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The man's head jerked up from his folded arms with wide eyes, looking around the familiar office in a daze. Naruto exhaled and ran his fingers through his hair cursing himself for falling asleep instead of doing paperwork. Again. A twinkling tone floating from his cellphone begged for his attention.

Naruto yawned loudly and picked up the device through hazy vision. ”Hello?” He did his best to be as present as possible for the person on the other end.

"Hello? I'm Haruno Sakura and I'm calling to apply for a job as a housekeeper at your estate"

Naruto almost jumped out of his skin in excitement at the woman’s enthusiasm. He was just grateful to have an applicant, period.

"Oh this is wonderful! Let me jot down some basic information from you before we set up an interview date, alright?" His elated voice betraying his professional cover.

Naruto fumbled a pen between his fingers and messily scrawled "Haruno Sakura" across the note.

"Now, I'd like to get this interview done as fast as possible. Is there any way that you would be able to come tomorrow at around, let's say," He paused to lift up his scratch paper to examine a blow up version of a table calendar hidden beneath, "2:15pm?"

The manager could hear discussion in the background of the other line and tapped his finger against his desk waiting for a reply. Five seconds later, his patience was rewarded with a happy, "Yes, that will do.”

"Great, great. I'll message you the address a bit later. My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm the manager here. It was nice talking to you, see you tomorrow at 2:15 then." Naruto smiled, quietly jumping from his chair and prancing around his office.

__________

"The guy sounded more excited than I am." Sakura said slipping the phone back into her pocket. "He said tomorrow at 2:15 and I'll get the address soon. I really want to meet the master of the house now that Ayame told us about him."

"Sounds like you're wanting to pick a fight before you even get started. By the looks of it, I say you'll last a day. That fiery attitude of yours is a problem." Ino laughed at how her friend's face drooped.

“Where do you I learned this attitude? Who was the one who taught me to defend myself?” Sakura said matter of factly, her arms across her chest.

 Ino snorted. ”Uh huh! I’ve known you long enough to know about what type of things rile you up. We've gotten into trouble plenty of times for me to know what will happen in this scenario. Remember the time that cocky asshole challenged you to punch him?"

"Oh yeah, then when I actually did it, we didn't stop running for at least a mile. " Sakura chuckled at the fond memory.

"But anyways, the point is that if the guy really is an asshole, we know you won’t take it lying down.”

"Well, at least I can try. And I'm really going to do my best to keep myself from doing that. I need to do all I can to reach my goal." Her hopefulness shining through.

"Good luck out there tomorrow." Ino retrieved her bag from behind her chair.

The two women drove up along a road surrounded by pink and white cherry blossom trees on each side of the path.

“Hey, remember two months ago when I said I wasn't your chauffeur?"

Sakura laughed, taking in the serene nature leading up to a tall iron gate far off in the distance.

“You and your forehead are so annoying, you know that? On top of that you waste my gas." Ino shook her head in mock disapproval.

“Relax, I'll pay for gas when you pick me back up, don't worry about it." Sakura said giving her friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Uh-huh." Ino slowly guided the car to a stop in front of a glowing green keypad. Her fingers reached out to to punch in the numbers Sakura repeated from the text message on her phone. Momentarily, the tall black gate squealed as they rolled apart sideways to let the vehicle enter.

As the vehicle wheeled up the crescent shaped driveway, Sakura’s eyes widened at the sheer size of the estate. What the hell did these people do for a living?

She stepped out of the car in a black pantsuit and pink ruffled blouse, her 3-inch heels (courtesy of Ino) clicking against the ground. Making her way up the front steps, her best friend wished her luck to which she turned to her with a confident smile. The gentle motor of her friend's car slowly faded off into the distance while Sakura looked down at her watch, also a second hand item from her friend.

2:15 exactly.

She looked up at the main entrance; Large double doors with embossed designs weaving through the glass. Her hand hovered over the ornate door, her nerves making themselves known earning pause from her. Through the glass, a blurred figure dressed in black and white made its way to greet Sakura. The young woman withdrew her hand took a step back.

