Fortune's Fury
Chapter Two: Hangovers, Makeovers, and Takeovers
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and death is at your side, know that I am with you through it all.”
-"Be not
afraid"
=(O.O)=
Fortune’s Fury
Chapter Two: Hangovers,
Makeovers, and Takeovers
Out of Context
Rating:PG13
Summary: AU [IK] She would
never forget that he was responsible for her late husband’s death, or ever stop
blaming him, but as she joins him in the workplace, fighting over the company
he and her husband had co-founded, she couldn’t ignore the feeling he stirred
inside her, the feeling of lust, and of desire.
Disclaimer: I own neither
Inu-yasha (or all that that entitles) nor the “dime-store smut” that this idea
formed off the back cover of. Just wanted to clear that up.
=(O.O)=
Flashbacks.
“Dialogue.”
The Story. Obviously.
=(O.O)=
Her head pounded, and she
never remembered making it home the night before, but here she was, warm and
snug beneath the sheets. She rolled over to lie in her husband’s spot, like she
had done every morning when he was still alive, but found the whole spot
missing.
In fact, she rolled right
off the single bed onto the hard wooden floor, the headache left over from the
hang over increasing ten fold.
And the little worry bugs in
her stomach were fluttering like crazy. Kagome didn’t know where she was, or
how she had gotten here.
Keeping her eyes tightly
shut, she felt her body for her clothes, wondering if someone had raped her.
She found that her nightgown was still fully intact, yet the trench coat and
her flip flops had been removed, and, opening one eye slightly, she spotted it
on the little lounge chair in the corner of the room.
She looked around. It was
obviously a small apartment, and by the mess and dirty clothes left around, not
to mention the scarce and tacky furniture, it was a bachelor’s, one with not
enough time at home.
Closing her eyes tightly
again, she sat on the floor, tangled in the sheets that she had drug off the
bed with her, and as usual, her being especially prone to tears, she whimpered
slightly.
Then she heard it. Water was
running, in a room right down the hall. Standing up, ignoring her headache, she
made her way down the narrow hall and perched herself on a pillow that was
sitting in the hall across from a door that seemed like it blocked her view of
the bathroom, and the man inside who had brought her here.
Suddenly, the water shut
off, she heard the towel rack squeak slightly as a towel was roughly yanked
from it, and then, much to her surprise, a very fit man made his way, half
naked, out of the door.
Kagome screamed and fainted.
When she awoke a short while
later, she found herself being intently studied by the man she hated the most.
He sat cross legged on an arm chair across from the couch she was now perched
upon. He didn’t say a word for a long while.
“Well, I must say, that was
the most idiotic thing I have ever seen a woman of your age try to accomplish.
Suicide? By sleeping pills and vodka? Tsk tsk, Kagome. I would have thought
better from such a bright mind as yours,” he scolded her condescendingly.
“Shut up, bastard.”
“Can’t you call me by my
name? It’s Inu-yasha. Let me spell it for you. I – N – U – hyphen – Y –“
“Yes I know what your name
is,” she interrupted quickly.
“Glad to clear that up.”
Kagome just glared at him in response. “So… What were you doing exactly then,
if not suicide?”
Monday arrived more quickly
than Inu-yasha would have liked. He knew the company was already floundering.
That, along with their agreement on the status of the bank loans, was what had
convinced Hojo to go through with the expansion.
To be truthful, the company
was almost completely broke. They had invested too much money into the people
and not enough into their own interests. Obviously, Hojo’s doing.
So, with a slow pace,
Inu-yasha began his preparation for work. He needed to be sure to set a good
example with the employees after the recent loss, especially seeing as how Hojo
was the one who dealt with them the most.
Most of the imbeciles grated
on his nerves, and that would make their morning meeting extremely painful for
him.
“But, he had to remember to
be nice. It wouldn’t do to go about losing a bunch of their employees in their
financial state, now would it?” he mentally scolded himself.
Dressed per usual, bomber
jacket, jeans and his infamous white t-shirt, Inu-yasha headed out the door, he
pulled his hair back into a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck as he
climbed into his car.
A sad sight greeted him as
he arrived at work. He could already feel his blood beginning to boil.
