Author's Note: I apologize for the long absence. It's been a crazy three and a half years, and the past 2 years has been crazy for all of us. Without further adeu:

Chapter 5

Meet me at the below address at 7 am sharp.

Phoebe had reread the text she'd gotten from Kyoya the night before and checked the address about three times now since arriving. The address had her standing in front of a fancy apartment complex, one that looked way far and above her pay grade. She glanced up and down the street again. No sign of Kyoya or a car or anything. She checked her watch. 7:04.

"Where are you, Mr. Ootori?" she asked herself out loud.

Almost as if in response her work phone buzzed. Come up to the penthouse. Tell the doorman I sent you.

"Penthouse?" she muttered. She had a feeling she was about to see just how large the social gap between herself and her employer was.

Entering the building through the large, double doors brought her into a lavish lobby complete with a front desk. What kind of apartment had a front desk? The elevator for the penthouse was at the end of a short, marbled floor hallway. She gave her name and Kyoya's name to the doorman and he unlocked it for her.

"This elevator is nicer than my whole apartment," she thought to herself as the large brass elevator doors slid shut, polished so well that she could clearly see her reflection in them. A minute later the elevator stopped and the door swished open. Stepping out she found herself in the middle of the living room!

"Oh, there you are, finally!" a woman's voice said. It was Noriko.

Turning to face her she saw the woman walking towards her from down the hall – probably coming out of the bedroom or bathroom perhaps – wearing a bathrobe and slippers. Behind her walked Kyoya- no. It wasn't Kyoya but another man. He was the same height as Kyoya, but it definitely was not Kyoya. He was dressed in a simple, gray suit.

Walking the man to the elevator Noriko paused, turning to face him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a very intimate kiss, pressing her body as close to his as possible. "See you later," she cooed into his ear when she finally stopped sucking his face.

The man whispered something back, which Phoebe couldn't hear, got on the elevator and left.

Phoebe gawked, her mouth wide open, at the dark haired woman.

"Are you alright? You look like you've seen a-" Noriko scrunched up her nose as she paused to think of a word. "I honestly don't know, a ghost? A monster?"

Phoebe's mouth moved to form words but she found herself speechless. Mentally cursing her inability to keep what she was thinking from showing on her face, she settled for closing her mouth and shaking her head as a reply.

"Well, anyway, you're going to be my assistant today. Kyoya-san said he would lend me to you," Noriko explained. She started off back down the hallway. "I'll go get dressed. I have some shopping to do and errands to run. You're going to be my 'fetch-it' girl!"

Phoebe found herself standing in the middle of this woman's large, fancy living room feeling dumb struck. What had she just seen? Noriko was dating Kyoya, she had thought exclusively, but that- that man was not Kyoya. And now she had to spend the day with her pretending like nothing was wrong.

A good half hour passed and Noriko still hadn't emerged from her room. Apparently when you were rich and beautiful it took a long time to get dressed and ready for the day. Pulling out her work phone, Phoebe ventured to guess she was allowed to sit down while she waiting and seated herself on the edge of the plush, leather couch.

She pulled up her texts from Kyoya and typed, I'm here, at Noriko-san's. But you're not, ha ha.

Was 'ha ha' too unprofessional? She'd only been working for him a little over a month. Perhaps there was no length of time one could work for their boss and appropriately use 'ha ha' in a text.

She backed it out. I'm here, at Noriko-san's. I thought it was your apartment at first.

She sent it. A moment later she received a reply.

Yes, sorry. I was supposed to spend last night there, which is why I asked you to meet me there this morning. Something came up last minute and I was unable to stay over with her.

Phoebe cringed. Her boyfriend couldn't spend the night with her so she found a substitute? How often did she do that?

Another text from Kyoya came through. I was going to explain over breakfast, Noriko asked if you could help her with some errands today. I hope that's ok with you? You of course will still be paid for the days work.

No, of course, that's fine, Phoebe typed back in reply.

It shouldn't take the whole day. Just come back to the office once she's through, Kyoya sent. Then, Have a good day.

Thanks, you, too. Phoebe tucked her work phone back into her bag. She wondered if Kyoya knew about the other man. Or was it other men? Feeling unsettled she stood up and paced about the room, stopping to admire the various vases, paintings, and other odd decor around the apartment.

If Kyoya didn't know, should she tell him? She hadn't known him that long and she had no proof. Would he even believe her? If she'd not been so shocked, she might have thought to take a picture, but then there was no discrete way she could have done that without Noriko noticing. It really wasn't any of her business anyway, was it? It wasn't her place to tell Kyoya. Or was it?

"I'm ready, let's go," Noriko barked, as she exited her bedroom. She carried a pair of stilettos in one hand and her phone in the other. She smiled. "Oh, Kyoya always texts me 'good morning' even when he can't see me. Isn't he sweet?" she said and laughed. She put her shoes on by the elevator. "Well, let's go!"

