Chapter 10 (Because temptations get you sidetracked)

Parked right across the street from the photo shop is a black sedan, its windows so heavily tinted that not a single soul outside could see into the vehicle. The same couldn't be said for the occupants inside; they had a clear view of everything. The man sitting in the driver's seat was proof of that. Even through his Armani sunglasses, his vision of the world past the tinted car windows was still perfect. He'd been sitting in that car for a while now, his gaze intent on the door of the photo shop. The small establishment had very few customers, and they all left the place carrying the same plastic bag bearing the shop's logo. He couldn't care less about branding, much less the bags; he was waiting for something else. After four customers or so, he was just about to leave when a young man in a rumpled suit walked in. The man in the black sedan then decided to put the car back in park and waited patiently for the young man to walk back out.

His eyes never left the photo shop's door until he heard a yawn coming from behind him. In the back seat lay a little boy, eyes slightly fluttering open. Carefully, he pushed himself up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with his tiny fists. "Papa? Why aren't we leaving yet?"

"Patience, Shiro. We'll be done in a moment, I promise," he said, turning his attention back on the door.

But the child wasn't satisfied with the answer. Instead, he reached over, his small hand landing on his father's broad shoulder to give him a gentle shake. "You said that a couple of minutes ago too. Can we leave already? I wanna see her."

"Not right now, okay? We'll get there later, but right now, Papa is busy. Go back to sleep." His curt and clipped reply did the trick, because after a few seconds of pouting, Shiro was slumped back in the backseat, dreaming of finally getting to their destination.

The man with the sunglasses kept his gaze trained on the door until it swung open again. Instead of the bags he'd seen earlier that day, the young man in the rumpled suit exited with a manila envelope in his possession. At the sight of it, his eyebrows shot up in recognition. "Well done," he whispered, nodding approvingly.

He continued to watch the young man until he disappeared from his view. All he wanted to see was a successful retrieval without the interruption of any outside variables, and now that that was over with, he could say that his job was also done. As he put the car in drive, the little boy in the back seat sprang up and hopped into the front passenger seat. Giving his father a cheeky smile, he strapped himself in and began tapping impatiently on the seat's leather upholstery. "C'mon, Papa. Let's go!"

He shook his head in amusement and stepped on the gas pedal. It would be a pleasant surprise to just randomly show up at her place, but he figured she wouldn't feel the same way about him. Her love and fondness might only extend as far as his son; he, on the other hand, would have to get by with whatever meager feelings she had for him. I might as well be trying to charm an alligator, he thought. Nevertheless, he needed her. His career depended on it. If all it took was a bit of ass-kissing to help his cause, then so be it.

Lunch ran a lot longer than he expected, but that was just fine. For the first time in a long time, he felt at ease, relaxed. As planned, he and his new acquaintance went to a Chinese restaurant and gorged themselves till they were full. As promised, the girl insisted on picking up the bill, much to Hayato's embarrassment. "You really didn't have to, Misaki-chan. I could've at least paid half of it."

But the girl only waved away the suggestion. "Oh, don't be silly. I said I'd make it up to you, didn't I? Besides…" She reached for her drink, lips closing delicately around the straw. Looking up at him through half-lidded eyes, she began to smirk. "…maybe you can treat me to something someday, too. Make it up to me…if you'd like, I can give you a few suggestions."

Was it just his imagination, or did her voice just get sultrier? It might just be the couple beers he had due to her urging, but it was severely affecting his hearing. They weren't sitting that close to each other, but her voice created delightful little vibrations in his ears and in his head, not to mention a couple other places that he dared not think about at this point. It didn't help his case at all that she was leaning forward, that rack of hers fully resting on the table as if they were on display. Damn it, Hayato, get a hold of yourself! Focus. You'd look like a fucking creep if you don't.

With much difficulty, he dragged his gaze away from her and checked the Blackberry. Seeing as there were no texts from Juri, he checked the time and it was already 9:45 p.m. How fast time had flown. He wondered for a moment if he had to be home at a certain time, but then pushed the thought away from his head. I may work for her, but she doesn't own me. And I'll be damned if I don't let her know that now.

"Hayato-kun?"

The Kurogin grad snapped out of his thoughts and turned to the lovely Misaki, only to be met by the curiosity in her eyes. "Yes?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

His brow furrowed for a moment, puzzled as to why she would ask such a question. Did he seem like a guy who had a girlfriend? Then he remembered that he was still holding the phone in his hand. Quickly, he put it away and apologized to his companion. "No, I'm too busy with work. What about you, do you have one? A boyfriend, I mean."

