For the next few weeks, Sakura worked hard to learn Haruka’s business inside and out so she could be of more help to the woman. Haruka herself made sure Sakura was being taught everything there was to know about the billion-dollar company, since Sakura would be the one who’d inherit the empire. Of course, that was if Sakura wanted it after they’d confirmed their relationship with DNA testing. As of now, Haruka was just enjoying her time with her biological daughter, both during work at the office and leisure at the apartment.

Sakura herself found she enjoyed learning from and working with Haruka. The woman was like a mentor to her, and Sakura learned many aspects of the business world she hadn’t known before. When she wasn’t busy with the multibillion-dollar empire, she learned Japanese cuisine with the housekeeper, helping the woman preparing meals for the family. Then at night, she’d catch up on her own business, updating the Tanaka Gallery websites with new photos she’d taken from previous weeks and doing promotion to get more people interested in her work.

Because she couldn’t paint in the apartment, she’d rushed over to the gallery to catch up doing that too, after she’d finished her work with Haruka and had meals with the family. Of course Sosuke, Akira, and Toby usually accompanied her. The first time Akira had seen the place, she fell in love with it and offered to play sales assistant for Sakura during the day, which Sakura was very grateful for and took the offer without hesitation.

So it happened that Ned had to stay in L.A. for another couple weeks, and Sakura couldn’t close the gallery any longer because she needed money for the bills. Furthermore, Melissa had decided to quit, which put more pressure on Sakura. Luckily, Megan, her previous sales assistant, returned to the city, and Sakura got in contact with the lovely, jolly woman right away. And of course, Akira helped out and worked with Megan until Sakura could find another assistant.

Over all of this, Sakura started getting tired and exhausted very easily. She knew her health wasn’t great currently because of her hectic lifestyle. She wanted to cut back on the long hours, missing meals, and short sleeping time but couldn’t find a way to do that. Then, of course, she noticed the rent for the gallery and loft was getting ridiculous, too. It had jumped up quite a lot since she’d started out last year. So much so that she decided to get in contact with her landlord herself instead of leaving it to Ned to deal with the unpleasant business.

Once her email was sent, she got an instant reply. She was very surprised that her landlord was so on it, and even more so when he agreed he would lower the rent for her. She thanked him profusely, and it wasn’t long before Sakura realized the man, who never revealed his name at the end of the email, started emailing her at least twice a day to ask how everything was.

Usually, Sakura didn’t reply to emails unless they were related to business or the person she was replying to was her friend, but for this one, she broke her own rule. She replied and found she enjoyed writing casual and sometimes hilarious emails to him. Eventually, they got into chatting online and did so quite often until very late, or rather early in the morning. He told her he was actually a fan of her work and had many of her paintings and photos in his house. She was very pleased and told him she’d send him some of her very recent ones that she wouldn’t be putting up for sale.

Now it was a Saturday. Two weeks had passed since she moved in with the Suzuki family. To be honest, Sakura was very tired and exhausted today, more so than usual. She blamed that landlord of hers, of course, the mysterious man who had finally decided to let her call him Seb. Just Seb.

At first, she’d thought he was some middle-aged billionaire who wanted to hook up with her, but after chatting with him, he revealed to be something else. She assumed him to be quite young, since he loved to swim and had told her he’d won many national championships during his teens, which had only been about ten years ago. So she calculated he was around twenty-six or twenty-seven. He told her he loved coffee made by his sister and that she was his world.

Unfortunately, he and his sister had a kind of misunderstanding and were currently not on speaking terms. Sakura thought it was so sad and decided to help him out by suggesting to him what he should do. By the time she finished that discussion, it was three in the morning.

 

Sakura: I have to go to bed. It’s getting late.

Seb: What’s the rush? It’s Saturday.

Sakura: LOL! Don’t be mean. I have work to do.

Seb: Oh?

Sakura: LOL! Don’t you oh me, mister.

Seb: Why not?

Sakura: ‘Cause!

Seb: Because?

Sakura: I can’t tell you.

Seb: Why not?

Sakura: Good night, Seb.

Seb: …

Sakura: Seb?

Seb: …

Sakura: Seb? Good night, and I mean it.

Seb: I want to kiss you.

 

The moment that last sentence came out, Sakura felt her whole body shake with emotion. Why did Seb want to kiss her? They hadn’t even met in person yet. And why this man always reminded her so much of Sebastian Princeton was beyond her.

