Chapter 5

Ayane reached the office half an hour earlier than usual. The clicking of her heels echoed down the hallways as she briskly made her way to her desk. After dropping off her bag, she took the two Apple devices that Minato had gifted her and marched toward the glass office.

She could tell from the glass walls that the CEO was already inside working on his laptop. After knocking on the door, she heard a quiet "come in" from the other side.

Ocean blue eyes met hers as she entered the room, tantalizing her for a brief second. Minato spoke up before Ayane was able to express her fury. "Oh great! Just in time. Ayane, do you mind grabbing me a cup of coffee? I have a conference call in a minute, there was a last minute arrangement with a long term client."

Just as he finished speaking, a tune blared from his laptop, indicating an incoming video call. Snapping out of her anger, she put on her best professional look. "Sure thing. Would you like me to sit into the meeting to take minutes?"

"Yes please." Minato responded with the kind smile that Ayane had recognized from the first day that they met. In the next second, he turned back to his call and clicked to answer it.

On the way to the lounge, Ayane set the electronics back on her desk. She made a mental note to confront him later on when time permitted.

The hallway was still empty as people weren't expected to arrive for another 20 minutes or so. Still, the lounge was well stocked with a coffee maker, espresso machine, and a wide selection of snacks, pastries, and fruit. As she waited for the coffee to brew, she grabbed an apple and pastry for herself and another pastry for Minato, knowing that the man likely didn't have breakfast yet based on the haggard look on his face.

Once the coffee was done, she made her way back to her desk and tucked her own laptop under her armpit. With a coffee in one hand and food in the other, she let herself into Minato's office and sat across from him.

Minato shot her a grateful look when she placed the refreshments next to him. She flipped open her laptop and pulled up a document that he shared with her. There, she was able to catch up with the main points of the meeting. Taking over, she began to take notes on the template the Minato had provided.

With a slight smile on his face, the blonde CEO relaxed in his chair as his assistant did the work for him. All he had to do was speak with the client and discuss their upcoming collaboration.

The meeting was brief, just a confirmation about the details of their contract. Securing this sales meant that Minato's company had finished the quarter just over their projected sales goal. Finally, he was able to relax, because for a few weeks, it looked as if they were not going to make it and he was to blame because of his public image.

When the call ended and Minato finally shut his laptop, he began to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Ayane watched in worry as he downed the remainder for his lukewarm coffee. "Can you set up an appointment with mister Watanabe within the next two weeks? Just to follow up with the set up once it's up and running."

"Of course," Ayane opened her phone and put it on her to-do list. "Anything else?"

"Yes. At our company, we hold a get together for the staff for every successful quarter. Can you be in charge of putting that together for next Friday evening after work? We typically just rent a private room at one of those bars around the corner."

"Yeah sure. I have a few in mind." She replied. It wasn't anything new. Event planning was part of her old job too. In fact, she still had connections with the higher end bars that all the company executives liked to go to.

Eyeing the time on her watch, she turned back to Minato. "You have a meeting with Shikaku in ten minutes to debrief the quarterly sales. Do you need me to attend or?"

Minato shook his head, his soft smile returning. Ayane realized that the man often hid it when discussing business and only ever revealed it to her when his guard was down. "That's everything."

"Okay I'll leave you to it then." Ayane got up and made her way out the door with her laptop in one hand and her apple in the other. Realization hit her as she eyed the fruit.

"Oh, and don't forget to eat your breakfast," she said, turning back to the CEO. "You look like you could use some energy."

"Thank you."

Minato's smile was contagious, she realized. Even though she had made it clear to both of them that she would keep herself at a distance, she couldn't help but send a smile in return. It was the way that Minato seemed so kind and innocent, that made her want to wholeheartedly protect him and help him even more.

"You're welcome, Mr. Namikaze." She sent him a wink before walking out the door. A giggle escaped her when she heard him groan at the name before the door clicked closed behind her.

"Good morning, Ayane." The petite girl startled when she almost ran into a man in front of her that she didn't realize was there.

"Oh Shikaku, you scared me." She replied. Despite the fact that the man was her best friend's husband, she had rarely talked to him outside of wedding planning. Now, she realized, he was one of the only people at work that she knew and could trust.

"Maybe you would have noticed I was here if you weren't flirting with Mr. CEO," Shikaku replied with a smirk. This elicited an embarrassing flush over Ayane's cheeks. Still though, she reminded herself to be nonchalant about it.

"There's nothing going on between us." She quickly denied.

Shikaku simply shrugged and stepped around the girl to make his way to his meeting. "Whatever you say, squirt."

