"And we always want roses, and Venice, Verona, & Paris, and life is another thing, the truth, the lie, and a yes." – Dani Martin
Chapter 21
"War of Footsteps"
She woke up to a tight embrace and a warm back against hers. Softly opening her eyes, she noticed the sky hadn't welcomed the sun yet. Syaoran's stillness made her wonder if he was awake yet but his deep breathing confirmed he wasn't. Even though the sun wasn't up yet, she could see the silhouette of his hand surrounding her waist on top of the sheets. She curiously stared at it as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world to see it slowly transcending from a dark silhouette to a light tanned color as the first rays of sun finally started appearing in the sky.
She softly traced one of the lines with her finger very careful as to avoid waking him up. His rough skin was a clear indication of the time they had spent apart. Hands that used to intertwined with hers in a past she had dared to run from. In vain? No… it hadn't been in vain. He had needed it that way and she had needed to find herself without him. Luck? She didn't believe in luck. Life was a road built with each step lived. Each decision taken, each decision not taken... both formed a person's road. Then, what to call it if it needed a word? Fate? The judge was still out on that one. All she knew was that once again she ended up back in his arms.
She smiled to herself. Who would've ever thought that after so many years apart they would find each other still feeling this way? Sensing him stir, she smiled. "Are you finally awake?"
He shook his head grunting his protest to her question before nuzzling against her neck. Wanting to prolong the moment he tightened his hold on her and kept his eyes closed. "One more hour."
She chuckled. "Did you jump the minutes?"
He smirked. "Or two more?"
With some difficulty, because of Syaoran's tight hold on her, she moved so she could be facing the ceiling then turned her head to find him wide awake and staring at her.
"Maybe more than two hours…" he softly said while looking at her.
She playfully rolled her eyes smiling. "You must have breakfast with your teammates."
He smirked. "I already told you it was optional."
"Yeah… I do not believe a single word out of that sentence." She sarcastically said rolling her eyes and chuckling. "Are you planning on doing anything constructive today instead of staring at my face?"
He smiled at her question. Waking up next to her was enough incentive for him not to want to get out of bed at all the entire day. He moved a small strand of hair out of her face. "I want a rain check on the other half of the night you didn't spend with me."
She sarcastically raised her brow. "Excuse me?"
He turned to face the ceiling as well and put his hands on the back of his head. "Well, it's only obvious that I get a rain check. The way I see it… you didn't spend an entire night with me because Tomoyo arrived in the middle of the night to my room last night which technically means I only spend half the night with you."
She got up to a sitting position and narrowed her eyes at him not believing what she had just heard. Noticing him avoiding her eyes, she grabbed her pillow and hit his chest with it.
"Ah!" he playfully looked at her as he rubbed his chest. "That hurt. I might have to charge another night for the hit."
She sarcastically nodded. "Oh really?" she asked before hitting him once more. "Half a night?" She hit him once more.
He covered himself from her third hit. With a serious face on he said, "I will not fall under these childish tactics of yours."
She smirked and chuckled before hitting him again. "And you still don't want to wake up?"
He covered himself from her next attack before grabbing his pillow as well. Sitting in the bed he playfully hit her back with it.
"Ah!" she moved to cover her face as Syaoran's pillow hit her shoulder. Laughing, she swung her arm once more to hit him again. It didn't take long for what she considered to be a way of waking him up to turn into a pillow fight between the two of them.
He chuckled and covered her next hit with his pillow. "You know… if I charged you a night per hit you'd owe me more than a week by now."
"More than a week?" she sarcastically asked. She stood up and started hitting him from a different angle to have an advantage in this small pillow fight. She didn't have it for long though as Syaoran also stood up and started hitting her standing up. The only difference was that in this position he obviously had the advantage since he was taller than her by mere inches. "Ah!" she playfully complained laughing at the same time before running away from him towards the small living room.
He laughed and followed her with the intent of never stopping this pillow fight. "Where are you going babe?" he sarcastically asked while swinging his pillow again. "I'm awake now!"
"Ah!" she laughed as her pillow hit his once more. Turning from him, she tried to run away from him again swinging her pillow back without looking as she ran once more towards the bedroom. Having Syaoran close by, she jumped over the bed and landed on the other side laughing. She waited for him on the other side hoping he would do the same and to her relief he did. She took the opportunity to hit him once more.
He covered from her attack laughing as well but kept going after her. There was no way he would let her go without teaching her the repercussions of waking him up so abruptly. No… Never… That simply wasn't an option. He kept running after her swinging his pillow and hitting hers in the process. A couple of feathers started falling out of his pillow but that didn't stop him. He kept swinging away to no avail until those feathers suddenly started coming out in bunches. Dropping what was left of the pillow to the floor he decided to just go straight for her.
"Ah!" she playfully screamed again still running away from him. She didn't get too far as she felt Syaoran's arm surrounding her waist. She laughed as he playfully carried her to the bedroom.
"Pillow fight?" he asked to her ear while chuckling. Reaching the bed he threw himself backwards with her in his hands. He felt her trying to break from his embrace while laughing.
"At least you're fully awake now." She answered smirking. Looking down at the mess they had done she wondered when exactly had it started? She hadn't noticed when the pillows broke. She simply kept hitting his without looking back. Whether she hit or missed him she had no idea, but now looking at the floor from the bed it was clear it was quite a mess. "Look at what you did!" she said laughing.
"Me?" he playfully said faking his surprise at her question. Shaking his head without letting her go he said, "No babe. This one is on you."
She chuckled. "You would blame this on me? What kind of boyfriend are you?"
"The mean sexy hot one." He said in a deep voice that made her laugh before kissing her neck. "What are you doing today?"
"I'm meeting your father in the office."
"Oh! Fun…" he sarcastically said rolling his eyes.
She chuckled. "The doctor finally released him and I have to debrief him with everything that we've accomplished so far in his absence."
"Does that include the hotel in England or does he know already?" he asked remembering the conversation they had on the roof the other night. She had been pretty down when she told him the story. From what he had heard she had a strong personality when it came to doing business. It wasn't normal to see his girlfriend that way but he was glad that she didn't hide it from him or keep it to herself.
