Thank you for reading. Let me know what you think! Just drop me a note I love to hear what the readers think.
ooooooooooooo
Heels That Tread On
Love
Chapter 2: The Clincher
Sakura didn't want to sit next to Sasuke and, thankfully, she'd been dragged over between Jiraya and Naruto. But when she looked across the table and she saw Sasuke watching her with his annoying smirk, she nearly frowned. Great, even worse with him sitting directly across from her…
The all looked over the menu and discussed it. While the waiter was taking their orders Naruto suddenly leaned over to point at Tsunade's menu he tapped a water glass with his sleeve and it ran over onto Hinata's lap. "Oh!" she squeaked and tried to tell Uzumaki it was okay, but the man wouldn't have it.
"It's my job to wipe off that water!" He vigorously rubbed her lap and Sakura got a great view of Hinata's deadpan face and crimson blush.
Itachi finished his order, officially starting the talk of business, and looked over to Tsunade and Sakura. "We've discussed the details in full already, but my brother and I were hoping for both of your inputs about the requirements of the contract."
Sakura looked over at Tsunade with a cool smile with undertones of murderous intent. Why the fuck did she keep this from me?! And how the hell did she do it?
The blond woman smiled and took her glass of sake. "Well, to be frank, this is an excellent idea and I don't understand why it's taken so long to finalize."
"I couldn't agree more," Sasuke said with his eyes on Sakura, though she was intent on not meeting them.
Hinata had her notebook out and her fingers were flying away, grasping every single sentence in time. Naruto was leaning over her shoulder to read the words as if the meeting she was recording was a book. Her blush was prominent, but she didn't seem to mind his nearness.
Sakura had listened to as much as possible as the conversation continued and gave some good answers which she half-assed to questions directed at her. She soon realized that the merger meant more to them than just a new order of office papers and the name change on future publishes. "Gentleman, would you excuse Tsunade-sama and I for a moment?"
"Now Sakura, we can discuss-
"Tsunade-sama, I think you need a tiny touchup." The pink-haired woman said cheerfully, though her eyes were cold as ice.
The older woman didn't seem to notice the hostility as she touched a hand to her nose. "Oh, really? Then please excuse us, gentleman. Hinata you should come too; get all this movement out of the way."
The three women moved briskly to the women's restroom and Sakura cornered her mentor the moment they stepped in. "Tsunade, what's the whole deal in this contract?"
The older woman yawned widely and pulled out her compact. "If you're wondering the reason why I kept this from you is because you've been very preoccupied. I've even worried about your health on more than one occasion."
Sakura listened to the genuine words of her mentor and turned to the sink.
"I needed to know if you were going to be alright and I didn't want unnecessary strain on you because of this merger."
"Alright, then. That answers my question for that…But I want to know the circumstances of the contract. What are we giving up and what are we getting in return?" Sakura said.
Tsunade smiled as she dusted her cheeks with blush. "The floor below ours was for rent and Uchiha Print is moving in down there. They will, of course, be using our presses, but they have some to contribute of their own."
"Good. So what's the clincher?"
"You and Sasuke Uchiha are going to be partners, though more to the fact that you are working together. Your title is going down a rank, to vice president, but your pay is increasing; the same for Sasuke. Of course, because Itachi and I have much more experience, we will remain the Presidents, though we will hardly be making anymore than we are now."
Sakura sighed. She'd expected something along the lines of that. "So the younger Uchiha is going to be toe-to-toe with me huh?"
"You two will tango nicely."
"Yeah and I'll grind him under the heel of my Prada shoes."
Tsunade looked thoughtful a moment before speaking again. "I need some new Jimmy's soon, will you be coming with?"
Sakura thought about a shopping spree, momentarily distracted from her distress. She'd be getting a considerable raise, so why the hell not? "Sure thing. I've been wanting a new cocktail dress."
Hinata smiled from her seat on a plush couch, glad that there was no confrontation between her two bosses. "Um, what are Jimmy's?" she piped up and got looks of wonder from the two light-haired women.