Determined to dismiss those words from her mind, Sakura tried to concentrate on Toby and Akira instead.

“Are you sure you’re going to be all right looking after Toby for me?” Sakura asked, her eyes on the other woman.

The Japanese beauty waved her hands. “Of course I’ll be all right.” She turned to the doting pup. “Although, I must admit Toby doesn’t look very active today.”

Sakura turned her attention to the dog in her arms. She gently stroked the canine, wondering what was wrong with him. Once again, she told herself she had to remember to take him to see the vet. It would have to be another Saturday though, since today was impossible. She had an appointment with Mr. Tachibana for the photoshoot fitting, and by the time she returned, she was sure it’d be too late.

She handed Toby over to Akira. “I’ll take him to see the vet when we come back from Hawaii. I need to make sure he’s all right.”

“You know what?” Akira began. “You go with Oba-chan to see Tachibana-sensei, and I will take Toby to see the vet. How about that? Since waiting until we return from Hawaii is far too long.”

Sakura widened her eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Akira nodded. “Now, don’t you worry about this little cutie.” She laughed, stroking the dog fondly.

“Thanks,” Sakura said, laughing. “You’re awesome, Akira-chan.”

Half an hour later, Sakura found herself in Mr. Tachibana’s office with Haruka, Ms. Ruka, and Jane. They were devising what clothing items should go with which jewelry for the photoshoot that was coming this Thursday.

Jane was helping her with evening wear gown of gold and black silk when Sakura asked, “So did Luke tell the brothers?”

Jane looked behind before answering. “I’m afraid so, Sakura.”

A lump formed in her throat. “Well, I guess it won’t be too long before they go to the gallery.”

“Sakura,” Jane said, zipping up the gown. “They already went.”

“What?” Sakura spun around so fast she got a little dizzy in the process. “They what?”

Jane took a deep breath as she eyed her friend. She was concerned, as Sakura looked like she was about to drop. There were dark circles under her eyes and her skin looked awfully pale. She wondered if Sakura had been working too hard.

“I’m so sorry, Sakura. But Luke, that stupid brother of mine, he told the brothers where the gallery is. He told me they’ve went there two weeks ago.”

Sakura did a quick calculation within her head and groaned. That must have been the same day she and Jane had been to see both Haruka and Mr. Tachibana. The day she returned home and—

“No wonder I smelled colognes,” she said softly, remembering what Ned had said. Boys! There had been boys visiting the gallery.

“Colognes?” Jane asked curiously. “What does colognes have to do with the brothers?”

Sakura sighed. “Nothing, Jane.”

As she came out of the dressing room, Ned’s statement about how a woman could smell her soulmate even when he wasn’t in the room echoed within her head.

For two hours, Sakura tried on different outfits for Mr. Tachibana, Haruka, and Ms. Ruka to inspect. She was just changing the last one when her phone rang. Clutching the material of the gown against her breasts so it wouldn’t fall off her person, she reached out for her bag.

With the cell phone in one hand, she put it to her ear. “Hello?”

“Sakura? It’s me, Akira.”

Sakura blinked and her heart skipped a beat. The panicky voice she heard made her worry. Instantly, her mind rushed to Toby. Her friend did promise to take Toby to the vet today, and she wondered if they had found something wrong with the dog. She hoped it was nothing serious, but Akira’s voice on the other side of the line made her wonder if—

“Sakura, I’ve lost Toby!”

Sakura found her throat dry when she said, “What?”

“Let me explain. I took the dog to the vet, right? And things happened. Mainly with that arrogant dragon Nicolas. He accused me of stealing your dog, Sakura. The gall of him. And anyway, now I’ve lost the dog. I can’t find him anywhere in the apartment.”

Sakura frowned over this. Who was this dragon Nicolas Akira was talking about? The guy up at the penthouse? But she didn’t dwell on that particular person and what he had to do with Akira. She was more worried about Toby.

“Have you tried the third floor?” she asked as she now shuffled the gown down her person and grabbed for her bra. “He was there the last time he went missing.”

“No, I haven’t. I’ll go and do that now.”

“You do that,” Sakura said. “I’m on my way.”

“Okay, see you soon.”

“Bye,” Sakura said. She rested the phone in her bag and quickly grabbed her clothing.

