Third Month: Business Deal
"I understand your point, and completely agree with you Daidouji-san; but don't you think that this sole operation demands too much money?" tried to reason a middle-aged man with said young lady seated at the head of the conference table. "No, I don't think so. This is the best moment to buy that company, the stocks can't be any lower, it's now or probably never and all of us here know how profitable that company can prove to be," explained Tomoyo in her calm demeanor.
All the people present in the Board of Director's meeting eyed one another, a tad bit wary. The judgment of their young CEO has always been accurate and she always emerged victorious in every single deal, contract or business. However, this time, the money involved was ridiculously high and Tokyo's Wall Street was very unstable during the past few months – which are their reasons to oppose the young businesswoman with such fervor.
Tomoyo knew all of this, and despite her desire to engage herself in an in-depth conversation and win their little argument; she had more things to think about at that same moment. She had been feeling nauseous and dizzy for twenty minutes now and was focusing all of her mind-power preventing herself from gracing the mahogany table and plush carpet with her lunch. Why now? Of all times, why now? She asked all the deities she knew, rather angrily.
"Are you sure about this? Trusting our future to a mere coincidental fact?" inquired a man in his mid thirties with a raised eyebrow and smug attitude. Ah, she knew what he meant. Where are the guts of these people? And they call themselves businessmen! Tomoyo gave into childish antics inwardly rolling her eyes. "The fact that the company fell in, let us say, disgrace just when the shares lowered doesn't mean that this is fishy. I think this is a doing of the providence." She mused aloud while focusing in non-food thoughts.
"I still think that this particular take-over has no real impact whatsoever in our long-term goals, therefore we can manage perfectly well without wasting such amount of money," spoke another man with a strong self-assured aura flowing around him; which led the young lady to think that this is no longer a fight against the possible operation but a battle against her reasoning, being she a woman; and the only one seated among them and portraying such title as CEO at that. Chauvinistic pigs! Scoffed Tomoyo inwardly while a slight frown marred her smooth forehead. To top it all off, the nausea was proving to be more overwhelming with each passing minute.
Amethyst eyes fluttered close, shutting off everything in front of her in a desperate attempt to relax and get her bearings. After a couple of minutes she declared herself loser in her inner battle and rose from her perch on the broad, leather chair in one graceful movement. Getting support from her fingertips on top of the polished surface of the table, slightly bent forward, she opened her eyes and regarded all of the men with a cold gaze.
"Please excuse me," halting to breathe, "I'll be right back and hope to have a positive response from you." And with that she disappeared behind the sliding doors.
Poor Tomoyo dashed through visitors, executives, regular employees, interns and the like in a run against time. Her secretary stood up in concern at seeing her raven-haired boss in such distress with a face of sheer disgust and pain. She had one perfectly French-style manicured hand covering her mouth fiercely and her eyes were slightly clouded.
Ayumi, the secretary, didn't stop her to ask what was wrong, too shocked to do anything; thus she went after her instead. Following the lady inside her office and recognizing her intended destination she gasped in surprise. The understanding of the whole situation hit her like a thousand bricks: evening sickness.
It wasn't the first time, however, that young Daidouji had this unwanted fits of nausea. The poor fellow had been dealing with this side-effect of pregnancy for quite some time now and she feared to disappear from mal nutrition if this continued. She had somehow found a way to keep the nausea at bay for the majority of the time, partially eating as little as she possibly could but various times a day; but it all comes to a waste when she gets stressed or is under extreme tension.
The private bathroom door inside the CEO's office closed soundly and Tomoyo congratulated herself silently. Kneeling down in front of the basin and grasping the sides in shaking hands for support she felt a strong wave of nausea and her half-processed food got into a run of its own. Oh God, this is so disgusting! Don't you know that I have a childhood trauma and hate vomiting? She thought trying to take her mind as much as possible out of the process going on.
The cinnamon haired woman standing outside could make out the obvious noises of gagging and instantly felt sympathy for the girl inside. Deciding to help no matter what, she knocked twice as if to inform the occupant of her presence and turned the knob, efficiently opening the door given that it wasn't locked.
