Disclaimer: Me no own RK.
This (*...*) are my little notes in the story. Do read.
From the title I bet you all know what this chapter is about. ^_^!
Chapter Seven: Problems
Kenshin was grinning at Kaoru, he knew that she was picture perfect.
"So I guess that problem is solved," said Takasugi.
Sanosuke was flipping to the article about the headlines as they talked.
"As we said before, you'll need to bring your friends to the Kirei Blossom Studio," said Katsura smiling at her warmly.
Kaoru blushed and could only nod.
"This isn't right, listen to this. 'What is M.R.S. thinking? This magazine was the one that sold the most copies in Japan, don't you think that they'd have been smart enough to know that people want to see more of this girl?' asked reporter Shura of Beauty Magazines.' That is so messed up," said Sano angrily as he slammed the magazine down.
"No one said anything about it, how were we suppose to know that the public wanted more of our model?" Asked Takasugi just as angry.
"So we'll do the shoots a week before the next issue is to be done. That means you have three weeks to get ready," said Katsura.
Kaoru nodded, though deep inside she just wanted to die.
"Well Kaoru and I have to go see a company that we sponsor today. We have to help them decide on a few things. If you need me, just call. I'll be back before dinner," said Kenshin, as he and Kaoru stood and left the meeting table.
"Well at least we know what the public likes for now," said Soujiro with a smile.
"Call Shishio and tell him to bring his bandaged butt back here with the new product. We can put it with our 'new models' and hopefully sell out on them," said Hiko.
Soujiro kind of frowned at Hiko for talking bad about his master, but went to do as he was told. Hiko still had power in the company after all.
*~*~*~*~*
"Admit it, I was right," gloated Kenshin as they got into the limo.
"About what?" Asked Kaoru as the limo driver closed the door.
"That I was right about you looking better than those other wannabes," said Kenshin.
Kaoru blushed and then nodded.
"I told you to stop being modest," said Kenshin annoyed, he hated the too nice ones. He had liked Kaoru for her spirit.
"Well Mr. Himura, thank you for the compliment," said Kaoru through gritted teeth. Here she was being nice, and he blows it in her face about how to act. Men!
"Until then, what do you think about sponsoring this company?" Asked Kenshin.
"The car dealer company that we signed with last week?" Asked Kaoru.
Kenshin grabbed a wineglass out of the limo cooler and nodded as he drank from it.
"I think it was great. Why else would I have allowed you to sign the deal?" Asked Kaoru as if it was so obvious.
"That's more like it," said Kenshin smiling.
"Huh?" Asked Kaoru confused.
"*Sigh* You weren't being modest. Can you please act normal?" Asked Kenshin.
"What does that mean?" Asked Kaoru angrily, she was using all of her control not to punch him out of the limo right now.
Kenshin just laughed.
"What's so funny?" Asked Kaoru confused.
"It's amazing how you can still look beautiful when you're angry," said Kenshin smiling.
Kaoru blushed and looked away.
"It's lunch. Where do you want to eat?" Asked Kenshin putting back his wineglass.
"We're to do work first Kenshin Himura," said Kaoru. She was amazed that he lasted this far without her help from before. He seemed so lazy from first sight.
Kenshin only rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"You need to loosen up a bit. Life isn't all about work you know," said Kenshin.
"If no one did work, then I'd hate to imagine what type of world we'd be living in," said Kaoru.
"You're human too, and humans need to take a rest once in a while before they malfunction and do something stupid," said Kenshin.
"So that must mean that you're a genius," said Kaoru mockingly.
"Well of... hey that's not right," said Kenshin.
Kaoru laughed and suddenly Kenshin joined in.
*~*~*~*~*
Misao raced up into the M.R.S. building. She had been caught in traffic from her second job and was now two hours late. I'm so dead.
She got to her desk and quickly began to see if anyone called. Amazing enough, most of her work was already done.
Thank you. Thought Misao looking up into the sky.
"Where have you been weasel girl?" Asked Sanosuke as he stepped out of the meeting room.
"Busy," said Misao as she got to work, she didn't feel like arguing today.
"Well you better be free in three weeks," said Sano as he sat on the edge of her desk.
He got a quizzical look from the confused girl.
"You're doing photo shoots with Kaoru and Megumi for July's issue. Just wanted to let you know," said Sanosuke grinning as he saw her face pale.
