Winds of Destiny: Falling ~ {Hawks x OC}

Chapter Sixteen: Sunday Morning

The President of the Hero Public Safety Commission stood behind her desk while she sifted through a large, leather bound notebook in her hands. Not finding what she was looking for, she called out to the open door leading into the lobby, "Misaki—"

Misaki walked through the door just as the President called out her name. She took a paper from the clipboard she was carrying and handed it to the woman. "Your brief for your eleven o'clock meeting with the Prime Minister. I've highlighted the main topics for your reference. Can I get you anything else for your trip into the capital, ma'am?"

Staring at her secretary for a moment, the President slowly took the paper from her outstretched hand and placed it in the notebook, securing the clasp before sliding it into her briefcase. "No, that will be all."

Misaki nodded before walking back toward the door. Stepping out into the hallway, she waited for the President to walk out after her before shallowly bowing and telling her, "Have a safe trip, Madam President."

The President nodded to her before turning and walking down the hall to the roof access where a helicopter was waiting to fly her to the meeting. Misaki closed the office door behind her and turned to go back to her desk, only to find her chair occupied by Hawks.

"You've settled in here nicely," he drawled as he leaned forward against the desk with a bored expression.

Misaki sighed in exasperation before walking around the desk and setting the clipboard down. "One of the most secure buildings in the country and you still manage to sneak in to pester me while I'm working. What is it this time?" She held up her index finger. "And before you ask, no, I am not going to quit."

He turned the chair around to face her and leaned back with his hands behind his head, regarding her amusedly. "I was gonna say you're doing a great job, actually."

Misaki smiled demurely and leaned back against the edge of the desk. "It's been three months... I think I've finally gotten a handle on things around here."

Hawks threw his hands into the air in a banzai. "So, you beat the curve! Wanna come work for me now?"

She glared back at him playfully from the corner of her eye. "I already told you I'm not quitting."

He shot her a crooked grin, narrowing his eyes a bit as he stood and leaned sideways against the desk. "Offer's always on the table, Misa-chan."

"Thanks," she sarcastically replied. "Now what are you really doing here?"

He reached out to take her hand and gently pulled her towards him. "I was in town for business, thought I'd drop in on my way back. You never have time to come see me anymore. I miss you."

He wasn't exaggerating. It had been several weeks since they'd been able to meet face to face like this. They still spoke on the phone almost every day, but their hectic schedules hadn't aligned to allow any down time for them to spend together. After Hawks had been promoted to the Number Three Hero on the Billboard Chart JP with the last official ranking, he'd been handling more high-profile cases. Meanwhile, Misaki had been busy studying anything she could get her hands on about the hero business and fine tuning her secretarial duties. Now that she felt like she finally had a good handle on the ropes of the job, she was focusing on making herself more proficient, learning to anticipate the needs of the office and preparing to respond to them quickly and efficiently.

To be perfectly honest, even as the President's secretary she was incredibly overwhelmed. There had been days that she'd arrived at the office before seven in the morning and hadn't gotten back home until after nine at night, only to get up and do it all over again the next day. But even though she'd been so overworked, she didn't regret her decision to take the job. More than the paltry salary she made, which was barely comparable to the one she'd had at the bank, the rewards of the job itself made everything worth it to her. Getting to see firsthand the sort of impact heroes had on society, and all of the gears turning behind the scenes to make sure incidents were resolved as quickly and safely as possible, was incredibly eye opening.