Moments later a man with his hair in a high, spiked ponytail answered the door with a smile on his face, gesticulating as he said, "Welcome to Uchiha Manor!"

Sakura's face lit up like a Christmas tree as the door swung open revealing a boldly lit foyer and double staircase. The warm heat from the mansion embracing, protecting Sakura from the chill on the spring air. It was like the house was ushering her in, welcoming her, mirroring the butler’s greeting.

Sakura wiped her shoes on the doormat and stepped onto the beige marble flooring met with a short line of maids and another butler on either side of him, creating a sort of path.

She'd never been inside of a mansion, or rather a castle, in her life and was struck by the delicate architecture and meticulous planning put into the decorations. Suddenly she felt uncertain; The beauty and the expanse of the place- She doesn’t belong here even just to clean a toilet bowl.

Sakura stared wide eyed and startled at the sound of the butler clearing his throat.

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry." Sakura said shyly. The butler walked along the row of maids motioning for her to follow.

"Come this way please." He requested with a flick of his hand. Obediently, Sakura followed suit turning from side to side to examine the interior. The walls were barely two shades darker than the flooring, defined with a darker brown trimming. Expensive looking paintings of beautiful scenery lined the walls and royal red curtains draped over the perimeter of the massive windows on the walls. Sakura was in awe, it felt like the foyer was half a soccer field wide. How big the rest of the estate was if this only made up the front of it?

Shikamaru guided Sakura down a hallway under the right staircase. The man knocked on the door twice before twisting the doorknob, revealing a blonde haired man with short spiky hair languidly sprawled across his desk. Was he drooling?

Sakura stole a glance at her companion who wore disappointment on his face which appeared to be an expression he was familiar with. After clearing his throat once more, the man, presumably Naruto, woke up with a startle.

“O-Oh! Hello, Ms. Haruno? Welcome, please come into my office!” He wiped the corner of his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. Sakura smiled sheepishly wondering if she should be concerned.

"Come on in and take a seat whee you like." He said pointing to a couch in between two matching armchairs. Sakura said "thank you" and took a seat on one of the armchairs and watched the two other men settle into the open spots respectively.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto whom you spoke to over the phone yesterday. I manage the young master's schedule and general oversight of the estate. Right here," He said showing a hand towards the other man, "is Nara Shikamaru, the head butler who manages the staff around here. He will be your direct manager.”

Sakura rose from her seat and introduced herself formally. “It is a pleasure to meet you both, my name is Haruno Sakura and I promise to work hard.” She said with a smile and a bow. Her heart quickened with the anticipation for the first interview question. Would she need to talk about herself? Place herself in a scenario she needed to make the right decision?

“Great! Now, I just need you to fill out these forms for me, then we'll talk over pay and about moving in and you'll be all set for a quick training. Tomorrow marks your first day." Naruto handed her a clipboard of papers and a pen.

Sakura looked down at the paperwork confused. This was supposed to be an interview right? Did I miss something here?

"Um, excuse me Mr. Uzumaki? Did you just say tomorrow would be my first day?" Sakura asked in a small voice.

The two men looked at each other with an amused smile. “She’s so cute" Naruto whispered. “Sakura-chan, let's not be formal with each other. Nobody in this house is talking formally unless speaking with the master and the Uchiha family."

"Ah-Alright." Sakura replied. It still didn't answer her question. Naruto examined Sakura, noticing her confused look and uncomfortable shift in her chair.

Naruto grinned, "You heard me right. This isn’t an interview it’s an onboarding.” Sakura wasn’t convinced so the man continued, ”If didn’t notice, from when you arrived, we are pretty short staffed and in desperate need of help. You see, Master Uchiha is a bit of a hot head."

"So I've heard."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, go on."

