"Wake up."

Rolling over and opening my eyes, pain turned my stomach as I looked up at Mr. Ichiyomiya. He was standing near the futon where I lay, crisp and cold in a three piece suit. Staring down at me with his intense eyes. Smirking.

With a flick of his hand, he indicated the bathroom. I dragged myself off of the futon and into the other room. Discovering a basket of new toiletries on the counter, I brushed my teeth and washed my face. There was no chance of brushing my hair, my head was already throbbing with pain. The hairbrush looked like a torture device. Returning to the bedroom, I found Mr. Ichiyomiya sitting in a chair with a bored look on his face.

His clear eyes flicked up and down my body, still clad in the white pajamas with little pink flowers. "It's time to get our story straight," he said. "Last night when you were getting off work, you feel down an entire flight on the service stairs. This is where you sustained your injuries. I was near the entrance to the stairwell and heard you fall. I went to help you and we fell in love at first sight. You will now live with me as my girlfriend for the foreseeable future."

"But I would never do something like that," I argued, shaking my head. "No one will believe that I would just meet you and move in with you on the same night. And quit my job? No one acts like that."

His eyes flashed and his smirk deepened. "You've only worked for Tres Spades for a few months. Your coworkers will assume that they didn't know you as well as they'd thought. You fell down the stairs and into the arms of your Prince Charming."

"Mr. Ichiyomiya-," I began, but he quickly cut me off.

"This is not a discussion," he said. "I need you to play the role of my girlfriend. You will begin doing so immediately and to the best of your ability. You will refer to me as Eisuke. Anyone looking at us must believe that we are hopelessly in love. Play your part or you shall be punished."

I swallowed nervously, the violence of last night fresh on my mind. I did not want any more pain.

"Yes, Eisuke," I said and tried to smile happily at him.

"That will need work," he said, standing up and heading towards the door.

"Wait! I...May I have another pain pill?"

"No. You cannot be drugged. You must focus on your role. Your antibiotic and some ibuprofen are downstairs with your breakfast."

He left the room and I trailed after him unhappily, my mind swirling with thoughts of his cruelty. In the next room he waved his hand towards the stairs and told me to go downstairs and eat.

"People are waiting for you down there. Be sure to play your role at all times," he directed.

I walked slowly down the stairs, my body was stiff and each movement sparked pain from at least one source. Soryu was waiting for me in the large living room, there were three new people with him. Soryu introduced them to me as my new fashion team. They were here to prepare me for the day, but first I was to eat breakfast.

I followed Soryu to a dining room where breakfast for one was arranged. The first thing that I did was take the ibuprofen and the antibiotic, wanting nothing more than to get some sort of relief. I nibbled on the eggs and toast that were on the plate, but my stomach felt as if it would revolt if it was given too much food. I was in too much pain to really eat, too nervous, and Soryu was standing quietly watching my every move. Taking tiny bites and using the time to get my thoughts together, I tried to make plans for pretending to be in love with Eisuke. I would have to smile a lot. Smile and laugh and look at him lovingly. The thought filled me with dread.

I felt hollow, with nothing but pain and fear swirling around my edges. My life had been stolen away from me, lost in the space of a few traumatic hours. The job that I had loved so much was gone, ripped away as quickly as my name tag had been ripped from my uniform. My friends were somewhere in the hotel, going about their daily lives, certainly wondering and gossiping about my sudden resignation. They were so close but so far from me. Would I even have the chance to speak to them again? What would I say if I had the chance? Would I tell them that Mr. Ichiyomiya had bought me? Would I ask for help? Would they even believe me? I pictured the bad detective. Would it even matter if they did believe me?

Tears pricked at my eyes. Everything that I had was gone. I felt empty and utterly lost. How would I feign love in this condition?

With quiet determination, I quickly clamped down on the negative thoughts and feelings churning inside of me. I was safe and I was being fed and Eisuke had not tried to assault me. Anyone, with any intentions, could have purchased me last night. I could be lying dead in a ditch somewhere. Of all of the terrible things that could have resulted from the disaster that I ran into last night, smiling and laughing and pretending to be in love with a handsome man ranked pretty low on the list. I needed to think positively and try to do what I'd been asked to do to the best of my ability, just like Eisuke had said. Focusing on the negative was only going to get in the way of my performance, which would lead to punishment. That I did not want.

I closed my eyes and imagined smiling up at Eisuke, focusing on his ridiculously perfect features, smiling and laughing and giving off that particular mix of excitement, contentment and adoration that people seemed to exude when they were in love. I could do this. It would just be a bit of playacting. I'd lost my job, but I had a new one, and I was going to put as much effort into it as I could. I was still me. I was Olivia Graham and I'd never given up in the past. Not when my mother had suddenly died, not when I had been forced to leave university, nor when I had found myself homeless. I'd lost everything before and I hadn't given up. I was not going to give up now.

Finally deciding that there was no more that I could do to prepare myself, I stood up from my seat and followed Soryu out to the living room where my fashion team was still waiting. They were bright and happy, obviously dying to know what was going on between Eisuke and myself, but too professional to ask. Reminding myself that I'd be thrilled by the idea of a fashion team if the love-at-first-sight story were true, I did my best to smile cheerfully at everyone and submitted to a makeover.

Soryu told them to be extra careful of my head because I had sustained injuries, and then he sat down at a table a short distance away and began working on a laptop. The fashion team started off by examining me, talking among themselves about my coloring, my body style and my skin type, making plans for clothes, hair and makeup.

The hairstylist, Mika, combed my hair out very carefully. "I'm only going to give you a little trim today, and I'll leave your hair down because putting it up will probably be too painful," she explained. "We'll wait until your healed to do something more dramatic. What happened, anyway?"

I knew this was my chance to start spreading my Prince Charming fairy tale around just like Eisuke wanted me to do. Once I told my fashion team, the entire hotel staff would know within a few hours.

