Chapter Seven: Olive Branch or War Tactic?

Sakura tries to keep a straight face while sitting beside Ino Yamanaka. Five minutes after two o'clock, the V.P. and Sai are late. Her best friend whispers while anxiously fixing her hair for the millionth time, "Are you sure the meeting's at two?" 

"I'm sure! They'll probably be here any minute." They better be, or that pale-skinned liaison is going to get a piece of her mind. He's the one who assured the meeting would be possible at this time, after all. 

Today hasn't gone as planned so far. First, the Haruno woman missed the elevator by mere seconds and ended up having to climb the stairs to the eleventh floor because if she waited for the lift to come back down, she'd definitely have been late. She reached Mr. Uchiha's office at precisely six o'clock, gasping for breath with her leg muscles burning. Her feet have been killing her since, of course. 

Speaking of the Director, that asshole started an argument today because he didn't believe her when she said she had a meeting with his elder brother. Karin had to vouch for her, saying she overheard part of the conversation yesterday. Really, Sakura'd simply told her about it in the car on the way home. 

Since yesterday, it's like the Uchiha man is hyper-aware of Sakura's every move. She can feel his eyes on her when they're in the same room, and it makes the tiny hairs on her arms stick up. What's his problem? Yesterday, he seemed annoyed but fine. She thought he'd finally overcome whatever issues he had with her, but apparently not. She's even willing to forgive him for not saying he was sorry for what happened with the company credit card.

The door to the room suddenly opens, startling both women into standing up and turning around. The Vice President enters, Sai close behind, and extends a hand toward Ino, "Please accept my apology for our tardiness. There was an urgent matter to attend to." 

Sakura watches her best friend peripherally, inwardly impressed by the confident, calm aura she suddenly dons. Ino accepts the handshake, "I understand. It's no trouble." 

"My name is Itachi Uchiha. I'm the Vice President here. It's a pleasure to meet you." 

Blue eyes sparkle excitedly, "Ino Yamanaka." 

Oh, God. She's staring! Get it together, Ino! 

Sakura almost sighs as the blond snaps out of her stupor and turns to the other man, letting go of Itachi's hand so she can shake hands with Sai, "And you are?" That's surprising. Ino seems way more interested in Sai than she is in the V.P. In Sakura's eyes, the longer-haired man is noticeably more attractive. Evidently, her friend disagrees. 

The liaison's grin is tense, as it always is around strangers, but he shakes the woman's hand, "Sai." 

Sakura's phone vibrates in her pocket.

"Please, let's be seated," Itachi says. Once all four are sitting, Ino and Sakura across from the men, the V.P. wastes no time getting to business, "Our company has two locations under construction that will have their grand openings on December first of this year. One of these locations will focus solely on women's beauty. It will have a hair and nail salon, a spa, cosmetics stores, and more." 

Ino nods, "I think it's a great idea. That side of Konoha doesn't have anything like that, so there won't be much competition." 

Sakura's phone vibrates again.

"That's a relief to hear because we're interested in running an ad campaign with you as its star. We're thinking a few television and radio commercials, social media advertisements, and having you host the grand opening ceremony will be the minimum of what's expected. You'll be paid generously, of course." 

Don't just jump on board, Ino. Take it slow. If you look too eager, they might try to rip you off. Sakura tries to send encouragement telepathically to her friend. 

Thankfully, Ino doesn't squeal and cheer like she usually would. Instead, she smiles blindingly, "I'd like to go over the terms and compensation in more depth, but I'm interested," she interlaces her fingers and rests her hands on the table, tilting her head, "December is barely two months away. Are you confident this contract won't feel rushed?" 

Itachi and Sai do a fair job of masking their surprise, but Sakura doesn't miss it. She's proud of her friend for handling this so well. 

"In the event that you accept this contract, work will begin immediately. I understand that you're a busy woman, and devoting so much time to this project will surely interfere with prior obligations, but the company is willing to negotiate additional compensation to make up for that," Itachi reaches across the table with an open hand and a smile, "What do you say?" 

Ino looks at Sakura, both managing to appear primarily calm. The pinkette's eyes shine warmly so her friend understands things have gone well. The blond beauty nods, shaking Itachi's hand, "It sounds like a great opportunity. It'd be an honor to work with Uchiha Corp." 

After exchanging pleasantries, the four rise from their seats and gravitate toward the door. Itachi gestures toward the other man, "Please follow Sai. He'll take you to the advertisement division to discuss the terms of your contract and introduce you to the team you'll be working closely with. If you have any concerns, do not hesitate to contact him. He'll be your right-hand man through the process." 

Sakura bites back a scoff. 

Her phone vibrates a third time in her pocket.

She can just hear how her friend will be gushing about such a great job opportunity and having a hot assistant the entire time, too. The pig owes her big time for this one. 

