Chapter 6

Ayane didn't know what she was thinking, sitting in her car and checking her makeup. She didn't know why she had decided to come in the first place, after telling him no, and suffering through a long day at work.

Everyone had left excitedly at 5pm to go home and get ready for their get together at the restobar at 8pm. Meanwhile, Ayane stayed at work with Minato until about 7:00, having an after meeting with a client. The CEO had tried to convince her a final time before he drove off to join his colleagues, but Ayane had been adamant that she didn't want to be there.

Perhaps it was the disappointed look on Minato's face that had her second guessing her decision, though she would like to believe it was the text she received from Yoshino earlier in the day asking if she would be there.

Ayane was now an hour late after having gone home to change into a black long sleeved bodycon dress which cut short at her upper thigh, and curled her long hair. She still had her makeup and stiletto heels donned from her work day as she sat in her car, questioning her own decisions.

She eyed Shikaku's car parked down the row and took solace in the fact that at least her best friend would be there to talk to, especially because she hadn't met many people from work yet. With a heavy sigh, she stepped out of her car, grabbed her small side purse and swung it over her shoulder. She locked her Tesla and made her way into the restaurant-bar that was already packed with her workmates.

A pit of regret formed in her stomach when she pulled open the door and was met with the blast of music, and the stench of sweat and alcohol. Scanning the crowd, she easily spotted a head of long blonde hair talking to the CFO amongst other executives. She quickly looked away before Minato could make eye contact, afterall, business was the last thing that she wanted to do after a long week at work.

Next to the bar, she found Yoshino and Shikaku who were waiting for their drinks. A small smile formed on Ayane's face as she approached her best friend who was also dressed up for the occasion.

"Ayane!" Yoshino's voice pierced through the crowd when she noticed the petite girl walking toward her. She quickly waved her over and grabbed her arm once she had arrived.

"I thought you said you weren't coming," she continued excitedly. "Gosh! You look stunning!"

"You do too!" Her dark haired friend rarely had an occasion to get dressed up, and therefore was never as adept to makeup, hair, and heels the way Ayane was. Today though, she had on a loose hanging spaghetti strapped dress with an open back. This made Ayane wonder if perhaps Shikaku's staff socials had changed the way her best friend presented herself.

"Still nothing like you though!" Yoshino cried as she reached out to touch the loose curls Ayane had created. The bartender reached over the counter with two glasses.

"An orange juice for my lady, and a Whiskey Sour for the gentleman." The guy said. Shikaku reached over and handed him a cash tip before grabbing his own glass and handing the other to his wife.

Ayane eyed the cup in her friend's hand. "You know, one drink early in the night isn't going to disqualify you from being designated driver."

A noticeable blush formed on Yoshino's face as she turned to eye her husband who gave her a kind smile and a quick kiss on the cheek. He stepped back from the two girls and dismissed himself.

"I'll be back," he said. "You two have fun. I'll just go and let Minato know that you're here."

Ayane swore she felt her face becoming warmer as Shikaku winked at her and walked away toward the crowd of executives. Dread filled her stomach when he stepped next to his boss, leaned over, and whispered into his ear. Not wanting to see the consequences, she shifted her stance to face the bar and pulled Yoshino to block the line of sight between them.

"What can I get for you?" The bartender openly scanned Ayane's attire from top to bottom, an all too friendly smirk played on his face.

"A vodka cranberry." Her mind drifted off to the last time she ordered that drink, Minato's face plaguing her mind. "Actually, make it double."

When her drink arrived, she took a swig of it and allowed the alcohol to burn in her throat before turning back to her friend. "So? Tell me about the orange juice."

Yoshino giggled as she took another sip of it and placed her hand on her stomach. "Well...I'm pregnant."

Ayane choked on her drink, almost wanting to puke it out at the sound of her words. Last she checked, the girl, who was the same age as her just barely got married, and now she had another little life inside of her?!

"Wow….that's...fast."

"I know right?" Yoshino replied excitedly. "We tried the night of the wedding, and all the days of our honeymoon. My period was supposed to come four days ago so I checked and…"

That's not what I meant, Ayane thought, but held her words. Instead, she turned to her friend and held her glass up to clink it against the other. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you!"

