Uzumaki Naruto
Ayo so
Uhhh
Mind if i drop by yr office today
Kinda have smth important to talk about
Uzumaki Naruto
For the last time, none of your groomsmen
want to wear suspenders.
Me
Okay first of all ya dont even know most of them
And second that wasnt what i was going to say
Its not abt the wedding
Uzumaki Naruto
That's a first.
Me
Luckily enough for the idiot, my one o'clock had to be rescheduled, so he's free to pester me for an hour with whatever the reason he wanted to show up today for. It has to be something urgent since we've been fine just contacting each other through texts for a year. Even longer than that, to be quite honest. The thing with growing up is never having schedules align, and mine as of late has been booked.
I've known Naruto since we were children. We attended the same private schools until he transferred for high school and hadn't seen him again until an event I attended with my family where he and his family were also present. When he told me he wanted me to be his best man last month, I was surprised considering the fact I hadn't seen him for almost a decade, but he insisted even after I initially refused. If there's one thing about this guy, it's that he's determined. Perhaps, to a fault.
The office phone rings, and I look to see Juugo's name on the caller ID. Picking it up, I hear him say, "Sir, Mr. Uzumaki is here to see you."
Instinctually, I sigh. "Let him in."
Best see what's so important.
The door opens not too soon after and a straight-faced Naruto walks in. It's unusual not to see him show up with a shit-eating grin or a cheery demeanor. Whatever he meant by him being here being something serious, it appears he wasn't joking. For once.
"What's so important that you just barge into my office out of the blue?"
"I texted you, so you knew I was coming, asshole." There's a hint of his familiar self in the reply, and that softens the atmosphere. It ebbs just as soon as the frown on his lips reappears. "But yeah, so I know you don't do professional favors."
"Say that sentence again and realize how indecent it sounds."
"Shut up, teme! I'm trying to be serious here?" He gestures wildly at himself. "I'm asking on behalf of a friend."
"They're going to have to apply to get a job here. No exceptions."
"No, it's not like that! Well, not really. I mean, she used to work here, but now she doesn't, and it wasn't her fault."
My eyes narrow. "Elaborate."
"Okay, so Hinata and her bridal party went out of the city for her bachelorette party last weekend, and a close friend of ours came home to her being fired, right?"
This story sounds familiar. Too familiar. I let out a heavy exhale, realizing why it sounds so familiar, and pinch the bridge of my nose. "If this really is about the woman who sent me a highly unprofessional letter while inebriated, you better have a good reason as to why you want me to rehire her."
"Okay, I know that email looked bad, but Sakura and vodka don't mix," he states, as if that's a valid excuse. "But Sakura is, without a doubt, the hardest worker I know, and she busted her ass for years to get to a good school, to get to where she was in SNO. If anything, y'all are missing out by firing her for no good reason."
I raise a brow, challenging. "I doubt indecent behavior on a public social media platform isn't considered a 'good reason' ."
"Teme, did you even see the photo?"
"Did you ?" I retort.
"Yeah, I did. And it wasn't her," he pauses to fake a cough. " chest front and center. It was her friend, Ino's, and my cousin, Karin. Which, by the way, ew ." He shudders.
Unnecessary information of whose breasts were the focus of the photo aside, I study him. "Did she ask you to plead her case?"
He looks horrified. "Fuck no. If she knew I was doing this, she'd beat my ass, lecture me, then beat my ass again."
She sounds violent. "Then why do it?"
"Because she never asks for help. And this , I can actually try and help her with."
"And you're doing such a phenomenal job at it."
Naruto's not one to ask for favors. Not nowadays. When we were kids, it was the complete opposite. He'd always ask for help for the littlest things, whining and going on about wanting to do something else, or complaining about every single piece of schoolwork to be done. Seeing the change from then to now is astounding. It's certainly for the better.
This, however, is the first time in a decade he's asked for something from me. And while I've grown accustomed to rejecting the endless requests for favors all around me at any time in the day, I hear him out. Naruto, for the most part, is a good judge of character.
"Come on, teme. Did you see the photo or not?" He looks tired of the back and forth.
Acquiescing, I shake my head. "HR is a department for a reason."
He huffs, folding his arms above his chest. "Yeah, but have you done a thorough check on SNO's HR?"
"You telling me how to do my job, Uzumaki?" My patience wears thin.
