A/N: votes, comments, and shares are appreciated.
Did anyone see season 7 trailer? It looks epic
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Lani POV:
It's ridiculous. I know.
But, I just don't understand what he's thinking. I never do, and it's frustrating...
Exhaling a heavy sigh, I drummed my black painted nails against the desk as I waited for my boss to show up to our meeting. I should be thinking about work, I should be thinking about how my job is on the line every single time my boss, Yuna, and I have these meetings. I should be mentally recounting my progress with Shouto, and his Instagram, and popularity stats, and....
And.....and, I know it's not right of me to give him the cold shoulder for such stupid things, alright? His ex-girlfriend texting him...and Ella texting him....it's not my business how he chooses to spend his free time—at least, it shouldn't be. Especially considering everything that I'm involved in—all things he and his little hero posse are apparently trying to figure out. God, I should stay far away from him. I should keep a healthy distance. And yet...
It's been an hour since we parted ways, and I find myself tapping the home screen of my phone every few minutes, wondering if I'll see another message from him.
No new messages.
Ugh. And there shouldn't be. There aren't any new developments with work. So...there's no reason to text each other. There's absolutely no reason to talk to him right now if I look at it from a professional standpoint.
So, why am I navigating to his name and number, with my fingers typing away....
Text Message To: Shouto
Thanks for grabbing lunch with me and letting me get your measurements for the tux. I liked seeing you today.
3:52pm.
I put my phone away, not expecting him to text me back. He always says he's not a big texter, and while I haven't really experienced that from him, I know I probably could at any time-
Ding!
Text Message From: Shouto
You did?
3:52pm.
I smiled softly, practically able to hear his blunt, clueless response through the words.
Text Message To: Shouto
Yep. I like seeing you everyday. Helps that you're nice to look at ;)
3:55pm.
Text Message From: Shouto
You're nice to look at, too.
Good luck in your meeting. I'm thinking about it right now.
Text Message To: Shouto
You're thinking about my meeting? That's sweet.
Text Message From: Shouto
I'm actually thinking about you.
But, you're in the meeting. So, I guess that technically means I am thinking about your meeting...?
I blew a soft breath past my lips, scanning the contents of his messages one too many times.
Oh, Shouto. So cluelessly honest. I know him well enough to know he wasn't even trying to be smooth by saying he was thinking about me. But, that only makes it sound that much more intimate. Because he never lies, so I know it's true. He doesn't even realize that a statement like that is enough to stir my stomach with butterflies.
The more time I spend with him, the more I want to take it further. God, I want to take it further. I would take this conversation right now and lead it somewhere neither of us could come back from. Would he reciprocate? Would he even understand?
It's hard being a horny bitch.
But, hey, at least I'm not a bitch in her feelings. Because my feelings towards Shouto are strictly just some good old fashioned sexual attraction. Since when could men only look at someone and think 'yeah, I'd tapped that.' Women do, too. Or, at least, I do. Judge me, sue me, I don't care.
The loud bang next to me forced my head out of its daydreams, quickly closing my phone at lightning speed as if I was doing something wrong by texting my client. Looking next to me, I composed myself immediately, seeing that familiar pink curled bitch getting herself situated.
"Hello, Lani. Have a nice rest of your evening after the party the other night?" Mai smiled forcefully, unzipping her bag of colored pens with enough passive aggression to beat All Might in an arm wrestling match.
Heh. Well, doesn't she look tightly wound today? Nice to see that I'm getting under her perfect skin just as much as she's getting under mine. Let's build on that, shall we?
"Sure did. I went to sleep with the image of Bakugo's ass squashing your head like a pancake playing in my mind. It definitely made for the sweetest dreams ever." I smirked deviously, leaning back in my chair and stretching my arms overhead.
Mai's smile cracked slightly and her eye twitched at the reminder I'd never let her live down, but she kept the artificial beam on her face, plopping down into the chair next to me with a heavy thud. "Well, according to Bakugo's instagram, it seems 997,000 other people probably went to sleep with him in their minds, too. It's valiant of you to keep trying when you've clearly already lost to our unshakable team."
Unshakable, my ass.
I remained slumped in my chair and crossed my arms, looking towards the empty desk of our boss as we waited for her.
"Please, I'm not worried. Shouto's a dime piece." I dismissed, causing Mai to mimic my position tauntingly.
