Title: Taking
Over
Author: Kirathaune
LJ: http://kirathaune.livejournal.com/
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sanzo/Hakkai
Rating/Warning: R
Summary: AU - Corporate raider Hakkai Cho
wants to take over SanCor and sell off its several
companies. Genjyo Sanzo is refusing to sell, fighting
not only the takeover but the growing attraction between the two men.
Disclaimers: This is just to satisfy our cravings for pretty bishies and pr0n - no profit
made whatsoever.
Notes: This is a slightly belated birthday gift for my lovely friend suanz - she
asked for Sanzo & Hakkai, with Hakkai as a "ruthless corporate
raider". After several hours of Googling
"corporate raider" and watching Wall Street, here is
the result. Happy Birthday, Suanz! 5,800 words.
"Uh, excuse me, Mr Sanzo? Your visitor is still in the waiting room."
Janey hovered in the office doorway.
Genjyo Sanzo huffed and looked up from the galley
proofs he was reviewing. "Who is it again?"
The secretary cast a nervous glance over her shoulder. "Hakkai Cho."
Sanzo frowned. "Haven't you gotten rid of that guy yet? I didn't want to
see him last week, or the week before that. I certainly don't want to see him
today. Tell him I'm busy." He re-adjusted his reading glasses and returned
his attention to the manuscript on his desk.
Janey's gaze went back to the reception room again.
"Ummm, sir, I told him that. He's saying he
won't leave until you see him." Her hands twisted in the hem of her
sweater.
This time Sanzo didn't look up. "Not my problem. He can sit on his
ass all fucking day for all I care."
The rest of afternoon slid by. Janey
fluttered in and out of Sanzo's office with papers to sign, proofs to
approve and to tell him that Mr. Cho was still
there. Sanzo felt a pang of guilt at making his skittish secretary have to deal
with the persistent visitor. Janey was a nice girl,
but he missed his father's old secretary - that woman was a pit bull who had
reduced grown men to sniveling idiots. Oh well...
he'd treat Janey to lunch tomorrow.
When it was five-thirty Sanzo knew he couldn't hide in his office anymore. He
might as well let Cho say his bit and then tell him
to fuck off. He got his briefcase and jacket, and then headed for the front
door. Sure enough, as soon as Sanzo entered the reception area a man who
could only be Hakkai Cho quickly stood up and said,
"Mr. Sanzo?"
Sanzo grunted and looked up, and was taken by surprise. After reading Cho's half a dozen or so letters, he had been expecting
someone much older - and not nearly so good-looking. Cho appeared to be his age, and the slender
brunet did not exactly fit the image of the tough corporate raider that Sanzo
knew him to be. Hakkai Cho was reputed to be a
"company killer" who would take over a corporation and sell it off in
bits and pieces. And his sights were currently set on SanCor.
The other man seemed surprised too, but quickly recovered and extended his
hand. "Mr. Sanzo, I'm Hakkai Cho and I do wish
you would give me a few minutes of your time."
Sanzo ignored the outstretched hand. "Why should I? I'm not
interested in selling my SanCor shares."
Hakkai pulled his hand back and eyed it with a small, bemused grin. "This
could actually be a good opportunity for your company, Mr. Sanzo." When Sanzo
started to walk past him Hakkai reached out and touched Sanzo's arm.
"Please... allow me to go over it with you? Look, I noticed that there's a
tavern in the lobby of this building. Let me buy you a drink and I can show
you not only how this can be good for your company, but how little Hontou's proposed takeover of SanCor
will affect your running of Tenchi Kaigen Publishing." He smiled widely at Sanzo.
Sanzo looked at the slim, elegant hand on his arm, and then brought his gaze up
to meet Hakkai's. And he got caught not only in that charming smile, but
also in the emerald eyes that stubbornly stayed on his. Hakkai Cho was a very attractive man. But when he smiled
like that he was a stunner, and Sanzo found himself grudgingly agreeing to go. "Tch. One
beer. You'll have that long to give me your song-and-dance."
