"So I heard she wrung you hard and hung you out to dry,"

"Not unlike you and Tsubaki." Tsukasa replied with the all the fake enthusiasm he could muster after spending the last three hours reading over Makino Resorts financial statements from inception to date. "I don't know why you called me up here."

Kaede Domyouji didn't make a sound.

Tsukasa was entitled, and a bit of an arrogant prick to work with but Kaede could only blame herself when it came to the attitude of her son so she tried her best to not pick fights with him now. After all, no matter how much he wanted to rebel against her at the end of the day here he was…sitting where she'd asked him to. He was like a puppet, he fell whenever she wanted him to directly onto knives she kept specially brandished for him. For that she'd allow him whatever little tantrum would satisfy his need to imagine he came out on top. "I looked over the proposal Makino-san delivered, and it seems she's working independently on the case without the backing of her firm…and it could be considered a conflict of interest. You can contest for another lawyer to be assigned the case. We can force their hand in hiring someone we approve of."

"That's underhanded I won't do it. You're already handing negotiations from the investors end, she'll cave before long. We've stopped their cash flow and they've invested a lot into that Kyoto opening. That investment isn't turning over from what I've read and the interest on their loans grows exponentially, they haven't made payments in the last three months. Just give me another week. I'll have her down."

"That's underhanded?" Her eyebrow raised skeptically. "Tsukasa, that's what you and I are. We're underhanded, we play cheap tricks and because we don't get caught up in the question of morality, we're here." She waved her hands around the luxurious office. "So, I've arranged for you to go to one of her company's events and speak to the senior partner Tanabata-san and insist that they ask her to drop the case. If she doesn't- she'll lose her job. And they'll gain us as a client. I give you full freedom to use the seal of the company to close the deal." She slid the seal across the table and Tsukasa felt like laughing.

"Are you trying to invite her to sue you? That might have worked with anyone else but not with a lawyer mom. Most people are too dumb to think beyond their four walls, but Tsukushi Makino would come up with a likely quite reasonable plan to throw our name in the mud in the media and cost us countless more million dollars than we're willing to spend on acquiring her. So…" He slid the seal back to her. "Let me do it my way. For a week. Then lets go your way…but if you insist. Fine, I'll go to this company event." He got up from his chair and swung his jacket over his shoulders. "It'll be nice I'll get under her skin a bit." Kaede immediately began coughing loudly and at this Tsukasa couldn't help but laugh. No matter how much time passed, she still thought she could control every facet of his life. She never learned. That's why Shigeru had left…well that and he had been an asshole to the only girl he'd ever loved. "Oh relax old lady, get your head of the gutter."

"TSUKASA-"

"See you never!" He raised his hand in a non-committal wave knowing that unfortunately that would never come true for him.

With Sakurako on his arm, Tsukasa strolled into the reception Makino's company was holding with some of its key clients to support raising funds for climate change. Mind you half the people in this room were probably responsible for said change.

From the far corner of his eye, he saw the man his mother had ordered him to talk to and made a seriously strong effort to find the real cause of his coming here tonight, Makino Tsukushi. But she all but appeared missing.

"Thank you for inviting me here Domyouji-san," Sakurako's eyes glimmered with happiness and she looked like the picture of beauty in a slinky nude pink dress that made her normally slim, stiff figure appear like that of a ballerina, lithe, flexible and graceful.

"Thank you for being available so last minute Sanjou-san." He replied back kindly, his eyes lazily glanced at her when he saw in the far distance! Ah there she was! And perfect, she appeared to be alone in a dark corner of the room. What a perfect place to ambush her. "But you know we're here on business I must attend to with the Makino resort case, so please excuse me. You may have to leave alone."

"That's perfectly fine!" She agreed amicably. Sakurako was like his own personal little doormat so he wasn't surprised when she didn't mind. Were he a slightly better man he would have asked Sakurako if she was okay being left alone in a strange party and perhaps may have set her up in some conversation with the surrounding circles around them but as it was right now Domyouji was only concerned with one thing.

Makino Tsukushi. Wearing this beautiful white dress that cut just below her knees, the picture of modesty.

She was unassuming. He watched as she played a bit on her phone and looked around, a girl from her far right tossed her a distasteful look that only Domyouji himself could see because he was really looking. So she didn't get along too well with her co-workers, that was never a good sign. Mind you he himself rarely had coworkers to get along with, usually he was the only lawyer handling the case like a freelancer. Whenever he needed anything he just called in one of the guys.

He saw her giggle at her phone and felt his eyebrow irk up in confusion. She had nothing to laugh about…and well if she did, she wasn't going to in about 30 seconds.

Makino couldn't stop snickering as she looked at her phone. Kazuya had just messaged her he wasn't going to make it to the party, he was the worst plus one ever. Since high school, Kazuya had been obsessed with her and since high school Makino had tried her best to resist his lack of charm. Gomen nasaii Makino-san! I don't think I'll be seeing you soon, I have a flat tire and I'm stuck on the highway. Could you call someone for me?