"Well, it's clear you certainly think so." She said with fake sweetness, involuntarily causing my heart to jump.
Instantly, the smirk had been subtly wiped off my face a bit and I sat up a little straighter, "Oh yeah? And what is that supposed to mean?" I tried to keep my composure behind my half lidded eyes.
Mai's glossy lips twitched with a malicious look of her own, before she coated it in her artificial sweetness, "Oh, nothing! I know I don't need to remind you of the rules of the hero commission. Everyone knows the ethical contract violations of mixing business with pleasure. You'll be fired immediately when you're caught." She grinned widely, causing me to scoff.
"Can't be caught if I'm not doing anything wrong, you bobblehead bimbo." I sneered.
And I wasn't lying. Shouto and I haven't done anything that could get us in trouble...
Yet.
Ugh. No, you horny bitch. You're supposed to think 'never,' because he's him and you're you. God, hooking up with Shouto probably wouldn't even be all that anyways. He looks at sex as if it were a homework assignment
But, hey, his ex-girlfriend is obsessed with him, and he told me they fucked. You're not gonna be obsessed with a guy who can't fuck you good. Right? So maybe that means he is good in bed. I wonder if he knows how to make a woman cum. I wonder how he'd sound when he's close...
I wonder how big he is-
The sound of Mai's jangly bracelet forced my mind out of the gutter, watching her watch me and flip her hair off her shoulder, "For your sake, I hope you're not mixing business with pleasure. Wouldn't want someone to find any dirt on you this late in the game. It would certainly be soul crushing." She alluded.
Suddenly my pencil skirt felt too tight and the room ungodly hot as Shouto's shirtless body remained stamped behind my eyes, trying to keep my composure as best I could.
"Mmm. Good thing I don't have a soul then, right?" I mused, tauntingly giving the tip of Mai's nose a chastising little poke.
"I second that." A new voice in the room said, causing Mai and I to turn around and see our boss walk in. "Anyone who can stomach wearing a g-string to work is someone I don't want to mess with."
Mai and I straightened up instantly now, with my face morphing into question at her intimate words. "How do you know I wear those, boss?" I asked, watching her plop her designer bag down on her desk.
She eyed me knowingly before sliding into her chair, "Have you already forgotten when you fell on your ass and flashed me the last time you were here? I was so sure that brought us closer." She clicked her tongue, starting to pull out her file folders and arrange them on her desk.
"Don't take it personally, Ms. Yuna." Mai leaned forward and began her ass kissing. "Lani tends to spread her legs for lots of people."
I let out an unattractive growl and prepared to retaliate before Yuna let out a whistle like I'd been burned. "Ooo, she got you there. Okay, Mai is leading the meeting by one point today." She concluded with a snap of her fingers, causing my jaw to fall to the floor as Mai cheered like a ditz.
"What!? But, that had nothing to do with hero season! And she insulted my character!" I pointed out as Yuna sighed and folded her hands on her desk.
"Did she though, Lani? Or are you just mad because it's true?" She feigned profoundness, making my eyes fall half lidded in annoyance.
"It's not tru-"
"Okay, enough of this. I'm late for my spin class, as it ended thirty minutes ago. Let's get down to business—starting with the little hussy in the room." Yuna said casually, gesturing to me as the hussy in question.
"Since when did everyone just decide that I'm a hoe?" I grumbled, ignoring the insult as I gathered up my notes for the presentation.
I'm sure anyone else would be rightfully offended by the amount of verbal abuse that happens around here, but after a few days of working for the hero commission, you quickly learn that's just how the higher ups operate. Heroic, isn't it?
"Lani, give me your updates on The...Shouto. How is our little ladykiller doing?" Yuna asked, causing me to rise from my chair and approach the presentation podium at the front.
Psh. 'Lady killer.' Don't tell Shouto that, he'll just turn himself into the police for murder...
"'Good' would be an understatement." I gloated proudly, eyeing Mai with triumph before displaying Shouto's instagram on the big projector for the two to see. "His Instagram has taken off, and Marco DiLagerie of Chanel has asked to make his tuxedo for the Fresh Heroes Banquet personally."
Yuna gasped at the last part, instantly typing it down on her computer. "Nice, nice. That's definitely worth three points." She eyed me over her laptop with some validation, causing Mai to grit her teeth.