Six hours, various department stores, an assortment of shoe shops, and one high-end restaurant lunch later, Phoebe was released from duty. Noriko dismissed her by having her driver pull over at a random street, nowhere near the Ootori office building she worked in, and opened the door.

"Thank you, you've been so helpful! I really have to be getting to a nail appointment with my friends. I hope you have a great day!" Noriko had said and then flashed the most rehearsed, phony smile Phoebe had seen in a while.

Standing on a random sidewalk she used her phone to summon an Uber. She found a bench to sit on while she waited for the car to arrive and took a moment to reflect on her day. It hadn't started how she'd expected it to and it certainly hadn't gone the way she'd expected it would, either.

Despite her obvious disdain for anyone earning anything below six digit salaries, Noriko had been surprisingly pleasant. She'd acted nor spoke anything like she had the night of Tamaki and Haruhi's engagement party.

Phoebe smiled slightly at the thought, as that had been her first day on the job. Now, seven weeks later here she sat on a bench waiting for an Uber because the girlfriend of her boss had no more use of her.

Even though Noriko had been pleasant enough in her manner, she hadn't really spoken directly to Phoebe much. Unless she was asking for her to run get a coffee for her or asking her to run this blouse back to the rack and bring me that other blouse to try on, she didn't say much to Phoebe at all. She had talked a great deal on the phone, to friends and colleagues she had assumed, but perhaps a few of her 'men on the side' as well. The thought made Phoebe cringe.

The Uber pulled up and Pheobe got in. As they began to drive to her destination she got lost in her thoughts again. And her mind drifted back to that morning's events. She got out her personal phone.

If you witnessed your boss's girlfriend french kissing another man, she typed to her best friend from back home, but you'd only been working for him just under two months, would you tell him?

It was just after midnight in Boston, where her best friend, Beth, still lived, so she doubted she'd get a reply anytime soon.

Boston.

Where she had lived before moving to Tokyo.

Where her mother and sister and brother-in-law still lived.

Where her dad had lived…

Her phone buzzed, and she was thankful for the distraction. It was from Beth.

OMG, seriously!? Did that really happen? You gotta tell him! What if he finds out you knew but didn't tell him? Or maybe you shouldn't? It's a different dynamic in Japan, right? Idk girl, sorry I don't know what's best.

You're up late, Phoebe texted back.

Yeah, had a hot date last night! ;) Tell you all about it when we face time later. Beth replied. Then, Anyway, keep me posted about the boss man's cheating girlfriend! OMG, can NOT believe it! What is wrong with people?

Ok, talk later! She sent back to Beth.

Phoebe sighed. She couldn't blame Beth for not knowing what advice to give. Who would know how to advise on that?

The Uber arrived outside of the office building and Phoebe got out. She rode the elevator up to the office and quietly sat behind her desk. She turned on her computer, opened her email and began to sift through the emails she hadn't gotten a chance to read yet due to being out of the office that morning, still debating whether or not she should tell Kyoya what she had seen that morning.

And then she thought about Mark.

If someone had seen Mark with that bimbo, she would have wanted them to tell her. If she'd known he was a cheater earlier, perhaps it would have saved her some heartache in the long run. She didn't know how long Kyoya had been dating Noriko, but perhaps if she told him what she'd seen that morning she could save him some heartache?

She sighed. Then she groaned, dropping her head into her hands. Nobody wanted to be the person to tell someone their girlfriend was cheating on them!

"Why me?" she whispered to herself as she swiveled around in her chair and stood up. But she had to. It was the right thing to do. She just hoped he didn't get mad and fire her, thinking she was making it up or something. She hesitated at his office door, then knocked.

"Yes?" his muffled voice called out from inside.

She cracked the door and poked her head in. "Is now a good time, Mr. Ootori?"

He glanced up from his computer screen. "Yes, come in," he said. As she walked over to stand in front of his desk he turned in his chair to face her. "How was your morning? I hope Noriko wasn't too demanding."

"Yeah, about that," Phoebe began. "I mean, the errand part was fine. Lots of running and fetching, but it was- good. Yeah."

"Ah. Good," Kyoya said with a faint smile.

"But before that. This morning, when I thought I was meeting you at your apartment but then it turned out it was Noriko-san's apartment and you weren't there," she said.

Kyoya waited a moment, but when she didn't go on he spoke. "Yes, again, I'm sorry about that. I wasn't able to be there like I had planned."

"I saw someone else there," Phoebe blurted out. Then she outwardly winced, then cringed, then scrunched up her face and said softly, "I'm sorry."

Kyoya's brow knit together. "You saw- someone?" he asked.

"Yes, a man. Another man," she said, dropping her gaze. She couldn't look him in the eye when she told him. She couldn't bare to see the hurt, the betrayal that was bound to be there.

"A maintenance man?" he asked for clarification.

