The announcement over the PA roused Takumi from his day dream. He had been trapped in his own head again. Why, if he was going to reminisce, did his mind insist on going back to that particular evening? He turned his stool back around and looked for the bartender. The bartender was no longer in sight. He must have run to the back. Takumi pulled 20 quid from his wallet and left the note under his empty glass. That would be more than enough to cover his tab.
He looked back at the service counter in front of Gate 4B. The mystery woman was still there and was still engaging in a lively discussion with the airline employee. Takumi stood up ready to head in her direction when he felt his personal cell phone vibrate. He looked at the caller ID. It was Claire.
"Hello Claire," he said in his normal, easy going manner, "I hope you're calling with good news about my jet."
"Yes Sir," she replied, "it will be ready to go in a hour. I've already contacted the airlines and your bags will be delivered to the Penthouse in Tokyo. I've sent a car for you. Please be out front in half an hour."
Takumi thanked his secretary before returning his phone to his back pocket. He was still curious about the woman at the counter. There was something about her that was alluring. He had 30 minutes to kill. He might as well see if there was anything he could do to improve the situation. He'd found that being wealthy and well known, he was able to resolve problems more often than not. He approached the service counter, being sure to remain a few feet away. As her back was turned to him, this woman would have no way of knowing he was quietly eavesdropping. If she wasn't rude and had a simple issue, he'd help out if he could. He told himself he wanted to aid the poor employee who looked a little out of her depth. Truth be told, his other motivation was to get a look at the passenger's face. Curiosity had the best of him.
As he had assumed, the discussion was over a grievance. The woman was speaking very professionally, but there was clear annoyance in her tone. "I understand it was a computer error, but I paid for the upgrade when I booked my flight. I selected my seat yesterday morning. I appreciate your offers of future upgrades to compensate me for the inconvenience but if you can't manage to keep my seat open for me on this flight why should I expect competence on the next flight? How can your system go from having my seat in first class to loosing it? Maybe the computer error is happening right now. Maybe your system is just making it appear someone else has been assigned to MY seat."
Takumi felt guilty as he listened to the conversation. He knew he was the cause of this predicament. He also knew he would be able to resolve it. He would no longer be on this flight, so this woman could have her seat back. "Excuse me but I couldn't help but over hear," he cut in wearing one of his dazzling smiles. He had found that his charms often helped resolve these little issue when it came to the fairer sex. The woman in front of him spun around and she was now facing him.
His smile vanished and was replaced with a stunned expression. "Misaki?" It was barely audible. He was searching the face, tracing each line and doing a mental comparison with the image that had been permanently engraved in his mind. The woman before him looked a little older. Her face was slightly heavier but still unimaginably beautiful. He hair was in a different style. But he was certain it was her. It was his Misa.
Misaki Ayuzawa was equally surprised when she spun around to look at the person that had the audacity to interrupt her conversation. She had never liked busybodies and she failed to see why strangers felt that it was acceptable to get involved without solicitation. Because of her petite frame she'd grown accustomed to men trying to help her when no help was needed. She was a big girl that could take care of herself. She neither wanted nor needed some male chauvinist showing up to help a poor little damsel in distress. She was sure this was yet another instance of history repeating itself. She expected some macho know-it-all that would offer to translate for, or explain things, to her. Invariably, this "help" only served to confuse the situation and delay the resolution.
This time though, she turned around and in front of her stood Takumi Walker. The Takumi Walker. She was not one to be star struck. She had worked with and met many celebrities throughout her career, but it was always something she had expected, something she had prepared for. In this case, her shock was a result of the unexpected nature of the meeting. Mr. Walker was a rising star in his field. He'd been the talk at every professional gathering, every conference, every seminar this past year. Her favorite publication had named him as both "the sexiest man of 2016" as well as "the most interesting person alive in 2016". It was the first time this magazine had given the same individual both both honors. Research papers had been published in academic journals assessing the brilliance of Mr. Walker's management style. The person before her was, without a doubt, someone Misaki should have very much admired. But Misaki Ayuzawa was never one to do the expected. Yes, he was famous and yes, he was revered for his accomplishment but, now that she was seeing him in person, he seemed a little cocky. He'd had this smile on his face when she first saw him that told her he thought he could smile away her complaint. Now he was standing there looking like a cod fish, blankly staring at her like he'd had a stroke. She couldn't help but suspect all of the glowing praise that had been heaped on him was not fully justified or earned. Still, the fact that she was face to face with someone so powerful, well known, and admired, did effectively keep Misaki from launching into the typical tirade that would have ensued had this been anybody else.
"Misaki?" He uttered.
Why had he known who she was? She wasn't sure how to react to that. As she stood there processing the circumstances and what would be the right response, Takumi was also running through a little analysis in his mind.
Initially he'd intended to let the airline's employee know that he would not be needing his seat so that it could be given to the woman at the counter. Now that he had seen who said woman was, he couldn't allow himself to give up a spot on that plane. To do so would mean giving up on a situation where she would be trapped with him in the same fuselage for a full 12 hours. But she knew what seat she had booked. If she wandered into first class and she saw him in her seat, she would resent that some privileged elite had taken something that was rightfully hers. She was smart. She would know he'd played dirty to get the spot. If he traded seats with her, chances are she would just get cozy in first class and sleep the entire flight. That was generally her modus operandi when flying for several hours. If he could get her to join him on his private jet he would have the best chance at talking to her.
He was going through this plan when he remembered that Misaki wasn't some stranger. They had been very close. Inviting an old friend to fly on his jet to a city she was destined for anyway wasn't creepy. It was hospitable. She should expect such an offer. It was plain common courtesy given their past. But if she said no, he would need to get on her plane and then how could he explain why he was boarding the commercial flight? She had been upset with him when they had broken it off, but that was years ago. Surely she would want to catch up with him now. Of course she would want to accept his offer. Surely even she wouldn't hold a grudge that long. Not after all the things they had been through. Why was he so nervous? If he didn't speak up soon, he would look like even more of an idiot.
"Misaki?" He asked again.
"I'm sorry Mr. Walker," she replied, "of course I recognize you because you're often in the papers, but you seem to have me at a disadvantage. I can't recall how it is that you know who I am."
