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“He’s coming down now.”
“He is?”
“Who is?”
Jun looked at his two friends with eyebrows knitted together.
Nino gave a short chuckle. “Aiba’s crush.”
“He’s not my crush,” Aiba replied with a nervous tone.
Nino rolled his eyes. “Sure, that’s why you have me tell you every time he calls to say he’s coming down.”
Aiba didn’t reply, pretending to arrange some documents at his desk while inconspicuously keeping an eye on the door of their department.
“Who’s coming down?” Jun repeated, annoyed that his friends weren’t making him a part of the conversation.
“Sakurai Sho,” Nino said with a mocking sigh.
“The ace of the sales department?” Jun asked, with a raised eyebrow. “You got a crush on that asshole, Aiba?”
“I don’t—He’s not—Shut up,” Aiba said, but it lacked bite.
It was at that moment that Sakurai came in, followed by his junior Ueda.
In a second, every female employer of their floor flocked around him, some pretending to need help with part of their work, some simply greeting him. Sakurai smiled politely at everyone of them as he gave them advice or exchanged pleasantries, but he eventually bowed with a contrite expression and said that he was in a rush. He left his junior behind to fend his admirers away, and approached Nino’s desk. With a jolt, Aiba pretended to be checking his emails.
“Good afternoon, Ninomiya-kun,” he said, with a perfectly polite smile. Out of the corner of his eye, Aiba noticed Jun scoffing at what his younger friend used to call Sakurai's ‘fake politician smile’ and he shushed him discreetly.
“Sakurai-kun,” Nino said with a bored nod. “Here’s the documents you needed. I could have brought them upstairs, you know?”
Sakurai chuckled. “It’s okay, I’m always so busy during the day, so I like to make the best of this time to take the stairs. It’s the only way I can get some exercise in, you know?”
Nino glanced at Aiba and gave a quick smirk before he rested his chin on his hand. “Really? So you don’t normally work out? You look so fit.”
Sakurai took the compliment gracefully. “I try to hit the gym when I can, but I could make more efforts.”
“I’m sure that if you ask our Aiba will introduce you to his gym some day,” Nino said, pointing to Aiba. “Won’t you, Aiba-kun?”
Hearing his name, Aiba turned around so quickly that he bumped his elbow on the table. He noticed that Sakurai was looking at him, waiting for a reply, so he tried to act cool and ignore the pain that was making tears appear in his eyes.
“Y—Yes, sure, uhm—Not that you need it—I mean—Yes!”
Aiba cringed inside at how uncool he was being. On his left, Jun was hiding his face in a folder, but he could see his back shaking with how much he was laughing. At least he was trying to conceal himself, while Nino wasn’t even being that subtle about it, just snickering away in his seat.
“Great!” Sakurai smiled at him, and it looked genuine this time. “I’ll take advantage of your offer someday, Aiba-kun.”
“You can take advantage of me anytime you’d like.”
Aiba felt the panic rise when he realized what he had said. On his left, Jun’s laugh could now be heard, while Nino was in tears.
“N—No, I mean—”
Sakurai cleared his voice. “I have to go now. Thanks for the documents, Ninomiya-kun,” he nodded to Nino, who was still trying to catch his breath. “Aiba-kun,” he said as a form of greeting.
Aiba let himself slide down his chair as he watched Sakurai cross the crowd of adoring fans to go back to his department, his junior in tow. After what he said, he just wanted the earth to swallow him whole.
“Next time,” Jun said as he calmed down. “I suggest you just lay naked on your desk and beg him to take you. I think you’re being too subtle.”
Aiba flipped him off.
“Matsumoto-kun,” he heard Nino say over his head. “Can I take advantage of your kindness to get me the Domoto file?”
“Of course,” Jun replied, not missing a beat, “you can take advantage of me any time you like, Ninomiya-kun.”
“I didn’t mean it like that, and you know it!” Aiba yelled, as his two friends kept on giggling for the best part of the next hour.