"When a door closes, knock on it a few times. But if it still doesn't open, let it stay closed. In career, in love, in life when you see the period at the end of the sentence, don't try and turn it into a comma. Know when something is over and move on." – Mandy Hale
Chapter 18
"Shadowed"
"Well and today's hot spot headlines belongs to none other than our favorite Li Corp Project Manager who just recently became the Second in Command of the company. Now, many people have been talking about her new role inside the company. There's been rumors that not many of the board members are happy with the President's decision considering there is a true heir capable of handling the company but it was made official this morning when Li Yelan announced her husband's wishes live on National TV."
"To tell you the truth Katherine I was actually surprised as well especially after all the rumors that have been flying around the media linking her with the President's son. Neither Li or Kinomoto have wanted to confirm this yet but judging by the picture we showed earlier this week and now this new piece of information we can assume the rumors have more truth than what we believed."
"Well don't say that yet Yuri because what I'm about to reveal can also waive your assumption. Apparently Ms. Kinomoto was spotted tonight having a romantic dinner with none other than Oliver Deston, former VP of Kaliu Corporation. As you can see on the screen, pictures of their romantic dinner were downloaded to social networks by people who instantly recognized her on the streets."
"Oh wow! I have to admit I didn't see this one coming. You know, it's such a different side of her and not to be mean but it makes me wonder if she's doing all of this just to grasp a little bit of fame. I mean, we've seen her coming out of a long time relationship with President Eli's son to get herself involved with a famous soccer star player and, within a couple of days, now with a VP."
"True Yuri. It's such a different side of her. I mean we're talking about someone who wasn't on the media eye to someone who's being a news icon lately. It also makes me wonder if this is what she was hoping to get after her breakup with Senator Eli's son. After all we keep hearing her jumping from one guy to the other…"
Feimei sighed and shook her head. 'What is she waiting to deal with this girl?' she thought as she kept watching Katherine on the news trashing on Sakura's image. Her friend had never allowed something like this before. She kept listening to her nonsense before hearing her phone ring. Excitedly, she stood up from her couch and grasped the phone from the counter. Happily thinking it was her boyfriend she was about to answer in a sweet voice and refrained from doing so when she realized it was her brother instead flashing on her phone ID. "Hello my sweet brother."
"Is she there?" he simply asked.
"I'm so glad you're worried about me and everything considering I'm your little sister." She sarcastically answered.
"Can you put her on the phone Feimei?"
The coldness in his voice answered her suspicion. He must've watched the news and by the sound of it she was pretty sure this was a fight she didn't want to catch herself in the middle of. She was mad at her friend once more for not preparing her for this. A little consideration would've truly been appreciated… "She's not here."
"What do you mean she's not there? Did she go back to the office?"
"No… she's actually not staying here any longer. She decided to stay at her house." She heard him grunt on the other line letting her know he was definitely not happy with the news. Again she thought a little more consideration on her part would've truly been appreciated…
"She went back to her apartment? After I asked her not to?"
"No. She went to her house." She carefully said before realization hit her. "You didn't know she has a house…"
"Where is the house?"
She shook her head. "You're not in a rational mood right now Syaoran. I can hear it in your voice. If you're pissed off about what you heard on the news then you need to calm down. I'm sure it's probably not true."
"What news?"
She grimaced as she closed her eyes in a painful way regretting her words once again. She should've asked before making the mistake of assuming why he was pissed. She tried to shake it off by simply replying, "You know what? It's nothing but I will tell you that usually when she goes to the house, aside of having barely any signal in her cell phone since the place is in the outskirts, she usually goes when she needs a quiet moment or needs to reflect on something. So I suggest you simply text her and wait until she calls you back."
"Don't lecture me Feimei. Just give me the address."
"I will not. Text her and wait until she calls you." With that been said she hung up the phone.
~ o ~
The sound of ocean waves could be heard at a distance. It was pitch dark except for the full moon shinning in all its glory in a cloudless night. Millions of stars accompanied her creating the perfect spectacle to see for a troubled mind. Sakura inhaled the salty air from her balcony as she took a deep breath while enjoying the quietness of her own treasured place. She could easily lose hours in this place just thinking and planning her life ahead like she had done many times before and tonight wasn't any different.
Vaunt and myself like keeping our projects and new developments as close as possible till the opening date. Quite frankly, I'm beginning to have doubts on your ability to do this. Not to mention your poor decision making, if the rumors were to be true, is also affecting our decision on this.
Rumors… For the first time in her life she was surrounded by rumors. For the past seven years her life had been complete transparency. She never had anything to hide. Now everything had changed. She was dating not only one of the most famous soccer players in the world but also one of the most notorious womanizers as well. And even if she truly believed he had changed that was not something he could show within a couple of days. It would take time to clear his image from his rebellious past one.
