial wink before sitting down and returning to her salad. She stared thoughtfully at the blooms off and on throughout the rest of the workday.

As he sat back down at his desk Sasuke felt his phone vibrate. Reaching in his pocket to retrieve it he saw that he had received a response from Naruto.

"Yeah, I never liked it. I don't blend in as it is and having this name just makes it worse lol. But I've had it all my life so (shrug emoji) I will forever suffer for having creative and fun-loving parents lol."

So, Naruto never blended in, huh? Sasuke wondered what he looked like.

"You have issues blending in?" he responded. He saw that Naruto was responding immediately.

"Yeah." he said simply. Sasuke wish he volunteered more information. He may have to pry a little.

"Yeah, that can be tough. I mean, unless you are the attention seeking type." Sasuke typed trying to glean information without being obvious.

"Yeah I do have my moments. Especially when I was younger but I have calmed down lot since then. It was time to grow up." Naruto responded. Hmm, interesting. Sasuke figured that he would have to give a little if he hoped to receive more information.

"Personally I hate being the center of attention. I get it more than I'd like though." he offered.

"Really? How so?"

"I have to do lots of meetings at work. Presentations and such."

"Man that sucks. I'm glad I don't really have to do stuff like that. I just listen to music and put stuff together." Sasuke read. Hmm... Engineering? Assembly?... Lego master? Yeah that was too vague as well but it was something. He decided to shift the conversation back to its sad origin.

"My parents weren't exactly the fun type. They loved me but they took life too seriously. In fact, they were killed while packing for a business trip."

"Omg I'm sorry. It must have been awful for you. My parents got sick. They were both ready to go when they passed. You are never truly ever ready to lose a loved one." Naruto responded. Sasuke could practically feel the sadness and sympathy through the screen. He felt a compulsion which was severely out of character for himself. He felt that dragging this out was pointless. Why not skip all the bullshit and cut to the chase? Either commit or cut the line.

"Look, believe me when I say I fully understand that this is super weird to ask but... can we meet for coffee or something? I'd be the last person to ask something like this, but I am curious as all hell. No pressure from either side. We can even set a time for 20 mins. If we don't like the vibes we can just get up and leave. No questions asked. You seem like a cool person to talk with about death and shit. Most people in my small circle can't relate. " Sasuke thumbed in the wordy text before he could put too much thought into it and dropped the phone on his desk. He was surprisingly nervous about the response. He got up and walked out the office, taking his time to go make a cup of coffee. He took more time than he needed to. When he got back his text was read but unanswered.

"Shit."