He left with out saying anything else to me. I watched the old lady count the dollar bills silently, and a few people around me are whispering.
"How do you know him?"
The question was asked aggressively, so not replying wasn't an option.
"We're staying at the same hotel", I say dryly.
"And how did you meet him?"
I sigh, remembering the awkward introduction he'd given me. "We sat in a hot tub together, and he just started talking to me"
Shikamaru scoffed before holding the crystal on my necklace. "You're really going to go to his hotel room?"
My mouth went dry, and I cleared my throat awkwardly. "I-I guess"
He shakes his head at me the way a parent would shake their head at a child. "Awful idea. You met him once and he's asking you to go to his hotel room", he says critically. "What do you think he wants?"
It took those very few sentences to make me realize what I had gotten myself into. I hadn't really thought about what he'd wanted from me when he told me to meet him in his room.
"You think he's"
I didn't bother to finish the sentence.
"Gay", Shikamaru says a little too bluntly for my liking.
"B-but...why would you think that?"
He rolls his eyes and lets go of my necklace. "Did you see the way he was acting towards you? Are you that oblivious? Are you even legal yet?"
I sigh, unsure of how to fix the messy situation. "What should I do?"
The question comes out sounding more desperate than I had anticipated.
"You're going to put that necklace in an envelope and slip it underneath his door tomorrow"
I wait for him to continue, but he gave me a look that said he was done talking. "That's it?"
"Yup. That simple"
I frown, a little unhappy with having to give up the necklace. "But I like the necklace", I say with disappointment.
"Oh well", he says nonchalantly. "It's up to you to decide what's more important- your safety, or that necklace"
The rest of my day at central park was spent exploring all the other venders and eating fried food. Lee was nice enough to offer me some money for a taxi ride home. I said my goodbye's to them at around nine o'clock, and when I'd gotten back to the hotel, I immediately went to my room and locked the door. Just return it tomorrow before work starts. I nodded, assuring myself that it was the right thing to do. There's no way in hell I'm going to pick a petty little necklace over my virginity!
It was hard to contain all the shock from the bizarreness that occurred today. I had to tell someone- someone who I could feel comfortable telling, and ended up calling Kiba. We had the longest phone conversation ever- and I told him everything from meeting Shikamaru to taking a taxi ride home with a new necklace. Unlike I'd expected, he just laughed and told me everything would be okay. It was nice to have someone I could talk to about weird stuff like this. He didn't overreact, and instead cracked jokes about it, which made me feel a lot less nervous than I did before.
"Good night Kiba"
"Night bro"
And those were the last words I said before I fell asleep. If I hadn't called Kiba, I don't think I would have slept very well.
My shift starts at two in the afternoon, and usually ended around ten or eleven at night- So I woke up the next morning around twelvish. I brushed my teeth, showered, put on my work uniform, and tried my best to get my wild blond hair under control. As usual, I barely managed to get it to stay down and eventually gave up. It was a waste of effort.
I take the necklace from off the night stand, grab my wallet, and head out the door in search of an envelope. I had to go to the front desk and ask where the nearest drug store was so I could buy one, and surprisingly, saw Shikamaru working the register with a typical unimpressed look on his face.
"Hey! Weird how we're meeting each other again, isn't it?", I say with a smile.
"Yeah, kinda weird", he grumbles as he checks out my stuff. "I assuming you're following through with the plan"
He hands me the envelope and I nod my head. "I don't feel guilty at all"
"That's good. You shouldn't", he says as he opens the register and hands me my change. "And if you ever wanna talk, I'm at central almost everyday at five"
"Alright. I'll be sure to visit the park more often", I say with a grin.
We say goodbye, and I walk out of the store feeling even more confident. I can do this. I walk back to the hotel, which was only a block away, and open the envelope in the lobby. Gently, I place the necklace inside the envelope, lick the pasty tasting sealing paper, and seal it shut. I can do this.
I take the elevator all the way up to the ninth floor, and search for room 918. I walk down what seems to feel like an endless hallway, and finally find the room. Slip it under and walk away. I stare at the small crack under the door and look at the envelope. Shit. What do I do if it doesn't fit? It had never occurred to me that the item wouldn't fit underneath the door, but after seeing the very little space it had to squeeze under the slit, I began to panic. Just jam it underneath there if you have to! There's no way in hell you're keeping it!
