Chapter 1
"Hi." I beamed.
I opened the door to the locker room like I always did. I worked as a massage therapist in the Tres Of Spades Hotel in the hotel spa. The hotel belonged to the Ichinomiya group, which was a large company that owned banks and trading companies in Japan and many other companies overseas.
"Morning Freya!" Sakiko beamed.
Sakiko was one of my colleagues at the hotel.
"The V.I.P convention starts today, I'm so pumped!" She said
"I bet you'll be busy since you work on the Casino floor. I work in the spa so I doubt my day would be any different. I wish I could attend one of the parties at the conventions. It would be so cool." I said.
"Me to! It would be full of movie stars, top athletes. Super famous people from all over the world. What if some rich, famous guys falls in love with me a first fight?!" She giggled.
I laughed "Ha! Yeah right, keep dreaming though it would be nice to find a nice rich guy."
The I.V.C, the international V.I.P convention, was the Tres Of Spades largest event. It was busier and even more tense than usual around here.
"Can you please do my hair?" I asked and sat down on the bench that went through the middle of the room.
"Sure." Sakiko said.
She moved around behind me and pulled my long blonde hair up into a bun.
"I love doing your hair, it's so long and pretty. You're lucky." She said as she ran her fingers through it.
I laughed "That's why I get you to do it all the time. Do I look alright?" I asked.
She tied my hair up and I heard her move away.
"Fine, as always." She answered.
"Thanks." I said and smiled.
I slipped on my sunglasses and pushed my locker shut. Leaning against the lockers was my white cane, I picked it up, turned around and made my way towards the door and left for the hotel lobby. I had been working in the hotel for over a year, so I knew my way around pretty well. There were 12 steps from the locker room to the hallway, I would then turn left and it was a further 20 steps to the lobby.
From the age of 10, I started losing my sight till all I could see was a blurry world. When I opened my eyes all I could see was blurry grey and black shapes and streaks of light. I could just about make out big objects in front of me but that was about it, my eyes were also very sensitive too light and I had to wear sunglasses most of the time.
As we entered the lobby, I could hear a gathering of voices and sound of footsteps. There was obviously some kind of commotion. I pushed down my sun glasses, I could make out many people gathering in the lobby.
"What's going on?" I asked Sakiko.
"There are a load of reporters in the lobby." She answered. "There's a limo outside."
People started to appear one after another, entering the hotel from outside.
"Oh my god Freya! That guy they call the King just got out of the limo."
So all these people were here to gush over celebrities? Did they not have anything better to do?
A tall person surrounded by people walked into the lobby, from the noise the people were making I guessed that they were women. They were all squealing and chattering. What this person the king Sakiko just mentioned?
"He's got girls with him, model Kiko and Ryoko Shinozuka the actress." Sakiko whispered. "He's been living in the penthouse suite for a while now."
"Really?" I asked.
It cost tens of thousands of dollars to stay for just one night.
I couldn't help but wonder what he did for a living to be able to afford that much. Maybe an actor?
"Kyaah! Eisuke is here!" A woman squealed.
The crowd was stopping me from getting the elevator, I could hear all of the woman squealing over this guy.
Ugh! How pathetic, he couldn't be that good looking.
The sudden sound of running footsteps alerted me, before I could react the crowd ran into me pushing me forwards. I was thrown forwards and hit someone.
"Sorry." I apologised.
I was just about to fall when someone caught me, I could feel their big hands around me. They were practically hugging me. They smelt of disgusting rich persons perfume. But who had caught me?
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" One of the groupies shouted.
"How dare you touch Eisuke!" Another.
So, the King had caught me.
"Get out of the way." He said coldly.
He pulled away and I fell to the ground.
"Hey!" I shouted angrily.
What an asshole!
He sneered before walking away, taking the crowd with him.
I stood up and brushed myself off and left the crowd, I forced my way through making sure I shoved and pushed people out of my way.
