Author's Note: Hello, hello! I've been away from home for the past week, so I haven't had much time to write, but here is the update! About two weeks it took me . . . but it's quite a bit longer than the previous chapters. Overall, not too shabby, eh?
Disclaimer: Being away from home had nothing to do with me acquiring the rights to GA, so . . . Yeah. Don't sue.
8:05 AM – Just Outside the Office of Hyuuga Natsume, President and C.E.O. of Hyuuga Corps.
Hyuuga Natsume opened the door, wearing an irked yet rather amused look on his face and a substantial amount of coffee on his gray dress shirt. He scanned the hallway for a moment before realizing that the woman he'd just been about to interview was already gone.
"Ruka," he said to the blond man standing by the door. "I'm going to need a clean shirt and all of the information you can find on that woman in the next three hours."
"How exactly do you expect me to find information on her when she didn't even leave her name?" Ruka chuckled. "Face it, Natsume. Not every woman in Tokyo is willing to bow at your feet and submit herself to your whims for a paycheck, especially not one of a personal assistant."
Natsume shot the man a withering look.
"Just because you're my best friend, Nogi, doesn't mean I don't have the power to fire you. You're only one of the directors on the board, so you wouldn't be hard to replace." He smirked.
"Last time I checked, the duties of a director extended only to approval of new employees and did not under any circumstances include detective work on said employees' backgrounds," Ruka replied smoothly. "Oh, and a trustworthy man on the board is difficult to replace. Tobita and I have been the only people consistently on your side since your mother relinquished control of the company. Without us, Koizumi Hisashi would probably be in your position as C.E.O. by now."
Natsume sighed. "Speaking of which, there's a board meeting in eight minutes. I suppose this issue will have to wait until after lunch." He paused. "I still need that shirt, by the way."
"I'm not your P.A. . . . and I can see why no one else wants to be either," Ruka laughed.
"Tch. You make it sound like they quit, when in fact, I fire them." Because they were annoying the hell out of me and never getting any work done.
"Why don't you ask Aoi?" Ruka suggested.
"Aoi?"
"Your sister?"
"Oh, she's definitely going to have a spare shirt ironed and ready in two minutes," Natsume said sarcastically.
"Well, as the personal relations manager, I'm sure she'll have something up her sleeve."
"I suppose anything is better than showing up to the meeting like this. Women. I'll give her a call. You're dismissed, Nogi."
Ruka smiled and shook his head.
"Maybe she'll have a P.A. candidate up for an interview too. God knows he needs someone to keep him in check."
8:07 AM – First Floor of Hyuuga Corps. Headquarters
Aoi walked out of the bathroom just as Mikan stepped out of the elevator, and they immediately headed towards each other. Just as they were within talking distance however, Aoi's cellphone began to ring. She frowned and fished the phone out of her purse, glancing at the caller ID. The Annoying One.
"Hold on a sec. It's my brother calling." She flipped open the phone. "Yeah? How did everything go?" The two women slowly meandered to a padded bench near the entrance to the building.
"It was . . . fine," Natsume replied with a chuckle. "Do you have a spare shirt by any chance?"
"You want one of my shirts? Why? Did you get another of the interviewees to sleep with you or something?" Aoi inquired with a roll of the eyes. "I thought we already went over the office relationship thing."
"God, no. I want a men's shirt. For me. I had a bit of an accident with some coffee."
"Really? Not like you to be so clumsy." I, on the other hand . . .
"Is it a yes or a no, dear sister?"
"It's a yes, fortunately for you. Meet me in my office, and I'll get it for you, yeah?"
"It's a bit of an urgent situation. Could you meet me near the main conference room?"
"The one on the fourth floor? Okay, why not. I'm having a good day today. See you in a few."
All Aoi heard was the sound of her brother hanging up. Not one for pleasantries as always, she sighed.
"Hey, Mikan?" she called to her friend, who had spent the last few minutes sitting on the bench with her head against the wall and her eyes closed.
"Mmmmm, yeah?" Mikan replied drowsily.
"You mind coming up to my office with me for a minute? I need to put out a minor fire. And change into another shirt." She grimaced at the still obvious stain on her blouse.
"Sure, sure." If that'll get you on my good side after that disastrous interview.
"It'll be just a minute. I promise."
8:14 AM – Outside the Main Conference Room, Fourth Floor of Hyuuga Corps. Headquarters
"Mikan. Mikan?" Aoi gently prodded her friend who was once again dozing upright in a bench, this time on a different floor. "Turns out I need to sit in for the board meeting. It may take a while. You want to come with and observe? It'll probably be less dull than sitting here staring at the wall."