Impulsively, I thrust it underneath the door, but it struggled to slide all the way through because of the size of the crystal. What if he's in there? I hadn't really thought about it until I heard a door open from inside. That sound alone set my heartbeat on a rampage, and I started to push the envelope underneath even harder.
After a few seconds of making zero progress, the door finally opened, and the position I was in was painfully awkward. I had to get off my knees to greet him, and then had to watch him pick the envelope up from off the floor with suspicion.
"What's this?"
I stutter, failing to give a proper explanation. "W- well I uh"
He continues to stare at me as if I was speaking in a different language, and at that moment I was beginning to sweat uncontrollably.
"I just wanted t-to give you back the necklace", I say in defeat. "I can't keep it"
"Why not?", he asks curiously.
"W-well it's just...not in my interest to have it anymore"
He nods his head with a smile still somehow on his face. "You could have just knocked on the door"
I blush at the suggestion, and try to keep a straight face. "That's what I was trying to avoid"
Shit! Naruto, why did you have to say that?!
"Do I scare you that much?"
"No!", I say in defense. "It's just that...I didn't know what you wanted from me. You bought me a necklace, so I thought you wanted me to...do you a favor...to pay you back"
It was an awful thing to say, but at least I'd gotten my point across. I couldn't bare to look him in the eyes, and felt like evaporating into the air.
"I have the money to pay you back if you want it, which you probably do", I say as I pull out my wallet.
He laughs, and puts his hand up, rejecting the offer. "You have no idea how much I don't need you to pay me back"
Right. He's probably a billionaire or something. God, why am I so stupid?!
"I'm sorry for giving you the wrong impression. It was not my intention to make you uncomfortable, but I guess I took the wrong approach in trying to get to know you better"
Is this seriously how he gets to know people better? By buying them things and expecting them to see him again?
"But I haven't given up on you. I will make sure that we spend our time together"
Time to file a restraining order.
Ever since I'd talked to Itachi, I've been lagging a lot in my work ethic. Iruka yelled at me more than usual today, and all I could think of were all the creepy ways Itachi would try to get to "spend his time with me". What if he knows my room number and somehow hacks the system so he can unlock my door.
"Naruto, this is your last task for today", Iruka says sternly.
I sigh in relief. Thank god, it's about time.
"I need you to go into the kitchen and grab the chocolate cake. Deliver it to room nine-eighteen"
I happily walk into the kitchen, glad that the last task of the day was an easy one. Wait a minute...room nine-eighteen is Itachi's room isn't it?
"Fuck!", I shout before banging my hand on the counter. This is going to be so awkward! What do I do?!
I pick up the cake, put it on a cart, and take it to the ninth floor. I cautiously wheel the cart to the correct room number, and knock on the door twice. It takes a bit of time for him to open the door, but he eventually does.
"Come on in", he says with an irritatingly calm smile.
I slowly push the cart in, admiring how beautiful his suite is. This is so much better than my room- but the people on the ninth floor get special treatment and the nicest rooms.
"Aren't you going to take your cake?", I ask impatiently.
"It's the fourteenth one I've ordered today"
I give him a confused look, baffled by how he could eat so much cake. "You ate fourteen cakes?"
He laughs, and my look of confusion turns into a look of aggravation. What the hell is wrong with him?
"No. I did not. I ate one slice, and everything else has been disposed of"
Wow. I would kill to buy fourteen cakes, and he just throws them away like they're nothing. Does he know how hard the chefs work to make those? Rich bastard!
"How can you just waste food like that!? Do you know how hard the chefs work to make those cakes?! There are starving children out there, and you're just gonna throw away food for no reason?"
"Actually, there is a reason", he says with an unfazed smile."I was hoping that eventually you would be my delivery guy"
I'm not sure what it was that made me snap, but it was definitely needed if I wanted to get my point across.
"What the fuck is wrong with you!", I yell. "What do you want from me? Why do you want to see me so badly? You don't want my money, and you don't want any favors, so tell me what it is that you want so I never have to see your face again!"
He gives me a displeased look, and I could tell I'd really pissed him off. I was beginning to worry about what would happen if I stayed any longer.
"You know what, I'm sorry. I shouldnt've said that. I'm just going to take my cart", I say nervously as I reach for the handles. "And leave"
"Neji", his voice booms.