Beep, beep, beep, click!
Then she heard her door open. She didn't bothered looking towards it. There were only two people that could possibly be opening her door at this time. One of them she had left in her apartment waiting for her boyfriend's call and judging by the hour that would only lead to none other than her other close friend Xiefa.
"You know, you should really change your door security code…" she greeted.
Sakura heard her friend's voice but didn't react at all. She simply continued pondering her thoughts as she looked towards the ocean.
Xiefa looked around as she walked towards the balcony. She could see from a distance a glass of wine standing in the wooden trail of the balcony right at Sakura's side. She turned her face as she continued walking towards her friend and saw a half emptied bottle standing in the bar, indication that the meeting didn't go as planned by her. She reached her friend's side and stared at her as she casually said, "The news are having a field day with your name in case you're interested in knowing about the latest happenings around China. Mind telling me what's got you so secluded all of the sudden?"
Sakura took a sip of her glass and set it down on the rail once more before answering her. "I had an interesting dinner tonight with Oliver."
Xiefa raised a brow not missing the casual way her friend used his first name. She had to admit she was quite surprise by her words. "Just Oliver?"
Sakura sighed before drinking once more from her glass.
Xiefa took a deep breath before carefully saying, "My brother's been trying to reach you the entire night."
"I'm not used to this circus Xiefa." She scoffed and looked at her. "I'm not even sure if I truly want to stay in it either."
Hearing Sakura talk this way about her relationship with her brother gave her the impression there was more to her seclusion than just work. Xiefa stared at her friend but simply asked, "What did Oliver want tonight? I'm surprised Vaunt wasn't there as well considering it had to do with business."
Sakura hesitated before saying, "He wanted to offer me a position inside their company."
"I thought you went to discuss the proposal."
"So did I." Sakura quickly replied.
Xiefa shrugged and casually said, "That's something you have been offered before. Still doesn't explain why you've suddenly decided to temporarily disappear."
"Their headquarters are located in England." Sakura said before drinking once more and turning her sight towards the ocean once more. She knew nothing else needed to be said.
Xiefa scoffed. "You're considering this?"
"I'm considering many things but yes… that happens to be one of them."
"Then allow me to help you with your decision over this. Perhaps you should start thinking what distinguishes you from other girls my brother has played with. That which comes easily goes easily as well and what stops being a challenge becomes boring with time." Xiefa sighed before finally saying, "That been said, I will ask you to at least take away the pain of having my brother calling me every half an hour because he can't find you or else I will give him this address and you can deal with your conscience for his troubles. I leave you to your thoughts." With that being said Xiefa walked away.
Sakura didn't have to turn to know her friend had indeed left. The sound of the door confirmed her exit. She took a deep breath and once more kept pondering her thoughts as she looked at the reflection of the moon in the distant ocean.
~ o ~
Sixteen hours ago…
She had worked over night once more. After talking with Vaunt at the game, to get a little more insight on what exactly he wanted his project to be, there was no doubt in her mind she wanted to do it. It had been a long time since she had felt this strong towards a project. Unlike many of the others where Xian would simply pick the ones he was interested in, they would have to put a bid in and simply hope that Vaunt and the board members would choose her proposal above the others. Saving her work, she stood up and stretch in front of her computer. With luck she would be able to present her proposal at tonight's dinner and hopefully they would like it.
She stood up from her chair and grabbing her things walked out of the office. Before showing anything to Vaunt she would definitely have to talk to Xian about it. Even if she was temporarily leading the office she wouldn't do anything without getting his approval first. Stepping out of the elevator she could hear the sound of cameras flicking just in front of the building. Ignoring them, just as usual, she walked up to her car and drove away towards his house.
Her phone rang. The image of her boyfriend flashed to her car screen before she received the call and transfer it to her car speakers. "Hey babe! Are you done with practice?"
"Yeah. Coach wants us to watch tonight's game. Will you be there or can I persuade you to watch it with us? And when I say 'us' I mean my cousin and I."
"I have a business meeting tonight so it all depends on how it goes."
"Okay, so do you want to come afterwards to the hotel?"
She smiled before saying, "Mmm… I wasn't aware that you were able to have girls visiting you."
He chuckled and deviously said, "It all depends on where we meet."
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Liar. Is this how you broke the rules before?" She heard him laugh on the other side of the phone and smirked. 'Busted!'
"I'm still hurting with your words last night. Was looking forward to you staying as well…"
"Really…?" she sweetly asked. "Let me tell you I'm not sorry one bit."
He laughed once more. "Where are you now?"
"On my way to see your father. There's this project I'm interested in doing and was working on it all night. I want to show it to him before tonight's meeting." She said while turning a corner.
"Don't you get and automatic approval when he put you in charge of the office?"