Hakkai's smile widened. "Well then, I guess I should buy you a
Guinness. The pull alone will get me an extra two minutes."
Sanzo snorted, and decided to blame the sudden twist in his belly on the fact
that he was hungry. It was not because of the twinkle in those
eyes.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
The waitress left with their drink orders, and Sanzo
leaned back in the wooden seat of their booth and loosened his tie. "All right. Clock's ticking."
Hakkai had used the time they spent waiting for the waitress getting his
folders out of his briefcase, so he was ready. "Our company has a client
that is extremely interested in acquiring the technology and patents
that are associated with SanCor's main
subsidiary, NiiGene."
"My uncle Ukoku's
company."
"Yes," Hakkai replied, "and while it seems that the
easiest thing would be to buy those patents from your uncle, my client is
unable to do so because the patents belong to NiiGene,
not Ukoku Sanzo. And NiiGene
is owned by SanCor. So my company, Hontou Corporation, wishes to purchase a controlling
amount of shares in SanCor, and then sell NiiGene to our client."
Sanzo frowned. "Why not sell all of SanCor?"
Hakkai fingered the paper coaster that was on the table in front of him.
"The client is only interested in NiiGene.
They are a large genetics research corporation, and are very interested in the
patents developed by your uncle. Who, I might add, has sold Hontou
his shares."
Sanzo grunted. "Figures. That asshole would sell his own mother."
Hakkai cleared his throat and continued, "Anyway, since the client is only
interested in NiiGene's technology, Hontou would dismantle NiiGene
and sell those assets to our client."
"At a handsome profit, I imagine. My uncle is a freak, but he is a
brilliant freak."
Hakkai saw the waitress approaching and kept talking. "Ah, yes, it is a
tidy sum. Now, while your part of SanCor - Tenchi Kaigen Publishing - does
very well for a small, independent publishing house, our client has no
interest in acquiring a book publisher."
"Not even to diversify their holdings?" Sanzo took his pint of
Guinness from the girl and set it down, waiting for the head to finish forming.
Hakkai took a sip of his hefeweizen beer. "No. So Hontou would sell Tenchi
Kaigen to another client." He set the
beer glass down and reached for his folders, setting them on the table in front
of Sanzo. "Here are four corporations that have expressed an interest in
acquiring Tenchi Kaigen.
They are all solid, healthy companies that specialize in consolidating
publishing houses, and they are all interested in increasing the variety of
publishers in their holdings. Tenchi Kaigen is considered a "niche" publisher - since
you almost exclusively publish sacred, spiritual and
philosophical texts - and they are all interested in
purchasing your company. Your position at Tenchi Kaigen would remain the same, you
would just no longer be a stockholder."
Hakkai drank more of his beer and watched the other man peruse the folders one
at a time. Genjyo Sanzo was nothing like what he had
expected. His research had told him that Sanzo had barely been out of college
when his father died two years ago, and he had half expected to find a rich
spoiled young man playing at owning a company. This man was not playing.
Hakkai found his gaze lingering on Sanzo's golden blond hair,
noticing that the light from the table's lamp made it almost
glow. And violet eyes... Hakkai had never seen eyes that color. Genjyo Sanzo was
nothing short of gorgeous, but there was razor-sharp intelligence
behind those amazing eyes, and Hakkai knew he should not underestimate the
man.
Sanzo pushed the folders back at Hakkai and took a generous swig of his
Guinness. "Tenchi Kaigen
- and SanCor - were
both co-founded by my father, Koumyou Sanzo. You
are talking about taking his legacy and splitting it apart into little pieces
and selling them off to the highest bidder. I took over Tenchi Kaigen when he died, and I
have a sizeable amount of shares in SanCor. Which I am not selling."
Hakkai sighed. "I wish you wouldn't take it so personally, Mr. Sanzo. It's
just business. And good business, actually. You would
receive a generous price for your shares."