She smirked. "He knows but is still part of the meeting since technically he was out of the office when it happened." Out of all the questions he could ask about his father's health or return to the office she was intrigued he instead had asked about the England hotel. "Does it bother you?"
"What?"
"That Oliver chose to flirt with me rather than give me the job?"
He smiled at her. Bother… bother wasn't exactly the word he would use to describe what he truly felt whenever another guy decided to flirt with her. Staring deeply into her eyes he wondered if she even had a single idea of what she did to him. "Sometimes you make me feel like I don't want to stay in this hotel any longer."
"Do you think I can't handle him?"
"It's not about handling Sak. Even that idiot spends more time with you right now than I can."
"That can be arranged." She said before pecking his lips. Amused by his words she smiled. Sometimes he could be such a child when wanting something. The distance this tournament demanded from both of them had been hard. It was the reason why she had asked him not to depend on her. "You are in the finals. It's a dream you've had since you were a child. Me… I've watched you play since we were in high school. I've seen the way you've worked hard to be here. Even when we were apart I watched some of your televised games. I was with you when you needed to recover from your injury and I'll be here once this ends. You have one more game. If I remember correctly, you said you would win this."
"I am." He confidently said before pausing. Rolling his eyes he added, "We are. The no I in team thing…"
She laughed. "Good. Then just enjoy your game. Live the moment. I'll still be here once this is over."
How could he not love this woman? He stared at her while tracing her lips with his fingers thinking how badly he wanted to say those words out loud. Every word spoken by her ignited a fire inside of him that pushed him to be a better person. She had promised him she would be here before but hearing her saying it again gave him strength to endure whatever he had left of this tournament. It was true. He had dreamed of this moment since he was a child. The championship lied in his hands and his ability to focus till the end.
~ o ~
Eriol walked comfortably through the hallway with his hands in his pockets and whistling to himself. He pushed the elevator button and waited. Thinking about last night made him smirked. He had to admit sometimes Syaoran's rebellious behavior came in handy. Not that he liked fighting with his fiancé but she hadn't stayed with him since this tournament had started and finally last night his wish came true. She had come in the middle of the night knocking at the door and proposed something she would've never thought of doing on her own. Sometimes he had to give it to his cousin… the guy even knew how to screw up and still get what he wanted.
He walked inside the elevator and waited for it to reach the lobby. Their coach had given them yesterday afternoon off with means of resting and they were all supposed to meet at the restaurant in the morning.
"Hirragizawa!"
Ah! Thinking of the King of Rome… "Coach!" he responded smiling.
"Where's Li? You both should've been here five minutes ago." His coach said.
Eriol stared at him. His cousin hadn't arrived for breakfast yet. 'Idiot! I take back everything good I thought about him this morning!' he thought cursing himself for finding himself in this predicament. He smiled before quickly saying, "Ah! Yes, well I took a longer shower than usual. And well… you know Syaoran. He always likes to do things the same way." Rolling his eyes casually he added, "Superstition… And well… he had to take a shower before coming downstairs but he should be here any time."
Coach narrowed his eyes. He had seen Eriol's nervousness before when speaking. It usually meant he was lying and whatever they were up to he was definitely not going to like. Shaking his head he was about to call him out on his lie when suddenly the elevator door once again opened. He passed by Eriol and walked straight towards it.
Out of the elevator came a walking Syaoran much too relaxed and smiling to himself. He still hadn't noticed that their coach was waiting for him with his hands crossed over his chest. All that plagued his mind was how good it felt waking up next to Sakura this morning. It definitely made his day.
"Li!"
Syaoran looked up. Then suddenly his day started changing. His smiled slowly fading when he looked at his coach's face in front of him.
"You're unusually late this morning." Coach said.
Syaoran looked at his coach before looking a little further back at his cousin who quickly looked at his watch and nodded towards it. "Ah yes! Sorry coach. Eriol took longer than usual on the shower."
Coach narrowed his eyes at him. He looked at him from top to bottom and then right back up. Happy face…? Dry hair…? There was no way he could believe such a lie from both of them. Years of coaching this team had taught him well enough about his players to know when they were lying or telling the truth. And right now he could tell both of his players were lying to him. The problem lied on what to do about it. For now, he would let them go until he could come up with the correct punishment for their actions. The last laugh would definitely be his. "Both of you go to the restaurant. Your teammates are waiting for you."
"Yes coach." They both said before heading over to the restaurant leaving their coach in the lobby.
"I didn't think you remembered the signals with it being so long and everything." Syaoran smirking said.
"Let it be known my debt for last night was just paid." Eriol said in a low voice so that only Syaoran would hear.
Syaoran chuckled. "Ah… when I tell Kyu about this he won't believe it. More than three rules broken in less than twenty four hours… that's an achievement for you. I'm so glad my sacrifice didn't go to waste."
Eriol scoffed and frowned. "Your sacrifice?" Then he smirked. "The moment I say my fiancé at the door I knew this must've been Sakura's idea. Between the three of them she's the only one as crazy as you to come up with these things but with the slight difference that she knows exactly how to do them without getting my fiancé pissed. Wasn't she waiting in the other side?"
Syaoran smirked and chuckled as they both walked inside of the restaurant. Indeed his girlfriend was as ingenious as him. Another one of her characteristics in his long list of things he loved about her.
~ o ~
Xian stood up from his chair inside the conference room gaining the attention of all members of the board. He looked around and memorized every detail of their facial expressions knowing quite well not all of them were satisfied with some of his decisions. Most precisely with the decision of giving Sakura the power of handling the company any way she saw fit. "And so, I believe we all should thank Ms. Kinomoto for doing a marvelous job at taking care of this company in my absence."
"I'm not quite sure I'm hearing you well." One of them said. He cleared his throat before continuing. "After all this meeting just put you up to speed on what's going on with the company. While we are up and still running smoothly, a great deal was lost in the hands of Ms. Kinomoto."
