Chapter Text
Kagami took an angry slurp of his cola, hands curled into fists on top of the restaurant table.
"It's a joke!" He exclaimed loudly, spitting out the words, "I worked my ass off for that fucking company for two and a half damn years, I deserved to be treated better than this!"
"I agree, Kagami-kun." His friend and senpai in the basketball team from their university days, Kuroko, said. The smaller man was drinking his vanilla milkshake with more finesse, speaking with a usual deadpan expression. "What reason did they give behind their decision?"
"That they were having financial troubles and had to restructure. Said they had to get rid of those with a smaller skill set. My set of skills are fucking limitless!"
Kagami narrowed his fiery eyes at Kuroko who was blatantly suppressing a chuckle.
"For a basketball court, maybe, but not at a marketing company." Kuroko seemed to be either ignoring or oblivious to the death-like stare radiating from across the table, "Although I am surprised that your fluency in English did not have you seen in a more favorable light."
"They have other English speakers." Kagami muttered with more than a trace of bitterness,"It's all about speaking Mandarin or Korean now. Should have studied there instead."
Up until this point Kagami Taiga was pretty satisfied in his life. He had graduated from a decent university with a decent degree, and at the age of 25 was earning a decent wage at a medium sized marketing firm in Tokyo. Now, he was not sure how many months rent his minimal savings would cover. Everything had gone to shit.
"If you are looking for a job, Kagami-kun, I may be able to help." Kuroko mused, shaking Kagami from his thoughts, "A vacancy has recently appeared at my workplace."
The red-head looked at his friend skeptically.
"At a modelling agency?" He said, shaking his head with a small laugh, "Yeah, I'm flattered of course, but I don't think I am model material. I work out but-"
"I didn't mean as a model." Kuroko interrupted with a small sigh, "And it is not just a model agency, now. It's a talent agency."
"Oh." Kagami said, feeling heat rush to his cheeks, "As a manager then?"
"Not quite. As a personal assistant to the CEO."
"Oi, isn't that the guy who gets a new assistant every couple of months 'cause he keeps driving them off?"
"Yes." Kuroko said sadly, "I wish he didn't. It causes a lot of trouble."
"Fuck off." Kagami said firmly, "I'm not working for a bastard like that. I 'aint that desperate."
"Yes, you are Kagami-kun." Kuroko said, pushing his empty plastic cup away from him, "And Aomine-kun isn't that bad."
"If this Aomine isn't that bad then why can't he keep a damn PA?"
"I think you would both get along." Kuroko persisted, "Apply for the job."
"My CV isn't prepared yet." Kagami protested weakly, knowing how lame his excuse sounded the moment it left his mouth.
"You don't need one. I am responsible for shortlisting candidates for interview." Kuroko said, his mouth turning up into a small, slightly sarcastic, smile. "Congratulations Kagami-kun. You have been shortlisted."
Of course, Kagami knew that he should be grateful. That job opportunity fit some of the skills he had from his previous company, and any sort of work to save his quickly-becoming-broke ass was very welcome. Kuroko did not have to offer that. But as he stood outside the small sized office building that housed 'Studio Kiseki' in his uncomfortably tight clothes, his desire to run and forget the whole thing was increasing.
Kagami was greeted by Kuroko as he entered, the smaller male wearing a similar dark smile to how he did before.
"Good morning Kagami-kun," He said as he led him into a small elevator, "We don't have many staff members here so I will be assisting Aomine-kun with the interviews today. But of course, I will remain impartial."
From the unusually open expression that his friend was wearing Kagami was certain that he was not speaking the truth, but decided to let it slide.
"What am I gonna have to do at the interview, anyway?" Kagami grunted, adjusting his tie, "I've never been a PA. I'm not sure what the fuck I'm supposed to say."
"The interview will be up to Aomine-kun. The contents vary."
Kuroko's vague answer was annoying, but before he could push any further the elevator doors opened, forcing Kagami to swallow as an uneasy feeling rose up into his chest.
Waiting in the small corridor were three women who all turned to look at him the moment hie stepped from the elevator, regarding him with a mix of curiosity and amusement. Kagami may be a fully gay man, but he knew a beautiful woman when he saw one and all of them were stunning. This was a PA job, wasn't it, not a modelling contract? He could not help but feel inferior to the women as he took his place beside them waiting outside the office.