Sanzo leaned in close. "My father founded this company. That makes it
very personal. I'm not selling."
"Ah, but you are not a majority shareholder, are you?" Hakkai put the
folders away. "And you are not the only person with a 'sizeable amount of
shares.' There is a Goku Son who has a generous amount of shares as well. Once
I locate him, I imagine he will be willing to sell his shares. You see, Mr.
Sanzo, you are the only shareholder remaining - besides Goku Son - who has not
sold to Hontou."
"Never heard of him." Sanzo took another
long drink of his beer.
"I'm quite confident that I will locate him soon. You're only prolonging
the inevitable, Mr. Sanzo."
"Good luck with that." Sanzo moved to get up from his seat, and
without thinking Hakkai reached out and touched the man's arm for the
second time that evening.
"Please.. don't go
yet." Hakkai nodded at Sanzo's half-empty beer glass. "You have
half a beer left. Doesn't that mean that I still have half a beer's worth
of your time?"
Sanzo glared down at him. "I'm done talking about your offer - it's
not happening."
"We'll talk about other things instead." Hakkai smiled.
"Anything you like."
Their eyes met and held. And then a funny thing happened. Hakkai had fully
expected Sanzo to down the remaining beer and leave, but instead, Sanzo
shrugged off Hakkai's hand and sat back down.
Sanzo reached for his beer. "Tell me about you, then."
"Well, I've been with Hontou for about-"
Hakkai's words stopped abruptly when a slender hand touched his.
"No. About you."
And so Hakkai told him about his childhood in a Catholic orphanage, and about
finding his long-lost sister only to lose her to suicide a few years later.
Sanzo listened intently, his
beer untouched.
Then Sanzo related his own story of being adopted by an eccentric ex-monk,
and Hakkai couldn't help but notice that Sanzo was taking a long time
finishing his Guinness. Almost an hour had gone by, and there was still a
quarter glass left.
There was an attraction there, however reluctant. Hakkai could see it in
the way Sanzo watched him while he talked, the way that violet gaze would
linger on his throat while he drank his beer and then settle on his mouth after
he would set the glass down. For his part, Hakkai was completely
captivated. Genjyo Sanzo was intelligent, had a
wickedly snarky wit and was the most beautiful man
Hakkai had ever met.
Half an hour later, Sanzo drank the last of the Guinness. He looked at the
empty glass, then at Hakkai. "Well, there was your one
beer." He slid out of the booth and stood, digging in his pocket for his
car keys. "Thanks for the drink."
Hakkai stood too, and tossed a handful of bills on the table to cover
their tab. "You're welcome." He held out his hand, and this time
Sanzo shook it. "I wish we could have met under different
circumstances," Hakkai said quietly. Another smile, this time a wistful one.
"Me too." Sanzo slowly
released Hakkai's hand, and then turned and left.
Hakkai watched him go, then gathered his folders and headed out to his car.
His sleep was troubled that night, broken by dreams of the lonely hallways
of the orphanage, his sister's blood spilling onto his outstretched hands...
and Genjyo Sanzo's naked body moving above him,
against him, and inside him.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Sanzo barely had his key pulled out of the door lock when a youthful voice called
from the kitchen, "You're late."
"Fuck you." He tossed the keys into the bowl on the foyer table, then
shrugged off his jacket and hung it in the closet. Entering the dining room,
Sanzo sat down at the table just as a spiky-haired young brunette came in
from the kitchen with several steaming platters of food.
"Lucky for you this stuff stayed nice in the oven," the young man
commented as he set the dishes on the table. "I ate already, so this is
all yours. Oops - hang on a sec, let me move that box
out of the way." He pushed an overflowing cardboard box over to the
other side of the table, handed Sanzo a beer and plopped down in the opposite
chair.
Sanzo eyed the pile of plates in front of him. "Goku, there's enough food
here to feed a small army." He filled a plate and gestured for the teen to
have the rest.