Xian chuckled. Yep… he would silence these thoughts once and for all. "I wouldn't call it a great deal until a project is completely finished. But if you're so keen on calling it a great deal then I guess we'll just have to wait and see in a couple of months once it starts running. I'll agree or disagree with you then though I dare to say the outcome of the project will be pretty close to what I already think of it. As for Ms. Kinomoto…" he turned to look at Sakura and smiled, "My thanks for keeping this company running while I was away."
Sakura responded with a small bow of her head. It wasn't a surprised for others to see Xian backing her work up in this meeting. The fact that she had always been his favorite project manager never escaped them. She watched as Xian released everyone from the meeting and waited in her chair for them to leave the room. When she was left with only him, she stood up and closed the door. "I must say I agree with Miku."
He knowingly smiled. "Why? Because of an undone project? I think you have more sense than that."
She looked at him. "It was a good deal for the company to have. It would've increased the value of our portfolio. If not, you would've never agreed on me having it." She said as she watched him. His facial expression turning into a well familiar smirk, one she had left in the hotel a couple of hours ago. "And I lost it. You're going to tell me he's not right?"
"Did you research the man they hired?"
"I know enough."
"Then you should know he will never be able to deliver that project the way you could've. You're not where you're at out of the goodness of my heart Sakura. I've always told you, you are a great asset to this company. You understand what needs to be done. You see things others can't see when looking at a project. Your development plan surpasses most plans I've seen even from men belonging to this board. If you weren't good, trust me… you wouldn't be here."
"If I am as good as you say I could've gotten the deal for this company."
"You didn't get the deal because you're involved with my son. Last time I checked, that's a pretty good reason to lose at least that deal."
"That's not the only deal I've lost for this company."
"And trust me… it won't be your last one." Xian smiled and walked back to the head of the table were his documents were placed neatly and organized in a corner of the table. "That's part of the cost of being good at what you do. People will try to swerve you their way and manipulate you to get what they want out of you. That's why you need to keep a clear idea of what you want and stick to it so that you can make your decisions based on what you want instead of what others want."
Sakura silently watched him search through his documents while thinking about what he had just said. It was true. If she thought well about it, she lost both deals because others couldn't manipulate her decision. She had known from the start what she had wanted and since neither offered that to her she simply let them go. Although that didn't take away her small frustration of not getting what she had wanted, she always took Xian's advice to heart.
Xian finally found the folder he was looking for and took it out from among the rest of the papers. "Talking about projects, I want you to take a look at this one and tell me what you think."
Sakura looked at Xian before eyeing the folder. She took it from his hands, opened it, and started going through the papers. "Residential?" she stopped going over the pages and looked at him. "You want to start developing residential projects?"
"This project is not only residential. That is but one piece of it."
Sakura took the pages that provided the architectural plans and spread them apart in the table. After moving piece by piece till she could get a clear picture of the entire project she looked back at Xian. "Ciudadela?" she asked reading the name in a corner mesmerized already with the concept of the plan. Four similar buildings were to be constructed with ten floors each. They wouldn't have the same form from the outside, only the apartments on the inside would be sharing the same architecture. Each building would be placed in a corner of the acres bought for this project and would be connected to the others by a small plaza in the middle of the four buildings with many gardens around. Small commercial stores were placed at the bottom of each building looking towards the plaza while a fountain adorned the middle of it. It was like creating a small town all combined into one project.
"A friend of mine brought it to my attention. He says none of the project managers he has interviewed have connected with the vision he has of this project."
"Where is it at?"
"Here in China. But it's the first of its kind in here." He said while looking at the project as well. "You'll off course have the right to choose your own team although I believe you will probably need more than one project manager to handle this one."
She didn't have to answer yes or no to the project. The look of utter fascination on her face was enough indication to consider this project as her new project acquisition. "Any thoughts on it?" she asked.
"I do have but one. I am planning on making a partnership for the development of the project."
"A partnership?" she asked. One minute he was complementing her on her way of doing things and now he wanted to form a partnership to develop the same project he was offering her. Did he not trust her? "With who?"
"Saki." He simply answered.
Sakura stared at him. 'Figures…' she thought before voicing her opinion on the matter. "If you're thinking that with this project Feimei will end up joining our company then I must warn you, she already has a project on her hands. Though I believe you already know about this…"
Xian chuckled. "She wouldn't be working for us if it's a partnership, would she?"
"Feimei is not like Xiefa, Xian. Xiefa decided to follow you into the business. While Feimei decided to do something similar, she wants to do it on her own."
Xian smiled as he reclined himself from the table facing her. He crossed his hands across his chest and sighed. "I'm not making her do anything she wouldn't want to do. I'm merely looking for a partnership. It could very much happen that Saki doesn't accept my terms then I would have to find another partner for this."
Sakura looked back down at the project. Without a doubt, the idea could catch the attention of any project manager who loved a challenge. After setting the plans on the table it didn't take her long to know she wanted to be the one in charge of this one. But there was one thing that threw her back out of all this deal… Saki. Xian's calmness when talking about the partnership made her doubt for a second. She thought of the many reasons why he could want a partnership to be formed for making this project. Years of being his trainee had its advantages. She had learned to read between the lines when it came to him especially when he calmly talked about something. Being a ruthless business predator didn't come only out of talk when speaking about Xian. What he wanted, for some reason he would always get or others would suffer the consequences whether they wanted to or not. And that was one of the things that worried her about this project. Wanting a partnership with Saki wasn't a coincidence.
When she had asked about the partnership his first option was an alliance with his daughter's company. From the moment Feimei had set foot in China he had tried to lure her into working in the family business as well, just like Xiefa. But Feimei had other plans. Her strong will allowed her to stay apart doing what she loved away from her father's shadow. Which is why it worried her that his first option had been that one. Searching for a partnership with Saki meant he was playing his first move.
"What if I say no?" she boldly asked.
He smirked. "Then I'll give it to Xiefa."
'Second move.' Sakura thought. He would have the project whether she accept it or not.
"Would you use me as bait if I decide to do it?"
