-XXX-

SASUKE

"I want to employ you as my fiancée."

Miss Haruno sat in silence, looking at me in shock. Slowly, she got up from the table, stood in front of me, and after a long time, color returned to her pale face. She furrowed her brows in such a way that I subconsciously expected her to explode in anger. On the one hand, I was curious to see how it would come out, because Miss Haruno had always been very calm to the point of being timid around me.

"Do you think it's funny?" She said in a muffled voice that quavered. "While I don't know what this new provocation you have in mind for me is, Mr. Uchiha, I assure you that this is too much." She walked past me and without hesitation made her way to the hallway she had entered the house through a while ago. She grabbed her coat off the rack and along with her purse, clutched them to her, determined to leave with tear drops forming at her eyes.

"Wait..." With a sigh I followed her in an attempt to explain everything, but just before the front door she turned around abruptly and I was left standing like a chained man.

"Is this some kind of game or a plan of yours so you can use it against me or so you can maybe laugh about it?" She didn't refrain from making a comment that made it clear that she was genuinely hurt by this situation. I didn't know that she thought I was capable of such a thing, but on the other hand I had never shown her that I wasn't, so her remark was justified.

Yes, I imagined she might not be pleasantly surprised. It was one of my scenarios that I had prepared myself for in advance. But this was different. She looked wronged and she had never reacted like that in front of me before.

"I know you can't stand me." She gulped. "The more I try, the more hostile you get, and I have no idea why exactly. It's like I'm purposely annoying you... Isn't it enough that you try all sorts of nonsense on me at work? You want to make my day miserable after work so that you can..." She paused as if she didn't know what word to use. Her breathing was ragged and she was letting me know everything she'd probably been bottling up since she started working for me in her.

"What's your point anyway? Getting me fired? What on earth is it about me that bothers you so much? Don't I always do exactly what you want me to do?" She shouted at the top of her lungs, that by the look on her face, startled even herself. I honestly wasn't even sure I could ever give her the answers she was looking for. It wasn't really anything against her person.

I've had many secretaries before her, both capable and incompetent. Attractive women and less attractive women. But they were all obsessed. I don't know if they were crazy about my looks, my success or my money. They pandered to me, flattered me, made the workplace atmosphere uncomfortable, and after a while it got so annoying that I decided to make all the secretaries quit until Danzo gave me a male secretary. I had already asked him to do so, but he denied my request, saying that I will have a female secretary because it is a company rule. Bastard.

This was the real and only truth about why secretaries were quitting one by one. No one knew about it except Naruto, and I wanted to keep it that way. It's none of anyone's business.

And then came Miss Haruno.

She was quiet, modest, extremely capable and, apart from her appearance, did not stand out from the crowd. People would say I'm not very social, but I'm not blind. When Miss Haruno began working for me, despite her obvious reservations, she didn't deny the fact that she found me attractive. She smiled prettily at me, blushing and making puppy eyes like other women, but this was different. Her demeanor, speech, actions and willingness gave off more of a warmth, sincerity and innocence. As cheesy as it sounded, it was a fact.

I had trouble from a work standpoint finding an excuse to fire her on a reasonable basis. That's why I tried to catch her on the little things, but I just couldn't. She was damn near perfect, and the fact that I couldn't get rid of her often made me so irked that I often vented my misplaced grudge on her. And then we were in this situation where I needed a big favor from her that I in no way deserved.

I'm glad Itachi is abroad and doesn't see what his little brother is up to, because I'm not exactly proud of it. But this is about achieving my goal...

I was snapped out of her expected and yet for me unseen outburst of fury by the click of the lock on the front door, which she had just opened wide. I gathered myself just in time to rush in front of her and prevent her from leaving. I reached behind me and pushed the door to slam it shut.

"This is no trick. Listen to me." I tried to coax her. She was so close I could feel her body trembling. "Please..." It bothered me that I had to beg, and that I looked like my life depended on her, but I cared so much about the job at Namikaze Group that my life really did depend on her now, metaphorically speaking.

Fortunately, her shoulders slumped and she nodded in agreement. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she had moved herself away from the front door and went to the living room, where she sat down on the sofa and put her things close to her. I took a seat directly across from her on the glass coffee table so I could see straight into her face. I had to do my best not to send her home immediately, because she looked like a scared rabbit.