Seriously who wasn't going to smile a bit at that? The guy was utterly helpless, and in some ways it was kind of adorable. Not in the way that she'd date him of course but Makino had always enjoyed taking care of people. She sent a note to an auto alliance company she used for her car and assured him someone would be on the way.

Just as she was putting her phone away a voice drawled arrogantly into her ear "Boyfriend?"

"Joke." She responded turning around quickly to see Tsukasa Domyouji smiling in an eerily honest way. "May I help you Domyouji-san? Makes sense you'd be here."

"We're actually not a client of yours yet but-" Tsukasa smirked but before he could say another word someone else called out his name.

"Domyouji-san!" Makino's boss fast approached and Domyouji cursed his mother silently in his head. Hell she'd probably all but signed the deal and this guy must have been beyond anxious already to sign them on as customers. "How are you?"

"All well and good Tanabata san-" He proceeded to stressfully engage in useless chatter, Tanabata stayed entirely too long and Tsukasa was forced to discuss inane things like how his kids are, and whether his own mother would be attending Wimbledon this year and how Tanabata-san sure hopes they can have a great discussion on how Federer will perform and has she been able to lock him down in a suitable endorsement yet- and on and on and on this old guy went.

Tsukushi smirked behind her hand, watching Domyouji's face grow tenser with every second that passed. She couldn't interject as easily into the conversation, but she couldn't let the guy be tortured any longer either- no matter how amusing it was to watch his eyebrow twitch. "Sir, I think Gou-san was looking for your earlier. He asked me to tell you but it slipped my mind until now," She interrupted and saw Tanabata-san give her a look that said she'd definitely be hearing about this later.

Well, as it was she couldn't care too much. "Well…you just let me know if you need anything Domyouji-san! Anything at all." He looked pointedly at her, which made Makino frown as she saw him look back at him.

"Ah, that won't be necessary, but Domyouji Zaibatsu thanks you for your consideration and we do look forward to working with you after the glowing reviews Hanazawa-san has given you." Domyouji offered him one last handshake and Tanabata-san was on his way away from them. He let out a sigh and looked at her, thankfully. "Thank you for that."

"From what I heard you have no patience for nonsense…so what was that?" She questioned slightly curious.

Domyouji took a sip from his champagne flute and finished the glass putting it down on the table beside them. That's what he used to be like, it was true. No one could push his buttons, hell no one could talk to him and it had been amazing to see fear in people's eyes just as they looked at him. "Your boss is going to talk to my boss…simple as that," That and he was trying his best to keep his anger in check, he didn't just burst out rudely at people anymore- but god he missed it. "Accompany me to the drinks table?" He didn't wait for her response and since Makino didn't have much to do as the odd one out at this party she decided to follow him for no reason other than he was a decent source of entertainment.

Plus, when else would she have a casual opportunity to study her opponent? "So you have a boss?"

"Since I was born. You don't?"

"Right your mother…how is she?"

"Hell bent on ruining you, but she can't handle that herself...so here I am. Disrupting your party, trying my best to make sure you don't get fired because she'd like to take the easy way out." His honesty was a little jarring but Tsukushi only sighed a deep and long sigh that indicated she was exhausted. She didn't react violently like he'd expected her to with claims of how she'd make sure they were taken to court for how dirty Kaede Domyouji played her games.

"Must be nice to have such loyal lackeys." She teased instead.

"That's what I keep telling her!" He joked and was pleasantly surprised by how appeasing Tsukushi's smile appeared to him.

She had a kind of soft sadness on her face as she looked around the room leaning against the table as she picked up a champagne glass herself and took a large gulp. "She doesn't need to go that far you know…I'll probably leave soon anyways." She crossed her feet over each other and took another gulp. "You know what you imagined being a lawyer as?" Domyouji expected that she probably wanted him to say that he did, but he didn't. He didn't want to throw off this tentative cease fire that they had between them either though. He was just starting to lull her into a false sense of security…so he decided to stay quiet. Be the active listener, women loved that didn't they? "It's supposed to be kind of great, you're supposed to end up being that person who drafts the way the country moves forward, you fight for justice and the professors make you feel like the world is on your shoulders and you can bear its weight and-"

So this was the type of girl she was…just and righteous and the type to get highly disappointed when reality hit her hard in the face and she saw how ugly people really could be. "And it's not like that?"

"You tell me…I spend most of my hours running errands for seniors, dealing with assholes who find themselves being sued by ex-wives and those are just the nice guys! The bad ones are in trouble with the government for breaking environmental laws, insider trading, bribing, murder-" She huffed out little puffs of air filled with a hate she felt for her job. "I'm not that type of girl. I can't stand on that desk and watch-"

Now he really couldn't help her because she'd all but described everything he'd helped to clean up on behalf of his mother in the years since he'd become a lawyer. He'd never had any rosy starry-eyed dreams of being a lawyer though. He knew why he was 'accepted' to Todai Law and had no misunderstanding about the tasks he was expected to perform. So Domyouji couldn't help but interrupt. "Then why didn't you become a prosecutor?"