There was a slight pause in the conversation when a colleague of Ayane's approached the women, an executive, easily ten years older than them who began to flirt with the assistant. Ayane took the conversation with stride, easily introducing herself, while creating just enough distance to thwart the suggestive comments he threw about her attire.

Yoshino eyed the way her best friend was poised, just as composed as ever as she leaned against the bar with her drink in hand. Though shorter and thinner, Ayane had always been the more protective one of the two, and a lot more goal driven as well. Yoshino had never seen Ayane lose direction of herself. That's why, when she came home broken the day after her break up with her ex, Yoshino was at a loss for words. Now though, it seemed as if she was beginning to find her stride again. Ayane was always good at hiding her emotions though, so she couldn't be sure.

Yoshino was thrown from her thoughts as she suddenly became alert at the gestures initiated by the man. As he leaned to face Ayane, he placed one of his hands on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze every once in a while to emphasize a point. Ayane, being the professional that she was, kept a straight face, ignoring the signals that were thrown at her. Yoshino was almost in panic when she saw the look in the man's eyes. She scanned the crowd to find her husband, in hopes that he would be able to get them out of the situation because she knew, if she spoke up herself, she would only bring a bad reputation to her husband at work.

"Jiraiya, it seems like you met my new assistant."

The saving grace came in the form of Minato Namikaze in all of his blonde haired and blue eyed glory. It was clear that the man had a few drinks already to socialize, but still, his presence was as composed as ever.

Jiraiya dropped his hand from Ayane's arm and used it to reach around and give Minato a brotherly hug. "Yes I have! Boy have I taught you well. This girl is a keeper!"

That's when Yoshino remembered that she had always seen the older man around during gatherings and even at her own wedding. Shikaku had been clear for her to stay clear of that man ever since day one, not that he was malicious, but because he was an open pervert despite his many years of experience in marketing.

"She has a great work ethic and is very knowledgeable too." Minato agreed, shooting Ayane a look as he did a once over of her attire. She almost flinched back because she swore she had never seen the man so angry before.

"She also has a great- ah!" Jiraiya was cut off when Minato pinched his arm. "Sense of humour! I was just saying she has a great sense of humour!"

The CEO shook his head in disbelief before he began to drag the older man away. "Come on Jiraiya, I think you've had more than enough to drink."

Minato turned to the girls one last time before he began to walk in the opposite direction. "Sorry about this. Enjoy your night!"

There was a long period of silence before Yoshino turned to look at Ayane with a joyous look in her eyes. "What. Was. That?!"

"What was what?" Ayane downed the rest of her drink and immediately signalled for another one. She hated being caught in situations where men had the audacity to approach her based on their title, and though she was happy that Minato had stepped in, she was angry at him too because she had the situation under control.

"Minato Namikaze, the CEO, just came to your rescue!"

"As any man should do when their female colleague is being harassed," Ayane replied pointedly. "Besides, it wasn't that bad. I could have handled it myself."

"Oh come on. Look at him!" Yoshino turned the petite girl abruptly in the direction of the CEO. His looks stuck out like a sore thumb in the crowd with his height, perfectly tailored suit, and head of blonde hair. "He's gorgeous Ayane! Besides, I can see the way he looks at you. Whatever you have between the two of you, it needs to happen."

"That, is my boss." Ayane stood firm, though her eyes kept looking over to catch small glimpses of the man in question. "I'd rather keep my job, thank you very much."

Yoshino's eyes softened. "Fine, but I'm just warning you. If you don't go for him, someone else will."

Ayane snuck another look at the CEO who was off talking with his colleagues. He still shifted around awkwardly as he talked, reminding her about how he also disliked the social aspect of their work environment. Taking another glance around, it was the first time she noticed how the room seemed to gravitate around him, even though everyone was having their own conversations.

Many women in the room, even the ones who were married to the different businessmen, took small glances at the blonde CEO, some more openly than others. Even the men in their company seemed to look at him with a sense of respect despite some of them being many years older than him.