Her previous words echoed in my head. This woman will hopefully be playing my fiancée in the future, and she'll have to play it to the best of her ability. But that's only if she agrees to my suggestion, and so far it didn't look like it.

"Like I said, I want to leave ROOT Inc. and go to a completely different company that operates on different principles than the ones Danzo has established here. There, collaboration and family come first." I outlined and watched her reaction. She furrowed her eyebrows, but said nothing. "But in order to get me hired there, I have to convince them that those horrible rumors about me aren't true."

"Which means?" She asked hesitantly, and I was relieved to have her attention. On the other hand, I was irritated that I would now have to give her a list of my supposedly bad qualities so she could get a better idea. It scared me to think that this was just the potential beginning of a lot of things I'd have to swallow.

"Arrogant, selfish..." I sighed. "A bully at work and an ice cube in private. Got an idea?" I said simply and immediately snapped in annoyance.

She tilted her head slightly. "I'm sorry, but… Can I be honest with you?" I nodded to signal for her to continue. "You are." Her voice came out hard. I could tell she wasn't trying to be malicious, she was just stating reality. She was obviously slowly losing her grip on what she was telling me. She was probably starting to realize herself that she was going to get fired one way or another, so nothing worse would happen to her if she finally got her tongue untied.

"I know..." I stood up and took a few steps. "But I am also giving my best to my work and I am sick of Danzo..." My body shuddered with rage, just remembering that old man. I turned around and sat across from her again.

"With Minato, I'll get much further and higher in my career, I know it!" I gritted through my teeth and she just stared at me in dismay. "You mean Namikaze Minato? You want to work for Naruto's father in Namikaze Group?"

"Yeah..."

"But they are a family company, their principles are completely different from ours. They don't take new employees there, only rarely." She said skeptically, knowing how things worked at the Namikaze Group. Of course, that she knew this stuff didn't surprise me. Smart woman. I smirked inwardly. "They just happen to have a position open, rarely... and I want it."

"I would understand everything..." She looked at me calmly, obviously in a better emotional state by now. "I just can't figure out what I have to do with it." She shook her head, the answer still out of sight for her complete peace of mind.

"Namikaze Minato wouldn't hire someone who didn't fit his mold. A family man." I continued to explain, knowing that Miss Haruno would jump in again with a pointed remark about how I wasn't the family type. "I have to convince him that I'm not as bad a person as people say. "

"So?" She asked me to continue as I paused for a brief second.

"I told him that I want to leave ROOT Inc. because I'm in love and want to change the direction of my life." It was a cliché, and probably my ears turned red with embarrassment the moment I said it, but I ignored it because it was necessary.

"Into who?" She looked at me in astonishment with the exact same question written in her eyes.

I leaned forward a little towards her and rested my forearms on my thighs. "In you."

She widened her eyes in shock. "Are you serious or are you joking?" I wasn't looking forward to this part of the announcement at all. She took a deep breath as she tried to keep her emotions in check. "I should probably go..." She said softly, almost disappointed, and I didn't know how else to convince her. Grippin' the straps of her purse tightly in her hands, she got up from the sofa and looked down at me.

I think we're done here. I thought to myself and lowered my head with a sigh. I looked down at my hands with a feeling of being helpless. I slowly began to wonder if I knew of another woman who could help me. But the more I tried to find someone like Miss Haruno in my mind, I realized that I didn't know anyone like her. Maybe Naruto would know someone, he has plenty of friends. But I'm sure at least half of his friends are tied to the underworld of the Japanese Yakuza, and I don't want a fiancée connected to a similar backstory, even if they're nice people now. A fake fiancée.

"You're not joking, are you?"

I was brought out of my thoughts by the soft voice of the woman whose tiny feet I was just looking at. I hadn't noticed that she was still standing in front of me, watching me. My brain immediately started working and creating new thoughts that I didn't realize she hadn't left. I raised my head and looked at her. She opened her mouth and closed it again. She was about to say something and then suddenly changed her mind. Not a sound came out of her mouth.

"Why would you do that?" At least she finally said something.

"Someone pointed out to me that you would be just the type to convince Namikaze that I had changed." I looked up so we were looking at each other directly and I gave her an honest answer. "When I thought about it, I realized that someone was right." I'm not going to name that someone, I'm not going to give that much credit to that dobe.