"Move!" I shouted.
"Are you ok Freya?" Sakiko asked as she came running over.
"Fine, what was that guys problem?"
"The king caught you in his arms! I'm soo jealous! Did he smell good?" She asked.
"Hm.. Yeah he's my savior." I said sarcastically. "He wore some kind of nasty rich persons perfume or whatever it is that guys wear."
I just couldn't believe that he just dropped me onto the floor, like that. It was so rude!
"Guys wear cologne silly!" She laughed and playfully shoved me in the arm.
I shrugged uninterested "Whatever, anyway, I got to go. I'll see you later." I waved and headed towards the elevator. I took it to the 7th floor where the spa was.
"Hey Freya, you're first client is here." The receptionist said as I entered the spa's reception area.
The moment I opened the door, I was greeted by bright lights and the amazing smell of incense. Lavender if I wasn't mistaken.
I inhaled deeply at the sweet scent and couldn't help but smile.
"Thanks."
I took 6 steps forwards, turned to my right, took another two steps and reached out for the door. This was my treatment room, on the front of the door was braille writing telling me that this was my room and a sign hung on top of the door with my name written on it. I went in and inside was a naked man lying on a massage bed covered with a towel.
"Hi, I'm Freya I'll be giving you a massage today. And your name is?" I asked as I closed the door.
I instantly froze and silently sighed.
I recognised the greasy smell of BO and shame. It was one of my regulars. I could never remember his name but he came here almost every week for a massage from me. He was a fat, sleazy man with slimy, sweaty skin. He always tried to mask his vile smell with guy perfume but unfortunately for him, it wasn't enough.
I shuddered at the thought of touching him, I was going to be stuck here for an hour with him.
"Hello Freya!" He beamed.
I put on my best smile and approached the bed, I placed my white cane against the wall behind me.
"Hello Sir, same as always I assume?" I asked and moved the towel down and started to rub his back.
My fingers moved over the many folds of his slimy skin.
He then turned over in the bed so he was led on his back,
"You could always come to my room and give some of your special treatments? I'll make sure to tip you for the extra work." He said.
He always flirted with me, he was so disgusting. You'd think he would have gotten the hint the first million times I told him to go do one.
Taking no notice, I grabbed his shoulders and forced him back onto his front and continued.
"Come on Freya, my net worth is $500 million." He continued and tried to sit up, but I pushed him down.
"No, stay on your front. I don't offer those kind of services, as you well know. So, if you do not behave I will have you removed." I said firmly.
"You're no fun today but I will make you mine, soon enough." He said.
It took all of my strength to hold back a laugh. I'd like to see him try and make me his. Pigs would fly first! His skin was so greasy; I didn't even need oil to give him a massage. All I could think about was washing my hands, thoroughly once he had left.
1 hour later, he left. I was stood by the sink in my room scrubbing my hands. He was so gross, how could someone live like that? Didn't he realise how disgusting he was? I shuddered at thought of him. After I dried off my hands, I moved along the counter to the left to my computer which had a braille keyboard. I pressed a few of the keys and the computer read aloud;
"Next appointment at 11:30am."
I had a good hour till my next appointment and I needed to top up my supplies anyway. I went through my room, everything had a specific place, I could move around the room without my cane. I needed more towels, more oil and some more scented candles. I took my cane and left the room and made my way to the basement storage room. I walked down a long empty hallway when I could hear people talking in Chinese.
I couldn't speak fluent Chinese but I understood it pretty well. I stopped walking when I heard the word "gun".
Why did they have guns?
Before I could do anything, someone roughly grabbed my arm. They pulled me forwards, spun me around and forced me up against a wall.
"What are you doing here?" They demanded. They spoke in Japanese.
It was a man, he had a deep voice and his grip felt like a vice. I had two choices, try to fight back or beg him to let me go.
"Please, I was just going to the storage room. And I'm blind so I didn't see anything and I can't speak Chinese." I said frantically.
