My Boss The Genius
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PART TWELVE
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Temari stared a little unsurely across the table at the young girl with strange eyes. She didn't show any of her uncertainty on her face, of course. A Sabaku always maintained a poker face. And a Sabaku never lost a staring match. Ever.
Temari narrowed her eyes at the girl, wondering for the nth time what she was doing, having a staring contest with a child.
It started yesterday, after she'd gone shopping with Ino and the paler blonde had offered a trip out to lunch the next day. Temari, in her stupidity, had accepted this offer. In the hour promptly following her exit from the office, Ino had texted her (the paler blonde had wrangled Shikamaru's neck for Temari's cell number) with the address of a restaurant and the name of the reservation.
Stupidly, Temari had not looked the restaurant up online and instead simply followed directions to get to it, realizing after arriving that this wasn't a simple lunch at a little mom and pop shop, oh no. Instead, Temari found herself standing in front of a hotel, riding in an elevator to get to the fiftieth floor where the fancy restaurant of the hotel was located, and then being shown to a VIP table after uttering the name of one Hinata Hyuuga.
What the hell had she just gotten herself into?
To make matters worse, she wasn't the first to arrive. After being shown to her seat, Temari had to endure the stares of some regal, perfectly postured child who had arrived before her. The only reason Temari was sure the girl even acknowledged her presence was because she was just being incessantly stared at.
"Oh! Hanabi-chan, you're here already?"
Temari turned (oh thank god the staring contest was over) and saw Hinata Hyuuga approaching them with the hostess trailing behind her. Hanabi had stood up immediately upon sighting Hinata, bowing shortly.
"Aneue, I hope your trip was smooth."
Hinata smiled kindly at her younger sister, patting her gently on the head. "Hanabi-chan, you don't need to be so formal," she told her, and Temari saw the younger girl flush very faintly before sitting back down. Hinata sat next to her and sent Temari a dazzling smile. "I'm so happy you decided to join us, Temari-san. It'll be nice to finally chat with you."
"Ah—likewise!" Temari said, hoping that she hadn't just stuttered. The Hinata she remembered at the bridal shop was a bit more shy, but right now it seemed like that shyness had decided to disappear. Like her younger sister, Hinata was poised and elegant, her smile soft and feminine. It made Temari jealous; no wonder Naruto loved her so much. She was so beautiful it practically seemed like a sin to not love her.
"Hanabi-chan, how was school?" Hinata asked, turning to her younger sister.
"It was fine. But Konohamaru dropped by during last period to annoy me." Hanabi's eyes narrowed and a small pout graced her lips. Hinata laughed.
"He really goes out of his way to spend time with you," she said. Hanabi made a face, and Temari smirked. So the girl didn't just have only one facial expression after all.
"He's just being annoying. He thinks he's better than me just because he graduated a little earlier. But that's only because he's a year older; it has nothing to do with skill." Hanabi turned her nose up, as if she imagined him in the room and refused to let his ego get the better of him. Hinata just laughed into her hand, and Temari had the inkling that Hanabi's dislike of Konohamaru had less to do with actually disliking him, and more to do with repressed feelings.
Ino flounced in at that moment, a bright smile on her face as usual. "Hello my lovelies! How are we this fine afternoon?" she said. Ino took a seat next to Temari and across from Hanabi. Ino was a naturally cheerful person, but Temari and Hinata exchanged suspiscious glances. This level of excitement was strange, even for Ino.
But then Temari noticed for the first time that Ino's ears didn't just have one hole in each lobe, but two. One of the holes had a simple silver knob earring in it, and the other had a sparkling diamond earring. Hinata noticed the diamond earring as well, and a knowing smile spread over her lips.
"Those are very pretty earrings Ino-chan," she said. Ino beamed proudly, even brushing her hair out of her face to show both of them off. The excitement in her face made Temari's stomach fill with dread. Ino smiled a lot, but the Sabaku always knew what that particular smile meant. They could always be traced back to a certain genius boss of hers.
"Aren't they? Shikamaru got them for me as a belated birthday present," she said. The earrings sparkled and glittered and Temari's hand unconsciously touched her ear, rubbing the lobe between her fingers but knowing there was no hole there. She wondered if Shikamaru liked girls with pierced ears; didn't it make them more feminine or something? Not that Temari thought he cared at all about feminine girls; he never cared for the other secretaries who flounced around him in short skirts and red lipstick and low-cut blouses.
But Ino flounced around and wore short skirts and red lipstick and low-cut blouses. If he had a type, wouldn't it be girls like that? But Temari already knew that Shikamaru didn't have a type. He didn't need one.
Men in love didn't have 'types'.
"Ino-chan… didn't Shikamaru give you a present on your birthday?" Hinata asked teasingly. "I remember it was a cat, quite a chubby one too." Ino's eyes sparked in anger.
"Shuu isn't fat! He's just big-boned, okay?" Ino sat back against her chair, arms crossed with her lips in a pout. "And that was not a birthday present. Shikamaru just gave me Shuu so he wouldn't have to take care of him. Lazy bastard." Ino started grumbling under her breath, something about geniuses and laziness and how she had to get the one genius with no motivation for anything whatsoever.
Hanabi leaned forward, eyeing the earrings critically. "Are those diamond earrings? He must have spent a lot of money on them," she said. Ino snorted and flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"He may be lazy, but he's not stupid. If he got me anything other than diamonds, I would have castrated him."
