Chapter 2: Nothing to lose

Mai glanced up at the small metal plate nailed to the door, taking careful details of the three silver letters: SPR that were staring back at her. She looked down at the name card in her hand before looking at the box of black tea leaves in her sling bag.

Shaking her head, she threw the name card back into her bag and allowed her trembling hands to circle around the door knob. And as quietly as she could, she turned the handle and pushed the door open, just wide enough for her to poke her head in and take a peek.

She noted the room inside was just as big as her tea shop. On the left side of the office, there were a couple of potted plants lined under this huge glass window that could see the streets down below. In the middle of the room, there were a few couch surrounding a rectangular glass table. And on the other side of the office, there was a table with neatly stacked files and documents, along with two laptops too.

'Is that Kazuya Shibuya's desk?' Mai pondered. 'But he's not there...'

"May I help you?"

Mai straightened her posture and spun around in fright, her face tinted pink from the embarrassment of getting caught spying.

"Sorry, I was-" She stopped and stared at the person who tapped on her shoulder previously. "Who are you?" The question wasn't meant to be rude, but she was half expecting that snobby Kazuya Shibuya to be the one standing before her, not this blonde man who looked nothing like a Japanese.

"I'm John Brown, You can call me John." He smiled warmly, warm enough to make Mai smile along with him too.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Taniyama Mai."

Realization dawned over him. "You're Taniyama-san? Boss is expecting you. Why are you standing outside here?"

This time, his enlightenment face wasn't contagious enough. Mai quirked an eyebrow. "Boss?"

"Come on in." He simply said and pushed the door wide enough for both of them to enter. A brief cool air washed over Mai as she stepped inside the air-conditioned room. Her grip tightened on her sling bag and she took her time to observe the office again. It seemed her spying skills still needed more work. Behind the large table, there was actually a small kitchen area she failed to notice.

"Boss's room is at the end of the corridor." John pointed down a hallway, which Mai just realized its existence as well.

'At the end...?' Mai blinked. 'Then this desk is-'

John sat on the chair, instantly confirming Mai's suspicion.

"Is there a problem?" He looked at her when he realized she was still rooted in the same position and stood up from his seat. "If you're still unsure, I can guide you inside."

"Oh, there's no need for that." She waved. "I can go there on my own. You can carry on with your work."

Tentatively, Mai trudged down the corridor, passing a door along the way until she stood outside the one that John directed her to. She gulped at another silver metal plate that was nailed onto the door, with it being carved to form three letters; CEO

She thought that inconsiderate man was just a self-proclaimed private investigator, who asked her to visit his possibly small and run down office in a secluded area of the town. What she never expected was to find this man to be the CEO of this huge office, now confirmed to be at least twice as big as her tea shop.

To be honest, Mai didn't even know why she was here. A private investigator? Why would she get involved with one? But last night, the more she thought about it, the more things didn't add up.

'Why did mom commit suicide?'

Kazuya definitely read the news, from his impassive look when she blurted out her frustration that day. And the only reason she could think of when he deliberately gave his name card to her was because he, too, was confident that the case wasn't as simple as it looked.

It was the tone in his voice, the look he gave to her before he left, as if he knew ever single thing in the world and she didn't. It irked her badly, but she got a feeling that it was true. He knew something she didn't. And she wanted to know what it was.

But that didn't explain why she should obey his words and bring along the box of black tea leaves like he said. He didn't force her, neither did he threaten her too. He simply just hid his demand under careful words.

"You'll need it."

If he said she needed it, of course she would bring it!

Mai finally raised an arm and knocked on the door twice. A soft mutter that closely resembled the words "come in" sounded and she did as told.

The office she was about to step in was so different that she thought she was entering another dimension. The one outside had light shining in from the huge window, with happy and healthy looking plants around for decoration. This room here, however, was dark and cold. The shades were pulled down, the shelves filled with thick books were tall and intimidating and the only light source that Mai could see was from the computer screen.

"Have a seat."

Mai wasn't sure if she should close the door. If she did, she wondered how she was going to navigate her way to her seat.

Seeming to read her mind, Kazuya, again in the same black attire Mai saw that day, turned in his roller chair and draw the shades up, instantly illuminating the room. She finally decided to close the door behind her and made her way to the two chairs before his desk.

"I'm here like you wanted." She then crossed her arms. "But I'm here not because I'm-"

"Your mother, Akemi Sakura. Age 41, raised you, Taniyama Mai single-handedly after her husband passed away a decade ago. With only a small tea shop, she operated it everyday in hopes to generate as much revenue as possible so she could send her only child to college."