"It's alright – "said the secretary trying to soothe her boss' convulsions and cautiously gathered all of the silky hair and placed it out of harm's way; thinking that it wouldn't do to get it ruined in such a way, especially when there is still that one meeting to finish.
"Arigato Ayumi-san," mumbled Tomoyo in between gasps of air, her body slumping in a heap at the toilet's feet before straightening up and clutching its sides for dear life. She could faintly hear what was going on around her; mind in a frenzy of sensations and reflexes, but she felt concerned hands rub her back in soothing circles and thanked the heavens for this much needed help – it seemed that the gods are against her these days.
When the convulsion grew less strong and frequent, Tomoyo's Good Samaritan went out and got cold water from the mini refrigerator inside the break room of the expansive office. She had learnt from own experience that there's nothing better than cold water to settle a stomach after a heavy vomiting session.
"Here Daidouji-san, take this slowly okay?" instructed the other woman with motherly concern written all over her voice, expression and posture. "That bad, huh?" she joked, trying to dissipate the tension and the pregnant woman chuckled in a refined manner. Her upbringing covering up for her, even in the most unrefined of situations.
"Thank you Ayumi-san, I don't know what I would do without you – it was awful! Only Jesus knows how much I hate these ordeals!" she exclaimed, smiling softly. "But I guess he won't make it easy for me –"she finished in a whisper, handing the crystal glass to the honey eyed secretary and assistant. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it Daidouji-san –"commented the aforementioned with a despairing sigh. "All pregnant women go through it – however, I heard that some women don't"
The Daidouji heiress took a deep cleansing breath and exhaled, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the flavor of gastric juices in her throat. "I wish I'm one of those women –"she declared and stood up with the fellow woman's support. "I don't know if I'll survive." Smiling darkly at her fate. "I'll go and inform the board of directors that you will join them again in five minutes – it's that okay?" suggested sweet Ayumi, exiting the bathroom to give her employer some privacy.
I had forgotten all about the men! "That's an excellent idea. Please do inform them while I get ready."
After the secretary had gone through the door, diligently closing it behind, Tomoyo closed the bathroom door and turned to her reflection in the mirror. She was paler than usual and her cheeks were slightly flushed from the effort. Carefully, she added Colgate® to her toothbrush and proceeded to brush her teeth. She used Listerine® to rinse her mouth and then splashed some cold water to her face. The little make up she wore was waterproof so it wouldn't smudge with the liquid; but she did re-touch it until perfection, leaving nothing that could give away the reason of her disappearance.
On Wednesday, Tomoyo's black pant suit clad form walked briskly along corridors while people seemed to create a path for her. She carried a sleek, silver-plated briefcase with her and also a purse that matched her business appearance perfectly. Raven locks were cast aside from her china-doll like face with stylish hairclips which let it cascade at her back freely. She sat at her desk and placed the briefcase on top of it to then enter a combination in a small digital pad and have it opened.
"Good morning Daidouji-san, what can I do for you?" was heard in between the office walls once the intercom-link was activated by one slender index finger. "Hello Ayumi-san," a pause in which the speaker got some papers out of the case and pressed the power button of her Apple PowerMac G5® "Please inform me when Li Syaoran arrives and check on the appointment with my attorney." She instructed clearly while typing a security password on a transparent white keyboard.
Ayumi nodded in the other line of the link to then open a file on her computer system. "Okay, something else?" she asked, going through some dates in the agenda-like software. "No, that's all for now," said Tomoyo and ended the call.
Today is the day. She had called his best male friend to discuss certain matters involving her current condition. It was clear enough that Syaoran is the reasonable one out of the two in the Li marriage; and she needed to talk logically and reasonably to at least one of them. Her previous encounter with Dr. Hiiragizawa had left her thinking in depth about the idea she had of creating a contract of sorts in which they could settle the terms of the pregnancy. She had already overdosed her share of confusion reserved for a lifetime and doesn't want to have some mistakes tossed in to deal with or worse, lose herself in the way and/or her friends.
