Chapter Two: Running Into Trouble

"Surely, this is a joke, Little Brother." 

Sasuke fights the urge to roll his eyes at Itachi. Immediately after Sai submitted the special request, the older Uchiha brother appeared in his office. "Can you make this quick? I have work to do," he says. 

Itachi smiles calmly. Those who know him well are aware that looks can be deceiving, "You're undoubtedly aware that protocol is to get my approval before making employment offers, so I'm owed an explanation." 

What he really means is that the CEO will blame him for Sasuke's actions since he's technically his little brother's immediate supervisor. Itachi is the Vice President of Uchiha Corp. Sasuke is the Director of Operations. While the younger brother interacts primarily with those outside the corporate office, Itachi is responsible for everyone's actions within it. Only their father is above them in status. That said, the elder brother must approve any and all staffing decisions above the District Manager role. 

Sasuke disregarded this policy completely by sending offers to two applicants rather than one. He created an additional position, doubling the monetary allocation for personal assistants in his division. All of this was done without permission; then, he sent for his brother with a "sorry, not sorry" attitude. It was more of a notification than a special request. 

"With the upcoming expansion, the work will double. The extra hands will be needed," Sasuke nonchalantly explains with his eyes glued to his computer screen as he reviews the profit and loss reports for the Uzumaki subsidiary. 

Itachi stares at him in mild disbelief, his composure faltering. "That's all you have to say?" 

Sai stands alert near the door, his face blank as always. The brothers' bickering is nothing new to anyone who's met the pair. 

"That's all. If there's nothing else to discuss, please leave. I need to focus." 

With a defeated sigh, Itachi rubs his temples, "I can't keep covering for you like this. Father's still suspicious about Naruto's promotion." 

Sasuke locks eyes with his older brother. "Need I go over the reports with you again? He was a sound business choice. His branch's profit has nearly doubled in the last quarter." 

"And the fact that he's your best friend has nothing to do with it?" 

"What of it? He's making us money. That's all Father cares about." 

Itachi's eyes narrow, and his arms fall to his sides, "I'm at my wit's end. If these employees don't prove beneficial to the workplace, I'll tell Mother you want her to call the matchmaker." 

That certainly grabs the D.O.O.'s attention. He whispers angrily, "You wouldn't." 

"I would," Itachi threatens, a smirk tugging at his lips since his little brother's finally taking him seriously, "You create more problems for me at work than any other employee, and it'll get her off my back about getting married." 

"....Fine." 

The V.P. leaves Sasuke's office with a smug expression, obviously feeling victorious. Once the door closes behind him, the irritated man behind the desk returns to his work with a scowl. 

Sai sorts papers on a clipboard as he approaches the man. As usual, he speaks bluntly: "Miss Haruno hardly seems worth the trouble you're going through to employ her." 

Truthfully, Sasuke agrees. When he sent out the employment offers, he expected Itachi to sigh, complain momentarily, and move on like always. 

The only reason he went out on a limb for the pink-haired woman is that a person like her has never been in this office. As someone looking to earn significant attention from his father, the CEO, Sasuke's willing to try unique approaches. The fresh personality and point of view may potentially help, but it may also prove detrimental. That's a gamble he's taken rather recklessly. 

If he'd known it'd cause all this trouble, he'd have shut his mouth and gone with the Uzumaki woman, inwardly hoping she'll prove more focused on her career than on getting close to him. 

His biggest fear is having yet another assistant try to sleep their way to the top, primarily by pursuing his attention. In the year and a half that he's had his current title, he's gone through four assistants, each terminated for inappropriate behavior. 

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Sasuke changes the subject without looking at Sai, "Have they been contacted yet?" 

"It appears our Human Resources team is short-handed today because Matsuri is out. They've assured me they'll reach out to both women as soon as possible." There's an order to things. Just because the Uchiha man is high on the workplace totem pole doesn't mean his requests will be prioritized in the HR office. 

He nods understandably, waving an absent hand, "Go eat lunch or something." Just get out of his office. That's all he wants.

The straight-faced aide bows politely before leaving the office. 

Once alone, Sasuke's composure falls heavily. He sighs, resting his head in his hands with closed eyes. It's pounded with a migraine since the end of the interviews. Stressful doesn't begin to describe his life lately. It's always been that way but has significantly worsened since he took on such an important role at work. More than anything, Sasuke wants to make his family proud, inherit his father's company, and prove himself worthy of the Uchiha name. 

Mental and physical exhaustion aren't enough to make him give up. It'd be nice to have an outlet for releasing all this pent-up anxiety, though. 

So, taking a couple of over-the-counter pain pills, Sasuke returns to work. 

It's like he blinked, and then a familiar blond man burst into his office, loudly declaring, "If you keep frowning like that, you'll get wrinkles before you're thirty!" 

"Why are you here and not doing your job? It'll be my ass on the line if you make any mistakes, Idiot." 

Naruto holds up a bag of what appears to be some kind of fast food, "It's after eight, Man. Everyone else went home already." He grabs a chair and pulls it up to Sasuke's desk, opening the bag and handing the man a burger before grabbing one of his own, taking a bite, and speaking frankly through a mouthful of food, "What's up? You look like shit." 