Goku grinned and grabbed a second plate. "Heh...
guess I got carried away. I've always got room for seconds, though." He
sniffed the air, and then pointed a meatloaf-laden fork at Sanzo. "You
were out drinkin'. Was he cute?"
"Die." Sanzo continued eating.
The teen laughed. "Ooooh, so he was cute.
Who is he? Anybody I know?"
Sanzo took a long swig of his beer. "Interestingly enough, you know of
him. It's the guy who's been looking for you for the past few weeks. And he is not
cute." Cute was not a word Sanzo would associate with Hakkai Cho. Intriguing, yes. Sexy? Definitely.
Goku frowned. "Hakkai Cho? That guy ya said wants to buy my SanCor
stock? Why were ya drinkin'
with him?"
"I hadn't planned on it." Sanzo played with his mashed potatoes. He hadn't
planned on going to the tavern with the man, much less staying there for
almost two hours. It was that goddamn smile. "He was a pain in the ass at
the office today, wouldn't leave until I talked with him."
"And?"
"Pretty much the same stuff that was in all his letters - he wants NiiGene, and to get that he needs a controlling share in SanCor. So he's trying to get me to sell him some of my
shares. Since I refused, he's looking for you to try and buy your shares."
Goku put down his fork. "But Koumyou left
me that stock. You too - well, you already had some, but he left you the
rest." He looked down at his plate. "I don't wanna
sell it - it really meant a lot to me that he thought I was family an' left me
stuff in his will. Can't we stop him?"
Sanzo reached over and ruffled the teen's hair. "You are family,
moron. You keep forgetting that I was adopted too." He returned to
eating and gestured at the box that perched precariously at the
other end of the dining room table. It was filled with ancient video game
consoles and games. "What the fuck is that? Almost all of that shit is
older that you are. Hell, half of it's older than me."
Goku laughed. "This guy at school sold 'em
to me cheap. There's some really cool old-school games
that ya can't play except on these old consoles. An' it's cooler ta use the old
controllers than a mouse. Like Pac-Man... Pac-Man is actually harder ta play with a mouse."
Sanzo snorted. "Pac-man - that one is definitely older than both of
us." Pac-Man... Sanzo paused, his fork halfway to his mouth. Why
was that name ringing bells in his head? Why was it ringing financial
bells in his head?
"Uh, Sanzo? What is it?"
Sanzo blinked and looked at the hovering fork. "Nothing."
He finished his dinner, helped Goku wash up, and then holed himself up
in the study with his laptop and Googled
"Pac-Man". There were sixty million listings, and he waded through
thirty pages' worth of listings that only referred to the game. That vague
something still niggled at his brain, however, so for the hell of it he entered
"Pac-Man financial" in the search box and clicked Search. A very
different set of listings scrolled on the screen.
Heh.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Hakkai leaned against his car while he waited. He glanced at his watch - Sanzo
would hopefully be coming out soon. Casual, yet careful questioning of Sanzo's
secretary over the past two days had yielded several gems of
information: that Genjyo Sanzo usually left by six,
drove a white Bugatti Type 57, and
that he parked it on the top level of the parking
garage because everyone else liked parking on the lower levels,
closer to the exits. Hakkai could see the benefit - there were hardly any
cars on this level, and several of them were collector-type cars like the Bugatti. So he pulled his BMW into a nearby space
and kept one eye on the elevator doors while he appreciated the vintage car in
front of him. He was inspecting the unusual curve of the trunk when he heard
the elevator bell.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Hakkai straighted and turned to
face the car's owner. Sanzo looked rumpled and weary, an
unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth, but the sight of him still made
Hakkai's pulse race. "This is quite an amazing car, Mr. Sanzo."
Hakkai waved a hand at the vehicle in front of him. "A
1936 model? I don't believe I've ever seen one of these in person."
Sanzo's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, it's a '36. It was my father's. I'll ask you
again - what are you doing here? If you wanted a meeting you should have talked
to your pal Janey. Don't think I didn't notice the
flowers you sent her."
