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smutmylifeup · 7 years ago

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Out of the office drama: What if Ota Kisaki is right?

@whatdoyouexpectthistime @smile-smile-ichthys @hifftn

Why Rose had agreed to meet Ryosuke here was beyond her.

Although, she couldn’t deny that it was closer to their planned date at the art exhibit than her apartment, the Ice Dragon headquarters and MJS AND it made sense for Rose to meet him here since he had to come back before he could leave for their date and his sense of direction was too terrible to just meet her at the art exhibit.

But still.

Rose never wanted to step foot in Tres Spades ever again in her life, yet here she was.

If it wasn’t for her puppy of a boyfriend she’d have got Miho to burn down the whole hotel by now – hopefully with Kisaki and Ichinomiya in it.

But her boss still knew nothing about the fact Ryosuke and Mr. Oh were part of the mafia syndicate ‘The Ice Dragons’ and whatever connection he had to the richest CEO in Japan, the ‘Angelic Artist’ and the test-driver that she only knew as ‘Baba’.

Sighing heavily.

Rose fished out the penthouse key card Mr. Oh gave to Ryosuke to give to her.

She wasn’t entirely sure why she needed it. She wanted nothing to do with the creeps that lived in a pointlessly huge penthouse in a hotel with a bunch of guys – from what Rose could tell anyway. Didn’t look like it had a ladies touch… she wasn’t sure what woman would want to touch any of them.

They were slimy.

But none-the-less, she was kind of grateful – she hated standing around loitering anywhere but somehow in the lobby of Tres Spades it amped up the anxiety to fifty thousand percent. Even just walking to the elevator she got snubbed by every fancily dressed person she passed by.

She was used to it, but that didn’t mean it didn’t put her on edge.

When she stepped into the elevator she hoped to god that Ryosuke was waiting for her or just there in general.

She may end up leaving as a murderess if he wasn’t there to drag her away.

It was strange, normally Rose was a calm person. Nothing really unnerved her or made her uncomfortable. But this place or more so the people who lived in the penthouse gave off a dark aura, there was something shady about the place despite its appealing and modern aesthetic.

When she got to the pointlessly huge penthouse, she turned the door knob and realised she hadn’t knocked before entering – the last time she was here Baba was with her and obviously he didn’t need to knock, he lived there after all.

Rose shrugged, it’d be weird to knock once she’d already turned the doorknob.

So she entered.

Mr. Ichinomiya was sat in the same chair as last time, Mr. Oh was as well, there was another man puffing away on a cigarette by the large bay window that she hadn’t met before – and from a distance she was sure she didn’t want to.

But no Ryosuke.

Rose cursed him under her breath. He said he’d be here when she arrived and would let her know if he was going to be late, now she had to talk to these idiots.

“Why do you have a key to my penthouse?”

A voice said distracting her.

She looked towards said voice and Mr Ichinomiya was glaring what could only be called a ‘death stare’ at Rose so she assumed it was him that asked – or better yet demanded.

Not that it phased her, she took a step forward, not shutting the door behind her as if it was some sort of childish stand against Mr. Ichinomiya.

She took his challenge head on, she could see from his stare and her previous encounter with him that he didn’t take kindly to anyone, especially a woman challenging his dominance.

She would love see him interact with Miho, she’d put him in his place.

Rose was ready to make a snide remark but she was interrupted before her lips even parted to speak.

“I gave her one,” Rose’s head snapped towards the man who was quick to defend her. “She might be useful to have around.”

Mr. Oh smirked but didn’t look at Rose.

She wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, these men were so cryptic. Although, they had to be if they wanted to be successful in their underground shenanigans. But she had to admit, it was kinda like his fatherly approval and she appreciated that.

Or so she thought.

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder – due to the tense atmosphere she may have over-reacted by grabbing onto the hand and forearm and proceeding to flip whoever dared touch her over her shoulder like he weighed nothing more than a feather despite the assailant probably being twice Rose’s weight.

A thud and a yelp followed by a:

“Ow! It’s me, pretty lady!”

Made Rose finally look at the face of the groaning man under her, Rose immediately released the arm she still had twisted in her grasp that belonged to Baba.

Mr. Oh didn’t need to say anything. He’d obviously proved whatever point he was trying to make.

“Damn, you had that comin’ t’ya though ya perv. Don’t be touchin’ kids so freely.”

Said a voice she didn’t recognise, so she assumed it belonged to the smoking chimney in the corner.

Handing a whining Baba his hat that had fallen off in the commotion as he stood up, she whispered an almost unapologetic ‘sorry’. That was suddenly drowned out by an almighty cackle, one that sounded so sadistically evil it made her hackles go up.

