Note:

Hello! Here's chapter 13 and chapter 14 is well on it's way!

Thank you so much to my beta-reader, DeeDee (MsDeeDeeStyles on Twitter), for proofreading!

My phone has not stopped ringing. I should have had the foresight that this would be happening considering who I'm dealing with. Admittedly, I was too caught up in my own curiosity that I forgot that there are other journalists out there just as hungry for a story. Whenever the Uchiha name is attached, people will be if the Uchiha involved is the current CEO.

I thought he'd just drop me off at Leaf Towers, so I can get to my car. Instead, he had the valet hold his car at the drop-off area, something I'm sure isn't allowed, and walked me to the car park while we discussed our deal a little bit more.

Well, as I discussed our deal more, he either grunted or nodded the entire way. I'd be irritated at the lack of response, but it's more than obvious that he had a lot on his mind, especially regarding his brother.

It was always odd to me, how his brother stepped down out of nowhere. I'd have asked about it more, but it's clearly a sensitive topic. Add his grandfather's controlling tendencies, opening that can of worms can be done later.

"Sasuke Uchiha caught entering hotel with pink-haired woman."

"Elusive Uchiha Enterprises CEO finally off the market?"

"Konoha's Most Eligible Bachelor is a bachelor no more!"

It's an innocent photo catching our profiles. We were, at most, just walking beside each other. Because of who he is, and the rarity that is seeing him out and about, I can see why people are blowing this out of proportion. That doesn't make me any less annoyed by it though. Not a single photo was clear enough to fully capture my face, but the hair is a dead giveaway. Not many people dye their hair pink around here, much less are born with it.

I should have seen this coming.

Thankfully, the tabloids came out after I got to work. I'll just have to deal with the stares and whispers later. One of the perks of being promoted to a managerial position is that I've been upgraded from working on a desk on the main floor to having the privacy of my very own office.

Work should keep me occupied for the day. Eventually, I'll have to answer the endless calls and messages from my friend but not now. I didn't open any of them yet, but I know for sure that the girls' group chat is going crazy. Aunt T is probably very confused, too. I consider it a blessing that Naruto and Hinata are going off the grid for their honeymoon because I don't know how Mr. Uchiha and I are going to answer Naruto when he finds out.

After spending the morning answering a few emails and checking on articles, my mind is finally in complete work mode.

Then, my office phone rings right before I plan to head out for lunch.

"This is Sakura Haruno."

"Ms. Haruno, are you available?" I recognize the receptionist's voice.

Knitting my brows, I respond, "At the moment, yes. Who's asking?"

I can sense her nervousness from here. "Uh, Mr. Uchiha is on his way to your office."

Abruptly, I stand. "What?!" I have half a mind to ask which Uchiha, considering there's a few of them, and this is their company, but if she's this nervous, there's no doubt which one's here.

"I would have called you first, but he just walked in and didn't stop to talk to anyone. His assistant gave me the heads up, though."

Here I thought I could focus on work.

Rubbing on my temple, I sigh. "Alright. Thank you."

Two minutes later, my door opens.

"You know, most people knock before coming into other people's offices."

He strides in like he owns the place, which, technically, he does, but that's not the point. I see his assistant close the door from the outside, leaving the two of us alone. "Did you call them?"

"Call who?"

"The press."

Realization dawns on me, and I guffaw in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

He only raises a brow.

A comeback is on the tip of my tongue, infuriated by his insinuation, but I stop myself.

I take a moment to observe him. Dark circles under his eyes, his face pale, and his shoulders as stiff as ever. He's obviously had no sleep. That doesn't absolve him from making that stupid accusation, but it's clear he's not in a good state of mind. Or hasn't been in a while.

"First off, did you see me call or text anyone while we were in the car together? No."

He opens his mouth to retort, but I beat him to it.

"If you're about to say that I did it before we got into the car, need I remind you that I was with you the entire time before that." I raise a brow in defiance. "You approached me at the restaurant. I didn't know you were going to be there at all. I had a rather difficult conversation with my godmother before you got there followed by another difficult conversation with your grandfather. When would I have the time to call PageSeven?"

With my arms folded above my chest, I watch as he closes his mouth, unable to respond. As boastful as I want to be right now, I don't rub it in since the guy clearly hasn't had a wink of sleep.

Sasuke Uchiha may appear all put together, but it's growing increasingly obvious to me that he has some issues. I don't blame him, considering what I've just learned yesterday. Still, he's not off the hook.

Sighing, I walk around my desk, walking towards the minifridge by the wall next to the couch to grab a bottle of water. I feel his eyes on me, studying me.

"You know," I start. "You wouldn't feel so crazy if you had a good night's sleep."

He scoffs, taking the bottle I offer him. "I don't feel crazy."

"Let's say I believe that, and I don't see how red your eyes look today or how jittery you are. What would explain your rash behavior?"

"Is it a crime to be apprehensive?" He asks before taking a sip of water.

"No," I reply. I don't blame him for being hesitant. In fact, I was surprised at how quickly he agreed to my proposition yesterday. This is a more fitting reaction, actually. "But you don't usually act so tactless, do you? What set you off?"

He doesn't respond. Instead, he reaches for his pocket and takes out a pack of cigarettes.

My smile drops. I didn't take him for a smoker.

Before he could take one out, I grab the pack from him. "This won't help, either."

He glares at me, and I grin. "Are you always this annoying?"

Unperturbed, I shrug. "Are you always this difficult? Besides, you can't smoke in here."

There's a brief pause, something shifting in his eyes, before he speaks again. "I wasn't going to light it."

