An Indecent Affair

Chapter 3
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For the first time in his life, Neji arrived to work late but his supervisor was lenient with him since it was a first offense of sorts and let him off with just a warning since he looked terribly ill, but the truth was, Neji almost didn't come in to work today at all and only at the last minute did he decide that he was going to risk it. Of course, he couldn't tell the man that he was raped by his boss and was too traumatized to come to work so he just allowed him to believe he had a really bad sore throat.

The floor manager suggested he go back home to rest and was even willing to give him the full day's pay but Neji declined and as the day progressed he regretted not taking up the man on his offer.

It was difficult to concentrate on even the most mundane of tasks and his mind kept wandering. He was on pins and needles the entire day and everytime someone brushed against him or tried to get his attention he'd jump out of his skin.

Neji also made too many mistakes. He faxed a document he was supposed to shred and shredded the document he was supposed to fax. He gave a client the wrong information and had to do serious damage control to avoid a law-suit, a confidential folder he'd been given to file was misplaced and didn't turn up nearly two hours later in the out-going mail tray and by mid-day the stern, yet kindly supervisor had lost all patience with the boy and was on the verge of pulling out the remaining hairs on his already balding head and one infraction away from firing the boy on the spot.

If it had been any other day before yesterday, Neji would have been on his knees and pleading with the other man until December thirty-second but he really didn't care right now and if he did end up getting fired then he imagined he'd be the happiest man alive. However...he really needed this job.

Neji half-heartedly apologized to his supervisor. He really shouldn't be bringing his personal problems into the work force, but his problem had manifested from work in the first place. The man accepted the apology in a huff and decided to give him one more chance but only because he took pity on the boy since he appeared to be sick and was just having one of those days, so he straddled him with re-catalouging some old index cards that had fallen out of their numerical order over the years.

It kept him busy and out of everyone else's way and it also kept his mind occupied since he had to mentally count out each card's numerical sequence. He worked on this throughout most of his lunch hour as well before taking a scant fifteen minute break so he could munch on a cold bagel and sip a glass of water.

His stomach was eternally thankful for any kind of sustenance and immediately quelled its grumblings just as Neji tossed down the last bit of white bread and washed it down with another gulp of water. He wasn't full but he didn't feel hungry enough to force anything else so this would have to suffice until he got home.

Neji sighed despondently and stared at the bottom of the half-empty cup still pressed against his lips.

He still had around four hours left and he was eager to complete this working day without being summoned by Mr. Uchiha again, because if he survived today then it meant that it had only been a one-shot occurance and would probably never happen again, at least, he vainly hoped so. Neji took a glance at the leather-bound wrist-watch around his left hand.

Only three hours, fifty-seven minutes and twenty-two seconds to go.

He sighed again and a soft puff of air escaped through his nose to unsettle the surface of the water in the glass but his breath hitched when his eyes snapped up and rested on a smoldering pair of onyx orbs fixated on him.

Neji didn't know who the owner of those eyes were and he'd never seen the man before but from the way he was dressed he assumed that he didn't even work here.

He wore a black, sleeveless, V-necked pull-over which exposed thin yet muscular arms with a thick gold watch around one wrist and a black Nike wrist-band around the other. His long legs were hidden beneath a pair of baggy, dark blue jeans and his feet poked out from beneath the material encased in a pair of slippers one would probably wear to the beach, but beside the fact that this man obviously didn't belong on a floor restricted to employees only Neji was curious as to why the floor manager hadn't called security and why he was staring at him so intently.

He tilted his head to one side and squinted and Neji furrowed his brow while defiantly meeting his gaze over the rim of his glass. He didn't seem at all flustered that he had been caught and continued to ogle the long-haired employee until Neji got tired of their little 'staring' contest and conceded defeat by turning his back to the other man and resting his glass atop the cabinet before opening another drawer to resume his filing.

He sorted four cards before risking a glance over his shoulder to see if he still had his stalker and sure enough, the mysterious man was still there. He was now leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest and his lips drawn into a tight line as he studied the boy about eight feet away.

A male employee passed and acknowledge the tall, dark man with a raised arm and a friendly greeting and he just nodded his head in response but his eyes never left their target.

