Blurred Lines

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

White lies

Sachiko

Sachiko slammed both her hands on her glass desk. "What do you mean you didn't know what you were doing?!" Her voice resounded in the enclosed room and if it weren't for the soundproofed walls, her outburst would have been heard throughout the executive floor.

"You are the Sales Director! You were acting as an agent of the Ogasawara Company when you made those illegal deals. So do not tell me now that you were unaware of the possible consequences of your actions."

Sachiko's eyes were in slits as she stared down at Mr. Igarashi. She had spent her first few months analyzing the company's performance and why this branch had been losing money for years. Among her findings was that the head of sales made disreputable transactions with minimal profit to the company, but with significant personal returns for himself. Sachiko sought the help of the head office's audit team to find tangible evidence, establishing a solid basis for the man's termination.

The man bowed his head deeply, "Please Ogasawara-sama, I beg you, I have served the company for years…please." The director then knelt down on the floor and did a dogeza. "Please…" he pleaded with his head down to the ground.

Sachiko massaged her temples in an attempt to calm herself down.

The man prostrated himself more, his head touching the floor.

"Raise your head Mr. Igarashi." she began. "The best I can do is to request that no legal case will be filed against you and that you still receive your retirement pay, but we do have to terminate you. And I will only do that under two conditions."

Mr. Igarashi raised his head slightly but remained to be kneeling.

"First, you will sign a waiver that states that you will take full responsibility should there be any repercussions to the company related to the deals you made. Second, you will tell me the names of everyone that is involved in your schemes. I have a preliminary list already, but I want to make sure it's complete."

He nodded vigorously, "Yes, ma'am. Please give me until the end of the week and I shall give you the names."

Sachiko shook her head, "No, you will give it to me within the day. The waiver should also be on your desk by now. I have asked Keiko to print it and leave it in your office before we had this meeting."

Mr. Igarashi slowly stood up, looking much older than when he entered Sachiko's office earlier. He had been unaware of why he was called to the President's office that afternoon. Nevertheless, he thanked Sachiko for her generosity and consideration since he knew that it could've ended much worse for him.

"I will review the names you give me, if you leave out one that I already have, that could mean that you are being dishonest and the deal will be off." Sachiko stated firmly. "That is all. You may leave." The man hurriedly left, probably afraid that Sachiko would change her mind.

As soon as the door closed shut, Sachiko collapsed on her chair and heaved a heavy sigh. She had seen her father and grandfather do the same before, but only realized now that it was not easy. The mental and emotional stress weighed her down and she suddenly felt so very tired. The previous days she had experienced were not easy either, but today was exceptionally exhausting.

Sachiko had lied about the list of conspirators she had. She had asked the auditors from the head office to look into it, but hadn't received the complete report yet. It was another thing she was worried about – finding out the extent of the internal fraud. She was sure it mostly involved directors and managers, the staff seeming unaware of the corruption happening in the higher ups. The previous managing director was too trusting and the audit proved that he was unaware of what was happening, but that in itself was a problem.

Sachiko leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, feeling an impending migraine coming. Her job will just get harder once those pieces of information are provided to her. She was under a lot of pressure to wrap up all the past issues before the upcoming Presidents' Meeting when she was expected to report all her findings to her grandfather.

Sachiko was not one to complain, but somehow, she wished there was someone she could open up to. Or maybe someone that would help ease her burden, however, she knows there is no one…that she is in this by herself.

With that final thought in mind, Sachiko straightened her posture and went back to work. It was naive to think that there was room for weakness or exhaustion for someone like her. A lot is riding on every decision she makes and every task she accomplishes. She does not have the luxury to relax. She is, after all, an Ogasawara and everyone expects her to deliver results without complaints and that's what she'll do.

- - - o 0 o - - -

Yumi

Yumi exited the elevator and stepped out of the executive floor one Monday morning.

