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A One Night Affair (Kissing the Boss Book 2) by Fionn Jameson (4)

Chapter 4




The next morning was chaos. 

Eyelids heavy from the lack of sleep, caused by tossing and turning every which way and feeling zero desire to satisfy myself, if only to get some rest, I staggered around the gigantic convention floor in a state of semicomatose alertness. 

Not even watching Nobuki at work, confident and sure of himself, conversing with various other publishing professionals and passing out samplers of our best sellers, was not enough to induce me out of my state of sleeplessness. 

This could not go on. 

But short of throwing myself at my boss’s feet and begging him to make love to me so I could get him out of my system, I didn’t know what else to do. 

I cringed at the image of his sneering in response. 

Faking an emergency, I staggered to a bench next to the convention hall’s bathroom area, where people were milling about with cups of coffee and bottles of water, looking knowledgeable and suave. 

I envied them.

I was so tired I barely reacted as one of my favorite horror authors brushed past me, recognizable by his thick horn-rimmed glasses and bushy beard that made him look as though he had been eating out of trash bins and sleeping underneath a bridge. 

Considering his last book had been on the best-seller’s list for the past twelve weeks, I was pretty sure that wasn’t the case. 

Caught up in the incredibly far-fetched and nonsensical fantasy about Roger Breman going through a garbage can, I tripped over a pair of long legs and almost landed right in Julian Lambert’s lap. 

“Whoa!” 

His hands were warm and steady around my waist as he helped me recover my balance. A pack of people looked on with amusement, a few women giggling behind their hands. 

I didn’t mind. I’m sure if I had been one of them, I wouldn’t even have bothered covering my mouth. 

Lucky for me, I hadn’t fallen across some random person’s lap. 

I started feeling a little warmer, and realized that I had spent most of the morning shivering a bit, even though it was pleasantly warm in the convention hall. 

It couldn’t be my imagination that his large hands stayed around my waist for longer than necessary. I kind of liked it. 

I welcomed the flush that rose through my body as I extricated myself out of Julian’s grasp. 

“Th—thanks,” I stammered, fixing my skirt which had somehow ended up back to front, the zipper lying uncomfortably underneath my belly button. “I didn’t see you.”

“Really?” He smiled. “How could you not see such long legs? I almost think you tripped over me on purpose.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled my badge back over my chest. How had it ended up on my back? “Yes. I did. You caught me. Literally.”

We both broke into smiles at my small joke. 

“Care to sit?” he asked, switching into his flawless Japanese that surprised me all over again. I guessed I was never going to get used to this blond guy speaking Japanese better than most Japanese people I knew.

Gratefully, I sat down next to him, still aware of the curious eyes watching us. I knew what a strange picture we looked like: a slim Asian woman with raccoon eyes sitting next to a broad-shouldered Viking warrior. Even though I knew America was all about diversity, I knew there was no way I could pass for American. 

“It’s strange,” I said, glancing around. 

“What is?” 

“There are plenty of Asian women here.”

“Yes, there are.”

I watched one particular Asian woman walk across the carpeted lobby into one of the convention halls. “I’m Asian, too. But we look different.”

Julian stilled. “You do.”

“Why is that?”

“I think the makeup is different,” he replied. “The style of dress is also different. Asian women born and bred here aren’t any more Asian than I am, in my opinion. They look and feel like Americans and they’ve got an American sense of style. You don’t.”

I shook my head. “No. I’m from Japan.”

“Same goes for dudes.” He snorted. “You know, when I saw Nobuki at the airport, I had a hard time believing it was the same guy I went to school with. He’s changed a lot.”

I didn’t want to be interested in Nobuki, not while sitting next to someone like Julian, but the heart, or maybe lust, was a treacherous thing. “What was he like?”

“Well, he was a transfer student in freshman year in high school. I think his dad worked in the furniture business or something.”

I nodded. “He mentioned something like that.”

“Barely spoke a word of English.” He laughed. “But, damn, he could play basketball.”