"Well, up until today I was a housemaid. When I got off work last night, I tripped and fell down the service stairs. I hit my head pretty badly a couple of times," I explained.

"Oh my goodness!" Mika exclaimed. "That's awful! Were you all alone?"

Everyone was looking at me, waiting for my story. Even Soryu.

"Yes, but Eisuke – Mr. Ichiyomiya – was near the door to the stairwell. He heard me fall and came to my rescue." Time to sell this. "He was so dashing and kind and it was just like magic. We fell in love at first sight."

I smiled like a had won the lottery while the fashion team oohed and ahed over the story. Mika continued working gently on my hair, but the other two had their phones out and were texting like mad. I looked over at Soryu and saw him give me a little nod of approval.

Able to relax a little once the rumor had begun and my head was no longer being touched, I submitted to having my makeup and nails done by a woman named Rin. After that the man who would be in charge of my wardrobe, Daichi, presented me with a sundress in a pretty pattern of yellow swirls.

"I don't think I can wear that," I explained. "My arm is bruised and swollen from the fall."

"That's no problem," Daichi replied with a smile, pulling a white jacket off the rack of clothes. "You can just wear this over it."

I changed into the clothes that Daichi gave me, finishing the outfit off with a pair of sandals and a silver bracelet. Inspecting myself dully in the bathroom mirror after changing my clothes, I admitted that I didn't look anything like my normal self. They'd done a very good job with my makeover, making me much prettier than usual. I could easily pass for someone who would ride the public elevator to one of the upper floors. I wouldn't match Eisuke, but he was so stunningly beautiful that you would be hard pressed to find a woman that would.

When I returned to the living room, the team exclaimed over my transformation and everyone told me that I looked amazing before leaving the apartment with promises to see me later. With a sigh I turned to Soryu, to see that he was already crossing the room to lead me back upstairs.

When we arrived in the second floor living room, Eisuke stood up from his desk and crossed the room to meet us. He looked at Soryu who gave him a quick nod and said, "She did well enough. The story is out and spreading through the hotel."

Eisuke turned to me, his eyes flicking up and down to take in my makeover. "This will do," he said. "Let's go."

I silently followed Eisuke and Soryu to the elevator, feeling a little angry that I had no idea what was going on. The least they could do is brief me on the situation so that I could be prepared.

Just before the elevator reached the first floor, Eisuke reached down and took my hand in his. When the doors slid open and the three of us stepped out into the main lobby, I wasn't the only one who had gone through a transformation. Both Eisuke and Soryu were suddenly smiling and they quickly fell into a conversation as if they had been chatting for awhile. I smiled and looked around the lobby, seeing a few hotel employees, but no one that I knew. The employees were staring at me curiously, but then, so was almost everyone. Dressed in expensive clothes and holding Eisuke's hand, I was no longer someone to be glanced over and dismissed. Few of the guests would have heard the story about our supposed love, but just being the woman on Eisuke's arm was enough to make me the focus of attention.

When my cheeks flushed from embarrassment at all the stares, I gazed lovingly up at Eisuke and pretended to be bashful when he looked down at me with his own happy smile. Every once in awhile Eisuke would lean close to whisper in my ear. Things like, "good job" and "hold that smile". Who knows what sweet nothings our audience thought he was saying to me. By the time we'd made our way to The Breakstone, one of restaurants in the hotel, I was ready to accept my Best Actress award and call it quits, but we'd only begun.

We sat down at a table in the center of the restaurant and Eisuke smiled at me with loving concern. "What would you like to eat, Darling?" he asked and reached out to run his thumb over my cheekbone. "I'm sure you're hungry. You didn't eat much for breakfast."

I looked up into his eyes and felt a spark of awareness whish in my heart. Even though I knew this was all an act, even though I could see his eternal smirk glowing deep in his eyes, my stupid body was still responding. Damn his freakishly beautiful eyes! 'Bedroom eyes' my mind supplied, but I fought against such an erotic expression. His eyes were like milky coffee...like a frappuccino. "Frappuccino," I thought, feeling my courage building as I waged an internal rebellion. I was determined not to let Frappuccino defeat me with his fucking bedroom eyes.

"I'll take a look at the menu," I replied, smiling up at him. "But I don't have much of an appetite."

"Alright, then," he said, he was gazing deeply into my eyes and I could tell that he could see I was mustering a revolt. "As long as you do your best." There was a hit of threat in his voice.

'That's right, keep me in line, Frappucino,' I thought, but I had no intention of not complying with my role as his girlfriend. I was going to slather fake love all over him, but I wasn't going to cower in my mind anymore and tremble in fear. I was going to be strong and in control of myself.

I opened the menu and immediately frowned. The prices were an affront to a woman who had grown up poor and struggled to save her pennies. This was what rich people paid for their food? A team of people had just done my hair and makeup and even picked out my damned underwear for the day. And now I was going to eat a meal that cost enough to feed me for a week? I felt as if I were being slapped in the face.

Eisuke leaned in close and whispered in my ear. "Don't worry about that right now. Just order and focus on your role."

I glanced at him, but he was sitting back up in his chair and saying something to Soryu about a soccer game. How had he known what I was thinking? I hadn't even been looking at him. Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to the menu and forced the frown off my face. If I'd fallen in love with Frappuccino, what would I like to have for lunch? If money didn't matter in the least, and I could just have whatever I wanted?

In the end I chose the shrimp salad. I didn't even understand what half of the things on the menu were, and I really wasn't very hungry. I was nervous and uncomfortable and a little bored. I watched Eisuke and Soryu chatting about inconsequential things as we ate our food. They were both so confident and relaxed. I'd thought Soryu was some sort of personal assistant, but the way he and Eisuke talked it was obvious that they were good friends.