“That was the best thing I have ever seen hahahaha.”

Her head turned to the voice she unfortunately remembered.

The strawberry blonde haired artist was hunched over, his arms wrapped around his middle as if he had just had the air knocked out of him.

Which Rose really wished he had. And she’d be more than happy to be the one to do it.

“Personally, I think it was funnier when she knocked you on your ass.”

Mr. Oh added, not looking up from what looked like his phone. And his comment immediately silenced Kisaki’s laughing fit.

“I was caught off guard.” Kisaki tried to casually to shrug off the comment.

Rose cracked her knuckles drawing all of the attention towards her.

“I’m ready for round two if you are?”

She said, her voice as serious as she looked – much like Mr. Ichinomiya prior to this little scene.

Boy, she would give anything to knock Ota Kisaki around a bit, although she was a little worried he’d end up enjoying it.

The artist didn’t respond but there was a slight sense of fear that spread across his face like wildfire. And Rose enjoyed it far more than she probably should have.

“While that would be entertaining, it does not explain why you are here, again.”

Mr. Ichinomiya stated and not asked.

“Inui.”

Mr. Oh, Baba and Kisaki all said in unison.

“What they said.” She confirmed whilst walking towards an empty seat far enough away from them, so she could see them all and have no more surprise attacks.

“Kids got bigger balls than the Kisaki brat.” Said the chimney.

“Kisaki has balls? I didn’t think he’d gone through puberty yet.”

Rose shrugged as she fell into the chair behind her.

Everyone else in the room let out a little chuckle except for the brooding young Artist and probably Ichinomiya but Rose didn’t care enough to look at him.

“Damn, I like this kid. What’s ya name?”

Rose eyed the man, there was something oddly sexy about him. His scruffy appearance and his accent to the way his cigarette bobbed in his mouth as he spoke. Although, the mere fact he was hanging with these assholes meant he probably had a shit personality which immediately made his appearance less attractive.

“Rose.”

She replied simply, crossing one leg over the other and resting her bag next to the chair. She held his gaze, he didn’t seem as threatening as the other men in the room – he looked too lazy for that. But Rose wouldn’t take a chance to let her guard down.

“This pretty flower has a boyfriend Mamo.”

Baba chimed from his seat next to Ota already completely recovered from the damage Rose inflicted on him. He sent a wink over at Rose and then beamed an all-knowing smile at this ‘Mamo’.

“I was just bein’ polite. She’s a damn kid, I ain’t no perv like you Lupin.”

Lupin?

Rose had only heard of the ‘Modern Day Lupin’ because of all the stuff on the news. Surely the Chimney calling him that was just an inside joke that hopefully Rose won’t stick around long enough to become a part of.

Or she’ll find out that Mr. Ichinomiya was involved in some black market auctions hosted by the mad hatter.

Yeah right, this isn’t an Otome game.

“He’d make a better puppy than a boyfriend.”

Kisaki said bitterly from his seat next to Baba.

“Jealousy isn’t cute, Ota.”

Baba patted the younger man on the shoulder but that did little to appease Kisaki’s pout.

“He isn’t cute in general.” Rose said.

It was odd. Despite the fact her hackles were up, this was almost comfortable the back and forth she had with these men. Like she’d been here before in a past life.

A shiver went up her spine, now that was a harrowing thought.

“If this woman is going to disrupt us every time she comes around, she and your lap dog aren’t allowed to step foot in my hotel again.” Mr. Ichinomiya said to Mr. Oh, swiping left on the tablet in his lap without looking at the man he was addressing.

“Fine by me.”

Rose replied for Mr. Oh, of course she’d be happy to avoid King Asshole and his entourage and she’d be even happier if Ryosuke had nothing to do with them as well.

“That goes for your parents too.” He added.

“I’m sure they give a shit.”

Rose rolled her eyes.

After the event that was held here for their debut into the fashion industry, they never came back – she remembered her Mother saying that Ichinomiya’s lilac shirt went out of style two years ago and he needed to invest in a hair brush.

Rose smirked as she lost herself to that memory. At least she knew where she got her smart mouth from.

“Better watch ya mouth, kid. Do you know who ya talkin’ to?” ‘Mamo’ asked.

“Eisuke Ichinomiya, the head of one of Japan’s top corporations – The Ichinomiya group. Owner of Tres Spades. A King amongst men.” Rose exaggerated yet her tone was completely flat and dry.

“At least she knows a King when she sees one.” Said the smug hotel owner clearly ignoring Rose’s sarcasm or not being able to differentiate between her normal tone and her sarcastic tone because he was a robot.