Hakkai lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. "I sent her the flowers as
an apology for causing her distress the other day. She's a sweet girl, and very
loyal to you. I'm sure it was troublesome to have someone refuse to
leave the office like I did."
"Hmmmph." Sanzo walked over to the driver's side door and
lit his cigarette. "Still haven't answered my question."
Hakkai smiled. "Is it possible that I just wanted to see you again? That I
enjoyed your company the other night and would like to
enjoy it this evening?" He stepped a little closer. "That right now,
I'm just Hakkai, and I'm asking Genjyo if he would
like to have dinner with me?"
Blond eyebrows marginally relaxed their frown. "Just
Hakkai, huh?" Sanzo took a drag on his cigarette and exhaled,
speculation replacing suspicion in his eyes as he stared at Hakkai through
a cloud of smoke. "I suppose it's possible."
"Is that a yes, then?" Hakkai gestured to his BMW.
Sanzo's shoulder lifted in a mocking echo of Hakkai's earlier shrug and
then he ground out his cigarette and walked toward Hakkai's car.
"Sure, why not? And my friends call me Sanzo, not Genjyo.
Genjyo was some wimpy-ass monk my father read about
in a story, and in his infinite insanity he saddled me with the name."
Fifteen minutes later, they were at a small table in Hakkai's favorite Japanese restaurant. Jackets and ties were shed,
orders were placed and there was a surprisingly companionable silence while
they enjoyed their drinks. Hakkai sipped his sake and watched Sanzo take
several generous swallows of his
Sanzo smirked. "Like I said, it was my father's car. He drank that fancy
shit - I prefer a good beer, or whiskey."
Their dinner progressed at a leisurely pace, and Hakkai was very pleased to see
Sanzo gradually relax. This time the conversation turned to their professional
lives, and they traded stories of crazy clients, insane deadlines and
spectacular failures.
Hakkai listened as Sanzo told a particularly funny story about how his father
sent him on a crazy quest for a rare manuscript, and he smiled behind his sake
cup. What a difference from the other night... tonight they were relaxed,
slightly buzzed even, and just enjoying the evening. And that humming
attraction was still there. It was there in too-long glances and the not-so-accidental
brush of hands as they selected pieces of sushi off their communal platter.
All too soon dinner was finished, and although they lingered awhile longer with
some plum wine Sanzo eventually looked at his watch and announced
(regretfully, Hakkai noticed) that he had to be getting back home. Hakkai
settled their bill and they returned to Hakkai's car, and were soon back at Sanzo's office building.
Hakkai pulled into the space next to Sanzo's car, cut the engine and twisted in
his seat to face his companion. He smiled and said, "I'm really glad you
came tonight - I enjoyed your company very much. So... will you be
all right getting home, Sanzo? You had quite a few beers."
He gasped as Sanzo's fingers brushed his cheek.
"I'm just fine. What about you, sake-man? That shit'll
knock you on your ass if you're not careful." Sanzo's
fingers traced along Hakkai's jaw, lingered briefly on Hakkai's lips, and
then drifted down to splay against his throat. "It's a nice ass,"
Sanzo murmured. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to
it."
Hakkai could feel his pulse hammering beneath those rough fingertips. The
light, caressing touches were incredibly arousing, as was the frank
appreciation in the violet eyes that met his.
Sanzo's hand slid around to cradle the back of his head, and when Hakkai
felt a gentle tug he allowed Sanzo to pull his head closer, closer,
until warm lips covered his. He rested his palm against Sanzo's chest and
felt a quickened heartbeat pound under his hand
as Sanzo deepened the kiss. There was the brush of Sanzo's tongue against
his lips, and Hakkai was soon tasting the faint maltiness of
Hakkai moved his hand further down Sanzo's chest, lingering
for a few moments to unclasp a belt buckle, tug a zipper, and
then he slipped his hand inside Sanzo's
slacks. Hakkai found hardness waiting there, and he ran
his hand along its generous length before beginning to slowly
stroke. Sanzo groaned and broke off the kiss, panting, his
hand clutching convulsively at Hakkai's shoulder. Hakkai smiled
and stroked a little harder, watching Sanzo's eyes darken to almost
black, listening to the gasps of pleasure escape reddened,
glistening lips.
