I just had to get this idea down and on the web. Expect this story to be much longer than My Fairy Tale, so there will be longer chapters. Read and review!
Oh yeah, NYPD is the New York Police Department and NYSE is the New York Stock Exchange. I just love those cool acronyms!
This disclaimer will cover the entire story: I don't own CardCaptor Sakura or No Reservations (the movie).
No Reservations – Chapter 1: New Chef in Town
Beep. Beep. Beep.
An annoying, shrill sound filled my eardrums.
"Grrr…" I growled as I groped my bedside table with one hand, hoping to get hold of the source of the noise. I buried my head even deeper under the covers.
"Aha!" My fingers found the snooze button and I turned off the alarm. It was quiet again, and I relaxed back into sleep.
But not for long. Beep. Beep. Beep.
My second alarm was ringing now. This one was strategically placed (by me) on the top of the headboard, and I couldn't reach it without sitting up properly.
"Okay, okay, I'm waking up." I got up and turned off the alarm, glancing momentarily at the time. It was still only a quarter past seven, but there was no way I could sleep now. I put on my slippers and shuffled out of my room.
I'm Sakura, by the way. Sakura Kinomoto. I live all alone in a nice 2 bedroom condo in Manhattan. It gets lonely sometimes, but being in the middle of New York City really helps.
I showered quickly and was ready in less than twenty minutes. I wanted to be early for work this morning, so I could leave faster in the afternoon. I grabbed a strawberry muffin from the bread basket on the kitchen table as I left, swiping the key card in the slot in the door. Our condo building uses a very cool lock system. Basically, all you do is place a little tiny card in the scanner, and the door locks and opens itself. It's really fun to do, because you get to choose your own personalized tone which plays every time the door is unlocked.
But anyway, I picked up the newspaper from outside the door and made my way to the elevator.
'NEW YORK CITY PLACES SECOND ON THE LIST OF THE MOST HIGHLY POLLUTED CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES', the Times proclaimed.
I snorted through a bite of muffin. Well, it's a wonder that it wasn't first. There is so much smog during the summer, it's hard to see the sky. But it's September now, so it doesn't matter a lot.
I walked down the street to the subway station. There was already early morning traffic clogging the streets. I don't bother having a car in the middle of the city because, frankly, it's a waste of money buying gas. There's subways to everywhere in the metropolitan area, so there's no need for your own transportation.
The subway pulled onto the platform, and I boarded and took a seat next to the window. My ride is only five minutes, so I don't really mind wherever I sit.
I work in La Vie en Rose. The name means 'A Sweet Life', which doesn't make sense, but that's what they named it a hundred years ago, and that's what it still is today. It's an entire chain, with one bakery in each major city in the United States. Anyway, it's the top bakery in Manhattan (and all of New York City), and I am very proud to say that I am sous-chef. That basically means that I am second-in-charge when it comes to the cooking. Actually, I guess I am technically the first, because our executive chef, our chef de cuisine, retired two months ago, and no one has replaced him yet. So I'm in total control, practically. And I'm only twenty four years old! Yes, life is good.
I pulled my gaze away from the window as the subway stopped.
It felt good to be out in the fresh air again, though I suppose I shouldn't have worn a just-above-the-knee length skirt without tights. The breeze was slightly chilly, and I hugged my red sweater coat closer. Who knew it could be so cold in September? Luckily for me, the bakery is only a short way from the station. I was at the door within ten minutes, at exactly eight o'clock.
The warm air was scented slightly with the aroma of coffee and cinnamon. I walked into the lounge and took off my sweater, putting on a white chef coat instead.
Lilly, the assistant cook, was already firing up the ovens.
"Good morning, Sakura," she called in a sing-song voice.
"Why are you so happy?" I asked over my shoulder as I fixed my hair into a bun.
"Because it's Friday, silly!" Lilly came out, wiping her hands on her coat. "And, Mr. Rodgers just told me that we're getting a new employee today. Apparently, he's very talented. I just hope he's easy on the eyes!" Lilly giggled as she put out trays of biscuits, muffins, and small cakes in the window display.
Mr. Rodgers is the owner of the shop.