Just as Kagami's nerves began to further build up, the office door opened and out strode Aomine Daiki. And fuck, was he gorgeous. Kagami had done his research. Former model Aomine had left his corrupt agency taking their ace, Kise Ryouta, with him to form his own agency. Thanks to the their already popular statuses as models, the agency had quickly grown in the past couple of years. But this knowledge did not prepare Kagami for over 6 foot of toned, chocolate muscle to be strutting towards him. His narrow, navy eyes surveyed the line with a hint of amusement before making a bee-line for Kagami, the red head's breath suddenly hitching in his throat.
"So," Aomine started, his gloriously deep voice sending prickles down the back of Kagami's neck, "Tetsu tells me that you play basketball."
Tetsu? Who was that? He glanced to the side to look at Kuroko, who was discreetly nodding as if to encourage him.
"Yeah, I was on the university team with Kuroko."
"Hm? Must be good, then, to play with Tetsu."
Oh. Kuroko Tetsuya was Tetsu.
"I'm not bad." Kagami said, wondering whether this was the right time to be confident when his potential boss was standing only centimeters away from him, "Could give anyone a run for their money."
There was a short silence. Just when Kagami had decided that no, it wasn't the right thing to say, Aomine's face spread into a wide grin.
"Yeah?" He said, his navy eyes almost glowing, "Should we test that?"
"Aomine-kun." Kuroko's monotone voice cut through the mental undressing that Kagami was sure was currently happening, at least on his part, "The director of the shampoo CM called. He needs to speak to you."
Aomine sighed and took a step away from Kagami, allowing the red-head to feel as though he could finally breathe.
"Put it through to my office, Tetsu." He said gruffly; taking long, elegant strides towards a door at the far side of the corridor, "Oh." Aomine paused, turning to look at Kagami, "You're hired, by the way. See you tomorrow."
There were some mutterings of disapproval among the other candidates as Aomine disappeared into his office with a lazy wave. Kagami himself was stunned. Did he have a job? And those eyes, he could still feel the intensity of Aomine's gaze on him now.
"I'll see you out, Kagami-kun."
It took another moment to register that Kuroko was in fact talking to him, and even then his legs just followed automatically behind him until Kagami found himself at the building entrance with little recollection of how he got there.
"Be here for 9 am tomorrow, please Kagami-kun. Smart casual wear will be acceptable."
"I've got the job." Kagami said slowly shaking his head, his crimson hair flopping side to side.
"Yes."
"And I'm stating tomorrow? That soon?"
"I think Aomine-kun and myself made that quite clear." Kuroko said with an eye roll, his patience seemingly beginning to stretch, "Were you listening to anything that we said?"
"But the contract-"
"It will be ready by tomorrow. Seeing as I will probably be the one to prepare it." He added with a mutter.
Kagami felt his whole face spread into a wide grin, only half able to suppress his desire to cheer loudly as his unwanted unemployment situation was now solved.
"Fuck yes!" He exclaimed, "That Aomine wasn't even too bad, seemed like a decent guy, dunno why everyone leaves."
Kuroko's lips turned up slightly with those words, the worrying glint in his eye returning.
"Oh, Aomine-kun was on his best behavior today, Kagami-kun. You just fell for his flirting." He said, his pitch higher than usual, "But you will see how he normally is soon enough."
To Kagami, that almost sounded like a promise, one he hoped would be broken. Nevertheless, his broke ass wouldn't be on the streets in the coming weeks so right now it didn't seem to matter.
The next morning Kagami barely arrived at 'Studio Kiseki' at on time, Kuroko hurrying him into the building as soon as he caught glance of him.
"Aomine-kun won't like you being late." He said as he pounded the 'call elevator' button, "Although he his always late himself."
"Hypocrite."
"Don't go in with that attitude. Kuroko warned, narrowing his eyes, "You spoke positively about him yesterday."
"Yeah, well if he is gonna be a dick, I will be a dick back."
"And you wonder why you lost your job, Kagami-kun."
"Oi-"
The elevator came to a stop and once again Kuroko was rushing Kagami down the short hallway towards Aomine's office. The smaller male knocked on the door and after hearing a grunt of acknowledgement, pushed it open.