Sasuke rolls his eyes, takes a bite of his food, and continues typing the report. "This garbage isn't going to help that." 

"Well, I figured you skipped lunch again. Pardon me for not bringing you a five-star meal, Asshole!" 

"Tsk," Sasuke shakes his head, sparing his best friend a brief, grateful look to express he isn't actually taking the gesture for granted. He's never been one for verbal sentiments-they're too awkward. He consistently stumbles over his words or says the wrong thing. 

The blonde motions broadly to the computer and desk they're seated at, "For real, though, you need a break or something. You're gonna burn out." He wiggles his eyebrows when Sasuke's eyes narrow into a glare and turn back onto him, "Or maybe you can put yourself out there and find a girlfriend. I'll go to the bar with you if you want." 

"I don't have time for the damn bars, and I really don't have time for women." 

Naruto gasps dramatically, covering his chest as though a female who's been caught shirtless, "Are you gay? Why didn't you tell me! I mean, I'll support you no matter what, Bro, but I'm not interested in you like that!" 

Sasuke sighs, deciding not to respond to such a dumb statement. The room becomes quiet as the duo eats, the dark-haired one working restlessly despite company hours ending at six o'clock. 

Eventually, the louder one remarks in an uncharacteristically serious tone, "I'm serious, Dude. You should see someone before you have a nervous breakdown or something." 

Sasuke wonders what about his appearance or behavior warrants his friend's incessant concern. Naruto's correct, regardless. Rather than say that, the Uchiha simply offers a look that clearly states he won't be doing such a thing. If the CEO were to find out, he'd see his second son in a new light, one that isn't strong enough to carry on the family business. Sasuke's too worried about that to do anything that needs insurance or even cash. 

"Oh, I know!" Naruto again draws his attention, pulling out his phone and excitedly tapping its screen, "Have you heard of AC?" 

"Forget about it. I'm not joining a dating app." 

"It's not a dating app, Dumbass!" The blonde hands his phone over so Sasuke can see the application pulled up, "It just connects you to someone random that you can vent to. You don't have to pay for it. They don't even know your name unless you tell them." 

The information mildly intrigues the Uchiha man, but he still shakes his head and shoves the phone away, "Only an idiot would trust something like that to protect their identity." 

"But Neji said his cousin is on the development team, and they worked really hard to make it safe." Naruto pouts like a child who has been told no by their parent. Even his tone is whiney and annoying. 

Sasuke scoffs, finishes his burger, and tosses the wrapper into the nearby bin, "Go home, idiot." 

With a frown, Naruto stands, also tossing his wrapper, "You aren't leaving yet?" 

"I need to finish this before I go." It'll be another late night. Even if he stays until one a.m., he'll be drowning in work when he arrives tomorrow.

Tenten hisses empathetically, rubbing a drunk and pouting Sakura's back. "That's pretty bad, Saku. I warned you not to lose your temper." 

The pinkette sighs, taking another big gulp of the canned alcohol in her hand, "Yeah, I know. Sorry. I made you look bad, didn't I?" 

"Ha…Well, yeah. You did," Tenten suddenly seems anxious thinking about tomorrow's work day but quickly shakes her head and refocuses on her sad friend, "Don't worry about it. I know you didn't mean to." 

"Never mind that," Ino suddenly barks. She's sitting in front of the duo, painting Sakura's toenails a soft lavender color. She grins mischievously and changes the subject, "Let's talk about your boss, Tennie." 

Sakura's demeanor slightly perks up. She smirks at the now-blushing brunette and asks, "Any updates? Did you tell him yet?" 

"Tell him? I can barely meet his eye!" Tenten has been Neji Hyuga's aide for over a year and has been smitten with him for more than half of that. Her two friends have never met the man, but she's shown them photos and shared little tidbits about him. 

"What're you waiting for? Make a move! I want to hear all the sexy office romance gossip!" Ino gushes, fanning Sakura's feet to dry the polish faster. 

The remark reminds the pink-haired woman of Mr. Uchiha, whose interview she completely bombed earlier today. As a healthy young woman, her mind easily strays to an inappropriate place. Her mood quickly falls once more as she recalls his look of disbelief when she blatantly insulted him. She takes another drink, groaning with closed eyes. 

The other two ignore her mortification, already used to it. 

Tenten holds her own face in her hands, blushing cutely, "I can't do that! He's so handsome and mature. He'll probably reject me. Then, it'll be all awkward, and I'll probably get fired." 

She's always been a tomboy. All through high school, Tenten was too concerned with sports and studies to worry about boys. Other than the heavy petting she did in a closet with Genma at a party their senior year during Seven Minutes in Heaven, she's a complete noob when it comes to romance and sex. 

Ino, on the other hand, proudly boasts her fondness for such things. She looks her brunette friend up and down with a smirk and says, "If you dress up, I'm sure he'll notice. Maybe wear your hair down and put on a little makeup." 