Misao was in shock, she thought that it was over. Then she looked at a sticky note that was in the center of her desk. It seemed to have been written quickly.
It said:
Dear Misao,
I got all of your morning work done; I know why you were late. Don't get mad, but we're going to have to do photo shoots for M.R.S. in three weeks. Do tell Megumi. Talk to you later. Got to go.
Signed,
Kaoru Kamiya
Misao crumpled the paper angrily. Great. Another problem to worry about.
She looked at the back of the paper and smoothed it out, it had words on it: You get paid $100 per photo. Mistakes or not.
Misao grinned at that, as money signs appeared in her eyes. She went to tell Megumi.
*~*~*~*~*
"You what?" Asked Kenshin and Kaoru in union.
"We want to do a commercial with Miss Kamiya here in it. She could be just driving one of our many famous cars. Oh please. It'll attract so many people," said the owner, he saw Kaoru and was jumping up and down.
The two were twitching.
"I'll do shoots, but not commercials. I can't act, that's Misao's area," said Kaoru.
The owner sighed and nodded; he couldn't force her.
"You wanted our help on deciding things. What are they?" Asked Kenshin.
"It's for the commercial. I can't decide which car to use for the commercial. We need a car that will attract people. So which one do you think?" Asked the dealer, as he showed them three magnificent cars. They were beautiful.
The three cars were a gold Mercury Grand Marquis, a silver Mazda Miata w/black fabric interior, and a black RX8. (*I want to thank Moonlight Ladies, Inuyashachic515, and Female Hitokiri Battousai for the car suggestions. *)
Kaoru was just dazed by the cars; Kenshin wasn't all that impressed. He had to have at least two of each at his estate. The guy was a billionaire for crying out loud. It took a lot to impress him with something. (*Though that's not a problem for Kaoru, is it? ^_^*)
"You see we don't know which one to use for the commercial. We want the car to be driving alone and have like the sunset or the night in the background. It brings out the color of the car, we were planning to show the person's face, but in these kind of commercials, it really doesn't matter," said the owner as he looked at the cars.
"They're all beautiful. What do you think Mr. Himura?" Asked Kaoru looking at him.
"They're okay. I think any would do," said Kenshin with a shrug.
"That's because you probably have them all," said Kaoru rolling her eyes.
"Is it my fault I already have the best of the best before it's even sold to the public?" Asked Kenshin defensively. What money could do these days.
"Well what do you think I should use Miss Kamiya?" asked the dealer.
"Um...." Kaoru wasn't sure either, Kenshin was right, any would do.
Suddenly there was a flash of light that startled everyone, and then a scream.
"I got... I got the picture of M.R.S.'s model," came a squeal of delight.
Kaoru and Kenshin had on confused faces. What was going on?
Then a swarm of girls rushed over, including a few guys. The security was having trouble stopping the crowd that was forming. They were being blinded with camera flashes, and the screams were getting to them. It left Kenshin and Kaoru in shock as they were helped to their limo. Some of the girls squealed when they saw Kenshin.
"Well that was fun," said Kaoru as Kenshin helped her in the limo.
"One magazine shoot and you already have a fan club. Amazing," said Kenshin with a grin.
Kaoru only glared at him, it was his fault she was now acting like a Barbie doll. She wanted to live a normal high pay life, when all of a sudden he had to go and put her picture in that magazine without permission. She sighed, she could never have a normal life now, could she?
"Well your 'fans' are going to be where ever you go that doesn't have guards. You had better have a good disguise or you better run fast. They'll be on you like white on rice. That's what happens to me," said Kenshin with a conceited smile on his face.
"Thank you so much," said Kaoru sarcastically.
"You're welcome," said Kenshin.
Kaoru made a face like a 'Are you kidding me?' type of face. This man was way too rich and conceited. Kaoru only sighed and thanked the heavens that they had black tinted windows.
"Where shall we go for lunch?" asked Kenshin looking at the time on his Rolex.
"I don't know, and I really don't care," said Kaoru, she didn't like today at all. First she had to do photo shoots again, and now she was almost jumped by a bunch of weird fans.
"Why are you so mad? Any woman would give anything to be in your shoes now. Have fun with it. This will be your chance to really do what any girl dreamed of when they were little and playing with dolls. Don't tell me that you never planned on being famous," said Kenshin, he had no idea why she didn't like her new life.