“Thank you for allowing me to be in your presence, King Asshole.”

Rose half bowed in her seat as she heard a few little sniggers around the room. Ever Mr. Oh had a little grin on his face for half a second before he was back to that stone-face he was famous amongst his peers for.

“Can we keep her around all the time? This might be the most fun I’ve had in this place.” Chuckled out Mamo.

“You’re usually asleep, you miss out on all our fun little escapades!”

Well, at least Rose now knew that Baba was eccentric and dramatic with everyone he knew, not just women. Although women seemed to enjoy his theatrics a lot more. Rose remembered how Miho and Jazz had said that he was very popular amongst the female clients at MJS.

“I gotta conserve energy.” ‘Mamo’ shrugged.

“You don’t do anything to need to conserve energy, slacker.”

Mr. Oh said a little bitterly, his eyes still on the device in his hand.

“Ain’t none of ya business what I do with my energy, evil eyes.”

Rose looked between the men, there was some sort of tension. She wasn’t sure if it was sexual or not but the tension was slightly on the sinister side.

His appearance agreed with Mr. Oh’s statement about him ‘not doing anything’. It made her wonder what his connection was with these men, he didn’t look like he had heaps of money or an illegal job or a wealthy family.

But then again, neither did Rose.

“Now, now, Mamo, Sor. There is lady present!” Baba tried to sooth the tension.

“Where’s Ryo?” Rose interrupted, completely ignoring Baba’s comment.

“Running late.” Mr. Oh said.

Rose sighed, of course he was.

While she adored her boyfriend, he wasn’t good at time management as well as his bad sense of direction. She twisted the watch on her wrist and looked down at the face. The art exhibit closed in two hours.

It’d take fifteen minutes to walk there, at least an hour to look around, then an exclusive Q&A with the artist before the gallery shut.

She couldn’t miss this. The artist was one of her references for her current project. And she’d already avoided doing it for far too long.

She got out her phone and wrote out a simple text:

‘I’ve gone to the art exhibit. Let me know when you’re done with work and we’ll meet up for dinner or something. Be safe.’

She stared at the text for a moment before deleting it and putting the device back in her bag. While it would be the courteous thing to do, she knew her boyfriend would feel guilty and be distracted and end up putting himself in danger.

She was still trying to work out how to be a good girlfriend in general. But it seemed even more difficult trying to figure out how to be the girlfriend of a mobster.

But she thought she was doing okay so far.

Rose began collecting her things without so much as a word. Not that she had much to collect and she was grateful for that. It meant a quicker escape from this hell hole.

“Where are you going, Princess?” Baba asked as he watched Rose.

“Away from here.” She replied.

“Are you not going to wait for your knight in shining armour?” He pried.

“Aya Takano’s exhibit won’t stay open forever.” She shrugged.

A scoff sounded and everyone turned to the pouting little off-ginger rat sat next to Baba.

“Aya Takano? Her exhibit is garbage.” Ota huffed.

“Funny, I thought the same thing when I was walking around your exhibit.” Rose shrugged.

‘Mamo’ let out a hearty laugh followed by a coughing fit. And Rose rolled her eyes, serves him right, in the time Rose had been there he’d had two cigarettes– one after the other.

“You don’t need to announce your departure. Just leave.” Mr. Ichinomiya growled.

Rose had several snarky comebacks on her tongue, but she thought ignoring him would piss him off more. So she went with that, even going as far to pretend she hadn’t heard him speak in the first place as she continued to collect herself in order to leave.

She then turned to the stone-faced mobster who hadn’t looked up from his phone the entire time Rose had been there, as if this were his hotel rather than Ichinomiya’s.

“Mr. Oh, I know you’re not a messenger and I hate to ask, but can you tell Ryo to call me when he’s finished with work. I fear if I text him, he’ll take even longer.”

He looked up at her, her posture slightly bowed in front of him. He seemed to contemplate what she said before nodding his head in agreement.

“Thank you.” Rose bowed. “Goodbye Mr. Oh.”

“Bye Baba, Bye Chimney.”

Rose said throwing a wave over her shoulder as she left.

“Chimney? Was she referring t’me?” Mamo asked, stubbing out his cigarette and immediately searching his jacket pocket for another one.

“That girl is irritating, other than her kicking the Auction Sponsors asses, why did you give her a key card to my penthouse?” Mr. Ichinomiya questioned Mr. Oh.

Who luckily didn’t have to answer as his phone went off and he travelled to another room to speak to whomever was on the other end.

