InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 2: Defiance ❯ Office Politics ( Chapter 20 )

~~Chapter 20~~

~Office Politics~

 

~*~

 

 

“Do you have my case file on the Ramsden merger?”

 

Toga glanced up from the contract he'd been reading through and frowned as Kari leaned around the doorway and into the office. “No . . . was I supposed to?”

 

Kari sighed, holding one arm over her stomach as she rubbed her temple with her free hand. “Are you sure you didn't take it? Some sort of initiation hazing or something?

Toga frowned. “And why would I do that? You've worked here long enough that it shouldn't even be an issue.”

 

“I can't find it,” Kari admitted with a grimace, as though she expected Toga to laugh at her.

 

Toga dropped the paperwork and his pen on the stack of papers scattered over his desktop and sat back. “I'd love to help you,” he said as he shook his head slowly, “but honestly, I have no idea where it is. Can't you call legal and have them get you another copy?”

 

Kari sank down in the high back wooden chair across from him and glowered in his direction but not exactly at him. “The signing is tomorrow, so no, I can't just get another copy!”

 

Bristling at her acidic tongue, Toga tried to tell himself that she was just upset over losing the contract. Upset, sure—he would have been, too, but the way she tended to ask for help could use just a bit of work, in his estimation . . . “You know, you'd get more help if you tried to remember that I'm not your enemy,” he commented as he deliberately retrieved the contract he'd been looking over.

 

“You're right,” she agreed with a defeated sigh as she leaned forward and dropped her face into her hands. “You've been really nice to me, and . . . I'm sorry.”

 

Letting the contract fall back onto his desk, Toga relented. “It's fine,” he told her, ignoring the little voice inside his head that insisted that he was too much of a pushover. “Did you take it home with you?”

 

She shook her head without looking up. “No . . . I left it on my desk last night because it was all finished.”

 

“Did it fall on the floor?” he suggested.

 

That did get her attention. Snapping her head up, she shot him a wicked glare designed to let him know that she didn't appreciate his sense of humor. Toga chuckled and held up his hands. “Sorry . . .”

 

She sighed again as she straightened up. “Toga . . . I'm serious. Sampson doesn't like me. He didn't want to hire me from the start . . .”

 

Toga shook his head. “What? So why did he?”

 

Shrugging as though the entire affair were of little or no real consequence, Kari shook her head, her expression darkening for a moment before she blanked her features and cleared her throat. “My mother is his second ex-wife. She called in a favor, so if I blow this . . .”

 

Unfortunately, he understood a little too well, didn't he? Family politics had a way of becoming ugly, after all. . “Let me go down to legal and see if they can do a rush on getting a new contract for you,” Toga offered as he stood up.

 

The relief in Kari's face was instant. “Thank you, Toga! If you can swing this, I'll owe you, big.”

 

He shook his head. “Huge.”

 

She finally smiled. “All right, huge.”

 

He strode down the hallway and into the stairwell, running down the four flights to the legal department. All three secretaries glanced up when he walked in, and he jammed one hand in his pocket as he adjusted his glasses with the other.

 

“Hi, Toga! How were your holidays?” Lisa asked as Toga stopped walking. She was the one he normally spoke to, and he figured he might as well ask her for the favor.

 

“Nice,” he answered with a shy smile. “Hey, um, I . . . uh . . . lost a contract, and I was wondering if you could get me a copy of it?”

 

Lisa shook her head but returned his smile. “What contract?”

 

“The Ramsden merger.”

 

Her sandy eyebrows shot up as she peeked up at him over the low edge of her horn-rimmed eyeglasses. “Ramsden? You're not working on that one, are you?”

 

Toga shrugged as he stuffed his other hand into his pocket, too. “I was asked to lend Kari a hand.”

 

Lisa nodded slowly as she started shuffling through some papers to find the tracking number of the document in question. “You need this by tomorrow?” she asked incredulously.

 

Toga made a face very much like the one he used to use on his mother when she caught him snitching cookies after school. “Uh . . . yes.”

 

Lisa stared at him for a long moment before turning to speak to another secretary. “Kendra, is there any way we can get a copy of the Ramsden contract? The signing is tomorrow.”