"Still, I want his opinion on it."
"What kind of project is it?"
"It's a new hotel. They're looking to build everything from scratch. From what I gathered last night from one of the investors at the game they are looking to have a modern lifestyle theme. They have all their vendors set to start too but they don't have someone who can oversee the entire project. So they're looking to see if you father's company can help them with this along with part of the design."
"And that will be you?"
She smiled as she thought about it. "Maybe. It depends on the investors and your father."
"Didn't my father bring them to the tournament?"
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I'm the one that will take care of it." She turned another corner almost getting to her destination.
"Do you want it?"
"This one is a little more complicated than that. If I agree to do this job I'll probably have to be out most of next year taking care of this one. Not sure your father will like that."
"But do you want it?"
"It's a great opportunity. We'll see." She said as she parked her car in front of Li's house. "But I'll talk to you later. I just reached the house."
"Okay, call me when you get out and let me know how it went."
"Okay!" she replied feeling a little out of sorts.
"And good luck!"
"Thanks!" she said before hanging up. She stayed for a couple of minutes inside her car staring at her phone. With Jun it had been so different. They could spend time talking over the phone and not even once in their relationship he asked her to call back just to let him know how it went on her end. While Jun simply assumed she was always alright, Syaoran had always cared to make sure that she was indeed alright. 'I could easily get used to this again.' She thought while smiling to herself.
~ o ~
'Good luck…' That was all he could say. Even though Xian was his father he knew this was something he couldn't touch. Sakura's work was her own. If he truly didn't knew her he would've been calling his father already to ask him to accept her work proposal but he knew better. Sakura wasn't the type of girl who would abide with that.
He looked at the phone after hanging up with his girlfriend and smiled. They had just reached the hotel after practicing in the morning. "Okay! I call shot gun on the bathroom."
Eriol didn't pay attention to him. He kept talking animatedly to his fiancé over the phone as he lay back on the sofa. "Okay babe I have to go. I need a shower. You wouldn't stand me right now if you came to visit."
She laughed. "Ew yes! Go shower my smelly goon."
He chuckled. "I love you!"
"No I love you more."
"Don't say that babe. I love you more."
Syaoran rolled his eyes after hearing his cousin. He simply took his shirt off and walked towards the bathroom. He wasn't in the mood for hearing his cousin battle with his fiancé on who love who more. That was just too cheesy for him. It wasn't that he wasn't romantic at all but he just didn't find cheesiness interesting in a relationship. In fact, it bored him. He remembered his friends asked him once some time ago why he couldn't just find a woman and date. The reason had always been simple… they weren't Sakura.
In all those years apart from her, he had met many women. He had tried giving them a chance but none of them would hold his interest for long. And everything came down to the same reasons. They weren't straightforward, most of them were too interested in their appearance instead of just being real, and of course… all of them were interested in dating the player instead of knowing the person behind. All except Sakura.
~ o ~
Knock, knock, knock!
Eriol heard the door and stood from the living room to open the door. "Hey Choi!" he greeted Syaoran's manager and let him through. "He's in the bathroom. Do you want to wait for him?"
Choi nodded.
Eriol closed the door and walked back to the living room. Sitting in the small sofa, he listened to the news as they talked about tonight's game. Spain and Japan were playing to see who reached semi-finals from the other side. He had spoken to Takashi over the phone last night who congratulated them on making it in and at the same time Eriol told him they would be rooting for Japan. It would be exciting to play against Takashi just like they had done on past Asian Cups. Sadly if they were to meet it would have to be on the semifinals since the brackets decided it but nonetheless playing against Japan had always been a match to look forward to.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed his cousin was done and was walking towards the living room.
"Hey Choi! What's up?" he greeted his manager.
His manager looked at him and greeted with the same question Syaoran heard from him over and over again since the incident of his injury. "I came to check up on how you're doing. Is your ankle feeling okay?"
Tired of being asked the same question over and over again Syaoran simply rolled his eyes and tiredly answered, "Yes…"
Hearing Syaoran's bored tone made him chuckled as he turned to watch the news again of the game. "Be honest about it Syaoran. This is not something you should be playing with especially knowing you already signed with Manchester. They are equally worried for your health if not more."
He was 99.9%, if not a hundred, sure that Manchester was not truly worried about his health more like their investment on his playing skills. Reason enough to ignore Choi's lecture about it even if he was his manager. There was nothing he could say that would make him stop playing on the Cup just because Manchester was supposedly worried for his health. "I'm not lying about it Choi. It feels fine."
Choi turned from watching the TV to look at his player. "Ah! Also I need to ask you a question."
Syaoran casually shrugged and simply said, "shoot!"
"Are you going out with Ms. Kinomoto?"