“She’s easy on the eye though and she’s not a weak or shy little flower. She’s got thorns.” Baba said, fondly thinking back to the lap dance battle and the underwear she was wearing under her shirt.

It was funny really. Baba seemed to remember that moment better than Rose. Well who could blame him? Two young, attractive girls he’d just met giving him a lapdance. It was like a perverts dream.

Rose remembered what happened after the lap dance.

Kyobashi.

The narrator promises to get round to writing a chapter about that instead of writing ‘But that’s another chapter’ in each chapter.

“I question if she is the daughter of Hiroka-Haute Couture in those rags.” Mr. Ichinomiya stated.

Thankfully Rose wasn’t there anymore, she may have put him on his ass.

“Even in a bin bag I think she’d still make my heart skip a beat.” Baba smirked still thinking about the flashes of skin between the intricately strappy bra.

“You’re old enough to be her Grandpa.” Ota joked.

“That didn’t seem to bother her when she was grinding half naked in my lap.” Baba muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing~”

Baba was not a man to kiss and tell, well most of the time and especially when Miho and Jazz were involved. He’d end up a castrated man.

“I am surprised you’re so calm about it though, Boss. What if Alice discovers wonderland?”

He looked to Mr. Ichinomiya quickly changing the subject before his scowling artist friend went to enquire about his muttered comment further.

“Soryu will have to deal with the repercussions of that.” He said blankly still staring at the device in his lap as if Rose’s entire existence had no meaning to him – which it didn’t, she was beneath him like everyone else in the world.

“We all know the mobster won’t kill a kid, especially a girl. Y’know his bro code n’all.” Mamo said.

“Mamo’s got a pont.” Baba pondered.

“I could keep her as my pet, she does look like my koro.” Ota grinned.

Everyone looked at the artist before letting out a snort. Bar Mr. Ichinomiya of course, who almost certainly could be a robot.

“Yeah right, brat. I think she’s more likely t’make you her pet.”

Baba nodded at Mamo’s statement.

“She will not be a problem.” Mr. Oh said as he re-entered the conversation, his phone still clutched in his grasp perhaps a little tighter than before.

“And if she is?” Mr. Ichinomiya questioned.

There was a long pause.

Mr. Oh was a man of his word. He would not harm the innocent, especially a woman. And especially a woman that his young right-hand man was infatuated with.

“She won’t.” Mr. Oh said again.

This time with more conviction. He would not allow her to come to any harm and that involved keeping her out of the penthouse antics. One of the reasons he told Inui to give Rose a penthouse key-card was purely so they could keep an eye on her when she was in Tres Spades for her own safety as well as everyone else’s.

While she was quite subdued and laid back, there was a fire in her that could erupt if someone so much as looked at her the wrong way. She wasn’t quite a haywire but she wasn’t entirely predictable. And that could draw negative attention towards the hotel and its secrets.

And if that happened, Mr Ichinomiya would hold her accountable and send her to a watery grave. And Mr. Oh wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop that from happening.

That conversation ended.

Mr. Ichinomiya clearly putting his trust in the mobster that Rose wouldn’t cause any problems.

“The shipment has arrived in the basement. I’ll go and check inventory.”

Mr. Oh said a while after.

After his departure, Mr Ichinomiya went to his office without saying a word.

Ota and Baba were talking casually on the sofa they were sat on. Well, I say talking casually - Baba was eccentrically talking about something and Ota was rolling his eyes and groaning at him and frequently telling him to ‘shut up’. And Mamo was slumped in the chair he was sat in with his eyes closed.

It wasn’t long until that quiet was disrupted.

The doors flew open and a panting Inui was stood slumped over in the doorway.

“A…hah…Akane? I’m…I’m sorry I’m late.”

His head was bowed in front of him as he was trying to catch his breath so he couldn’t see who was in the penthouse.

“Sorry puppy, but your master left.”

A bitter Kisaki said somewhat bitterly although trying his best not to be.

Inui’s head bolted up and he looked around the room as if to confirm what the artist had told him. He then looked to Baba – who gave him a little nod of his head.

His whole body visibly slumped.

“Ain’t got no-one t’blame but yaself puppy. The kid waited and put up with these shit-twits for ten minutes. Lasted longer than most.” Mamo said, searching his pockets for his cigarettes.

Inui’s eyes widened.

He felt guilty, incredibly guilty. He asked for her to meet him here and she had to endure these tyrants of teasing because he’d spent far too long arguing with Samejima about whether it was quicker to go through downtown back to Tres Spades.

“But I promised I’d take her.”

He said to himself, his body managing to succumb to the guilt and slump even further.