 

Kendra looked surprised, too, as her gaze shifted to Toga. He managed an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

 

Hooking a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear, Kendra giggled. “If you let me touch your hair, Toga, I'll see what I can do . . .”

 

“My hair?” he echoed blankly. “You want to . . . ? Why?”

 

The third secretary—an older woman named Bonnie—laughed. “Of course she does, sweetie. You didn't know that? We all do . . . is it really as soft as it looks?”

 

“Soft?” He shook his head in confusion. “Uh . . .”

 

Kendra got up and ran over to him, her fingers latching onto a lock of his hair before she had stopped moving as Lisa stood and hurried over, too. Toga could feel his face heating as the girls exclaimed over his hair, and his embarrassment only got worse when Bonnie swept over to join the girls, as well, running her fingers through the thick locks, letting it filter through her fingers as she stared at him with a somewhat awed expression on her face..

 

“You know, Toga, I'm in charge of next year's benefit calendar . . .” Lisa remarked. “Care to pose? It's all for charity . . .”

 

“Oh, you know, he'd be a great cover boy, wouldn't he?” Kendra piped up.

 

“Wha—? No way,” Toga muttered as his face warmed another few degrees.

 

“But think of all the money you'd make, all in the name of charity!” Lisa begged.

 

“Come on, Toga, just one picture . . . it'd be harmless, I swear . . .”

 

Toga scowled as he glanced at Kendra. “Why do you care?”

 

Kendra shrugged but couldn't hide her grin. “I'm on the committee.”

 

He groaned.

 

“Seriously, it's all for charity . . . You'd make a great Christmas model. You could just hold a package over your . . . package.” She wiggled her eyebrows as Toga reddened even more.

 

“Wh-what?” he rasped out.

 

The girls giggled. “Charity, Toga: charity!” Kendra insisted.

 

He snorted. “No.”

 

“You're not looking at this the right way,” Lisa cut in. “It's just a picture; no biggie.”

 

Wrinkling his nose since he knew how desperately Kari needed the contract, he heaved a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I'll think about it,” Toga grumbled, figuring that they'd drop it if he conceded that much, even if he didn't actually intend to do anything of the sort.

 

Bonnie cleared her throat. “Girls, you'd better tell him the rest.”

 

“What rest?” Toga asked suspiciously, not liking the sound of Bonnie's tone.

 

“Oh, nothing,” Kendra remarked a little too innocently.

 

Lisa wrinkled her nose. “It's a beefcake calendar this year.”

 

The look on his face must have betrayed his ignorance, because all three women burst into laughter. “Ask your girlfriend, Toga,” Kendra told him. “If she says no, then we promise, we'll never bug you again.” Letting go of his hair, she patted his shoulder before heading back toward her desk.

 

Lisa sighed. “But if she says yes . . . then we'll bug you forever.”

 

“How do you know I have a girlfriend?” he demanded.

 

Kendra rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, Toga! A cutie like you? Of course you have a girlfriend because you certainly don't act gay!”

 

Bonnie chuckled. “Okay, Toga. For you and that doll-baby face of yours, we'll have the contract ready for you by ten tomorrow morning.”

 

Toga grinned, as much from relief that the women were heading back to work. “Thank you, ladies,” he called over his shoulder as he headed out of the office again.

 

“Visit again, soon!” Lisa hollered.

 

He grimaced as he pushed into the stairwell. That was definitely more than he'd bargained for, wasn't it? It wasn't bad enough that he'd caught every last one of them eyeing his rear at one time or another, but for reasons that he didn't want to think about too hard, he couldn't help but feel a little dirty over what he'd done in order to secure that contract.

 

`Don't worry about it,' he told himself sternly. `Kari needed that damned document, and they didn't mind helping you out, now did they?'

 

Heaving a sigh as he pushed into the stairwell once more, Toga shook his head and frowned. What was a beefcake calendar, anyway?

 

 

-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-

 

 

“Hi. Got a minute?”

 

Toga dropped the papers he was looking over as a bright smile lit up his face. Rising to his feet, he hurried around his desk to properly greet his visitor. “Hi, sure . . . what are you doing here?”