Her heart weakened as she caught another glimpse of him. It was no mystery why he was so popular. He was intelligent, had a great work ethic, was incredibly handsome, and treated everyone well. Yoshino was right, Minato Namikaze was a catch...but just not for her.

As if on cue, the CEO turned to make eye contact with her. He sent her a kind smile despite her being caught red handed, and then turned back to the conversation he was having. Unbeknownst to her, she too, returned the gesture.

Ayane spent the rest of the night talking to Yoshino, even ditching the bar for a comfier couch in a more secluded corner. Most of the place had begun to clear out by 11pm as many of the employees were tired from work. Yoshino too, was exhausted as she was in her early stages of her pregnancy.

By the time 11:30 rolled around, Shikaku came to meet them so that the couple could head home.

"Hi sweetheart." He gave the dark haired woman a kiss on the cheek and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Let's go home now, I'm sooo tired."

The man clearly had more than a handful of drinks which was expected of them as business professionals, but he was still clear minded, well...enough to tease Ayane anyways. With watery, drunken eyes, he turned to the brunette.

"Ayane, you might want to go find Minato," he winked. "Jiraiya made him down a few more drinks than he could handle. He needs a ride home tonight."

"Why me?" Ayane countered.

"Because, you're his personal assistant aren't you? The old one used to drive him everywhere. Oh, and you need to ask him for his new address. The one on file is old now, whatever you do, don't bring him there."

Before Ayane could protest that she too didn't know where the man lived, the couple left. Ayane, becoming flustered, scanned the room for Minato.

She spotted him hunched over at the bar, swirling a glass of whiskey in his hand as he stared distantly into the swishing liquid. She had wondered why he wasn't socializing with the other executives or managers, but one look around, told her that many of them were gone, and perhaps, not many people knew him personally to begin with. Her heart sunk as she wondered how a CEO could look so lonely at his own company gathering.

Putting on her nonchalant face, she went to the bar and asked for a glass of water. Once the cup had arrived in her hand, she took a sip and turned to the man next to her.

"So, looking to get away from this party too?" She heard a light chuckle in response as she mocked the CEO's words at their first meeting.

"There's a lot of things I want to get away from." He chugged the glass of whiskey and signalled the bartender for another one.

"No. No more." She told the bartender. "Just get him a glass of water as well please."

With a quick nod, the bartender filled another glass and placed it on the table. Minato groaned in protest at the clear liquid in front of him.

"Whyyy?"

"Because, Mr. Namikaze, you have an image to uphold. You can't get wasted at your own staff party." Ayane scolded. She forced the water into the man's hands and watched as he obediently drank half the glass.

"I told you to call me Minato." He replied, glaring at her. His hand reached out to touch her thigh before trailing his fingers along the bottom of her skin tight dress. "I need to punish you."

Ayane froze in her spot as she looked around to see if anyone had heard. Luckily, the music was still blaring and no one was in proximity. "For what?"

"For wearing something so provocative. How can you let another man touch you like that?" Minato began leaning closer, just as he had the night of the wedding. Ayane began having flashbacks of the way his hands travelled from her thighs to her behind, and the way he pressed his body on hers as they explored each other's mouths at the bar.

Shivers ran down her back, and she had a strange sense of desire for it all happening again, but alas, this was not the time and place for it. Grabbing the hand that was on her leg, she stood up and began pulling the man away from the bar.

"You're drunk, Mr. Namikaze. We need to get you home."

She ignored the various looks she was getting as she guided the CEO toward the front of the restobar. She knew for a fact that come Monday, gossip would have spread throughout the building, but it would be easy for her to refute them. Afterall, if Shikaku was right, she was nothing but a designated driver for the night.

As she brought Minato to the car, she heard him whine in protest. "I don't want to go home."

Even though the assistant insisted, nothing was done as the man refused to provide an address. By the time Ayane helped her boss get into the passenger seat and got into the car herself, she was beyond frustrated and helpless. Minato had all but passed out in the seat next to her and there was only one place left she could bring him.

To her home.