Syaoran stopped watching the TV and stared at his manager. He contemplated how to answer that question without problems. Because of rumors on social networks and apparently the TV he knew sooner or later this conversation would come up. If it would've been someone else who asked him the question he would've simply answered by telling them it wasn't any of their business but considering it was Choi he knew he had to be truthful. His manager had handled his career from the moment he signed his first contract and the only thing he had asked of him was to inform him on anything so he could do his job well.
At Syaoran's silence Choi continued his interrogation. "My phone is ringing off the hook because of the rumors. At the beginning I thought she probably was one more of your night entertainments but my phone hasn't stopped ringing since the moment that picture of you two appeared on TV. Are you or are you not going out with Ms. Kinomoto?"
Eriol, who have been in the room quietly listening, grimaced after Choi's words. He quickly looked towards his cousin and noticed he hadn't moved yet. Knowing how defensive he was about Sakura at least that was a good sign. As long as Syaoran wasn't moving everything was under control… For now…
Syaoran stared at his manager. He didn't like the tone he used to describe his erroneous thoughts on his relationship with Sakura but refrained from saying something hurtful to him and answered, "I am."
"And you don't think this is something I should've known even before the media?" he seriously asked.
Syaoran sighed. "I haven't had a chance of letting you know Choi. I've been focusing on the tournament."
"If you would've been focusing on the tournament you shouldn't have even started whatever it is you have with that girl." Choi ran his hands through his hair and sighed. "I'll release a statement saying that you deny these rumors. In the mean time, end this right away."
Syaoran narrowed his eyes after hearing him. He had been totally refreshed after taking a shower but his mood was quickly dropping with the way this conversation was going. "I will not."
Syaoran's deep voice was Eriol's queue to join the conversation knowing this was probably not going to end well. He quickly stood up from the sofa as he casually walked to stand next to his cousin. He took a deep breath before bringing his arms up as if he was surrendering and said, "I'm sorry guys, I'm sure this conversation is not one I should get involved in, but let's calm down before someone has to call 911 to admit one of you into a hospital." He looked at his cousin who wasn't very pleased before looking back at Choi. He was about to continue when Syaoran interrupted him.
"I said I will not end this. You are my manager. Your job is to handle any type of situation."
Choi crossed his hands on his chest and raised a brow. "And how do you suppose I do that when you have decided not to tell me about it?"
"You know now." Syaoran sternly said.
"Have you gone insane Syaoran?" Choi angrily asked already getting annoyed at the situation. "Getting her into this?"
"This is my decision and it's a decision you have no say in it. I am dating Sakura and will not stop doing so even if you or anyone else wants me to." Syaoran said a little louder than intended.
"Really?" Choi loudly and sarcastically asked before continuing, "Let me tell you something I found out about Ms. Kinomoto. In all her life living here just a few reporters have had the honor of getting a word from her. Cameras are not something she likes to look forward to. Her entire life in here she has lived protected by your father's shadow which is part of what has allowed her to be this successful in her field."
Eriol kept looking at Choi while Syaoran stubbornly looked away. For some reason his mind went back to that Christmas his aunt had planned for all of the family to spend it together in China. Although Syaoran didn't go, he had come with Tomoyo. They had spent an entire week in the cabin and not one single trace could be spotted that led them know she was here. Now that he thought about it well, even though his family knew where she was they never let out one single hint that said anything about her whereabouts. They had been so close to her and yet none of them knew where she had been till they landed a couple of months ago to play in the tournament.
Then it clicked. Choi's words made perfect sense. Sakura had never liked the spotlight but it was more than that. She had always made sure to cover anything that would link her presence anywhere. The reason why Syaoran spent so many years looking for her and didn't find anything had always been because she had learned how to cover her tracks completely. But she hadn't done it alone. She didn't have that kind of influence yet which explains why she stood at Xian's side.
"Your life has been exactly the opposite. Cameras follow you wherever you go. Most of your private life has been recorded for others to see. Your nights with women have made you almost as famous as your plays on the field."
Syaoran shot him a deadly glare before saying, "I don't need you to remind me any of this. I already know this and my answer is still the same. I'm not leaving Sakura. Find a way to deal with it."
"Find a way to deal with it? Are you even listening to yourself? You're leaving in a couple of weeks Syaoran!"
"My decision is final Choi! I will not leave her!" Syaoran said loudly not leaving any room for questions.
Choi stared at him. He hated dealing with a pissed off Syaoran. And honestly, who didn't when he was this headstrong about something? Giving up, he shook his head and sighed. "Fine. I will deal with it just like I've dealt with all of your things but I will let you know she will not come out unscarred from this. When that happens, it's on your head for not listening." He said before walking out of the room.
