Faceless Desire

Chapter 8- 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.