Suddenly, Eisuke put his hand on my thigh and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "I'm going to kiss you. Don't do anything stupid."

While my shocked brain was still trying to make sense of what he'd said, his lips came down on mine and not in the "press lips to lips and hold" sort of way that you see actors do. His lips moved knowledgeably over mine, parting softly and caressing wet and warm over my mouth. I was frozen with surprise and unsure of how to react. Before I could decide whether I should move my own lips and respond to the kiss, his lips lifted from mine. His striking eyes met mine and he tipped his head back almost imperceptibly, before he once again moved to whisper in my ear. "Good job. Next time try to kiss me back."

As he sat back up in his chair, an older foreign man approached the table. Eisuke rose from his seat to greet him with a handshake. "Bucci," his said. "It's nice to see you. You know, we're picking Carolina up at the airport this afternoon?"

"Yes, of course," the man replied using very good Japanese. "And who is this?"

"This is my girlfriend, Olivia," Eisuke said. I wasn't sure what to do as he introduced me to the man. Should I stand up and offer my hand? But Eisuke put his hand on my shoulder and held me in place, letting me know that he wanted me to remain seated. "Olivia, this is a business associate of mine, Claudio Bucci."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Olivia," Bucci said. I responded with a nod and smile. "I wasn't aware that you had a girlfriend, Ichiyomiya. I thought the last that I heard you were single."

"We've only recently met," Eisuke explained. "Sometimes when you see the right person, you just know immediately. I think you probably understand that. Carolina has told me the story of how you met your wife."

"Ah, yes," Bucci said. "It is a favorite story, but don't let me interrupt you. I'll see you later at dinner?"

"Yes, of course," Eisuke said.

I watched as the man walked away. This is why I am here, so that man can see that Eisuke has a girlfriend. I looked over at Eisuke, but he was once again talking and laughing with Soryu. I put a vague smile on my face and continued picking at my salad, wondering why it was so important for a foreign man to think Eisuke has a girlfriend.

Soon we were sitting in the back of a limousine. "We're going to the airport to pick up Bucci's daughter, Carolina," Eisuke told me. "The last time we met, she developed something of a crush on me. Both she and her father can be very persistent. It is extremely important that the business deal that Bucci and I are negotiating be successful. I don't want to be forced into dating Carolina just to ensure her father agrees to work with me. You are my insurance against that. Once Carolina sees that I am involved in a relationship, she will have to admit defeat and move on."

"I see," I said carefully. "Thank you for telling me. It makes it easier if I know what I'm doing this for."

He nodded and then turned to look out the window, ignoring me for the remainder of the ride.

At the airport we went to a special gate for private jets. We sat quietly for the most part, Eisuke and Soryu had certainly been putting on a show when they were talking and laughing so casually at the hotel. Now they spoke rarely and when they did it was with soft, contained voices. Their eyes seemed to always be scanning the small seating area for the gate, even though the only other person there was an airport employee.

There were large windows set into the wall, so we were able to watch Carolina's jet arrive. Stairs were rolled out and set in front of the door and a woman disembarked from the plane. She was heavyset with masses of golden curls and she strode with purposeful confidence across the tarmac towards the entrance to the gate.

I fisted my hands and strengthened my spine. Eisuke was only going to keep me as long as he needed me. With one great performance it was possible that I could buy myself freedom. I would be all smiles and loving eyes and this time if he kissed me I would kiss him back.

Eisuke stood and pulled me from my seat, immediately embracing me and dropping his mouth down next to my ear. "Maintain your role," he commanded. "She'll be here in a moment."

Intent on using my newly found determination to play my role to the hilt, I pulled back a little and slid my arms up his chest and around his neck. I went up on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. "I need some more ibuprofen."

I hadn't anticipated how it would feel to be pressed so intimately against him. He was so very warm against my stomach, my arms, my breasts. My body, struggling with the pain of my injuries, clung to him as a source of comfort, but my heart began pounding as awareness of his heat and strength crept through my veins. "Fuck," I commanded myself. "Do not get turned on by Frappuccino."

I'd unwittingly thrown myself into a trap and now it held me tightly in its grip. Eisuke set a hand on my waist and his other hand slip down to cup my ass. My heart jumped in my chest. Eisuke, his voice filled with his usual boredom, said, "This is perfect. Keep acting like this. I'll get you the ibuprofen as soon as I can."

He didn't care of course. He was a well known playboy. He dated supermodels and famous actresses. Beautiful women clung to him all the time. I was average, even with the professional makeover. I was nothing to him. I was just a tool to scare off Carolina Bucci. I could dance naked in front of him and he wouldn't bat an eyelash. My body may be reacting to his nearness, but he would certainly not be reacting to me. I was a fly in a room full of butterflies. Easy to ignore and infinitely uninteresting.

"This is good," I told myself. I could hug him and hold him and do all of the things necessary to play his girlfriend to the hilt, without having to worry about him responding. The fact that he was as cold as a statue was a good thing. I was in his power. My ego may be a little wounded by his lack of interest, but I knew in the end it was the best thing possible. I wanted to remain sleeping on a futon on his floor. I did not want him ordering me into his bed.

"Eisuke! What you doing there?" A voice called out in broken Japanese.

I turned around in Eisuke's arms to see Carolina Bucci stepping into the waiting area. She was followed by a man holding a small dog and a young woman. Seeing that her eyes were blazing with anger, I was glad that Eisuke still had his arms wrapped around me.

"Carolina!" Eisuke said happily. "It is so good to see you! I've been waiting for you, of course. And perhaps enjoying the time with my girlfriend a little too much. I'm surprised to see that you've learned Japanese."

"Yes," Carolina said, searching for the right words. "I need to learn Japanese to talk Eisuke. You own a girlfriend?"