Ayane wondered where the nickname suddenly came from, but she decided she didn't hate it. Before she could rebuttal any further, the man disappeared behind the office door.

It wasn't until Ayane reached her desk that she was reminded of the reason why she came looking for Minato earlier in the morning. His gifts for her sat on her desk. The morning meeting was so sudden that Ayane had forgotten to confront the man about it. With a sigh, she pushed them aside and began making arrangements for the staff gathering that Minato had requested. She would just have to get back to him later.

The entire day, Minato was either in a conference call or in a meeting with the higher executives. Ayane also barely had time to eat her lunch, nonetheless speak to her boss. Finally, when the evening rolled around and everyone in the office had dissipated, she finally caught Minato with a gap in his schedule.

She grabbed both devices and walked in without knocking. Noticing the man slumped over at his desk, and his head resting on his arms, Ayane's gaze softened again. Minato was so deep in his sleep that he didn't even notice when she took his jacket from the hanger and placed it over his shoulders.

It was getting late already and as she watched him, she wondered why he spent so much excess time at work. Even the workaholics that she had encountered previously didn't work as diligently as him. She wondered if he had anyone waiting for him at home every night.

That's when she took notice of a small picture frame that was sitting in front of his desktop monitor. She hadn't seen it before because the screen had been hiding it from view. Inside was a picture of a younger Minato and a girl with startling red hair. Both were smiling excitedly at the camera.

Ayane hadn't seen the girl before, but she remembered that she once read an article about her boss being engaged. The engagement must have ended, she figured, because Minato didn't seem like the type of guy to cheat while he was in a relationship. Her heart ached though, when she realized that he was likely still in love with her, to have her picture on his desk.

Ayane didn't have a right to be hurt though, because she was nothing but a one night stand. Not to mention, she had rejected the man on more than one occasion. Forcing herself to look away, she put the iPhone and iPad on Minato's desk, and went home for the night.

The next day, Ayane arrived at work as per usual. Minato's schedule for the morning was empty, which meant that she too was free to complete her own tasks. Almost as soon as she got there though, her office line rang.

"Hello, Mr. Namikaze's office." She called into the phone.

"Ayane, can you come in here for a sec?"

Ayane didn't need to see his expression to hear the disappointment in his voice. She turned around to find Minato staring straight at her from the other side of the glass wall. The man hung up as soon as they made eye contact, and with a sigh, Ayane got up from her spot and went into her boss's office.

When she entered and was confronted by Minato's hardened expression, she wondered if she had done something wrong that needed reprimanding. Never had she thought he would be capable of looking angry, yet here he was, looking thoroughly offended.

"Did you need something, Mr. Namikaze?"

Ayane's eyes were drawn to the two white boxes that she had left on the CEO's desk as he pushed it toward her. Oh…

"I gave you these for work purposes. The iPad for taking minutes during meetings and portable scheduling. The iPhone was to be used as a business line for not only me to reach you, but other executives or companies to reach you as well." Minato said in a straightforward manner. "I would like to know why these are on my desk."

Ayane had forgotten about the electronics all together, and despite the fact that Minato's lecture suddenly had her feeling like a kicked puppy, she decided to stand her ground.

"Mr. Namikaze, I don't need fancy new devices to do my job. I've been doing my job perfectly fine with my own laptop and phone before coming to this company," she argued. "Besides, I don't want anyone in this company thinking that I am receiving special treatment by the CEO."

Minato's expression softened when he realized her harsh tone matched his just a moment earlier. He wasn't particularly angry that she was using other devices for her work, he knew she was more than capable enough, even if she had to resort to using pencil and paper, but he was rather upset that she had rejected his gift.

"It's simply an offer," he replied in a lighter tone. "Although I do prefer you use this new technology, and specifically have a work phone that we can reach you at, I suppose you don't have to use them. I don't mean to question your abilities."

"In that case, I can get my own." Ayane replied, "you have been more than generous enough with the work vehicle and increasing my salary offer in the contract. I can afford to purchase my own work phone if you would like."

Hurt spread across Minato's eyes upon hearing her rejection yet again. "Can't you just accept the phone at least? All the executives have one. No one will dare question it."

With a heavy sigh, Ayane accepted the phone, taking it from the CEO's desk. "Next time, Mr. Namikaze, please stick to our agreements. I don't want any extra gifts from you. I don't want any misunderstandings-"

"I know, and like I said before, I agree. We are nothing but co-workers." The words were brisk and cold as they left his mouth. Minato nodded toward the phone in her hand. "The SIM card is inside the box. That's all for now."