The idiot shrugs. "No, but unlike Sakura, I'm not going to leave out the giant detail about the fact that her superior in SNO has been out for her ass since she got promoted to senior reporter."
"This better not be a ruse."
"I'm not joking." He finally sits down on one of the seats in front of my desk. "This guy named Jiji, according to Hina, has been gunning against Sakura for a while now. She's complained about him to the girls for years and for the last few months, it got worse, apparently."
"She didn't tell you this herself?"
"She wouldn't. Again, she doesn't want anyone doing anything on her behalf."
"And yet, here you are."
"Yeah, but you should also go and check one of your subsidiaries for some shady business because it's sounding shady to me. Did Sakura at least mention the fact that the photo was posted on a friend's side account with barely forty followers? Granted it wasn't a private account, but no one but close friends follow it."
No, she did not.
"Or did she even mention that this Jiji dude went caveman on her when she complained about SNO's wage gap two years ago?"
"And why, pray tell, did she not mention it?" It's a genuine question. I'd have been more inclined to look into the matter further if she mentioned such issues in her follow up.
"Of course, she didn't." Naruto sighs, frustrated. "Sakura doesn't point fingers. She wants to fix things by only mentioning her name and no one else's even when it's fucking crucial."
"You're making her sound like some kind of saint."
"Oh, she's not. Unless a saint is able to knock out someone twice her size. But when it comes to things like these, she's so fucking goody goody about it. Something about her wanting to fix her own problems by tackling things herself, on things she's sure of herself."
"She didn't have proof, so she didn't bother mentioning it, then." Which is smart, I'll give her that.
"Yeah, which is why I'm asking you to look into that shit because you have to admit, something about this smells fishy."
It does, but I don't say it out loud. How the photo was obtained needs to be confirmed, that's a given. And if Naruto's words have any truth in them, I need to pay the SNO offices a visit and see if Shisui is doing his job right. But also, I'd need something else.
If grandfather catches wind of any minor issues, he'd no doubt march his way into the offices and make me listen to yet another round of scolding as if I was still a child, and he still held the most authority in the company. Which, unfortunately for me, remains partially true. There's no one in this building apart from me that is willing to go against him.
Without glancing at Naruto, I take the office phone and call Juugo.
"Yes, sir?"
"I need you to get an employee file for me. Sakura Haruno from Sharingan News Outlet."
I hear him typing on his keyboard. "Anything else, sir?"
"Call Shisui. Tell him I'll be paying the SNO offices a visit later today."
A pause. "I can squeeze that in at three."
"Good."
Hanging up, I see Naruto relaxing into the chair. "Thanks, dude. Consider this your wedding present to me!"
At least there's one less thing I need to do.
"Mr. Uchiha. It's such a pleasure to meet you." A spectacled man greets me as I walk onto the senior offices of SNO, his hand outstretched.
"Where's Shisui?"
If he's bothered by my dismissal of him, he doesn't show it. "The other Mr. Uchiha is currently in a meeting, so he asked me to welcome you and maybe show you around the senior offices."
"Unless the senior offices have undergone a major renovation since I was here last, then no."
His smile drops at that, but he quickly regains his composure, plastering it back on as I begin to walk again. "I'm Jiji Chiba, current managing director of SNO's senior reporting offices."
I glance at him. He's walking quickly, trying to match me stride for stride. I already have an inkling of what kind of man he is. The eagerness to appease men of higher rank, but the need to never be seen as less than, to be seen as an equal at the start. Not terrible qualities to have; however, there's something about him that is off putting.
"Jiji, I needed to-" A woman comes up to his side before realizing Jiji has company. "Oh, I'm sorry."
I nod, and Jiji took this as a sign for introductions, which it was not. "Margo, this is Mr. Sasuke Uchiha, CEO of Uchiha Enterprises."
"Oh, wow," she says, eyes wide, before bowing.
Jiji puffs out his chest. "She's just been promoted to senior reporter."
The very same position Sakura Haruno had before she was terminated. Interesting.
Jiji tells her he'll hear what she had to say later, watching her intently as she walks away, his eyes trailing downward.
Somehow, I know this is all I needed to see.
"Is she Ms. Sakura Haruno's replacement?" I ask.
Instead of being surprised at my mention of her, he looks proud of the fact. "Yes, she is. I recommended her, myself. Margo is a graduate from-"
"I wasn't aware you were also in the HR department, Mr. Chiba."