~ o ~
After parking her car, she walked inside the house. Wei greeted her on the door as always with a smile on his face. She looked around and saw her friends sitting in front of the TV watching the news.
"Sakura! I didn't know you were coming!" Tomoyo was the first one that reacted. She went over to the door and gave her a hug. "Are you going to stay long?"
Sakura shook her head. "I have a meeting tonight. I just stopped by to see how Xian is doing and talk to him before heading over to the office again."
Meiling walked over to the door as well to greet her friend. "Oh! Uncle is upstairs. Can we… talk before you leave?"
She stared at Meiling but nonetheless nodded. "Sure. I'll be back in a couple of minutes." With that been said she walked upstairs to find Xian's room. She watched as Yelan was giving some dishes and cups to one of the maids. Turning her head they each saw each other and smiled.
"Sakura! How's the office dear?"
"Missing Xian. How is he?" she replied.
Yelan opened the door for her. "He's better."
Sakura walked in and smiled. He was straightening himself on the bed sitting against the frame. "No handcuffs this time." She smirked as she got closer to him. "You must be improving."
He narrowed his eyes at her from the bed. "I'm afraid I don't find that funny at all. How's the office?"
She chuckled. Aside from being her boss, Xian had always been like a second father to her since she had arrived here in China. "As good as can be expected. A lot of people are missing you. Your secretary told me to say hi to you and she expects you to recover quickly. The board, well it's something else but you must've known that was bound to happen."
He nodded and sighed. "I don't owe them any explanations. I made my decision and they have to stand by it."
She didn't mind that he had chosen her above Xiefa. Frankly she had been a little worried as to how she would've taken it but in the end she ended up understanding her father's decision. "There's another reason for coming to visit besides wanting to know how you are doing."
He nodded and waited for her to continue.
"I'm having a meeting with Vaunt tonight. I've prepared a proposal for his project but I wanted to make sure this is what you want from them."
He quickly looked at his wife before looking at Sakura again. "Good. Do you have it with you?"
She nodded. Opening her bag she took out a hardcopy of the presentation she would be doing tonight and handed it to him. She watched him go page by page noticing every little detail out of the proposal.
"How long do you expect to be done with it?" he asked as he scrutinized another page.
She looked around the room and found a business magazine next to his night table. Even when he was sick he couldn't keep business away from too long. "Probably about six to eight months depending on how things go."
"Is this something you'd like to do?" he asked.
She sighed. "It is, but I'm not sure you'd be okay with the timeframe of the project. I'd be out of the office for a long time. And I know you still want me to supervise Suri's group from the moment she picks her first project."
He nodded. "When would you be starting if you accept the project?"
"I'm having the meeting tonight. They'll probably give me the details then."
"Go for it." He looked at her and smiled. "If it's something you feel you're interested in then do it. We'll see how we handle your schedule during those months."
She stared at him. What in the world was going on? Did he just agree on her being away from the office for almost the entire year? "Are you sure about this? The proposal is under Li Corp. Any project manager can take care of it as long as there's an agreement signed by both parties."
He nodded. "True, but you worked on that proposal. I can see it in your eyes. You're itching to get this one. Besides, I doubt these people are looking to work with any project manager. Since I started talking with them they have been very impressed with your work."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So I have your permission?"
Yelan kept staring at her husband but didn't say anything. Instead, she walked softly towards the window and kept listening patiently to the conversation.
He nodded once more. "Yep. You're good to go."
She nodded. "Then I'll give you a call and let you know how the meeting goes tonight."
He nodded. She said her goodbyes as he watched her going out of the room.
"Is this what you had planned when you told me you were putting your trust on her? With you having to take more time off from the office I don't think it's wise to have her gone from the office most of the year Xian." Yelan simply said.
"I'm giving Xiefa more responsibility." He simply answered.
Yelan looked at him from the window. "If you think I will let you work like you used to you got another thing coming. I am not planning on being a widow any time soon and will make sure my children are not fatherless because of your unhealthy habits."
He stared at his wife. Her warning duly noted as he sighed and tried to loosen up the mood. "It's not like I'm planning on dying soon love."
The beginnings of a soft smile started appearing on her face before she ended her statement. "I'm merely informing you Xian. Your mind games are only fun if you're present. Your days in the office, my love, are numbered."
He chuckled but decided not to say anything. Instead he grabbed the magazine he had placed in the corner of his night table and started reading another article. Years of marriage had taught him when to speak to his wife and when to just stay silent until the right moment presents itself.
~ o ~
She said her goodbyes and walked downstairs still a little shocked after what happened. Xian had just approved her being out of the office for months. She'd be taking a project that she wanted and she'd be able to add an international project to her portfolio. Now all that was left was the meeting tonight.
Walking down the stairs she saw Meiling standing up from the couch and walking towards her.
"Hey, don't forget me!" Meiling simply said.