She had intended to come the week before, but eventually decided to delay it for a week when she had heard rumors that the Managing Director was in a bad mood. Apparently, their boss just fired the Head of Sales and had terminated a couple more managers. No one knew why, but they speculated that it was because of the low sales turnout in the past years. One of their friends in the Accounting Department told them that their company had been at a net loss in the past years and she shared that if it wasn't for the Head Office's financial support, their branch would have been closed down by now.

Yumi walked faster, in fear that she would be seen and questioned as to whom she was here to visit.

She had gone back home to Tokyo the previous weekend to meet up with Yoshino-san and their college friends. Since their party was not until the evening, Yumi spent the rest of the morning with her family…

...

Yumi left Yokohama, boarded the first train to Tokyo and arrived at her parent's house just in time for breakfast. Once she had left her bag in her room, she rushed downstairs to join her parents who were already at the dining table.

"Yumi-chan, I found this while cleaning your bedroom," her mother said, handing her an expensive-looking wristwatch. "It probably belonged to that friend of yours, Sachiko-chan."

Yumi choked on the water she was drinking, followed by vigorous coughing.

Her father peaked on top of the newspaper he was currently reading and looked at her worriedly. While her mother stood up to gently pat her on the back.

"What happened, Yumi-chan?" Her mother asked.

"Do – not – surprise – me – like – that." Yumi said in between coughs. After a few more seconds, when her air passage finally cleared, "how do you know about her?"

Yumi downed the remaining water in her glass to push down the lump in her throat.

"Didn't she tell you? I met her the morning after Manabe-san's wedding. We arrived home early and I met her on her way back to her car. She said she drove you home because you were very drunk the night before."

Yumi felt her face heat up. "Is that all that she said?"

"Was there anything else?" Her mother asked curiously. "Did you do anything embarrassing? I told you plenty of times to limit your drinking."

Needless to say, Yumi spent the rest of the morning being lectured about drinking responsibly. She ate her breakfast in silence, enduring her mother's scolding, since it was much (much) better than being caught doing something indecent in her old bedroom with a stranger.

...

Yumi clutched the small package tightly in her hands as she approached the secretary's desk just outside the Managing Director's office.

It was perfectly understandable why Ogasawara-sama failed to mention that she had met Yumi's mother. If it had been Yumi, she'd be embarrassed if not scared to be seen by Ogasawara Sachiko's (Yumi stressed in her mind that she didn't know who the stranger was at that time) mother after doing…what they did.

It was also fortunate that the executive only stated her name, deliberately omitting her family name so that she remained somewhat anonymous But still, it would have been better if Yumi had got word about that interaction so that their story would be consistent in case she was asked by her mother.

Yumi sighed.

'In any case, there's no use thinking about that now. ' She thought and instead just hastened her steps and mentally prepared herself for the task at hand. Her destination came into view and she could just see that the Director's secretary had already arrived. She was currently busy with her computer when Yumi stopped in front of the woman's desk, which was situated just outside the executive's office.

Yoshida Keiko-san stopped and turned to face Yumi with a smile, "Good morning."

"Good morning." Yumi greeted. "Is Ogasawara-sama in? I am Fukuzawa Yumi from the design team."

The woman had shoulder length brown hair, tied up into a ponytail revealing a kind face and black round eyes. Her body was clad in a dark purple dress that matched perfectly with her lilac satchel bag placed on the corner of her wooden desk. She looked to be a few years older than Yumi.

"She's in the boardroom currently. Do you have a scheduled meeting with her?" The woman asked as she opened the calendar on her computer.

Yumi held out the watch in her hand, "No, I just wanted to give this to her. I happened to pick it up." She then placed the item on the desk.

Yoshida-san leaned forward to get the small package currently wrapped in transparent plastic. She pulled out the watch, inspected it and looked at Yumi questioningly… a look which made Yumi nervous.

"How do you know this is hers?"

Yumi's hands started shaking so she immediately pocketed them. She had anticipated this question, had readied an answer in her head, but still found herself fumbling for words now that she had to say it.

"Also, where did you find it?"