“Couldn’t ya still get there in time if ya ran?” Mamo asked, a stream of smoke following out past his lips.

“I don’t know where the exhibit is.” Inui sighed.

“Ota probably does, don’t you Ota?” Baba said reassuringly as he turned to the young man next to him.

He still look grumpy mind, until a little glint sparked in his eyes and he smiled his signature angelic smile towards Inui.

“I do,” He said, leaning forward in his seat a little. “But I’m not sure if I should tell you.”

“What? Why not?” Inui pried.

Naïve as always to the plots to tease the poor boy and his innocence, Inui was confused at best.

“Well,” Kisaki started, returning to his previous lounging position now he had Inui’s attention. “You know what the exhibit it about right?”

He asked, although he knew full well that Inui would have no idea.

“Um, no.” A dejected Inui replied.

Kisaki had to bite back his sadistic smile, but thankfully for him he had trained himself to do it and to do it well. He sent a side glance to Baba, who looked at him with as much interest as Inui.

Although, he was aware that the young artist was up to something mischievous and the childish side of him wanted in too.

“I’ll give you a little insight into Aya Takano. She’s became a single mother at the young age of 22. The father of her child left her when he found out she was pregnant. The exhibit is about her struggles as a single mother.”

“That’s awful, that poor woman.”

Inui stepped into the penthouse his face contorting from disgust at Aya Takano’s ex-lover to confusion to what that had to do with why he shouldn’t tell him where the exhibit is.

“Don’t worry too much about her, her exhibit is doing extremely well. She is earning good money and she is now married and her husband has legally adopted her child.”

Kisaki said, waving off Inui’s concerns.

“What you should be focused on, is why your little girlfriend chose to go to see her exhibit.”

Inui cocked his head and stared at Kisaki like a confused puppy. Which he was.

“What? Isn’t it because she likes her art?” he replied.

Kisaki sat there an almost smirk on his face, spelling out this little lie was going to be so much fun for the sadist.

“Perhaps she does, but you need to read between the lines,” He paused. “Oh wait, puppies can’t read. I guess I’ll have to explain.”

The room was silent, each man waiting with anticipation for Kisaki to elaborate.

Meanwhile, Rose had just managed to finish looking round the exhibit and slide in to the room where the Q&A was being held.

She loitered at the back of the room, the seats were all filled bar the odd couple but trying to get to them was more effort than Rose wanted to deal with at this current moment in time.

She’d glanced at her phone a couple of times while she was there, each time a little disheartened when she didn’t see a missed call or text from her boyfriend.

She’d managed to avoid going to the darkest corner of her mind and assuming something bad had happened to him – although it was hard to stay clear of given his choice in career.

Thankfully Aya Takano’s art exhibit was more interesting than Rose could have hoped for.

The way she portrayed the pain of losing the man she loved and gaining a child whom she had to be strong for was incredibly beautiful. Each intricately designed piece made a mixture of emotions creep up into Rose she didn’t know she could feel.

She leant against the wall as a man addressed the audience.

“Welcome everyone, thank you for attending. We would ask that you are respectful with your questions and refrain for asking anything that isn’t related to the pieces of art that are displayed in this exhibit, Thank you.”

A moment later Aya Takano took her place at the podium.

She introduced herself, a warm smile on her face. Happy to see that her art had touched many people. Whether it be through similar struggles or appreciation for the messages she was trying to convey in them.

After some standard questions a microphone was passed down the row of chairs to a man Rose recognised even from the back of his head.

“Does your daughter understand the meaning behind your work?”

Rose frowned as she waited for Aya Takano to answer.

“She does, she’s a very bright little girl.” She smiled fondly.

“And she knows that her Father abandoned her before she was born?”

There was silence.

Aya Takano looked physically uncomfortable and she wasn’t quite sure on how to respond. While she would have to address these kind of questions given the symbolism and titles of her work and the openness about being a single mother, that didn’t give anyone the right to put her on the spot like that.

She waved to the woman closest to her who had another microphone, who quickly tottered over to Rose while glancing at the woman in the spotlight with a concerned look.

“She didn’t abandon her. Aya played both roles herself.”

Rose said, aware of how powerful her voice sounded through the speakers.

The man who asked such a heartless questioned looked around the room searching for the voice he obviously recognised.

She stared right at him, her expression telling him exactly unpleased she was with such a disrespectful question even if it was for his job.

Minato’s eyes widened slightly before he turned back to the stage where Aya Takano continued on from what Rose had to say.

“The young lady is right. I struggled more than she did with the fact her Father did abandon her, for her it was normal to just have me. She didn’t need a male figure to represent her Father because I did both,” She regained composure. “And if there are any more questions about this matter I will end the Q&A here.”