I rolled my eyes. "Lilly, aren't you already dating someone?"
She halted in her movements. "Oh, you're right! I completely forgot about Chris!" She resumed her task. "Oh well. At least we'll still have a hot co-worker."
"Yeah, sure." I started the first cash register. Sometimes, I'm on register duty if I don't have any special orders to work on. Lilly switched the door sign to 'open' and sat next to me on a stool.
"Do you know who's going to be our executive chef, Sakura? You've been getting an awful lot of work lately."
I looked at Lilly. "Well, I'm making a safe guess by saying it might be me. I mean, who else could it be?"
Lilly nodded. "Unless we get a new person. Mr. Rodgers didn't say anything about the new man being in charge, so I suppose it's not him."
The oven timer sounded from inside the kitchens.
"I'll be right back!" Lilly said, hopping off the stool. "I have to put that fresh batch of walnut bread in."
The first customer of the day came in and ordered a hot chocolate and one of our specialty chocolate-chip bagels. I fetched the coffee and put the bagel in a bag.
"That'll be three fifty-seven."
The lady dug a bill out of her pocketbook.
"And six forty three is your change. Have a good day," I smiled at the woman and handed her a handful of coins.
"Yes, thank you, you too." She hurried out of the door.
I shook my head. People were so busy in this city. They put work over priorities like family time. In a short while, the morning crowd of businesspeople started filing in and I didn't have much time to think about anything other than filling in the orders in record time. They were very demanding, these folks in Manhattan. Some took their food and headed to work, while others sat at the tables and ate peacefully.
The last customer in line came up and I couldn't help but grin when I saw who it was. He came here everyday and always bought the same thing. But I still haven't learned his name. For now, he'll just be Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome.
"Let me guess…you'll have a large hazelnut coffee and an orange scone,"
The man smiled. "Yes, thank you…" He bent down to read my name tag. "…Miss Sakura Kinomoto."
"No problem. I'll be right back." I started the coffee machine and set it to hazelnut. While it was brewing, I took an orange scone out of the display and wrapped it up in plastic. The money was on the counter when I came back. I put it in the register, and gave him his bag and his change.
"Thank you for buying. I hope you have a nice day."
He beamed. "Yes, you too, Miss Kinomoto." He started for the door, but I called him back. He turned.
"Oh, wait!" I smiled hesitatingly at him. "May I have your name?"
"Sure. I'm Ryu Akita. You might have heard of me before."
It took a moment for that to sink in. Right as he was stepping outside, realization dawned on me.
"You're the NYPD chief, aren't you?" I hollered.
"I see you have heard of me." He saluted me and left.
I sank onto Lilly's unoccupied stool. Who'd have known that this little bakery would sell to the rich and famous people? Maybe I should start dressing more nicely. I looked down at the collar of my pink Polo Ralph Lauren shirt and the bottom of my black satin Nanette Lepore short skirt. Not that I was dressing badly right now. Although maybe I should ask Mr. Rodgers to remove the white coat from our uniform. It covers the clothes that I work so hard to be able to buy.
That's a good idea. In fact, I should ask him as soon as I see him. He'd do it for me, wouldn't he? I've been working here for almost two years. So I'm a very valuable employee.
The bell on the door tinkled softly as a shivering brunette in a gorgeous black coat came in.
"Hi Bethie!" Bethie is our reserve. She comes in everyday and does whatever needs to be done. Sometimes she cooks, sometimes she's at register, and sometimes she just sits and watches the street outside.
"Hey Sakura." Bethie came in and took off her coat, hanging it in the closet in the employee's lounge. "How's business been?"
"Same as always. But today I found out the name for our Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome."
"Really?" Bethie sat in position in front of the second register. "Who is he?"
"Ryu Akita." I paused, waiting for her reaction.
Bethie furrowed her eyebrows and tapped her chin. "Hmmm…isn't he that person from the newspaper last week? He did something the other day. I think he killed a big mass murderer in a shootout. Got a lot of money and publicity for that, he did."
"Exactly." Well, actually, I didn't know that, but if Bethie says so, then I suppose she's right.
