Faceless Desire

Chapter 4- A Second Chance At A Good First Impression

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Is she not going to scold him for ignoring her? Any sane person would be pissed off right now. Well, she is angry. Sasuke expected Miss Haruno to offer at least a sarcastic remark. He can't tell if he's pleasantly surprised at her restraint or disappointed he doesn't get to witness her fire again.

Sasuke can't help but glance at the woman in question as Miss Uzumaki assists her in bandaging her scuffed knees and palms.

Kankuro seems to pick up on this. "Bet you're feeling like an ass and a half right about now, huh?"

The Uchiha man turns his glare onto him instead of the two nearby women, "I'm still your boss. Should I write you up for not ensuring everyone has a hardhat, including yourself? My assistant wouldn't have concerned herself to the degree of becoming injured if you'd had one."

Rather than apologize, Kankuro simply chuckles, "I've got a date after work today. That damn hat makes my hair crazy. A guy like you can understand that, right?"

What does he mean by "a guy like him"?

His irritated expression must properly portray his confusion because the Subaku man adds, "Fuck, man. Don't tell me you're not taking advantage of that face." He seemed disgusted at the thought of such wasteful behavior.

Sasuke rolls his eyes but is interrupted by a middle-aged man rushing into the massive room, calling to the site supervisor, "I'm here! What's the big problem?" It's evident by his tousled clothing and sleepy expression that he took a nap on his lunch and didn't wake up when he was supposed to.

Everyone turns to look at the oblivious man. Sasuke speaks before Kankuro can, "You're the team leader, I presume?"

"Uh, yeah. What of it?" Another clueless employee fails to recognize one of the higher-ups. Undoubtedly, he's thinking, "Who is this pretty boy and what's he doing at a worksite like this?"

Unlike before, when he lost his cool with Miss Haruno, Sasuke takes a calming breath before speaking evenly, "An extended lunch break was never approved, and our company doesn't provide you with a phone so you can ignore your supervisor's calls."

The man opens his mouth, obviously to talk back, but Kankuro shoots him a warning glare to shut him up.

Sasuke misses none of this but doesn't comment on it, "I'll let you off with a warning since this is your first offense, but if you step a toe out of line between now and this project's completion, I'll have you demoted. Am I understood?"

Soon, he and the two assistants are back in his car and on their way to the office once more. They don't speak amongst themselves as they did the first time around. The entire ride is quiet and borderline tense. Why did he yell at her like that? Sure, she's been causing trouble today, but that's no reason to make a fool out of her and himself in front of an entire worksite.

The throbbing in Sasuke's temples only becomes more prominent as the day progresses.

When the trio arrives at the main office, and the vehicle is parked in the employee garage, Miss Uzumaki clears her throat to garner his attention. He offers it more patiently than he might've earlier in the day, given his slip-up with the quiet pink-haired woman at his side, "Hn?"

She bows with a professional smile, "Going forward, I intend to work longer days, but I have a prior engagement to attend to this afternoon. Thank you again for this opportunity. I'll see you on Monday morning, Sir." With one last nod at her other co-worker, the redhead excuses herself toward the vehicles, likely to find her own.