She stood taller, her face no longer smiling.

And Rose, while being a complete stranger to her felt proud.

After that, the questions were about her upcoming ventures and the rumour of her painting a royal portrait for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – which she neither denied nor confirmed.

When it came to an end, Rose slipped out as the scuffle of feet and chairs drowned out behind her.

“Rose, wait!”

Came a voice from behind her as she pulled the door to leave the building.

She stopped although she wasn’t entirely sure why. Except for wanting to karate chop him in the throat for asking such a tasteless question.

Rose turned to look over her shoulder, glaring from the corner of her eye when he managed to manoeuvre through a small group of people towards her.

“Can I help you, asshole?”

Rose responded although she walked through the door she opened. If she was going to hit him it wasn’t going to be in a place that had cameras – a nice little tip Miho gave her.

“I know asking that question made me look like a complete asshole. But I don’t even write the art column. You think I have any idea about art? This is Yuasa’s article, he’s sick at the moment so I had to fill in for him before we send the copy to press tomorrow. Look,” Minato showed Rose a piece of paper that had a list of questions on it and sure enough that question was written there. “See?”

Rose sighed.

“Fine, but you could have skipped that one. It was unfair.”

Minato rubbed the back of his neck – a sign Rose had realised meant that he realised he was in the wrong but didn’t want to apologise because he was Minato.

Rose checked her phone, still no call or text.

This only made her even grumpier.

“Hey, I know you’re probably pissed at me but it says here I need to interview a patron of the exhibit and ask their opinion. Can I get yours?”

He points at the paper and shoved it under Rose’s nose as she stared angrily at her phone.

She glowered up at him.

“There’s a bar round the corner. I’ll take you there, buy you a drink while you answer a few questions, deal?”

While Rose wanted nothing more than to go home right now, she also knew Minato was in a bind. He didn’t have long to write up an article before they sent it to print.

“Make it two and you’ve got a deal.”

Minato gave her his signature wolfish grin, one that once made her body little in goosebumps but now it made her miss her puppies smile.

“It’s him!” Inui exclaimed only to have his mouth covered by two sets of hands.

“If you bark like that you’ll give our cover away!” Kisaki hissed into Inui’s ear.

“Who is he?” Baba asked, casually walking out from their cover position when he was sure Rose and the man accompanying her weren’t aware of their presence.

“I don’t know his name, I’ve just seen him leave Akane’s place before and at some party.”

Ota walked up to Baba.

“This is too easy.” He whispered with an inane grin on his face.

“You realise she will slaughter you. And me too for that matter.” He replied but also shared the same grin as his friend.

“You agreed to come along old man,” He turned to Inui who was still stood behind the side of the building in cover. “Don’t you want to follow them?”

Inui bit his lip as he slowly stood up from his crouched position.

He trusted Akane, whole heartedly but ‘What If’ Ota was right?

Carefully they kept a safe distance and followed along.

After opening the door for Rose, Minato lead the way towards a little booth in the corner.

“I’ll get the drinks, you sit here. Whiskey right?”

“Na, just a lemonade please.”

While she had agreed only to answer his questions over a couple of drinks she wasn’t really feeling alcohol right now. She was still worried about Ryosuke. He’d still not contacted her and that made her hesitant to contact him. She needed her wits about her if she needed to rush off and save him.

Without any questions, Minato went to get their drinks.

And a few moments he was back.

He sat opposite Rose and got out his phone and opened the recorder app and set it on the table between them.

“I think this is the first time I’ve seen you work.”

Rose said.

“Prepare to be amazed.” He said smugly.

And Rose couldn’t help but chuckle. He was still an arrogant ass, although she never expected him to change. It was almost like he couldn’t help it.

He asked her some basic questions – nothing to be wowed by but then again he didn’t write them. Rose gave short answers, after all the questions didn’t really require anything lengthy.

“Is that it?” She asked when he pressed the record button again to stop the recording.

“Yep, told you it was only a few.” He said taking a sip from his beer.

“So you could have done this outside the exhibit?”

She arched an eyebrow.

“I guess.” He shrugged. “Also wanted to know how you were doing. Haven’t seen you since the Seasonelle party.”

So that was the real reason he asked her to come here.

“I’m fine,” she replied. “what about you?”

There was almost a coy smile before he spoke.

“I’m good, I met someone. Well, she kind of moved into my place as my step-sister and annoyed the shit out of me, then she started working at seasonelle and I couldn’t get rid of her we were basically dating anyway, so we just made it official.” He chuckled.

