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Return to Me
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"He's late," an older gentleman in a three piece suit sighed exasperatedly, "Why he insists on being involved is beyond me. He shows no interest. He has no respect for the business. I doubt very much he understands the complexities. The hard work required to run a business of this magnitude."
"You're just upset because he was named the President of the Company and not you," another equally dressed man scoffed, "You want him to renounce his inheritance so you get the lot."
"He is the heir to the franchise," the older gentleman quipped back as he narrowed his eyes, "He could stay home for all I care and collect revenue but he insists on being involved to a certain degree and because of that, none of the others will vote to remove him."
"Patience," the other man soothed, "You'll be President soon enough. The boy will step down soon, I'm certain. You convinced him to sign the will leaving everything to you in the event of his demise. How did you do that by the way? I've always been curious."
"He is unmarried and has no children. No siblings. Both parents dead," the older gentleman sighed wearily, "Who else would he leave things to besides me?"
"You're already next of kin," the other man pointed out, "As his uncle, it would be easy enough to claim it without the need for a will."
"Ah, but the court system being as it were, it might take years to sift through all the assets that boy has," the older gentleman countered, "So much simpler merely to leave it all to me."
"Cheaper you mean," the other man scoffed, "You seem to have put a great deal of thought into the matter."
"Of course," the older gentleman laughed softly, "The way the boys drinks and philanders its only a matter of time before it kills him. I pity him in that way. Seems like a lonely existence."
"Perhaps it won't be too long then," the other gentleman acknowledged, "It is a pity. He is my cousin after all. I would be quite put out if he died so young."
"Don't say such things," the older gentleman quipped back, "He is still family. You should hope he lives a long life."
"I meant nothing by it. Surely you know this," the younger man hissed, "I'm handling the situation. Don't you worry. He will step down soon. Before the end of the quarter."
"I doubt very much you have the sway over him you believe you do," the uncle sighed, "But if anyone can convince him to step down, I believe it to be you."
"As I said, I'm handling the situation," the younger man sighed heavily, "He won't be a problem much longer."
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In the dimly lit salon, an elderly man sat at a long wooden table – a glass of an unknown liquor in one hand as he sat across from one of his most trusted scouts.
"The girl has hired someone to look into the deaths," the younger man informed his employer, "Apparently our message didn't get through."
"Why after all this time?" the elderly man wheezed before taking a sip, "Is it one of ours? The man she hired. Could we pay him off as we have done the others?"
"Unfortunately, he's not one of those who we could pay off," the younger man sighed heavily before adding quickly, "We could try to get her fired. It might discourage her enough to let the matter go."
"Or you could merely kill the girl," the elderly man countered, "We've invested quite a bit of capital into ensuring our enterprise goes unhindered. Her father was a meddlesome fool."
"Almost exposed our investments in the police department. I'm aware," the young man sighed wearily, "Allow me to try to discourage her before we jump to more drastic measures. Perhaps the man she hired could be reasoned with if given the right motivation."
"I'll give you one month but after that, she is too much of a liability. This is the second time she's tried to find answers. Our message didn't seem to get through to her," the elderly man rasped out before a coughing fit overcame him. As he wiped his mouth, he looked back towards the young man, "Find who she's closest to. Target her weaknesses. Our enterprise cannot be compromised."
"As you wish," the young man answered as he rose from the arm chair, "I'll begin right away."
"One month," the elderly man stressed, "No more than that. Our last message did nothing but give her more motivation. I'd much rather just be done with her. There won't be a third chance."
"Understood," the young man agreed as he made his way towards the door, "I'll see that she's made to understand as well."
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"God dammit," Ryo groaned as he rushed into the building. He'd woken up early. Probably far too early if truth be told. He was bound and determined to make it to the meeting on time. No, not on time. Early. But life had other plans. He should've driven. Should've but he didn't. Instead, he took the subway. Like a complete fucking idiot. And on top of everything, he'd given Haichi the day off because of a family emergency. As if it wasn't bad enough that the board didn't want him there anyway, now he looked completely incompetent on top of everything.
Rushing onto the elevator, he quickly pressed the button taking him to the conference floor as he bounced anxiously and released a shaky breath. This wasn't how he envisioned his day going. Not in the slightest. Once again, any ideas he had were immediately going to be dismissed because who would listen to anyone who couldn't even arrive on time.
As the doors opened at a snails pace, he rushed forward and burst into the conference room - his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath before he collected himself and made his way to the chair awaiting him.
"My apologies," Ryo murmured, "I should've driven but I chose to take the subway. Please forgive me."
"Not a problem," his uncle laughed as he gave him an understanding yet strained smile, "We are still awaiting a few others as well."
"How have you been?" Ryo asked awkwardly, "I haven't heard from you in quite some time."
"Ah yes, since before the incident," the uncle acknowledged, "I see you're fully recovered."
"Yes," Ryo sighed as he touched his scarred wrist, "They still haven't caught the culprit though."
"How interesting," the uncle mused as he cast a quick glance at his son, "No leads whatsoever?"
"None," Ryo confirmed as he pulled out his briefcase and removed a few papers, "Before the meeting truly begins, I have some marketing ideas if you'll hear me out. I think we should perhaps do a reunion of the original actors in advance of the latest movie premiere. Perhaps do a sweepstakes."
"I'll consider it," the uncle answered wryly as he subtly rolled his eyes, "But we are already running a sweepstakes for the premiere. It would be unwise to do another. Didn't you get that memo?"
"Uh..." Ryo sighed awkwardly as he grimaced, "I must have missed that one."
"I'll see that you get a copy," the uncle responded exasperatedly, "Perhaps if you took more of an interest in the company, you would have already known."
"I'm sorry," Ryo sighed awkwardly, "Due to my recovery, I've missed several but now that I'm recovered, I intend to be more involved."
"That isn't necessary," the uncle clipped back coldly, "We are quite capable of running the franchise without your involvement."
"It is my father's legacy," Ryo insisted hotly, "I plan to remain involved. More so now than ever."
"Is that..." the uncle began before the door opened and the remaining board members flooded in, "Ah, it seems the meeting can begin. Everyone please take a seat. We need to discuss logistics."
Ryo couldn't help but slump down in his seat. His uncle had always wanted the position Ryo now held. Always. Yet his father never trusted the man and named as his successor his trusted son...who now had just made a fool of himself and proven everyone right. Perhaps he should just step down and allow his uncle to run the business. He thought he'd reviewed all the memorandum and business plans but perhaps he missed one. All that time he could've spent on better ideas...
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"That was brilliant," the uncle chuckled quietly as they waved goodbye to Ryo as he entered the elevator, "To purposefully leave out certain aspects of the business on his memorandum. Quite brilliant. I imagine he'll spend the rest of the day trying to find details regarding the sweepstakes."
"I doubt it," the son sighed happily, "Hopefully he'll give up and we won't have to resort to other methods of removing him."
"The board already has decided not to remove him," the uncle clipped before he furrowed his brow and cast his son an anxious glance, "You weren't behind his kidnapping were you?"
"No father," the son answered honestly, "That wasn't me."
"Don't do anything foolish," the uncle warned wearily, "It wouldn't reflect well on the family were we to be caught up in some scandal."
"I understand," the son answered as he secretly smiled and hoped his father wouldn't see right through him, "I would never do anything to harm the family."