"How the mighty have been embarrassed! Shocking news…"
"… the turning point for the heiress finally came!"
"Long overdue tax is one bad portfolio in the shareholders meeting for the young heir of The Empire, Natsume Hyuuga."
The sound of the television fell on deaf ears after flipping every national and international channel. Ha! Even CNN wanted to report his embarrassing feat. He felt like an idiot, like the dumbest person on earth. He finished his bachelor's degree of business management at Tokyo University and his master's at Berkeley U and graduated with honors with a near-perfect GPA. Nevertheless, he never figured it out. It turned out all that degree only made him arrogant.
Natsume gritted his teeth. He knew the culprit. It was none other than Mikan Yukihira, his second cousin, The Empire's young heiress, ultimately, his rival. He knew the secretary who sabotaged his paperwork was linked to Mikan. However, it wasn't the right time to blame anyone without proof and further embarrassing himself.Endure and stay low and wait for the perfect time.
The door opened, revealing a middle aged man, his buttler. "Natsume-san, it's time,"
Natsume let out a breath, walking slowly through the door to the awaiting press conference.
"The mighty Natsume Hyuuga, finally brought down to his knees, eh?" a woman said gleefully, followed by a bark of laughter.
"Never thought to see this day come. Such brilliance, Mikan-sama! Brilliant!"
Between the two conversing people, Mikan Yukihira frowned.Those sycophants,she thought darkly. She really wanted to marvel this moment, her moment of utter brilliance.
After years of plotting and planning, she had found a flaw, a crack in her cousin's working system on one of The Empire Group subsidiary company. It was a pivotal point for her. Finally a chance to prove of her worth after being oppressed for a long time. She was the one who planted the mole, spying Natsume Hyuuga's maneuver and finding out his mountain of overdue tax. Her only action after discovering it was to blow it up to the whole media. It garnered him a number of haters, shareholders and investors who liquidated their assets, unwilling to taste the loss of profit. A perfect proof to show that Natsume Hyuuga was an unfitting candidate to be the head of Empire Group.
She smirked as the camera pointed the business-looking heir,or former heir.
Natsume really wanted to shield his eyes as the blinding lights of camera flash burned his pupil, hence he squinted his eyes a little bit, not wanting to give the media a harvest season with him frowning at the press conference.
He climbed the platform and sat on the middle. He put his arms on his thigh, giving off an open impression. His expression was void of emotion, securing every feelings he might feel during the entire conference. He needed to stay calm, to clear his name, to regain his status. Managing a multi-million company was no small job. He needed to prove his worth.
"Good morning, my fellow journalists," he started, regarding the how the spacious room was filled to the corners. "I am sure you have heard the rumors regarding the company I've been leading since three years ago and its tax issues,"
He paused for a bit, ensuring all of them can hear him. Under their hungry stares, he felt like he was in a tank filled with sharks. Careful was the key, because a single drop of blood would be the end of him.
"I am here to put all rumors to rest. It is true the company I'm leading, The Phoenix Pulp and Paper, is currently entangled with overdue taxes. About fifty million dollars had been paid and another seventy-five million to be paid at the end of the month. In addition, as for the rumor pertaining the failing financial status of Phoenix, It is not true. We are still strong, with or without investors and shareholders alike."
Natsume bowed deeply as the crowd went wild. He had arrange the press conference as a one way conversation. Obviously he had no mood to entertain their questions. He had a company to save and an heiress to be slayed once and for all.
He exited the room when his butler waiting for him with a phone in his hand, "Natsume-sama, Hyuuga-sama is waiting for your presence at the Hyuuga Manor."
Natsume's mood dropped when he entered his grandfather's lobby. There, sitting on one of the spacious sofas, was Mikan Yukihira. He gritted his teeth as she acknowledge her presence by nodding and sipping her red wine.
"Good morning, cousin," she started. "A fine show for the press, I see," she smiled smugly and patted the seat beside her.
"You'll never take my fortune away, you hear me?" he said.
Mikan clicked her tongue and put the wine glass onto the coffee table. "Aren't you not enough in dirt to be accusing me of your own mistake?" she said.
"My mistake—"
"Yes,your mistake," she cut him off. "You took more than you can handle. You delay paying your taxes to invest to another company which crash and burn. Ruka Nogi, right?"
"Don't you dare bring my friend into this!" he shouted. The maids and security looked at them warily. They knew about the Hyuuga heirs' feud. It was so destructible, they were ready to run for it.
"But, it's true," she said. "Ruka Nogi, your best mate, is nothing but a gambler and an alcoholic—"
"Don't you dare finish your sentence," Natsume said pointing his finger on her face.
"man whom you owe a life debt because he found your no-good of a mother!" she finished with a raised voice. Her voice burned with hatred with fire in her eyes.
Natsume's hand rose above his head with glinting eyes, when a maid called them. "Hyuuga-sama and Yukihira-sama may come in,"
Both of them tried to bottle their anger, mastering their emotions before coming in. They walked through the door and faced the elderly head of the Hyuuga family.
"Grandfather," both of them greeted in chorus.
The old man smiled. "Look at you two, answering like a synchronized swimmer,"
"You want to see us?" Natsume demanded. The old man chuckled heartily. He waved the seats in front of his desk, which the two sat immediately.
"You used to be each other's best friends,"
Mikan scoffed. "The key words are 'used to be',"
The old man nodded sullenly. "It's the saddest thing. You two used to prank me all the time, demanding cookies from your grandmother—bless her soul— and asking for lemonades whilst fighting in which color I should make—"
"As heartfelt it is to remember, the seeds of fighting was there," she said. "What is it exactly that you want?"
Both stared at their grandfather with Natsume mirrored his cousin's question by his scrutinizing expression. The old man sighed and laced his finger on the desk. Mikan readied herself for whatever crazy idea her grandfather would propose.
"I've decided," he droned carefully. "You're going to be married to each other,"
Whatever she was bracing herself for, it wasn't this.
This is my first fanfic guys! Please be nice and review. Any review will be welcomed :) Sorry for thr grammatical error or the abrupt story line. This is unedited. Thanks Guys!