Blurred Lines

Disclaimer: Maria-sama ga miteru and its characters are not mine.

Introductions

Sachiko

Sachiko stood in front of a crowd, waiting for her turn to speak. They were currently in a hotel's function room celebrating both the retirement of a Branch office Head and the designation of Sachiko to be his replacement. It was a big step for her. Sachiko had been training under the tutelage of her father and grandfather since she was in University, taking various roles at their Head Office prior to being assigned to this new job. She was slightly nervous, not because she had to deliver a speech in front of a large group of people, but because the future of this branch and its employees now rested in her hands. She was tasked to improve the profitability, which had declined over the past years. Otherwise, they would have to restructure and that would mean laying off some people – something that she wanted to avoid at all cost.

It was not long after when Sachiko was called to speak. She stepped in front of the crowd, sharing the spotlight beside her father and with practiced ease delivered the words she had rehearsed several times before. She looked at some people's faces, met their eyes to show her sincerity and tried to connect with them in some way. She was greeted with polite smiles and bows and she was pleased with the reception she was getting.

She continued on to share with her now employees her vision, her plan to turn the company around and that she needed each and everyone's help to be able to succeed. She was close to finishing her speech until her eyes landed on familiar hazel brown ones and somehow the words were stuck in her throat, a slip-up that had never (ever) happened to her before. For a split second, her mind went blank. She immediately tore her gaze away and carried on as if nothing happened- disregarding the cold sweat that ran down her neck, ignoring the loud thumping of her heart and pushing aside the endless thoughts that raced in her mind. It was all thanks to her training that she pulled through.

As she wrapped up her speech, she braved another glance towards the direction where she last saw the familiar woman but was mildly surprised to see that she was not there anymore. Her lips continued to speak as she slowly scanned the area in search of her, but soon enough gave up and considered that maybe her mind was playing tricks on her. However, it was quite unsettling for Sachiko to be imagining the woman that she should be forgetting.

As she finished, everyone clapped signifying that no one – not even her father – noticed that she was distracted.

- - - o 0 o - - -

Yumi

Yumi closed the cubicle door shut. Before holing herself inside one, she checked the other three stalls of the ladies' room and was thankful that there was one else but her. She could hear a resounding applause just outside and it was doing nothing but worsening her hyperventilation.

She leaned forward and put both hands on her bent knees as she took deep shaky breaths. Her anxiety attack started when familiar blue orbs met hers. At first, it was as if her heart had stopped beating, then her breath caught in her throat as realization dawned upon her that the stranger she had been trying to erase from her mind was none other than Ogasawara Sachiko.

Yumi could do nothing but to rush out of the hall and into the closest bathroom lest she lose consciousness. She was starting to feel dizzy due to lack of oxygen earlier…she was that shocked to find out the identity of the mysterious woman.

Ogasawara Sachiko was akin to a celebrity. Someone you just read about in emails, company publications and sometimes society magazines. She is known for her beauty and her grace, smiling like a Japanese porcelain doll behind her imposing father and grandfather on grand company events. But despite her appearance, everyone knew her to be strict and a perfectionist. There were rumors that there are quite a few who have resigned after working with Ogasawara Sachiko for a couple of months. Some survived, but often complained about her impossibly high standards.

That is why it was that unthinkable that the princess would sleep with a complete stranger…and a woman at that.

No wonder she left quietly, Yumi thought through her still ragged breaths. She most definitely wanted to keep what happened buried so that no one would ever find out.

Yumi pounded on her chest and willed for the palpitation to stop. Then, she consciously slowed down her breathing, counting to five before she inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth.

I must avoid her at all cost.

It should be easy enough because Yumi is just an average staff member and will not be directly reporting to the president of their office. There is little to no chance that they would have a meeting. This thought somewhat comforted her. It was not long after when her breathing normalized and she was well enough to stand up. She leaned against the closed door and berated herself for being tangled with a high profile person such as the Ogasawara heiress.

I can't do anything about it…at least not anymore.

All Yumi could do was face the consequences of her actions and just pray that she will continue to have a peaceful life even if the stranger she slept with was none other than the Managing Director of the company she was working for.

- - - o 0 o - - -

More than a month had passed since that day, and no unusual incidents had happened so far. There were moments when Yumi thought she was mistaken, that it was not Ogasawara Sachiko but maybe someone with the same blue eyes and same features as her. Then again, it was useless to think about it as she had no way of proving it.

Her luck, however, ran out one afternoon when she and her colleagues were on their way to a group date that Takanashi Michi-san had organized. They were happily talking about their plans for that evening as they waited by the elevator.

The chatter died down as soon as they entered the semi-full elevator. Even if they were squeezed into the front, her two companions continued with their conversation though in hushed voices.

"Is it the same group we met last time?" Yamada Rica-san asked.

"Some of them, yes. A total of five guys are meeting us tonight." Takanashi-san responded. "Fukuzawa-san, that handsome engineer will be there tonight."

Yumi did not respond. She was currently exchanging messages with Yoshino-san who was asking when she could come back to Tokyo for a get together with their college friends.

The elevator stopped and a group of people standing behind them exited. It seems like there was a big meeting in the higher floors, because when the door closed, the elevator seemed empty.

"Fukuzawa-san?"

"Yes?" Yumi finally pocketed her phone and turned to look at her friend. "He never called me." She said nonchalantly.

"That's because you did not give him your number." Yamada-san said matter-of-factly. "What was his name again?"

"Sasaki Ren."

"See, she remembers." Yamada-san said teasingly.

Yumi smiled. She did like Sasaki-san. But since it had been the same day of Ogasawara-sama's welcome party, Yumi was not in the mood to mingle. She had just joined them for dinner but left before the group went for karaoke.