I almost started laughing when Carolina used the word "own" instead of "have". Little did she know how right she was.

"Yes, this is my Olivia," Eisuke said, simplifying his speech to help Carolina to understand. "She is the only one for me. I think someday we will get married."

I smiled as if I were delighted by the idea of marrying Eisuke and said, "It is very nice to meet you, Carolina."

Carolina looked past me as if I didn't exist. "You are bad boy, Eisuke. So many times new girl. I think this girl will go soon."

Eisuke laughed. "I think my days of enjoying many women are over now, Carolina. When you get to know Olivia, you too will understand how precious she is."

Carolina rolled her eyes. "I own a dog now, Eisuke. Look at my little Button." She waved for the man holding the dog to step forward. He passed Carolina a small Yorkshire Terrier.

Eisuke took a step back, pulling me with him. "I'm sorry, Carolina, but I am allergic to dogs. But Soryu loves all dogs." Eisuke indicated Soryu who had been standing quietly listening to the conversation. "This is my colleague, Soryu Oh. He is from an important family in Hong Kong."

Soryu stepped forward to pet the little dog in Carolina's arms. I watched Carolina looking up at him, her eyes assessing his handsome face and strong build. "A family in Hong Kong?" she repeated.

"Yes," Eisuke replied. "Some would say the most important family."

Carolina made a purring sound, her eyes suddenly sparkling. "Ah, this is a handsome man, Button."

I blinked in surprise. Is Eisuke setting Soryu up?

Soryu said, "You have a very good dog, Carolina," before turning around to shoot an angry glance at Eisuke.

Eisuke responded with a quiet chuckle, confirming my suspicions. "Shall we go to the car?" he suggested. "I'm sure that you are anxious for your long journey to be over."

"Yes, do that," Carolina said. She made a quick step forward, obviously intent on claiming Eisuke's arm and walking with him, but Eisuke was too fast for her. He pivoted the two of us gracefully, guiding me around to stand next to him, his hand firmly on my waist, before I even realized what was going on.

With a hmph, Carolina stepped over and took Soryu's arm and we made our way back to the limo. Once there, Carolina ensured that she was sitting next to Eisuke and Eisuke made sure that I was sitting firmly on the other side of him.

Soryu, seated to my right, quietly handed me a bottle of water out of the mini fridge and surreptitiously passed me some ibuprofen. I took the pills and waited for them to take affect as the limo made its way back to Tres Spades. Carolina had begun talking to Eisuke in Italian as soon as we had settled into the our seats. I couldn't tell what they were saying, but she was flirtatious – and very handsy – for the entire trip.

It annoyed me that Carolina was flirting with Eisuke, constantly touching his leg or his arm, sometimes even reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. What sort of woman would behave so brashly in front of a man's girlfriend? I tried to think of how I should respond. If it were a normal situation, I would probably just tell her to keep her hands off of my man, but it was clear that Mr. Bucci and Carolina could not be offended. It was obvious that even Eisuke could not directly put Carolina in her place. I decided the best thing that I could do would be to ignore her. If I felt completely secure in my false relationship with Eisuke, then Carolina's behavior would be a laughable annoyance. She was the fly and I was the butterfly, and butterflies don't worry about flies.

I sat my hand casually on Eisuke's thigh and turned my attention to Soryu for the remainder of the ride.

"I didn't know that Eisuke spoke Italian," I said breezily, as if Soryu and I had engaged in many conversations.

"He speaks seven languages," Soryu replied a bit stiffly. "He believes that it is important to speak to business partners in their own language."

"Seven," I repeated, remembering Sakiko referring to Eisuke as a business wizard. "That must have taken a lot of work."

"Eisuke has always worked extremely hard," Soryu said. Was it my imagination or was he relaxing a little bit into our conversation?

"How long have you known him?" I asked.

"Since we were thirteen," Soryu explained. "We went to the same private school in England."

"I see. He worked that hard, even as a child?"

"He has always been driven," Soryu answered. "It was obvious even then that he would do great things with his life."

I nodded thoughtfully. "And you? Eisuke said that you are from Hong Kong. Do you live in Japan or are you just visiting?"

Soryu looked into my eyes as if pondering the answer to my innocent question. "I'm staying here for the time being, working on a project with Eisuke. I will eventually return to Hong Kong."

I nodded, sensing that I was asking too many questions. The Auction sprang to mind. Eisuke and Soryu were obviously working together on something illegal. Eisuke's description of Soryu as being from an important family in Hong Kong crossed my mind. Clues began to weave themselves together. Could the Buccis be a crime family? And Soryu and Eisuke, could they also be from crime families? Did these people represent Mafias from different countries around the world? Did that explain why Carolina was so forward and bold? If Bucci was a mafia kingpin, wouldn't she get whatever she wanted? Even more than the rich women who could be seen at the hotel? Carolina could ask for anything, legal or illegal, and expect to receive it. A chill went through me. If this were true, maybe standing in Carolina's way by pretending to be Eisuke's girlfriend was going to by much more difficult than I would have imagined.

The limo pulled up in front of the hotel. A concierge who spoke Italian was waiting at the front door to guide Carolina through the check-in process. We left her at the front desk and made our way to the private elevator for the penthouse, Eisuke and Soryu chatting the entire time. It was strange to enter Tres Spades through the front door. I had never done so before. Walking across the lobby, Eisuke's hand on my waist, I felt as if I had truly walked into a different world. I was on the other side now. In such a short amount of time, my life making beds and vacuuming floors was beginning to seem far away.

When the doors of the elevator closed between us and the lobby, the two men fell silent immediately and Eisuke's hand dropped from my waist. I shook my head at myself. I spent the elevator ride picturing myself in my dorm room, in the employee locker room, cleaning rooms and delivering spa kits. That was my real life. Trapped in the hands of Eisuke Ichiyomiya, the life that had been stole from me seemed so very far away, but it was just on the other side of an invisible wall. With hard work and determination, I would cross that barrier back into my own world.