"How-"

There was no room for interruption. "However, she died one week and three days ago, drowned under the Kisaki bridge. Police ruled it as suicide due to the message that was drafted in her phone, which was dropped into the sea along with her." Kazuya slowly stood up from his seat, his finger moved along the lines on the table as he ambled to the side of his desk. "I'm sorry, Mai. Please forgive me for leaving you."

"How!" Mai yelled and sprung to her feet, her eyes eyeing him with disbelief. It was then she realized she needed to raise her head a little to send the glare directly to his eyes. "How did you get all those information?!"

"I think you may have forgotten but I'm an investigator, Taniyama-san." Kazuya slowly blinked, only to emphasize on how long his eyelashes were. "Getting these information is a piece of cake."

"Fine, if that's the case," Mai gave an incredulous look. "Then what's the point of telling me the things I know?"

"To prove that I have that ability to know things that I shouldn't have known." He simply said as he took a step back and stood right beside his chair. "And to also prove the ability to know things that you might not have known."

"What're you trying to say?"

"Although it was under your mother's signature, why was your tea shop mortgaged out of the blue? And where did the money go? Have you ever wondered why your mother jumped off the bridge, yet she didn't send the message and drafted it instead? What's the point?" He tapped his finger on his chair before he sat down, only leaving Mai standing in the room. "Aren't you puzzled by all of it?"

"I am." Mai spat. "I am! But what can I do? I told the police! But they ignored me. They ignored what I have to say!" Tears began forming in her eyes again. She already swore to herself before that she didn't want to show this side of her to this man again, but heck it. She couldn't control her emotions anymore. Her anger, her frustration were sprawling wildly inside her like fire.

"That's why you are here, right?"

She blinked away the tears, her ball of fist slowly unclenched itself as she dropped to her seat. "A-Are you saying that you can help me?"

Kazuya leaned forward, both hands clasped together to form a bridge. "I can. Provided if you can pay me for the service."

On the cue, there was a few knocks on the door and it opened without any instructions given. By the door was a tall and older looking man, with long black fringes covering one of his eye as he approached to the desk and handed a document folder.

"I've typed the contract like you wanted."

Without a thank you, Kazuya took the folder and handed it over to Mai. "This is the contract, nicely done for you."

She cautiously accepted it with her two hands. So far, she had only seen guys in the office, no woman in sight at all. It wasn't like she hated men or anything, but Mai had been spending most of her life with her mother, so even if she was forcing her entire nerve system to stay as calm as possible, she felt like an alien in this place.

Opening the folder, her eyes scanned through quickly at the terms until it landed onto the numbers that immediately caused her eyes to open so big she thought her eyeballs might fall out.

"I think you've made a typo." Mai glanced at Kazuya before looking at the tall man beside her. "There's like three extra zeros here."

"It isn't a typing mistake." The tall man muttered coldly.

"¥1,500,000." Mai gulped hard and took in a huge breath. "One million..."

"Lin, you can leave."

The man left without a word as Mai watched him go before she spun her head around and narrowed her eyes at Kazuya.

"Is this how you do business? Approaching helpless people and then use such tactic to make them feel confused, forcing them to-"

He raised a hand. "Did I force you?"

"Mentally, you're driving me into a corner. You claimed like you can unravel the truth I wanted to know, only if I can satisfy you." Her thumb then repeatedly rubbed over the tip of the index finger and middle finger. "And you knew I can't!" She snapped.

"You brought the box of black tea leaves, right?"

Mai was taken aback by that sudden statement, but she regained her composure quickly enough and held onto the strap of her bag, eyes wary. "I did."

He smirked. "That, can be your deposit."

'A box of tea leaves can act as a deposit for a ¥1,500,000 investigation?' She frowned. "Are you messing with me?"

"No."

She glared at him.

"You can go to other investigative company and ask if they're willing to accept your case with any price lower than mine." He shrugged like he didn't care. "But I supposed no one would be sane enough to accept a box of black tea leaves for the deposit fee."

Still suspicious, Mai decided to reread the terms in the agreement all over again in order to find any loopholes inside. She continued to read and read, leaving Kazuya to patiently watch her as she did. Deciding to push her luck, Mai took her own sweet time, registering all the words and making sure there wasn't a hidden meaning in the contract, and weirdly, he still waited without a complain all the while. After looking through the documents for the nineteenth time, Mai was finally sure that, indeed, there was nothing wrong in this contract.

