Chapter 4
It was about an hour later that Ayane felt her body returning to her as she finally snapped out of her trance of Minato Namikaze's sudden appearance. Her phone rang with a text from Yoshino who had just returned from her honeymoon. She had demanded that they got together for dinner so they could talk, and by the urgency in her words, Ayane knew she had no choice, which is how she ended up in another predicament.
"So, did something happen the night of the wedding?"
Ayane choked on her water upon hearing the question. They had just barely gotten seated at their favourite restaurant, and gotten their order placed when Yoshino began her interrogation.
"I thought we were meeting to talk about your honeymoon," Ayane replied once she composed herself.
"Don't change the subject on me missy! My sister told me she saw you walking out of the bar with Minato Namikaze that night!"
Immediately, Ayane reached out to hush her best friend before taking a look around to see if anyone in the restaurant had heard them. Minato Namikaze was a popular figure as much as he was a business mogul. With his good looks and the scandals he was already facing, his face was plastered everywhere and many people knew him already. She didn't want to risk exposing either one of them, especially now that she was the one that had to deal with the consequences as his public relations manager.
"Nothing," she replied with a hushed voice. "Nothing happened between the two of us."
Yoshino rolled her eyes, "how can you say it's nothing when you two were seen making out at the open bar?!"
"Okay fine," Ayane caved. "He approached me at the bar. We had a few drinks, and then we went up to his room and fucked. I left the next morning. That's all there is."
"He approached you?!" Yoshino grabbed her friend's hands in excitement. "Minato Namikaze is only the hottest man of all time. Not only that, but he's rich and successful, and super nice as well. Ayane, you should go for it!"
"No, I shouldn't." Her voice was stern to her friend. "Minato is my boss now. I'm not going to date my coworker, nonetheless the person I am working under."
"Really?!" Yoshino's gasp caused Ayane to shush her again. With a hushed voice, the married woman continued. "Does Shikaku know about this? I can't believe he hasn't told me yet."
"No, he doesn't. It was just decided earlier today." The petite, raven-haired girl chose to spare the details about how the decision had been reached between them. She didn't want to lead her friend on into thinking there was anything more by Minato's visit.
With a softening expression and a sympathetic look, Yoshino spoke. "You know, just because it didn't work out once doesn't mean it won't work out again. From what Shikaku says, Minato is a good guy. I think you two should give it a shot. He's not like your jerk ex."
Ayane hated that her heart ached at the mention of her previous boyfriend. She had dated him for 7 years, all through university and finding their first job at the same company. Yet, as they continued to work together and climb in ranks, his personality had changed and their relationship became more toxic. Work was often the core of their arguments.
Thankfully for her, the topic was brought to an abrupt end when the waitress returned with their food.
"So...how was your honeymoon?"
Yoshino beamed and began to recount everything that had happened from the night of the wedding to each and every meal they ate during their vacation in Hawaii. Feigning interest, Ayane nodded and "hmm"ed along to her words. Meanwhile, her mind drifted off to the haunting memories of her ex. She wondered what he would think now that she had moved on and had begun working for the enemy.
On Monday morning, Minato arrived early for work. He left a copy of Ayane's revised contract on the head of the human resource's desk. Afterward, he went to his own floor and prepared the desk that was in front of his office.
Ensuring his PA's desk was mostly clear and well organized, he fixed himself a cup of coffee and went into his own glass enclosed space to try to get a head start on his work. It wasn't until another half hour that people were expected to be arriving for work, or at his door.
When the slight knock echoed in his office, Minato called them in. His eyes looked up to meet the CFO of his company, a dark haired man who entered with a stern look on his face. Hiashi Hyuga, whose father was one of the founders of the company, was only a few years older than him in his mid-thirties.
He had always been a supporter of Minato during his climb to his CEO position, but lately, it seems as if he had become more critical of the young business man's decisions. Today was no exception.
"Minato, what are you thinking?!"
Minato jumped back at the aggressive tone of voice though he should have figured based on the way the man entered the room.
"Hiashi, what's the matter?"
"What's the matter?" The older man raged as he stood in front of the desk. He stared down at the blonde in front of him, though if Minato were to stand up, he would probably tower over the CFO. "How can you hire the head secretary from our rival company, as your personal assistant?! She's been working with them for years! How can you just trust her like that?"
Minato took a moment to recover from the accusation. He pondered about how the man even knew about his new PA, and furthermore, how he knew about her history in such detail. Perhaps the human resource manager had contacted him upon hiring.
"She was the only one with enough experience of all the candidates that I interviewed." Minato replied in a matter-of-factly tone. All in all, it was the truth, the utmost truth, that she was the only one suitable for the position. He, himself, was also worried, but chose instead to trust her. Afterall, he had no choice.
"And?" Hiashi questioned. "Minato, you can train anyone to do any job! Heck, take one of our secretaries from downstairs or on your floor. That new assistant of yours has been working with the highest executives in Akatsuki. You should just find someone else."