"That's so interesting." Bethie sighed. "I wish I knew him personally."
"You wish you knew who personally?" Lilly came out from the kitchen. Bethie scooted over in her seat and Lilly sat down next to her.
"Our mystery customer. Turns out he's actually Ryu Akita." I chipped in.
Lilly nodded. "I've heard of him. But I didn't expect him to come somewhere like here!"
I shrugged. "Maybe this place really is the best in Manhattan."
Bethie whistled. "Who would have imagined?"
Lilly and I nodded in agreement.
"Don't you think we should remove this stupid white coat from our uniform? It totally messes up my clothes." I voiced my earlier thoughts.
Lilly frowned. "I don't think Mr. Rodgers would let us. It's the only thing that actually shows we work here. Besides, we don't have to wear anything else, do we? I don't think it's such a good idea."
"Same here. I say ditch the whole thing. It's useless, because we know what the answer is already." Bethie was always the sensible one.
I slumped in disappointment. "Yeah, I guess you guys are right."
It was silent for a bit.
I started the conversation again. "Say, Bethie, where did you get your coat? It's fabulous,"
"I know!" Lilly exclaimed. "I've been looking for a black one like that for ages."
Bethie smiled. "I got it just yesterday from Saks. It's a Nicole Farhi original."
I wrinkled my nose thoughtfully. "Let's see…at $40 an hour, I make $320 a day, and $115,200 a year. So, I can spare about $2000 for coats. That means I can buy one really nice one with a matching hat and scarf set, or I can buy two not-really-that-great coats from a moderate brand. OR, I can get-"
"Yeah, Sakura, or you could get yourself a rich boyfriend who'd get you a thousand coats in the blink of an eye!" Lilly cut in.
Bethie giggled. "Don't we all wish for that, Lilly?"
I nodded. "What I would give to have a hot, rich, and yet compassionate boyfriend. But the guys these days are only one of the three."
Lilly laughed. "You two seem to have pretty pathetic love lives recently. Meanwhile, I've got myself a nice enough man. Chris is awesome."
"That's you, Lilly." Bethie said simply.
Lilly started hotly. "Excuse me for-"
She was interrupted by a voice in the kitchen doorway.
"Good morning, Sakura, Lillian, Bethany. I'm so sorry to intrude." Mr. Rodgers addressed us three. I like Mr. Rodgers. He's the best manager in the world. But he was old, to say it plainly. He's the direct grandson of La Vie en Rose's founder, so it's pretty obvious that wouldn't be very young.
Bethie waved her hand loftily. "Oh no, carry on. We weren't doing anything important." That earned her a mega-glare from Lilly.
"I'm sure Lillian has informed you of the new addition to our staff." Mr. Rodgers continued.
I nodded dully. "She told us."
"Well, I'd like to introduce you to Syaoran Li. He'll be part of our team from now on. Syaoran, this is Sakura Kinomoto, Lillian Brown, and Bethany Sanders."
Someone stepped forward. "Hi. As Mr. Rodgers previously said, I'm Syaoran. It's a real great pleasure to meet you all."
At the sound of a deep, rich voice, I spun around at 90 miles per hour. My eyes landed on a tall chestnut-haired man with sparkling amber eyes and a very cocky smile that looked like it was directed right at me.
Maybe it's just me, but I could swear I felt a spark between us.
Next to me, I heard Bethie say in a stage whisper, "I see your wish for a hot co-worker came true, Lilly. He's on fire!"
I scoffed and leaned over to them. "So he's got a pretty face. Doesn't mean anything."
Li grinned even wider. "You know, Miss Kinomoto, I can hear every word you're saying. And I assure you, I am more impressive than I seem. Even though me and my pretty face look very impressive to begin with."
I felt the heat go to my face. "We'll see about that," I muttered under my breath.
Mr. Rodgers was partly deaf (must come with being over 60), so he didn't hear me.
"Yes, Mr. Li here will be sous-chef. Same position as you, Sakura. Hopefully, within a few months, a chef de cuisine will shine through one of you. So work hard, and you might get a promotion!" Mr. Rodgers laughed at his own non-existent joke.