Misaki chuckled and shook her head. "I haven't had the good fortune to meet someone I actually like. But who knows…" she gave him yet another one of those upward glances through her lashes that practically made him go insane and smiled, "…that might have changed now. What do you think, Hayato-kun?"

He gulped a bit, fingers reaching up to loosen his tie. Was it just him or did it get hotter? He wasn't certain of anything anymore. Taking his drink, he took a sip of it in order to cool himself down, but seeing as it was beer, it didn't help with anything. Moreover, it just made things worse. Now he just wanted to squirm out of his clothes, even for just a little bit. He glanced at Misaki, her cleavage still hanging out on the table like a pair of giant steamed buns. "I—uh, I'm not really at liberty to say. Erm…"

She must have scooted closer to him because by the time he finished wiping the sweat on his brow with his sleeve, she was right next to him. He could smell her perfume, the shampoo in her hair, the soap on her skin. She smelled intoxicating, dizzying, and he knew that new feeling of plump softness now resting on his arm wasn't his imagination at work anymore. Out of respect, he would have loved to just inch away, even just a little bit, but she made it impossible by looping an arm around his and keeping him rooted on the spot. She looked at him expectantly, eyes urging him to answer the question at hand. Taking a deep breath, Hayato finally brought himself to speak. "Um…well, that's all up to you, Misaki-chan. After all, it's not my heart we're talking about; it's yours. So do whatever you please. I'm sure whatever it is, you'll definitely deserve it."

Oh, Hayato, you smooth bastard, you, he thought, mentally congratulating himself on his perfect delivery. He didn't think he had it in him; with the exception of his younger brother, Yabuki men weren't exactly suave in terms of their skill with women. They were brash, coarse and awkward; even Hayato couldn't believe his father's luck in reeling in such a beautiful woman like his mother, and yet here he was, the actual living proof of it. Thank you, genetics. You definitely saved my ass this time.

Misaki must have been impressed too because her eyes lit up and her usual smirk turned into a full-blow smile—full of promise and joy, at least that's what it looked to Hayato anyway. Then her eyes raked over his physique, starting with his hair down to his trousers and eventually settled on his lips. "Whatever I please, huh…?" she said, fingers expertly looping around his and playing with them. "Well then, Hayato-kun, will you grant me just one request? At least this way we can call it even. No strings attached, promise."

Hayato swallowed hard and nodded, his head going crazy with a million different scenarios on how this was going to go down. Only when she tilted her head and whispered in his ear did his wildest fantasies finally come to life. When she brushed her lips against his ear, he knew he was done for. Now all he had to do was accept her extended hand and let her lead him to places he'd never been before.

Since Hayato left that morning, Juri had been working nonstop. Now, at midnight, she was still typing away relentlessly at her laptop trying to decrypt the information on a flash drive she acquired a couple days ago. Stripped down to its most basic components, the flash drive was a tiny slab of metal and microchip, about a centimeter or less in width. Despite its small and insignificant appearance, the information it held had the power to bring down a drug cartel that had surfaced in Japan recently—at least, that's what her father thought anyway. Juri was just following orders. Her job was simply to find out as much as she can about them—specifically speaking, information that would actually hold up in court. Her father was so intent on putting the bastards away that he'd even risk his own daughter's life, which didn't really bother her. It was the only way she could make a living and in their family, that kind of interaction was the only way they could communicate with each other.

It all started on the night her father gave her a tip on the whereabouts of one of the cartel's operatives who might hold some of the information they wanted. With a combination of manipulation, lying and practically stalking, Juri managed to get close to the cartel operative and download all the files in his phone into the small flash drive. She thought it was going to be a clean retrieval; however, one of his subordinates must have noticed because they sent three of their new recruits to go after her and take back the flash drive, to which Juri reacted to by swallowing the thing. After an hour or so of running, she was finally cornered and pretty much had her ass handed to her. The fact that she was drunk didn't help her case either, and for a moment there, she really thought she was done for.

Just when she thought that the flash drive would be forever lost in her digestive system, someone saved her. That someone was Hayato, and if it weren't for him, she would have lost her job—not to mention her life—forever. Truly, she was grateful to him; however, that didn't mean that he could just run around during whatever he wanted. With every glance she threw at the time on her laptop, she grew more and more annoyed. Where the hell is he with my damn pictures?

She was halfway asleep already but her anger must have done something to wake her because she ended up finishing her work anyway. With the flash drive fully decrypted, it was clear to see that what she now had in front of her were addresses to various drop-off-and-pick-up locations all over Japan and America. Juri now had something to show her father. As for the pictures, she decided to finally sleep and wait for Hayato to come home. I'll deal with the bastard as soon as he steps through the door. Where can he be at this time anyway?