When we entered the penthouse, Baba, Ota and the bad detective were gathered around the coffee table. Eisuke and Soryu went over to join them and I followed.

"Is this it?" Soryu asked.

"Yeah," Baba answered. "It was easy enough to do. A lot less tricky than I thought it was going to be. Their security was for shit."

A handful of little black squares that looked like computer chips were sitting in a small clear tote on the coffee table. Next to them were a stack of file folders and several thumb drives.

"What are those things?" I asked. Everyone seemed a little excited, and I was wondering why.

"It's a prototype for a new type of pacemaker," Baba said.

"For the heart?" When he nodded, I asked, "Is someone sick?"

Baba laughed. "No. This is a new technology that isn't even on the market yet. We're going to sell it in the Auction tonight."

I stared down at the things on the table and then blinked up at Baba. "You stole these things? To sell?"

Baba grinned widely, looking proud of himself. "Yeah. I'm going to make a shitload of money off of this."

"But this is for sick people," I said accusingly. "For their hearts. People could die because you stole these things!"

Suddenly, Eisuke stepped close to me and grabbed my wrist, holding it with a painful grip. He leaned down to speak quietly and coldly into my ear. "You need to remember that none of this is your business. It is not your place to ask questions."

He dropped my wrist and walked away without another word to anyone. My eyes followed him up the stairs to the second floor until he disappeared, my heart thumping wildly in my ears with fear. I have to remember that he's dangerous. I always have to remember that he can hurt me.

Baba touched my arm and I recoiled automatically, blinking up at him.

"Hey, it's okay," he said quietly. "And don't worry about these pacemakers. It's a good thing that I stole them. The company that developed them was just sitting on the technology. They planned to bribe politicians next year to change the law, so that they can sell the pacemakers for a lot more money than they would be able to now. When someone wins this information in the Auction, these pacemakers will end up being manufactured as quickly as possible and they'll be sold for a cheaper price. This will help sick people, not hurt them. So, no worries, Kitten. And the police think it's a good idea, too. Right, Mamoru?"

I looked up at the bad detective, who nodded and began digging in his pocket for a package of cigarettes. My eyes examined the other men. No one was contradicting what Baba had said. His argument seemed to make sense. Is this really how things worked?

"Does… Does Eisuke know that?" I asked, forcing myself not to rub my wrist in front of the four men.

Baba looked at me very seriously and said, "Eisuke knows everything."

Two hours later I sat in the upstairs living room. I'd showered and handed myself over to my fashion team. I was still wearing my hair down, but Rin had done my makeup with more color for an evening look and Daichi had dressed me in a purple dress for dinner. I'd refused the teal one that he had originally suggested. I didn't think I'd be wearing teal for a long while. Maybe never again.

I looked up as Eisuke came out of the bedroom. He was wearing his usual three piece suit, only this time he was wearing a tie. He came and stood before me, staring down at me with his Frappuccino eyes. "This dinner is very important. Bucci will be there as well as several other important business associates. Carolina will also be there. You must play your role at all times, without fail. Do not give anyone reason to doubt that we are involved in an intimate relationship. I will be focusing on business during this meal. Do not do anything silly to distract me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Eisuke," I replied.

"Then, let's go," he said and I followed him downstairs where we met Soryu and took the elevator down to the second floor. Once again, Eisuke put his arm around my waist just before the elevator doors opened and he and Soryu fell into easy conversation as if they had been talking for some time. The second floor in this area of the hotel was mainly composed of private rooms of various sizes for meetings, receptions and parties. A smaller room had been set up for tonight's dinner with a long dining room table running down the center.

I stood with Eisuke and Soryu at the door to the room, greetings guests as they arrived. Claudio Bucci greeted me with a vague kindness, but Carolina's eyes were full of malice when she looked at me. I was introduced to eight other business men, mostly foreigners, and only one of which had a woman with him. Several of the men had interpreters with them. We arranged ourselves at the long table with care. I sat next to Eisuke and the one man who had brought his wife, her name was Maritza Hernandez, sat across from Eisuke so that Maritza sat across from me. Carolina sat to Maritza's left, diagonally two seats away from Eisuke. She was close enough to speak to him, but would have to raise her voice to do so. Soryu sat on my right, across from Carolina, obviously being thrown to the wolves.

The meal began peacefully enough. Eisuke was talking to some of the businessmen to his left and Maritza was speaking to me through her interpreter, asking questions about Japanese culture and sharing some insights about life in Mexico. Soryu was talking to Carolina in Japanese, keeping her preoccupied, I assumed, so that she would not bother Eisuke.

When the second course arrived, Maritza began speaking to her husband and I concentrated on my food. It had been over twenty-four hours since I'd eaten much of anything, so I was ready to enjoy the pasta that was placed in front of me by a server. As I ate, my eyes wandered to Eisuke, watching his profile as he ate his food and continued his conversation with the other men. He was so handsome and graceful, just watching him could be a pleasure, if I pushed aside the reality of him owning me and the threat of punishment that underlay our interactions. His every movement seemed to be carefully controlled, perfectly orchestrated. He belonged on camera, not in a business meeting.

I smiled to myself as a thought popped into my head. Eisuke was the sort of man that I could picture being interviewed on a talk show and saying, "I was just walking in the park and a man came up to me and asked me if I'd like to be a model. The next thing I knew I was walking a runway in Milan and everyone was saying that I was the best male model in the world." He was Zoolander! Now I was giggling to myself over my pasta. I remembered talking to Sakiko in the employee locker room and telling her that Yasu Ueda was my fantasy husband. Now, Frappuccino Zoolander was officially my fantasy boyfriend. Or fake boyfriend. I imagined Eisuke at a photo shoot staring into the camera the way that he normally stared so intently at me and the other people around him. My giggling grew a little louder.

