Kissed by the Baddest Bidder Recreated - Book 2 - Sakiko and Soryu

by Cassakane

Sakiko has had a crush on Soryu Oh since the first time she saw him. So when he invites her to join Ichinomiya's underground organization, she jumps at the chance. It will give her the security that she craves and a chance to get closer to Soryu. As it turns out, she ends up getting a lot more than she bargained for.

4. Corruption

"What in the hell is going on here?" I hissed at Soryu. We were at Mei's second and last marriage meeting of the day and I was fuming. The meeting was being held in a small coffee shop and it was the first chance I'd had to talk to Soryu privately. He and I were sitting a few tables away from Mei and her marriage prospect. "That man is old enough to be Mei's grandfather! And the guy this morning looked like the sort of person who would bite the heads off squirrels for fun! Who chose these men?"
He stared back at me for a few moments, not letting his reaction show. "Prospective candidates contacted us and if they met Simon Lee's criteria, we scheduled a meeting."
"That's it? You didn't think about Mei at all? All a man needs to marry her is a bunch of money and power? It doesn't matter what kind of person he is?" I glared across the table at Soryu. "This is disgusting. Mei Ling is Simon Lee's only daughter and he's going to sell her to the highest bidder? Doesn't she deserve to marry someone that she actually likes and will make her happy?"
"I don't expect you to understand. This is just how it works in an organization. Mei's been aware of this since she was a child. It isn't hidden from us or kept a secret. Mei is playing her part, just as she was raised to do," he explained calmly in the face of my anger.
"That is just so wrong. What good is being rich and powerful if it means that you have to use your children like pawns? She's just being sacrificed so that her father can get even more money that he probably doesn't even need!" It was no wonder that Mei had said she didn't want to get married.
Once again Soryu examined by face before he responded. "Lee isn't sacrificing Mei to get more money. It's important to consolidate power and increase wealth in order to keep the Triad safe. Lee is thinking about all of his employees and their families. He's also thinking about Mei. She needs to marry a husband who can guarantee her safety. Someone who has the money and the resources to ensure that she's under constant guard. She has to marry into an army."
"But why?" I asked, not willing to admit defeat. "Why can't her father just keep her safe? He already has enough money and people to do it."
"Because he needs to ensure that she's taken care of after he dies. As much as he'd like to believe that his successor would take care of her, she's more likely to be taken care of by a husband."
"It just doesn't make sense," I said with a shake of my head. It was like something out of a movie, something that shouldn't happen in real life.
Soryu gave a little sigh and said, "My grandfather was the head of the Ice Dragons. My father was killed when I was a teenager and my grandfather passed away not long after that. I was too young to take over his position. His successor didn't take care of my father's widow or his mistresses and their children. They were cast out. The only reason that I wasn't thrown out myself was because I had sentimental importance to the Ice Dragons. If Kang had tried to get rid of me, the Dragons would have been in an uproar because I was my grandfather's true heir. But that didn't help my younger half-brothers and sisters. Do you understand? Simon Lee has to make sure that Mei and her children will be protected even after he dies."
I bit my lip. It was really becoming clear to me that Mei was in a terrible situation. "But if she's cast out, wouldn't that make her safe?"
"No," he said, his voice grim. "A rival Triad tried to get money by kidnapping one of my father's mistresses and holding her for ransom. Kang refused to meet their demands and they killed her. But that didn't stop other Triads and even street gangs from trying the same thing. My father's widow, two more mistresses and one child were killed before everyone figured out that Kang was not going to bargain for hostages."
"Oh my God," I said feeling my stomach twist. I turned to look across the restaurant at Mei. She was talking to her marriage prospect with a polite smile on her face. She was probably saying the same bland things she'd said in the earlier meeting. 'I like horseback riding and dim sum.' It was heartbreaking. She was living the life of a princess with expensive clothes and jewelry, a life that looked like a dream but was always on the edge of a nightmare. "Poor Mei."
"She was raised for this," Soryu said. "It isn't a surprise to her, she understands it completely. You don't need to try to protect her, Sakiko."
"You're right," I said. "I was being stupid. I don't understand her world at all. I shouldn't be trying butt in."
"It's good that you're protective. We need to protect each other in the network. It's just misplaced this time," he said. His voice was gentler and for a moment I could see a kindness in his eyes that wasn't usually there. It made my breath catch in my throat. "And you can't go to Hong Kong. You're part of Eisuke's network. You can't just quit and go join the Bell Crickets, it isn't as simple as that."
"I don't have any intention of going to Hong Kong. That was just something Mei suggested when I was worried that I'd get fired because we made out on the couch."
"You don't have to worry about that. It seems like Mei was just trying to rile me up by talking about taking you back to Hong Kong. She's been like that since she was a child," he said and we turned to look at her.
She and the old man were bowing their goodbyes to each other. Mei looked over at us as she walked our way and her face lit up with a bright smile. It was probably the first time she'd really smiled since her first meeting started this morning.

