Hi! I hope you're all having a happy holiday! So here's my present to all of you.
Chapter 11: Things Quiet Down . . . For Now
Sam and Aelita paced back forth, passing each other as they walked before the front door of their apartment. It was six in the morning and it had been 18 hours 20 minutes and 33 seconds since they had last seen Yumi . . . not that they were keeping track or anything.
But they were worried. Yumi hadn't called or anything. She hadn't returned home since she left yesterday morning.
"Just where the heck is she?" Sam screamed in frustration.
"The last time we saw her, she was with Ulrich." Aelita said.
"Yeah, but she must've left by now. I mean why would she stay overnight at his house."
"Maybe she's been kidnapped. Or maybe she got robbed and beat up by thugs. What if she was killed by a psychotic serial killer? Oh my god! She could've been a car acc-"
"Aelita, shut up and pull yourself together!" Sam said as she grabbed the girl by her shoulders and violently shook her back into reality.
Aelita sighed. "You're right. We have to stay calm. I called the police and they said they'd keep a lookout."
"That means nothing. You know how the police are. Unless it's a kid or an important person, they don't give a rat's behind about missing people."
"But we did do the right thing in calling them, didn't we?"
"Well we did the only thing we could do. That and calling Jeremie and Odd. They've been looking about for her and said they'd call if anything came up.
Aelita grunted in anxiety. "I just wish I knew where my friend was!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. She and Sam sat on the sofa and began rocking back in forth in sheer anxiety. Where in the world was Yumi Ishiyama?
Yumi felt so comfortable and at peace in her nice, soft and warm bed. She shifted around and smiled in pure comfort. Her pillow was really nice and firm but very soft. It smelt really good—intoxicating even. So was the bed. She had never felt so comfortable before in her life. Yumi knew she was awake but didn't feel like getting up or even opening her eyes for that matter.
But something was strange. Her bed felt a lot like a sofa. And her pillow felt like it was human flesh—kind of like a man's chest. The smell was kind of like cologne or a man's scent. Why did her pillow smell like that? Why did it feel like a man's chest? And why in the heck did she feel someone's strong arms around her waist? Yumi's eyes shot open and she looked around. This was definitely not her bedroom. Heck, this wasn't even her living room! She then turned her head and saw that she was in the arms of Ulrich Stern, her boss and she was sleeping with him on his nice, plush couch. Yumi felt her skin grow cold as a chill ran down her spine. It was as if all the heat in her body went right into her face as it grew quite a dark shade of red. She jumped off the sofa and fell to the floor as she let out a squeal of surprise and fear. Her eyes were glued to Ulrich as she wondered just what in the world she was doing in his house . . . alone . . . during the night . . . Well it couldn't be THAT bad . . . could it?
Oh wait! That's it! They were watching Hayao Miyazaki films and fell asleep on the sofa! That's right! Nothing bad (or naughty) happened. What a relief!
Ulrich stirred in his sleep as he opened his eyes to the noise that Yumi made. "Oh it's just Yumi." He mumbled, obviously half asleep. He gave her a sleepy smile and turned over as he mumbled. "Such wild girl. Keep it down, okay?" He was quiet for a few seconds and then jumped off of the sofa and sat upright. He gave Yumi a very terrified look. He removed the blanket and looked at himself, seeing that he was fully clothed. He then sighed and said, "Oh, thank God. I thought something horrible happened."
Yumi frowned. She didn't know whether to be glad that he felt the same way or mad that he would be scared if they had have done something.
"And what's that supposed to mean. I mean I don't want anything to happen, but I like to think I'm quite attractive." Yumi said.
"Oh, that's not what I meant." Ulrich said laughing nervously. "I just meant that it would be bad if we had done something knowing fully well that we're boss and employee. It's very unprofessional. I mean I would be honored if you would choose me to do something like that, or uh, I don't know what I'm saying anymore." Ulrich said, giving up. Yumi giggled. Ulrich was very disoriented and pleasantly polite when he just wakes up. Ulrich shook his head as if to wake himself up, and then he gave Yumi a weak smile. "I guess you better get outta here."