Yumi cleared her throat - pushing down her nervousness - before responding, "I'll leave it in your care, Yoshida-san. In case I am mistaken and it does not belong to Miss Ogasawara, please send me a message and I'll come and get it later." She knew that didn't answer the questions raised to her, but she didn't have the courage to lie. "Anyway, I have to go. Have a good day!" She hastily added and rushed off to leave.

Thankfully, Yoshida-san didn't attempt to run after her because Yumi didn't know what to do in case she did. It's best to leave the explaining to Ogasawara-sama (sorry ma'am!). Maybe the big boss would help answer the questions that were surely in the secretary's mind.

- - - o 0 o - - -

Sachiko

Sachiko had just finished another tiring meeting. The presentation the head of marketing just gave was so lacking in data that Sachiko had to point out all the gaps and reschedule a follow up meeting the next day. She knew the deadline she gave was tight, but they had limited time until the client meeting set at the end of the week.

It was already lunch break when she went back to her room and had no appetite at all. She was planning on just running through her emails before attending her next meeting. She was already seated on her chair when Keiko knocked and entered her room.

"Yes?" She said in a mildly irritated tone.

But since Keiko was used to her, the smile never left the woman's face as she placed a small package on the desk, "It's from Fukuzawa Yumi-san. She said she picked it up and thought it was yours."

At the mention of the name, the crease in Sachiko's brows involuntarily lessened.

"When did she give it to you?" Sachiko picked up the plastic and took out the content inside.

"Just this morning, ma'am. A few minutes after you left for the boardroom."

She examined the watch, turned it to look at the back and immediately found her initials engraved by the bottom.

"Where did she find it?" Sachiko asked even though she knew exactly where. She was just curious as to how the brown-haired woman explained the situation to her secretary. A small smile was already tugging at Sachiko's lips, but forced to keep her face neutral.

"She didn't say where. I did ask, but it looked like she was in a hurry to leave. She did inform me that in case she was mistaken and the watch is not yours, that I can send her a message and she'll come and get it back."

Of course, as expected, the woman just doesn't have the courage to lie.

"I see" she muttered while she took off the watch on her wrist and replaced it with the one from Fukuzawa. "This is mine, Keiko. It is possible I dropped it when I visited the design team's area and Miss Fukuzawa happened to pick it up. She must have seen my initials at the back."

Keiko donned a thoughtful expression for a moment.

"You think I am lying?" Sachiko asked in a harsher tone than necessary, wanting to erase any doubts in Keiko's mind.

And as expected, the secretary shook her head, "No, I understand, ma'am. I shall send a message of thanks for having returned it to you." The woman then gave her one curt bow before heading back out.

As soon as the door closed, Sachiko took out the phone from her bag and sent a text message…

'- I got the watch. -'

'- I'm glad.-'

The response she got was immediate and it made her smile.

'-But you weren't sure if it was mine? Are there other lady friends who visited your room at your parent's place?-'

Sachiko's stress was slowly diminishing, as she sat comfortably in her chair…the problems currently lined up in her inbox momentarily forgotten. She swiveled the chair around, not wanting for Keiko – or anyone who might enter her office - to catch her with an uncharacteristic smile.

This time, it took a minute before her phone pinged with a reply.

'- Of course not! I answered that question already the last time…ma'am.-'

In her head, Sachiko could just imagine those hazel eyes widening accompanied with profuse blushing on the cheeks and maybe a small pout on the lips.

'-So why did you tell Keiko that you'll get the watch back in case it's not mine?-'

Again, another question to which Sachiko knew the answer to but she just wanted to ask…intrigued as to how Fukuzawa would respond out of curiosity.

'-I was not sure how to explain why the watch was with me in the first place.-'

Before Sachiko typed a response, another message popped on her screen.

'-But I suppose you already knew that…ma'am.-'

It seemed Fukuzawa was quick to realize she was being teased this time.