Neji assumed he was probably a high-profile client or maybe even a close friend of one of the managers but that still didn't give him the right to just mill around the company and gape at its employees.

He made a renewed effort to ignore the man and once again showed him his back. If he pretended those dark eyes weren't piercing a hole through his skull then maybe he'd get bored and go away. Neji jammed another card into its proper slot before slamming that drawer and opening another one. He was suddenly very furious and he couldn't explain why but he knew it had to do with that man staring at him as if he were some piece of meat hanging in a butcher's shop window. Well Neji had had his share of sexual harassment and right now he didn't care, so if that obnoxious bastard wanted to undress him with his eyes then he could knock himself ou-

"Do you work here?"

Neji stiffened and looked up at the source of the low, inquisitive voice and was very surprised to see his 'not-so secret' admirer standing right next to him and leaning casually against the large cabinet. His eyes slowly raked over his body from head to toe and Neji fought back the urge to punch him square in the nose.

"Do you?" he shot back nastily and slammed another drawer feeling a sudden sense of gratification when the rocking of the cabinet caused his admirer to topple unsteadily.

The man flashed him a lop-sided grin after regaining his balance and leaning against the drawers again. "Kinda," he drawled, "But in all fairness, I asked you first."

He would have rolled his eyes, if he wasn't so busy staring daggers at the taller man who met his gaze with amusement. "What does it look like?" he asked flatly and to that the other man shrugged a pale shoulder.

"I've never seen you around here before," he admitted absently and lifted the glass in one hand so he could test its weight.

"I could say the same of you," Neji replied while rearranging a few cards that were not in their correct order.

"Hmm," he appeared to be deep in thought and agitated the glass' contents by lightly rocking the cup and watching as the water sloshed around inside. "How long you been working here?" he suddenly asked before bringing it to his lips to take a long sip.

Neji stared at him incredulously as he drank from his cup and would have chastised him if not for the fact that he could probably buy then sell him in a heartbeat or have him fired and upon further retrospect, he probably shouldn't behave rudely to the stranger in the first place.

"Three and a half weeks," he muttered silently.

The man tossed back the remains of the glass in one swift gulp before resting it back in place atop the cabinet. Neji glared at the now empty cup then flashed pale eyes filled with wrath at the irritable young man who seemed to derive much pleasure from pushing his buttons.

He wasn't upset that this contemptible person had just drank the rest of his water, Neji wouldn't lose his temper over something so trivial but there was just something about him that he found so...so...annoying. He was an arrogant bastard who assumed he could do whatever he felt like just because he had connections here and Neji hated people like that.

The tall, dark stranger crossed his arms over his chest and squinted at the lad just a few inches away. He tilted his head slightly and Neji heard him mutter something about it just being a coincidence before he shook his head to dispel his thoughts and resume his observation of the boy who wanted him to go away so he could work in peace.

For the third time, Neji tried to ignore him in hopes that he'd get the subliminal message but he was not to be dissuaded and continued to loiter around the large filing cabinet. Neji wanted to ask him if there was something he could help him with or what his problem was but that wouldn't be prudent to his dismissal of the other man now would it? So he bit his lip to keep the churlish questions at bay but when a firm hand gripped his chin between a thumb and forefinger to tilt his head back Neji gasped and his eyes flew open to look at the brazen individual who was examining his neck.

"What are you-?" he broke off with another gasp when his free hand reached out to brush against the soft column and Neji shivered slightly when his fingertips grazed against his neck. His large hand slipped beneath the collar of Neji's white business shirt and pushed it aside to reveal the provocative slope between his neck and shoulder along with an ugly bruise upon his milky white skin. A calloused thumb skirted across the dark blemish and when it dawned on Neji that he had located the hickey he panicked and raised one hand to slap the man across his cheek causing him to stagger backwards.

He didn't know why he was so self-conscious about it. He was sure he wasn't the only person in the world that ever received a hickey and if anyone asked he could always say that his girl-friend gave it to him, but he knew his girl-friend wasn't responsible for the love-mark and even though he was the only one who knew who the real culprit was he still didn't want anyone to find out about it.

Neji should have apologized for what he did but the impertinent man didn't seem at all incensed by the attack so Neji held his tongue and sent him a warning glare while tugging his shirt collar back in place to hide the offending mark from view.