"Look, all I wanted was a normal life. This isn't normal. I'm the simple type, simple things make me happy. I don't need fame to be happy Kenshin. And I really don't need people breathing down my neck and watching practically everything I do," said Kaoru. (*I made Kaoru a bit like me, the simplest things like a review, makes me smile and happy.*)
"I take it that we're not going to the Sakura Blossom restaurant?" asked Kenshin.
Kaoru glared at him, was he that dense?
"Did you even hear what I was saying?" asked Kaoru angrily.
"Well you don't want to go to a place that will attract people, and sense Sakura Blossom is a very famous place, you don't want to go there," said Kenshin scratching his chin as he thought about it again.
Kaoru wanted to explode, was he that idiotic? She took in deep breath and counted backwards from 10, that wasn't enough, she counted back from 1000.
"Why are you holding your breath?" asked Kenshin as he looked at her face.
Kaoru took in breath and glared at him, he only blinked at her.
Are you serious? Asked Kaoru to herself, this guy was so ... so whatever he was. She was so angry and confused that she couldn't think of anything.
Kaoru let out a sigh before asking, "Can we just get back to the office and eat there?"
"But I wanted to eat out," said Kenshin acting like a two-year-old.
God help me. Thought Kaoru.
"Fine. Where?" asked Kaoru.
"I asked you first," said Kenshin.
Kaoru couldn't believe what she was hearing, he was acting like a child.
"I don't know. We'll go to where ever you want to go to," said Kaoru, she didn't feel like arguing with him today.
"Let's go to the Akabeko," said Kenshin.
"The what?" asked Kaoru, she never heard of it.
"A five star restaurant at the other end of the city. It's a traditional place, but you don't have to dress up in a kimono or anything. Though you'd probably look real nice in one," said Kenshin grinning at her flushing face.
"What ever," said Kaoru as she looked in another direction.
*~*~*~*~*
"A $100 per photo, even if it's crappy? Wow!" said Megumi as she met up with her cousin at Starbucks for lunch.
"I know. This is so great," said Misao as she picked at her muffin.
"How was your morning job at the Akabeko?" asked Megumi.
"Well at least I got the job. I'm going back there in a few minutes. I just had to tell you the good news. I'm staying over time at the M.R.S. to make up for this morning. What's your new job Megumi?" asked Misao as she quickly ate, she had to be there on time.
"I'm doing night shift at the Akabeko. You get paid more since people intend to go there more often at night," said Megumi as she played with her straw.
"Well I'd better get going," said Misao as she got her coat and purse, then left.
*~*~*~*~*
Kaoru looked around the restaurant, it was simple yet inviting, amazing how it became a five star restaurant with traditional features.
The waiter showed them to a private room area that was give to all guests.
"Are you sure that this is a five star restaurant?" asked Kaoru as she looked around.
"The place might look a bit out of style, but it's traditional. It's the food that gave it the five stars, it's really good. You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover," said Kenshin, it was his turn to think that she was too use to all of the fancy things.
"I know, but I didn't know that this place was so... beautiful. It's not too fancy and not too plain, it's just right," said Kaoru smiling.
Kenshin loved her smile, but he'd rather lose a car than admit that to her.
Kaoru just stared at his scar, she was drawn by it.
"What are you looking at?" asked Kenshin, he was feeling uneasy at the way she looked at him.
"You're scar..." began Kaoru but he cut her off.
"I was planning on having it surgically removed," said Kenshin as he touched it.
"Don't... I mean you... It looks nice on you, it makes you look... more... manly," said Kaoru, and she wasn't quite sure how to phrase it.
"Are you saying that without it, people would say that I look like a girl?" asked Kenshin, so he had long hair, that didn't mean anything.
"No. No. It makes you look handsome. Your hair adds to your traditional samurai look is what I meant," said Kaoru quickly, he got the wrong message.
Kenshin was flattered, but he didn't like that someone would call him a girl. He got teased enough when he was small, that was until he Hiten Mitsurugied them to the other side of the playground and beat them up to a pulp. But a girl never said anything like that to him, they always said that why couldn't they have nice hair like him?
Kaoru realized that she was staring and looked away, she wasn't suppose to get attracted to the boss. It was clearly boss and worker. Nothing more. Wasn't that the reason that she ditched Takeda? She couldn't fall for him, but somehow she was without her really knowing it.
