'I need to tell you something.'

Sasuke has spent the last few days trying to convince himself that his emotions toward Sakura, which he first noticed on Monday, are fleeting. He's failed because any time he sees her, he suddenly can't organize his thoughts. The Uchiha man is pissed off beyond comprehension. This isn't who he is. Sasuke Uchiha doesn't get involved with coworkers, especially female ones, and he certainly doesn't lose sleep because of it.

He's having trouble focusing to the point that Karin felt it necessary to ask about it on Friday, the day before the new locations' grand openings. That's why the man caved in and messaged Haruki. There's no one else who can understand what he's going through.

'What's up? Is everything okay?'

After a moment of hesitation, Sasuke responds, groaning aloud in his office at home as soon as he hits send, 'There's a woman that works for the same company as me. I need you to tell me it's a bad idea.'

It takes a few minutes for his friend to respond. The Uchiha man's sure he'll tease him, but he's wrong. 'It must be pretty serious for you to tell someone about it.' Sasuke should've known better. All this time, Haruki has been nothing short of supportive. There's no way he'd mock him for having human emotions. In fact, he's probably sort of relieved.

Since it's impossible to take it back, the D.O.O. decides to be uncharacteristically vulnerable. If there was ever a time to bite the bullet and get genuine advice, it's now. 'I can't focus on anything because of her. What should I do?'

Haruki texts back quickly this time, 'I can't just blindly tell you what to do! I need more details. What do you like about her?'

"Ugh…" Sasuke sighs, rubbing his temples. He would ask that, wouldn't he? It's a very on-brand question.

The man takes a moment to think about what to reply but surprises himself when his fingers start moving as naturally as breathing air, 'She isn't afraid to stand up for herself or speak her mind. Even if she doesn't know anyone in a room, she has no trouble making everyone like her. I've tried to dislike her for so long but I'm tired of it.'

After hitting send, he finds himself sending another message, too. 'And she goes out of her way to do things for me without expecting anything in return. She notices and remembers things that no one else does.' His mood falls as he also says, 'I only wish she was doing it because she feels the same.'

'How do you know she doesn't? Have you confessed?'

'No, but she's like that with everyone. It's like she can't help herself from trying to take care of people.'

The man responds, 'So, you think she doesn't see you as someone special?'

'Right. I should just ignore it anyway. Getting involved will only end badly. Either we'll break up and cause problems at work, or we won't and my parents will make her life hell because she's not from a prestigious family.'

With that, Sasuke decides on his own not to burden the pinkette with his pitiful emotions. It's for her own sake because being with him will only make her suffer if she feels the same way at all. He's also pretty anxious about being turned down because he knows she'll easily go back to acting normally, and he's sure he won't be able to do the same.

'I don't know. Maybe you should make a subtle move to see how she reacts. It'd be a shame to give up before giving it a try. Besides, isn't it up to her what she does with her future? It wouldn't be fair to make that choice for her.'

Now, Sasuke's torn because he knows Haruki's right. Even if Sakura doesn't feel the same, if she ever finds out that he made assumptions without her input, she'd be offended at the minimum. Her constant encouragement to properly communicate is one of the things the Uchiha man wishes he could learn. He's envious since he lacks social skills above all else.

'I'll think about it.'

In reality, he knows it'd be wrong to make a move on the pinkette. It goes against all of the rules his family has made for him and the ones he's made for himself.

…..

"Are you sure about this?" Sakura anxiously runs her fingers through her straight hair. She, Ino, and Karin are on their way to the grand opening party for the new beauty mall the Yamanaka woman is representing.

In an effort to distract herself from her boss, Sakura asked her best friend to help her look nice in case she happens to meet a nice guy at the party. To say Ino was excited is an understatement. After two years of avoiding any and all romance, the Haruno woman finally appears to be healing from the traumatic experience that was losing her virginity to a grade-A douchebag.

"Um, I'm sorry, are you joking?" Ino scoffed, "I know you're not doubting yourself, Forehead. You look hot as hell tonight." Karin and the Yamanaka woman showed up at Sakura's apartment with clothes, makeup, and orders to shut up and follow their orders.

To the pinkette's disdain, she's wearing clothes she'd never pick out for herself in a million years. Inwardly, she considers herself lucky that it's winter because the duo would've likely made her show more skin if it wasn't for the cold weather. She's wearing a long-sleeved, black, skin-tight dress that ends upper-thigh with dark, sheer tights and thigh-high boots. Her hair is straight and free, flowing softly over her shoulders and down her back.

"I feel like a slut…." She complains under her breath as they arrive at the mall. Nervously, she tugs at the lower hem of the dress upon getting out of the car, glancing around to see if anyone's staring at her in disgust as she fears.

Karin says, "You look hot, not slutty. Shut up and at least act like you don't want to go home. We have to represent Mr. Uchiha well tonight."

The trio steps past the guarded entrance and into the freshly constructed mall. Ino gushes while looking around with bright blue eyes sparkling, "It looks incredible! I only saw it a couple of weeks ago, and it wasn't anything close to this nice!"