A hand settled on my thigh and Eisuke leaned in close, whispering into my ear. "Have you had too much wine, Olivia?"

I tipped my head back to look up at him. His bedroom eyes dove into my own laughter-filled gaze. His eyes narrowed. I could feel him searching the depths of my soul, trying to determine what I was laughing about.

"It's nothing," I said, working hard to calm myself down. "I just thought of something funny. I'm okay now."

His gaze fell from my eyes to my lips. An alarm sounded in my heart. I sucked my lips in and bit down on them, trying to conceal them from his sight. His hand settled on my shoulder, and he leaned in, tracing his tongue over the line created by my hidden lips. A complicated twist of emotions trembled through me. I wanted to run and hide but I knew what my role was. I released my lips with a sigh, giving them over to his exploration. His tongue licked over my lower lip and then he sucked the plump flesh into his mouth, nibbling on it tenderly.

"Damn you, Frappuccino Zoolander," I thought, trying desperately to hold onto myself while his lips were enticing me to let everything go. I curled my toes into my shoes and pressed my feet down into the floor. "I'm at dinner. This is nothing. This is an act. Don't fall for it."

His hand on my shoulder tightened, and I could hear his voice so clearly that he may as well have been talking to me. "Remember your role, Olivia. Kiss me back."

I relaxed my lips, opening to him, my tongue slipped out to stroke quickly over his upper lip before returning back to the safety of my own mouth. His hand moved from my shoulder to the back of my head, holding me every so gently, while his tongue followed mine like predator after prey. He took my mouth as if he owned it, his tongue stroking confidently over mine and demanding a response from my own, commanding desire to rise up inside of me in a wave that threatened to draw me under.

His lips left mine, and I gasped breathlessly. His head tipped down so that he could look into my eyes, his own eyes glinting with warning. His mouth dipped to whisper in my ear. "Do not forget yourself."

He turned his back on me, returning to his conversation. I stared back down at my pasta, my appetite suddenly nonexistent. My cheeks flushed, I tried to hide the fact that I was breathless and get a grip on myself. "Don't forget yourself, Olivia. Don't forget who you are dealing with. He's always at least one step ahead of you. He's always completely in control. Keep yourself in line, and keep his lips off of you."

"Eisuke, Darling," Carolina's voice rang out, and I looked up to see her staring at me , her expression livid. She'd seen Eisuke kissing me, obviously, and was not the least bit happy about it. Now she was calling out to him in Japanese. "I want to talk for tomorrow. We plan to go to zoo?"

Eisuke broke off the discussion that he was having with the other men to turn to Carolina. His hand came down on my knee. "That's right, Carolina. The plans for the zoo are already made. I am sure that we will have a lot of fun."

"Carolina," I chimed in. "I am so looking forward to this trip to the zoo. It is too bad that you can't bring little Button. I'm sure that he would have so much fun seeing all of the other animals and barking at them."

A man called for Eisuke's attention and he turned back to the other side of the table. I continued with my attempt to distract Carolina. "Do you have a favorite animal, Carolina? Something you are hoping to see at the zoo?"

Carolina's eyes narrowed at me. "I love all the animals. But I hope not to see the snake. There is too many snakes in my area now."

"Ah, snakes," Soryu said with a laugh, joining the conversation. "I love snakes. I had a pet snake when I was a child. A small snake that I caught in a park."

I smiled gratefully at Soryu, and Carolina said, "A small snake, Soryu? I have to be sure Soryu must only have a large snake."

Her voice was so suggestive that it sent chills of disgust down my spine. I looked up to see Soryu frowning slightly.

"Carolina," I interjected, hoping to turn the conversation away from conjectures about the size of Soryu's 'snake'. "How long have you had Button? I am so jealous that you have a dog."

"For three months only," Carolina replied. I could see that she was only answering me to avoid looking rude to the other guests. "But my love for him is big. Always I have much love to give."

She looked suggestively at Soryu and then flicked her eyes over to include Eisuke, although his back was turned to her as he said something about ventures and capital.

"What from you, Olivia?" she asked. "You have no pet? You are small and have small heart to give?"

"Well, I must say that at the moment all of my love goes to Eisuke," I said, forcing a little giggle. "It wouldn't be fair to get a pet right now."

The conversation was starting to make me queasy, so it was a good thing that Maritza turned her attention to our discussion and had her interpreter interject for her. "I have three dogs. One poodle and two chihuahuas. They are like children to me."

"Did you bring them to Japan with you?" I asked.

"No, but once I took the poodle to France with me..." Maritza began telling stories about traveling with her dogs and thankfully Carolina was drawn into the conversation as she attempted to prove that Button was the better traveler.

Soon after that the dinner was over, everyone shook hands and promised to meet up again at that night's IVC party. Eisuke lead me to the elevator, dropping his hand from my waist as soon as the doors slid closed. This time, however, his conversation with Soryu became more animated the moment we were cut off from the other guests.

"Chao says that he is all in for the Russia project, but he's lying. I'd say he's going to string us along until Phase 2 is about midway through and then pull out. We'll have to make arrangements to negate any impact that might have," Eisuke said in a rapid-fire voice that was all business. "Probst is saying no on the expansion into Belgium, he's acting like he thinks it's a bad idea. He's probably having money issues, although it is possible that he is pulling back because of something health related. I didn't like his coloring. Look into both of those things. Naranjo is hiding something about what went down in Geneva. We'll have to look into it further..."

His voice went on and on, listing his thoughts on the other men at the dinner and their hidden agendas and intentions. Soryu listened quietly, he must have been making mental note of everything that Eisuke was saying. The list continued for the entire time we rode the elevator and walked into the living room. We stood for several minutes, listening to Eisuke as he finished his rundown on the dinner. Finally, Eisuke gave a quick nod to Soryu, turned on his heel and headed upstairs.