Then again he was handsome, rich, and sometimes really charming.
Snap out of it Kaoru. He's way of your league. Said her good half.
That's why this modeling thing is going to make them go on the same league. You're going to get famous and get with him. Said her naughtier half.
I got here first sister. You can't get with him, what would the press say? Think of your reputation. Her good half yelled.
I think he's the one that has to worry about that. Said her bad half.
"Kaoru? Are you okay?" asked Kenshin, she seemed to have spaced out.
"Huh?" asked Kaoru, she was knocked back to reality.
"What were you thinking?" asked Kenshin.
Kaoru blushed and shook her head.
About you. Answered her bad half happily.
Kaoru kept her head down, she couldn't even look at him now.
He's a sight to behold, look at him. Her naughtier half was going to drive her crazy.
Think of work and how he put up your pictures without permission. Her better half said.
Will you two stop arguing and leave my head in peace? This is just as confusing without you two yelling at me. Kaoru said annoyed.
"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Kenshin, only a bit of concern crossed his features.
"I'm fine. Just sorting things out. All of this happened in barely a few months after all," said Kaoru, at least she wasn't lying.
Kenshin nodded at that, it had been a crazy day.
Then a waitress came over with short brown hair and a bit of an ascent.
"Hello, I'm Sae. I'll be your waitress. What may I do for you?" asked Sae.
"Hi Sae. I'll get the special," said Kenshin with a smile.
"Mr. Himura, would you like the regular as well?" asked Sae.
"No, I don't feel like it today," said Kenshin.
"Who's this young lady?" asked Sae looking at Kaoru who had her head bent.
Kaoru looked up and wasn't surprised to see that she was shocked to see the 'model'.
"You... you're that model on the magazine," said Sae practically about to squeal in delight.
Kaoru only nodded.
"How may I help you?" asked Sae excitedly.
"The special as well please," said Kaoru as she gave back the menu.
"Tae told me so much about you. Right away Miss Kamiya," said Sae as she happily left.
"She knows Tae?" asked Kaoru.
"Yup. They're sisters," said Kenshin.
Kaoru made an 'oh' shape with her lips.
"Well you're even famous way out here," said Kenshin with a grin.
"So you want me to thank you for doing this to me?" asked Kaoru glaring at him.
"What, you don't like it? You're a strange person Kaoru Kamiya," said Kenshin as he drank the glass of water that was placed before him.
"You should be talking, you're the strangest person I ever met. You and your weird mood swings," said Kaoru angrily.
Kenshin nearly choked on his water, no one ever mentioned it, at least not as straightforward.
Kaoru gave a triumphant smile, she had gotten to his weak point.
"Well at least I know when to appreciate people's hard work for me," said Kenshin.
"I do more than you do, I don't see you thanking me. So you doing this makes us even," said Kaoru as she crossed her hands over her chest.
Kenshin's left eye twitch. She was one feisty woman and really confusing at times. That was one reason that he never got with smart woman like her. They always think that all men are jerks and only wanted to sleep with them, well some are actually descent. Yet here she was completely blowing him off before she truly knew him.
"You are one arrogant being," said Kenshin calmly, as he folded a napkin on his lap.
"Excuse me?" asked Kaoru unfolding her arms.
"You're stubborn and you know it. I think that it's suppose to be the other way around. You are the one acting like a rich spoiled brat here, not me. I'm happy with all I've got, from what you say, you want more," said Kenshin calmly.
Kaoru glared at him, how dare he?
He's got a point. So just enjoy it. Said her other half.
I'll have to agree with her. Said her better half.
Kaoru felt bad to the pit of her stomach and she kept her head bent.
Kenshin saw this and sighed.
"It's not your fault, I was the one that put your picture in the magazine. I guess I should have asked for your approval first," said Kenshin.
"No, it's not your fault. I really should be thanking you. Thanks Kenshin. I shouldn't take things for granted as I did before. You were absolutely right, I was the one acting like the spoiled brat. Thank you for not shoving that in my face," said Kaoru.
"Apology accepted, if you'll accept mine," said Kenshin with a grin.
Kaoru only nodded.
"Here are your meals," said a high chirpy voice.
Kaoru looked up with a smile that turned into a shocked expression that met with the waitress's own mortified face expression.
"M-Misao?" asked Kaoru in shock.
To Be Continued................
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*