Hopefully he would just let me go, usually if I played the blind card people would just leave me alone and assume I was helpless and harmless.
He instantly released his grip and stepped away from me.
"You've got five seconds to disappear and forget what happened here, otherwise you'll be wiped off the face of this earth."
I nodded and quickly walked away.
Oh my god that was close! I didn't know what I was going to do if he hadn't let me go. But what was he up to? I heard several other voices in that room and I definitely heard the word gun. Plus, he wouldn't have attacked me if he hadn't been up to something.
Should I tell my boss about it? Probably not, he seemed dangerous. If I said anything, something could happen to me.
I finally reached the storage room, all of my stuff was kept at the front of the room in the right hand corner. The boxes also had braille writing on the front, so I could read what was in them.
I heard two people enter the room behind me, they were talking to themselves and it sounded like were moving something.
I picked up two boxes and turned a corner, when I ran into something and fell backwards onto the ground. I dropped my own boxes but then heard something else fall and break, that was followed by several other people's voices.
"Ahh! The statue of Venus is broken!" One shouted.
Huh? What? Did I do that?
"I'm really sorry, it was an accident." I said and stood up.
"Hey, this is a very important piece that was going to be auctioned off! How are you going to pay for this?!" Another shouted angrily.
"Hey! I said I was sorry, you don't need to get angry at me!" I snapped back.
"You think an apology is gonna cut it? You owe us." Another said.
One of them then roughly grabbed hold of my wrist.
"Let go of me!" I shouted and tried to pull free but they were too strong.
A few hours later, I was put up for auction in place of the Venus statue.
I had no idea where I was. I could hear enthusiastic chatter all around me, cold chains were wrapped around my wrists pinning me to the floor. I tried to stand and move but I could only get up to my knees before the chains stopped me. I could feel the heat of a bright light against my face, it made my eyes burn so I had to close them and turn away. One of those men took my sunglasses from me!
I must be in some kind of cage? By who were the people around me?
"Hey! Let me go! Please!" I begged, shouting out to anyone who was around me.
"And now for the last item up for bid, our grand finale! A young, healthy English woman!" The auctioneer announced. "Keep her as your slave, keep her as a toy.. Do whatever you please with her. It's truly up to you! And now, we'll start the bidding. I have $500,000 from #5. $1 million from #30. $1.2 million from #24!"
What?! I couldn't believe this; I was being sold as a slave!
"No! Please! Someone help me! Please!" I continued to shout but no one seemed to be listening and the auction continued.
"#5 for $2 million! Going once..."
Someone was willing to buy me for $2 million?
"You'll soon be mine." A voice shouted out from a crowd.
I knew that voice, it was that sleazy man that always came to me for a massage.
Oh no! Not him! Anyone but him!
"$2 million, going twice!"
"No! Let me out of here you bastards! I'm here against my will! I've been kidnapped!" I shouted.
"If there are no other bids, it will be sold to the man in seat number 5..."
What else could I do?
The auction hall then suddenly buzzed with commotion.
"Seat number 100 with a bid of $20 million!" The auctioneer said.
$20 million?!
"Are there any more bids?!"
A bell sounded, calling the auction to a close.
"Sold to the man sat in seat #100 for $20 million."
I was speechless, someone had bought me for $20 million dollars?! This was crazy but at least it wasn't that sleazy man. But what was going to happen to me now?
As I sat there, I heard what sounded like a door opening before people approached me. The chains were removed and then someone grabbed my arm and pulled me along.
"Get off me!" I shouted and pulled my arm free.
The bright lights still made it impossible for me to see anything, I didn't even have my cane. I rubbed my sore wrists when two more people approached me.
"This way." One said.
"Pardon?" I said.
I didn't recognise the voice, I assumed they probably motioned for me to do something like normal people did.
"Oh she's blind." A second one said sounding shocked.