“What in God’s green earth
has possessed you woman?!” He screeched, taking in the changes she had already
begun around the office building.
“I figured,” she smirked at
him, “that as long as I was going to be working along side you, with my equal
share and all, that I might as well get myself comfortable in
kind enough to assist me.” She sent a dazzling smile towards two of the more
stressful employees.
Traitors. He couldn’t
believe they had sold out to her so quickly. It amazed him how anything with a
skirt and tits could attract so much attention. Damn her. It would be harder
than he though.
“Oh, Inu-yasha,” she began,
that sickeningly sweet tone still present in her voice,” I wanted to discuss
some business with you.” She waved the manila folder with the company’s
financial history held inside. “We have some serious debating issues to cover.
If you’ll come right this way, into my office, it would be nice to speak with
you.”
=(O.O)=
Monday arrived more quickly
than Inu-yasha would have liked. He knew the company was already floundering.
That, along with their agreement on the status of the bank loans, was what had
convinced Hojo to go through with the expansion.
To be truthful, the company
was almost completely broke. They had invested too much money into the people
and not enough into their own interests. Obviously, Hojo’s doing.
So, with a slow pace,
Inu-yasha began his preparation for work. He needed to be sure to set a good
example with the employees after the recent loss, especially seeing as how Hojo
was the one who dealt with them the most.
Most of the imbeciles grated
on his nerves, and that would make their morning meeting extremely painful for
him.
“But, he had to remember to
be nice. It wouldn’t do to go about losing a bunch of their employees in their
financial state, now would it?” he mentally scolded himself.
Dressed per usual, bomber
jacket, jeans and his infamous white t-shirt, Inu-yasha headed out the door, he
pulled his hair back into a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck as he
climbed into his car.
A sad sight greeted him as
he arrived at work. He could already feel his blood beginning to boil.
“What in God’s green earth
has possessed you woman?!” He screeched, taking in the changes she had already
begun around the office building.
“I figured,” she smirked at
him, “that as long as I was going to be working along side you, with my equal
share and all, that I might as well get myself comfortable in
kind enough to assist me.” She sent a dazzling smile towards two of the more
stressful employees.
Traitors. He couldn’t
believe they had sold out to her so quickly. It amazed him how anything with a
skirt and tits could attract so much attention. Damn her. It would be harder
than he though.
“Oh, Inu-yasha,” she began,
that sickeningly sweet tone still present in her voice,” I wanted to discuss
some business with you.” She waved the manila folder with the company’s
financial history held inside. “We have some serious debating issues to cover.
If you’ll come right this way, into my office, it would be nice to speak with
you.”
Inu-yasha rolled his eyes
irritably. Boy, how he hated Mondays.
“How about this, Kagome: You
come into my office and we discuss
this issue. I have some organizing to do this morning, and I’d rather kill two
birds with one stone, if it isn’t too much trouble, that is?”
“Oh, it is no problem.”
“Right this way, ma’m.”
He shut the door behind
them, successfully shutting out the nosey workers outside. Turning around, he
took a seat in his large swivel chair, surprised to see her sit on the edge of
his desk, legs crossed, and short skirt showing off her very attractive legs.
Down boy! He instructed to
himself as he responded as any man should to such a sight.
Kagome smirked. She wanted
to make this as difficult as possible for him, and hopefully, scare him off.
“Now,” she began, “This is
what I have noticed about the company. There seems to be too much spending in
the expansion department. What I propose is this: Shut down every construction
site, and only leave this main building open. It will save a lot of money each
month, thousands to be more exact, and we can start working on rebuilding the
funds. Then, maybe, we can think about opening another branch. I know Hojo
would have rather had it that way.”
“Whoa whoa, honey. I don’t
think so. Hojo was off to talk about loans and expansion with the banks when he went down. I do believe that was
our plans, and we are going to go through with it. You can sit in that office,
and dream your little dream all you want, but, face it, reality is that this
company is mine, and it will be run how I want it to be. I can handle those
finances just fine on my own. Now, be a good girl and give me those files.”
“Don’t condescend to me you
chauvinistic bastard. This company is not yours alone. Remember that.”