Rose smiled.

The look on his face as he traced the rim of his beer glass was adorable even if his words weren’t complimentary of his new partner, there was a fondness in his voice. It was a side to him she hadn’t seen before.

“And she actually wants to date an asshole like you? That girl needs her head examined.”

Rose smirked as he looked up at her.

“Probably,” He smirked back. “She gives me a run for my money. Actually, I think you’d really like her. She’s a smartmouth pommy just like you.”

He grinned and Rose gripped her lemonade tighter at the mere mention of the petname he used to call her.

It wasn’t that it upset her, it was more that it was kind of inappropriate since he had a new ‘pommy’. And Rose had a puppy of her own. But at the same time, the way he said it was completely different so she didn’t address it.

“What? You wanna double date or something?”

Rose asked as she sipped her lemonade.

“No way! The thought of you and Mieke joining forces is some scary shit.”

Minato joked.

“Then we are definitely are having a double date. I want to meet this Mieke, she sounds like fun.” Rose smirked over the rim of her glass.

“Not happening.” Minato argued.

“If I have to come to your office and make Shusei convince you, I will.”

Rose said deadpan, spinning the cup in her fingers while staring directly at him.

“Okay, Jeez. Don’t do that, no one at the office knows about us, not yet anyway.”

That sounded about right. There were a lot of rules and regulations about work romances these days. It was never a simple case of lovers meeting at work anymore – no that was too distracting or some bollocks.

“Good, I’ll bring my puppy and you bring yours.”

After that, Rose told Minato to check plans with Mieke and then to send her a day and a time. For someone who once hated social interaction on a major scale, Rose was actually excited.

Hiding in a corner booth over the other side of the restaurant, Inui, Baba and Ota watched Minato and Rose with an interested eye.

“They get along quite well, don’t they?” Baba asked, before a pretty little brunette walked past him and caught his eye distracting him for a moment. “Isn’t he the one that wrote the article about MJS? Is that how they met?”

Inui looked to Baba before he looked back to Rose.

“I guess so, Akane did say they met through work.”

His heart was aching, he wanted to rush over there and drag her away and demand she never see him again.

But, something stopped him.

If Ota was right, he knew that he couldn’t do that. He had no right.

“She looks miserable though, don’t you think?” Ota chirped from his seat next to Inui. “Perhaps he’s listing off reasons that he can’t be around anymore sipping on his beer without a care in the world while she has to stick to soft drinks.”

Inui’s brow creased.

“But how could he do that? He’s not allowed to do that!” He yelled, only to have his mouth covered once more and his head pushed down as patrons of the bar looked towards them.

“Keep your damn voice down, if I have to I will muzzle you.” Ota growled.

“At least the puppy wants to defend his mistress’s honour. Very heroic.” Baba commended.

They kept quiet as they saw Minato and Rose rise from their seats and head towards the exit and carefully watched from the window as Minato lead Rose to a car down the street and drove her away.

A second later Inui’s phone beeped.

‘It’s getting late, so I’m heading home. I was hoping we could get dinner but I guess you’re still working. Feel free to swing by when you’re done. Hope you haven’t lost the FOB for my building. Be safe.’

Inui’s heart hurt and his head was split in two.

But he knew what he had to do.

Rose fiddled with her phone as she lay on her futon.

As soon as she got to her place, Minato practically pushed her out the car after checking his own phone - saying Mieke had ordered Pizza and put on the soccer and waffling on about ‘she was the woman of his dreams’.

She was happy for him somewhere inside herself.

But right now she couldn’t be happy for anyone. The thoughts of all the possible reasons as to why Ryosuke hadn’t responded to her were swimming around her brain to the point she’d forgotten she hadn’t eaten since the evening before.

Her stomach looked bloated from the lack of fibre and she pulled up her vest top and prodded and poked at her protruding tummy as if to deflate it.

“Are you sure you should be doing that so aggressively?!”

Came a shrill voice making Rose’s heart leap out of her chest and bolt up into defensive mode.

“Shit a brick and fuck me with it. Ryo! Oh my god.”

The adrenaline of the surprise he gave her and the relief of seeing him in front of her were at war with each other as she stood unsure on whether to hug him or slap him.

“What?”

He cocked his head, tentatively taking a step towards her.

“You scared me.”

His eyes widened and he rushed over to her.

“I’m so sorry, that won’t be good for either of you. Please sit down.”

‘Either of us?’

Rose thought watching as Ryosuke carefully escorted her back down onto the futon as if she were made of glass. Then he retreated to Rose’s kitchen to fetch a glass of water.

“What are you doing?”