"Ahem." He cleared his throat. "Sakura, why don't you show Syaoran around for the day? Get him used to all the procedures, no?"
I bit back a scream of frustration and hid my aggravation behind a mask of amiability. "Uh, sure, Mr. Rodgers."
He beamed. "Wonderful! If you need me, you know where I'll be." He went back to his office.
Li smiled as well, although his was tainted with arrogance. "Shall we get started, then?"
I grumbled and crossed my arms. "Whatever."
Lilly tapped my shoulder. "You know, Sakura, I could always Syaoran a tour." I could tell she was dying to talk to him alone.
I was going to give her a sharp retort, but Li cut in.
"Oh, that's quite all right. I'm sure Sakura will be happy to show me around." He faced me. "Right, Sakura?"
I nodded. "I'll be honored." Sarcasm dripped from every word I spoke.
Li chuckled and followed me into the kitchen, leaving behind a perplexed Lilly and Bethie.
"Here's the kitchen. Usually we get special orders around twice a day, so I'm pretty much always busy in here after 11 in the morning. Before that, I'm on register duty, and I suppose you will be too. But today's a Friday, so most likely we won't get any orders until Monday."
Li nodded attentively, with his confident smile still plastered on. I cringed inwardly. It was getting to me, especially the way his amber eyes seemed to bore deep into my very being…
I shook my head and broke out of my thoughts.
I headed across the store, walking quickly, my heels clacking loudly against the tiles. "This is the employee lounge. Truthfully, I don't know why we even have this besides as a place to keep our coats. We never get enough time to come here anyway."
"Okay." Li's eyes traveled along the lounge. "Is that all?"
I paused. "I think that's it. You saw the front area with all the tables, and I'm guessing you already know your way around a kitchen. Right?"
Li looked at me disbelievingly. "I didn't train in Paris for four years for nothing!"
I widened my eyes. "Four years? How old are you exactly?"
"Twenty-five. Although that's quite a personal question. You should be happy that I'm not offended or anything." He smirked teasingly.
I ignored the last part and gaped at Li. "You're only a year older than me, but you've done so much? God, how do you manage it all?"
He shrugged. "It's not really a big deal. It all worked out after I got my degree."
"Yeah right. Things in life don't 'just work out'." I leaned against the back of the door while Li plopped onto the armchair.
It was quiet.
"Sakura, are we going to be friends?" Li's mischievous smirk was back.
I evaded the question. "Who said you could call me Sakura, Li?"
He mock-gasped. "Sakura, I thought we had something going!" He put a hand to his heart. "That last comment hit me right there."
I rolled my eyes. "You wish we had something."
He laughed. I had to admit, his laugh was very nice. It was so rich, and deep, and warm…
Snap out of it, Sakura. He's a jerk, and you know it.
"I know that," I said unconsciously out loud.
Li raised his eyebrows. "You know what?"
"Ah, nothing. Never mind."
Li looked at me oddly. "If you say so."
I sighed wistfully as I glanced at my watch. It was only 11 o'clock. There were still five more hours until my day was done.
I walked back into the main area where Bethie was reading the newspaper and Lilly was texting someone using her cell phone.
I walked up behind Lilly and snatched the phone from her hand. She jumped in surprise and fruitlessly tried snatching it back from me. I pushed her arms away.
"I can't have you take this back before I'm done with it." I twirled in a circle and skipped over to Bethie.
"Let's see what Lilly's writing to someone!" I sang. Lilly moaned.
Bethie looked at me interestedly as I read aloud.
"Hi Chris, sweetie. Is our date still on for tonight? I can't wait! The Ritz is one of my favorite places ever!"
I frowned. "That wasn't interesting at all. Let me fix it."
I started typing a completely different message. Lilly, however, came and pulled it away forcefully.
"Sakura, stop messing around." She looked weary.
I slumped next to Bethie on her chair. "I'm so bored, though!"
Bethie pointed to Li through the glass partition. He was examining the kitchen carefully. "Why don't you go see what he's doing?"
I groaned. "No…not him."
Lilly looked up from her cell and watched me quizzically. "What's so bad about him? He hasn't even done anything yet."
