Chapter Eight: Weeks Later

Days pass, and days turn into weeks. Sasuke is beyond relieved because both of his assistants have proven to be great hires. At first, he was concerned about Sakura's attitude and Karin's flirting but was pleasantly surprised that neither has become a significant issue, at least yet. Sai's visits have become rare because he's too busy helping Miss Yamanaka and the V.P. for the upcoming grand openings. 

Now, it's mid-November, and there are only two weeks left before the two new locations are open for business. This means the entire team is drowning in work. He's glad he hired two assistants because just one wouldn't have been enough. 

Having Sakura handle business in his office while he and Karin are out works in everyone's favor. She still doesn't seem that fond of him, even though they're civil enough to respect one another, so she isn't forced to follow him around all day, and he can trust her not to make a mess of things in his absence. Karin also seems happy with the arrangement. 

'Check this out!' Sasuke smirks at a photo of tomatoes on sale at a supermarket. Haruki sent it to him. They sometimes text one another throughout the day, though they often communicate at night or early morning. 

'You don't have to send everything you see about tomatoes,' he replies, shaking his head and sliding his phone back into his pocket to refocus on work. 

"Sir, have you read the email from your brother?" Karin suddenly asks from behind him. 

He looks up from the clipboard in his hand, waving off the work leader standing nearby as he turns to face his assistant, "Is it important?" 

The redhead pushes her glasses up her nose, "The Vice President would like to have the welcoming dinner he previously mentioned this evening. Would you like me to respond?" 

Sasuke sighs, running a hand through his hair, "We might as well get it out of the way. He won't give up until we do." He's rescheduled the dinner thrice, but Itachi's not taking the hint. In reality, he almost definitely knows the D.O.O. doesn't want to attend but doesn't care. 

Back at the office later, Sakura reports on what happened in his absence, "Mr. Hyuga and Mr. Uzumaki dropped off their month-to-date profit and loss reports. Mr. Uzumaki requested that you call him when you have a moment but said it isn't an emergency." 

"Anything else?" He asks, sitting at his desk. His eyes flicker to her momentarily but immediately avert when he realizes she's confidently meeting his gaze like always. The act still throws him off guard because he's never met a woman who does such a thing without the intention of getting in his pants. 

"Yes. Here are the requests faxed in while you were away. If you review and sign them, I'll send them out," the woman hands over a small, neat stack of papers. She smiles, checking her watch, "Your dry-cleaning should be ready to pick up. Is there anything else you need me to do while I'm out of the office?" 

Sasuke frowns, eyes narrowing on the computer, "No. That'll be all." The woman bows politely before leaving the office. 

Unconsciously, the man's eyes stray to her retreating figure. Long pink hair is straight down her back. His brow twitches. At some point between their first meeting and the present, he's grown fond of her scent. Though he isn't sure, he suspects it's her shampoo because it's more noticeable when she wears her hair down. Sakura's professionalism has grown over the past few weeks, but she still gets on his last damn nerve. He wishes she wasn't quite as good at her job as she is because it'd make it easier to rationalize the feeling. 

Karin hums softly to herself while locating and pulling files from the nearby cabinets, ones he needs for an upcoming data audit. 

For a moment, he wants to smile but doesn't. Both of his assistants are better than he expected. The workload is significantly less stressful with them around. All the drama and tension from their first week as employees has faded almost completely. The two women even seem to be friends or at least close acquaintances. Them not being catty and at one another's throats is a blessing. 

He's not overly familiar with women other than his mother because he's more of a one-night-stand guy than a relationship one. Still, the assistants appear to be more laidback than average. The man's pride is massive but not so much so that he won't admit, at least to himself, that he lucked out. 

Sasuke thinks to remind himself later on to give them a Christmas bonus next month for their hard work. He may be quiet and socially awkward, but he's not a bad guy. Efforts should be appreciated and rewarded.

…..