"Oh, this is the most fun!" Mei exclaimed as she kicked at a man wearing a padded suit. "I want to start taking self defense lessons when I go back to Hong Kong."
Soryu had plans for the afternoon, so the trip to Ginza that Mei had wanted had been postponed. Instead, Olivia had agreed to reschedule our daily self defense class so that Mei and I could attend.
Olivia laughed at Mei's awkward but very enthusiastic attack on the man. "I think you'll be seriously dangerous if you learn some techniques, Mei. You look like you're out for blood."
"I'm imagining the second man from my marriage meetings today," Mei explained as she continued kicking the man. "His views of marriage were so old fashioned! What man can think that I will just keep my mouth shut and bear his children!"
Olivia looked over at me with raised eyebrows and whispered, "We are definitely not taking her to the shooting range."
"I like to feel strong and kick some ass!" Mei cried as Olivia's phone beeped and she went to check it.
"I hope your father doesn't get angry because we turned you into a warrior princess," I said with a laugh.
"You are always so worried about my father being angry at you," Mei replied. "Do not think about my father. You do not even know him. He is not your concern. You just listen to me."
Before I could question her advice, Olivia ran over to me and said, "Chisato talked to Soryu! She joined the network!"
"Oh that's great," I said with a happy sigh. "I was worried that she'd say no. Or Soryu and Eisuke would think it was a bad idea."
"They were really nice about it, thank goodness. I think this will be really good for Chisato. She's been really down lately. Did you hear about her fiance?" Olivia asked.
"No, I haven't heard anything. I've been so busy that I haven't talked to Chisato in a little while," I replied.
"He broke off their engagement when she got promoted to concierge," Olivia explained. "He couldn't tolerate her having a better job than he did, so he dumped her."
"That's awful! She must have been devastated," I said. "She's the nicest person ever. How could someone do that to her?"
"What a jerk!" Mei exclaimed, renewing her efforts to kick the hell out of the man in the padded suit. "All jerks need to be beat up!"
"You'd better give Kurosawa Sensei a break, Mei," I said with a laugh. "I think you're starting to freak him out."