I blinked. Nobuki playing sports was not something I had thought of. Then again, he did have a slim, sinewy build, but I attributed that to…something that was a little more elegant than running up and down a court with an orange ball. “He didn’t mention that.”

“No? That’s how we met, you know. Basketball.” Julian stretched his arms along the back of the bench and his thumb brushed my shoulder. 

It stayed there but I didn’t mind. “Were you both on the basketball team?”

“I tried out. Barely made it. The coach scouted Nobu. Saw him play basketball after school and begged him to join. Only freshman to make varsity.”

I smiled. “I bet that ticked everyone off.”

“You bet right. The freshmen wouldn’t talk to him because they were jealous and the seniors wouldn’t talk to him because he was so stuck up.” He laughed. “You think he’s an uptight bastard now. Man, that kid was such a snooty know-it-all. No one liked him.”

“What about you?”

“Hated his guts,” he said. I caught a note of pride in his voice. “He ever tell you about the time I stuffed his head in a toilet?” 

I think my jaw fell off at that point. “You did what?”

He laughed out loud, head thrown back. “He wouldn’t hang out with us, didn’t talk, kept making the rest of the team look bad, so I stuffed his head in a toilet and flushed.”

I laughed, having a hard time imagining a cool, suave sixteen-year-old Nobuki with his head in a toilet bowl. “Then what happened?”

“He kicked me where the sun don’t shine. Really hard, too. Almost had to go to the emergency room.”

I winced. “It’s hard to believe you two could be friends after all that.”

He shrugged. “What can I say? Guys are fucking weird.” 

“No kidding.”

Bonding after doing terrible things to one another? 

Weird, indeed. 

“He’s nicer now, though,” he said contemplatively, one foot tapping occasionally on the carpeted floor. 

“Really? It’s a wonder he didn’t get didn’t tossed off the roof at some point.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled. “That might’ve been mentioned once or twice.”

I shook my head in disbelief and then reluctantly stood up. “I should go back. I told Nobu—er, Mr. Miyano I was just taking a short break.”

Nobuki Miyano was my boss, not my friend. He didn’t have the same relationship with me as he did with Julian. I had no right to call him by his first name. 

“Hey, Rika?”

Julian really was a handsome man. Why couldn’t I have sexy dreams about him? At least then I might’ve had some chance of my dreams coming true. “Yes?”

“Any plans for tonight?”

My mouth went dry. “No…I don’t think so. Why?”

His eyes twinkled. Twinkled. I didn’t think that was even possible. Maybe in movies or manga. Not in reality. 

“Care to grab a few drinks tonight?” His smile widened. “That is, if your taskmaster allows it?”

“He’s not my taskmaster,” I said stiffly, not enjoying the connotation, as though I needed permission from my boss to go out.

“No?” The smile faltered a bit. “Are you busy?”

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been out on a date. Lately, my dates had been thick, gory books. “Not exactly.”

He got up, and damned if he didn’t make it look cool and suave. He had a charm all of his own, very different from Nobuki, and yet both of them would have caused armies of women to willingly wave white flags of surrender. 

“Then it’s settled? How about nine at the hotel lounge?”

I licked my lips. “That’s fine. I’ll see you then.”

And we stood there. 

Awkwardly. 

I didn’t know what to do. 

Didn’t know how to act. 

So I put out my hand. 

Because when in doubt, it’s never wrong to shake hands, right?

He stared at my proffered hand. 

To my relief, he took it. 

But he didn’t shake. 

Instead, he lifted my hand up, up, up and brushed his lips across my fingers. 

I was transported. 

Transported to a place where men took off their top hats and bowed to passing women, a place where the waltz and Strauss were the latest rage, where dancing in one man’s arms all night was a woman’s dream come true. 

He looked at me from beneath lowered lids and I understood how it felt to have my heart skip a beat. 

“You keep treating me like I’m a business associate,” he said. “I hope we don’t have to be all about…work.”