Yumi glanced at the clock. "If I did I'd be late for work by the time I got ready."
"So you're getting ready here?" Ulrich asked.
"Got no choice." Yumi said nonchalantly. Ulrich gave her a helpless look. "What?"
"Oh, it's nothing, but, uh, I mean you're not gonna wear that to work are you?" Ulrich asked motioning to what she had on.
"I really couldn't." Yumi said as she surveyed her wrinkled clothes.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Yumi froze on the spot. Oh God, why did someone have to come now—and at six in the morning! Ulrich stood up and went to the door.
"Ulrich! Don't answer the door!" Yumi yelled
"But I gotta." Ulrich said plainly.
"But I'm not supposed to be here!"
"As big as this house is, Yumi, you could just go to a different floor and hide." Ulrich said.
Yumi stared at him for a minute. "Oh, right." She said wishing she had thought of that.
Ulrich answered the door, revealing his mom and dad.
"Hey, Son!" Mr. Stern said as he pulled him into a hug. His mother then proceeded to kiss him all over the face.
"Hey, Dad. Hey, Mom." Ulrich mumbled.
"Ulrich, why didn't you call?" Mrs. Stern said in a motherly voice. Yumi could hear their conversation and had to chuckle as she remembered her own mother telling her the same thing.
"Sorry, but I was busy."
"Busy? You've been moping for the past week." Mr. Stern exclaimed.
"Yeah, well . . . it's busy to mope and be depressed." Ulrich said half-heartedly.
"Well you need to pick yourself up and get over that girl."
"Your father's right. I never liked her anyways."
"Mom, you always say that." Ulrich said, chuckling.
"And I'm always right too." His mother replied. His parents walked into the house and observed the kitchen and the living room.
"If I didn't know any better," Mr. Stern began, "I would've thought you had a woman hear cleaning up for you."
Ulrich laughed a genuine laugh. "Well." He said, stretching the word. Mr. Stern raised an eyebrow.
"Now that's not funny, Ulrich. Don't go pretending that you do."
"Okay."
"Well, maybe you're on to something." Mrs. Stern said. "Did Yumi ever visit? I asked her if to see you if she could." Yumi's stomach flopped. She didn't know why exactly, but she was embarrassed by the question.
Ulrich nodded. "Yeah, she came by yesterday."
"Oh, don't tell me she cleaned up." Mr. Stern said, holding in a laugh.
"She may have, but she didn't give me much of choice. She couldn't bear seeing the house in shambles."
"You know you have to go to work today." Mr. Stern said in more serious tone. "It's very irresponsible for you to just ditch the place. And just think of the workload that Yumi girl's under seeing as she has to do your job on top of hers." Ulrich hung his head.
"You're right." He admitted.
"You really gotta thank that girl. Not many secretaries would do that. But you know what I say."
"Behind every great businessman is a great secretary, I know dad." Ulrich mumbled.
"Well it's true!" Mr. Stern exclaimed. "I mean I married mine!" he said gesturing to his wife who laughed.
"Dad, you were already married to mom before you even started the business."
"I know, but a good wife also makes for a good secretary. Their kind of the same actually." Mr. Stern said, enlightened by the comparison.
"I can see that." Ulrich said as he also began to think about it. Mrs. Stern laughed at her two favorite men. They were both looking at the ceiling with an inquisitive frown on their faces: this was the Stern Thinking Pose.
"Well, we should be going, dear." Mrs. Stern said to her husband. "Ulrich should get ready for work soon."
"Yeah, well you be sure to thank Ms. Ishiyama, now. I didn't raise you to just use people the way you've used her."
"I know, Dad. And I already thanked her when she came over." Ulrich said. After giving his father a hug and giving his mother a kiss on the cheek, he walked them to the door and closed it behind them.
Yumi came down the stairs. "Well that was such a nice, heartwarming scene." She cooed.
"Shut up." Ulrich said as he ruffled Yumi's hair.
"Stop!" she squealed as she swatted at his hand. Ulrich then went into a tickling frenzy making Yumi laugh. "Please, I give." She said as she fell on the couch with Ulrich still tickling her.