One of them then reached out and took hold of my hand.
"This way." The first one repeated and pulled me along.
Who were these people? Were they the ones who bought me?
I was unsure of what to do, I had two choices; try to run and probably end up getting caught or go with them and cooperate for now. I decided to cooperate and allowed the man to pull me along.
We seemed to walk for ages, I lost track to where they were taking me. We went up several flights of stairs and then into an elevator. We were going somewhere high, I guessed they were probably taking me to the VIP suite maybe? Or the Penthouse? Only managers were allowed up here, so I had never been up here before.
"Where are we going?" I asked the men.
"The penthouse." The second one answered.
I heard the sound of doors being pushed open and we finally stopped walking.
"We've brought her." The second man said.
The first man let me go and I was left on my own, I heard them walk away from me.
"Where am I? Why have you brought me here?" I asked.
I wasn't sure how many people were in the room with me. I could smell at least three different types of perfume. I could make out four blurry figures that could be people, but there was a lot of big furniture in the room so it was hard to tell how many people were here.
"We bought you." One said.
I instantly knew who that was, it was the "king" Eisuke. He had a cold, emotionless tone of voice.
"So we ended up catching you after all." Another said.
That was the man who attacked me in the corridor a couple of hours ago. Compared to Eisuke, his voice was cool and collected but had a hint of darkness to it.
"You know this woman Soryu?" Eisuke asked.
"You could say that." Soryu answered.
"No wait, you need to explain what's going on here." I said firmly.
"We won you at the auction." The second man who brought me here said.
"For $20 mil, the boss must've gotten dragged into it to." The first one said.
"Who are you people? And what do you mean you won me in an auction? I'm a human being! I'm not an object to be sold off and besides, I was kidnapped and sold off against my will."
"Forgive me, I'm Baba. Anything and everything's for sale at the auction." The first man said.
He sounded quite gentle and kind, he didn't sound as scary as Eisuke and Soryu.
"I'm Ota. You can buy stolen art, secrete information about politicians. Even hire a hitman."
He spoke with an up-beat happy tone.
These two sounded completely different to Eisuke and Soryu. I didn't know what to make of any of them.
"If there's someone out there to buy it, you can sell it. There are no rules. This is actually the first time a person's ever been auctioned off, though." Baba said.
"You must have done something pretty bad, huh?" Ota asked.
"There is no way this is legal in anyway. Who would approv-"
"I did." Eisuke interrupted me. "If it's worth anything, it's here."
"You're reckless as always, this woman isn't worth anything." Soryu said.
"But won't it be fun thinking up ways to use her?" Eisuke said.
I crossed my arms and did my best to glare at them. I could make out the outline of their bodies and guessed where their heads were.
"Hm! No one will be using me, so I suggest you just let me go."
"Who gave you permission to speak? Don't open your mouth unless I say so." Eisuke said coldly.
"If you've got a problem with it, would you rather go back to #5?" Soryu asked.
I could tell by his tone voice that he was probably smiling at me, they were trying to intimidate me. I didn't know what to do, I was in an impossible situation. These men were clearly dangerous, if I didn't cooperate what would they do to me? Kill me?
"C'mon now Boss, Soryu… You should be nice to girls. Plus we need to figure out who gets to keep her." Baba said.
"Yeah, I'm pretty fond of her already." Ota said.
"Who gets to keep me? What am I, a pet?" I asked angrily.
"I'm the only good guy here, so you can rest easy with me." Baba said.
"Says the world-famous thief. But you would say that, eh?" Eisuke said.
"You're just trying to lower Baba's stock. Eisuke, you've got tons of groupies. Just play with one of them." Ota said.
"Soryu's the one who could have his pick. I'm sure there are lot of women who'd do anything to be the lover of the Hong Kong mobster." Eisuke said chuckling.
"Hong Kong mobster?!" I gasped.
Well at least that explained the guns.