The bathroom door opens, and a familiar looking hotel guest walks out. It's the asshole who got angry at me for standing in his way on Friday. I give him an angry glare, and I can tell he's a little shocked.
"Neji is a very dear friend of mine", he begins. "He's also my body guard and does whatever I tell him to do. So if I tell him to not let you escape, you're not going to escape"
"If you don't let me out of here, I-I!", I shout nervously.
"You'll what?", the cold body guard says to me. "If you tell me you're going to scream, I will make sure you never make another sound again"
By now I'm shaking, and fear is coursing through my veins. Why? What did I do to deserve this?
"Don't scare him", Itachi hisses at him. "Just get him to sit down in that chair"
The tall, terrifying man helps me to the chair, and I almost stumble twice from being so terrified.
"I'm sorry", Itachi says tenderly. "But please cooperate. It's not our intention to hurt you"
I shoot the body guard a dirty look, and he rolls his light grey eyes at me.
"Neji only hurts people when I tell him to", he says mockingly to his sassy body guard. "Right Neji?"
"Yes, sir", he says as he looks him dead in the eyes.
"Good. Now get him a bottle of water from the refrigerator", Itachi orders.
The obedient body guard sighs and walks off, leaving Itachi and I alone for a few seconds. "I'm going to give you a few minutes to cool off. I know you're scared, but I'm trying my best to show you that we're not going to hurt you. I guarantee that I will not move from this bed at all", he says as he calmly folds his hands on his stomach.
"J-just tell me what you want. I'm tired, and I want to go back to my room"
"Alright", he says growing just as tired of this game as I am. "I wanted to propose an offer to you"
My eyes widen, and I put my serious face on. "What kind of offer?"
Neji comes back with my water and places it on the desk next to me. "Neji, I need you to get me my brief case"
The tall pale man walks away, coming back with a shiny black case in his hands.
"Let me guess, there's money in that case", I say dryly.
"Well aren't you a smart cookie", Itachi says with a mocking smile.
"And what do I have to do to have that money?"
"Everything I say for the next five minutes", Itachi says as he looks at his watch. "Nothing sexual, of course", he adds.
Before I can even deny the offer, he cuts me off.
"Open the brief case, Neji"
The case is opened, and wads of cash are lined up in rows. I'd never seen so much money before in my life, and I almost began to believe I was hallucinating.
"Twelve thousand dollars in cash", he says with a smirk. "And it'll all be yours"
My jaw almost drops. "I-I don't even know what to say", I say in astonishment.
"However, there is a catch"
My brow furrows, and I take a sip of water. "If you complete the five minutes doing everything I say, you can only have the money if you agree to go on a blind date tomorrow with my brother"
"Huh?"
"A blind date. I'm sure you've heard of them before"
I nod my head. "Yes, I have"
"I will give you some time to think about it, Uzumaki"
My eyes widen in shock. "How do you know my last name?"
He chuckles darkly, and I narrow my eyes at him. "Have you been stalking me?", I ask coldly.
"No", he denies. "But I do know who your grandfather is"
I'm so embarrassed that I cover my face with my palms. "Who told you?"
He scoffs, as if it wasn't too hard to figure out. "Rich people have a way of getting information from people. All I had to do was bribe one of your co-workers and they told me in a heart beat. It's amazing what the common man will do for three hundred dollars"
I shook my head in disbelief. "I can't believe you just throw away money like it's nothing"
He laughs, and even his body guard looks like he's about to crack. "I do not believe that money is nothing. Nobody believes that. Money is everything, and I spend it wisely. It is the emblem of success, and can be used to bring someone great joy", he brags. "But I just have so much of it that I don't mind giving it away to get what I want. That's how I get my joy"
"You pretentious bastard. Success is more than just money, it's how hard you worked to earn that money", I growl. "And I bet your parents gave you all the money you have didn't they? Trust fund brat!"
"I would be lying if I said they didn't help me get this far, but most of the money I've earned I've earned on my own. You know nothing about what I do for a living", he says sounding slightly offended by my insult. "But enough about me and my beliefs. If you don't make up your mind, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave"
I stare at the money, then at Itachi, then at Neji, and then back at the stacks of dollar bills. "At least show me a picture of your brother"
He clicks his tongue and wags his finger at me. "I'd prefer for it to be a surprise"
A/N: I am glad that people are liking the story! I always like constructive criticism, or just positive comments, so keep reviewing and what not. I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)