Unapproachable Subjects

Gippal lifted Rikku up, still unsure of what he had heard. There was no way she had just told him she loved him. She must have been dreaming about someone else. But thinking about that just made Gippal angry. He didn't want her dreaming about anyone except for him. He gently placed her on the bed and pulled the blankets over her. There was no way he could undress her without doing something he would for sure get in trouble for. He walked back out to the couch and plopped down on a cushion. It was going to be a long night.

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Rikku woke up to the insistant telephone ringing in her ear.

"What?" She yelled at the cordless phone on the nightstand beside the bed. The thing did not stop ringing. "Gippal?! PHONE!" She yelled, hopping he would pick it up. Of course not. She sighed and hit the talk button. "Gippal residence." She muttered into the phone.

"Hello. This is Valentina calling. I was wondering if Gippal was around? I desperately need to talk with him." I'll bet you do, Rikku thought. Out loud she said,

"Sure, let me go look for him." Rikku hefted herself out of bed, dismayed to see her dress all wrinkled. She walked out of the bedroom and found Gippal sitting on the couch. "Hey, phone's for you." He didn't budge. Rikku jogged up to him and giggled. He had fallen asleep sitting on the couch. She poked at his arm but still he didn't move. Finally she shoved him as hard as she could andhe fell sideways on the couch and bounced back up. She laughed as Gippal freaked out.

"I swear I didn't steal it! Please don't hurt me, I was just borrowing it for a second!" Gippal cried out. This made Rikku laugh even hard. Gippal's eyes focused and he slowly realized where he was.

"The phone's for you Gippal" Rikku said between laughs. Gippal got up and tried to walk with some dignity to the bedroom. He grabbed the phone from the bedstand.

"Gippal here." To his dismay, it was Valentina on the other end.

"Gippal dear, it's Valentina! So good to hear your voice. I was calling because they are allowing people back out in the desert. Bikanel is not so bad anymore, so excavation can continue. I was thinking we should meet a Djose temple and discuss working arrangements." Gippal sighed as Valentina went on. He definitely did not want to work with Valentina and he knew Rikku would not want to either. He would just have to tell her formally today.

"Sure, I'll meet you at Djose temple in about half an hour. Meet me in my office." Gippal hung up before she could argue. He went to the bathroom and hopped in the shower.

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Rikku jumped back from the door as soon as she heard Gippal say he would meet her. Good thing she did because a moment later, Gippal ran for the bathroom. She had to go to Djose temple to keep and eye on Valentina. She wouldn't want her moving in on Gippal after her impression last night. Unfortunately though, her dress was all wrinkled and Djose was often very dirty, since there was machina everywhere and work people paraded through the temple at all hours. She would have to dress for the occassion. She went into the bedroom and dug through her clothes. She quickly picked a pair of overall khaki shorts and her yellow bikini top. She grabbed her boots and a scrunchie, and sat on the bed waiting for her turn in the shower. If only she could join him...

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Gippal rushed his shower and threw on some clothes. He was definitely not looking forward to this. Rin might decapitate him. But it couldn't be helped, Valentina would just get in his way. He walked down the hallway and called out to Rikku.

"I'm going to Djose temple to take care of some business. I'll be back later, ok?" He heard her yell out her consent as she went into the bathroom. Good, if he's lucky she'll take a long bath and be just getting out when he got back.

After a quick hover ride, Gippal walked in to Djose temple. He saw all of his workers milling around him and didn't feel his usual joy at seeing his baby thriving and alive with busybodies. Instead he felt gloomy, knowing what was going to come. He walked to his office and found it empty. Obviously Valentina still believed in being fashionably late. He sat at his desk and went through some of his memos. He did have one that said that some diggers could be sent out to Bikanel later today. Not all the work could continue but a small area was diggabel again. He knew Rikku would jump at the chance.

"Knock,knock..." Valentina's voice floated into the room. Gippal looked up and pasted a smile on his face.

"Good morning Valentina. You look lovely as usual. Please have a seat." Gippal gestured to the couch at the far side of his office. She shoo her head so he sat down by himself.

"It's a little too dirty in here for me to sit. Wouldn't want to ruin my skirt." She said as she ran her hands down her sides. Today she was wearing a sking tight pencil skirt in a cream color with a bright red sily blouse. She would probably be distracting a lot of his male workeres today. Not him though, her attractiveness just didn't appeal to him.

"Well, I was thinking Valentina... I don't think the job as my personal assistant is really suited for you. There are plenty of other jobs related to Djose temple that I think would suit you better. For example, doing tv interviews and marketing for us."

"Gippal, as much as you try, you are not taking this job from me. I plan to be your personal assistant, whether you like it or not. If you try and fire me, I'll share our scandalous sexy past with Rikku."

"Valentina, we don not have a scandalously sexy past. We live together for four days and that's it! Nothing sexy or scandalous about that at all. You would be lying!" Gippal nearly shouted.

"I , you are not realizing that I don't care. I want to be your personal assistant and I'm hoping by being in such close quarters all the time, we will be able to take the assistant out of p.a." Valentina leaned down as she spoke, making herself eye level with Gippal. "I plan to have you Gippal. You won't be able to resist me forever."

"Want a bet?" Gippal retorted.

"I try not to bet with people who I know will lose. Besides, taking money from friends makes for bad relationships. You think she's the one for you Gippal but she is just a child. She's not experienced like we are. I know a thing or two that would make your head spin Gippal. And, I'm even willing to show you right here." She murmured as she lifted her skirt up. Gippal nearly fainted when he saw she was not wearing any underewear. She gave him a coy smile and pulled her skirt back down. " I know you want to play Gippal." She looked directly at his crotch which, to his embarassment, had gotten hard from the display. He couldn't help it though. He was only human after all. That didn't mean he wanted her.

"I think you should leave Valentina." She laughed out loud.

"I think you are lying Gippal." With that she grabbed his face in her hands and pressed her mouth to his. Within seconds he felt her tongue in his mouth. He got over his shocked and tried pushing her away. At that moment his office door opened and the last person he wanted to see walked in. Dressed in her khaki overalls she looked adorable, but the look on her face was not adorable at all. It was a mix of shock, pain and anger.

"Sorry. I guess I should have knocked. I just figured this was a work place, where people actually worked!" Rikku put emphasise on the word work. Valentina had got up with a smile on her face. Rikku took one look at her and the pain on her face grew. " I just came to let you know I'm going out into the desert now. A small area is clear so I figured I might as well start earning my keep. I'll see you whenever." With that she turned on her heel and left the room.

"I hate you." Gippal glowered at Valentina. She just smiled and sat at his desk.