I turned to Soryu, the amazement that I felt coming out in my voice. "How does Eisuke know all of those things?" I asked.

Soryu looked down at me with unwavering eyes. "Eisuke sees everything."

I looked at the stairs that Eisuke had recently climbed, remembering what Eisuke had said to me just the night before.

"I saw you this morning in the lobby. You were with the girl who assists at the roulette table."

A chill went through me. He'd really seen me at the back of that crowd and remembered doing it. A stranger that he was almost certainly seeing for the first time. In a crowd of hundreds of people. He'd even taken note of who I was with. Was this how he saw the world? In infinite detail? Earlier I had thought that he was always one step ahead of me, but that was far from the truth.

"Eisuke knows everything."

"Eisuke sees everything."

He was light years ahead of me. I didn't have a chance of playing his game on equal terms and influencing him to let me go. I would simply have to wait. Just like he had said. Wait until he no longer had a use for me.

An hour later I was once again on the express elevator with Eisuke and Soryu. This time Baba and Ota had also joined us. My fashion team had had another go at me. My makeup was much more elaborate for the IVC party, and I was wearing a long black formal dress that hugged my curves. There was also a matching jewelry set consisting of a necklace, bracelet, ring and earrings. I didn't want to think too much about it, but they had to be real diamonds. Eisuke's girlfriend would wear nothing less.

The party looked just like the one the night before. A room full of beautiful people in expensive clothes. This time everyone looked at me, their eyes judging me silently instead of dismissing me immediately as they had the night before. For the first time I realized that at least some of these people had been at the Auction the previous night. They'd watched me be sold to the highest bidder and held their tongues. What did they think of me now, as I walked beside Eisuke, his hands always touching me in some way, the two of us smiling as if we were head over heels in love?

Soryu, Baba and Ota disappeared into the crowd soon after we entered the party. At times I would catch glances of them across the large room. Ota ended up with the same woman from the night before – Yumi? I watched in disgust as she clung to his arm, a drink always in her free hand. I couldn't believe that she'd forgiven him for his behavior the night before. I couldn't understand why she was drinking again tonight. Was it not possible for her to learn from past mistakes? Maybe she didn't even consider passing out while a man was fucking her a mistake. Maybe it was just a normal night.

The party, it turned out, was as boring as hell. It was a bit of a slap in the face to realize that the special parties that hotel employees had planned and prepared for so many months were no fun at all. I followed Eisuke around the room as he greeted different guests and small groups. One group would get small talk about the IVC events, the next person would be asked about their family, the next would be talked with for a short time about business and then on to the next group to begin again. As I accompanied Eisuke around the room, being introduced to far too many people to remember, listening to far too many boring conversations and many more that weren't even conducted in Japanese, the pain and fatigue that I was feeling grew exponentially.

Finally, I could take it no longer. As Eisuke parted from two men he'd been talking to about investments, I pulled on his sleeve. "Eisuke, please," I said quietly. "I am in too much pain and I'm so tired. I can't do this anymore."

"I see," he answered. "Come this way."

He put his hand on my elbow and guided me through the crowd to a door on the back wall, opening it with his black keycard. The room was just a couple of doors down from the room where I had cleaned up Ota's girl the night before. As I stepped through the doorway into the room, Eisuke put his hand on my ass. I knew that it was done in such a way that anyone watching us would have seen it. I continued walking into the room and headed over to the couch, gingerly lowering myself to lie down on it with a sigh.

"Great, now everyone thinks we're having sex in here," I said tiredly.

"Yes," Eisuke confirmed. "It would be strange for the two of us to come in here for any other reason. We certainly aren't in here talking about business. You are in pain, but I can't leave the party so early. Relax here."

I watched him take a seat and pull out his phone. "Thank you, Frappuccino Zoolander," I thought to myself. "That is the nicest thing you have ever said to me." With a sigh I lay my wrist over my eyes to block out the light and went immediately to sleep.

Some time later a quiet knock on the door woke me up. I opened my eyes drowsily and noticed that Eisuke was staring at something. I followed his line of sight and realized that the long slit in my dress had allowed the skirt to open and expose basically all of my legs as I slept. With a gasp, I sat up and pulled the fabric back into place. I could feel my cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

Eisuke said, "Come in," as soon as my legs were covered.

Soryu entered the room. He walked over to me immediately and held out a bottle of water and some ibuprofen. "I'm sorry it took so long to get here," he said. "I was tied up for awhile downstairs."

"Thank you, Soryu," I replied. "I'm glad that you got here as soon as you could. Although now everyone probably thinks we're having a threesome in here."

As I swallowed the pills Soryu dropped into a chair and began updating Eisuke on the Auction that was happening downstairs.

"This is important," I thought. Soryu hadn't just apologized, he'd given me a little bit of an explanation. Soryu was normally silent and kept his comments to a minimum unless he was putting on an act to achieve a goal. The fact that he'd added a few extra words to his remark made me feel that he had accepted me in some way. Perhaps he had grown to like me or trust me a bit after our long day together. He might even appreciate the fact that we'd worked together to contain Carolina.

I let out a happy little sigh. Even the tiniest hint of a possible ally felt good. I knew that Soryu was never going to side with me against Eisuke or help me to escape, but it was still nice to know that someone cared about my wellbeing at least a little bit.

"Are you ready to go back out there?" Eisuke asked.

When I answered in the affirmative, we all stood up and Eisuke suddenly stepped over to me and kissed me hard. The unexpected kiss left me stunned and unable to respond. I didn't even understand what was going on. There was no audience to impress or agenda to meet.

He broke off the kiss and looked down at me, inspecting my lips. "That'll do," he said. "If we've been in here fucking all this time, your lipstick shouldn't look so nice."