"Oh, Hinata, you poor, poor thing. Trapped under the influence of Marc Jacobs…" Tsunade said, actually sounding depressed.
Sakura took her friend's hand and pulled the woman off the couch. "We're definitely taking you along. Can we momma?" she mocked to her mentor who was putting her mascara tube in her purse.
"Don't joke around like that. You're making me feel old."
The three women clicked in their high heels, back to the table, drawing the attention of the men they'd left behind. "Hey, Hinata, do you want to see this stuff? It's called escargot?" Naruto lifted a little saucer to show the woman.
Sakura was sure Hinata was close to hating the hyper blond man. He'd forced drinks on her, he'd spilled icy water on her lap and now he was shoving slugs under her nose.
"Oh, no thank you Naruto. I'm vegetarian." She said sweetly and sat down next to him, inspecting the appetizer he was holding. "They aren't hurting are they?"
"No, no," Naruto said, over his shock at meeting a real, live vegetarian. "They aren't alive anymore."
"Good."
Sakura sat down in her chair only to notice that Jiraya had moved over by Itachi and Tsunade…and now Sasuke was beside her.
"So, how did your talk go?" he asked, suspecting something had been wrong.
She frowned and snagged a tiny quiche. "Just girl talk." She'd be damned if she was going to tell him she hadn't been involved in the forming of the contract. At least she'd be there for the actual merger and signing.
"So, Hinata, if you ever order any food with meat, does that mean I can have it?"
"Sure, N-Naruto-kun."
Sakura still didn't look away from Sasuke's stare. She wasn't going to back down. "So, I guess we're going to be partners from here on out."
From his slow grin, she suspected he was thinking something a little more dirty than a working partnership. "Yes. I hope we'll work well together."
She was hoping for some alcohol just as their food arrived. She ate her three-cheese manicotti with great relish and passed some over to Hinata to try and the Hyuga woman sent over a little plate of a sugared-pecan and apple salad with raspberry dressing.
Naruto had some of Hinata's salad and claimed he liked it but Sakura was sure he'd pay for it later. The man ate nothing but meat and ramen, so veggies probably messed with his system. She wondered momentarily if Uzumaki got backed up for weeks because of his diet…
Sasuke noticed her eyeing his tomato soup and stuffed grilled tomato, so he looked over to her. "Something wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just, you ordered nothing but tomatoes and some cheese."
He nodded. "I like tomatoes."
She smiled and continued eating; she'd put that on the backburner for a possible opportunity at blackmail or to get on his good side.
Their lunch ended and the plates were taken away as Tsunade and Itachi pulled out two contracts each. They had gone over them for hours upon hours, looking for any loopholes or problems and had found them water-tight.
They passed one to Sakura and Sasuke to look over. The under Uchiha just ran his signature over while Sakura read the twelve pages over fully. Jiraya had entertained himself the whole time with research, so none of them were worried about him being bored. He was just glad to be there with all the pretty waitresses around.
Finally, though she was slightly reluctant, Sakura swiped her signature over the papers and handed them over to Tsunade. "Wonderful. How about drinks?"
They moved back to the bar once the bill was taken care of and Sasuke asked Sakura to follow him up to the patio for a talk. Once there, he leaned on the rail from their place at the second story.
Sakura enjoyed the cool wind on her face, thankful that the rain had let up for a short time. She could sense Sasuke was watching her and she looked over to him, reading him as well.
"This was a smart merger, despite our title loss."
"I agree. To both counts." She said and took a bitter sip of her martini. Sakura's eyes traveled back over to him and he smirked.
His hand suddenly reached out and she nearly jumped to defend herself, but he only took her glass and set it on the railing. But then he reached back and grasped her.
He pulled her nearer and set a finger under her chin to lift her face to his. Sasuke towered above her and she felt helpless and small in his arms. Oddly enough, she felt safe and protected at the same time.
"You and I are going to spark the air around us a bit." She said and he smirked.
