Help! My world is upside down! by Ava 365

This is Kagome

This chapter is edited. Many thanks to my beta Black_Rose

I hope you like it. Constructive criticism is very much welcome as well as support XP!

Here goes the chapter

Chap 1: This is Kagome

The young woman gave one last critical glance at her already finished work. A smile softened her face, pleased with what she was reading. She felt proud of the job she had done; she would surely impress her boss with this presentation as well as the client.

She stowed all of the papers away in her briefcase and prepared everything for the next day's presentation. She turned off the light and went to her room. It wasn't even midnight yet, but she wanted to be fresh for tomorrow's meeting. She filled the bath with warm water, scattering some lavender salts into its depths as she lit some incense, intent on building a calming atmosphere.

She worked in an advertisement company where she had been employed for about a year now and was already considered one of the best. She had an endless imagination and the uncanny ability to know what the client wanted. She had a list of influential businessmen who requested only her to handle their products, and because of this her reputation spread from one company to the next without her ever having to lift a finger. Her good work spoke for itself; however, it had cost her any means of a private life.

Just a year ago, she had been swamped with excess friends. She used to go out every weekend, but after several weeks of rejecting plans, only her best friend, Sango, kept in touch with her. So far, Kagome didn't regret it; she just got tired of always doing the same thing, going out, drinking, and rejecting some man who just wanted to get in her panties. She sighed. She was probably getting old; she mourned for a stable relationship, even if it wasn't a lifelong one. She wanted a man to love and one who reciprocated the feeling in turn. She wanted someone to share the good times and the bad, someone who made her feel alive, but she was too far from that dream. There was no way she could meet a man when the only ones around her were either gay or married, if not old enough to be her grandfather or just plain assholes. It was true that the old men were funny and often told her stories about their grandsons to the extent that even blind dates were suggested. She always refused any dates that came from them for two reasons, a) she never involved job with pleasure and b) are you kidding me? Spoiled kids her age? No thank you!

The water was the perfect temperature, not too hot, and not too cold. She sank her exhausted body into the scented water and instantly felt her muscles relax. She stayed in the bathtub for a while, enjoying the tranquillity, allowing her long, black hair to sink, and willing her chocolate eyes to close. Afterwards, her tense muscles unwound for the moment, she went to bed, peaceful enough to sleep the whole night through.

The next morning she got up and got herself ready. She chose to wear a straight skirt that ended slightly past her knees, with a matching jacket in dark grey, complimented nicely by a white, silken blouse tucked neatly into the skirt. She gave a conventional, but professional look, which was what she was going for as the client was an old man accompanied by his middle aged son who always seemed to trust conventional looking people. Besides, her mother always told her it was better to make people notice you by your character and your professionalism rather than by your clothes, and never given a reason not to, she had always put that advice into practice.

She paused a moment to recall today's client. He was the owner of a very important business company that owned a popular chain of hotels all over the world; he had started it from nothing, although he came from a wealthy family. His father never forgave him for not following the family tradition and becoming a doctor, but Taisho had other things in mind. Without the support of his family, he had started what was now a billion dollar empire and his son and grandson were in on it with him.

Taisho sr. was a very gentle old man; his grey hair that reached to his mid shoulder didn't speak of his conventionalism. He looked more like an old hippie than a businessman; however, he was very strict with appearances and even refused to work with a man for not dressing properly. He never seemed to stay interested in the same advertisement company for very long. That all changed though when he met Kagome; he really liked the girl. Not only did she dress properly, but she also seemed to know what was necessary for his ads, plus she was always sweet but firm and always had a smile. Since then, Taisho had always requested her and only her.

Kagome enjoyed a quick breakfast. Although Taisho was a tough client, she always enjoyed dealing with him, especially because she saw him as more like a grandfather figure. She wondered if his son, Toga, would accompany him to their meeting. She liked the younger man a lot; he had silver hair like his father but amber eyes instead of light blue. Trade Taisho's teasing nature with a sweet one and you had Toga. Toga always soothed the atmosphere whenever his father would make agitate it. Toga and Kagome understood each other perfectly, and Toga seemed to have a weak spot for the girl. Meetings with Toga present always seemed to end with the man stroking Kagome's cheek in an almost fatherly way.