He glanced again at her long
legs peeking out of that short skirt. His licked his lips appreciatively. Maybe
it wouldn’t be so bad with her here. He’d at least get a great view.
“I’ll buy it from you. How
much? A monthly pension of our profits? Here. I have a better idea. I will give
you five grand a month is you just forfeit your half. I don’t have time to run
it and deal with you.”
“No, Inu-yasha, I have an
even better idea. I’ll take the company. I can do just as well as you can, all
by myself.”
“Is that a fact?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Are you willing to bet on
it?” His eyebrow quirked in challenge.
“For sole control of the
company?”
“For sole control of the
company.”
“Pensioning for the loser?”
“If you’d like.”
She debated it to herself.
If she lost, she’d still be supported, and she already had her own self doubts.
She really had no experience in this kind of dealing. But if he lost, then
she’d be stuck giving up the profits.
“Deal.”
“You have half a year, 26
weeks to be exact, to save this precious company. And then, it is all yours.
That is, if you win.”
Then, Kagome spit in her hand
and stuck it out for him to shake, Inu-yasha mirroring her actions.
He glanced again at her long
legs peeking out of that short skirt. His licked his lips appreciatively. Maybe
it wouldn’t be so bad with her here. He’d at least get a great view. He ran his
tongue across his sharp canines, longer than most people’s, and smirked at her.
“I hope you can handle it,
darlin’,” he said, running his calloused hand up the smooth skin of her thigh.
“Men can be quite rude to a woman in the workplace.” Then he laughed, taking in
her blush of embarrassment and anger all at once, shooing her out of his
office. “Good luck!” he called after her, his laugh still echoing from the
confines of his office.
“Damn bastard,” she muttered
under her breath, taking careful note to ignore the leers from the solely male
workforce. She pulled her short skirt further down on her legs, trying to cover
a little more of herself. Maybe, just maybe, she had made a mistake in wearing
this to work.
It had made him
uncomfortable though, even if it was for only a brief second, and possibly, if
he continued to hit on her, she could have a lawsuit filed against him for
sexual harassment.
But, then that look he gave
her, and how he touched her before she left. She knew she should be thoroughly
angry at him, but she couldn’t help but feel strangely… excited… about him. He
stirred something in her that she was still afraid to acknowledge.
Anyhow, brushing that off
her mind, she had to figure out how to find those files she needed, and she needed
Hojo’s access number to get into his computer, and many other things. It was
about time she got started.
=(O.O)=
“I really don’t care,
Inu-yasha. I need his access number.”
“Sorry, babes, but I’m busy
here,” he said, turning back to the woman seated firmly on his lap.
“I just need the access
number. Really. Then I’ll be out of your way.”
“You said you could handle
it all on your own. Now, I guess you need to find a way to figure out how to
get into that coer, er, all on your own. Best of luck. Now, if you’ll excuse
me?”
“Goddamn you, you fucking
bastard! Go to hell!”
“Now, now, not with the
language. We have virgin ears here,” he said, gesturing to the smiling woman in
a compromising position on him.
“That’d be the only virgin
part about her,” Kagome said as she shut the door hard behind her.
Inu-yasha made the mental
note that she seemed to like slamming doors. He’d have to rearrange his stuff
so it wouldn’t be affected by that. No use getting his precious things broken
over her childish tantrums.
=(O.O)=
Kagome laid back, took a
deep breath, and sighed. She had had the worst day at work, and it was only the
first day. No one listened to her, everyone looked at her like she was a fresh
piece of meat, and to top it all off, Inu-yasha just gave her that look all day
and laughed at her whenever she asked for the slightest bit of help.
“You can do it yourself,”
she mocked in a poorly done impression of him, sneering into the thin air
before her. “Oh, I would love to just knock some sense into him.”
Sitting up suddenly, Kagome
made her way over to her computer, and logging on, began to search the internet
for some help on controlling employees. She was almost sure that if she
wouldn’t have half the trouble in getting things done. Most of them had been
there since the company had begun, and so they had to know how things were run
and where things were kept. Hojo and the Bastard couldn’t have kept all of the
vitals to themselves, could they?