Gods, he's so beautiful. "Come for me, Sanzo," he
whispered.
Suddenly Sanzo's hand shot down to tug his hand away. "F-fuck,
Hakkai!" Sanzo rasped, and he yanked up the zipper with
shaking hands. "W-what the fuck do you think you're doing?"
"Giving you pleasure?" Hakkai leaned back in his seat. "You
liked it, didn't you?"
"Tch.
You know I did," Sanzo growled as he fastened his belt.
"I certainly enjoyed your kisses - and I would like to point out that
you kissed me first." He was also enjoying Sanzo's discomfiture right
now - it was intoxicating to see how much his touch had unraveled
Sanzo's self-control.
Sanzo rubbed the back of his head distractedly. "Shit. This was not a good
idea - you're in the middle of trying to take over my company!"
Hakkai leaned forward and brushed a now-sweaty lock of blond hair out
of Sanzo's eyes. "Not tonight." he whispered. "Tonight I'm just
Hakkai, and all I wanted to take over tonight was you, ...Sanzo."
Those dark eyes blazed, and Sanzo dove in for a hard, bruising kiss, pressing
Hakkai back against the seat. When Sanzo raised his head Hakkai was
breathless. "Don't make the mistake of thinking that I or my company
is an easy target," Sanzo hissed against his
lips. Another deep, rough kiss, and then Sanzo grabbed his
jacket from the back seat and opened the car door.
"Good night, Just Hakkai." Sanzo got out and slammed the door shut.
Hakkai sat unmoving in his seat while he heard Sanzo start his car
and leave, tires squealing. He brought his fingers to his mouth, brushing them
lightly over kiss-swollen lips.
Just Hakkai.
He wished it could be that simple.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
What the fuck was I thinking? Sanzo
thought as he sped down the freeway toward home. He'd nearly come in his pants,
nearly been jacked off by the man who was trying to take over and
dismantle SanCor.
But fuck, it had felt good. Too good. And he had truly
enjoyed the man's company this evening. If it wasn't for all this takeover
bullshit, the night would have probably ended very differently. Very... pleasurably.
Sanzo shoved down the traitorous thought and accelerated. He had enough pride
that he couldn't imagine being with someone who destroyed
the company his father founded - and no matter how nicely it was
worded, if Hakkai Cho succeeded then Tenchi Kaigen would not be his
any more - it would belong to some faceless corporation who had no loyalty to
the memory of Koumyou Sanzo.
Last Monday night a brilliant, dangerous idea had sparked in his
mind, and it needed to work if was he going to be with Hakkai Cho again. And as much as Sanzo fought it as stupid,
crazy and bugfuck nuts, he wanted Hakkai's hands
on him again. More than Hakkai's hands... Sanzo wanted that smiling mouth
and he wanted that slender body, wanted it naked
and writhing beneath him while he fucked Hakkai Cho into
the nearest horizontal surface.
He let himself quietly into the house - thanking all the forgotten gods that
Goku was asleep - and headed for his room. Going into the master bath, he
stripped and stepped into the shower, turning on the jets full blast.
And as he took himself in hand and stroked himself to a pounding,
shuddering climax Sanzo imagined it was Hakkai's
hand wrapped around his cock, and that emerald eyes were
watching him.
Come for me.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Why, good afternoon, Mr. Cho," chirped Janey from her desk. "You're right on time - Mr. Sanzo will see you as soon as he finishes his
phone call. Oh, and thank you so much for the flowers."