He looks bewildered. "Uh, no, I'm not, si-"
"So why does it sound as though you're taking credit for hiring her?"
"Well, I just think her accomplishments are astounding."
"So her past work is that impressive?"
"Well, it's not extensive, but-"
"So what exactly are those accomplishments, then?"
He doesn't respond, visibly trying to think of something. He's making this too obvious. May as well go for the jugular.
"How about an easier question, then. How did you get ahold of Ms. Haruno's vacation photo?"
"Sir?" He's startled.
"Answer the question."
"It was on a public profile."
"Whose public profile?"
"One of her friends."
"And are you close with her friends?"
"Does it matter?"
"Fine. Let me change the question. What's your relationship with Ms. Margo?"
His face cracks. If he lies, HR files can prove him wrong. Perhaps he didn't know I would be checking HR today, thus his high praise for this Ms. Margo, but now he's hesitating.
I smirk as he answers, "Fiancée."
And the dominoes fall.
The drive back to the main Uchiha building is quiet. After talking to Shisui and a stern scolding, the reality of just how lax my cousin had been on his end of the business hit Shisui like a truck. He tends to be too kindhearted, however, there must be a limit in this business. Changes have to be made, as well as a few suspensions, mainly in HR for allowing someone not in the department that level of power to sway hiring decisions like Jiji did. He will most likely be fired if allegations of discirimination in the workplace prove to be true. I already know it is, if his actions upon discussing his behavior said anything about it.
It pains me to say it, but Naruto was right.
Juugo is no doubt, checking and double checking what should and shouldn't be on my roster, especially after what we'd uncovered in SNO. The driver has earphones on, nodding to the music only he can hear. I check my phone for new messages. Whoever dropped off my phone yesterday was true to their word and didn't touch anything.
I read messages from my mother. She wants to know when I can meet her and father for lunch. She's most likely upset that I haven't replied yet. I go to my photos, wanting to look for the screenshot I took of my schedule this week, when my finger stops, hovering over the screen as I see an unusual shade of pink within the sea of images in my library.
I tap on it, and the photo fills up my screen. I'm met with a middle finger and a clearly irritated woman. Scoffing at this woman's audacity, I move my finger towards the delete button when something clicks. Pink hair. Green eyes.
I recall a certain HR termination record with the same head of hair.
"Juugo."
He turns his head to me at the call of his name.
"Have you sent me the file I requested?"
"Yes, sir. It should be in your work email."
I take my work phone out of my pocket and set my personal phone down. Seeing Juugo's email, it takes a second for the file to download and open. Then, he sees her. The same set of green eyes. The same hue of pink. But instead of a sneer on her face, her lips are set in a small smile, her eyes bright and determined, staring right at the camera as if ready for whatever life throws at her.
Sakura Haruno.
Three different instances of meeting and/ or hearing about her despite never having heard about her before. A mutual close friend in Naruto. Her email. The photo she left on my phone. The situation is laughable.
Curious, I skim through her file.
She graduated at the top of her class in college, received numerous student awards in journalism, which includes a leadership award, and was the editor of the campus newsletter. True to her word, she did immediately go straight to SNO after graduating. It's impressive, her climb to where she got. I can understand her initial anger towards me in her first email a little better now, but before those feelings can settle, my eyes catch a particularly intriguing sentence.
Employment personally approved by Madara Uchiha.
From: Sasuke Uchiha { sasuke_uchiha }
To: Sakura Haruno { sakuraharuno }
Subject: Re: regarding My toermination
Ms. Haruno,
It has come to my attention that the circumstances surrounding your termination were not in the most proper manner, as it should have been. We will continue to look into it, and your termination, as of right now, is being reconsidered. Sharingan's Human Resources department is making a few changes in its roster, and the decision will be made once changes are in effect. You will be notified when deliberation is finished concerning whether or not you will be permitted to return to your position as senior reporter.
Unrelated, it would seem our paths are crossing more often than we both could have thought. Though, I did not appreciate finding a photo of a strange woman flipping me off once I unlocked the phone I had just retrieved yesterday. Perhaps my tone during our first call was impolite. Let us leave it at that.
Sincerely,
Sasuke Uchiha
CEO of Uchiha Enterprises
Notes:
yeah yeah boyssss
we're starting to get into the meat of the story!