"Anyways, we used to have around 16 to 20 staff members-“ His voice trailed off, unsure if he should finish the statement in truth. "Right now, we're desperate for help so I've decided to hire you right off the bat. And, you're okay with that I assume?" Naruto said sitting back in his chair.

"Of course I am! Thank you so much!" Sakura said with a bright smile.

"Fill out that form while we run some things by you. So listen closely," Naruto said. "Shikamaru, go ahead." He signaled as he watched Sakura's pen work curves and short lines.

Shikamaru yawned and began to explain general rules and guidelines about the position, what time to be awake, how shifts are divided, etc.

"Mrs. Uchiha is on a business trip for a couple of more months and while she's gone, the staff and even the young master have a tiny bit more flexibility with the sleep schedule."

"Speaking of, what are the accommodations?” Sakura didn’t look up as she flipped to the last page of the packet.

“Right, Shikamaru will show you to your room later. On top of that, you will receive a check each month. It is a very generous amount.” Naruto heard Sakura make a small scoffing sound. She was a maid, a personal cleaner. There was no way it would be much more than a livable wage. She would believe it when she saw it.

Naruto leaned forward towards Sakura meeting her eyes with his cerulean ones. ”And I mean a very generous amount. Mrs. Uchiha isn't very stingy, but just make sure to stay on her good side." He insisted.

"That's where her youngest son gets it from." Shikamaru noted with a sigh. Naruto nodded his head.

”So in general, you're going to have a schedule of chores in your room, but if something was to change, the staff carries a personal walkie talkie just in case. It is only a valid order if my, Naruto, or Sasuke calls you.”

At that name, Sakura’s ears and eyebrows perked up in surprise and interest. That name… She knew it was impossible for it to be the Uchiha Sasuke…

But what if it was?

What if she just got a job at her favorite idol's house? What if they became close and fell in love? What if she got the chance to choreograph her future husband's dances while he's on tour? Lead dancer? What if. What if she was being ridiculous even conjuring those things in her logical mind. She was brilliant in school and knew mathematically the statistics were not in her favor. No way.

Shikamaru eyed the blonde with a suspicious look in response to Sakura’s silence. "Lunch is eaten in two different shifts, same with dinner, which will be on your schedule too. When you're finished filling out the form, we'll give you a tour of the-"

"Finished. Here you go Naruto." Sakura slide the clip board onto Naruto's lap with glee.

"Well, alright." Shikamaru raised a brow. What just happened?

"Let's head out."

The butler held the door open for both Sakura and Naruto to file out into the hallway. When the door shut and Shikamaru joined the two, he reintroduced the first room which was obviously Naruto’s office. Naruto slung an arm around Sakura’s dainty shoulders reminder her to never be scared to talk to him or ask questions, because he'll always be there. Sakura glared at him as she made physical space between them, earning an awkward laugh from Naruto.

She’s cute, but a bit scary.

Their tour took a brief pause in the middle of the foyer to explain the upstairs floorpan. "To the left is the master bedroom which is temporarily taken by Master Sasuke, and to the right are two vacant rooms.” Shikamaru stated and sauntered away towards a different part of the house.

Sakura looked up briefly and noticed the main failed to explain a stainless steel door planted in between the left and right hallways. "Wait, what is that room?” Sakura said pointing to them.

Shikamaru turned around slowly and a bit too eerliy for Sakura's taste and said, "That elevator goes up. It's strictly off limits to everybody except for family members." Then he turned around continuing back on his trajectory.

Well, she thought to herself, I will definitely be going up there.



The pink haired woman followed the two other males close behind passing two more doors until they stopped in front of the third on the right. Shikamaru dug through his pocket to find a single naruto and slip it into the lock. He turned it with a clear click and pushed through the door to reveal a room of off white walls, a full sized bed with red and black pillows, and rugs splayed out across the floor. Stepping in a bit further, she could see a dresser, walk-in closet, a desk accompanied and chair, and a full shelf of books in different languages.