The room was a decent size, and it's sparse decoration helped the office to seem airy and light. There were two desks, one in front of an open screen door which Kagami deduced could be his, and the other currently had Aomine sitting at it. He stood up neatly as the pair entered, his tight-fitting suit drawing Kagami's eyes to the line of his body as he gave a small half smile.
"So you're finally here, huh." He said in the same deep voice that sent shivers running down Kagami's spine as he remembered to look at his face while he talked, "I've gotta dash to a meeting. The employment contract is on my desk. Sign it then complete the overview schedule for at least the next month. Tetsu, show him what to do."
With a lazy wave, Aomine left the office leaving them alone. Kuroko sighed loudly.
"I'm sorry, Kagami-kun, I am on a very tight schedule today." He said as he quickly booted up the computer on the desk which he rightly assumed would be his, "Kise-kun gets...whiny if I leave him alone for too long."
"What is he, a puppy?" Kagami muttered as he followed Kuroko over to the computer, peering over his shoulder at a complicated looking spreadsheet.
"Sort of." Kuroko agreed, "But please pay attention. We don't have the funds to employ many members of staff, so you will double up as a receptionist at times too. Your main tasks are answering the phone, please always answer it if it rings, compiling schedules and data, casting for jobs, liaising with the managers of different talents, attending events, monitoring trainees..."
The list that the blue-haired man recited seemed endless, and Kagami was overwhelmed. It was simply too much to remember, and there was no way that he could handle all of it at once. Or even part of it, really.
"So that is all I have time for today, Kagami-kun." Kuroko said suddenly, jolting him from his thoughts, "Good luck."
"Wait-what?" Kagami said hurriedly, panic setting in, "I don't know shit."
"You will have to learn on the job." The smaller male shrugged, "I have my own job to do, and it is not my role to train you. That is Aomine-kun's job."
"Who isn't here right now."
"Yes. So you will just need to do your best."
It would take more than just his best, Kagami decided, as Kuroko left the office as well leaving him truly alone with a task which he had no idea of how to complete. He took a seat at the desk and took a closer look at the spreadsheet which he was supposed to complete. It listed the names of the various talents in the agency, some of which Kagami had heard of, and their schedule each day broken into hourly segments. Parts of it were filled in already, others needed finishing with the information in other documents. The red-head cracked his knuckles in front of him and set to work.
Many nervously answered phone calls, shakily composed emails and panicked texts to Kuroko later, Aomine returned to the office with a plastic cup of coffee in his hand. He took large, confident strides over to where Kagami was sat.
"Print off what you have done."
Kagami rushed to print off the document, stapling it neatly, before handing it over to the impatiently waiting man.
Aomine grabbed the stapled sheet in his large hands, his eyes moving quickly over the document as he flicked through the pages. His expression was unreadable until he noisily scrunched the paper up into a tight ball and threw it into the bin, hitting the bottom of the can with a loud patter.
"What a pile of shit." Aomine said accusingly, rage threatening to over-spill listening to the tone of his voice, "There were mistakes everywhere. If you can't handle the simple jobs like scheduling, I can't trust you to do casting. Redo it."
"Hah?" Kagami said, storming over to the tanned male and stretching his spine straight so that he was eye level with him, "How the hell do you expect me to do that with so little training? The phone was ringing constantly like a fire alarm and I didn't even understand half of the damn emails. At least show me what to do first. Properly."
Aomine did not seem intimidated and took a step closer, meeting Kagami's challenge with a raise of his perfectly shaped eyebrows.
"Are you an idiot? Anyone with two brain cells could figure it out, and you have a degree."
Kagami's cheeks began to burn as he could feel Aomine's minty breath against him as he spoke, the proximity between them much too close.
"Are you an idiot to think anyone can just step into the job like that with no information and expect them to do it perfectly?"
It was no way to talk to a boss, Kagami knew that. But somehow he was incapable of using formal speech around Aomine, and right now he didn't believe he deserved it either. There was a stalemate for a while, neither of them flinching or talking. Until eventually Aomine stepped back towards the door with a small grunt and a lingering glare.
"Redo it. I will check afterwards. And give assistance."
After he left Kagami swore loudly at the computer on his desk, as though it was the cause of all of his frustrations. Running a hand through his messy hair, he sat back down glaring at the screen.
The rumors were right - this job, Aomine, or both was going to kill him.