 

Sierra tilted her cheek as he kissed her. “Well, I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd see if we're still on for tonight.”

 

He sat back on the edge of his desk and grinned. “Sure . . . I learned my lesson. You're a little scary when I cancel,” he teased.

 

She grinned. “So how long do you have to work this evening?”

 

Toga shrugged. “I could leave now . . . if I wanted . . . if I had a reason to, that is . . .”

 

“A reason, huh? Well . . . we could get an early start on that dinner and movie,” she suggested.

 

He thought that over for a moment. “Hmm, that would depend.”

 

She blinked and eyed him cautiously, crossing her arms over her chest as she let her head fall to the side in a completely coquettish sort of way. “On what?”

 

He lifted his eyebrows. “On what you're making for dinner.”

 

Sierra giggled. “What do you want?”

 

A thousand ideas raced through his head, none of which involved food and all of which were things that he didn't dare mention. He relented with a sigh directed more at his own wayward thoughts than at her. “Whatever you make is fine.”

 

Her smile was his reward though she rolled her eyes to let him know that she saw right through his smooth machinations. “So . . . want to come home with me?”

 

He grinned. “Sure. I have to tell Kari something then we can go. He grabbed his jacket and jerked his head toward the door.” Stopping long enough to shake his head, he added as almost an afterthought, “You want to meet her?”

 

Sierra looked like she was considering it. Finally she nodded and took the hand he offered her. He kissed the back of it before dragging her into the hallway, unable to stop smiling. Something about having Sierra by his side just made him feel a little too good; damned if it didn't.. He knocked on the next office and poked his head inside as Kari glanced up from the contract she was looking over. “I talked to the girls in legal. They'll have the contract ready by ten.”

 

Absolute relief surfaced on Kari's face as she smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Toga . . . you're a life saver.”

 

Sierra squeezed Toga's hand and he pulled her into the office behind him. “Kari, this is my girlfriend, Sierra . . . Sierra, this is—”

 

“Sierra. How have you been?” Kari asked as the icy demeanor slipped back into place though not before Toga discerned the flare of recognition—and distaste.

 

Sierra stiffened behind him, and he turned to look at her. She looked more irritated than he could recall her being, and he frowned. “How's Allan?” she asked just as stiffly.

 

Kari offered Sierra a completely insincere smile. Toga glanced back and forth. “Allan?”

 

“I wouldn't know. We split up because of . . . you, wasn't it?”

 

Sierra narrowed her gaze. “I didn't do anything wrong,” she pointed out evenly.

 

“Of course you didn't,” Kari intoned dryly, her stoic expression undermined by the tell-tale brightness in her eyes. “Not a thing, right?” She let her stare flick from Sierra to Toga then back again as she sucked in her cheek and slowly shook her head. “And now you've snagged him, too? I've got to hand it to you, Sierra, for a girl who doesn't `do anything' you sure as hell get around, don't you?”

 

Sierra uttered an outraged gasp as Toga pushed her behind his back. He couldn't keep back the growl that rumbled from his throat. Kari looked surprised as she stepped back in retreat. “I don't think I appreciate what you're implying,” he warned quietly, glaring at his co-worker for another moment before turning back to Sierra. “Let's go.”

 

She didn't look like she wanted to. Finally she nodded and turned on her heel, pulling her hand away as she strode over to the elevator and hit the `down' button about twenty times before Toga reached her side. One glance at her face convinced him not to ask questions. The brightness in her eyes was too telling, the smell of her tears already registering as he winced. A completely instinctive desire to go back, to tear Kari to shreds made him gnash his teeth together. He didn't know why he was so irate, but he didn't like anyone or anything causing Sierra any pain, and it was obvious to him that whatever had happened between the two before hadn't been pleasant.

 

She pushed the button a few more times as she struggled to keep herself from crying. With a low whine, Toga grabbed her hand and dragged her to the doorway, to the stairs. The door closed behind them, and Toga picked her up, cradled her against him as he descended the stairs. Sierra buried her face against his shoulder as she let her tears fall.

 

Trying to soothe her as best as he could as he ran down the stairs, feeling angry at the complete sense of inadequacy, his youkai kept hissing at him, `Your mate . . . fix it . . . help her . . .'