It doesn't matter how much they might love each other, or how blind their trust in each other is – this situation still is a very delicate and volatile affair. Tomoyo thought that if they managed to write down their share of rights and responsibilities in the task at hand, forging it into a kind of private law or code of conduct; then everyone will be safe. She had been working in a rough draft – which are the papers she currently has in both dainty hands – and wants her personal lawyer to review them and make them final; but before that, she needs to talk with Syaoran and introduce him to her plan.
She couldn't say, for all of her, what his reaction could be. Maybe he could feel betrayed or not worthy of her trust in some level. She hoped not. This will be for all of their sakes and that is how this matter should be addressed as. It might seem absurd to encase in a rigid box a bunch of feelings, circumstances and good intentions. However, she wanted to play safe. The moment she saw the first ultrasound of her best friends' child she felt something dangerously warm stir within her and fill her with swirling emotions. Possession and maternal love were the strongest of the inner cocktail of feelings and she felt scared, scared of ending up loving and wanting the child as her own, making it impossibly hard and painful for her to give it up.
Over the years, the gemstone eyed woman managed to keep her emotions under undeniable control and she knew exactly how she would react should something happen. But the current situation proved foreign land to her and that made her so afraid. Afraid of not knowing what she could do if driven to the very edge of rampant emotions, if she felt threatened in her newfound motherly hood – which promised to be strong – or if something else happened that got out of her control. She feared not being able to give the child to its rightful mother when the time comes and the thought alone was disastrous.
One of the main questions plaguing her mind was: who is the rightful mother? At first glance, such title could only be bestowed upon Sakura; given that the child developed from her egg. The procedure was rather simple: the doctors took one of Sakura's eggs and fertilized it in-vitro with a sample of Syaoran's sperm. All of this in perfect synch with Tomoyo's monthly cycle. When Tomoyo was in the exact days of fertility, her own liberated egg was replaced by the fertilized one and she got pregnant; all of which was confirmed by a laboratory test.
So, even if Sakura gave the egg, the fact remains that it is Tomoyo who nurtures the growing fetus, feeds him and allows him to develop. Her blood is running through its veins and she is in every sense his life support. In six months, she will give birth to it and probably breast-feed it. Considering all of this, who is the real mother?
"Li-san is here Daidouji-san," announced Ayumi getting Tomoyo out of her musings. "Please send him in."
The door opened a couple of seconds later to reveal a tall, well built man with rich chestnut hair and deep amber eyes. His frame was tastefully covered in a modified version of an Armani suit that gave a serious aura to his jovial features.
"Konnichiwa Syaoran-kun, genki desu ka?" greeted Tomoyo standing up and approaching him with a sibling like hug and a kiss on his right cheek. "Which after-shave are you using? It's a wonder how you keep women at bay!" she giggled merrily at his flushed cheeks. Old habits die hard. "Hello to you too my dear," returning her affections with equal candor, "I think Ying Fa does a marvelous job all by herself, you should ask her." He smiled boyishly. "I'm fine. How are you doing? How's my baby doing?" he asked placing a hand on the raven haired girl's slightly swollen stomach and she smiled kindly at his antics.
It's hard not to love such an endearing creature. "We're fine and in perfect health!" Tomoyo answered brightly and gestured for them both to go towards the sitting area in one of the corners of the office. All in all, the CEO's office looked like a small apartment with various areas that were separated from each other by rugs and other decorative accessories. "Listen, I summoned you because there is something that I need to talk to you about," she introduced and waited for all his attention to fall solely on her. At his nod she continued. "I don't want you to think that I don't trust you two anymore or that I'm insensitive. Au the contrary, it's because I'm sensitive enough that I came to this conclusion – "
The Li Clan Leader's attention remained focused in Tomoyo's little speech for the forty-something minutes that it lasted. She explained all of her reasons the most detailed that she could, editing the part of her secret fears. She didn't want him to be wary of her, and besides, those are things that she must deal alone with. Judging by his serene and attentive facial expression and subtle body language, she knew that he didn't think anything outrageous of the whole contract deal and instead, seemed to embrace the idea rather comfortably.