He grabbed a tissue to clean my lipstick off of his own lips before reaching up and tousling my hair. "That's an improvement. Fix your expression. You coming out of here looking confused and slightly angry is going to call my reputation into question."

"Well you did invite Soryu to join us," I pointed out. "But I'll see what I can do."

With a happy smile, I took Eisuke's arm and gazed up at him adoringly. "Thank you ever so much for fucking me in a side room at your party, My Love. You really know how to keep things fresh and romantic."

I heard Soryu snort behind me and figured I'd scored a point towards our budding friendship.

Eisuke responded to my teasing with his usual smirk. "Control the impudence," he ordered, "before I have to punish you." But there was a tiny thread of laughter running through his voice. I hesitantly chalked up a point for building a friendly relationship with Eisuke, although at this point I couldn't even decide if that were a good thing.

The moment we stepped out of the room, I noticed Carolina standing near the champagne waterfall, but when I met her eyes she suddenly turned and disappeared further into the crowd. She definitely wasn't happy that I'd spent time alone with Eisuke and Soryu. Rack up another point for Olivia.

But my triumph was short lived. It took Eisuke over an hour to work his way back through the party towards the double doors that lead into the lobby, saying goodbye to so many people that I didn't bother to keep track.

When the elevator doors finally closed on us, I sighed dramatically. "Thank God that's over. I never want to go to one of those things again. "

Soryu responded with a snort, but Eisuke was back to his cold, practical self. "It was work. It wasn't supposed to be enjoyable."

"You're right," I said. "But it's been a hell of a long hard day at work."

The elevator opened and Soryu used his keycard to get us into the penthouse.

"That's true," Eisuke said quietly. "You've done a very good job today, Olivia. Soryu will give you your medicine and then you can go to to bed."

Soryu pulled a small plastic bag that held two pills from his pocket and handed it to me. I thanked him quietly and crossed the room towards the stairs, noticing Eisuke and Soryu sit down with Mamoru and fall immediately into an intense discussion.

As I climbed the stairs, each step seemed to drain more energy from my body. When I arrived in the bedroom, I eased into the chair that was closest to the door and kicked off my high heels, unable to go any further.

I sat, quietly reviewing my day as I gathered the energy to get myself ready for bed. The day had been crazy to say the least, but I felt that overall I had performed my assigned task well. I wasn't looking forward to the following day with its trip to the zoo and what was most likely a long list of challenges, but I was fairly certain that I would be able to handle whatever happened.

I intentionally skirted around thoughts of Eisuke. Not at all ready to touch the tangled mystery that he seemed to be. I was doing what he asked and that was all that mattered at the moment. Every successful task would take me one step closer to freedom. For all I knew, as soon as Carolina was safely on her jet back to Italy, Eisuke would decide that he didn't need me anymore and let me go. This time next week I could be back in bed in my room in the employee dorm. The idea brought a smile to my face.

Promising myself that I would redouble my efforts to get Carolina to give up on Eisuke tomorrow, I finally pushed myself up from the chair to get ready for bed. As I crossed the room, I noticed a small stack of clothes sitting on top of a dresser. On further inspection, they proved to be a pair of blue pajamas with tiny white butterflies, underwear, a sports bra and a pair of socks.

With a sigh of relief, a slipped out of the black dress and peeled off the sticky bra cups that I'd been given to wear in place of a regular bra, tossing them on top of the dresser.

Suddenly the door opened. I quickly brought my arms up and crossed them to cover my bare breasts and then froze in panic, waiting for someone to murmur a quick 'sorry' before leaving the room.

Instead, after a few moments of silence, I heard Eisuke's voice command, "Don't move."

I stood rooted to the spot, my back turned to him, intensely aware that the only thing I wore was a black lace thong. I heard his footsteps cross the room towards me and my heartbeat grew louder and faster with each step.

Finally, he was behind me, so close that I could feel his breath gently ruffling my hair. After what felt like an hour, but was probably only seconds, I felt what must have been his knuckles touch gently onto the small of my back and then begin to trace a slow path up my spine.

By the time his hand was midway up my back, I was trembling and my nipples were tightening into hard points. Heat had begun to pool low in the belly. As his knuckles followed the line of my spine, into the tangle of my hair and towards the nape of my neck, a moan fell, unbidden and unprepared for, from my lips.

The lustful sound echoed through the quiet room. Eisuke's hand paused on its journey up my back. Shame and humiliation filled me. My own body had betrayed me. I lunged forward, snatching the pile of clothes from the dresser, and raced into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind me.

I collapsed onto the floor, hugging the soft pajamas to me as my only source of comfort. I could not want him. It was not right. It was not okay. It was not fair.

Suddenly, the cold floor under me and the soft pajamas in my arms quietly absorbing my tears caused memories of my mother's death to flood my mind. I was overcome by an image of myself lying on the floor of our old one-room apartment, crying. Hollow, desperate and alone. Losing everything all at once.

With a strangled cry, I pushed the clothing out of my lap and shot to my feet. Turning on the shower, I took off the black thong and hurried under the spray of water, desperate for my memories to be washed away.

There was no sense ruminating about right and wrong or fairness. I had learned that long ago. There was only taking what little you could scrape together and moving forward. There was only being strong, because every alternative was either impossible or a dead end.

It's time to be strong, Olivia. It's time to be strong.

Eisuke's Mental Notes 7/14/18:

...Olivia Graham doing well in the role of my girlfriend. She is still quite injured. Must find more opportunities to allow her to rest. Carolina Bucci is not easily accepting defeat, as predicted. Trip to the zoo is scheduled tomorrow. Must do everything to display an intense interest in Olivia. This matter must come to an end as soon as possible. Olivia is a distraction. The hollow of her back is beautiful—Scratch the last statement...