"Seriously?"
"Hey, you can stay out here for another two hours if you want to. I'm not forcing you to come."
"Fine, I'll come in. But you're buying lunch. And I'm sleeping if it gets boring." The brunette heaved herself up from the bench and walked with her friend toward the conference room.
"Deal. How did the interview go, by the way?" Aoi pushed open the heavy mahogany door.
"Not so well. He was a jerk. How he ever got anyone to work for him is beyond me." Although his looks may have factored into it, Mikan silently added. Ugh, who am I kidding? His looks are the only reason any woman would want to work for him. That, or his money. The arrogance isn't exactly working miracles of attraction or anything, after all.
Her companion laughed loudly, drawing a few disapproving looks from the people already in the room.
"I hope you're not disappointed that we didn't . . . hit it off?"
"Not really. I guess I kind of expected it. Natsume's not exactly the perfect gentleman."
The two took seats near the middle of the rectangular table.
"Natsume? What, is he your boyfriend?" Mikan asked, referring to the obvious lack of honorific in her friend's address of the company C.E.O. Well, wouldn't that be an interesting turn of events.
"No. No. No." Aoi shook her head vehemently. "He's my brother!" And someone else's potential fiancé if I have my way with things . . . but I'll save that for another time.
Mikan rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. "Oh, of course. I can't believe I didn't realize it earlier. Now that I think about it, the family resemblance is amazing. The hair. And the eyes – exactly the same shade, although yours are much friendlier, truth be told. But doesn't that mean –" Mikan's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, just as the door to the conference room opened.
"Your brother is the C.E.O of Hyuuga Corporations?"
Hyuuga Natsume, the newly identified C.E.O., briefly glanced in the direction of the loudly whispered exclamation, carefully masking the surprise he registered in seeing the woman he'd just tried to interview sitting in a private board meeting. He calmly finished buttoning his black shirt and tying his silver tie.
"Uh, yes," Aoi deadpanned. "Did I never tell you?"
"How about no? Way to leave out one of the vital facts of your life to your best friend of four years."
"It just never came up." Said best friend shrugged.
"Suuuure." Mikan put her head down on her folded arms and closed her eyes once again, pondering how Aoi was never one to discuss her family or her past, despite her warmth and friendliness.
Everyone in the room stood up as the company president approached his seat at the head of the table. Everyone besides Mikan, that is.
Natsume didn't bother hiding his irritation at the blatant nonchalance of this unnamed woman. Barging into a meeting of company higher-ups and not even standing up when the C.E.O. walks into the room? Who the hell is this woman?
"You, there. The woman with the curled brown hair. Your name?"
Everyone looked in the brunette's direction expectantly.
Mikan opened her eyes for a moment, scanning the expressions of the people in the room to make sure he was referring to her. She sat up and pushed her fringe out of her eyes with a casual sweep of the hand. "Is there a problem of some sort?"
"Besides the fact that you are currently sleeping in a private meeting and I have no clue who you are?"
"No wonder you need a P.A. You have no short-term memory, do you?"
"Chill, Natsume. She's here with me," Aoi cut in. "And Mikan, you should probably stand up. It's standard company protocol."
"I owe nothing to Hyuuga . . . san," she added, almost as an afterthought. "Company president or no." And probably another narcissistic playboy from what Aoi said on the phone.
The people in the room visibly straightened up in shock at the statement, and several people craned their necks to get a better view of this brazen woman.
Natsume rolled his eyes in annoyance and said, "Alright, alright. Enough theatrics. Since it's an urgent meeting and you're here with Aoi, I'll pardon you for now. You two need to stay after and speak with me personally." Another rich girl who thinks the world should revolve around her every whim? Well, Aoi's always had trouble choosing trustworthy friends.
Mikan just scoffed and turned to look out of the window in disdain. Theatrics? Nothing compared to the woman who stormed out of your office this morning. Probably another of your office whores. You're so easy to see through, Hyuuga. And probably nothing like your sister. No wonder she never talks about you.
Satisfied with that reaction, Hyuuga Natsume declared, "As several of you know, the head of our department of litigation and finance spontaneously decided that he's getting too old to deal with the workings of a growing international company. He resigned yesterday and went to fill a vacated position at Tanaka & Associates, the corporate law firm that's a few blocks away. Since we're still in the midst of buying up and merging with Yoshida Electronics, we're in need of a legal expert, preferably in the next forty-eight hours. If anyone has suggestions as to whom we should hire, please speak to either me or Director Nogi after this meeting."