The waitress appeared, inquiring about drinks and entrees'. Temari hadn't realized the menu had been sitting in front of her this whole time, on her plate, and flushed with embarrassment as she hurriedly read over the menu. Normally when Temari thought of fancy restaurants she imagined they would serve some kind of fancy French cuisine, but this one seemed to serve a strange amalgamation of Japanese and French food. When Temari looked up to watch Hinata speak fluently to the waitress in Japanese, she immediately knew she was out of her comfort zone. A bit panicked, she turned to Ino.
"Don't worry," Ino winked, "Hinata has it all under control."
What Ino meant by that was Hinata simply ordered everything on the menu. The menu itself wasn't particularly long; in fact it was just a simple piece of paper with about seven items on it, including appetizers and desserts. Hinata, remembering something she forgot to do, turned to Temari. "Temari-san, do you have any food allergies?" Temari shook her head and the other woman carried on with her massive order.
Temari was a bit befuddled by the whole thing. She had never been taken to such a fancy restaurant, and she certainly had never had someone order for her before. Hanabi just sat quietly, as perfectly poised as when Temari had arrived and waited patiently for her older sister to be done. Ino was fiddling around on her phone, obviously used to the way the Hyuuga's had luncheons. Temari knew it wouldn't strike Ino as odd; the other blonde was practically born to be pampered. But Temari found it wholly unsettling. She stamped those feelings down, determined not to offend what was clearly a very influential family.
She would never pretend to care how much money someone had, but she also wasn't stupid enough to offend them either. Let the lion sleep, so they say.
The appetizers came first, then the entrees and finally the dessert. The food itself was delicious, Temari had to admit. Her lifestyle was restricted to take-out and homemade dinners, food that was only average in taste. She wondered briefly how much this lunch would cost her (perhaps an entire paycheck) but was surprised when she was told not to worry about the check.
"It's my treat," Hinata said with a smile. She attempted to protest—a Sabaku didn't need pity—but the Hyuuga heiress was strangely firm about it. It's not as if she had much of a choice either; Hinata handed her credit card to the hostess upon her arrival.
Besides, it seemed like the luncheon also doubled as a business meeting. A good portion of the conversation was centred on the wedding flowers for Hinata's big day. Temari thought she would have been bored listening to two women tittering about wedding flora, but it was surprisingly interesting. Ino had an idea to hang ogiku from the ceiling, creating a mystical feeling of entering an elaborate garden. Even Hanabi had a few suggestions of her own. She hadn't struck Temari as a very feminine girl.
While Hinata and Ino hashed out the last details, Temari noticed someone approaching their table. His hair was unnaturally long for a man, but it was perfectly brushed and tied back in a low ponytail. His suit and tie were plain black, but somehow elegant.
"Hinata-sama, Hanabi-sama. Have you finished?" he asked as he approached. Ino waved at him, smirking.
"Neji! Haven't seen you in awhile," she commented. The man named Neji looked over at Ino, inclining his head slightly.
"Ino-san. I hope today's meeting was productive," he said. His voice was smooth, like rich honey. Most women would find him attractive, since he gave off a very 'pretty boy' appearance, but she wasn't into that kind of thing. She preferred smirking lazy geniuses herself (and maybe roguish grinning dog-lovers too?).
"I'll take care of everything, no worries!" Ino said. Neji inclined his head again, but this time in thanks. It was then that his strange white eyes flickered over to Temari. She felt her spine stiffen once her gaze locked with his.
"Temari no Sabaku, I presume?" he asked. Temari nodded. Neji held out his hand in greeting. "It's a pleasure. I am cousin to Hinata-sama and Hanabi-sama." They shook hands briefly, but Temari noticed the short bow he performed when their hands touched. She was starting to realize how traditionally Japanese the Hyuuga family was. They held no reservation in adding honorific's to people's names, regardless of whether or not those people would know what honorifics were.
"It's very nice to meet you," Temari said as she pulled her hand back. She wanted to say more, but found the words stuck in her throat. These ritzy, high-society type people made her uncomfortable. Temari knew that she was too brash and uncaring of social niceties to really get along with them, and somehow that knowledge made her doubt herself a bit. She didn't like being out of her element; it felt too… out of control for her tastes.
"Shall we go?" Neji asked, and everyone began gathering their things. They made their way into the elevator, and Neji turned to Hinata as he remembered he had something to tell her. "Hinata-sama, I only just arrived from work. Someone from my division would like to speak with you shortly. It is about one of your cases." When Temari stepped out of the elevators and into the lobby of the hotel, her face started heating up after catching sight of Hinata's visitor.
"Oh! Kiba-kun, did you find what I was looking for?" Hinata asked, stepping forward to greet her friend. Faintly, Temari's brain registered the new information that told her Hinata was a lawyer, like Shikamaru, but it was hard to consciously process that information when Kiba caught her eye and smiled roguishly at her. When Hinata wasn't looking, he even winked at her.
"Well then, Temari-san, Ino-chan, thank you for joining me for lunch," Hinata said, beginning the cacophony of goodbyes as each person prepared to part ways. Temari stepped out of the hotel alone, fishing around in her purse for her phone to double-check where her bus pass was. She almost jumped out of her skin when a warm hand landed on her shoulder. When she whirled around, Kiba was grinning at her.
"Want to grab some coffee?"