-Monday-
12:10 pm
Uzumaki Karin was a woman who genuinely believed that all her desires were at her fingertips. The young woman was after all, of the Uzumaki household and this allowed her to reap many advantages in life.
Beautiful, intelligent, wealthy... she could boast them all and yes she often did.
Considering these factors, it was no surprise that she thought a man like Sasuke Uchiha would be perfect for her. He was a well-bred man who mirrored her in all most every way.
And this made him the apple of her eye.
This explained why she was here, at this five-star restaurant looking at him as if he was on the menu.
Her desire for the Uchiha was proving not to be an easy one to acquire, but that didn't discourage her... if anything it made it more fun. She'd successfully set up a meeting with him it had, admittedly, been practically the 80th time she'd tried.
The young woman knew the brooding Uchiha was an extremely busy man... he was all business, no play and for some strange reason that was insanely attractive. She supposed it made things more exciting - in an odd difficult to explain type of way-.
Karin smiled at the man who sat across from her. The restaurant was a hush and serene one, which she found particularly romantic. She imagined they'd come here often when they were a couple.
Sasuke nodded in response to her smile and motioned the waiter with two fingers to come over. Karin had been so happy to see Sasuke that she hadn't even bothered to check her menu.
"I will have the tomato yaki onigiri with fried egg," he said cooly whilst giving the waiter his menu. The waiter looked at her expectantly and then turned to her asking what she would like.
Karin hadn't bothered to scan the menu and so she had no idea what to get. She smiled sweetly before passing her menu to the waiter. " Sasuke-kun you pick for me "
"Hn. The lady will have the same ", he said plainly with seemingly no consideration. As the waiter left Sasuke gave Karin a pointed look. Suddenly she couldn't breathe.
"So, why did you set up this meeting with me Karin ?" he asked bluntly. No matter how straight to the point he was, his velvety voice always seems to make him sound somewhat polite. Karin froze. She didn't exactly have a plan ... yes she set up the meeting but she hadn't actually expected herself to get this far or to be talking about business this fast. She straightened a bit in her seat and inwardly prayed to Kami that an idea would pop up in her head.
12:08 pm
Sasuke Uchiha heavily doubted that Karin had a legitimate reason for inviting him to lunch. He knew she'd been trying to have a meeting with him for several weeks now but his schedule had assisted him in avoiding them all. He cursed himself for not having the foresight to predict that Karin Uzumaki would go below the belt.
She had gotten their parents involved.
Uchiha Fugaku would effectively have his head if he didn't entertain a woman from the Uzumaki household. If the Uchiha and Uzumaki households were joined by a marriage it could do wonders for business, not to mention give the Uchiha a great boost in status. She was, after all, the niece of Konoha's president and first lady. Minato & Kushina were universally loved and although the Uchiha were respected, the two were not interchangeable.
The young CEO suspected that his father (and his mother for different reasons) would have preferred this to be a date rather than be related to any sort of business. In fact, his suspicions were confirmed when his father called earlier to remind him about attending the meetup referring to it as 'his date with Uzumaki Karin'.
Frankly, Sasuke did not feel any particular way about the woman, although he was somewhat grateful to get the opportunity to enjoy a good meal. His workaholism often made him eat microwave meals in his office in order to save time. But as the word workaholism implied, he would rather work and not have his time wasted. And this was why he was now looking at Karin waiting to hear her response to his previously asked question. He'd very much like to know why he was here.
Sasuke noticed that she froze for a second before fixing her posture. He inwardly smirked at this, hoping that she'd know next time not to waste his time... if she truly planned on wasting it.
"Ah yes... Of course, you would be straight to the point... what else could I expect from an Uchiha" she said with more composure than he thought she would have.
He didn't respond to her statement and after a few seconds of silence, she continued seriously.
"I need your advice on some business ventures that I'm currently pursuing"
Sasuke rose his eyebrow at this. He couldn't see why she would need his advice. The Uzumaki had advisors, not to mention they were very intellectual people on their own.