She asked when he tried to make her take a sip of water and she refused.

“Taking care of you,” He placed his hand on her stomach. “Both of you. If he’s not going to, I plan to.”

Rose slapped his hand off her stomach and sat up better so she could look him in the face.

“Explain.” She demanded.

“I, I know. About you and that editor guy.”

Rose stared at him, completely confused.

“I know why you were so interested in that art exhibit. You wanted courage to raise yours and his baby on your own. But I want you to know, you won’t be on your own! I’ll be here every step of the way.”

He pressed a palm to her cheek and ran his thumb along her cheekbone.

“Um…What?”

“Shhh.” He pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay, Akane. Whatever happens I’ll be right here with you. We’ll have our own little family, even if the baby isn’t mine, I’ll raise it as if it is my own.”

She pushed him away.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. What baby?”

He looked at her a little hurt, but placed a hand on her stomach pushing through his own pain knowing she must be hurting more.

“This baby.”

Rose raised an eyebrow.

“Are you calling me fat?”

“What?! No!” He responded.

“Well it sounds like it because I’m not pregnant.”

There was silence for a moment.

“Y-You-You’re not?”

Inui despite being taller and bulkier than Rose seemed to shrink.

“No.”

Ryosuke was a mixture of feelings and Rose watched on in confusion. How on earth could someone so innocent come up with something so complicated?

“What on earth made you think I was pregnant?”

She asked when he remained quiet.

“I um, Well. Mr. Kisaki told me what the art exhibit was about and he said I needed to read between the lines of why someone so young would be interested in something like that and why you didn’t wait for me to see the exhibit. And he, I and Mr. Baba went to the exhibit and saw you arguing with the Editor guy and then you went to a bar but you were only drinking soft drinks and he was all smiley and happy and you were pouty and grumpy.”

Rose’s fist clenched as soon as Kisaki was mentioned and then her teeth began to gnaw together when Baba made an appearance.

“I was so angry. I wanted to go and give him a piece of my mind, but he was the father of the baby and I didn’t think I had any right to intervene.”

Rose sighed.

She wanted to be mad, I mean he listened to those fuck-wits before talking to her but she knew how easily he could be manipulated. Especially by the likes of Kisaki and Baba and especially when all those little ‘signs’ lined up and could make legitimate reasoning.

“I was ‘pouty and grumpy’ because you hadn’t let me know you were okay. I’m guessing Mr. Oh wasn’t in the penthouse when you got there or none of this would have happened.”

Ryosuke looked at Rose and cocked his head before he shook his head no.

Boy, he makes it really hard to be mad at him. But Rose managed to bite back a smile.

“What about the chimney?”

She asked.

“Chimney?” Ryosuke furrowed his brow before he realised who Rose was talking about. “Oh, you mean Mr. Kishi. Yeah he was there.”

“And he didn’t tell you that I left a message with Mr. Oh for you?”

Rose was growing increasingly irritated by the men that resided in the penthouse of Tres Spades, if that was even possible.

“No, all he said was ‘The kid is gonna kill ya’. But I assumed that was because they told your secret.” Inui shook his head, clearly baffled by how they managed to fool him.

“He’s included on my hit list.”

Rose had begun plotting each of their demise in her head. The anger bubbling inside her was only dulled by the cuteness on how Ryosuke responded to the situation.

She looked to Ryosuke when he went silent again.

“Hey, if it makes you feel better, I’m really happy that you were willing to be here for me despite this hypothetical baby not being yours.”

He gave her a shy smile as he glanced up at her.

“Really. When we start our own family, you’re going to make the greatest dad.”

He looked up at her, almost gawking.

“Our family?”

He asked, a whole movie playing behind his eyes.

“Mm,” Rose smiled fondly at him as he stared past her and into the future. “they’ll have my sass with your innocent face. The world won’t stand a chance with our little one.”

Rose chuckled imagining the cute little demon they’d create.

Ryosuke joined Rose’s chuckle before he wrapped himself around her and pushed her down onto the futon with a bit of force. Their first practise of many baby making sessions with protection of course. While they both very much wanted a family one day now was definitely not the time.

“Hey, sorry to call you so late, Jazz” Rose paused to check Ryosuke was still in the shower before continuing. “Yeah, I’m good but I have a question. I need some help in plotting dishes of revenge.”

“Ohhh, sounds interesting. Who are we castrating?”

Rose grinned, even if Jazz didn’t want to get involved physically she could provide Rose with some good ideas, after all Jazz’s bestfriend was Miho – she would definitely learnt some things from her over the years.

“Ota Kisaki, Baba and Mamoru Kishi.”

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