"They're even worse!" Makino huffed again this time with a disdain that made her eyebrows furrow and Domyouji ponder whether she realized that it made them look like one long line. "So focused on putting people away, they ignore the innocent people and drive them to mad acts of passion and the number of prosecutors who make these sickening deals with these bribers they're all just waiting for a big payout-" Suddenly she became highly aware that she was talking to exactly the type of lawyer she hated and cleared her throat nervously. There was no need for Domyouji Tsukasa to be so attentive and, dare she say it, friendly with her to the extent to hear about her inner turmoil on her career choice. "So yes, your mother needn't worry. I'll be out of here on my own in a little bit."

"I'm glad." She frowned. "It'll make taking you down a little easier. If you don't have an income I can pressure you into a cheaper deal to save your family's fate." She was about to yell at him when she saw an irritating entertained look in his eyes. The guy thought he could tease her!

"Don't you dare-"

"Tsukushi-san, would you like to dance?" He turned to face her full on, moving just the slightest bit closer than she would have liked because she could all but feel his breath on her cheeks.

Now that they were so close to each other, Tsukasa admired the way her eyes blinked quickly, and he saw the slight firming of her jawline and he couldn't help but wonder if this is what she looked like when she was about to kiss someone. Tense and scared but doing a bang up great job of covering it up.

"Aren't we already dancing around each other?" She shot back in as polite of a rejection as she could backing into the table she was practically sitting on now just to put some healthy distance between them.

"With our words, sure, but it'd be nice to see if our bodies could keep up with our tongues." She almost spat her champagne out but she managed to swallow with some difficulty patting her chest. "Oh come on, Tsukushi- I'll have you know I'm rather good at dancing and you know what they say about men who dance."

"The same thing they say about men who toot their own horns a bit too much?" She shot back crudely and saw whatever pretense of nicety he was offering her flash out of his eyes for a second. By the time it was back it was too late, she could tell now. Tsukasa Domyouji was not this nice, no he was acting...and she'd almost fallen for it. "Plus I'm not that great of a dancer, I'll have you know."

"So let me lead you- it'll be a nice lesson for the future." He grinned down at her offering her his hand again. Like a suspect in a criminal trial she narrowed her eyes at it, trying to prompt a confession of guilt. Domyouji watched her look at it ever more doubtfully and knew every moment that passed it became more and more unlikely that she would take his hand she made the decision for her, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the dance floor without her permission.

"What are you doing?" She squeaked as he turned around and whipped her around, wrapping his arm close around her waist. Now that their bodies were flush against each other, he could feel her heart pumping against his chest through the thin fabric of her dress. Every limb formed to his shape as she tried unsuccessfully to distance herself from him.

"Do you usually ask questions where the answer is more than obvious? We're dancing Tsukushi-san. You should quit being a lawyer. Tsukushi felt her body turn to brick. As promised, Tsukasa was more than skilled enough for the both of them. He managed to lug her clumsy figure around the floor with relative ease, keeping her on her toes as he flipped her over and over and she couldn't help but feel dizzy as they ran through the room quickly, matching pace with some of the better dancers in the room. She felt the attentive eyes of people in the room around them and tried to back away again.

Tsukasa felt her shift and looked down at her to see her frowning up at him. Tsukasa found himself smiling ever more. Something about irritating her, pleased him greatly, god she should never find out how much he found himself enamored with the way her lower lip jutted out just begging to be pulled out in a fury or pushed back in with force. "Are you usually so pushy?"

"Of course, people don't know what's best for them."

"And who made you the god, judge and jury on what's best for a person?"

"You'll find out on Monday." Tsukushi made a move to get away from him again as the song came to an end but he only held her closer bending his ear to her face. "Ready to run away?"

"This is highly inappropriate." She conceded and looked at him with some lack of emotion for once in the evening. "It'd be great if you could let me go now." He considered declining her request but in the situation they were in, with her coworkers and no doubt his mothers spies in the room, she was right. This was inappropriate regardless of how much he was enjoying himself.

"Well- I think this brings an end to my evening too then. I really was only here to talk to you." He let his hands slip off her waist, happy to feel a softness remained in his hands like he'd soaked his hand in memory foam and the feel of Makino Tsukushi remained on him.

God he needed a screw, this plain little thing was tempting him? Seriously? "Didn't you come here with a girl?" She asked off handedly.

"Sakurako can take care of herself, she won't mind." He replied back rubbing his head. "Being nice to you was extremely difficult I hope you appreciate that...and don't expect it to last."

"Yes of course, thank you for pressuring me into dancing with you." The sarcasm in her tone of voice didn't go unnoticed. "See you Monday, Domyouji-san."

He leaned forward to kiss her hand but she pulled it out of his grasp rubbing it protectively frowning. So instead he chose to come closer to her face and pressed his lips lightly to her cheek, pausing to blow words into her mind that would no doubt stay entrenched until she saw him again. "I look forward to seeing that frown on your face with bated breath.

As he smiled and walked away Makino couldn't help but feel she'd have been better off spending the night with her phone.

What had just happened?