=(O.O)=
Oh, they could have, and
they did. Damn Hojo. Not to spill ill of the dead, but he could have thought
ahead and made her revenge a little easier on her, couldn’t he?
Okay, she reasoned with
herself, that was a bit irrational. She took a deep breath and prepared to try
and get something out of this incompetent man before her. Day Two had begun,
but not with muchcesscess.
“Let’s try this again, you
have no idea where the two kept anything?”
“No, Miss, I told you once,
and I’ll tell you again. They kept everything financial and all their plans for
the company, along with every contract, to themselves, and didn’t let us in on
it. We just did what they said.”
Kagome took another deep
breath, clenching her fists at her side in frustration.
“Inu-yasha!” she screeched.
In his office, he covered
his ears, but smirked incessantly, knowing he was winning. She wouldn’t last
through the first week.
=(O.O)=
Inu-yasha was getting used
to Kagome’s frequent outbursts of rage, and although he felt a slight pang of
regret in being the cause of her anger, it was thoroughly satisfying. He would
win this company!
And that little prospect of
conquest excited him.
Not to mention his little
vixen, as he dubbed her in his mind. He loved watching her, trying so hard at
what they both already knew she wouldn’t be able to accomplish. He couldn’t
help being attracted to her. It was impossible not to be.
She had dazzling curves, yet
was still so slender and petite, not at all over the top, and her milky white
skin contrasted so sharply with her dark hair and bright eyes.
Boy, those eyes really got
him off. If only they weren’t always snapping at him in frustration.
Speaking of frustration…
Inu-yasha glanced down at his lap. He really needed to stop thinking about her.
She was trying to ruin him, and not to mention the greatest taboo, she was his
late best friend’s wife! He had to remember that.
But boy, in those short
skirts she chose to traipse around in, it was really hard to remember that
fact.
At this point in
him quickly out of it.
“Inu-yasha, you bastard. I
know you paid those men off. That’s why they won’t help me anymore. That is
low, even for you.”
“Paid them off? No, madam, I
do believe I only suggested the hint of a possible firing if they continued to
aid you in your quest. No money involved, I swear on my dear mother’s grave.”
A loud slap sounded in the
room. “How the fuck is that not paying them off?”
“No money, like I said,
bitch.” There was only so much abuse an inpatient man could stand.
“Blackmail, then.”
“Yes, that is more like it.
Nice to see you getting the name right.”
“So, how about you remove
your threat so I can go about my business.”
“Is that a request?” He
questioned, standing up from his swivel chair, decreasing the distance between
the two people, their faces now only inches apart.
Kagome took a quick breath;
it hitched in her throat when she realized just how close they were. “It’s an
order,” she replied, her voice softer than and not as firm as she wanted it to
sound.
“Is that right…” Inu-yasha
trailed off, running his thumb along her prominent jaw line, leaning in closer.
Despite what her mind was screaming at her, Kagome’s eyes fluttered shut, and
she tilted her head back.
He smirked to himself, his
amber eyes dancing. So, the vixen could be, how should he put it, compromised.
Yes, compromised. He leaned in past her lips, his own lightly brushing her ear
as he whispered softly. “Too fucking bad.”
Immediately, her head jerked
back, her senses fully restored to her, and her palm once again firmly
connected with his cheek, leaving a bright red mark where it landed.
“Asshole. I’ll win. Just you
wait.” And with that, she stormed out of his office, mentally harassing herself
for her lack of control. How could she even think of letting him do something
like that to her? She must have looked so pathetic.
Inu-yasha smiled. Week Two
should be just as stimulating.
“Inu-yasha: five; Kagome:
zero.”
=(
Author’s Note: Second
chapter. I don’t want to continue unless I get a decent amount of reviews,
meaning at least ten per chapter. I
know you guys can do it, it’s only a little button down at the bottom, and I’d
greatly appreciate it.
And for those of you who
already reviewed, I’m touched that I already got ten! I’m glad you think my
story is original, and that I’m doing a good job on the characters, and I hope
I continue to please you. I do try! Thank you so much and I hope you continue
to read this! I’ll try to update like, once a week? Maybe? School is starting
soon, so maybe not.
And remember, don’t be too
harsh on me. This is my first Inu-yasha fan fiction of any kind!