"Cheers!" I raised my glass of champagne to clink it with Olivia, Mei and Chisato. Soryu was still busy, so we'd been allowed to join Olivia and Chisato for a celebration dinner at the Purple Horizon, the restaurant at the top of Tres Spades.
"I'm so glad that you've joined us, Chisato," I said. "I was worried that you might say no because you're a crime fighter. You don't feel like joining an underground organization is a step in the wrong direction?"
"Hush!" Olivia hissed. "Don't make her change her mind."
Chisato laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not going to change my mind. And, I guess I don't think of myself as a crime fighter. I'm more into solving mysteries. After all of the digging that I've done, I can tell you very clearly that the supposed 'good guys' are riddled with corruption."
"Really? Is it that bad?" I asked.
"It's much worse than you could ever imagine. It's sickening, really. And I asked Mr. Oh a lot of questions about Mr. Ichinomiya's network. It's more financial than violent. It isn't like he has thugs on the street getting into brawls and harrassing shopkeepers," Chisato explained.
I glanced at Mei to see if Chisato's comment might have offended her. I wasn't sure what kind of Triad the Bell Crickets were. For all I knew they were just the sort of thugs that Chisato was talking about. But Mei was trailing her fork through the puddle of salad dressing on her plate. She'd been quiet and lost in thought for the last couple of hours. I knew that she'd been upset by the marriage meetings, but I'd been functioning under my usual don't-get-close rule and hadn't asked her to talk about it.
"What I'm really hoping is that being a part of the network will give me a little more power and connections and protect me when I need it," Chisato continued.
"What does that mean?" Olivia asked with a frown on her face.
"Well, if I have connections in the underground, I may be able to find out more information about a crime than I would using traditional sources," Chisato said. "And when my investigations lead me to something sketchy like corruption in the government, I'm hoping that the network can help keep me safe."
"What do you do now if you find corruption?" I asked, concerned for my friend. I'd always pictured Chisato sitting happily behind a laptop adding up clues. I never thought she'd been in any sort of danger.
"I've always just backed off and given up on the case," she said. "It's sad, but there isn't a chance that a person like me could successfully expose and fight that level of corruption. I'd just be putting myself in danger. There's no choice but for me to get out before the wrong people figure out that I've stumbled across their secrets."
"I had no idea," Olivia said. "I wanted to ask you to help with something, but now you've got me thinking that it might be too dangerous."
Chisato smiled. "Why don't you tell me what you need and I'll be the judge of whether it's dangerous or not."
"Well, Eisuke has a long lost sister," Olivia began and I focused my attention on Mei while Olivia talked to Chisato.
"Hey," I said quietly, rubbing her thigh to get her attention. She was wearing a royal blue cheongsam, the brightly colored dress contrasting with the sad look on her face. "Are you okay?"
She looked up at me with her big brown eyes and I could see her forcibly dragging herself out of her melancholy and pinning a smile on her face. "It is not fun to do the marriage meetings, but I can hope that things are better tomorrow," she said. "Let's do something extra fun after dinner."
"What do you want to do? There's a nightclub in the hotel, but I'm not sure your guards could manage to watch you in a place like that," I said and looked at the table to our right where three men sat scanning the restaurant.
"No, I do not want to go to a club. I want to do something more exciting. I want to do a threesome," she said with an excited smile.
"Umm… I don't know," I said, looking at Chisato and Olivia. Olivia was off limits and Chisato definitely didn't seem the type.
"No, silly," Mei said and laughed. "I mean a threesome with you and me and a man. I know Soryu will not be interested. Maybe one of the men that hang out in the penthouse? The one named Baba said that he is a true player."
"Uh, no. Wait a minute. I have a friend," I said and pulled out my phone. I did not want to ask one of Soryu's friends to join us. I didn't know why, it wasn't something that would normally bother me, but I wasn't interested in analyzing it. Instead I sent a text to Nori.
Mei was eyeing our guards at the next table. "Hey, Mei," I said, putting my hand on her arm to get her attention. "Let's see what my friend says. He lives nearby and I think he'll want to join us."
"Okay then," Mei said and turned to the food on her plate. "Does your friend have a lot of stamina?"
I laughed and said, "He's always had enough stamina for me. I guess it remains to be seen if he can take on the two of us."
I turned my attention to the other conversation. Chisato was saying, "It might take a little time. Digging into the past like that can be trickier. It isn't a police case so there aren't going to be a lot of public records."
"Well, if it's too much…" Olivia began, but Chisato was quick to interrupt her.
"No, don't worry about that," she said. "The more challenging it is, the more fun it is for me. I'll admit defeat if I have to, but not before exploring every option."
"Thank you so much," Olivia said with a big smile. "You've always been so helpful. You're really a great friend."
I felt relief wash over me. Olivia was looking at Chisato like she was an angel. My plan was going to work. Chisato would be joining us for self defense classes starting immediately. She'd be with Olivia just as much as I was. She'd take over the role of confidant and I would slip back into the realm of casual friend.
My phone chimed and I read Nori's response. "My friend's in for tonight," I said to Mei with a smile. I couldn't help picturing Nori in his apartment, excited and freaking out at the same time.
I leaned over to quietly ask Olivia, "Can you get my friend into the penthouse later? Mei wants a threesome."
"Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem," she replied, her eyes searching mine.
I gave her a reassuring smile. She was probably like Soryu, thinking that Mei was corrupting me and coercing me into things that I didn't really want. I'd always had to hide my promiscuous nature from people in the hotel. Employee conduct standards were very strict. Olivia had no idea that I was a dirty slut.
"Take that look off your face. It's okay. I'm into it."