"I don't have time!" Minato stood up, the last of his patience running low as he slammed a palm onto the table and jolted to his feet. "Hiashi, you and I both know what kind of pressure I have been under ever since Kushina and I ended things. I'm under surveillance every day from our clients, the media, and even our own employees. Our stocks have already been dropping. We need someone with experience, otherwise it'll be too late."
"Too late for what?"
Both the men turned to find Shikaku standing at the doorway, staring at them with wide eyes. A sheepish grin began to appear on his face when he realized that all the attention was on him. "Sorry, I should have knocked. The door was opened so I accidentally heard a bit at the end."
"It's alright," Hiashi replied with a sigh. His shoulders slipped a bit as he took a deep breath and began to analyze what he had just heard. Minato too, took it as an opportunity to calm down.
"I was just leaving anyways," the CFO said before he turned one last time to MInato. "Listen, just be careful alright? You're right, everyone is watching us now, and we're in enough shit as it is. I just hope you're making the right decision."
With that, the older man left the room, leaving Shikaku with a confused expression. Trying to put two and two together, the newest arrival walked into the room to face his boss and best friend. "What was that all about?"
Minato let out a deep breath and fell back into his office chair. He felt as if he was fighting a war, and had only won one small battle now. It was exhausting, constantly being questioned, and now, even his business partner was sceptical of his decisions.
"Is it about Ayane?" Shikaku asked when his original question was met with silence. When Minato nodded slightly in response, the Financial Advisor's eyebrows furrowed. "Ayane who you requested a company car for?"
The blonde CEO wanted to groan. Now he even had to explain himself to his best friend, and he hated that feeling. "She's my new personal assistant and she lives uptown. In order for her to get to the office, it usually takes her over an hour of commuting. She'll need the car in case I have last minute changes to my schedule, or if she needs to run errands or attend business functions for me."
Unlike with Hiashi, a knowing grin suddenly appeared on Shikaku's face at the mention of the girl. He was never one to gossip, but now that the new personal assistant was due to arrive, he simply had to know.
"Minato, are you sure it's not because you have the hots for her?"
Minato scowled, although the blush on his face betrayed him. "No. It's strictly a business relationship between us."
"But you have to admit, she's good looking." Shikaku replied.
"Just get me the car…" Minato groaned.
Shikaku gave a light chuckle before he became serious. "Listen, Minato. I'm only saying this because you are like a brother to me. I know Ayane is not a traitor, she seems nice enough to me, so that's not what I'm worried about. What I am worried about is your love life. I'm not saying don't go for it, but just be careful. Right now is not the right time...especially with Kushina and everything."
"Don't worry, there's nothing going on between us. We agreed already to keep it professional."
"Even after whatever happened at the wedding?" Minato's eyes shot up to his smirking friend. Internally, he cursed the big mouthed women he knew was behind all of this. Ayane must have told Yoshino because Shikaku had never been one for gossiping.
"Nothing happened at the wedding."
Shikaku rolled his eyes, "whatever you say! Just don't make it awkward when she arrives!"
As if on cue, the voice of Minato's secretary was paging him through his phone's speaker. "Mr. Namikaze, Ms. Higashi has arrived. Should I send her in?"
Knowing his friend was looking at him with a teasing grin, Minato avoided eye contact as he replied. "Yes please. Have her come down to my office. In the meantime, can you get her a name tag for her desk, and contact IT about setting up her email and login?"
"Of course sir, right away."
"Thank you, Rin." As the conversation ended, Minato turned to Shikaku who had his arms crossed as he stood by the door. Taking the conversation as a cue, the man prepared to excuse himself for the day when Minato stopped him in his tracks.
"Can I ask you one more favour, Shikaku?"
The first day had gone well for Ayane. With most of the day dedicated to setting up her workspace, her work email and account, and importing Minato's own schedule into her devices, she easily found her pace in the office environment, much like she had at her previous company.
Of course, she had to be extra careful, not of the work that she was doing, but of the blonde man that was introducing her to most of the things around her work office. It was unavoidable, of course, for her to stay at a distance physically, because they had crowded in front of her computer to discuss his scheduling, but she constantly reminded herself to maintain an emotional barrier, even if her heart was beating fast.
By the end of the day, she had caught up with Minato's schedule, met a few of the executives, and took note of Minato's preferences including how he liked his coffee and how he hated meeting with the legal department in the mornings because he had no patience for it.
Needless to say, despite the awkward start, Ayane felt comfortable at work, and was actually excited to return the next day. That is, until she stepped out of the front door the next morning and noticed a brand new white Tesla Model S sitting in her driveway. With angry footsteps, she approached the car and reached for the note that was sitting on the windshield.
As per our negotiations. The keys are in the glove compartment.
Also, I got you some gifts to aid you in your work.
See you at work,
Minato
Heading around to the driver's side, Ayane pulled the door open to find a brand new iPad Pro and a new iPhone 11 in the driver's seat. With a frustrated groan, she stuffed both unopened boxes into the passenger seat and turned the car on. It was a good thing the car was here and now she would arrive early for work, because she now needed time to have a firm word with Minato Namikaze.