Hakkai smiled at the girl. "You're quite welcome. I'm sure you're glad
that I'm actually getting into Mr. Sanzo's office this time, and not making a
pest of myself out here." Hakkai was glad too. Four days of silence
from Genjyo Sanzo, and then this
morning Hakkai received a voicemail asking for a meeting - a terse "My
office, this afternoon at five. Goku Son will be there." There had
been a long pause, then a low, rough "Hakkai." Hakkai
must have re-played the voicemail message at least four times this
morning, although he had to admit only the first time was to make
sure he had heard correctly. The other three times had been just to hear
that smoke-and-whiskey voice say his name.
Sanzo. During those four silent
days Hakkai had wondered if their encounter last Wednesday might
have cost him the deal. And now, there was a good chance this whole
deal might end very favorably. On all counts. Hakkai drew hope from the thought
that Sanzo's voice had sounded like he was still thinking about the other night
too. He closed his eyes, remembering how wanton that normally
stern face had looked while Hakkai had been touching him, pleasuring
him.
"Mr. Cho? Mr. Sanzo will see you now."
Hakkai was yanked back to reality by the secretary's voice. He
blinked to clear his mind of those dangerous, distracting thoughts and
stood. "Thank you, Janey," he replied, and
fetched his briefcase before entering Genjyo Sanzo's
office.
The Chief Executive Officer of Tenchi Kaigen Publishing was lounging back in his chair, feet up
on an antique burlwood desk. Sanzo waved a hand at
one of the chairs in front of his desk, and Hakkai sat down, aware of those
violet eyes following his every move.
"I was very pleased to receive your message, Sanzo, and I appreciate
you giving me your time this afternoon - it was wonderful news to hear about
Goku Son." Hakkai smiled, determined to stay professional.
Sanzo's face remained impassive. "I'm afraid Goku is running a bit
late. Would you like some tea while we wait?"
Hakkai noticed the use of Son's first name. "So... you knew where he was
all this time."
"Yes. Tea?" When Hakkai nodded, Sanzo leaned
over and pressed a button on his intercom. "Janey,
do we have any of that jasmine tea? We do? Could you bring us a pot, please?" Sanzo
then returned to leaning back in his chair.
"Thank you," Hakkai murmured. "Jasmine is my favorite."
"I know." There was a tiny upturn at one corner of Sanzo's mouth
when Hakkai gaped at him. "Your secretary succumbs to charm and
flowers too."
Janey came in with the tea, and the two men busied
themselves with pouring their cups. It was a strange silence, Hakkai decided as
he sipped his tea. It wasn't quite awkward, but it wasn't comfortable either.
And it seemed that neither of them was going to bring up last Wednesday night,
which was just as well right now. So Hakkai drank his tea while Sanzo
watched him, his expression unreadable.
"The moron should be here by now," Sanzo muttered, and he pushed
the call button. "Oi, Janey.
Did those papers arrive from the lawyer? And is Goku here yet?"
A crackle, then, "Yes, sir - the courier left a minute ago. Oh, and your
brother just came in."
Brother? Hakkai raised an eyebrow. There were no other Sanzos of record. Just Genjyo and Ukoku, the uncle.
Sanzo pressed the button again. "Send the idiot in with the papers,
will you?"
The office door opened, and a college-age young man with spiky brown
hair stomped into the room. "Sanzo, why'd ya
call me an idiot in front of Janey like that? Ya embarrassed me." He huffed and gave Sanzo
the large envelopes in his hand. "Uh... here are those papers. Oh,
an' here's your copies of the share transfer stuff - I signed 'em an' took 'em to the notable
guy like ya said."
"Notary. Idiot."
"Whatever. Fuck you." The teen threw himself into one of
the chairs in front of Sanzo's desk and glanced over at Hakkai. "Is
this him? He is cute." He stuck out a hand. "Goku Son. I'm
Sanzo's brother - Koumyou's other son."
Koumyou's other son? Hakkai wordlessly
shook the proffered hand. What was going on here? Alarm bells started
going off in his head.