”All of this for employees? Are all rooms equal?" Sakura asked in amazement as she ran a finger across the shelf of books. Now he was starting to grasp how much of a generous person Mrs. Uchiha really was.

"Yes. Well, kind of. There's a house out back specially made for our employees, but they may only move in there after eight months of living in-house. It's a trust thing. We want to keep an eye on our newest additions here and let the veterans stay out in the back. The girls are your neighbors while Shikamaru and I are in the other house.” Naruto informed Sakura.

Once again in the lobby, the trio looked towards the double staircase. Down the middle was the main living room, to the left which was the kitchen and dining room, and to the right were recreational areas like the spa, gym, and studio. A dance studio to be exact. A place where Sakura would be spending much of her free time.

"I forgot to show you this closet in here." Shikamaru said walking to a door in a further part of the kitchen. ”Here is where you're going to find cleaning supplies." He explained. "So-"

“Excuse me? I need help again." A small voice called from behind them. It was a young woman with long black and light colored eyes. Sakura thinks she heard the other staff call her Hinata? She carried a pitcher full of what looked like iced tea with a couple of lemons floating among ice cubes.

Naruto nudged Sakura on the arm and the woman introduced herself to the maid. She introduced herself as Hinata, the most recent addition to the staff. Sakura liked how soft-spoken she was and the way she blushed every time she looked at Naruto. Sakura hoped she would be a friend to help her get settled into life at this place.

"Anyways, what do you need again?" Shikamaru asked.

"I forgot to put the sugar in Mr. Sasuke’s drink so he sent me back, but I don't remember where to find it." Hinata said lifting up the pitcher for all to see.

There it was again. Sasuke. Sakura’s heart pounded in her ears and mouth went dry. She was reminded of the 'what ifs' plaguing her mind and her curiosity was driving her mad. She wanted, no, she needed to see this guy to disprove her wild imagination. She craved the disappointment of being unable to meet her idol so that she could work without distractions.

”It's behind you." Sakura pointed to a large bag of sugar on a shelf behind her.

“Oops!" Hinata smiled sweetly and stuck her hand into the bag to pull out a cup of sugar. As she sprinkled in the sweetener, Shikamaru gave Naruto a nudge on the elbow.

"Well, thanks guys. Nice meeting you, Sakura-chan.”

Hinata began to leave the kitchen but she halted in place when she heard Naruto’s voice.

"Wait, we're going to come with you. Sakura still needs to meet him." Naruto grabbed the pinkette’s wrist. ”Come on, let's go." He tugged the girl along.

Passing through the dining room into the wide expanse of the living room, they maneuvered around furniture and other workers carefully as they reached the sliding glass door to the backyard. They walked up to the widespread window when Sakura spotted a figure reclined in a lawn chair under an umbrella, book in hand. Sakura squinted as if she had x-ray vision to see past the book and into the face of this mystery man.

"Hinata, go ahead. We’ll follow in a second." Shikamaru ordered. Hinata nodded and slid open the door without closing it. Then both men closed in on Sakura and whispered to her, "Do you know Uchiha Sasuke, the singer and actor?"

Sakura froze like a deer in headlights. Were they being serious? She confirmed.

"Do you like him?" There was a sliver of urgency in Naruto’s voice. A couple of seconds pass because what she really wanted to say was "Like him? I love him!"

Here comes the dry mouth again. Sakura struggled to find the right words and instead of a verbal reply the answer crept across her face in a bashful blush. Shikamaru and Naruto’s eyes met with surprise.

“Oh no.” They said in unison. Sakura looked at them with confusion and a hopeful beat to her heart.

Sakura opened her mouth to ask what the problem was before Hinata reappeared through the door. "I forgot the cup and ice bucket." She shrugged as she shimmied past Shikamaru and Naruto for a few moments before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Sakura, can you go help Hinata carry the stuff out please? We need a moment.” Shikamaru asked politely. Sakura flicked her eyes from the butler to the manager, and back again before moving to assist the girl.