"What?" She looked up then, seeing the confusion on his face. "No, no! I mean, well, no he was in a suit, so he couldn't have been- look, I don't like being the one to tell you this, but when I arrived at Noriko-san's house this morning she was coming out of her room in a bathrobe and there was a man there, following her out of the bedroom. And they got to the elevator and she kissed him like, really passionately, and then said she'd see him later and he left. And I'm sorry to have to tell you that, but I've been thinking about it all day and couldn't not say anything and I know I haven't known you for very long and you probably don't believe me, but I don't have any reason to lie and- I'm sorry."

She dropped her gaze to the floor again, bowing her head apologetically. She waited for his response, hoping it wouldn't be an angry one.

"You know, when you get flustered, your Japanese is more broken and your accent comes out more," Kyoya said.

"What?" Phoebe said, looking up at him. His expression was completely calm, almost as if he hadn't heard a word she'd just said. "I'm sorry. Does that mean you didn't understand what I said?"

"No, I understood what you were saying just fine, I was merely pointing out your grammar slacks and your accent comes out when you are flustered," Kyoya said with a shrug.

Phoebe gawked at him. "So you heard the part about Noriko sucking the lips off of that guy this morning after he'd clearly spent the night there?"

"Yes, I did. Noriko has flings from time to time. I'm fully aware of it, she and I are not exclusive at this time," Kyoya explained calmly.

"Oh!" Phoebe said. She felt her cheeks heat up from both embarrassment and anger. "Well, then excuse me. It's none of my business anyway. Sorry to have bothered you."

She turned on her heels and left the room as quickly as she could without running. Slumping into her chair behind her desk she felt the full humiliation of the situation set it. Covering her face with her hands and resting her elbows on the desk she groaned. She should have just kept her mouth shut.

Of course he knew about his girlfriend cheating on him, they weren't exclusive, why would they be? She had flings and he didn't care. Why would he? He wasn't the caring type, obviously!

But then Haruhi's words came to her: "He really cares about his friends and he will do anything to help them, whatever it takes."

She had said that so earnestly, as if she'd seen him do just that time and time again. But the Kyoya she had seen the past seven weeks didn't fit that description. Especially when he was completely fine with his girlfriend sleeping around with half of Tokyo!

She heard Kyoya's office door open and she straightened in her chair, dropping her hands into her lap. She turned to her computer and began typing as he came out of the office and stopped in front of her desk. She forced herself to look up at him, embarrassment still warming her cheeks.

Kyoya leaned one hand on her desk. His gaze was lowered as he took a moment to choose his words. Then, as he met her gaze, he said, very sincerely, "Noriko-san and I are in an open relationship. We've not been dating very long, barely a month more than you've worked for me, so we're not that serious at this point." He bowed slightly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you that. Since I was supposed to have been there I didn't think she'd have someone in her apartment. But either way, I should have warned you and spared you from finding yourself in this situation. Please forgive me."

Phoebe gaped at him. "O-of course, yes. I forgive you," she said, stunned.

He straightened, tugging his jacket back into place, and smiled that business-like smile he gave so often to so many people. "Thank you. Now then, let's put this awful business behind us, shall we?" he turned to go back in his office. Pausing at the door and glancing back at her, he added, "Oh, our relationship is not exclusive, it's true, but I would still appreciate discretion on your part, yes? I'd rather not every influential person in Tokyo think of our relationship as – scandalous, shall we say?"

"Of course, Mr. Ootori. I won't say a word to anyone," she promised.

He flashed his business smile again. "Good. Thank you." And he closed the door behind him.

Her head spinning with the days events Phoebe once again turned back to her computer. She hadn't expected that. Perhaps Haruhi was right after all. Or at the very least, maybe he wasn't a complete heartless bastard like she had thought.

Kyoya had his phone out and was pressing the dial button before the door had even latched behind him. He went straight to his desk, but instead of sitting at it he stood glaring out of the window overlooking the city.

"Hello, my darling," Noriko's sickeningly sweet voice cooed into his ear when he picked up.

"In the future, I'd appreciate a little more discretion when it comes to your- sleep overs," he said angrily.

"Oh, you turn me on so when you get mad and speak harshly to me," she giggled.

"You'll really know the meaning of 'harsh' if you aren't more careful," he growled.

"Kyoya, I thought we had an agreement? It's not like you haven't had your flings here and there since we started dating," she said, mock hurt in her voice.

"I don't go parading them around in front of other people's assistants, now do I? What would your father think if he heard gossip about his daughter sleeping around with whomever she pleased even though she had a boyfriend? I'm sure his campaign manager will love you if that rumor gets started," he hissed.

"Oh, Kyoya, don't be so serious. My father is clueless," she snapped. "And besides, it's none of his business anyway who I sleep with. Boyfriend or no."

"Just don't let it happen again," Kyoya said firmly. He hung up before she had a chance to respond.

Sighing, he sat in his chair. He really didn't care, the woman was just an arm piece anyway. Someone to look good filling the role of his girlfriend and make a good connection for the Ootori family. But did she have to be so obvious about her looseness? If he had one complaint about her it was that. But honestly, he did have more than one complaint. He just chose to ignore them.

Shaking his head he returned to his work, as he always did when something was bothering him.