The flooring is shiny black tile, the walls a flattering off-white, and the ceilings are a semi-reflective silver that the lights bounce off of to make the place seem perfectly lit with a flattering glow perfect for photography.

"Oh my gosh, do you see Sai? He's not in his usual suit!" Ino gushes in a high-pitched whisper to the other women.

Sakura lifts her gaze to the large group of Uchiha Corp. employees they're approaching in an effort to confirm her best friend's statement, only to lose her train of thought. There, standing near Mr. Uzumaki and Itachi, stands Sasuke in all his glory. She can't help but admit to herself that he looks even more handsome than usual in his dark blue dress shirt and black pants. His hair is actually somewhat styled, so it isn't in his face as much and leaves more of his gorgeous features to be admired by those around.

"Oh, look! It's Hinata and Tenten!" Ino interrupts Sakura's trance as they're finally close enough for some of the others to take notice.

The pinkette's eyes shoot away from her boss's face as soon as Itachi motions in their direction, terrified to be caught ogling him like all the other women in the quickly-filling building. Karin is the one to speak out of the three women, "Well, doesn't everybody look nice tonight?"

The older Uchiha brother agrees professionally, "Indeed. You look beautiful, ladies."

Sakura slips away as Ino begins to tease an already-irritated Sai to say hello to her other friends, who're standing near Tenten's boss and Naruto. "You guys look amazing!" She whispers excitedly so as to not interrupt everyone else's conversation.

The two women turn her way with smiles, Tenten waggling her brows, "I can't believe you let Ino and Karin dress you up!"

Unbearable insecurity makes the pink-haired woman tug at the hem of her dress again, "It looks awful, doesn't it?" The dread is clear as day in her voice.

"Not at all. You look so pretty, Sakura," Hinata reassured with a warm smile. They chat for a few minutes before the time comes to prepare for the opening ceremony.

In work mode, Sakura joins Karin at their boss's side near the podium, where Ino is waiting for the large crowd to become silent. A thick red ribbon is tied in a bow behind her. It seems, for a moment, that the attendees are too rowdy and won't quiet down because they're too excited to party after the ceremony. Ino looks to Sakura with a subtle panicked face. Just as the woman is about to ask Sasuke what she should do to help, the room goes silent.

Karin grabs her coworker's wrist and hisses quietly as they watch a tall and serious-looking man with dark hair and frown lines approach Ino, "That's the CEO!"

Maybe the redhead doesn't notice, but Sakura does when their boss's body suddenly tenses. He's standing slightly in front of them, so they can't see his face. For some reason, Sakura can't pay attention to Ino as she begins her speech with the CEO's blessing. No, all she can do is stare up at the back of Sasuke's head. He's more uncomfortable than she's ever seen him, and that's something considering the fact he sat in a hospital room with her parents for hours. Karin, on the other hand, is locked into the ceremony completely, her dark eyes not leaving the silent commanding presence that is Fugaku Uchiha even though he isn't speaking or doing anything.

Sakura has the urge to grab Sasuke's hand and offer support, her gaze dropping to the closest one, but she hesitates. They're in public where anyone could see or even catch a photo of it. He's also likely to get upset with her for doing something so personal. Shaking her head, the pinkette shoves the idea away, remembering how harshly he'd cut her off on her first day of work when she'd awkwardly tried to break the silence with a casual conversation. He doesn't like that kind of thing.

The woman's mood falls lower.

Eventually, the ceremony is completed, the ribbon is cut, and the massive crowd moves to the second floor, which has been turned into a club of sorts for the occasion.

It isn't long before the place is packed to the point that it's hard to move around without at least brushing against someone. First, Sakura tries to locate any of her friends. It takes her a long time, but she eventually realizes all of them are preoccupied. Tenten is following around her boss, holding both of their drinks while he speaks with others. One would assume she'd be annoyed by such a thing, but she seems happy just to be near him.

Hinata and Naruto are talking at the far end of the bar. Sakura refuses to interrupt that because it's rare for the Hyuga woman to speak to anyone she's not incredibly close to. That, plus the pretty blush on her fair skin, cheers the pinkette up slightly because it's obvious she's taken a liking to the loudmouthed blonde man.

Ino and Karin are standing with Itachi, Sai, and Sasuke, but an odd emotion sweeps over Sakura when she takes a step in that direction. She freezes as an unfamiliar weight meets the pit of her stomach. She doesn't want to go over there. No, she feels sad and doesn't want to ruin their fun time with her sour mood. With few other options, the green-eyed woman retreats to the bar to sit and sulk.

"If you're gonna sit, you gotta order somethin', Sweetheart," a gruff voice comes after a while.

Sakura snaps out of her daze and nods absently at the bartender, "Bring me something strong, none of that girly lightweight stuff," she waves a hand in dismissal.

The stress of her new job has been building and brewing since her very first day at Uchiha Corp. It's chosen a terrible time to explode, but she finds solace in the fact that at least she's not the only one drinking. If she's lucky, no one will even notice, and she'll be able to slip away after getting sufficiently drunk.