The Yamanaka woman is studying to become a beautician. She dreams of doing the hair, makeup, and styling of celebrities. At only nineteen, her work has already been featured in a handful of beauty magazines and online articles. She's even listed in the top one hundred up-and-coming influencers, though she doesn't do more social media work than the average young person. 

"...You think so?" 

"Of course! You're a total bombshell. We just need to make him see it." 

Tenten grins nervously, giggling, "Alright. I'll try it, but don't go overboard." 

With that conversation closing, the pair looks at their sleepy, drunk, pink-haired friend with pity. "So, what're you going to do now?" 

Sakura crushes the now-empty can and tosses it across the room toward the bin. She misses completely but ignores the fact. "Back to stalking the job boards, I guess." 

"Isn't your situation kinda dire, though? If you don't get a job soon, you'll have to move back in with your parents," Ino remarks cautiously. 

It's true. 

Sakura's parents had saved up for her college tuition, but they hadn't expected medical school to be so costly. Luckily, their daughter is academically stubborn, never allowing herself to earn a grade lower than an A in all her years. Because of this, she managed to snag a scholarship that's enough to cover the remaining costs of school and living.

A few months ago, though, the Haruno family suffered a tremendous financial loss when, its patriach, Kizashi's employer was found to have been embezzling money, not to mention allocating their employees' retirement funds elsewhere without consent. At court, the employees were all granted supplemental checks, but the amount was less than what had been lost. 

It's a tragic thing. 

Sakura didn't hesitate when she learned the news. Immediately, she went to the bank and transferred money to her parents' account, the amount needed to equal what they lost in the incident. They're angry with her, but she won't hear it. All those years of raising her, they rarely told her no if she wanted something, not that she asked for much. There's no one she looks up to or appreciates more than her parents. It's their money anyway, so it's only fitting that they receive it. 

Due to that act, though, she must earn a respectable income to compensate for the loss. Otherwise, she won't be able to afford her apartment, let alone staying in the dorms. 

The following day, Sakura groans when the sound of her phone loudly ringing wakes her from a dead sleep. She sits up with a hand to her aching head. She has a killer hangover. 

"Mmm…Hello?" The woman grumbles as she blindly accepts the call, barely half awake. 

"Hello. May I speak with Miss Sakura Haruno, please?" The feminine voice on the line is professional and bubbly, but it's also unfamiliar, as is the number now that she's pulling the phone away to look at the screen. 

Confusion creases Sakura's brow. She puts the device back to her ear, "Speaking. Who is this?" 

"My name is Matsuri. I'm calling on behalf of Uchiha Corporation." Sakura's suddenly wide awake, fumbling to catch her phone as she nearly dropped it in surprise. Matsuri continues, obviously unaware of how stunned the recipient of her call is, "As a result of your recent employment inquiry, Mr. Uchiha would like to make you an offer. When can you begin working?" 

"U-Um, today! Whenever you'd like me to start, I'll be there." It's Friday morning.

"Wonderful. Please arrive before eight o'clock. Mr. Uchiha's meeting will end then, and he'll want to speak with you immediately." 

Sakura replies, "Of course. Thank you so much!" 

When the call ends, she freezes because she sees the time. It's already seven. She still needs to shower, dry her hair, get dressed, and travel the twenty minutes it takes to drive to the office from her apartment, and that's only if she can flag down a taxi quickly. 

"Shit!" The woman flies out of bed.

First, her hot water isn't working, so the shower is ice cold. Then, she realizes she has no time for cute makeup and has to settle for just BB cream and mascara, putting a hair tie on her wrist if her naturally wavy hair gets too out of hand throughout the day. When she's dressed in tan dress pants, a white button-up, and a navy blue blazer, she kneels to put on her favorite pair of shoes, only for the heel to break. So, with gritted teeth and inwardly cursing, Sakura slides on the next best option that matches the outfit. 

When she rushes downstairs and outside, she realizes it's raining heavily. Just as she's about to return to grab an umbrella, the woman spots an approaching taxi and curses under her breath once more before holding her purse above her head to shield some of the rain and hurrying to flag down the ride. 

What is going on today? It seems the world is against her!

Even though Sakura got a taxi quickly, she's still running behind when the cab pulls up to the curb at Uchiha Corp's massive office building because the traffic had been awful. The woman hurries through the lobby, ignoring the same curious stares as yesterday. 

The elevator is full when she gets on, but she's alone by the time it passes the ninth floor. As it continues up to the eleventh, the woman anxiously taps her foot while reaching up to pull her now damp and frizzy hair into something resembling a neat ponytail. 

When the door dings, signaling the arrival at her stop, Sakura immediately lurches forward. 

Something hard hits the woman just as she begins rushing out of the elevator, and a surprised sound leaves her mouth as she tumbles backward. An arm wraps around her, and a large hand at the small of her back catches her before she can hit the ground. The hair tie flings out of her grasp, and her hair falls, thick and wavy, down her back and around her shoulders as she desperately grasps onto whoever stopped her fall in a panic. 

Just great. Not only is she now late, but she ran head-first into some random person. 

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut the moment she began falling. So, humiliated, she opens them to see who she pretty much tackled, only for the air in her lungs to disappear. 

It's Mr. Uchiha, her new boss.