"Oh, that's it!" Mei cried.
Lying sweaty and sticky on the bed, I rubbed my eyes while Mei rode Nori cowgirl style. I was tired and I was starting to worry about Nori. We'd been at it for hours and he had work in the morning.
A pang went through me and I looked over at the closet. Mei had left it open. A row of cheongsams were hanging in it next to Soryu's suits. Grays and blacks, they hung stalwart in the closet, reminding me of what Soryu had said earlier. 'It's good that you're protective.' Was I? I'd never thought about it before, but here I was thinking about how much sleep Nori would need for work tomorrow. And earlier I'd interfered when Mei was trying to convince him to let her fuck him in the ass with one of her dildos. 'He obviously isn't into it,' I'd said. 'Give him some time to think about it. Maybe he'll be interested next time, but if you pressure him into doing it now he isn't going to like it."
Protecting people and standing up for them. I guess it was something that I did. Something I'd never paid any attention to before. Something that maybe didn't fit well with my efforts to maintain an emotional distance from people. Maybe it didn't exactly make sense. I cared about Nori, I was trying to help him become a better lover, I didn't want to see him get hurt. But I wanted to walk away and never look back whenever it suited me. The same with Mei. I didn't want to see her unhappy, married to some weird man. But it was always in the back of my mind that I was safe from a real connection with her because she'd be going back to Hong Kong soon.
Protecting and evading didn't seem to fit well together. I frowned at the line of Soryu's suits. I shouldn't be thinking about this right now. I didn't need to evaluate my interactions with others. I just needed to do what worked for me. Soryu and his suits needed to stay out of my mind. He didn't need to think of me as anything other than an employee. He didn't need to protect me from Mei. He didn't need to try to figure me out.
An image of his eyes appeared in my mind. The way they were for a few moments in the coffee shop. Softer and gentler than I had ever seen them. Not warm and caring, but still, too much. I wanted him to keep his distance. I didn't want him looking at me with those eyes. It was dangerous.
I rolled off the bed and went to get into the shower. It was time to clean my body and clear out my mind.

"Oh no," I gasped and looked around the room in a panic. Spying a set of french doors that looked as if they'd been sent from heaven, I grabbed Soryu's hand and pulled him across the room. Opening the doors, I flung myself out onto the balcony and took several deep breaths.
"That guy is wearing a ton of cologne and the room is full of air freshener," I said accusingly, digging in my purse for my asthma inhaler and taking a couple of puffs from it.
"You don't wear perfume," Soryu said.
I looked up to see him watching me. "No, it sets off my asthma," I said. "I'm sorry I dragged you out here. I wasn't really thinking, but I did want to talk to you."
"That's fine. I don't like scents either. They make me nauseous. Most women like to douse themselves in perfume," he said. He was still studying me. "What did you want to talk about?"
I turned to watch Mei through the open door. Her polite smile was back in place as she talked to bachelor number three.
"Do you know that Chisato investigates crimes on the internet? She's an internet sleuth?" I asked.
"Yeah. Word went around last year when she helped discover that serial killer," he replied.
"She was saying last night that it can be dangerous. That she sometimes stumbles upon corruption in the government and things like that," I said. "I just want to make sure that you're aware of that. I want Chisato to be safe and I wouldn't want the network to be pulled into anything messy…"
I trailed off, not quite knowing how to express myself. I was being protective again, butting into things that didn't really concern me, but I wanted to make sure that Soryu knew about what could happen.
"Thanks for the heads up," he said. I could feel his eyes looking at the side of my face, but I didn't turn to meet them. "I'll talk to Chisato about it. I don't want her to stop her hobby, but she'll need to keep us up to date with any corruption that she comes across. We're very aware that the government is riddled with corruption."
There was a disgust in his voice that I'd never heard before. I had to force myself not to turn around and look at his face. "It makes sense that you don't like the government. You're on the side of crime after all. Laws just get in your way."
"Laws are made by powerful people to protect their assets. They have no meaning to me," he said.
"That's pretty deep. I never thought of it that way." This time I couldn't help but turn and look at him. Too handsome, with a hint of danger. I'd gotten used to being around him more often, but he still sometimes took my breath away.
"Most people live their lives believing the government is working to keep them safe," he said. "I'm sure that makes it easier for them to sleep at night."
"Do you have trouble sleeping at night?" I asked before I could stop myself. Thinking of him in bed and needing comfort or distraction was off limits. I had to fight off a host of images as they popped up in my mind - holding him, kissing him, his hands on my breasts, his fingers tangled in my hair as I took his cock into my mouth…
"I don't have trouble sleeping at night," he was saying. "We know how to work with the government. It's usually just a matter of money and information. Eisuke got the laws changed so that he could build the Tres Spades with a casino in it. We should be able to keep your friend safe."
"That's good to hear," I said. "She's such a nice person. She doesn't deserve to be in any danger."
"What does that mean?" he asked, his voice had that gentle tinge to it again. It made me shiver. "Don't you think you deserve to be safe, too? Are you not nice enough to warrant safety?"
"That's… That's not what I meant," I said. This conversation was really going off the tracks. "Chisato is just nice and innocent. I don't think she's seen the seedier side of life or experienced any real danger. She might not be able to handle it."
"I think she's stronger than you realize or give her credit for. Most people are." His voice still carried that note of gentleness and it made me want to run away. "She'll be joining you and Olivia for your self defense classes. Hopefully that will help all of you feel a little more confident."
"Yeah, the classes are great," I said, happy to get the topic back to something that felt more casual. "I'm learning a lot and so is Olivia. Mei had a lot of fun yesterday. She said that she wants to continue learning about self defense when she goes back to Hong Kong."
To my surprise he gave a little laugh. "Well I certainly believe that everyone woman should be able to defend herself, but I can't help but think that Mei is dangerous enough already."