I desperately needed a drink. Maybe two. 

“I’m sorry.” My nerves rattled, like a marble in a large box getting shaken frantically. “I don’t know how to react when someone asks me out on a date. I thought a handshake would be the best idea. I mean, I didn’t want to just walk away. That seemed rude, but I didn’t want to give you a hug. I know it’s common to hug and kiss everyone here in America, but that doesn’t happen in Japan.”

I felt his warm breath on my knuckles and thought I was going to pass out right there next to the bathrooms where a group of older women were watching us avidly.

That jarred me more than anything else. 

Yes, I wanted the date. 

Yes, I wanted to be around Julian. 

But I didn’t want to do this in front of an audience, and I snatched my hand away. 

Honestly, I was a little disappointed he let go. 

On the other hand, I was done performing. 

I refused to feel rankled as his gaze turned amused. “Tonight at nine. Lounge. See you there.”

I was going to end this like it was a business meeting. 

Maybe it was because I was used to such things. 

Getting dates from guys I just met, not so much. 

A corner of Julian’s lips kicked up, like he got a joke before I did. “Okay. See you there, Miss Hasegawa.”

I knew he was mocking me being so businesslike, but as long as he didn’t press the issue, I was okay with that.

I walked away, the back of my neck itching madly as I felt Julian’s eyes on me until I rounded the corner. 

The whole day I thought about the date. 

When I handed someone the wrong set of samples, Nobuki issued a public reprimand. 

Not that it sounded like one, not when we were surrounded by other people. 

“You must still be jet-lagged,” he said in a mild voice, smiling at a woman as she tittered with her silly, frazzle-haired friend. “You still have dark circles underneath your eyes.”

“I always have dark circles under my eyes,” I muttered, restacking a tall pile of our books before they could fall over if someone so much as looked at them wrong. 

“No.” His brow went up. “I don’t think you do.”

I resisted the urge to grab him by his starched collar and shake him until his eyes rattled. “Yes. I do. I read every night. Every night. Understand?”

I was too tired, too rattled to be appalled at my words. 

Even when I hated his guts, I never spoke to him like that. 

But I don’t think I cared. 

I almost wanted to tell him that I had accepted a date from Julian, but I was sure that wouldn’t get me more than a caustic gaze. 

After all, Nobuki was the one who told Julian to ask me out. 

His eyes narrowed, and I swallowed a sudden lump of trepidation rising in my throat. 

Crap. Maybe I’d pissed him off. 

His delicate nostrils flared as he drew in a breath. 

Meanwhile, I was steeling myself for a quick, rather opportune visit to the ladies’ room again. 

“You haven’t smiled once since you came back from the restrooms,” he said after waving goodbye to the lady with the frizzy-haired friend. 

Damn. Why did he have to be insightful enough to catch that?

“I’m fine,” I muttered and smiled. “See? I’m smiling. Aren’t you glad?”

He sighed. “It’s almost five. Why don’t you go? I’ll clean up.”

I wanted nothing more than to get away, but my pride would not let me go back to the hotel without finishing the rest of the day. “No. Like you said, it’s almost five. I’d like to stay.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it with a shrug. “Have it your way.” 

All the while, Nobuki watched me, face set in that pleasant mask he had shown everyone else today. 

But I knew it for what it really was. 

A mask. He was displeased with me, but wouldn’t risk telling me off in a very public venue. But later, who knew what words would spill from his lips? 

“I’m tired,” I admitted. “I’m sorry.”

He nodded. “I know.”

“This is my job, as a representative of Shokogan and as your assistant. Please don’t ask me to leave.”

“As you wish. But you’ve been little help today and I’ll chalk that up to your tiredness. I’d like to, anyway.”

As always, so polite and yet so cold at the same time.

I took another deep breath, aware of how quickly the convention room was starting to empty out as the clock read five minutes to five in the afternoon.

“Mr. Miyano, do you remember the day we first met?”