At this suggestion, a thin man in his late fifties with graying hair said pompously, "I do not believe that is quite necessary Hyuuga-san. You see, my niece would be perfectly suited to the position."
"Your niece? Koizumi Luna has only been able to get as high up as she is by bribing people with her family's money. Since she made a disaster of her interview for P.A. this morning, she won't need to come back to try for head of our legal department. I thank you for your suggestion."
The man, Koizumi Hisashi, who was sitting to the right of Natsume, inhaled sharply and stood up, looking livid. He lifted his arm, clearly with the intention to strike the man beside him, but thought better of it and sat back down. "Watch your words, Hyuuga. If it weren't for your mother's iron will, I would be leading the company in your place."
Mikan watched the exchange with mild interest. Luna couldn't be the woman from this morning . . .? Maybe he's more complex than I give him credit for. Or maybe he's just throwing away another heiress after being pressed for marriage one too many times.
"Duly noted," Natsume replied. "Now, onto the next order of business . . ."
10:36 AM – Main Conference Room, Fourth Floor of Hyuuga Corps. Headquarters
"Is everyone clear?"
A murmur of affirmatives and a smattering of nods served as reply to my question.
"Good. Since your lunch breaks will start around eleven, feel free to leave early for today. Meeting dismissed." I felt mild satisfaction at the smile that lit up several employees' faces.
The loud clicking of shoes that could only belong to women alerted me to two of them who were quickly approaching, one being my sister, Aoi, and the other, the mysterious woman from this morning.
"Mikan, this is my brother, Hyuuga Natsume. Natsume, this is my close friend Sakura Mikan." Sakura? As in the investment tycoons, Sakura Investment Group?
"Hmm. A pleasure." I took her hand and drew it to my lips. She frowned and quickly pulled away.
"Are you usually this difficult or do I bring out the worst in you?" I asked.
"A bit of both. Mostly the latter." She smiled. Well, she has a personality at least.
"Are you here to chat or apologize for disrespecting me in front of my employees?"
"Neither," my sister interrupted. "Mikan would like to apply for the position." At this statement, Aoi's friend raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Which one? As I recall, she wasn't too pleased with me this morning, so it must be for head of company litigation? It takes an extraordinary person with brilliant qualifications and lots of experience to do such a job. I'm not sure that I'd be willing to accept anyone under thirty for the position." I looked at the woman appraisingly. "Do you even have a degree?" Or a brain? It'd be quite a change from the women who come into this company seeking a marriage for business purposes. He chuckled silently.
"I do have a degree, in corporate law – from Harvard in fact. And I just quit my position as associate at Tanaka, where I believe your old department head just transferred? But of course, this entire discussion is moot, since I'm actually not interested in the position at all and have no clue as to why Aoi would suggest otherwise." She sent Aoi a quizzical frown.
An investment giant's heiress with a law degree and a head on her shoulders . . . could be just what we need.
"Really? Well, Sakura-san, it seems that you are in fact very qualified for the position. Skilled lawyers are in high demand these days. I'm not sure that I'd be willing to let such a perfect candidate go. Is there anything I could do to convince you to take the position?"
"Hmm. Nothing short of removing yourself as company president," She smiled again, almost wickedly.
"How about having lunch with me? If you're still not convinced afterwards, you'll be free to go, no strings attached."
"Well, I would accept the invitation, but I already have lunch plans with Aoi." She shot my sister a warning look, which was happily ignored by the intended recipient.
"Um, I just realized that I have a . . . lunch meeting with a client. Yes. So sorry to cancel, Mikan, dear, but I'll take comfort in the fact that you won't be eating alone. Ciao!"
With that, Aoi trotted off. It was obvious to both of us that what she'd said was a complete lie. Now why exactly is my dear sister trying to help me?
"Shall we go, Sakura-san?"
"Do I have a choice in the matter?" she quipped.
"No, I'm afraid not."
"Very well, then. I suppose I can suffer in your company for another hour."
"You don't exactly mince your words, do you? I can tell we're going to get along."
She looked almost startled.
Hmm, this ordeal may go better than I expected. After all, it's not a bad thing to have an attractive young woman representing your company. As long as said woman isn't after your money . . . or getting a ring on your finger. Too bad that couldn't be said for any of the potential P.A.'s.
A/N: So. How was it? Good? Bad? Hilarious? Hilariously awful? Write me a review and let me know. I'd like six reviews before I post the next chapter, which is already in the works! :D As always, suggestions and comments are welcome, and I will see you all soon.
