Chapter Text
Manami moved into the elevator. His secretary informed her he was living in the suite. Not bad, considering the building was right next to their office. She supposed it was convenient as well. If she had any concerns it would be easy to find him, even during after work hours. When the elevator indicated she had reached the suite floor, she stepped out into the foyer when the doors opened.
And realized she had walked in on him working out.
The music from the speakers was too loud, so he hadn't noticed her standing by the entrance of his suite yet. He stood by the fire place, doing some bicep curls with a pair of dumbbells. Manami felt frozen in place, unable to move. And all she could do was watch.
Karma was wearing a black muscle shirt, matched with a pair of dark jogging pants and what seemed to be combat boots. His back was facing her, and as he switched the workout and lifted the weights above his head, she could visibly see his triceps bulge. Suddenly her mouth felt dry.
After doing a few more reps with the weights, he set them down. Manami found her chance to call out to him. But before she could even utter his name, he crossed his arms over his shirt. Her eyes widened in alarm as he stripped off the black garment.
She made a small sound of panic. What was happening? She only came here to inform him of the status of the drug his department recently acquired from her lab. How did it turn into a viewing of his perfect body in the middle of a workout?
She suddenly felt like a peeping tom, feeling small for letting this get out of hand. Her gaze was fixed on him. Dear god, he was doing push-ups now. Even the muscles of his back were perfect.
Karma didn't have the boulder type of body wrestlers did. He wasn't overly shredded like Karasuma-sensei. He wasn’t lanky either, despite his six-foot tall stature. But enough of his muscles were well-defined. Though that was only based on what she’d seen so far, which was his backside. But yes, Manami supposed he was muscular. He was definitely well-built for his height. She could only wonder what the front looked like…
"Okuda-san."
His deep voice brought her out of her reverie. She blinked. Had she been mindlessly staring? She didn’t even notice he had finished with the push-ups and was standing in front of her. Mortified, she let out a small squeak, bringing her palms to her flushed cheeks. Her eyes flew to meet his, which were characteristically brimming with mischief.
He smirked. "See something you like?"
She was about to respond when he took a step towards her. Automatically she took a step back. He continued to stalk towards her, a hunter on the prowl. She, his delectable prey, continued to back up. When she felt her back hit the wall, she knew she was dead.
Lifting a hand and bracing it on the wall next to her face, he brought his face closer to her. Wanting desperately to avoid his dangerous gaze, she looked down.
Only to realize she'd made the horrible mistake of looking at his bare chest, which was glistening with sweat.
Tearing her gaze away from his chest, she peered up at him once again. She watched a bead of sweat trail down from his damp mop of hair to the side of his face, dropping from the angle of his jaw. She suddenly found it hard to breathe. Her lips were dry, so she darted her tongue out to moisten them.
His eyes darkened, his lips forming a frown. "Don't do that."
She blinked. "Do what?"
"What you just did."
She searched his eyes. "Why?"
He took her chin between two long fingers, tilting her face closer to him. "You're not ready to know the answer to that question, Okuda-san."
Her brows furrowed. "You don't know that."
The corner of his mouth tilted up. "Trust me, I do."
She felt like sulking. What did he mean by that? She understood human bodily reactions. She knew of how men and women interact when there was attraction between them. Granted, she may not have much personal experience when it came to relationships, but she was well aware of the workings of them.
Before she could tell him so, he pulled away from her, but kept his hand braced on the wall. "So what brings you here? I doubt you came here for a free show of my workout regimen." He raised an eyebrow. "Unless..."
"I didn't!" She flushed. "I-I came here to let you know that the drug you ordered from my lab has been approved by my superiors. We can start the clinical trials next month."
He grinned. “That’s good to hear.”
He moved away from her to walk towards a gym bench she hadn’t noticed was there. Of course you wouldn’t notice, you were too busy staring at the delicious piece of red-haired morsel doing push-ups on the floor. She watched him pick up a towel to wipe off the sweat in his face, leaving it to hang around his neck. When he turned to face her again, she realized the whole front of his topless upper body was now exposed to her.
“You’ll update me on the status of every phase of those trials, right?” He asked, his voice suddenly serious.
Oh, they’ll be talking about work now. Thank god. It was as if the lines of his abdomen were taunting her: Like what you see? She shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts. Pulling out her phone, she opened her calendar to check on the schedule of the clinical trials they’d plotted for the next year.
She adjusted her glasses. “Yes, of course. We’ll start Phase One next month, hopefully. Takebayashi-kun’s people are in charge of recruiting the volunteers, so I’ll be coordinating with him.”
He’d begun to stretch his arms over his head. “And Phase Two? What’s your proposed date for that?”
The movement further emphasized the pectoral and abdominal muscles she was desperately trying to avert her eyes from. Were those the “V” lines she’d heard about from Kurahashi when she gushed over Karasuma-sensei’s body?
After taking three deep breaths, Manami looked to the ceiling. For what? A distraction? Divine intervention? A lightning bolt to strike her because she deserved it? For the supreme being of the universe to forgive her for the malicious thoughts she was beginning to have about her friend – her friend since middle school? Mumbling a prayer of absolution, she glanced back at Karma.
Only to find him staring at her, all in his half-naked glory, arms akimbo, his eyebrow raised.
Feeling the heat flush into her cheeks, Manami diverted her gaze, suddenly finding interest his carpeted floor. Seriously, was he not ashamed of being so openly displayed in front of a colleague? Well, technically since she was working for him at the moment she supposed she was his subordinate. Even more shameful!
“Uh,” she tried to clear her now very dry throat. “Depending on the results of Phase One, we’re hoping to start with Phase Two after around six months.”
