Faceless Desire

Chapter 12- Why'd It Have To Be Him?

Sasuke wonders why he stupidly agreed to come to Matsuri's birthday party. He's severely uncomfortable going to bars and clubs but even more so when a majority of the people around are his employees!

He'd like to say that having Naruto present brings some solace, but he'd be lying. That idiot blonde is one of the rowdiest people in the group of young professionals. It doesn't help that the majority of those attending the get-together are women. Other than him and Naruto, Sai is the only man. Three men compared to at least ten women.

For the first time, they were introduced to the head of the Hyuga branch's cousin, a quiet and intelligent woman named Hinata. She's the one Naruto mentioned had a hand in the creation of AC.

Sasuke steals a glance her way while sipping his whiskey with a frown. She seems to be close with his assistant.

Now that he's thinking about it, everyone appears to get along with Sakura easily, even Sai, who's notorious for having a prickly disposition. He wonders why she and him can't get along smoothly. Sure, they're capable of doing their jobs together, but it's all business.

Ino is trying to goad Sai into a drinking contest, unsuccessfully, while Naruto and a brunette that Sasuke believes works for Neji Hyuga try to convince Sakura and Hinata to get drunk, also unsuccessfully. He noticed during their welcoming dinner that his assistant didn't drink much. Is she a lightweight?

Attentive green eyes suddenly lock onto his, and Sasuke quickly looks away, glaring at the bar.

He's having trouble not staring because Sakura's dressed casually for the first time. Gone is the pantsuit. Instead, she's wearing a short skirt over thin black tights and an oversized white sweater. Ankle boots with short heels are on her feet. It's like seeing a school professor at the grocery store. It almost seems like she's a completely different person in an outfit like that. It makes Sasuke realize, once again, that he knows absolutely nothing about his assistant.

"Oh, thank you, Sir! It's perfect! I don't know how you figured out what I wanted, but you're the best!" A tipsy and excited Matsuri suddenly stands beside him, jumping up and down with a pink gift bag in her hands.

He nods, "Happy birthday."

He has no clue what he gifted her because Sakura took care of it. Deja vu sweeps over him, and he sighs, shaking his head. This has happened before, right? At least this time, the recipient is happy with what she received. The birthday girl returns to her group of H.R. friends nearby, and soon Sasuke hears a familiar voice, "You're her favorite person right now, you know."

It's Sakura. She must've gotten up when she caught him staring and overheard Matsuri gushing about the gift. He didn't look her way as she slid onto the barstool to his left.

"This is the part where you tell me how great I am and give me a massive raise."

"Thank you for getting something she'd like and not sabotaging me," he mutters, rolling his eyes in irritation.

She seems surprised but quickly snaps out of it, "You're welcome!"

The woman turns her back to him when Ino flounces up to say something. Sakura's hair is in a ponytail and it brushes his shoulder as she turns. The familiar scent of her shampoo meets the Uchiha man's nose, and he closes his eyes.

She's not a woman. She's a colleague, an employee.

Time passes. For most of the evening, Sakura remains at Sasuke's side, though she doesn't attempt to force him into conversations and only says a thing or two every so often to remind him that she's aware of his presence. She keeps him company so he's not the odd man out of the group. It isn't as uncomfortable as he thought it'd be. In fact, the D.O.O greedily uses her as a buffer for any coworkers or random women who approach, and she either allows it or doesn't notice.