Sakura chuckled. "Is everything okay with you?" she asked following Meiling inside Xian's house office.
"Yeah, yeah, it's nothing to worry about. I was just talking last night with Kyu and we both agreed in that you should be my maid of honor."
Sakura surprised looked at her. "What?"
Meiling simply looked at her smiling, "Even after all these years I've always considered you one of my best friends and when I had my fight with Kyu it was your words that got me accepting his proposal so I couldn't think of a better person to fill that spot than you. Well that and the fact that Kyu is so bent on Syaoran being the best man that there's no other way for this to go but for you to be my maid of honor. Please say yes?"
Sakura chuckled. "I'd be honored!" she said giving her friend a hug.
Meiling squealed a little before hugging her friend back. "I still can't believe I'm doing this, but here I go!"
Sakura laughed with her friend. "It's about time too!"
"Yeah… it still feels a little surreal though."
Not long after accepting being Meiling's maid of honor she headed towards her office once more. Working overnight on the proposal and getting Xian's approval had only been the first couple of steps. A lot had to be done before she could actually put her plan into motion. When she reached her office parking lot, she noticed the front door of the building was flooded with more reporters than when she left. She didn't miss several cameramen turning towards her car and quickly using their cameras to take pictures of her. Even during daylight she narrowed her eyes a little noticing how some of those flashes could be seen through the well tinted windows of her car. This was definitely getting annoying.
Pressing a small button of a remote control inside her car, she waited for the electric gate to grant her access. She parked her car and got out. Thankfully the parking lot had a gate that didn't allow anyone without access to get in. Sadly, the same couldn't be said about hearing anything they said. As she was walking towards the building side door, she heard several questions coming from these reporters outside of the building.
'Miss Kinomoto, how do you like your new position? Do you think this call was fair?
'Miss Kinomoto, will this be the future of Li Corp?
'What about Miss Li? Does she agree with this decision?
'Is it true your dating the president's son?
'Is it true you cheated on Senator Eli's son?
'How do you feel about the board member?
But the ones that impacted her the most were the last ones.
'Are you Li Syaoran's latest conquest?
'Is he the reason why you have this position?
She was mad. She was pissed. Entering the building through the side, she walked straight towards the front desk and looked at the manager in charge. "Call security and get all these camera people out of here."
A woman with a blue navy uniform hung up a phone and turned towards her. "Ma'am, I'm not sure that's possible. They are all outside of the building. By law, they are allowed to be outside as long as they're not touching the inside part of our property. I already called."
Sakura took a deep breath, not liking the news, and headed towards the elevator. What the heck was going on?
~ o ~
Ring Ring
"Li Corp's offices, how can I help you?" Suri tiredly but trying to keep her politeness in check answered her phone. If she were to count, she had probably received more than a thousand calls in less than two hours of different channels asking to have an interview with Sakura. "No, I'm sorry. She doesn't do exclusives."
On her other side, Kira was answering phone calls as well and applying Suri's teachings when it came to turn down calls that were meant for Sakura. "Li Corp's offices, how can I help you?" She waited for the person on the line to state his reason for calling before answering, "I'm sorry she's not available at this time. May I take a message?"
Hanging up the phone, Suri looked up and saw a not too happy Sakura walking towards her office. Perhaps telling her that Vaunt and Oliver wanted to have dinner at a French Restaurant wasn't such a good idea to break now. She looked at Sakura's new intern and said, "Kira, go downstairs to the coffee shop down the corner and buy an extra double shot mocha cappuccino for Sakura."
Kira looked at her after hanging up her phone. "But, Miss Kinomoto hasn't asked for anything."
Suri sarcastically smiled at her. "Just do it if you want to survive this afternoon."
Sakura passed them and without a word opened and closed the door of her office. Minutes later, her voice came through the speaker phone, "Suri, I won't be handling any calls today. Is that clear?"
Suri nodded. "Yes. Perfectly." No more words were needed while her new apprentice grabbed her purse and followed Suri's advice.
~ o ~
Their coach gave them an early practice so that they could take it easy for the rest of the evening. He watched through his room's window the day becoming darker with each passing minute. Cars started putting on their headlights down the busy streets of Hong Kong. His phone in his pocket waiting for his girlfriend's call to let him know how things with his father went but his mind kept going back to that day. Her words kept repeating themselves in his mind like a rollercoaster over and over again.
She tiredly sighed and looked down trying to avoid his eyes. "I don't want this now."
"What's this?" he softly asked.
"This… Us." She said still avoiding his eyes.
He was sure he loved her. There was no doubt in his mind about that. But then again Choi's words had touched something in him. Something deep within him that he had tried to avoid for a long time. Why was he having so much trouble with them? Usually whenever Choi told him something he either decided on following his advice or not but this time it was different. Sakura wasn't just anyone for him.