" Hn. I can't see why you'd need my advice, you're intelligent Karin" Sasuke said. He somewhat regretted his words when he saw the way her eyes lit up and she smiled. The transition from serious -to whatever the hell this is- was quite creepy. Naruto often called her bi-polar and during moments like this, he agreed. Sasuke didn't consider calling her smart a compliment, it was an indisputable fact.
"Thank you Sasuke" she beamed pausing for a moment. "But this is a personal venture, where my own capital will be funding it and so it has no ties to my family," she said plainly.
Still wanting to challenge her reasons he decided to inquire further. "For a personal venture why not seek out Naruto? He is very reliable and not to mention he is family."
Sasuke didn't mean to throw Naruto under the bus, but he would rather not deal with the man's cousin if he did not have to. Besides the last thing he needed was to have any ties with Karin... Fukaguku Uchiha would invite her everywhere and Mikito Uchiha would start planning a wedding within a month. He appreciated her concern but his mother was a rabid matchmaker and it was for lack of a better word, annoying.
"Ah yes, Naruto is quite... smart," she said as if admitting her cousin was smart somewhat hurt her.
"But Sasuke you are surely the best candidate for this because it... uh.. deals with the youth. You are a father and I'm interested in bettering the lives of the very young, they are our future leaders after all," she responded in a quick breath.
Sasuke rose his eyebrows for a split second, very surprised. His mind when into overdrive as he thought of every excuse he could use to get out of this situation.. but he soon realized that if children were involved in Karin's plan, his family would surely insist he participate. And he couldn't say he was completely uninterested in what she had to say.
"What kind of ventures?" he inquired regardless of the fact he knew he'd regret it.
"They're still in the works... various fund-raisers, educational programs, give back initiatives, a new park or two and some other things... I've been trying to narrow down what exactly I'm doing and construct a timeline... I wanted to know I could count on you before I started to let ink dry, I value your opinion Sasuke-kun as well as young children... I hope all children can have an educated, healthy, safe, joy-filled life... without having to choose one over the other.
Sasuke considered it for a bit. His family, time, Ethan and working with an Uzumaki were considered. He couldn't get out of this and it was wise not to let Fugaku or Mikito hear he refused ... he did not need his family in his ear. And he'd planned on spending more time with his son anyway because as the days went by the young boy seemed to be lonely and it didn't help that he was always working.
"Hn. I will help you but with the condition, Naruto helps. I'm sure his time and outlook would be a great asset ". he responded. Sasuke wasn't lying when he spoke of Naruto, as the young man often knew more than Sasuke when it came to certain things. Want someone to manage your company through paperwork from the shadows? Sasuke Uchiha was good at that. Wanted someone to manage a community event? Uzumaki Naruto would be good at that. He didn't own and operate most of the nightclubs and restaurants in Konoha for no reason, he liked to have a good time and this made people adore him whereas Sasuke was less interested in people.
" Yes, that will be fine... I will narrow down my ideas and have a proposal on your desk in a week" Karin responded after a few seconds with a tight smile. This time Sasuke did mean to throw Naruto under the bus... but this was also because he didn't want to spend that much alone time with Karin.
Another waiter approached them, this time taking their drink orders. Their food soon arrived along with drinks and they ate in silence, which the Uchiha greatly appreciated.
12:50
Karin was a liar. Even though she should've been ashamed of this, the woman liked to focus on the positive things in life and so deduced that she was a great liar. 'I excel in everything I do' she thought smugly as she ran a hand in her bright red hair. Sasuke had just left, heading back to work, after paying their bill and she was awaiting her driver to pull up front to take her back to work. She couldn't believe she'd gotten the Uchiha to agree to work with her... and she especially couldn't believe that she declared she would be funding a made-up project with no prior experience.
Karin Uzumaki knew nothing about kids, hell she didn't even know the first thing about fundraisers.
Seeing her ride she hopped in, releasing a little sigh as she thought about the situation her web of lies was about to create.
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