"I don't care who you people are, human trafficking is illegal so just let me go and I won't report this to the police." I said.
"Soryu, you see a cop anywhere?" Eisuke asked.
"Yeah, right over there." Soryu said.
"Damn it, don't just blow my cover like that!" Another man said with a dry, husky voice. It sounded like he smoked a lot or maybe his voice was always like that?
"Better now than later. Right, Mr Detective?" Ota said.
"Grow up, Kisaki." The detective said.
"There you go again, always acting like you're the only adult here." Ota said.
I turned to where the other voice came from "You're a detective?"
"Yeah well.."
So the police were in on this to?!
"Doesn't look like we're going to reach a decision any time soon." Ota said.
"Well Boss, at times like these.." Baba said.
"Right, I don't want to waste any more time on this." Eisuke said.
I heard the men move closer to me, I instinctively took a step back.
"Make a decision. I'll let you choose who buys you." Eisuke said.
"How generous of you." I sneered.
I didn't want to be bought by anyone, how could they expect me to make a decision like that?
I needed to be smart about this, these men were criminals and clearly dangerous. I just needed to be sensible till I could get myself out of this. So I just needed to pick someone that I'd be safest with. Maybe Baba or Ota?
"Time's up." Eisuke said.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, I felt him pick me up and he threw him over his shoulder.
"Hey! What are you doing?! Put me down!" I shouted and started to struggle.
"Shut up!" He hissed.
He started to walk, I felt him move up move up, which meant they were getting higher off the ground. Maybe he was walking up a set of stairs? If I continued to struggled and he dropped me, I'd fall and probably be badly injured so I stopped struggling.
"You're so impatient Eisuke." Ota said.
"As usual, the boss steals the goods for himself." Baba said.
"I think he might have a thing for her." Ota said.
"Do you play with a toy until it breaks?" Eisuke asked.
"If it's a toy I like, I take good care of it." Ota replied.
"This is the same thing."
"Boss, the lady isn't a doll, you know. You shouldn't break her." Baba said.
"I bought her, I can decide whether or not I break her." Eisuke said with a throaty chuckle.
"I'm not a toy!" I shouted.
"Did you forget what I just said? Don't speak without my permission." Eisuke said in a low voice.
"You can't tell me what to do! I can do whatever I want." I sneered back.
He continued walking.
"Tch. Oh well. Once Eisuke's made his mind up, he doesn't budge." Soryu said with a sigh.
The stairs seemed to last forever, I heard Eisuke then kick a door open with his foot. I heard it whoosh as it swung open. Then, he threw me onto the bed as if I was just a toy. I landed on my back and bounced.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I shouted as I sat up.
I could tell I was in one of the V.I.P rooms, it smelt of the expensive cleaning detergent that the hotel used.
"I'll tell you the rules for being with me. Do not talk back to me, you may answer my questions with either 'yes' or 'okay'. Those two words are the only things you are allowed to say without permission."
Was he serious? How dare he talk to me like that!
I felt the mattress move as if something heavy was placed next to me. A pair of thin, slender fingers then grabbed my chin and pulled me forwards. What was he doing?! His fingers were as cold as ice.
I could smell his perfume; I could feel his warm breath on my face. What was he going to do to me? I clenched my hands into fists, ready in case he tried something.
"I bought you, got it? So I can do whatever I want with you. Now, undress." He said in a cruel emotionless tone. "If you understand, then undress."
"No." I said firmly and glared up at him. I could make out the outline of his face and did my best to meet his eyes.
"And let me tell you something, when I ask you to do something I expect it to be done in five seconds."
He reached towards me, grabbed my collar and pulled on it roughly. I heard the buttons on my blouse popped open, exposing my chest.
"Hey! Let me go you dick!" I shouted and hit his hands away, I then quickly did my blouse back up.
I expected him to grab me again but he didn't, I heard him step back and sigh. I looked up and saw that he had moved back far away from me.
