Chapter 11

Takumi watched as Misaki left with Tora. Takumi's hands balled into fists when he saw Tora reach over and briefly cup Misaki's hand in his own. Ralph approached him from behind, "would you like me to obtain the regular supplies and have the delivered to your penthouse, Mr. Walker?"

Takumi nodded and walked outside to meet the driver. It felt surreal to be back in Japan especially to be back in Japan and not have Misa by his side. He hadn't been here since they'd broken up. He had considered selling the Penthouse, but it held too many memories and it could be used by other employees of the Walker Corporation when they needed to stay in Japan on business. When they arrived at the complex Takumi felt a wave of emotion. He had hired someone to install a lock on one of the closets in the place and then collect up any and all personal affects and lock them safely inside. The key had been mailed to him and he'd brought it with him. That's where he'd find all of the pictures, notes, cards, home made gifts, and any other mementos. He wasn't ready to look through it all tonight. Seeing her, and then seeing her with Tora, was enough emotional turmoil for one day. He had felt so happy eating with her, playing cards with her, watching her. But he had always been so possessive and after seeing her with Tora, he desperately wanted to punch something. No, he wanted to punch someone. A specific someone. But he couldn't. He wondered if Ralph could find him a punching bag at 4:30 am. He'd go for a run. That might help him work out his anger.

In the morning he'd scan through and see if there was anything in that closet he might want to make sure she'd see to help her recall their shared past. Maybe he'd wear that sweater she'd knitted him for Christmas. If he rolled the sleeves you wouldn't be able to tell that one sleeve was longer than the other.

While running, he allowed his mind to drift to a more calming and less stressful topic… business. The meeting he was supposed to attend would be starting in four hours. He'd decided on the plane to let Edward handle it when he arrived in town. Of course, Edward would not be here in four hours but that shouldn't be an issue. During the last 30 minutes of the plane ride, he'd reviewed the facts for this specific deal so he could update Edward regarding his priorities and ensure Edward would handle things in a manner that was in line with his own vision. The Walker Corporation was purchasing a small manufacturing company based in Japan. The company had been a financial failure for 6 years and was only able to maintain operations through support from their parent corporation. The Walker Corporation was in need of a overseas manufacturing plant to produce a line of electronics that were used in assembly lines throughout Asia. They needed a plant that could meet the 20% increased demand forecast for the following year, but that also had sufficient square footage to ultimately allow all manufacturing to be moved to the plant. They had hoped to locate a facility near China. Most of their clients were located there and they would save on shipping costs if they moved manufacturing closer. The tax laws and regulations in Japan, made this country particularly attractive. They had found this particular plant and were quite pleased to discover that the type of equipment owned by this company could be modified to produce the Walker products at a much lower price than purchasing new equipment. Because the plant was currently a failure, Takumi was able to negotiate a great price.

Now all that was left to iron out before signing the purchasing agreement, was the transition plan. Tomorrow, the meeting was to focus on the workforce. The merger would result in a duplication of effort. For example, as the Walker Corporation already had some manufacturing plants located elsewhere, it was not necessary to retain employees that offered administrative support at this small company. Such work could be redirected to the administrative support division located overseas. To avoid liabilities, the executives would need to hear from attorneys for both companies about provisions in the union contracts impacting each employee group. This would guide the executives in making decisions about which employee groups should be laid off, which should be reassigned, and which should be relocated. The thing that had struck Takumi, while reviewing the company facts during the plane ride, was that the parent company for this small manufacturing plant was none other than Igarashi Industries.

When he'd noticed that fact, he opened up the Agenda that had been emailed to him in reference to today's meeting. He scanned the list of those that would be in attendance and noticed Tora Igarashi was not listed. He had shot an email off to the CEO of Igarashi Industries feigning indignation that The Waller Corporation had flown personal out from England for this meeting but no management from the parent corporation intended to attend tomorrow's meeting. He suggested that failure to send out the Chief Operating Officer for the manufacturing division had caused him to question the seriousness Igarashi Industries felt toward this deal and resulted in his decision to consider an alternative plant. Therefore, the meeting would need to be rescheduled to noon after he'd completed his tour of the competing plant.

Just as his run ended, his phone began to buzz. It was a text from Claire. "Bags will be delivered to your Penthouse in 1 hours. Having them deliver Ms. Ayuzawa's bags there as well. If she's not with you, thought you might want an excuse to stop by her place. Let me know if you need address and I'll get it." Good old Claire. She knew him so well. He hadn't ever done this sort of thing for a girl before, but she knew his business tactics and must have figured what he'd prefer in this instance. Who knows, maybe Claire thought he was just trying to steal time with a client he'd encountered. But, since he'd paid for the seat through his private account, he was pretty sure she knew this was different.

He ran up the stairs two at a time. Ralph had dropped off the groceries. He was feeling much better. The run has released a lot of steam. He'd take a quick shower, have a snack and head off to bed. He grabbed the bags by the front door, went inside and took his phone back out.

"Thanks C. No need for address. When will Edward arrive?" he texted back. Misa was very careful to keep up-to-date luggage tags on her bags. He was sure he'd find her phone number and address there.

Another text, "10:00 am - local time"

Perfect. His email would be opened by 8:00. Tora would be in his father's office by 8:05. By 10:00 Edward's plane would arrive. By 11:00 a formal dinner would be organized by Igarashi Industries to welcome representatives from The Walker Company to Japan. At noon and for the next three days, Edward would meet with Tora. And Tora would not be home when Takumi stopped by to drop of Misaki's luggage and take her out to lunch. Nor would he be available the following day to accompany Misaki and him on their tour of the City. When time for the formal dinner arrived, Misaki would refuse to make her relationship with Tora public. That was the kind of girl she was. Not once could she admit to him that Tora was her boyfriend. Not even after he'd caught them in an embrace. Since she would not be attending the dinner with Tora, he could probably convince her to accompany him. He would be expected to have a date. She would know this and take pity on him. Then Tora could watch as he reclaimed what was his.