Goku looked at Hakkai for a moment, saw his confusion and explained
kindly, "Yeah, other son. He adopted me too, but he died before we
could change my last name." He looked back at his brother. "I
still don't understand what all this has to do with Pac-Man. Pac-Man is
an old GAME, dude. An' it sucks compared to Final Fantasy."
In that moment, time seemed to stop for Hakkai, and everything became crystal
clear. He sat there, frozen, and his gaze sought
Sanzo's. "You used the Pac-Man defense." It
was a rare takeover defense
considered insane by almost everyone in the financial world, and required
risking everything.
Sanzo smiled. It was not a nice smile. It was an I've-Got-You-By-The-Balls-Now
smile. The blond leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head.
"It wasn't terribly hard... more of a pain in the ass than
difficult, really. Goku here signed over all his SanCor shares to me, making me the majority
shareholder. I sold off NiiGene - at a very nice
profit, by the way. I can see why your company wanted it so badly. Plus,
there was the added bonus of firing my nutbar
uncle Ukoku... you have no idea how long I've
fantasized about doing that."
He waved the folder of legal documents that Goku had brought in. "This
morning I just finalized buying a majority share in Hontou Corporation using the proceeds from that sale - and
some of the money my father left me." Sanzo set the folder down
and smirked. "Koumyou Sanzo might have
acted like a ditz, but he was a very, very good businessman. And he took very,
very good care of his sons."
Hakkai was speechless. If what he just said was true, Genjyo
Sanzo was now the majority shareholder of Hakkai's parent company. His boss. The target had just taken over the takeover.
It was... a thing of beauty.
And at this moment, he never wanted anyone in his entire life as badly as he
wanted Genjyo Sanzo.
Hakkai stared at that beautiful, diabolical face and wondered what was
going to happen now... Sanzo was in a position where he could easily decide to
sell off Hakkai's company if he wanted to. Fire him, even. But did Sanzo
want to do that? Hakkai wasn't sure - Sanzo's expression was carefully neutral,
but those sparkling violet eyes were dark and predatory.
"Goku. Here - take this." Without
taking his eyes off Hakkai, Sanzo held out a small wad of bills to his brother,
"Go take Janey out to dinner. I've worked her
hard with all this nonsense."
Goku took the money with a grin. "Yeah, you just want to get me out of the
way." He winked at Hakkai.
"Is it going to work?"
"Sure, why not?" Goku headed toward the door. "Nice
ta meetcha, Hakkai.
Hey Janey!" he called out to the secretary,
"Sanzo's treatin' ta
dinner! Let's go eat someplace expensive." He waved at his brother and
left the office. Sanzo got up and shut the door behind him.
Hakkai heard the click of the door being locked.
Out of the corner of his eye Hakkai saw Sanzo move behind him, and then he
shivered at he felt Sanzo's lips press close to his ear.
"So... now that I'm taking over," Sanzo growled softly,
"I think I'm going to have to personally oversee your
operations." Sanzo's hands rested on his shoulders, and one hand worked
its way into Hakkai's hair.
"Is that so?" Hakkai murmured. "I don't think I've ever been
personally overseen before."
The hand in Hakkai's hair tightened and pulled his head back. Sanzo nipped
at Hakkai's throat while his other hand loosened his tie and then
moved on to opening his shirt. "In fact, I think I might require
regular briefing meetings."
Hakkai choked back a moan when Sanzo licked along his collarbone. "A-after hours, of course."
Sanzo raised his head, eyes glittering with desire. "Of
course. I'm a busy man. I've got a corporation to run now." He
turned his attention to Hakkai's earlobe, and his free hand slid down even
further and pressed against Hakkai's rapidly
hardening erection.
It was becoming more difficult for Hakkai to form coherent sentences.
"A-ah... will these ...meetings be at
y-your office or mine?"
There was a low, wicked chuckle. "That depends... how big is
your desk?"
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