"Hey man, you okay?" Eriol asked from the couch. The game for the semis between Spain vs Japan was about to start in a couple of minutes.
He kept looking out the window with his phone on hand. "Do you think Choi is right?"
Eriol frowned and looked towards him. He wasn't even aware there was a decision to be made here. He had seen in the past the way Syaoran dealt with Sakura's absence. Though he could understand what Choi had said, going back to being who he was before was a big no no on his part. There was no way he would allow his cousin to go back to who he was before. "Since when do you listen to my opinion?"
Syaoran turned a little his face from the window but retracted from fully turning. Instead, he just kept watching the night view of the city while still thinking about Choi's words.
Eriol knew what was wrong with him. Since his manager's visit early in the afternoon his cousin had been acting a little strange. "If you truly want to know, I don't think that's something that you should be listening from him. If it's been bothering you this much then hear how she feels about this from her lips."
"She's not answering my phone calls." He simply said. He tightened the hold on his phone inside his pocket. He had tried calling her earlier but she hadn't answered her phone.
"Well, she did tell you she was having a meeting tonight. Perhaps she's already there." Eriol simply said before sighing. "Look, I wouldn't worry too much Syaoran just come watch the game. There's not much you can do until she calls you back anyways."
He listened to his cousin but didn't move from the window till the game started. Once he heard the sound of the referee's whistle that announced the commencement of the game, he took a seat next to his cousin and started watching the game. But the wheels on his mind never stopped turning. Something was wrong.
~ o ~
She reached the restaurant. A valet man approached her car and opened the door for her. First thing she noticed was a bunch of cameras taking pictures of her getting out of her car. She didn't quite understand what the whole commotion was about but nonetheless allowed the valet boy to help her out of her car. She walked towards the restaurant trying to conceal her displeasure at so many people taking pictures of her.
As she looked up, the second thing she noticed was that Vaunt was nowhere to be seen. The only one that was waiting for her in the front door was none other than Oliver. Her intuition was already telling her there was something off about tonight but nonetheless she decided to go through with it.
She simply smiled at him. "Oliver! So nice to see you again. Is Vaunt inside?" she asked.
He gave her a kiss on the cheek before smiling at her. "You'll have to forgive my partner. He had some business to attend to and decided to stay at the hotel. I hope you don't mind my company as I know you were expecting to meet him tonight."
She politely smiled at him. "No! Not at all."
"Good! Then come, the waiter already separated our table." He simply said. He put his hand on her lower back which made her feel a little uncomfortable but hiding her displeasure allowed him to lead her to their table.
Once seated, she took out the hardcopy of her proposal to show it to him. She had been expecting to show it to both of them but as the night would have it, Oliver would have to do. "I have prepared a proposal based on your needs for this project and what you expect to accomplish from it." She said while handing him the folder.
He nodded and took it from her. "How about we ask for dinner and I promise to take a look at your proposal afterwards. I don't like doing business with an empty stomach."
She smiled and nodded. As she learned from Suri, who was the one that made the reservation, Oliver was a goner for French Cuisine or more specifically their seafood recipes so she had decided to do this meeting at the best French Restaurant there was in Hong Kong even if that sounded weird. Not to mention Suri knew her well enough to know that any French restaurant would not do for her. She never took pleasure in eating at restaurants where authentic food wasn't served. And yet since she was looking forward to this project she accepted eating here after learning it could help sway their decision. They waited for the waitress to come and take their order.
After getting their drinks from the waitress and ordering their entrees, he smiled at her and asked, "So, how long have you worked for Li Corporation?"
She swallowed her sip of wine and answered, "Seven years going on eight soon."
He widened his eyes, "Seven years and look where you're at right now… your career path is very impressive."
She politely smiled at him. "Thank you for the compliment."
"I heard you are Japanese. When did you decided to move to China?" he asked.
His words brought an alert to her. It was one thing to have a polite business meeting but given her experience when personal details where involved it escalated to a place she was never comfortable in. "I moved when I was eighteen. Since that time I've been working at Li Corp."
"Eighteen?" he asked surprised by that little piece of information. "Weren't you afraid of starting a life at that age?"
She took a deep breath before taking another sip of her wine. "I've always known what I've wanted to do since I was that young. There was no point in delaying my decision."
He nodded. "Are you happy working with Li? Is Li Corp a good company?"
She smiled. "The best. You will find no better company than this one to work with."
He smiled as the waitress came and served their food. They silently ate their dinner. As promised, Oliver took out the proposal and started reading it as he ate. He asked her a few questions about it but didn't give her any indication that he was either pleased or displeased with the proposal.