As soon as her pink head she was out of sight Shikamaru looked to Naruto with surprise. "Naruto, did you see how she looked? You hired a fangirl! I thought you were going to screen these people from now on!” Shikamaru whispered urgently, knowing the girls could be back at any moment.

“Yeah, about those screening questions…” Naruto wore a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. He looked at Shikamaru for an ounce of forgiveness to which was met with a deathly glower. Naruto prepared to defend himself. “Look, what can we do about this? We're short staffed and need as many workers as we can find. Let’s just see how it plays out- We can always correct behavior and set guidelines.

”

The dark haired man put his hands in his pockets in defeat and groaned in frustration. “Man, this is such a drag.” His common sense knew to not argue any further.

"After she meets Sasuke, we will lay down the rules just like we did with everybody here. Okay? The ‘don't speak about it outside of the estate’ rule we enforce. She signed a nondisclosure agreement; I can always fire her if she runs her mouth, you know." There was an air of reluctance in this last sentence almost as if this was a lie through his teeth.

Shikamaru understood what that meant. The head butler rubbed his neck as if it ailed him. "You're already attached to her aren't you?"

Naruto looked away with pride. “No! I just feel like she's going to be a great addition to the team. She is interesting so far.”

Like clockwork, Sakura and Hinata approached the two men quietly.

"Let's have Naruto go out first so that he can let Master Uchiha know that you're here, alright Sakura? Hinata, you stay here too until he says it's fine to go out." He instructed.

Avoiding eye contact with Hinata, Naruto tilted his head down with a smile until he stepped outside. A loud “Teme!" Sounded from him, which seemed to startle the man in the lawn chair.

Sakura watched Naruto interact with the man animatedly with large gestures and intricate facial expressions, most of it reflecting irritation. She found herself becoming more and more nauseous the longer she waited to meet this person. One part of her hoping it would be her dream man, another part wondering what she would do if it was.

Hinata nudged Sakura to follow her after receiving the signal from Naruto. Sakura followed close behind the maid trying to focus on the glossy sheen of her dark hair instead of the anxiety brewing in the pit of her stomach, a concoction of emotions she couldn’t understand.

The maid bent down to place the pitcher of team onto the table next to the man as Sakura craned her to view in hopes of seeing the man, however, with his head tilted down into a book and huge sunglasses he was made unrecognizable.

"Sasuke, this is Sakura. She'll be starting tomorrow.” Shikamaru said to the man. They awaited a reply. It was as if he were invisible, Shikamaru. He rolled his eyes.

Waiting in an increasingly awkward silence, Sakura did the same and let out an irritated sigh. There were two things Sakura learned quickly from this brief interaction: 1) This Sasuke guy was definitely an asshole and 2) Sakura is going to have a tough time keeping her cool. But even this amazing, once in a lifetime job opportunity wasn't going to stop her from putting this guy in his place. Who does he think he is?

With the help of her best friend, Sakura learned to toughen her shell. She never backed down from a challenge, especially when it came down to a douchebag like this guy.

"Hey! Sasuke!" Naruto had his hand on his hips kicking the leg of the chair around trying to get some sort of acknowledgement.

The man on the chair didn't even lift his eyes from the page. ”Hm?" He flipped to the next page of the book.
“Whatever, this will have to do. Go ahead Sakura-chan.“ 

Sakura gave a long hard glare at the man and introduced herself informally to see if it would catch attention in any way. Sadly, it didn't work. With a flick of his wrist, he motioned for the group to leave him be.

Sakura couldn't help but grit her teeth. She would see to it that she and her peers would be respected and would not settle for less. It was important for her, respect. Basic human decency.

Slowly, a mischievous smile appeared on her lips.

"Hinata, pour this man a glass of his long awaited iced tea." Sakura said taking the cup from Hinata's hands and holding it out to him. Taken off guard by Sakura’s sudden change, she looked upon her with anticipation as she teetered the edge of the pitcher over the glass, filling it up almost immediately.