"I'll think of a good use for you." He said before I heard him leave the room.
I sighed and felt my heart pound, what the hell was that? He grabbed me and opened my blouse, he was bound to have gotten a look at my breasts. Did he have a breast fetish? He clearly wasn't interested in me that way otherwise he would have tried something plus he hadn't hurt me yet either. This situation was weird. I felt so confused.
I moved to the edge of the bed, unsure of what to do now. Did I stay here? I didn't hear him lock the door so I was obviously free to leave and walked around. I needed to get my glasses and my cane from my apartment, the bright lights were hurting my eyes and giving me a throbbing headache.
I heard the door open and two steps of footsteps walked in. One set was bouncy as if they were skipping whilst the other was slow and casual.
"Hey." Someone said. It was Baba.
"Hi. What do you want?" I asked.
"You're shirts all messy. Eisuke already have this way with you?" Ota asked.
"That's moving too fast, in more ways than one." Baba said.
"What do you guys want?" I asked again.
Were they here just to talk to me or annoy me? Or maybe Eisuke had given them permission to do something to me?
"First thing's first, what your name?" Baba asked.
"Freya Wells."
"Freya, huh? Cute name." Baba said and chuckled softly.
"You still haven't told me why you guys are here." I said annoyed.
"The Boss asked us to show you around." Baba said.
"Pretty irresponsible to not take care of his own things, right? Like an owner who doesn't take proper care of his pet." Ota said.
"Ok first things first, I am not his pet." I said.
"You work at this hotel right?" Baba asked.
"Yes, I work in the spa."
"But aren't you blind?" Ota asked.
"And? Point being?" I asked sharply. "So just because I'm blind I can't work?"
Baba giggled "She looks almost as scary as Boss."
"What do you do at the spa?" Ota asked.
"I give massages, you don't need to see to be able to give massages."
"I see, so while you were working, you somehow got lost and ended up at the auction?" Ota asked.
"I was getting things from the storage room when I bumped into the Venus Statue and broke it. The guys who were carrying it brought me to the auction to pay for it." I explained.
"Oh I get it. All I can say about that is that you have some bad luck. But now you've met five stunning princes. All's well that end's well." Baba said. "Right?"
"Ha! When I see any princes I'll let you know."
"Haha! Eisuke's more like a dictator than a prince. But what do you think of him?" Ota asked.
I shrugged "A jerk, cold, mean, controlling, a dick, cold hearted. The list goes on." I answered.
Baba and Ota both laughed.
"That's basically how he treats women." Ota said.
"And yet women still love him. Life just isn't fair, is it?" Baba asked.
If women liked him, they clearly had poor standards.
"Just so you know, you're not allowed to say a word about that auction to anyone. I'd be sad if a pretty girl like you got wiped off the face of the earth." Baba said.
"Whatever." I said and sighed.
I wasn't stupid, I kind of gathered I wasn't allowed to say anything about this.
"But as long as you understand that, and as long as you don't disobey Eisuke, I'm sure you'll survive just fine. Come on, we'll show you around." Ota said.
He sounded so happy and cheerful, it was such a contradiction between his words and his manner.
I still wasn't sure what I was going to do, I was a prisoner here basically. It may be a fancy cage but still a cage.
I didn't have my cane with me so I held out my hand. Baba took it and slipped it around his arm and they lead the way.
I counted the steps to each room and made a mental note of them, as well as any certain smells, sounds associated to the room or if the door felt odd or different in some way.
They first took me to Eisuke's living room, then the bathroom followed by the doors that led to Eisuke's office and bedroom.
"Do you guys live in the penthouse to?" I asked.
"Yep. This is the 52nd floor. And our suites are on the executive floor, the 51st. If you're interested, you can drop by my room anytime." Baba said.
"Thanks but I think I'll pass." I said ignoring his pathetic flirting.
"That's a shame. We'll show you the penthouse downstairs." He said.