Ulrich stopped and hugged her from behind. "Thanks, Yumes." He whispered.
"You're welcome." Yumi said. She waited for Ulrich to let her go. "Um . . . are you gonna let me go."
Ulrich's face flustered. "Not until I give you a bear hug!" he said as he squeezed Yumi as hard as he could.
"Stern, I will kill you." She said as she laughed. Ulrich set her down on the floor. Before they could say a word, his cell phone went off.
"Hello . . . oh hey, Odd, what's up? . . . Oh Yumi's with me." Ulrich's response caused Yumi to look at him. She then gasped as she realized she never told Sam and Aelita that she was still at Ulrich's . . . over the night. She then mouthed for him to put it on speaker.
He did and they could hear Sam say, "What's she doing there?"
"She staid over." Ulrich answered.
"But what you were you two doing?" Odd asked.
"We slept together." Ulrich said with a cheesy grin on his face as everyone including Yumi shouted, "WHAT?" Ulrich burst out laughing.
"Ulrich, give me the phone!" Yumi screamed as she made for a grab at the phone, but Ulrich quickly stretched out his arm, putting it out of her reach.
"Way to go, Yumes! I didn't know you had it in you." Aelita exclaimed.
"Wow, Ulrich, on the first night?" Jeremie said.
"You animal!" Sam exclaimed as Odd made cat calls.
"Yumi, calm down, you don't have to get to rough." Ulrich said getting laughs out of the others. "I mean, she's all over me." Yumi then punched him in the gut, making him bend over in pain. "Okay, I deserved that."
Yumi snatched the phone out of his hands. "We didn't actually sleep, sleep together. We just fell asleep on the couch."
"We saw a movie together and it got really intense." Ulrich yelled.
"Ulrich!" Yumi yelled.
"Okay, it didn't get intense." Ulrich admitted.
"Let me guess, you've been drinking Mello Yellow, haven't you?" Jeremie asked over the phone.
"Yeah."
"Don't be mad at him, Yumi, Ulrich acts very loose when he drinks too much Mello Yellow." Odd explained.
"You mean the same way I get loose after drinking Dr. Pepper?" Yumi asked.
"Pretty much . . . so there wasn't any Dr. Pepper was there? Because then it might actually be probable for you two to sleep together."
"No, but I wish I had have known that." Ulrich said, making the others laugh as Yumi blushed.
"Hey, can you bring me a change of clothes? I'll be late if I go back home."
"Sure we can do that, but next time you want to "spend the night" at Ulrich's house, just tell us, we're okay with it, Yumes." Sam said.
"Bye, Sam." Yumi said as she hung up on her immature friends. Why did she hand around them? Oh yeah, that's right. To split up the rent cost. Was it worth it?
"Sorry, Yumes, but I couldn't resist." Ulrich said.
"Whatever." Yumi said as she walked into the kitchen.
"Where ya going?"
"I figured I'd cook breakfast. Maybe I can get your stove to work even if you did rip it out of the wall.
"That sounds nice." Ulrich said. "I'll just shower and get dressed."
By the time Yumi finished breakfast, Ulrich came down the stairs in one of his suits with a tie in both hands. "Honey, which tie do you think I should wear?" Ulrich asked smirking as he held the two ties up. Yumi grabbed one and then smiled.
"Ulrich . . . I'll choke you." Ulrich laughed.
"Oh, come on, Yumes, I'm just kidding." Ulrich said. "Remember I'm ditzy from soda." Ulrich said as he crossed his eyes and made a circle with his finger next to his head.
The doorbell rang, and Ulrich answered it. It was Aelita with Yumi's suit. "Hey, Ulrich." She chirped. "Seeing as your house is on the way to my workplace, I volunteered to drop off the suit." Aelita walked in and her eyes went big as she saw the nice, mouth-watering spread Yumi prepared.
"Omigosh! Yumi's Famous Breakfast Spread! It's been months since you made it!" Aelita exclaimed. Yumi rolled her eyes as she set a plate of sausages on the table.
"Well I saw the nice turkey bacon he had in there, and I went crazy." Yumi said. She would never let anyone know that secretly enjoyed to cook. She was supposed to be tough after all.