" But you don't even like me." She shook her head and swallowed. It didn't occur to her that this wasn't about whether I liked her or not. I need her right now. "And being in your presence isn't exactly easy either..." I had to scoff at her sincerity wrapped in polite words.

"That's something to work on."

"How?"

"The fact that I'm leaving ROOT Inc. is a done deal. And you're gonna have to leave, too." She immediately started shaking her head furiously. And how could she not when I'd already basically unemployed her. "I can't afford to leave, sir. So I must refuse your request."

"Listen, I'll pay you for this. Not only will you have to quit your job, but you'll also have to leave your apartment and start living here with me." It was only now that I realized I had dropped another big news on her. The words escaped my lips before I realized it.

"Why should I live here with you?" Her breath caught in her throat, and I mentally scolded myself in frustration that I hadn't waited until she approved the first part of my plan. Dropping it on her like this all at once probably wasn't the best idea.

"I implied to Minato that we were living together." I replied.

"Why would you do that?!" She exclaimed in the same sentence of surprise as a moment ago.

"It just came out that way, there's no point in dwelling on it further. Back to my offer." I changed the subject so we could finally come to some sort of conclusion.

"What would be expected of me?" She asked simply, and I felt a stone fall from my heart that she didn't immediately dismiss it and even ask for details. It was as if Miss Haruno had knocked down the concrete wall we had built together and was now willing to listen to me properly. I pondered her question for a moment. At other times, I would have immediately thought through such important things to the last detail, but here I just couldn't. This situation was very special and unpredictable.

"You will live here, show up at my important meetings, and present yourself as my fiancée..." With a sigh a stood up and walked away from her to give us some space. I went into the kitchen to get a glass of water for myself. I left Miss Haruno to think about it quietly for a while. I took one glass of water for her as well. But I think she might need to drink something stronger. I placed her glass on the table in front of her. "We're going to have to set ground rules and get to know each other more to appear convincing."

She sat back down in her seat, automatically reached for her glass of water and dumped it in at once. She seemed calmer and didn't seem to argue, so it was time for her to make a final decision. So I sat down across from her again to make sure she was listening to me, my hands resting on my legs.

"And it has to be fast. We are invited to the first event this weekend..." I said with a snort that wasn't even meant to hide my reluctance to go anywhere. I didn't seek out social events, and if I had to go somewhere, I was there for a while, greeted everyone important, and left after a while.

"This one? This weekend?" She squeaked cautiously, hoping I'd misspoken.

"Hn." I confirmed. "You don't have to move until then, but we need to know at least the basics about each other so it looks like we..." She looked at me with those green eyes, taking in every word I said as if she was preparing herself in advance for the next shocking thing to come. "Like we're getting along, Miss Haruno." I couldn't help the mischievous remark.

"Maybe you should stop calling me 'Miss Haruno' then." After a long time, it was me who was momentarily surprised by something that was said in this room. However, she said it with a composed face. She was really thinking about how to make it work. Suddenly, a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders because it looked like our deal was going to happen after all.

I had to smirk at her observations. "Right, that probably wouldn't look good, Sakura..."

She didn't say anything, just dropped her gaze to her lap, her fingers fiddling with a loose thread on her blouse. I could tell from her pinkish cheeks that she was embarrassed by me calling her by her name, which didn't make me particularly comfortable either. I cleared my throat and moved on. "I'll buy you new clothes and provide you with spending money as well. If you agree to this deal, you won't be short of anything."

She lifted her chin and opened her mouth to say something important. Until now, I'd never noticed that she had a little dimple on it, indicative of her stubbornness. "How much do you want to pay me?" She asked cautiously, not knowing whether my amount would be outrageously high or ridiculously low.

"You get $10,000 a month, and if this charade lasts more than six months..." I sighed at the idea, because that would be a drag. "Then I'll double the amount." Of course, I figured this theater wasn't going to be cheap, but these were minor quibbles to me. "Then if we get married, you'll get a bonus. After the divorce, you'll be secure enough to find a new job."

So, that's it. I hope I haven't forgotten anything.

"Get married?!"

-XXX-

End of Chapter 9