Best Mistake (Iwaoi)

Chapter 14

Chapter 14:
The Phoenix

Gathering up his satchel, Oikawa passed through the heavy, tinted glass doors, his knees trembling as his heart beat frantically. He suddenly got even more self-conscious with how he looked, which was something quite unusual, because Oikawa was always oozing with confidence - plus, he didn't actually care about what other people had to say about his choice of clothes.

Oikawa was greeted by a spacious room with glass windows overlooking the city on his right, and a black wall, heavily covered with wallpaper that had an elegant pattern on the left. Oikawa's mouth fell agape. Despite having been in the building for a while, he was still astounded by how huge Mr. Phoenix's office was - he was quite sure that his team could train here and do some drills.

In the centermost part of the office was a desk and a high-back swivel chair, facing the direction opposite to his. Oikawa cleared his throat to get the man's attention but his attempt was to no avail, "Uhh? H-Hello?"

Oikawa chuckled nervously as the swivel chair slowly rotated. His heart was racing frantically inside his chest, and it beat so erratically that he almost thought it was gonna break loose. The dark-toned, yet astoundingly charming young man smiled at him. He wasn't who Oikawa was expecting.

"H-Hajime?" Oikawa's voice quivered, his left hand pinching his right arm to make sure whether he was in some kind of a dream or not. "T-This is a mistake, I-I'm here to interview Mr. Phoenix."

"Well..." Iwaizumi smiled, as he opened his hands to welcome his special guest, "...you're looking at him."

Shit! Why does it have to be him? Was this planned? Is he the reason why I was chosen to fill in for Suga's stead? I hate my life. Unnecessary thoughts began to swarm inside Oikawa's mind as he kept cussing under his breath. He was subconsciously biting his fingernails, and was so distracted that he didn't even notice Iwaizumi approaching him.

He extended a long-fingered hand to Oikawa, and at once he was cut off from his thought bubble. "I'm Mr. Phoenix. It's a pleasure to meet you, and welcome to my lair!" Iwaizumi's lips broke into a poised grin as Oikawa regained composure and flashed a stoic expression.

Iwaizumi was dressed in a fine gray suit, white shirt, and black tie. His unruly jet black hair and intense, bright green eyes regard Oikawa shrewdly. It took him a couple of seconds before Oikawa shook Iwa's hand and smiled sourly, "I'm not sure if I should say that it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Phoenix-san. However, since you're a highly-regarded person and sealing this deal is very important to my job, I would like you to know that the pleasure is all mine."

Iwaizumi flashed a fake smile, Oikawa's words evidently hurting him. He was quick to mask up the grief-stricken expression as he made his way back to his chair.

"Sugawara-san is unavailable at the moment, so my company sent me. I hope you don't mind, Phoenix-san."

"And you are?" Iwaizumi cocked a brow, his question catching Oikawa off guard. His voice was warm, possibly amused, but it's quite difficult for Oikawa to tell with his impassive expression.

What's with that question? What is he trying to insinuate? Act like strangers when we've known each other our whole lives? Oikawa's brows furrowed as he pursed his lips. He ignored his own question for the meantime as he fished out the questions Sugawara prepared, a notepad and a pen inside his satchel. "Oikawa Tōru, Executive Director of ArtMart Tokyo."

"I see," he says simply. A ghost of a smile appeared on Iwaizumi's face as he looked at Oikawa with full admiration. Despite Oikawa's confident facade, Iwaizumi could tell that he was quite tense, and finding Oikawa's attempt to look poised, cute.