"Sure." Dropping the cigarette pack onto my desk, I turn around to face him again, my palms on the desk behind me as I lean back slightly. "So now that that's been established, any other reason for your impromptu visit?"

I can't help the triumphant smile on my face seeing him struggle with a response.

"Since you're here anyway, we might as well talk about how we're going to deal with this." Especially since people probably saw him march into my office.

Wait.

People saw him.

I groan, placing a palm on my forehead. "Well, that paints a bigger target on my back."

He seems to understand my mental dilemma. To his credit, there's a sliver of guilt on his features before it's quickly washed away, once again covered by the stoicism he always puts on. "It was going to happen eventually, I suppose."

"Oh, so now, you're not mad." I roll my eyes. "You do know I'm going to have to deal with people talking about this. It doesn't help that I just got promoted."

"I had no hand in that."

"They don't know that."

"Does your work not speak for itself? Who else would be given the position had you not taken it?"

I don't know if it's because he's rich and is used to this or if he's genuinely strangely naïve.

"I can be completely confident in my work, and still be worried that people assume I got this position because I'm boning the big boss."

He raises a brow at me, and I realize my mistake, fighting the heat that's undoubtedly hueing my cheeks. "Because they think I'm boning the big boss."

"Such a way with words."

"If you bring up that email, I swear to God."

He smirks. "I didn't."

Where's this lightheartedness coming from all of a sudden? If you could even call a slight smirk and a breath of a chuckle lightheartedness.

Sasuke Uchiha is many things to the public. Mysterious. Relatively Quiet. All business. But I'm beginning to wonder, circumstances aside, was he always like this? It seems he's very affected by his brother's disappearance. Could that be it?

I already had questions about Itachi Uchiha, but knowing he disappeared without telling his family where he is has kind of soured my perception of the man. Why all the secrets?

"Did it ever occur to you that a Sasuke Uchiha sighting out in the wild is just as rare as a Sasuke Uchiha sighting with a woman? People are just that interested in rich people gossip."

He scoffs. "The timing was too good."

It was. I purse my lips. Yeah, I can see why he'd assume it was me, but when would I have had the time?

There's only one other person that could have known.

We share a look, coming to the same conclusion.

His grandfather.

"We were set up," is all he says, that momentary lift in his mood gone as if it was never there.

God, he gives me whiplash.

"This is all so convoluted." I groan. "How could he have known I'd leave with you?"

"If my grandfather is anything, it's overly meticulous. He wanted to aggravate me enough to leave. He knew you'd leave with me. Even if I refused his plan, he'd have this as a warning before fulfilling his promise."

His threat. The emails.

I swear, I am never going to a beach ever again.

The table beneath me begins to vibrate, telling me I'm getting yet another call from my personal phone. I've ignored every call this morning, and I plan on doing the same on this one, but when I catch a glimpse of the caller ID, I falter.

It's Aunt T.

I bite the inside of my cheek, contemplating on answering. I'm sure she's confused. She's called twice already, and while I feel bad, there's a little voice echoing in my psyche telling me this is payback for springing all that information on me yesterday with no warning. Childish? Sure. Still, with that, there's an inkling of guilt.

Feeling eyes on my profile, I lift my head slightly, seeing him observe me like I had been observing him moments ago.

Are we really going to pull through with this?

There's still apprehension on his part, and if I'm being truthful, even with all the bravado I had in the car yesterday, I'm just like he is. There needs to be more than a twenty-minute conversation.

We may have had time to back out of it yesterday. With articles everywhere today, we need to be certain.

"Should I answer?" I ask out loud.

There's a lift in his brow.

"It's my godmother. If I pick up that phone, I better have answers for her, especially after I told her 'no' yesterday."

The incoming call has since dropped, the faint vibrating gone, but I know she's going to continue until I pick up.

"I don't trust easily."

"Clearly, but if we're going to do this, I'm going to need you to trust me. If only until this is over."

"And if we fail?"

"Then, I guess we're married, and I'm going to have to kiss the life I've built up to this point goodbye."

For a split second, so quick that I may have imagined it, his eyes dart to my lips.

I didn't realize just how close he'd gotten. I'm sitting on my desk at this point, cross-legged with my arms folded. He's standing right in front of me, his gaze piercing through mine, analyzing my every word and intention.

Maybe it's the proximity making my heart race, or maybe it's the unease of finalizing a deal like this. Either way, I refuse to look away. I refuse to back down.

But the door opens abruptly, shattering the atmosphere that surrounded him and I.

I look over Mr. Uchiha's shoulder to see another one. Shisui Uchiha stands at the entrance of my office, stunned and panic stricken.

"Shrimp!" He exclaims, surprise evident in his voice. If possible, his eyes grow wider at the pair of us. We probably don't look too innocent from his vantage point.

But… Shrimp?

I muffle a laugh.

"Shisui." Mr. Uchiha sighs, clearly disliking the nickname. "I'm taller than you."

"Not when you were a kid," the older Uchiha quips back. "And what are you doing here with…" He trails off, unsure of how to refer to me.

I wait for Mr. Uchiha's response. He glances at me, the weight of his focus heavy. Then, that smirk makes a reappearance.

Rolling a sleeve up to look at his watch, he's made his decision.

"I'm taking my fiancée out for lunch."

Notes:

Sasuke can be rash at times, can't he? djsfhdsjf

Anyway, them reaching a deal like last chapter can't just be too easy.

This entire section wasn't in the original socmed, and I felt it was necessary to add it to continue to emphasize that Sasuke overworks himself and can be quick to conclusions. Next chapter, expect a conversation between our main couple and Aunt T.

Let me know what you guys think!