I knotted my fingers together. "Well…" I dragged out the word, trying to stall for time. "Um, he's competing for the same position as me."
Lilly shrugged. "Doesn't mean you can't be friends. Or even acquaintances." She pressed 'enter' on her phone with a flourish and set it down.
I breathed out slowly. "Okay, fine, I'll go talk to him."
I was shuffling through the doorway half-heartedly when Mr. Rodgers' voice stopped me.
"Oh, Sakura! Wait a second, will you?"
I turned back around. "Yes, Mr. Rodgers?"
He walked up to me. "I have a favor to ask of you. Do you think you could spare a few hours?"
I smiled brightly. "Of course! What would you like me to do?"
Mr. Rodgers brought out a thick envelope. "See, over the past year, I've been depositing some of our profit into buying stocks in different companies. All the dividends from the stock have been going directly to La Vie en Rose's account in the federal bank. This," and here he waved the envelope, "is a record of every single share in every single company."
I nodded. "Okay, but what am I supposed to do with that?"
Mr. Rodgers continued. "I need you to go down to the NYSE on Wall Street and give this to our stock broker. He'll just look over the front pages briefly, and he'll give it back. As soon as that's done, I need you to go to the post office on 20th Street and mail this to our headquarters in Richmond. Got that?"
I nodded again to show I understood.
I glanced behind Mr. Rodgers' back and saw Lilly pointing frantically to herself and mouthing the words, 'take me too'.
"Uh, Mr. Rodgers?" I started. "The errand's going to take a long time, so maybe I can take someone with me? You know, to keep me company?"
"Sure." Mr. Rodgers replied. And before I could say anything, he gestured to Li in the kitchen. "Why don't you take Li? It'll give you some time to get to know each other better."
"Well, I was kind of thinking about taking Lil-" I got cut off by Mr. Rodgers again.
"Yes, isn't that a wonderful idea, Sakura?" Mr. Rodgers looked very proud of himself for thinking up such a great suggestion. He didn't wait for an answer.
"Li!" He called.
Li walked through the kitchen doors. "Yes, Mr. Rodgers?"
"Li, I'd like you to go with Sakura down to Wall Street to our stock broker and to the post office after that, okay?"
Li fidgeted. "Wouldn't it better if I stayed here and…got used to the setup of the kitchen and all?" So he didn't want to be out with me all alone, huh?
"Nonsense!" Mr. Rodgers waved his hand loftily. "You can do that next week. Besides, as soon as you're done with your job today, you can go home. So the faster you leave, the faster you can relax. So hurry up!"
Mr. Rodgers sauntered back to his office.
I sighed exasperatedly. "Shall we get started then?"
Li shrugged. "Whenever you're ready."
I fetched my coat from the lounge, and did Li a favor by throwing his in his face.
"Gee, thanks, Sakura."
I smiled sarcastically. "Any time!"
I put the manila envelope into my purse carefully and quickly buttoned up my sweater. "Let's go, Li."
I said good bye to Lilly and Bethie, and followed Li outside.
"Which way?" Li asked as we stepped onto the busy streets.
"Let's see…Wall Street is all the way at the southern tip of Manhattan, so I think it'll be best if we take the subway. If we walk, it should take over half and hour."
"If you say so." Li grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me through the crowds. I ran a couple of steps and caught up to him with a little difficulty.
"What are you doing?" I sputtered indignantly, looking pointedly at where he was holding tightly onto my hand.
"I'm making sure you don't get lost! Little girls need to be watched at all times." Li chided, pressing his hand on mine with even more force.
I scowled at him and tried to pull away, but his grip was like iron. So I loosened my arm and let him drag me along. Admittedly, people sent us odd looks as we passed, but I didn't quite mind.
Five minutes later, we were on the subway, on our way down to the NYSE. Li had let go of me and was now looking intently out the window into the blackness of the underground tunnel.
I tapped my foot impatiently. He looked so calm and at rest, it was annoying. I wanted to finish this job early and get back to my flat. It's a Friday, for hell's sake!
Out of pure boredom, I took out my cell phone and flipped it open.