Ino wordlessly regards her with a grateful smile before following the sarcastic, dark-haired man out of the room. That leaves Sakura and Itachi alone. 

The V.P. sighs, "I must admit I had concerns about trusting a new employee with such an important recommendation." 

She bites her tongue to stop herself from snickering but smiles softly, "That makes sense." 

"Thank you for bringing Miss Yamanaka on board. I'm unsure if we'd have been able to contract someone of her caliber with the time crunch we're in," Itachi offers his hand for the third time of the day, this time to his little brother's assistant. 

Blush met Sakura's cheeks at the man's earnest words. She shakes his hand before bowing politely, "I should return to my duties. Please reach out if I can be of help anywhere else." 

Once outside and heading toward her boss's office, the woman pulls out her phone to see what the big fuss is. 

'Should I not have asked that?' 

'That was probably inappropriate. You don't have to tell me.' 

'You must be at work. Text me back when you have a moment.' 

S triple-texted her, something she never expected. Sure, they've become friends since first being connected, but his personality is still rather reserved compared to most. He seems like the type never to text first because he doesn't want people to know he cares about them. 

Sakura's brow furrows, and she taps her index fingers on the device's edges. She doesn't want to tell him she's also in Konoha because he might want to meet. If he does that, she'll either have to ghost him or come clean that she's a woman and is incredibly uncomfortable meeting when they haven't known one another long. 

Sighing, she replies, 'Sorry for the late response. I'm in Suna. Is everything alright? You don't normally text during the day.' The woman lies. Guilt churns her stomach, but she tells herself it's for the best. She thinks she and S can become great friends. Telling him the truth will most likely ruin that. 

'Everything is fine. Talk to you after work.' 

What? Just a minute ago, he was messaging her as though he had something important to say. The woman frowned, clicking the screen off and sliding her phone into her pocket again. Is he really okay? It's just a text message, so it's not like she can judge his voice, but something still seems a little off.

…..

Miss Haruno enters the room, and Sasuke's eyes lift onto her from his phone. When her green ones lock onto him, he clicks the screen off and pretends to focus on his computer. 

What happened while she was away? Did Itachi say or do anything that'd reflect poorly on their family? As soon as he thinks it, he mentally rolls his eyes. Yeah, right. The pinkette seems to like his brother much more than she does him. If anything, Itachi just made her dislike Sasuke more because of their drastically different personalities. How they come from the same parents and upbringing is beyond them and everyone else. 

The two assistants soon prepare to take a lunch break. As they head toward the door, Sasuke feels eyes on him and looks up to glare at the pink-haired one. She returns the look with one almost identical but asks, "Are you allergic to anything, Sir?" Miss Uzumaki seems uneasy at her side but remains silent. 

Why is she asking that? Defensively, Sasuke frowns, "Not to my knowledge." 

The irritated aura surrounding the woman doesn't disappear, but it does lighten. She says nothing, turns, and leaves the room. The redheaded one follows her with a curious expression. 

Sasuke feels precisely how she looks: bewildered. For what reason would that woman need to know his allergies? He sighs and decides to ignore her odd behavior. Rarely does he understand what Miss Haruno says or does, so there's no point in trying now. 

He glances at his phone on the desk. Haruki finally responded, which relieves him because he thought he'd asked something he shouldn't have and ruined everything. Now, the Uchiha doesn't know what to say because if he tells the man why he texted in the middle of the day, which is that he couldn't stop thinking about it, then it'll be obvious he's become invested. 

The man focuses on his work again.

Ever since they began talking, Sasuke's migraines aren't as bad. The tension in his shoulders seems more manageable. Is it because he has someone he can be frank with? He thinks so. The fact scares him a little because the last time he so quickly considered someone his friend was in elementary school, and that was Naruto. No one else has broken through his walls since then, either. That's how he feels, but he isn't so comfortable that he'll tell Haruki all of this. He can't imagine himself ever being that good at communication. For now, he'll just keep things how they are. It's more than he hoped for anyway. 

A small bag is placed on Sasuke's desk, and he tears his eyes from his computer to see his trouble-making assistant. "Tell me if there are foods you don't like." 

His spine straightens as she sits a bottle of water beside the bag and promptly turns to leave the room again. He's so stunned he doesn't say anything before she's gone. Peering into the bag, he whispers to himself, "What the hell…? Did she poison it?" It's just a sandwich from a deli nearby to the office. 

Sakura's behavior wholly confuses him because he's sure she hates his guts. Why did she go out of her way for someone she doesn't like? If he wasn't entirely convinced of her distaste for him, he'd feel awkward accepting food because it might falsely tell the woman he's accepting of more casual approaches. 

He glares at the door while cautiously eating. 

No, that fiery woman has a hidden agenda. He just needs to figure out what it is.

~

Shorter chapter this week! 

Sorry! 

I'd have to end the chapter in an awkward place if I don't do it here. 

Thanks for reading!