We walked down a long staircase to the penthouse lounge. I tightly gripped the banister and cautiously placed my feet down onto the steps, I hated stairs. I always fell down them if I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing or where I was going.
The lounge had bright light that hurt my eyes and stank of alcohol and cigarette smoke. Though I shouldn't be surprised, men lived here after all. They probably did most of their drinking here.
"The lounge is a space that all five of us use." Baba explained.
"If we're not in our rooms, we're most likely in here." Ota said.
They then returned me to bedroom. They showed me the bathroom and where the towels and bathrobes were. Baba and Ota then left, leaving me alone. I decided to have a proper look around myself. I held out my hands as I made my way through the room. I started at the door and walked around the room to the right, I kept one hand on the wall and the other in front of me. Without my cane, I did walk into a few a things and cursed loudly but it was fine. I was use to it.
I found a wardrobe, two chest of draws, a desk and two single beds. On one side of the beds was a window and on the other was the entrance to the bathroom which smelt of bleach. The room seemed quite easy to navigate around.
I sighed and threw myself onto the bed. Tomorrow was another day. I told myself, it couldn't get much worse than this.
The next morning, I felt the sunlight from the window warm my face. I sat up and pressed a button on the watch on my wrist.
"The time is 0800am." It announced.
I was still wearing my work clothes. I got up and left the bedroom and made my way down the hallway. To get to the living room, I turned left down the hallway. I ran my right hand along the wall and counted 16 steps till I reached a wooden door frame. I was greeted by the smell of coffee and Eisuke's perfume as I entered the room.
I could hear tapping of a laptop and Eisuke soft breathing. He must be working.
I stayed in the doorway, I didn't want to go near him.
"Morning." I said.
"For the time being, you'll be going to work from here." He said.
"What? No I can't. There are things that I need in my apartment like my glasses and my cane."
"Did you forget what I told you last night? There won't be a second chance." He warned.
I wasn't scared of him, if he wanted to hurt me he would have done it already last night.
I sneered at him and folded my arms "There are things I need from my apartment. Without them, I can't go to work. I'll happily go to work from here but I need things from my apartment first."
He was silent for a moment "Fine, Baba will accompany you to your apartment but you will stay here for the time being. You will also go about your job as usual until I think of a good use for you."
"Whatever." I sighed.
I leaned back on to the door frame, my stomach growled. I wondered if he had breakfast yet? I couldn't smell any food so I assumed he hadn't.
I heard Baba's light footsteps behind me and I could smell his perfume "Hey Baba." I said before he even got close.
"what- Hey! How did you do that?" He asked sounding shocked.
I giggled "Magic. Now can you please take me to my apartment?" I asked and held out my hand.
"Of course, M'lady." He said and just like before, slipped my hand around his arm.
We left the penthouse and went to my apartment.
I never had the lights on but since Baba was here, out of politeness I reached for the switch on the wall to the right to the door and turned them on.
"Nice apartment." He said as he walked in.
I know I had only been away for a day but I had missed my apartment so much! I knew where everything was to the point where I didn't even need my cane. My lavender candle had finished burning as my apartment didn't smell of lavender anymore.
"Thanks." I said to Baba.
I walked forwards. Took three steps and then turned to my right where my wardrobe was. I opened the door, my wardrobe had a big hanging space plus six shelves down the side and one big shelf on the bottom.
I grabbed a bag from the bottom shelf and went through my clothes. The top shelf was all work clothes. I took a couple of uniforms and put them in the bag. As for my own clothes, the next shelf was jeans and leggings. The third were tops. All of my clothes as braille on the tags so I could match colours and outfits. Sakiko always helped me choose outfits and clothes whenever we went shopping. I grabbed some shoes from the bottom shelf, I only ever wore trainers when I went outside. Most of the time I preferred to wear not shoes at all. It made it easier to navigate.