He knowingly smiled. "Like I said, I wouldn't make my daughter do something she wouldn't want to do. In the end, it's her decision although I would very much like it if she said yes."
'Third move.' He knew already Feimei would accept doing this if there was a chance of working together without the need of joining her father's company.
It was fascinating. The way he thought about every small outcome of a situation before they happened was one of the things that captivated her attention and inspired her to keep working for him. There were so many things she could still learn from him. To be honest, the more she thought about it the more she convinced herself that his truly first moved had been to show the project to her. It was too good of a challenge for her to decline. "I'll take it."
That been said, Xian agreed to send all the information pertaining the project to her assistant before she walked out of the conference room. She couldn't help but feel a little excited about this one. Hopefully she could prepare a good presentation of what she had in mind to be the development plan. Xian would take care of setting the date with the owner so she could present her idea and hopefully seal the deal. She walked inside her office but paused before reaching her desk when she looked at her friend Tomoyo sitting in the couch waiting for her.
"Tomoyo." She happily greeted. "What a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect to see you here. Did you text me or something?" she asked while looking through the unanswered messages on her phone.
Tomoyo stood up from the couch and shook her head. "No. I actually was hoping to find you here and speak to you."
Sakura nodded. "Sure. Did you wait long?"
"No. Your assistant let me through to wait here. I hope you don't mind."
"Off course not! Do you want anything to drink?"
Tomoyo shook her head. "No, I'm good."
"Okay." Sakura said before grabbing a small water bottle from her small fridge at the side and walking over towards her. "So, what's going on?"
Tomoyo sighed. "I wanted to talk about last night."
Sakura nodded but waited for her to continue.
"I think I owe you an apology."
Sakura laughed a little while shaking her head casually. "What for?"
"For what I said when we were having dinner."
"You don't need to apologize for anything. I'm actually glad that after so many years apart at least we can still be honest with each other." Sakura simply said.
Tomoyo shook her head. "I do need to apologize. You see, I promised Eriol I wouldn't bring any of this up after he told me you were here in China many months ago."
Sakura smiled. "Then I won't tell anything to Eriol and we're both good with this."
Tomoyo smiled. "The reason I'm here Sakura is because after thinking about this you're right about one thing. I don't know how you were when you guys broke up in the past. Perhaps you were doing as bad as him or maybe a little better and when I said what I said last night I was only thinking about how hard this had been for me."
Sakura frowned. "Tomoyo-"
Tomoyo put her hand up to silence her friend. "Please let me finish. You say we can still be honest with each other, I'm hoping that is the case. I wasn't trying to judge you but it did affect us all what you did back then. Syaoran was never easy to handle. Without you there it became a nightmare. When Eriol told me they found you here, a lot of thoughts came to mind. Mixed feelings of sorts. Most along the lines of 'one of my best friends was found though she never cared enough to look back.' Even so, I want you to know that I wasn't trying to judge you last night. My words came out of being a little hurt. Syaoran never told us what truly happened between you two. He only kept repeating it had all being his fault." She paused and took a deep breath before saying, "I'm truly happy we found you again Sakura. And I'm sorry for what I said last night."
Sakura shook her head. "Stop, you don't need to apologize Tomoyo. I'm the one who should be apologizing for what you went through. Thank you… for your words. Even though you don't need to apologize it feels good to know we can still talk like this."
Tomoyo scoffed and smiled. "To finish my honesty speech here I must say I am truly happy he found you again."
Sakura chuckled and nodded before smirking. "Why? Because it finally gave you the chance of throwing him out of the room so you could have Eriol all to yourself last night?"
Tomoyo laughed and rolled her eyes playfully, "Aside from that, I'm glad he finally calmed down."
Sakura scoffed. "You call breaking rules last night being calmed? Because I can assure you this idea must've come from him."
Tomoyo chuckled and nodded. "Oh, trust me… he did calmed down." She took her purse from the couch and hanged it from her shoulder. "Now I must go. I have a meeting with a designer that wants to do a joint fashion show."
Sakura nodded. She watched her friend walking towards the door before calling her. "Tomoyo!"
Tomoyo turned towards her.
"Can I ask you something before you leave?"
"Sure."
"You were traveling throughout all of these years since you opened your own company. How did you do it? With Eriol, I mean…"
Tomoyo stared at her friend. While the news hadn't reached the media yet she already knew Syaoran was leaving after this tournament. All of his closest friends and family knew about it. "I know you probably think it's hard… it is hard. But that was my first step, to accept it. After that, everything came out by trusting."
"Were you not afraid?"
Tomoyo smiled. "Many times over. But… you'll never know till you try." She turned around to leave but stopped herself and once more looked at her friend. "Sakura, everyone has heard of Syaoran being a player all around. The media no doubt benefitted the most out of his countless nights. Even I've had my differences with him because of it but take it from someone who's been there to see it unfold right in front of her eyes… even a wolf knows when he's home. I've never seen him look at other women the way he looks at you."
Sakura took a deep breath and nodded while walking towards her friends. She couldn't deny that the next few weeks had created a sort of doubt in her mind. After the tournament, they had planned on taking a week for vacation but then after that he would be taking off to England. She had already gotten their tickets to go to Spain like they had talked about but neither of them dared to touch the other touchy subject. She stood in front of her friend and gave her a hug. "Thanks for everything Tomoyo."
Tomoyo smiled. "I'm glad we had this conversation."
Sakura chuckled while smiling. "So do I."
~ o ~
She didn't know what lured her to come to his practice. I mean, she knew who lured her but what went through her mind when she decided to do this she had no idea. Not one of her brightest moments if she needed to add. After that talk with Tomoyo she just knew she wanted to see him. She watched from the VIP box as he kicked a couple of balls into the net alone. Practiced had been over for the rest of the team just a couple of minutes ago, except for him. Instead of showering like the rest of his teammates he stayed kicking balls into the net alone. One by one she watched him repeat his action until the last ball he had lined up for him had hit the back of the net. Then he left towards the locker room.