Ulrich sat down practically drooled over the food. "Maybe I should get cheated on more often, if it means I get to sleep with you and have you make me breakfast." Ulrich smacked him in the head. "I was joking."
"Eat before I shove this food down your throat and make you choke on it." Ulrich nodded as he stuffed his face.
"Yumi you're like the ultimate wife." Aelita said. "I mean you cleaned his house; you comforted him; and then you make this breakfast; oh, your future husband's so lucky; think about it. You'll make him breakfast and he'll come down the stairs and ask you which tie he should wear and then you'll pick one and he'll kiss you and—" Yumi and Ulrich laughed. "What?"
"No, it's nothing." Yumi said.
"That just happened!" Ulrich exclaimed. "Well not the kiss, but me coming down the stair and asking her to pick a tie."
"Wow, maybe it's a sign." Aelita said. "Maybe you two are meant to be like the perfect married couple. You'll probably get married and then have a bunch of kids, and Yumi'll make breakfast for you and you'll help her when she's pregnant with your first child—"\
"Okay, Aelita, you should really get going before you're late." Yumi said as she literally pushed her friend out the door. Ulrich silently ate his eggs.
Yumi and Ulrich finally made it to work, with the two of them driving in Yumi's car.
"You're still an idiot." Yumi said as she made her way to the receptionist desk.
"I was mad."
"But that's no reason to take the engine out of a nice Grand Caravan and throw it in the ocean!"
"But I didn't want it anymore." Ulrich responded.
"That's why you return it, Ulrich."
"It was filled with empty promises and lies. No one needed to have a van filled with so much negativity." Ulrich went silent as he reached the desk and saw Emily there.
Yumi looked at the two. "Let us in, Emily." She said quietly.
Emily silently checked them in, but before she finished, she asked, "So what, you two going out now?"
"No." Yumi said. Why did everyone keep asking them that?
"Why not, Yumi. You've got the best chances out of any woman of taking advantage of Ulrich. You better get to it, before your chance is up."
Ulrich stiffened. "I would never use Ulrich like that. Besides, there's nothing between us. Just boss and employee.
"Sure. That's how you see it. But that's not how everyone else sees it with you two acting so chummy." Emily said as she finally let them through. It was a very silent and awkward ride in the elevator.
They entered the office with the silence still lingering. Not able to bear it any longer, Yumi finally spoke. "Ulrich, are you okay?"
"I am." He said quickly.
"Ulrich, you know I wouldn't do that to you."
"It's okay, Yumi." Ulrich said as he opened the door to his office. Before he went in he gave her a smile. "I'll be alright."
The two worked silently and alone until Sissi entered. "Oh, hey, Sissi." Yumi said.
"Hi, is Ulrich here? I really need him to sign the contract to finalize the agreement with Britain."
"Yeah, he is. He's here." Yumi said as she beamed at her.
"Oh, thank God." Sissi said as she smiled too. "Do you think he's going to be okay?"
"Well he seemed happy until we had to get through Emily."
"I figured. Wait, how do you know he was happy before? Did you seem him before you entered the building?"
"Um, I gave him a ride to work. He actually destroyed his Grand Caravan, and come to think of it, you still have his car." Yumi explained.
Sissi's eyes went big from realization. "Oh snap, I do. I better go give him his keys." Sissi said as she walked briskly towards Ulrich's office. Yumi strained to hear what was going on. She heard talking and eventually laughter from the both of them. She sighed. Maybe he was feeling better now.
Sissi exited his office and gave Yumi an assuring look. "He's definitely okay. But he seems to be on a writing kick. He's typing like a maniac on his computer. He wouldn't even let me give him his keys."
"I guess he's been inspired."
"Yeah, and I think I know what's got him inspired." Sissi with a smug look on her face.
"What?" Yumi asked puzzled.
"I'm not gonna say. I could be wrong you know." She said as she left the office.
Around lunch break, Yumi decided to go see how Ulrich was doing. She knocked on the door and entered after he told her to come in. Sissi was right. Ulrich was typing at a thousand words a second on his computer, and his gaze never left the monitor.