"Shouto's up to almost 600,000 followers after the exposure of showing up to Kai's party last night, and lemme read you just a few of the thousands of DMs he's getting." I cleared my throat, clicking on the first messages I saw before stating them word for word. "'Oh my god, daddy.' Let me make you a father.' 'I want you to cross my legs like a pretzel and double dip into my fruit cup,' whatever that means."
"Inventive." Yuna gave a impressed nod, causing Mai to roll her eyes. "Perhaps, we have Shouto start replying to some of these DMs flirtatiously just to get people talking and make things interesting."
I couldn't help but let out an audible chuckle, switching off the projector screen as I spoke absentmindedly, "Good luck with that. Shouto trying to flirt is like the equivalent of waiting for water to boil—over a cold stove."
"So you're saying he doesn't have experience?" Yuna cut in, causing me to look up as I realized I spoke louder than I meant to.
Her and Mai were staring at me expectantly, with the pink haired Barbie appearing a little more confident at the way I just put my foot in my mouth.
"Oh—uhhh..." I stalled, trying to save the moment. "I mean, he's had a girlfriend—at least one. But, I don't-"
"Is he a virgin, Lani?" Yuna came out with it boldly, causing my eyes to widen.
Because as much as I'm supposed to make Shouto a 'heartthrob,' I seem to have a big problem with doing the one thing I'm supposed to be doing—exploiting him. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't care. I'd be heartless, sharing all their personal information to benefit myself. I never said I was a good person.
But, with Shouto...somehow, he's the big shot hero, yet I feel the need to protect him from everyone and everything.
I fiddled with the projector clicker in my hand, settling on an answer that was so uncharacteristic to the sleazy persona I've built up here.
"He didn't say."
He absolutely did say. And, quite frankly, Yuna knows my work ethic, and knows damn well I'd be able to get some information like that out of my client within the first few days. She looked a little taken aback by my answer, trying to read my blank expression and decipher if I was lying. But, she either lost interest in the chase or couldn't decide what was true, moving on with a suspicious hum after endless seconds.
"Well, regardless, he seems to act like one, and that won't do. Get him some experience." She ordered, waving me off the podium dismissively.
But, once again, my sleazy persona was nowhere to be found, blinking a few times as I stumbled on my words. "I.....I'm sorry?-"
"Actually, before we even have him start going on dates-" She thought out loud, causing my heart to jump at her internal ideas.
"Dates!?-"
"Teach him how to interact with women first. You know, how to look into their eyes. Say the words that make them go weak at the knees. How to touch them. How to dirty talk." She chuckled a bit deviously, stroking her chin at the possibilities.
"Look, that's really not his style." I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to grasp at anything I could to ensure this wouldn't happen. "And if we want him to be successful, shouldn't we stick to what we know is working?"
Yuna's eyes darkened now, not liking the challenge I was putting up. "Do I want him to be successful? I don't remember saying that." She feigned cluelessness, starting to ooze impatience for my constant defiance. "I remember saying that I want to pick the best intern for the job—and the best intern will make sure her hero prevails in every situation. Even situations that might not be easy."
I said nothing now, because I couldn't, knowing I was consistently pushing my luck when it came to this job. Instead, I sighed heavily, looking down at my feet tiredly as Yuna gave me her final orders.
"Teach Shouto how to please a woman, Lani. We'll proceed from there."
"With the....dates." I uttered in some sense of clarification, trying to hide the dread in my voice.
"Is that a problem for you?" Yuna's voice went empty, quirking a brow of threat.
"Certainly seems that way." Mai piped in sweetly, smirking at me with memory to our conversation a few minutes ago.
Mixing business with pleasure—as much as I can't stand the bobblehead Barbie, she's right, it's never a good idea. Especially not for me—especially not with a hero like him.
"No. It's not a problem. Shouto and I are colleagues. I'll...I'll make it work." I nodded, trying to bury down my conflicting thoughts as I walked off the podium.
Teach Shouto how to please a woman. How the hell am I gonna do that and keep things....'ethical' for our jobs?
End of Arc Two
Stay tuned for arc three. Things are about to get....interesting to say the least ;)
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My Satoru Gojo story hit wattpad yesterday! People are really liking it so go check it out if ur a JJK fan! <3
As usual, you can read arc three of bad habits on Patreon and my other books as well. Otherwise I'll see you next week!