She kept looking towards the field. It had taken him years of preparation to finally have a chance to win the most glamorous award for a soccer player… the World Cup. To be recognized as a world champion among other countries. The best of the best. Determination and discipline had led him here. For this he had worked most of his life never stopping to wonder what ifs, learning from past mistakes, and applying what he had learned.
After minutes of thinking about his past she heard the door being opened from behind. She turned towards the sound and tried to stay serious but his sexy arrogant smirking face with wet hair that clearly indicated he had just gotten out of the shower greeted her from the door. Again… she didn't know what lured her into thinking this was a good idea but she still went through with it.
"My Sakura, I didn't know you would abuse your management privileges just to see me. I feel obliged." Syaoran said while closing the door behind him.
She scoffed before rolling her eyes. "As a matter of fact I am not abusing any privileges. My presence here is strictly business." She pointed at some boxes on top of a table.
He smirked and sarcastically replied, "Off course."
She opened one of them and took out the first poster. "I need you to sign these."
He approached the table getting closer to her than the posters. He grabbed the picture she had in her hands instead of one from the box and looked at it. "Is this the picture you liked the most out of the ones I gave you?"
"It's merely a picture that needs your signature on it so we can sell it." She simply replied.
He smiled before quickly pecking her lips taking her by surprise. He watched her expression as she went from frowning to realize what he had done.
"Syaoran-" she started saying but couldn't say more as his lips covered hers once more but this time he kissed her several times before she succumbed to his kiss and allowed him to deepen it.
He tasted her sweet lips as he slowly put the picture down on the table. This morning still fresh on his mind, he laced his hands around her waist and brought her closer to him as he kept enjoying kissing his girlfriend.
Mentally waking up from her dreamlike state she realized what they were doing and quickly turned her head to break the kiss. She stayed slowly catching her breath in his arms but didn't allow him to continue with his little display. "Someone can see."
"You know, I don't remember you being this timid in the bedroom this morning." He cunningly whispered to her ear though it didn't take long for him to feel her hand hitting his stomach making him quickly untangled his hands from around her waist to rub it. He chuckled while bending over a little. He got to admit, her hit had been a little harder than he thought it would be.
"I am working." She quickly said not feeling sorry at all for hitting him and looking around to make sure no one had seen their little display of affection.
He kept laughing a little before finally going towards the box full of his pictures. He sat down, picked up one of the markers and started signing the pictures. "How many of these do I have to sign?"
"Three boxes."
He nodded. "Did you miss me so much since this morning you decided to watch me practice?" he cunningly asked.
"Don't be so conceited. I'm merely doing my job." She answered but at the same time smiling.
He chuckled. "Your job? I thought you sent Suri to do these types of things for you."
"Suri is a project manager now. I'm trying to train a new assistant."
"Tsk! Aw… just when we had started to get along." He sarcastically said as he kept signing his pictures. In reality, she had been a pain at the beginning though he had to admit his attitude was probably to blame for that.
Sakura chuckled. "You know… perhaps for your little show of attention I could increase the boxes to five…" she said as a warning.
He scoffed but kept signing. "Five would only keep you here longer. So… by all means increase them."
She shook her head while smiling. Looking at his signature she frowned. She walked towards the table and bent a little to see what he had scribbled on the pictures he had already signed. "I need you to sign the pictures Syaoran. Not to do a graphic display of intertwined lines without any form that resembles your name."
He stopped and looked at her. "This is my signature."
"Is it? I don't see and S in that signature."
He smirked. "It's an X… it's in Chinese."
She narrowed her eyes at him. The fact that he was being a smart ass about it let her know he wasn't serious about this. "Do you think this is a game?"
He smiled. "I missed you." He took advantage of her being near to give her a quick kiss once more before sitting down on the chair. "Since this morning too."
She took a deep breath before saying, "I will call my new assistant to come relieve me of this small duty if you don't keep signing those pictures."
"No more five boxes?" he asked smirking before noticing the seriousness on her face. "Fine. I'll keep signing. Though just for the record… this is my signature."
She was about to say something but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. She looked to see Choi had come in before closing the door after.
"Ms. Kinomoto." He said giving a small bow to greet her. "I see you've found Syaoran. Is he being difficult?"
"Not at all. I was able to get him right after practice but thank you for making sure." She said.
Syaoran stared at her. Had she spoken to him about this? As far as he knew Choi hadn't contacted him to let him know Sakura would be asking for signed posters from him.
"Off course."
A small vibration made Sakura look inside her small purse to find her cell phone. "I'm sorry. I have to take this." Looking at the caller ID she excused herself and walked out of the room.
Choi watched her close the door after walking out. For some reason it still bothered him to know Syaoran wasn't communicating the way he needed him to but was more surprised to find out the reason for it had just left this room. If there was one thing that was important to him as an agent was to have communication with his players at all time. It didn't need to be specific but it would tremendously help him do his job better if he was on top of everything and for that things needed to be said. He sighed and looked at Syaoran. "I will ask you this one last time. Are you serious about this one Syaoran?"
He scoffed before going back to signing his pictures. "I am."
"Look at me." He calmly said knowing someone's posture when talking could give away hidden meanings.
Syaoran looked at him a little more serious than intended. "I said I am."
"Fine." Choi replied. "I'll deal with the media then."
Syaoran went back to signing his pictures. Given the number of pages inside each box he knew it would take him at least twenty to thirty minutes although he would much rather have his girlfriend be the one to supervise him right this instant. "What's the point of it? When this tournament is over everyone will find out anyways."
"Do you think that's all they do when they find out about something like this? You're not that naïve to not know. Your little reporter friend was only the beginning of what could become a greater problem if not handled correctly."
Oh, the problem wasn't that he didn't know… the problem resided in that he still wasn't sure how to bring up the conversation when talking to Sakura. She had made it very clear to him she found being in the public eye a nuisance. She had asked him for some time, she had asked him to understand and yet he was in a position where his fame had reached one of the highest rankings for the media. Not being in the public eye was simply not an option when dating him and he was completely conscious about it. He had fought with his agent over this a couple of weeks ago. It simply pissed him off when he had bluntly suggested breaking up with her. But honestly speaking, it wasn't until his manager brought it up that the subject started to trouble him. As much as he wanted to deny it, he knew each and every word said in that room that day was said out of concern. And he was grateful that Choi was that kind of person. He put his marker down and sighed. "What can be done?"