"I understand, and think that this is the right thing to do." He acknowledged with serious eyes. Both young-adults in deep business-like mode. "I will explain this to Ying Fa in the most delicate way I can. Don't worry Tomoyo-chan, leave her in my hands." He said reassuringly, taking both of her hands in his and squeezing lightly to further prove his intentions. "Thank you Syaoran-kun! You're the best!" Tomoyo cried out and embraced him tightly while he stroked her silky hair softly. "It's no problem. I appreciate all the trouble that you're going through to give us happiness. I can't thank you enough and my family will forever be in your debt." He said solemnly but she waved it aside as if it was nothing. She found it amusing how one can dismiss such important things as if they were mere nothings.
"You know that I would stop at nothing to make my friends happy," she recited her childhood motto, which got changed over the years in form, but still maintained its selfless nature. "I began to work on it last Monday and today I'll have my attorney review it. I think that all of us should sit down and discuss the clauses to make sure that every one of us is heard and protected. I will ask Hiiragizawa-san to participate in the creation of the document also, since I think that we need a medical point of view too in safety of the child," she explained and smiled when he nodded his consent. "Perfect," he began but suddenly stopped, as if realizing something. "You dropped the 'Dr.', did you realize that To-chan?" he asked with a small devious smile that made him shine in a sexy light.
Silvery-purplish eyes narrowed a fraction and perfect eyebrows knitted together; but a hue of rosy color tainted her cheeks and her frowning-in-distaste expression went downhill to be replaced by that of a kid caught with its hand in the cookie jar. "I know nothing of what you're hinting at Syaoran-kun," she said in an eerie calm voice but he just laughed it off. "Sure you don't – please be careful, I don't want you hurt okay?" the Chinese man smiled with brotherly protectiveness and stood up. "I have to go now, there are some meetings waiting for me," he excused himself and straightened his business suit. Tomoyo smiled brightly and went for a hug. "Aw, I know that you love me!" she said remembering the days when she used to tell him so in their teenage years. "Of course I do, and you know that I hate to see you hurt and will more than gladly beat anyone into a bloody pulp if they do so much as to touch a single strand of your lovely hair." He played along with underlining seriousness while patting her head affectionately and planting a kiss on the crown of her head.
They parted and Tomoyo smiled once more. After a "take care niichan" and a boyishly "you too imouto", they resumed their daily tasks. Fingering a business card between slender digits, the young businesswoman sat down on her comfy chair and made a phone call. It took her some time to reassure the doctor at the other side of the line that she was okay, even if a bit distraught by her weak stomach and its inability to hold food long enough for it to get digested; but finally she got to touch the main point of the call, "so you see Hiiragizawa-san, I want you to be here and participate in the discussion of this contract." A pause, "Next Monday will be fine – Ja ne!"
Saturday afternoon found the only heiress of the Daidouji Empire driving her silver Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class Roadster towards a pretty famous Mall centre in Tokyo while singing along with Baby Bash's "Suga Suga" in her home-made CD conveniently labeled "Feel like it!" Sakura was supposed to meet her at "Happy Time" – an ice cream parlor – to engage themselves in heavy shopping for maternity clothes, baby clothes, toys, furniture and the like. Tomoyo had noticed that her body had begun to change as in wider hips and a slight rounder belly; thus even if she still fits somewhat comfortably in her usual clothing she wanted to wear something more appropriated for her condition. This is the time to blow up her normality cover and show the world her true reality, or so it seems. Come what may, there's no going back! Closing the door with a sway of her hips she pressed the alarm button and tossed the keys high in the air to then catch it effortlessly and place them inside her Guess® handbag. She walked away from the car and closer to the main entrance with a dignified disposition and confident strides; head proudly up high and a smug smile.
The Li Clan Leader's wife was there, as expected, looking at the passer-bys while distractedly sipping from her hot cocoa. "Konbanwa Sakura-chan!" greeted Tomoyo and sat down gracefully across the other woman while waving her hand delicately to get the attention of a near-by waiter. "Hi Tomoyo-chan! I was this close to call you and see what happened to you," bringing up a hand fisted loosely around a Motorola v600 as if to prove her point. "Gomen ne, I got caught in traffic –"trailed off the raven haired girl in mid explanation, taking the menu offered by a manly hand. Looking briefly through it she settled on vanilla and caramel with honeyed hazelnuts ice-cream and a glass of water as an afternoon snack.