After work, Sakura rides with Karin to the sushi restaurant, where Itachi instructs everyone to meet. She stretches her arms above her head when they arrive and exit the vehicle, "God, what I'd do for a shoulder massage." 

"We should go to a spa sometime, don't you think?" Karin has mellowed out more than before, meaning the duo has become friends. It's natural to do so when you spend so much time around one another. At least, that's what Sakura thinks. 

The restaurant is nicer than the average place. It's not so fancy that the woman is uncomfortable, though. She and Karin bow politely once they locate Itachi, Mr. Uchiha, and Sai's private room. 

As humorous as it is, even to her, Sakura hasn't figured out her boss's first name. She's spent the last weeks skimming every email, every report, and eavesdropping on conversations in hopes of someone slipping, to no avail. They've worked together for too long to ask now. She can feel the pressure rising because Mr. Uchiha recently began referring to his assistants by their primary names. 

The woman hoped Karin would follow his lead because the redhead knows his name, but she hasn't. If Sakura asks her new friend, she'll never hear the end of it. The redhead still treats her like a rival, albeit more playfully than before. 

Trying to figure it out has been fun, so she isn't too bothered by it.

"Please be seated, ladies. I hope it's alright that I ordered a variety of things. Eat and drink as much as you'd like. This dinner is to congratulate you, after all," Itachi says warmly. 

Sakura sits beside Sai, across from Mr. Uchiha. Karin sits at their boss's side, while the V.P. sits alone at one end of the square table. The others drink casually while waiting for the food to arrive, but the pinkette sips the alcohol slowly. She knows how honest she gets when drunk. It's best to play it safe, especially since this is their first meeting outside of work. 

"How are things going with the ad campaign, Sai?" Itachi asks. 

Sai doesn't bother putting on his fake smile since it's no longer a requirement to be overly polite. They're not at work right now. "Did we meet here to talk about work?" 

Sakura snickers, brushing her thumb across the lip of her glass, "Ino says you get mad at her a lot." 

"Miss Yamanaka has trouble focusing for extended periods of time," the pale-skinned man admits with an irritated frown. He tosses back a mouthful of sake. 

This isn't news to the Yamanaka's best friend. Not only is she familiar with her friend's knack for getting distracted, but Ino has called her almost every day since her contract with Uchiha Corp began to tell her about what happened between her and her "super sexy" assistant. Sakura thinks Ino has a crush on Sai, but when she asked the blonde, she denied it and said she just wants to sleep with him once to see if she can break his composure. The woman making a game out of making men fall for her is very on-brand. 

Sakura smiles into her glass, "For some reason, I don't feel bad for you." 

Itachi chuckles, "I agree. You should relax." 

"The harder you try to get her to focus, the more she'll want to mess with you," Karin adds. The redhead met Ino weeks ago, along with Hinata and Tenten. The redhead is slowly working her way into the friend group. 

Sai doesn't respond because the food arrives. The table falls into soft, casual conversation as the five colleagues eat. 

Sakura sighs. She rests her chin on her hand. 

It's nice, the vibes. Her body feels warm because of the alcohol, and the sushi is delicious. Absently, her eyes lift to see that her boss isn't feeling the same contentness. His sharp eyes are zoned out on his plate. He pokes at a piece of sushi as though not really seeing it. 

A tiny smile tugs at her lips. 

While working for him, she's picked up on many things he probably didn't intend others to know, including his dislike of parties and public places. At first, the woman didn't like him for his off-putting personality, minimal communication efforts, and inability to change his facial expression. Now, she's come to understand him somewhat. It's not that she's overly fond of him, but she respects the man. He's focused and hard-working, and though he doesn't say much, she can tell he doesn't take anyone's hard work for granted, theirs or anyone else's. 

Hoping to snap him out of his daze before his elder brother notices and teases him, Sakura picks up a piece of sushi with saltier ingredients and subtly places it on his plate. He likes savory things like Onigiri. Dark eyes focus, widen slightly, and turn up to meet hers. She smiles before turning to pay attention to Karin, who's speaking about the upcoming company banquet. 