Humming, Kagome went down the stairs of the apartment building. As it was the only exercise she did during the week, she tried to use the stairs instead of the elevator. She clambered into her car and drove to the office. She made it in record time and still had some time to ill before the meeting would have to start, so she stopped by the coffee shop near the office and bought some chocolate chip muffins to treat the men to, before heading upstairs to prepare for the presentation.

Once in her office, she greeted Yura, the secretary, and winked at Ginta, the security guard. They both stared at her in confused wonderment, noticing her good mood. That could only mean the Taisho's were coming. It wasn't a secret that Kagome loved interacting with both of the Taisho men.

She prepared the essential copies for everyone and set a dish with the muffins on the long, rectangular table before hastening to get some coffee ready before her clients got there. In five minutes, they would arrive, one thing she had learned quickly was that the Taisho's were always on time and expected the same punctuality in those they worked with.

Suddenly, she heard a light knock on the door's frame and she turned around with a smile. It froze on her face when she saw the person entering the room wasn't who she thought it would be.

"Naraku, Good morning!" She said, devoid of the cheer she was oozing only moments before.

"Good morning my Kagome." Naraku replied, a languid smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

Kagome shivered, she never did appreciate the way her boss treated her, and she didn't know why his interest in her suddenly peaked. It had started only a few months ago when she realized her newfound success; he had somehow known about her and began attending her meetings. After a while, she began to notice how he seemed to have eyes only for her, allowing his eyes to roam her body, memorize the way she moved. Then his looks became hungry and she felt very uncomfortable. She was beginning to think she would be better off leaving the company.

Fortunately, Taisho sr. appeared behind Naraku, breaking the dark mood and causing Kagome to sigh in relief and flash him a bright smile. She never noticed how the man took heed of her reaction nor did she see the perpetual frown that marred his face. Somehow he had seen how Naraku persistently stalked the girl and how uncomfortable it made her feel.

After Taisho sr., another man entered the room, Kagome gracing him with her cheery smile aimed in his direction.

"Good morning, Mr. Taisho. Please, sit down and feel free to munch on some muffins, also, I have already made some coffee if you'd like some." Kagome said, motioning to both the muffins on the table, and the coffee machine percolating in the corner on the counter.

"Oh Kagome, you spoil us! Naraku, Kagome is a jewel; she knows exactly how to soften us." Taisho sr. noted happily as he filled his cup with coffee.

"I know Taisho sr., and believe me, I do not intend on letting her go." Naraku replied menacingly.

Old Taisho noticed how Naraku seemed to address those words to Kagome and how she shivered in return. Well, it was time he took care of the situation; Kagome was no longer safe with this weird man. However, he hid his thoughts behind a mischievous mask, instead grabbing a muffin and greedily eating it, as if he were a 5 year old child at a birthday party.

Young Taisho glanced at his father; he knew he was probably thinking the same thing. They had talked about Kagome and the way Naraku seemed to stalk her lately. They were considering hiring her in their company as public relations due to her innate people skills. That's why they had decided that today's meeting would need another Taisho present, as he was involved in the company and would have a saying in Kagome's hiring.

"Well, gentlemen, shall we start?" Kagome asked, heading to the front of the room, a slight smile alight her rounded face.

"Not yet Kagome, dear. I'm sorry we didn't tell you before, but another member of our company will be attending this reunion." Toga explained.

Naraku frowned. He didn't like the looks the men were exchanging. He felt something was going on and was very angry because he wasn't in control of the situation. He didn't like it, not at all. The door opened revealing the last member to attend the meeting. Naraku scowled, not him! He was infuriated; he had never been so mad in his whole life. Deep inside he wished he could crash the man's head against a rock until his brain lay scattered all over, but on the outside, Naraku's face showed no such emotions.