Her friend elbowed her. "Maybe you'll get to know him even more tonight." Takanashi-san said, wriggling her eyebrows suggestively. "He seems genuinely interested in getting into your pants, Fukuzawa-san."

"Hey!" Yumi reprimanded. She looked around, worried that people would be hearing them talking about an indecent topic. The elevator was empty except for one woman that was standing at the back. She was wearing a navy blue suit, holding (a little too tightly) at her designer leather bag and had a displeased expression on her lovely face.

Yumi swallowed hard, turned to look away and bumped her friends by the shoulders. The other two women looked back and stuttered a greeting to their boss.

"Good evening, Miss Ogasawara."

"Good evening." Came a clipped reply. The tone was so similar to that used at Yumi's previous harassers.

"It would be best to keep those types of conversations for when you're not in public places."

"Yes, ma'am."

Yumi dared not to look back. Instead, she had her eyes glued to the elevator panel, silently hoping she could escape the suffocating space she was now sharing with an irritated-looking executive.

The elevator soon pinged and Yumi was the first to step out, Miss Ogasawara stayed behind to get off on the basement floor, so the three of them were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

"That was scary." Yamada-san commented.

"I've heard rumors of how strict she is. Seems to be true." Takanashi-san responded.

Yumi stayed quiet, unsure what to make of the situation.

- - - o 0 o - - -

It was early Monday morning.

Yumi was thankful that she had the weekend to release the pent up stress at meeting Ogasawara-sama that Friday night. She was able to momentarily forget about her during the group date as the guys they met with were surprisingly fun to be around. They went to a karaoke and hang-out in a bar after. Yumi was careful to monitor her alcohol intake, knowing too well how bad it will be for her to get drunk in the presence of unknown company.

This time, she was able to get to know Sasaki-san even more. He worked for a telecommunications company as an engineer and had been living in Yokohama all his life. He had a handsome face and deep set of brown eyes. He stood at least a head taller than Yumi and had a well-built body that was visible through his dri-fit white shirt. He also told Yumi that he plays sports during his free time and invited her to a game of badminton or volleyball in case she was available.

Yumi took out her phone from her bag and opened the message she just received. It was from Sasaki-san, just greeting her good morning with a smiling sun emoticon. She was about to type in a response when she heard the frantic voice of Takanashi-san.

"Fukuzawa-san, have you heard? The big boss is going around each department to meet everyone."

"Big boss?"

Despite asking, Yumi knew who her friend was talking about. It could only be…

"Ogasawara-sama, who else?"

Yumi's eyes widened. "Why?"

"I don't know. What if she recalls what happened last Friday and reprimands us in front of everyone?"

Takanashi-san looked distressed, "I don't think she will embarrass us in front of the team."

"Are you sure?"

Yumi nodded even if she was unsure herself. She just wanted to help her friend calm down hoping that her own uneasiness would be appeased.

"In any case, we were really in the wrong to be talking so loudly about that topic in a public place. If she were to tell us off in front of our manager and our colleagues, maybe we deserve it."

Takanashi-san was about to say something in rebuttal when the exact executive they were talking about soon entered the door. Ogasawara-sama was wearing a white business suit, her hair cascading straight down her back, her face adorned with light make-up and her lips tinged pink with gloss. She looked so beautiful that Yumi found herself staring much longer than she should.

Yumi should be more anxious than she currently was,but somehow, it had gotten tiring to always be on her toes whenever Ogasawara Sachiko was around.

This was one of her realizations as she pondered her dilemma over the weekend, since their path had already crossed, Yumi accepted that it was impossible to completely avoid the other woman. If she kept having panic attacks every time she met the executive, Yumi's heart would not be able to take it. She had convinced herself that she had to be strong. After all, the other woman had seemingly decided to move past the unexpected incident from the past, so she should too.

Yumi stood up, tried to put on a smile and waited for the director to reach her. After a speech of how the executive wanted to meet with everyone earlier but had to get some things in order in the past month before familiarizing herself with her employees, Ogasawara Sachiko went around.

They had an open workspace with about ten people in their team and the tables were lined up in rows with six inches of dividers in between. Yumi's workstation situated near the middle, adjacent to two more work areas and with her back to the door.

Yumi tidied up her desk a little. She hastily gathered her notes and dumped them on her mobile pedestal. She pushed to the side her notepad, post-its and pens before picking up to pocket her phone. Yumi then listened as each of her colleagues gave a brief introduction about themselves. Ogasawara-sama would usually engage them in small talk before moving on to the next person. Yumi likewise noticed that their Managing Director never smiled. She nodded her head from time to time, and would shake their hands but that was it. As she observed her, Yumi was realizing more and more that this woman was so unlike the stranger she had met a few months ago.

When it was finally Yumi's turn, she took a deep breath and waited until the executive stopped in front of her.

At this distance, Yumi smelled the familiar perfume, but was quick to bury that useless observation at the back of her head.

"Fukuzawa Yumi," she began. "I've been with the company for two years and have been assigned various projects mostly related to architectural designs of office buildings."

Like with the others, Ogasawara-sama extended a hand for Yumi to shake. The executive squeezed her hand a little too tightly than Yumi was accustomed to.

"Fukuzawa…Yumi."

Her name was repeated ever so slowly as if memorizing every syllable. Ogasawara-sama's pink lips then quirked up before her blue eyes narrowed and she leaned slightly forward, "I hope you enjoyed the night with Sasaki Ren."

Yumi had no time to react as her boss let go of her hand and moved to the next person.. Yumi was left with her mouth agape, stunned to speechlessness.

- - - o 0 o - - -

A/N: And there you have it, Yumi and Sachiko finally met! ^_^