This was more like a deal Mai couldn't say no to. She stared down at the papers and bit her lips. All she needed was to give him one box of black tea leaves from the pile she had at home and the investigation would be on its way. If this man couldn't solve the case and prove her mother didn't commit suicide, all she had to lose was simply, a box of black tea leaves.

The ¥1,500,000? Mai closed her eyes and let out a silent huff before glancing up to stare at Kazuya. That didn't matter. She would care about it later if this so-called private investigator managed to solve her case at all.

With her eyes still stuck on his deep blue one, Mai grabbed a pen from his desk and uncapped it roughly. She licked her lips before feeling the tip of the expensive pen hitting against the paper as she signed.

She then shut the folder back and threw it on his desk as she raised on her feet and slammed both hands on the table.

"Start cracking." Mai hissed.

He stretched out his hand and she frowned.

"The box of black tea leaves." He answered her confusion.

Rolling her eyes, she rummaged through her bag and set it in front of him. "There and that."

Kazuya picked the box up and began looking at package with his careful eyes.

Mai growled. "It isn't going to expiry in another year, you prick."

He flicked his gaze over at her before he stood up from his seat and gently placed the box back on his table. "For now, you can go home."

"Go home?"

"Yes. Go home." He repeated slowly, as if she couldn't understand what he said in the first place. "Once I get hold of anything, I'll tell you and you can come by."

"How do I contact you?" She crossed her arms. "And how are you going to contact me, huh? You think I'm that stupid? Trying to scam my tea leaves?!"

"Stupid isn't what I'll describe you. It's brain-less."

Mai gaped in horror as her hands fell to her side. "What?! You're calling me brainless? Don't think that because you're handsome, you can insult me like that-"

"Handsome?"

Her face flushed in realization of what she had said. "A-Anyway, putting my point across-" She stopped in mid sentence again and scowled at his smirking face, which was getting on her nerves. "What?!"

"Even though you're brainless, you do have taste."

Mai rose to her feet. "Do you-! Do you insult all your clients like that?!"

"You have my name card, don't you?"

It seemed like he finally changed the topic and Mai was pretty glad for it because if this conversation went on any more, she was going to burst a blood vessel. But when that sentence that left his mouth managed to register in her mind, Mai finally realized her mistake. How could she have forgotten about the contact information on the name card? After calming down, she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck and muttered "Yeah."

He tilted his head to one side, his eyes sending evident signals that he was mocking her. "Besides, finding out what's your number isn't that difficult."

"It would have been easier if you ask it from me, wouldn't it?" She glowered "And how would I know if you are capable of getting my contact information or not?"

Kazuya placed the pen back into its holder and simply gestured her out of his office door. It was obvious to her that he couldn't be bothered in listening to her anymore. Mai was about to retort but she knew there wasn't a need to waste another breath of hers either. The thing she needed to do had been done anyway.

She stormed towards the door, opening it and shutting it behind her as loudly as she could without a care. Glaring behind her shoulders, she rolled her eyes and began stomping down the corridor, her mind only focused on the exit.

Mai had never met such an infuriating man like him before.

"Taniyama-san. How did it go?"

The voice kept Mai from reaching out for the front door and flinging it open. She turned and stared at John who was standing by his table with a small grin on his face.

It was a wonder how a fine and nice man like John could ever withstand his boss. Mai mustered a smile back. "The deal had been done. I'd be looking forward in seeing you again."

John nodded. "Have a nice day, Taniyama-san."

"Have a nice day too. Bye."

This time, her anger had subsided enough for her to open and close the door as normal as one human would do. Outside the SPR office, Mai took in a huge breath and clutched onto the strap of her sling bag.

"Kazuya Shibuya? That name sounded too plain for him." She scoffed to no one. "I'll call him Naru instead. Naru for narcissistic!"

Smiling triumphantly to herself for the brilliant nickname she thought, Mai skipped down the stairs and towards the streets. For the past week, she had been worrying herself with the answers she thought she would never get, but tomorrow, Mai knew it wouldn't be the case anymore.

She had always believed her mother would never leave her behind, and Mai was finally glad that someone, even if it was that arrogant and rude man, believed in it too.

Embarrassed to say, I'm still pretty nervous about this whole plot and how you guys are going to accept it, opps...
Anyway, well, once again, reviews are really really appreciated.
edit: changed the dollars to yen, thanks for the feedback!