"So many influential people under one roof…I have to admit it's a little intimidating." 

Wow. That's rare. The redhead never admits to anything negative. Sakura then notices the soft pink hue on her friend's cheeks and covers her mouth to stifle a laugh. Karin's drunk. Itachi looks over to share a warm look with the pinkette before focusing on the other woman again, "There's no need to be anxious. You should try to enjoy yourself and not think about work." 

Karin is leaving for a school trip on Monday and won't return for ten days. Sakura's pretty sure she's not the only one praying things continue to run smoothly in her absence. 

"What kind of dress are you going to wear, Sakura?" 

Her spine straightens as her co-assistant interrupts her train of thought. "Oh, um, I'm not sure. I haven't really thought about that yet," her face warms as she feels everyone's eyes on her, so she looks down at her drink again, "Ino will probably pick something out for me. I'm pretty useless with that sort of thing." 

"That's believable, given your boring work attire," Sai smirks. The whole apology-gift, company-card incident is still funny in his eyes. 

Sakura glares at the man, tempted to flip him off but refraining because her boss and the V.P. are present, "There's nothing wrong with my clothes. Besides, you wear the same thing every day! Who are you to talk?" It's true. Sai wears a black business suit every day. He undoubtedly owns multiple of the same outfit. 

"Perhaps you should ask Miss Yamanaka for advice." 

This asshole! 

Never one to back down from a challenge, Sakura points her chopsticks at the sarcastic man, barking, "You know what? Fine. I'll come to work dressed how you all think I should, and you'll see why I don't wear that kind of stuff!" 

Itachi hums, "I'll be sure to visit on Monday, then. It'd be a crime to miss it." 

After dinner, Sakura drives Karin's car to her apartment and lets the redhead crash on her couch since she's too drunk to make it home. After showering and climbing into bed, she opens AC to see a photo of a pink cake with strawberries on top. 'Does this mean I should send every dessert I see?' S loves tomatoes, so she'd sent a photo of some while grocery shopping. 

She curls into a ball on her side and replies, 'I won't complain!' 

He replies, changing the subject, 'What is your most prized possession?' 

It doesn't stun the woman because they often play twenty questions to get to know one another better. She ponders for a moment before getting out of bed and taking a photo of her family's painting hanging on the wall. 'It's a family heirloom. If I ever have kids, I'll also pass it down to them. What about you?' 

'I don't have one.' 

'Seriously? Nothing?' 

'I'm not kidding.' 

Hm. Sakura supposes she shouldn't be surprised because he's not the sentimental type. She changes the subject to avoid making him feel awkward, 'If you found a briefcase full of money, what would you do?' 

There is a long pause before a response comes, 'Turn it in to the authorities.' 

'You're so boring,' she teases. 

'What about you, then?' 

'I'd get rid of college debt and pay my parents' mortgage.' 

'What a good son,' S replies sarcastically. 

Sakura frowns, guilty for continuously lying to her friend about her gender. It's for the best, she tells herself. If he knew she was a woman, they wouldn't be able to talk like they do now, even if he didn't hit on her afterward. The man hasn't said it outright, but he obviously has issues being vulnerable. He'll never want to speak again when he finds out he's been lied to all this time. 

Before she can respond, another message comes in, 'I'm drunk and passing out, so I'm calling it a night. Talk to you tomorrow.' 

'Sure. Good night.' 

The woman has no idea what to do. This is the longest she's been partnered with someone on AC and has honestly grown attached to her friend despite not knowing his name. The issue is that it's wrong to lie to someone she cares about like this. Telling him will hurt his feelings, but it'll undoubtedly be worse if he ever finds out organically. 

Selfishly, Sakura clicks the screen of her phone off and tries to fall asleep. For now, she won't change a thing. She decides then and there that she won't tell her secret until S offers his identity first. In her mind, they're both hiding something. 

Until then, she can keep being his friend.