The emerald eyed woman seemed absorbed in her thoughts during the time in which the waiter walked away with carefully written instructions on his notepad to then return with the requested order. "I've been thinking about what Syao-kun told me the other day," she said and idly removed the contents of her cup with a tiny silver spoon. "I was most shocked but after some reasoning I came to think that it's for the best of all of us," the jewel-like eyes had a wise spark within them as they were fixated upon molten amethysts. "I can only wonder how mortified you must have been while proposing this to my dear husband. As I'm sure he said, we can never thank you enough and are forever indebted to you. I could never forget such display of selflessness. To tell you the truth, I never thought that you'd propose yourself to carry on with my less than common attempts at motherhood." She paused and swallowed the knot in her throat while blinking away the hot tears that menaced to slid down her powdered cheeks. "I'm so sorry if I doubted you in any way! I will try my best to not annoy you like I did the other day and will try to be as helpful to you as I possibly can. Feel free to ask me whatever and whenever you need, okay?" taking slender hands in her shaking ones across the table.
Tomoyo sniffled in a lady-like fashion and prevented tears from falling as a kind and warm smile broke on her lip-gloss moisturized lips. She understood that her best friend's role in this drama was not an easy pie for she is fiercely protective of those she loves; and because of that she's now torn in prioritizing her affections and deciding on how to treat and face such dear people to her ever loving heart: her best friend since forever in one hand, and her unborn child in the other. "It's okay Sakura-chan, I understand. Now, let's drop the drama please? It does no good to these mood-swings of mine!" she cried out in mock annoyance with a single teardrop rolling down porcelain-like flesh. "I'll make sure to let you know if I need something, pinky-promise!" she squealed holding up her right little finger for the other girl to take; so she did and after wiping their tears dry, they resumed their neglected eating with a set of light hearts and cheerful conversation.
Glass sliding doors opened for her early on Monday letting her in the corporate building. Tomoyo had on a nice black business dress with white blouse collar and hems sticking out. It was buttoned in front and reached her mid-tight where three extra inches of an also black skirt underneath could be seen. She wore black high-heeled shoes that fastened at the ankle with a thin leather strap securing it in place. Her hair was ironed to perfection, creating a most interesting contrast against her usually wavy locks; while velvety hair-clips kept some bangs away from her face at its sides.
She headed directly to the conference room where the meeting was to be hold, inwardly praying for everything to turn out okay. Miraculously her stomach hadn't complained when she ate breakfast early this morning and she didn't want to upset it more than the strictly necessary.
Black folders neatly placed on top of the stainless-steel and glass table at each seat signaled who was to sit where. A pitcher of water and glasses along with some snacks were on the center of the table in equal distance to everyone in an attempt to make this gathering as pleasant as possible.
"Good morning Daidouji-san, I see everything is ready" greeted Dr. Hiiragizawa at the entrance of the room before stepping inside. Tomoyo almost jumped out of her own skin and she felt her heart quicken its pace for he had scared the living daylights out of her. "Morning doctor," she said with a hand over the heart willing it to resume its normal beating. "Please don't do that ever again," turning around to regard him with narrowed eyes.
He smirked but replied, "Did I scare you? I'm sorry, I didn't mean that" while walking towards one of the chairs. "I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but keep it in mind" told the young woman filling a half a glass of water.
Soon after that, the Daidouji family's private lawyer and the wedded couple entered the room about ready to begin the meeting. They greeted each other warmly and sat down to get to work.
Three and a half hours of discussion the terms of the contracts were agreed on. The main clauses said that the Li family held no special power over Tomoyo's life and freedom of decision during the pregnancy term as long as it doesn't endangers the child's life, Tomoyo in turn will keep them up-to-date with the doctor appointments and test results. When the child is born, Tomoyo won't have any kind of contact with the child to prevent the formation of bonds that would make the separation harder; her milk would be extracted and fed to the baby using bottles. It was stated clear that Tomoyo declined and denied any right she might have over the guard, custody and tutelage of the baby granted to her by law given that it considered her as the rightfully legal mother.