"You have missed one call," the screen flashed.
With a short beep, the message began to play. I laughed inwardly as I realized it was Lilly, talking in a rush about how I was doing with Li, and how she would pay a fortune to be in my shoes right now. I deleted the message without a second thought and opened up my address book to see who I could possibly bother right now.
But before I even had a chance to read the first name, Li spoke up cheerily. He hopped into the vacant seat next to me and took something out of his pocket.
"Look!" He grinned. "We have the same phone! We're matching!" I rolled my eyes at his immaturity. But, lo and behold, he had an identical Nokia flip phone.
"Yeah, but see, mine is pink, Li. And yours is black. So they're not exactly the same. Or have you gone color blind?"
Li paid no attention to my comment. "Except mine is much nicer, Sakura." He sounded like a little boy boasting about his new toy.
I clicked my tongue. What did I do to deserve this? The two of us sat in silence for all of two minutes.
And then his cell rang.
I looked at the phone sitting in his palm, but that wasn't where the sound was coming from.
Okay, confusing.
"Shit. Which one is it?" Li shoved his phone into my hands and began emptying his coat pockets, putting everything into my lap. Out came a very nice-looking, expensive leather wallet, a key ring with about ten keys strung on it, a pager, a Blackberry, and finally another cell phone. This one was a silver slider phone.
I fumbled with all the items and managed to dump on another empty seat.
Li received the call and started talking professionally.
"Hello. Li Syaoran here."
I could only hear one side of the conversation, but it amused me to no end. It went along the lines of this:
"Oh hello Mother."
"No I'm not doing anything important."
"No, I don't want to go on a date with her tonight."
"I don't care if she comes from a great family!"
"So what? I'm still under thirty. Lots of people don't marry until they're ancient."
"Okay, so you and Father got married when you were twenty two, big deal."
"MOTHER! I am perfectly capable of finding myself someone nice. So stop calling me every week with some other stupid fake girl ready to go out with me."
In a huff, Li slid the phone shut and cursed under his breath. I tried to retain a giggle, but failed miserably.
"What?" Li snapped irritably.
"Your mom is trying to hook you up?" I broke into a laughing fit. "And she's bugging you to get married? Geez, she's pushy!"
Li's face softened a little as he raked his hand through his already-messy hair. "That's her all right."
I reached over and handed Li all his miscellaneous things.
"Thanks," he said as he put them back.
"Why do you have all that technology on you, anyway?" I asked.
"My sister runs our company for me out in Japan. But she doesn't know anything about business, so she's always after me, calling and texting and paging me with questions."
Li sighed deeply. "Maybe it should be better if I just moved back and ran it myself." He shrugged. "Though I never liked that stuff anyway."
I rested my head on my hands. "That's really interesting." I stopped to mull over the new information.
"Wait. Could your sister possibly be the CEO of Li Corp in Japan? FeiMei Li?"
Li looked at me sideways. "How'd you guess?"
I almost fell off the seat in surprise. "She is? God, she's all over the news all the time? How could you not want to have her position?"
He shrugged again. "It never really was my thing. I like cooking so much better. That's why I went to train in Paris."
I nodded slowly and examined Li from the corner of my eye. I ran up a mental list of pros and cons about him.
Pros: He's gorgeous. He's funny. He's handsome. He's good at his job (he'll help me with work). He's attractive. He's nice when he wants to be. He's absolutely stunning.
Cons: He usually doesn't want to be nice. He's good at his job (he might take the position of chef de cuisine).
So the pros outnumbered the cons. Maybe he's not so bad after all.
The subway stopped at the last station, and Li and I headed out to the NYSE.
Li turned around to smirk confidently at me. "All right back there, Sakura?"
Or maybe he is.
I gnashed my teeth angrily.
Life has just gotten so much more complicated.
- -
I know where I stand
I know who I am
I would never run away when life gets bad
It's everything I see
Every part of me
Gonna get what I deserve
I got nerve
- -
There you go! 13 pages! Tell me what you think. And the song is I Got Nerve by Miley Cyrus. It's the theme song for this story. You'll see it every chapter, so get used to it.
Love from
Audrey