"Sparks are a specialty of mine."
She smiled genuinely at him. "Of course. You are Uchiha after all."
Sasuke reluctantly released his hold on Sakura and she took her time backing up. "Did we have anything productive from this conversation, here?" she asked as she was given back her martini.
"Only that we know where we both stand. We have an attraction to each other; that's clear enough."
She was slightly taken aback by his words. She'd expected them both to brush off their intense meeting as nothing more than first-sight jitters, though she knew, deep within her belly that some anticipation laid within herself; anticipation to tango with him. Each step he took towards her, she would step back and maybe, sometimes they'd meet in the middle.
But she'd be damned if she was going to let him try to walk all over her. She'd tread on him with her sharp, two-thousand dollar Prada heels if she had too.
They walked back down to the bar where the others were just finishing up the meeting. Naruto was saying goodbye and said he had to come by the office soon for his uncle's manuscript drops.
"Oh, that would be nice." Hinata said. "I could take them for you." Uzumaki looked at her fondly and they shared a small moment before Sasuke interrupted.
"Hey, dobe, make sure you come over on Tuesday. Itachi's got beers and pizza for the upcoming baseball game."
"Yeah. Sure thing, teme."
Sakura noticed the look on Naruto's face and felt bad for the guy. She didn't want to impose upon an invitation in an effort to bring Hinata to see him, but those puppy dog eyes of the blond man brought out her romantic side.
Itachi stepped over and set a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "You and Hinata are welcome to come of course. Just a few guys and their wives are going to be there. Nothing really fancy."
Sakura nodded. "Sure, it sounds like fun."
"Then it's settled. We'll send someone to pick you up."
Once they all stepped outside it had begun raining again. Tsunade shook hands with Jiraya and Itachi and patted the shoulders of Sasuke and Naruto, then took off at a run for her red sports car. After Sakura and Hinata did the same, they gave their best sprints across the concrete after Tsunade, their heels clicking together in unison.
The men stood there a moment more, watching the tiny ankles of the women as they ran like whippets out of a gate after a remote bunny. "It's amazing they don't snap their ankles." Itachi said and lifted an eyebrow when Sakura beat on her door at Tsunade to unlock it, her hair was soaked already and stuck to her face and neck erotically, which drew the interest of Sasuke and Itachi noticed.
"An interesting merger, wouldn't you say brother?"
Sasuke nodded silently and continued watching Sakura as she opened the door, fuming, and fell into the low seat, her shapely legs dangling outside a moment until she pulled them in and slammed the door.
"The best we could have hoped for." He said and looked over to Naruto, whose stomach had just growled. "Don't tell me that you're hungry again?"
"Well, we didn't eat any desert."
Sasuke rolled his eyes and continued waiting while his car was driven up by the valet. "See you later Itachi, Jiraya. Come on, Naruto, I think I'm feeling some ice-cream."
"Yes!"
Once the younger men were gone, Itachi and Jiraya continued standing under the canopy, awaiting their own cars. "I think you might have pointed out the greatest thing that could happen for our company, Jiraya-sama."
The older man smirked and set a hand on his wild white hair. "I just call 'em as I see 'em. Tsunade is a smart woman, though. She won't let you down. And besides, she found another little perk of this contract that will benefit her."
"Hm? What's that?" Itachi asked, curious.
"Tsunade can see all the advantages of that contract. She told me that she's hoping for something to…let's say, merge between your brother and Sakura-san. Tsunade cares for her like a daughter and I'm fond of her too, so don't be angry that I'm rooting for Tsunade here."
Itachi surprised Jiraya altogether by laughing aloud. "Merge…god, Jiraya that almost makes me want to read one of your books."
"Almost, of course." Together they laughed broadly, much to the amusement of passersby.
Ooooooooooooo
Here you go. I know Itachi and Sasuke are very ooc in this, but hey, they are some sexy guys, so why not change their personalities a bit?
Please let me know what you think. I really like hearing readers' opinions.
Thank you