Next, I went to the bathroom and got my toothbrush and finally finished in the living room which was also my bedroom. My bed was pushed up against a wall that acted like a sofa and faced my tv. I got my white cane and my spare sunglasses from a bedside table next to my bed, a couple of braille books from the shelves over the wall and my ipod.
I gave Baba the bag, he left and took my stuff back up the penthouse. I first made myself breakfast, I always had toast and cereal for breakfast. I got changed into a new work uniform and headed to the hotel locker room.
"Freya, did you go home early yesterday?" Sakiko asked. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I was just a little tired. I had a stressful day." I said and did my best to smile. "But I feel better now."
"Good I'm glad." She said with a smile. "What have you done to your hair? Come here."
She sat me down on the bench and started to brush my hair.
"You're totally in the wrong profession. You'd be great at giving head massages." I said and sighed contently as she ran her fingers through my hair.
After she had brushed my hair and pulled it back into a plat, we attended the normal morning staff meeting, where Mr Kenzaki, the general manager, gave us our daily instructions.
"We have many international guests staying with us due to the I.V.C. Those of you who work at the front desk, please pay special attention to their needs and assist them with tourist information and currency exchanges." He said.
"Yes sir." The staff all said.
"Clerks, remember your smile is the first thing our guests see. Treat them as you would wish to be treated." He continued.
"Yes sir." The clerks said.
"While the I.V.C is going on, I'd like the cleaning staff to place flower arrangements in both the V.I.P and general guest rooms. After a long day of enjoying our hotels wonderful amenities such as the pool, casino, bars, restaurants, museums, theaters and spa, the last place they return to is their private rooms. And we want to make sure it's a place where they can relax."
"Yes sir." The maids said.
He continued, going through every department.
I couldn't stop thinking of what was going to happen to me once Eisuke found a use for me. But what could I possible do for him?
No! I needed to stay focused, I couldn't bring my personal life into work. I tried my best not to think of Eisuke and tried to focus on the meeting.
After the meeting, I headed to the spa and started my day like I normally did. I saw client after client and went on my first tea break at 10:15am. I went to the staff canteen and sat on my own and happily sipped my tea.
I loved sitting in the staff canteen, I liked people listening. It was the same as people watching but instead I would ear wig on people's strange conversations.
There was a man sat behind me trying to rearrange his dentist appointment.
"Hey Freya."
I instantly smiled at the voice, it was Mr Kuroba.
He was the hotels concierge, his full name was Takahiro Kuroba. He was a really nice guy, he was very popular with the female staff. He gave everyone a lot of individual attention, especially to me when I first started here. And according to Sakiko, he was quite good looking as well.
"Hey, please have a seat." I said.
I heard the chair legs scrape along the floor as he moved the chair and sat down.
"I heard you left work early yesterday, are you feeling better?" He asked.
"Much better thanks, how are you?" I asked.
"Fine. I was wondering, are you free-"
"Oh there you are!" Ota said loudly interrupting him.
I froze and sighed, I instantly recongised the footsteps and the perfume. Baba and Ota.
Takahiro gasped when the approached us.
"It's some of the V.I.P guests." He said.
I tightly gripped my tea, I wanted nothing more than to throw my drink over them, they couldn't just leave me alone at work for a few hours peace? My hands shook in rage but I managed to keep my face straight and forced a smile.
"Hey Baba, hey Ota." I said.
"You know them?" Takahiro asked sounding shocked.
"Well-"
"We have something to talk to you about. Will you come with us?" Baba asked.
Did I have a choice?
"Fine." I agreed. "Sorry Takahiro. I'll see you later."
I downed my tea, pulled out my white cane and left the canteen with them.
"We're going to the penthouse I assume?" I asked as I followed them.
"Yes. This way." Ota said
Ota took hold of my hand and pulled me along.
We got into the elevator and stood in silence, what could they possibly want from me? Well at least they didn't interrupt me when I was with a client.