She got dressed in a minute flat and then rushed out of the dressing room. She came across Haruka and begged an apology. “Toby is missing. I’ll come back the moment I find him and am sure he’s okay.”

Haruka nodded and ushered her out the door.

* * * * *

 

Conrad thought he was going nuts. For two weeks now, he kept hearing Toby barking. Tristan had told him it was his hallucination, mistaking other dogs’ barks for Toby’s. This only spurred Conrad ever more to want to go to the gallery to see Sakura. Of course, that bloody Ned had decided to avoid them by staying in Los Angeles, so nothing was done about making Sakura come around and let them back into her life.

When he’d suggested they just up and go to see her anyway, Logan had said, “You’ll frighten her with your unpleasant appearance, Conrad. We’ve agreed with Ned not to bother her until he makes her come around.”

Of course, he knew both Sebastian and Darcy had been doing their rounds through Soho, just to get a peek at the gallery, hoping to see Sakura. It was odd lately that Sebastian seemed so chummy about something. He was grinning to himself all the time, which annoyed both Conrad and Darcy equally. When Darcy had asked the brother if he had a secret to share, Sebastian just said, “Just thinking of my conversation with a friend.”

“Bloody hell,” Conrad muttered under his breath, storming into the living area where everyone was getting ready for lunch.

Beth looked up. “What’s bothering you, Master Conrad?”

“Toby. Is it really just me? Didn’t you guys hear the bark?”

Tristan laughed. “Your imagination again.”

“We heard the barks, Conrad. Dog barks along the streets,” Hayden said, turning the page of the newspaper in his hands. “It’s not unusual.”

“Are you sure you’re all right, bro?” Logan put in, looking at Conrad over his bland coffee. “Need to see a doctor or something?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Conrad snapped. He took a seat beside Tristan and changed the subject. “Where’s Nicolas and Sebastian?”

“Nicolas is at the hotel doing some stuff. He’s elbow deep in paperwork, apparently. Sebastian is doing a deal with some new business partner in Brooklyn.”

“Darcy?”

“At his loft,” Hayden said. “He’s dealing with some issue with the art and design for our new game.”

“Seven Knights?”

“Lame,” Tristan said. “Seven Knights.”

“Eight now,” Hayden said. “It was Darcy’s idea. He wants eight now. And don’t you say it’s lame. If it’s lame, it wouldn’t be still selling in the millions.”

“Does it have more moves and weapons?”

“Shitload,” Hayden replied. “Katana.”

“Sick!” Conrad laughed. “I love katana.”

It was then Conrad looked up and saw a white dog run across the length of the courtyard. “Toby!” he shouted, pointing a finger at the window.

The brothers turned to look but didn’t see any dog. Tristan pulled Conrad down to sit again and placed the back of his hand against Conrad’s forehead.

“You’re not sick,” he said, noting his temperature was okay.

Conrad slapped his brother’s hand away. “Who the hell says I’m sick?” He was obviously so upset he shot up and headed out the room in annoyance.

Tristan said, “What did I say?”

Hayden shrugged his shoulders as if to say he didn’t have a clue, and Logan laughed.

Conrad came out into the garden and went about searching for the little culprit who made everyone think he was going mad. There, the barking was getting louder. The corridor? Conrad rushed over to the other side and, taking a deep breath, he jerked the door open.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

Conrad staggered back as he stared wide at the little dog jumping around his feet with excitement. When the shock finally receded, the man bent down to his knees and gathered the pup into his arms.

“Toby?”

Woof! was the reply.

Conrad couldn’t help himself. He laughed and squeezed the white furry canine in his arms. “Toby, how the hell did you get here?”

Another bark came as a reply.

“Conrad, what are you doing there?” Logan called out from the house. He even sported a suspicious look on his face.

Conrad turned and shouted, “It’s Toby! I found him.”

“Don’t shit with me, Conrad!” the brother swore loudly.

“Jesus, man, I’m not shitting you. It really is Toby,” Conrad yelled back. To Toby, he said, “See? They don’t believe me. Well, let’s show them. See who’s the one going crazy now! Let’s go, Toby.”

At Toby’s bark of agreement, Conrad turned on his heel and headed back across the garden to the house.

The moment Logan saw Toby at the door, he stared at the dog in shocked surprise and nearly spilled his coffee. Beth, who was carrying two plates of sandwiches, froze in her spot. The sight of the little beast was too much for her to bear, and the plates and food crashed to the floor. 