"I would say take things slow but I'm certain you won't listen. If you can avoid be seeing staying together it would help. Date her for a while before moving in. You know… have the media know you're serious about this one. It's a way of mitigating harsh comments and assumptions."
'Moving in…?' He scoffed at the thought. He wasn't even sure what they would do once he had to leave let alone moving in…
Choi heard the door open. Sakura walked back inside and closed the door after. He looked at Syaoran to finish their small talk. "I need you to communicate Syaoran so I can deal with the media." He looked at Sakura and politely said, "Ms. Kinomoto, I am aware of the relationship you have with my client. Like I said to Syaoran, I will do everything in my power to deal with the media and try to keep your relationship as private as possible."
Sakura looked at him while confidently replying, "I appreciate your help Choi but rest assured I've already taken care of the media problems."
'Taken care of…' the statement caught Syaoran's attention as he looked at his girlfriend. Days ago, he had received a call from Katherine asking him for some help. She had said something he had intentionally discarded thinking it was a lie but for some reason his girlfriend's words brought the conversation back to his mind. "Choi, could you please give us a moment? I need to talk to Sakura alone."
Sakura watched as Choi looked at him curiously but nonetheless nodded before leaving. She could feel the change in his mood by the tone of his voice and knew whatever he was about to speak off displeased him.
He stood up while looking at her. Putting his hands inside his pockets he asked, "Is it true you filed a lawsuit against the entire channel 2 network company?"
She was quite surprised at his question. She was pretty certain she hadn't mentioned anything to him about this and yet he knew. Making sure that her voice never faltered, confidently she answered, "I did."
"To what ends?"
"To whatever ends a lawsuit can bring against a company."
"Why?" he asked.
"Defamation of my name."
"Defamation?"
She nodded making sure to keep her head high. Without a doubt there was something pissing him off about this. She could already feel it in the way he was interrogating her. "The channel has collaborated in having a media circus with my name involved. That is not something I will allow."
"And you think this is the best way to do it? Not everyone who works at that company had a say on what they did to your name."
"It is not my fault they work for such incompetent managers."
He couldn't believe the words he had just heard coming from her mouth. "Sakura! Can you honestly tell me you feel right about this?"
She kept her stance as she confidently answered, "I am right about this. Don't think for one second I will change my mind because you don't see it the way I do. My name was tarnished by that little reporter who thought she could actually do something like this without repercussions. And I warned her of the consequences. Even your sister tried to warn her but she didn't listen. So don't come in and try to blame this on me or even play on the clean conscience."
The lack of emotion in her face as she said the words stirred certain anger inside of him. How in the world could she consider this something appropriate to do? "Even if this was something that Katherine started not everyone has to pay for her mistakes."
She scoffed. "And what do you want? For me to simply let this go? Do you know how many doors will me letting this go open for other media companies to do the same to my name? No." She firmly said.
He shook his head. "So instead you take upon yourself to leave out on the streets hard working people that need employment just to clear your name."
"I will not back down from this Syaoran. My mind is set."
By her words he could only guess his father's lawyer were the ones taking her case which meant she would most probably win without too much effort. So the only alternative he had was to try to make her change her mind even against her strong will. "Your mind is set? Be reasonable Sakura! Can you think of how many people will be jeopardized because of your lawsuit? Parents who have worked hard for years to sustain their families, teenagers growing up learning the business, people who love their profession… This is not something you can honestly tell me you want to do."
"Then they should've chosen a worthy company to work for instead of one without scruples."
He shook his head not believing what he was hearing and sighed. "I will ask father to take out his lawyers. There's no way he would agree to something like this."
"I wouldn't be using the company's lawyers if your father didn't think this is the correct decision." She confidently said leaving no doubt that she was going through with this.
He shook his head. "I can't believe this." He ran his hands through his hair before setting them on his waist. "You know if you want to start pointing fingers then perhaps its better you start with me. I seduced that reporter in one of my trips to Lisbon. It is the reason why she did this? Isn't it?"
Sakura counted up to five in her head while taking a deep breath. She didn't need to be reminded of his previous irresponsible lifestyle. "I warned her to leave me alone and she didn't listen. Don't try to defend her of her own doing. You may have seduced her but that never gave her the right to use my name the way she did. I'm not changing my mind Syaoran. I'm going forward with the lawsuit whether you think it's right or not. Whether you like it or not this is my decision."
He knew he had overstepped his boundary just now with his words but he was angry. In his defense he still thought what she was doing was wrong. Yes, Katherine had said some bad things about her on the media. Yes, she should've never done it. But that didn't mean that Sakura had the right to mess with other people's lives. It was wrong to punish everyone just because of one person. He sighed and looked away. He needed to calm down before doing or worst saying something he would later regret. "Text me when you get to Feimei's apartment." He said before walking out of the room.
~ o ~
She couldn't believe the way her meeting with Syaoran had ended. How in the world did they go from having an amazing morning waking up cuddled together to end up having a harsh argument in the afternoon? And to make it worst, about something that he clearly knew had pissed her off from the very beginning. How dare he bring his past encounter with that idiot to her face? Did he have a dead wish?
In the end, Choi had to take the rest of the boxes down towards the locker room to have him sign the rest of the posters. Even with their fight he was oblige to follow the rules of the tournament and that also meant with selling merchandise. She drove through the familiar roads till she reached the Li's house. She had agreed with Xiefa on leaving the signed posters at her house so she could take them in the morning to be accounted for. Opening her car door after parking her car, she walked out and rang the doorbell. Wei greeted her as usual with a smile on his face and she greeted him with a small bow and a smile perfected over time that hid her turmoil feelings away. Having an argument with Syaoran wasn't an excuse not to greet people friendly. "Wei, the posters are in the back seat of the car." He nodded while walking out towards her car.