'-Don't worry, I handled it.-'

'-What did you tell Yoshida-san? Just so our stories are consistent.-'

The feeling that they were sharing a secret – no matter if it's just a white lie – felt strangely nice for Sachiko. She felt like a high school student passing notes in class (they weren't allowed to bring phones at Lillian).

'-That I may have dropped it when I visited your work area. I told her you must have seen my initials at the back so you knew it was mine.-'

'-It has your initials?-'

Sachiko laughed.

'-You didn't see it?-'

'-I'm sorry.-'

Sachiko found Fukuzawa Yumi to be very interesting. This was a person who does not have much self-confidence, was quick to apologize and is not comfortable with lying (even if she already should). The exact opposite of her. But still, someone Sachiko felt unexpectedly comfortable to be around.

'-Anyway, better come up with a story where you picked it up exactly. Though I know Keiko won't tell anyone, but still, it's better to be ready in case she asks you.-'

'-I will try…-'

'-You need my help?-'

Sachiko was by no means comfortable with lying…unless it was really necessary. And since she was good at managing her expression, it was almost always enough that her words sounded believable.

'-I will just avoid Keiko-san…-'

Indeed, that is a possible option for Fukuzawa-san, was what Sachiko thought. It would be a good guess as well that that last comment was followed by a sigh.

'-That won't do. Just tell her you found it on the floor or on your desk.-'

'-…the floor. It's closer to the truth since my mother found it on the floor...next to my bed.-'

Sachiko unconsciously straightened her back, only remembering now that she had in fact met Fukuzawa Yumi's mother that morning after. She had failed to mention when they spoke before because it honestly slipped her mind. She knew she did an excellent job at hiding her identity and was able to convince Mrs. Fukuzawa that she was a friend. She must have been believable enough that Fukuzawa was not questioned by her family. Or maybe, Fukuzawa-san was questioned…

'-I met your mother when I left your house.-'

Sachiko began, unsure how to confirm if that little meeting caused Fukuzawa trouble.

'-Yes, she told me. It's ok, I was not questioned further. Though I was lectured about drinking moderately.-'

Sachiko breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that Mrs. Fukuzawa believed what she said - which was not entirely a lie.

A meeting reminder popped on Sachiko's laptop screen. So as much as she wanted to chat more, she had to get back to reality.

'-Break time is almost over. You better get back to your lunch.-'

Fukuzawa Yumi was not a friend…not yet at least, but Sachiko thinks that the reason why she found the brown-haired woman to be interesting was because interacting with the woman helped to alleviate her stress somehow. Their exchanges - no matter how brief, infrequent and unexpected - were surprisingly effective in making her momentarily forget her responsibilities. Everyone needed a break sometimes…maybe even her.

'-You too, ma'am. Enjoy the rest of your lunch break and eat well.-'

The message could not have meant anything special and it's possible that it was just the usual response…but still, Sachiko couldn't help but feel the sincerity of those words. It was strange how much Fukuzawa Yumi affected her…even if the other woman didn't realize it.

She then pressed the intercom button and the voice of Keiko echoed in her room. "You needed something, Miss Ogasawara?"

"Yes, please get me a tuna sandwich from the restaurant downstairs. Also, inform the HR Director that we'll be rescheduling our meeting to later this afternoon so I can have some lunch."

After she made that request, she leaned back and swiveled her chair around again to look at the clear blue sky outside. Her shoulders relaxed and she took a deep breath thinking that maybe having a break from time-to-time wouldn't be so bad after all.

A/N: Chapter 4 & 5 focuses on Sachiko and Yumi's life at work...and how their relationship progresses in the work place ^^. Here is a sneak peek of the next chapter.

Next chapter's preview: I just can't wait to share this with you ^^

Yumi's eyes widened. "Ma'am…" she began, the words were caught in her throat.

"Hmm?"

"Did…did you move the deadline by a day so that I can take my scheduled day-off tomorrow?" She knew it was conceit on her part, after all, why will the Managing Director of their company adjust the timeline of a critical project just for her?