Another thing to consider was what will be done in case that Tomoyo's life or the baby's gets endangered during any stage of the pregnancy or labor. If it ever comes to choose, whose life will be chosen? That part proved extremely difficult to ponder on, for clearly Sakura hadn't thought of and didn't want to face that possibility and neither did her best-friend.
The Li Clan Leader's wife was drowning in a sea of mixed feelings regarding that matter. A mother would choose her child's safety over her own with no regrets, but this time things were not as simple. She did consider that the amethyst-eyed woman was sacrificing more than acceptable for her and didn't deserve to extend her amount of selflessness to the point of giving up her own life. However, her most basic instincts told her to secure her child's safety at any cost.
Syaoran, as pained as he was with the thought of that episode ever happening, believed himself unable to deprive his heart-felt sister of her life for just supporting his wife's whim on being a mother. Of course he wanted to be a father, more than anything he could ever want, but he didn't think it worthy of his friend's life. One can always try again, right?
Tomoyo had to drink slowly a glass of heavenly, calming, spring-water and close her eyes willing a headache to disappear at such a difficult situation. In all honesty, she hadn't given a thought of this risk when she took her decision; and now that she dwelled on it she found out that she had barely thought at all. Her mother was right; what had she walked herself into? She couldn't stand the option of securing her life over an innocent child's. After all, it wasn't at fault in the wicked games adults liked to play.
Eriol, on the other hand, was unable to formulate and justify a decent conclusion. He became painfully aware that to loose his favorite patient was not of his liking and he preferred her over the child. That was a most unethical thought and so he decided to keep to himself. It wasn't good to take sides, that he knew, but he already had and the least he could do was let both parties involved solve the problem on their own. Everything aside, it was difficult for even in his favored point of view, neither Tomoyo nor the child were at fault. She was only a selfless woman who decided to bring happiness to her best-friend while the child was the successful product of a laboratory experiment. Under this point of view, the mother must be saved.
The lawyer began to doodle on his legal-notepad at a loss of what to do. To deal with human lives was more stressful than he had previously thought. Who ever said this was as easy as making a deal contract was solely mistaken.
In the end, it all came down to Sonomi's words who, being well aware of today's meeting had gotten another of the Amamiya attorneys to secure her interests; name it, her precious daughter. She neglected an important meeting in America to make her points clear to the experienced lawyer and sent him over the business headquarters in Tokyo. He arrived late, just when everyone thought that there was no altruist way out of the problem at hand and it got solved...
The life of Daidouji Tomoyo held preference over the child's.
Weeks later found Sonomi's only daughter pacing barefoot around her office, basking in the slightly ticklish feeling of the plush carpet while reading some sale reports. She had came well acquainted with the notion that high-heeled shoes equaled feet-killers during pregnancy and so decided to give them the silent treatment for the coming months and use cute, flat-heeled footwear instead.
Her stomach was now more tolerant of food and she was infinitely grateful for that. However, she had to welcome the most absurd cravings she ever thought of having. The maids at home, and even her own mother, had outdone themselves making sure that their baby got her every whim; which made her feel a bit ashamed. However, who doesn't like to be pampered once in a while?
The relationship with her obstetrician had improved greatly over the many check-up appointments. He finally got her permission to call her by her given-name and they often spend as much time together as their tight schedules allows. It was a nice and warm friendship and it really helped the pregnant woman to take her mind out of things. She figured that, as long as she's pregnant with Sakura's child, the relationship with her best-friend won't be as easy-flowing as it once was. Despite her own carefree and cheerful ways, there was this underlying stiffness that made her distraught and so, by mutual consent, decided to interact as little as possible without interfering with the contract's dictation.
It made her sad that they had come to this but it was for the best, right?
With the third month almost gone, there are only six more to go...
Peachy.