"Oh, there you are Neji, I was looking for you."

He was relieved that his supervisor had arrived because maybe if he asked nicely he might be able to get him to ask this unwelcomed stranger to kindly leave him alone. The elderly manager turned to the other individual and flashed him a brilliant smile but he was still eyeing the interesting young man with an amused smirk and paid the newcomer no heed.

"Mr. Uchiha, so nice to see you."

Neji balked and his face fell. He was an Uchiha too?

'Oh crap!' and the young man groaned audibly, eliciting a gratified chuckle from the man in question when his true identity was revealed. Neji prayed the earth would open up and swallow him right then and there because not only had he just been disrespectful to one of the owners of the very company he worked for but he had physically assaulted him too.

Well he could kiss this job good bye because he knew he was going to be fired on the spot.

He looked down at the floor in embarrassment and opened his mouth to stammer an apology but the eldest of the three spoke up first, oblivious that he had just interrupted something. "Neji, Mr. Uchiha wants you," and he laughed awkwardly when he realized his statement could become a cause of some confusion. "Not this one," he corrected immediately. "The one upstairs. He said he'd like to see you regarding the discussion you two had yesterday."

Neji paled and his stomach sank and again he found himself wishing he'd be sucked into the depths of the earth. His supervisor became aware of his hesitance and urged the boy not to keep his boss waiting.

There was a disdainful scoff a few inches away from him and Neji turned to look at the dark rogue who was now glaring at him with eyes in thin slits, all traces of his previously playful demeanor gone and substituting that was a chilling ferocity. He almost looked as if he wanted to rip him limb from limb and Neji didn't know where this sudden animosity came from unless he suddenly decided that he wanted to be pissed off about the slap he received earlier.

Well, he didn't need to stay here and take this but he also didn't want to leave and suffer through what he knew was waiting for him upstairs.

He didn't have much a choice, though, but if he did he'd rather take his chances with this Uchiha who was probably going to do him a favor and put him out of his misery. Neji averted his eyes and excused himself from their presence to make the harrowing trek up the stairs and onto the floor above.

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Another short chapter, sorry and I didn't like how this one ended.

Yersi Fanel You continue the story! That’s so cool because I am very hooked to it, really.

The story is hardcore (at least to your standards you said) but is very nice wrote and the plot is very interesting (well, for me it is. What can I said? I like the good Neji-angst like this, nice) this chapter was shorter than the last one but it gave some points about Neji’s character and details of what you did not wrote after Orochimaru took him into the limo (even thinking that we *knew* what was going to happen) You know, I was listening to Radioheade’s “Talk show host” while reading this chapter it was fitting somehow, it made me think in both Neji and Sasuke. The first part of Neji and somehow the second more about what I think Sasuke is going to be here and Itachi (even thinking you had not write about ten just yet, but hey, next chapter will come and I have a feeling about those two, thanks to the hints you gave in the long summary)

As I expected some of my questions have and answer mow, like Neji’s family, you made a hint there so that is cover, if it came latter will be just because of what you have in that mind of yours.

Really, I’m glad you are going to continue this, I had been so long looking for another SasuNeji stories and both of yours are so cool, I just like to read about them so much.

So, thanks for continue and for not leave me in the cliffhanger and angsty about it, LOL.

Take care, see you next chapter (horray!)


ClaireBear: Sorry this one is so short too, I'll try to lengthen the others but I guess I could merge chapter two and three into one long chapter.

It's hard for me to write angst so I'm glad Ch. 2 came out well, thanks.

Sasuke shows up in this one and Itachi will come along sooner or later but as I said, I don't want another novel on my hands so I'll try to speed this up somewhat without sacrificing its sustenance. I'm not touching much on Neji's family or giving much back story on any of the characters except the bare essentials but if the mood arises I may delve deeper into their pasts or flesh them out a bit.

Well I wasn't going to continue this since I have a few more ideas swimming around (Mostly Sasuke / Neji) but I really don't want to start too many things at once so I'll try to finish these two first and work on the occassional one-shots as a change of pace if I get bored.

Well we all know what's going to happen next and there's going to be more Sasuke in the next chapter as well.