"That guy didn't seem so bad," I said. We'd just climbed into the limo after Mei's last marriage meeting of the day. "At least he wasn't old and he didn't look really violent or anything."
Mei made a face. "You did not talk to him. He is a very dangerous man. The sort of man who would smile at you and then slice your throat."
"Oh." I looked at her. She was talking about murder as if it were nothing at all. Maybe to her it was a regular thing. There was no telling what it was like being raised in the heart of a Triad. She was always so bubbly and excited, but if anyone knew that could be meaningless, it was me. Was she doing the same thing that I did? Pushing difficult thoughts and feelings to the side, hiding from them in a buzz of happiness or the oblivion of sex? "I guess he's off your list?"
"Probably," she said. "It will be sad if he is the best Japan has to offer. But we should not think about that right now. We are going to have a very special day."
"Yeah, you must be so excited to go to the fashionable shops in Ginza. Maybe you'll get inspired. Just think, you could have your own shop there one day," I said.
"No, today is not for fashion design. Today we will get our hair and nails done and buy you a pretty dress. We will go to the Pumped 4.2 concert tonight. I told Soryu to get us tickets," she said with a bright smile.
"What? Are you kidding me?" I felt excitement and happiness flood through me. I looked to Soryu for confirmation and he gave me a little nod. "This is incredible! I haven't been to one of their concerts in forever. I always end up having to work instead. Thank you so much!"
"We will have so much fun," Mei said. "I have never been to a concert before. We should make the very best of things and have as much fun as possible."

Our tickets were third row, center. I had no idea how Soryu had managed to get them, or what exorbitant price he'd paid. And it wasn't just tickets for Mei and I. There were two guards sitting next to Mei and Soryu and another man sat next to me. The men definitely looked out of place in a Pumped 4.2 concert.
During the performance, I purposefully ignored Soryu's presence and focused on Mei and the men on the stage. Their singing and dancing were perfect, as usual. Mei and I had so much fun, yelling and cheering and waving glow sticks, acting as silly as we possibly could.
When the concert was over, Mei pulled out backstage passes and I thought I was going to faint with joy. We hurried to the backstage entrance, followed by our guards. There was a reception room set up for pass holders. There was food and drinks and Pumped 4.2's latest album was playing. According to the staff, the members of the band would be coming out for a meet and greet just as soon as they had cleaned up and changed their clothes.
"I can't believe this," I said to Mei. "This is like the best gift I've ever received. I'm going to remember this night forever."
"It is so funny that you are obsessed with these singers, but they did sing very well," Mei said.
We were threading our way through the other people who were waiting to meet the members of the group. Mei seemed to be full of nervous energy, it was like she couldn't stand still. Maybe the concert had been too much excitement for her. I studied the other people in the crowd while Mei held my hand and drug me around the room. They were mostly young women and teenage girls and everyone seemed just as excited as I was about the chance to actually meet the members of the band and get their autographs.
I couldn't help but notice that some of the fans were checking out Soryu. He'd stationed himself next to the main entrance and was standing with his arms crossed and his usual cold expression on his face.
"Do you see that guy over by the door in the suit? What a hottie! I'm going to go talk to him."
I felt my mouth drop open as I heard a random woman say those words. She was going to go talk to Soryu? I looked over my shoulder at her as Mei continued to pull on my hand. She was tall and beautiful, and, of course, she was wearing expensive clothes and jewelry. Pretty much anyone in the room had to have tons of money, it must cost a fortune to pay for a backstage meet and greet. What would Soryu do? Would he talk to her? Would he accept her phone number or maybe even make a date?
I tried to keep track of her through the sea of young women as she made her way towards him and Mei pulled me endlessly in the other direction. Suddenly there was a ker-chak sound and a gust of night air, an alarm sounded beep-beep-beep, and Mei tugged my hand hard.
I stumbled forward, looking up at Mei and then back at the gray metal door that closed behind us. "Mei?" I asked in confusion. She'd pulled us through an emergency exit and into an alley.
"Run!" she commanded and gave my hand a hard yank as she took off down the alley.