He stretched his right arm across his chest, and she caught a glimpse of the lines demarcating his biceps from his deltoid before she shifted her eyes back to her phone.
“Remind me again what Phase Two is about? I haven’t fully read the proposal your boss sent me the other day,” he said casually. He proceeded to stretch his left arm.
Was it just her or was it getting warmer? She was beginning to feel the perspiration around her body. Willing herself to focus on the question he’d asked, she took a deep breath. “Phase Two is when we start the clinical trials with actual patients who have the disease. In the case of the drug you requested, we’re looking at patients with hypertension.”
He grunted, prompting her to look back at him. Once again, she realized her horrible mistake. He’d begun to stretch his triceps, raising his arm up and pulling at his elbow. Why wasn’t he embarrassed at all about his state of undress in the presence of his subordinate? This is not normal! Exasperated, she squirmed, then decided to focus her gaze at the bench where his towel had been earlier.
“Mmm, that’s to test for the… what again?” he asked lazily.
“The efficacy of the drug. This is where we’ll begin using placebos as well.”
“Ah, I think I remember now. This is the critical phase, right?”
“Yes.” Great, the heat must’ve caused her glasses to fog up. She took them off, wiping the lenses with the hem of her top. She missed how Karma’s gaze swiftly deviated to the area of skin she unknowingly exposed with the movement. Placing her glasses back, she felt a little more confident to face him now. “I’ll be supervising this part with Takebayashi-kun because this is where we have the highest rate of drug failures.”
“I see.” She watched him saunter towards the mini fridge behind the gym bench. Really? Couldn’t be bothered to put on a shirt? Okay then. He pulled out a bottle of water. As he took a gulp, her eyes followed the movement of his Adam’s apple. Suddenly she felt the urge to grab his water and pour it all over her. This heat was becoming unbearable.
After another sip, he faced her. “And Phase Three?”
She bit her lower lip. This part she was hesitant about. “That will have to depend on the success of Phase Two. Once we clear it, we can proceed with Phase Three, which will be more tedious and time-consuming.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. Did she do something wrong? Then he used one end of the towel around his neck to wipe at the sweat in his forehead and temple. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, then. I expect constant updates on this project. Patent application approval usually takes a while.”
She sighed. “I’m aware of that. It’s an average of five years, maybe longer.”
“That’s where I come in,” he smirked. “So don’t worry too much about it and just focus on your clinical trials.”
She sent him a grateful smile. “Alright.”
He did one final stretch, arching his back as he reached for the ceiling, unaware of the frown she directed at him. For the love of god, please put on a shirt. Now even his V lines were mocking her: All you have to do is say ‘please.’ It took all her willpower not to follow the lines down to where they ended underneath the jogging pa –
“Well, I appreciate you coming all the way here to tell me all that, Okuda-san.” He grinned at her. “Even if I’m pretty sure it could’ve been done via e-mail.”
She blinked, realizing that possibility could’ve spared her from the sensual torture she just endured. Refusing to be embarrassed any further, Manami opted for honesty.
“I just thought that,” she began, fiddling with her phone. “It was a good excuse to come see you.”
Karma’s eyes widened in surprise. For a moment she thought she saw something flash in his eyes. But before she could even try to identify what it was, his grin melted into an affectionate smile. He buried his hands in the front pockets of his pants. “You know you can come see me anytime, Okuda-san.”
She lit up. “Really?”
“Absolutely. In fact,” he stalked towards her again, leaning forward and letting his face stop mere inches from hers. “You’re welcome to spar with me next time if you want.” His voice became husky, his eyes darkening.
Crimson tint spread from her cheeks to her ears and neck. She knew he was teasing her. She knew the moment his eyes shone with mischief as he stared at her. She was torn. While she placed much respect to the serious bureaucrat boss he’d become, she was overwhelmed by the realization of how much she missed seeing this side of him. Playful, devious Karma. This was the Karma she’d grown up with, the one she’d felt most comfortable with back in middle school, and she his trusty confidant and partner-in-crime.
Yet she couldn’t help but squirm under his fervent gaze. For some reason she felt there was something else hidden there she’d yet to explore with him. Why did she feel like she was going to spontaneously combust when he looked at her like that?
Gathering what was left of her dignity, she huffed at him. “Th-then, I’ll get going now! See you tomorrow, Karma-kun!”
And with that she sprinted out of his suite.
Karma let out the laugh he’d been holding in.
He couldn’t recall the last time he’d been so entertained. And by Okuda of all people. Watching her struggle to focus on discussing work while avoiding looking at him was just priceless.
She was just too cute, all flustered and embarrassed.
He’d known she was there the moment she stepped out of the elevator. After all, hers had always been a presence he was constantly on the lookout for. Also he heard her little squeak when he took off his shirt.
He was beginning to feel bad he did all of those in front of her intentionally. He’d already finished looking over the proposal her superior sent him the night before. He figured letting her discuss everything would prolong their time together. And to give him more chances of playing with her.
Recalling her flushed expression, he decided he wasn’t at all remorseful.
Returning his bottled water and taking out a Gatorade from his mini fridge, he took a sip. The memory of her tongue moistening her dry lips flashed in his mind. And the patch of white, smooth skin he’d caught a glimpse of when she cleaned her glasses with her shirt. Then that lip bite. With a frown, he took a gulp of his drink.
She was obviously unaware of the effect her actions had on him. While her eyes told him she wanted to know exactly that, he knew it simply wasn’t possible to show her yet. She just wasn’t ready. Though it would be interesting to see how things would turn out if – when – she was. He smirked.
She mentioned Phase Three was going to be time-consuming. He was counting on it. But first he’d have to make sure the first two phases would go by smoothly.
He was certainly looking forward to working with her in the following months to come.