He hadn't finished reading the entire proposal when he put it down on the table and looked at her. "Let me ask you something else. Something a little bit more personal. Are you dating Mr. Li's son?"
She stopped eating her scallops and intently stared at him. "With all due respect Oliver, I don't discuss my personal life with business partners."
He cleaned the sides of his lips before saying, "I'm not asking you to discuss your life only to confirm some rumors that are going around lately these days. It's only a mere question of yes or no. I'm not interested in hearing details."
She took a deep breath trying for it not to be too noticeable. "I'm not quite sure why this would be relevant to the project."
He knowingly smiled. "Then let me indulge you Ms. Kinomoto. Vaunt and myself like keeping our projects and new developments as close as possible till the opening date. Quite frankly, I'm beginning to have doubts on your ability to do this. Not to mention your poor decision making, if the rumors were to be true, is also affecting our decision on this. We wish to close the deal as soon as possible but there are a few lose ends we wish to tie before making our final decision."
She calmly stared at him. Just like Xian had taught her throughout the years she masked her true feelings towards this conversation. If it wasn't because she truly liked the project she would have put this man on his place for the insult but considering everything that was at stake she simply decided to take a sip of her wine to calm down before answering him. "My fame inside the business field should be enough for you to know the type of person you're dealing with."
"Your fame was not built while you were dating your company's president son." He said while grabbing his glass as well and added before drinking, "Of course, this is all speculation till you are willing to answer my question."
She tried to read his moves but for some reason she wasn't picking up where this conversation was headed. There was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that this meeting had other motives as well but she couldn't quite put her finger on whether she was right or not. This brought her to her next conclusion, no matter how young Oliver seemed to be she wasn't dealing with her typical Chinese client. Oliver was quite good at hiding his intentions. "Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you once more… I stand by my first response. But in any case you still have doubts, the same way I don't discuss my personal life with business partners I don't mix business with anything personal. So whether I built my fame with or without rumors doesn't inflict in the way I do my job."
Oliver smiled. "I see… You're a strong woman."
He had been analyzing her from the moment this night had started. She knew that much. "It's the way I've been taught from the moment I started working professionally."
"Then allow me to indulge you in another matter. What if I offer you what no one else has been able to offer you?"
~ o ~
Back to present…
The game ended with Japan winning over Spain. Within the added time of the game, after the regular ninety minutes, Takashi was able to hit a center ball and one of his teammates put the ball on the other team's net making them pass to the semifinals in an amazing well played game by both teams. Final score being 2-1.
He looked at his phone while passing it from hand to hand. Sakura still hadn't called. He had called two of his sisters already. One of them decided not to tell him anything except the fact that she had a house somewhere aside from her apartment and the other one wasn't even answering any of his calls either. The more he thought about it the more anxious he became as he kept thinking something was wrong. He took a deep breath before dialing her again.
"Hello?"
His heartbeat raised a thousand miles per hour as he realized she was finally answering. He hesitated before asking, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." She softly answered.
He painfully closed his eyes. There was no apology, no words that explained why she didn't answer her phone earlier, no reason as to why she had avoided his calls all day. He had been able to speak with her early in the morning but throughout the day it was as if he had fallen into a void space. He didn't exist anymore for her until now and the worst part was that he felt she was hiding something. "How was your meeting?"
"Short."
There it was again. Monosyllables… The perfect language and quickest way to have him frustrated for the rest of his stay in this hotel. He took a deep breath. "Talk to me Sak."
She hesitated before answering, "What do you want me to say?"
He softly asked trying to hide the pain he was already feeling in his chest. "Where are you?"
"Are you ready for your game?"
He ran his hands through his hair a little exasperated knowing where this conversation was heading to. "I want to see you."
"We both know that's not possible."
"Are you not close?"
"You'll see me at the end of the tournament. I already promised you I would be here."
He hesitated before sighing. This wasn't good. "You're not okay. You can barely talk to me. Are you regretting giving us a second chance?"
Author's Note: So here's chapter 18 Finally! Well first of all I want to thank all of you who reviewed my last chapter. You guys are awesome. I'm sorry guys this chapter took so long to be put in here but just to let you know I was trying to find a little bit of inspiration for this one. As it so happens I went back to re-reading this story completely and as I was doing that I started to find some mistakes or things that could be written in a better way on previous chapters. So I decided on replacing every chapter of this story. So far I've replaced all the way to Chapter 11 and hopefully the rest of them I'll be able to replace soon. Now, don't alarm yourselves I didn't change anything about the story line but I did change for example some misspellings I found in previous chapters along with things I found I could've described better. So hence why it took me forever to update this story. But hopefully you guys will like this chapter as well and review it to let me know how you feel about it. For those of you who choose to re-read the story I would appreciate if you let me know if you like it better or simply you feel the same way. I'll greatly appreciate it.