"Mmm you're back!"
She looked to her side to find Xian with his usual glass of whiskey in hand reclined on his office door looking at her.
"A glass of your whiskey is just what I need after talking with your son." She said while walking towards his office. She walked passed him inside his office and served herself a glass.
"Aren't you going a little overboard with that glass?" he asked.
She shook her head without looking at him. "Nope. I'm actually surprised to find you awake. I thought you took the rest of the day off to rest. Won't Yelan be pissed for finding you out of the room and inside your office nonetheless? Are you even allowed to drink whiskey?"
He walked to stand next to her looking outside the window. "She's actually traveling." He watched as she down her glass before serving herself another one. "I would've thought you would at least last a month before having your first argument with my son. What do you think about buying our own TV station?"
She was about to drink her second glass but stopped and looked at him. "Channel two?"
He drank his before answering her. "I told Yelan about your lawsuit."
Sakura nodded in acknowledgement. "What does she think?"
"Did I mention she's traveling?"
Sakura smirked and lowered her head a little to hold her laugh. It was amazing… Syaoran resembled his father physically but when it came to his attitude it was quite obvious he had a combination from both of them. His strong persevering trait along with his analyzing skills came from his father. But what she found rather amusing and a little bothersome right now was the fact that out of all the traits he could get from his mother he actually got her emotional side when dealing with people.
"Yelan is concerned about the whole lawsuit against the channel and the well being of the people inside of it though I believe her biggest anger comes from her words, and I quote… I encouraged you. If my intuition is correct, my son will probably head the same direction once he knows."
Sakura scoffed before smirking at both of their predicaments. "He's already there."
"Mmm…" Xian thoughtfully said. "So, how about buying our own TV station? It would look better in our investment portfolio, we won't leave thousands of people out of a job as my wife so dearly exaggerated in our conversation, we can find good management for it, and we both have a happy ending."
"I thought part of this lawsuit was to set an example. If we buy the channel, there's a big chance word on the street will be we bought the channel to manipulate the news. At that point, what would we have accomplished?"
"Then let me explain it better since I have much vast experience on this. Let's say my son found out today about the lawsuit."
"He did." She quickly answered in an almost grunting way not at all pleased with how this was going so far.
Xian nodded fortifying his point. "You'll be able to fight this head on for a day. You will probably stay strong for about three to four days but when that weekend comes, you'll end up giving him whatever he wants so that you can go back to having your normal life just like it was since before he found out. In the end, you'll end up having nothing. Accomplishments you ask…? I will have a channel in my business portfolio and my wife back no later than tomorrow."
Sakura listened carefully to Xian's words. Since she had arrived in China he had been like a mentor to her. "Will they be willing to sell?"
"They'll have no choice after your lawsuit."
She nodded. "Fine then." She drank the rest of her glass and put it down. "Just a quick reminder, my flight for Japan leaves tomorrow. I'll be back the day of the final game."
"I see you haven't reconsidered about coming back tomorrow night?"
Sakura smiled. "I haven't seen my father in a while. When I was supposed to visit him my boss didn't have any problems with me rescheduling my trip so I could take care of his son's recuperation." Then she smirked. "I'm glad he doesn't have any problems either with me spending a night in Japan with my father tomorrow."
Xian chuckled. "None at all of course, I just wanted to make sure that you were certain of how many days you wanted to stay over. I hope you don't mind at all but I will ask my pilot anyway to have the jet ready for tomorrow night just in case you do change your mind at the last minute."
Sakura knew why he was doing it. There was almost nothing more important than this new project he had set his eyes upon, his wife returning home probably made the top of that list. But still, Sakura assured him, "When I come back, I'm going straight from the airport to the meeting with Mr. Cheng. There's nothing to worry about."
~ o ~
Once they reached their hotel, he went straight to his room and took another shower. He welcomed the cold water in his head as he allowed it to calm his mood. He was still thinking about his argument with Sakura. Out of the other small little encounters he already had with her this by far reached a new high. Shutting the shower off, he walked out of the bathroom and dressed in his team sweatpants and sleeveless black tank top while allowing Eriol to enter the bathroom for his turn.
He lied down on his bed and put his hands behind his head while facing the ceiling. The night already promised long dark hours of running thoughts and sleepless rest till the morning to him. There was something still bothering him about the whole deal. While talking to her, he sternly watched her expressions. Not a small bit of pity could be seen in her facial expressions as she talked about the lawsuit. Something had definitely changed just like Sayuri had told him that day.
"She's not the same cheerful little girl she was when you dated her years ago. Her cheerleading days were over a long time ago. I'm telling you she's changed but I know you won't take my word for it…"
He found her words had been surprisingly true. Sakura wasn't the same girl that left years ago. Then again, she had already warned him herself about this. And yet, he didn't know to what extent her words could reach. To make matters worse he had also added to the plate his stupidity of not thinking before speaking. He was wrong to think he could go head to head with her on this. He had been wrong in every sense of the word. He hadn't being calm, he didn't think this through… Bottom line, he said things he immediately knew could cost him dearly. If he would've done it in the past with any other girl he had been through he wouldn't feel bad at all. They would probably listen to him and in the end give him whatever he wanted.
But it was different. Sakura wasn't just any girl. Fighting with her while being angry had to be one of the stupidest things he could ever do. He knew she wasn't easy to deal with and he loved that about her but there was a difference between doing what was right and passing judgment on your own. He was certain most of the people working for that company didn't deserve what she was about to do.
He looked at his phone after feeling it vibrating.
*Hey! Just got to your sis apartment
She had texted him just like he had asked her to. He had been worried reporters could be following her around today. Perhaps it was because she stayed the night or maybe because she had been into the stadium with him a couple of hours ago. More than likely he had been more worried than usual because he already knew how this lifestyle changed things. Once the media got wind of something they wouldn't put it down till they were sure they had satisfied the rest of the world's curiosity about other people's life.