 

Wincing as he realized again that there wasn't much he could do, blaming himself for being stupid enough to introduce the two women, it didn't do any good to tell himself that he didn't know that they were already familiar with each other. `Baka! It's your fault!'

 

“Sierra?” he said softly, on the tenth floor landing.

 

She drew in a ragged breath and turned her face to the side. “Yes?”

 

Toga grimaced. “I . . . I'm sorry . . .”

 

She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “What for?”

 

“I . . . I didn't know . . . I . . .” He trailed off as a black scowl surfaced on his features, self-disgust evident in the lines of his face. “I swore I'd protect you, and I failed . . . I didn't know . . .”

 

Sierra choked out a weak laugh as she let her head fall against him again. “It's fine. You didn't know, and . . . and you didn't fail. I'm just a stupid girl who cries about dumb things.”

 

He made a face and sighed, wishing that she could understand his feelings yet glad on some level that she couldn't. “You're not `just' anything, Sierra, and I lo—I don't want to see you cry.”

 

She gasped and leaned away, her gaze serious, bright, as she stared at his face. He stared straight ahead, blushing at his near slip, hoping she didn't catch it even as he knew in his heart that she probably did . . . “You . . . you do?”

 

He frowned and shook his head. “No, I don't.”

 

Her frown mirrored his. “You . . . don't . . .”

 

“Keh!” he snorted, his scowl darkening. “No . . . of course not! It kills me to see you cry.”

 

She shook her head quickly. “Not that . . . what you almost said, before that . . . did you mean it?”

 

Unable to staunch the blood that rushed to his cheeks, Toga nodded once.

 

She giggled suddenly, a soft yet ragged sound, as she relaxed again. “I . . . um . . . I lo—I'd hate to see you cry, too.”

 

His step faltered, and he glanced down at her. Eyes closed, nose still red from crying, she had a radiant smile on her face that was beautiful and wonderful and brilliant, all at the same time.

 

He held her tighter as he ran down the last of the stairs with Sierra cuddled against his chest as a smile of his own broke over his face.

 

 

~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~* ~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~

A/N:

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Reviewers

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lil-epad (FFnet) :

I was wondering though, did you get your names for Yoga and Aiko from the anime series Utena Revolutionary Girl? Because there are both those names in the series. Also how do you pronounce Aiko? Is it A as in the letter A, Co as in corporate, or is it pronounced Ah as in Ahcho, key as in where's the key to my house, O as in Oh I found my key? Just wondering A - Co Ah - Key - Oh or is it something else..

 

I've never seen the anime you're referring to . . . In early references to InuYasha's father in the third movie they were going to use the name `Toga' for him but later decided against this. That's why Toga has that name, for his grandfather. Aiko was chosen for the meaning of the name, it means ummm, I believe that it means beloved child or close to that, and at the moment, I'm being too lazy to look it up again . . . Aiko . . . I don't know absolutely how to pronounce it. I, myself, pronounce it “Eye-Koh.” … if that helps …

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Akihanah (FFnet) :

Poor Sierra. She just doesn't seem to be meeting people she has a good time with, is she? Sesshoumaru, now her parents. Well, Toga's there to protect her, right? Out of curiosity, why do you use a pen name, but sign your fics with your name? Or is that your name? By the way, Sueric is an awesome name. Partly because it reminds me of one of my close friends.

 

Sueric is actually just my normal standard email, and is just a mix of my name and my husband's name: Sue and Eric . . .

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MMorg

Squalleon ------ FullmetalArchivist ------ DarklessVasion

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FFnet

myeerah (nope, I've not drawn Sierra yet… ) ------ Lulu ------ kestral-tudorica ------ Flames101 ------ Ryguy5387 ------ akdreamer ------ BloodyKitsune ------ Shadow-Within ------- ILOVEINUS589 ------ Daddy's Pixie ------ Drake Clawfang

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AFFnet ------ AScom------ ATnet

moon_girl ------ Kyonarai ------ moore! ------ obsessed_wit_fluffy ------ wlfhund ------ Premus, The Angel of Demise ------ Sess_2005 ------ ayonali

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Final Thought from Toga:

… Allan, huh …

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Defiance): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~