Knowing she had upset the man in front of her, made Ayane's heart crack a little bit. She knew he meant well, but she couldn't just accept it. Dropping her head she apologized. "I'm sorry Mr. Nam- Minato. I just think that it's best if we keep a clear line...you know?"

"I know."

He did know, because he was undeniably attracted to her even though he had promised her otherwise. But when she walked toward the door and their eyes met again, he knew it would be harder said than done, even for her.

Her warm brown eyes scanned his in uncertainty for a second before she let out a small smile. "Thank you though, for the gift."

The rest of the day had gone smoothly for them as it was a slow work day with limited meetings. That's why, when the time came to go home and Minato had yet to appear from his office, Ayane went to check in concern.

"Come in," his voice called when she knocked. He was once again submerging himself in his work as he looked through the binders of reports that had arrived earlier in the day.

She let the door slide to a close behind her and leaned on it as she eyed the man in front of her. "It's 5:30 already."

"Oh," he didn't even look up from the papers. "Thank you for staying late again. You can go home now."

"You should too."

Her words were so casual that Minato had missed it at first. After a brief moment, he looked up at the girl across from him. None of his assistants in the past or any co-workers for that matter had cared about when he left. In fact, it was a normal occurrence to see him stay overtime at work every night to the point where Kushina used to yell at him.

He flinched, his heart aching in remembrance of the name. He refrained himself from glancing at the photo on his desk, and instead, decided to focus on the girl in front of him.

"It's alright, I still have work to do."

A slight frown lifted at the edge of her lips as she eyed the files piled on his desk. "Anything I can help you with?"

"No...I'm used to it."

Ayane's thoughts were conflicted as she tried to find the right words to express her worry for the man. "You know…. I think you should get some rest Mr. Namikaze. Every day you look so tired. Maybe I'm looking into it too much, but is there a reason why you aren't going home?"

Minato's blue eyes were lost in thought after Ayane's words. With a heavy sigh, he stood up and snapped the binder closed. At a brisk pace, he approached Ayane. The assistant pressed back a bit into the door as she read the intensity in the man's eyes.

Once he was in front of her, he leaned forward, enough so that his height allowed him to hover over her. Ayane felt herself shivering, her usual strong persona gone as she was reminded of the way he looked and felt when he was hovering over her that night.

"I thought I asked you to call me Minato."

The flirtatious tone of his voice and the heat radiating off his body made Ayane quiver. She knew she should have looked away but she was caught in the depth of his ocean coloured eyes.

It took a moment, a long moment in both of their minds, before the tension ceased. Minato gave a light chuckle, his lips quirking up in the corners and his eyes forming into light arches. "I'm just messing with you."

Reaching out his long arms, he grabbed his suit jacket off the hanger next to the door and tucked it in the crook of his elbow. "Let's go."

Ayane almost stumbled in her heels as she stepped out of the way quickly so that Minato could open the door for the both of them. On the way out, she grabbed her belongings from her desk and walked next to the CEO on the way to the elevator.

They stood awkwardly next to each other as they waited for the doors to open. Minato's hands were tucked in his pants pocket as hers were holding her large purse. When a ding finally echoed through the empty building and they stepped inside the carriage, Minato finally cleared his throat.

"So, how's the planning for the gathering coming along?" He asked.

"It's just about finalized. I will send you the confirmed details tomorrow for approval," she replied.

"No need. Just send out the invitation to all the executives, managers, and the sales team. I'm sure everything will be fine." Ayane wasn't sure where Minato's utmost confidence for her came from, especially when she hadn't worked with him for long, but something about the way he seemed to give people the benefit of the doubt, only added to the list of reasons why people seemed obsessed over the young businessman.

"Sounds good." She said, "I'll have that done by tomorrow afternoon."

There was a beat of silence before Minato responded. "So, you're going right? To the gathering?"

"No. I'm not a fan of business gatherings," she quickly refused. Or any gathering for that matter.

"But you're the one organizing it. You have to go." Minato didn't know why he insisted, in fact, he was never one to enjoy those parties to begin with as well, but it was an aspect of his job that he had to endure in order to keep his colleagues and his business clients happy.

"I can give the details to Rin. She should be more than capable of handling it."

The scowl on Minato's face said it all. He was wishing that she would be there, then at least there was someone to keep him company while everyone else was busy getting drunk. In the past few days he was starting to appreciate her company, as not many others in the company other than Shikaku had bothered to get to know him otherwise.

"Okay...but just consider it." He gave in just as they reached the first level of the carpark where Ayane's car was. As she stepped out, and waved to her boss, a small smile blossomed on her face.

"We'll see. Have a goodnight, Mr. Namikaze."