He hadn't mind before but having Sakura at his side made him feel wary of it now. Another hindrance on the way of their relationship. He wasn't sure how she would cope with his lifestyle at all. It was already a given she didn't like to be in the public eye and he was way far from not being in it. Choi had suggested taking it slow but, how much slower could they take things? He only had a couple of weeks with her before he had to go away to England. Not being able to spend the time with her the way he wanted wasn't something he was willing to do.
And then England… the touchy sour subject neither of them wanted to touch. For many couples, it was a simple decision that could be made by either both living in the same place or simply have a long distance relationship. That wasn't his case. There was nothing simple about being with Sakura. Her way of thinking wasn't exactly like any other woman. Her headstrong personality made him think about the only choices he probably had regarding this matter.
Although she was strong when it came to business he knew she was still holding back when it came to their relationship. Last night was a clear indication of it. She had been able to express a small bit of her feelings with him but as quickly as it came it stopped. Then there was the small comment out of the blue about her cousin the other day which made him conclude she wasn't entirely sure about him. She had agreed on being with him but she was still keeping him at bay.
Eriol got out of the bathroom drying his hair with a towel. He found his cousin looking at the ceiling and scoffed. "What's wrong with you now?"
"Sakura's not coming with me to England." He said without taking his eyes off from staring at the ceiling. He usually didn't talk to his Eriol about these things but perhaps by talking it out he could think on what he could possibly do about this.
Eriol stared at his cousin. "Did she tell you that?" He had to admit he was already getting a little nervous with the way this conversation was going. This was indeed bad news especially if Sakura had already made her decision. Judging by past experiences, she had already being the cause for them losing a tournament but he couldn't believe she had this conversation with him days before the final game.
"She doesn't have to."
Having heard his answer calmed a little his uneasiness. "So you're assuming? You could always have a long distance relationship with her…"
"She doesn't believe in that."
"She didn't believe in that." Eriol mentioned making sure to say didn't, as in past, louder than usual to state his point. "Maybe she changed her way of thinking man. I mean, she did agree on giving you a second chance. I don't think she would do that if she was planning on it being only for a month."
What his cousin said made sense. If it only was that simple but no, it never was with her. He didn't think that part of her changed and what was worse she still didn't trust him.
~ o ~
She woke up the next morning and the first thing she did was look at her cell phone. Syaoran hadn't text her back last night and there was no message from him today which meant he was still pissed with her about the whole lawsuit deal. She was curious to know how he had found out about it. His father would've definitely not said anything to him. His mother perhaps could've but she was more preoccupied with how he did in this tournament. So that discarded that option until maybe after the tournament. Xiefa would've followed her father's footsteps on this matter. She doubted any of the girls would speak about it.
Then her mind turned to the culprit in this whole situation… the reporter Katherine. He must've talked to her. She would be the only person who would at least try to get something out of her predicament. A misfortune caused by her own ignorance of not leaving her alone when being advised to do so and yet she had the audacity to keep her charade of innocent person in all of this. Sakura scoffed. 'How dare she…?' If it did anything at all, it angered her more the fact that Syaoran was still communicating with her after everything she had to put up with because of that idiot.
Reclining her head against her arm she sighed. There was nothing she hated more than he being angry with her. What his father had said dwelled on her mind as she once again looked at her phone before letting it fall with a thud in the counter. This dance pace would only last a couple of more hours on her while he could go many days dancing at this beat. She utterly hated when he was mad but her pride refused to text him once more. There was no way she would. She had texted last night just like he had asked when she arrived at his sister's apartment and got no answer from him. Looking at her phone this morning she still hadn't gotten an answer. She still hadn't even gotten a good morning from him.
"Anything bothering you?" Feimei asked as she round Sakura's chair to enter the kitchen. Reaching for one of the top cabinets, she took out the coffee and quickly set the machine to make her morning espresso.
Once again Sakura sighed. "Why are men so difficult to please?"
Feimei scoffed before chuckling. Taking out her cup of coffee she turned around and smirked. "Problems in paradise so quickly…? My my Sakura. What is this? Like your third argument already and you still haven't been together for a month?"
"Your brother found out about the lawsuit."
Feimei smelled her coffee. Ah! Morning happiness quickly rushed into her body after trying the first sips of it. "And?"
"He's totally against it."
Sakura's answer intrigued her. "What? He's defending that sore loser?"
"He's concerned about the rest of the people not involved in Katherine's scheme."
"Oh!" Feimei said while taking another sip of her coffee. 'Well father must be very happy with how this lawsuit turned out…' she thought before looking at her friend who in a short time had become like another one of her sisters. "Well, he does kind of have a point with that one."
"I just feel like sometimes we think so differently."
Feimei rolled her eyes relieved at what she had just said. "Oh thank goodness. Can you imagined if you both thought alike? How boring would that be?"
"I'm serious Feimei. Sometimes I feel like we're walking in different directions. What he wants it's totally different from what I want."
"Well, no one said it was easy Sakura. Being in a relationship is never easy. On the contraire, it takes a lot of work to make it work. You won't always agree on everything but the important thing is to talk things through and know that sometimes you will have to compromise and other times he will have to do it instead."
Sakura looked at her. "Since when did you become a love doctor?"
Feimei smirked and winked. "Sshh! It's my secret job. No one must know."
Sakura chuckled.
"How is father, by the way?" Feimei curiously asked.
Sakura smirked. "You're mother is traveling."
Feimei cunningly smiled and sighed. "Ah! Compromise… Compromise…" she sarcastically said before smirking and taking another sip of her coffee. Her mother was definitely the one that wore the pants in her house. Her father could fearlessly handle any meeting with ease. He could command a board of directors to accept anything he wanted. His tyrannous image played with the insecurities of many inside the business field. But when it came to her mother's wishes, Xian Li had no say in the matter. It was simple. The only cause for his failure to obtain something was named Yelan Li.
Author's Note: Phew! Finally chapter 21 is out. Thank you everyone who reviewed my last chapter. Hope you guys like this one and as always read and review. Let me know what you think! ; )