“Shit! It really is Toby!” Logan shouted.

Across the room, Tristan and Hayden came rushing over, perplexed at the sight of the beloved little beast. Toby barked excitedly at the men, pleased he was the center of their attention once again.

Logan stroked the dog and uttered, “But, hell, how? I mean…”

Conrad couldn’t find an answer either, but he was just happy they got to see Toby once again.

Beth finally got her act together. With legs shaking, she came to Toby and gave the dog a pat. “Oh, it really is Toby. Oh God!” Then tears started brewing in her eyes.

“What about Sakura?” Tristan asked no one in particular.

“Well,” Hayden said, cocking his head to one side as he gazed at the dog close range. “Toby can’t have gotten here by himself. Sakura will have to be close by.” Because his face was only inch from the dog, Toby licked him on the nose, and the man laughed. “Where’s your master, buddy? Why don’t you bring her to us?”

Toby barked excitedly again, in agreement of course.

“Oh, thank God you found him,” came the female voice at the door.

The brothers turned to see Akira standing there, looking as flushed and beautiful as ever. Beside her, looking pissed and stony, was Nicolas.

Akira rushed into the living area and begged for the dog back. Conrad backed away and asked in outrage, “Toby’s with you?” There was a note of an accusation in his voice that Akira didn’t miss.

Akira blinked, confused as to why Conrad looked as though he didn’t want her to touch the dog, as though she were some kind of villain, here to take the dog away for execution.

“Well, of course he is.” She sighed indignantly and continued. “Don’t tell me you think I’ve stolen him like Nicolas did!” She folded her arms across her chest. “Well, I didn’t. Like I said, I’m looking after him for a friend.”

At this, Logan and Tristan looked at each other, confused. Logan asked, “Friend?”

Akira sighed once again. She was about to blurt out it was Sakura when she caught herself on time. The brothers noticed and knew something was up. Could it be that Akira happened to know Sakura? The possibility was indeed interesting, and none of the brothers wanted to just leave it at that. They wanted to find out. Heck! They wanted to see Sakura again, and they’d do anything, even blackmailing this lovely woman, to get what they wanted.

“Please, can you just return Toby to me before—” She halted and turned bright red.

“Before what?” Tristan asked. At that moment, he decided to play the gorgeous flirt he was known for in order to get more information from Akira. He came around, standing so imposingly handsome in front of her. He even gave her a dashing smile that would have made any female melt into him. “Akira-chan?” he asked, his voice smooth and soft like liquid gold. “Who’s your friend?”

Oddly enough, Akira was immunized against Tristan’s charm. She didn’t get infected like most females did. In fact, she wasn’t about to budge. She turned her attention to the youngest brother who was hugging Toby tightly against his chest, as if the dog were very precious to him.

“Please, Conrad,” she said. She also noted he was moving farther away from her. “I would like Toby back.”

The dog barked and rubbed his head against Conrad’s chest. The man stroked him fondly. “He doesn’t want to go just yet.”

Beth nodded in agreement, since she couldn’t find her voice to speak. She was still pretty shocked.

When she saw no one was on her side, Akira chose to turn her attention to the eldest brother. She blasted her anger at the man who had been pestering her since he’d found her car broken down on her way to the vet.

“Nicolas? This is outrageous. If you and your brothers do not give me back Toby, I swear I will phone the police and tell them you’ve kidnapped Sakura’s dog!”

She was still heaving by the time she finished. It was only then she saw the triumphant look on Nicolas’s face, which annoyed the hell out of her. And she realized shit had finally hit the fan.

“Baka!” she muttered and spun around to see both Tristan and Logan sporting a satisfied grin.

Beth looked like she was about to faint. She decided to take a seat. “You boys take care of this. I’m feeling a bit tired all of a sudden.”

Hayden said, “Well, there we go. All sorted.”

Conrad nodded. “Come on, Toby. Let’s return you to your master.”

The dog agreed with a friendly bark. As the brothers walked out the door, Akira called out, “Where are you going?”

“To your apartment,” Conrad said.

“Or would you rather have Sakura come here for the dog?” Nicolas asked, one blond brow rising in a challenge.

Akira held her head high and said, “Go to hell.” With that, she marched out the door, leaving the brothers to follow her.

* * * * *