The pink haired girl examined the full cup, then to Hinata, Shikamaru, and Naruto's faces, then down at Sasuke who was in his own conceited world. Releasing her mock smile into a scowl, she dumped the drink over the man’s head; The liquid unrelenting as it soaked his clothes and the book now sitting on his lap. Sasuke jumped up from his seat as fast as you could say, “You bitch!”

Sasuke stood on the opposite side of the lawn chair looking down at the drenched linen sticking to his skin and glared fiercely through his sunglasses at Hinata who appeared horrified and Sakura who looked on smugly.

“You’re kidding me.” Sasuke yelled incredulously as he wiped the beads of iced tea from his forehead.

Sakura crossed her arms with smirk and a cocked hip. “Oh hi, nice to finally meet you!” She faked enthusiasm.

She felt as if he blood ran cold, a familiar feeling bubbling inside the pit of her stomach. It’s unmistakable and difficult to prevent from poisoning her mind and mood. Hatred, spite. God, how she loathed scum like this who are entitled and no compassion for others. No common decency, inconsiderate. Heartless. Now, she knew it wasn't right to be jump to conclusions about this man for a mere three minutes, but they don’t say first impressions are important for nothing.

Sasuke turned towards Sakura, ”What-"

"You fucking heard me! I did it." Sakura said in the most steady, intimidating voice she could muster up. Mindlessly she stepped onto the lawn chair to come face to face with the man who was seething with disdain.
The raven haired man scoffed at how tough Sakura was trying to be with her small frame and short stature. "I'm only holding back from hitting you because you're a woman.” Sasukes stepped in closer moving his face an inch from Sakura’s. ”You don't know who I am, do you?”

With a smirk, Sasuke removed his glasses and allowed them to fall to the ground.

"I honestly don't care-"

What?

She was going to have a panic attack. Or a heart attack? Maybe an aneurysm. Whatever thing that constricted her breathing and shut off her brain momentarily. Sakura's emerald eyes widened with astonishment. The anxiety she felt in her chest earlier dropped into her stomach and threatened to make an upward appearance. She thought back to the probabilities she conceived earlier- Math was the least of her strong suit, but the statistics were almost impossible.

She was staring into the face of his favorite person in the world.

Uchiha Sasuke. The Uchiha Sasuke.

So this is really him, huh? Sakura's heart skipped a beat- Realizing his face was only inches from her own. Close enough to steal a kiss and run off with it and never show her face again. At that point she could die happy.

Sakura could see a sly smile creep across Sasuke's lips, enjoying the predicted surprise on the woman’s features.



Focus, Sakura.



She wasn't much of an actor, but when she committed she made sure to follow through.

Sakura chuckled, sending Sasuke's lips into a frown. "No, I have no idea who you are. And you are definitely not who you think you are. Don't treat people like you're high and mighty just because you live large like this." She motioned towards the mansion and backyard.

"Who do you think you are?" Sasuke yelled pointing a finger.

She smiled.

”If you knew, we wouldn't be where we are right now, would we?" Sakura stated bluntly. "Now, I'll see you tomorrow morning," She paused, "Master."

And with that, Sakura bowed and made her way past the living room, squeezing by a group of staff lingering as spectators.

Their mouths hung open in shock until Sasuke excused Hinata. Naruto trailed after Sakura.

A light summer breeze coursed through the trees and rattled their leaves, filling in for the words left unspoken. Shikamaru extended his right hand to pat Sasuke’s shoulder before walking away.

"Who the hell is that woman, she’s done!” He yelled after the head butler. "What a shame; a pretty face such as hers wasted by a hideous personality.

"

Shikamaru scoffed at the hypocrisy and slipped silently into the house, slamming the glass door shut and rattling the glass wall.

Sasuke began to unbutton the front of his shirt and peel the damp fabric from his limbs. "Haruno Sakura," Sasuke flung the shirt into the ground, "I hope you're prepared for life in hell." He whispered to himself deviously.