He tilted his head to one side. “When you called security on me?”

I was too tired to feel the usual rush of shame regarding that situation. “Remember what I said?”

“Almost word for word. It was an interesting conversation.”

I sat down on a stack of boxes and almost slipped through them when I realized they were all empty. 

I decided to perch on the edge of a rather wobbly plastic table. “May I be honest with you?”

He crossed his arms. “I welcome it.”

“Mr. Miyano, you’re a very attractive individual,” I said baldly, wondering what kind of reaction I was going to get. 

I hadn’t expected a blank face. 

Or the lack of a response. 

So we stood there—well, I sat there and he stood in front of me, arms crossed. 

In silence. 

Did I mention how awkward it was?

“Um,” I said, just to fill in the silence. “Mr. Miyano?”

He blinked at me. 

I sighed. 

“Mr. Miyano, with all due respect, most of the people who’ve come to us aren’t here because they’re interested in our company and our vision. Do you know why most of them aren’t interested in me? It’s because I’m not you. Beauty sells and I’m afraid that’s why we’ve gotten as much interest as we did. Because of you. I could’ve been a chimp wearing a hat and playing Beethoven on a toy piano and you would’ve still gotten more interest than me.” I tried not to sound bitter. “Everyone loves pretty things.”

Nobuki’s gaze was intent on me and I struggled not to fidget. “So it doesn’t matter whether I look like a wreck. No one cares about me anyway.”

I definitely sounded bitter now.

“Miss Hasegawa?”

“Yes?” 

He smirked. 

Smirked. 

“Why do you think the CEO sent me?”

My jaw fell off and swam all the way back to Japan. 

“I already know the deal, Miss Hasegawa.” His voice was no longer placid. Every syllable dripped with derision, and with every word I fought the urge to shrink in on myself. “I know why they’re here. I know why most of them are talking to me and look through you. I’m not an idiot.”

I opened my mouth. “I didn’t—”

“If my face sells our company, then I’ll do it. That is the job I was hired to do, so that’s what I’m doing. Do you understand me now?”

What could I say? Nothing.

His words were harsh, but that wasn’t a surprise.

“Whoa, what’s with this thick atmosphere?”

A few booths away, Julian hastened toward us, his eyes narrowed. 

“It’s okay, Julian,” I said, not willing to let this escalate. “We were just talking. Right, Mr. Miyano?”

Julian stared at Nobuki. “Why does Rika look so lifeless? Were you yelling at her?”

“I haven’t the faintest.” Nobuki’s gaze never strayed from me. “I would never do something as uncouth as yell at an employee in a public area.”

Julian grabbed a half-filled box and began to fill it with samples. “Yeah, well, I don’t know that. Look at her, she looks half dead.”

“Perhaps you ought to let me worry about her, Julian.”

Quickly, I taped up one full box and moved on to the next one, keeping my head down, my eyes on the seams of the boxes, because I didn’t want to know what was going through Nobuki’s head. 

Was he looking at me with disgust?

Ignorance is bliss. 

With Julian’s help, we closed up the booth in less than fifteen minutes, faster than I thought, but I was grateful for the speed. I could feel my energy level falling dangerously low and I had no intention of letting Nobuki know just how terrible I felt. 

Wordlessly, I held up the light blue canvas to cover up the entrance of the booth and Nobuki zipped it shut. 

All three of us took a step back to take one final look at the zipped up booth and then I took another step back, bowing so low my hair brushed the floor. 

“Thank you for working so hard,” I said, just like a good employee. “I think I’ll go and rest.”

Nobuki sounded almost bored. “Please do so.”

“Rika, wait a—” began Julian, but I was five seconds away from passing out on the floor. 

“Thank you for helping us!” My voice echoed in the mostly empty convention hall. 

We Japanese can do polite like no one’s business and I was Japanese to the core.

“Rika, wait, don’t—”

Too late. 

I grabbed my bag and got out of there.


 

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