"Hey, Yumi, what's up?" he asked.
"I just wanted to see if you were feeling any better."
"I'm okay, so don't worry over me." He said he smiled a little.
"You want anything for lunch?"
"No, I'm still full from your breakfast." At that minute, William entered to take out Ulrich's trash. Yumi stiffened, and she could feel William's fear radiating off of him as he noticed that Ulrich was finally back. Ulrich continued typing.
There was yet another awkward silence as William dumped the trashcan and left.
"Hey, thanks for finishing all of the work while I was away." Ulrich said.
"No prob." Yumi said.
"Now I can focus on this novel. I'm almost there."
"I can't wait to read it."
"You'll be the first to read it." Ulrich said.
"Wow, now that's an honor." She said.
"I guess so. I value your opinion." Ulrich said.
"Thanks, I better go and finish the setup for our final meeting with the British gaming Company."
"Okay. Oh, I'm expecting some mail to come in, so if you could let the mailroom technician come in, I'll appreciate it."
"Okay."
Yumi continued her work, and an hour later a young man who looked like he was in his late teens came in. He had on the mailroom outfit. The hat he wore with the outfit did nothing to hide the mess of shaggy brown hair. He came up to Yumi with a great, big smile on his face.
"Hello, I am Mitch, Mitch Wigglefields. I'm the new mailroom technician." He said proudly as he put his hands on his waist and stood up tall.
Yumi snorted. "Hello, Mr. Wigglfields, Mr. Stern told me he was expecting you. You can go right on through."
Mitch looked at Yumi for a while. Then he started looking her over. "Wow, you're beautiful." He said with a chuckle.
"Thank you." Yumi said taken aback by his forwardness.
"Hey, why don't we go for dinner or somethin' after work?" he said as he raised his eyebrows several times.
"No thanks." Yumi said flatly.
"Oh come on, I'm a nice guy. Please? I won't bite."
"Okay, get out." Yumi said getting fed up.
"Oh, don't be that way. I know you want me. Everyone wants a piece of the Wiggle Man."
Yumi burst out laughing. This guy was way out of his league. "Wiggle Man? That's really cute. What are you, 16?"
"No, I'm 19." Mitch said offended by Yumi's laughter. "But I understand. You're intimidated by me.
"I am definitely not." Yumi said.
"Whatever. Your loss." Mitch said as he walked passed her. He turned around to admire her from the back. Yumi felt disgusted and growled at him. Mitch took the hint and knocked on Ulrich's door.
"Hey, Ulrich! I haven't seen you in a while!" he bellowed.
"Hey, Mitch, just put the letters on the desk."
"Oh, come on, Ulrich. Aren't ya gonna ask how I'm doin'? I was freakin' sidekick."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"We used to hang all the time since elementary days."
"I remember you pestering me. And I couldn't wait to go on to Middle School and then High School."
"Now that's cold." Mitch said. Mitch then leaned forward and whispered. "I'm digging the secretary. She's hot."
"You stare at her long enough, and you might lose an eye."
"Yeah, I noticed. I always thought a feisty girl was what I needed. Might do you some good too."
"Yumi is not feisty. She's straight up deadly."
"I heard that!" Yumi yelled.
Ulrich chuckled. "I'm so scared." He said in a fake frightened voice.
"Oh, I get it." Mitch said. "You want her all to yourself. You dog, you. That's okay, I can take a hint. I'll just let you work your magic, and learn from the Rick Meister."
"Please, don't call me that." Ulrich said, frowning.
"Whatever." Mitch said as he left his office. Before leaving, Yumi's office he pointed her and winked. "I hope I'll be seeing a lot more of you later."
"I'll murder you." Yumi threatened.
Mitch blanched, but kept a smile on his face as he hurriedly closed the door behind him.
"Jerk." Yumi muttered under her breath.
Yumi finally finished for the day, and decided to see if Ulrich wanted a ride home."
"Hey, Ulrich it's closing time, you want me to drop you off?"
"No, I'll be okay. I'll get a ride." He said, still typing away.
"Okay. See you next Monday." Yumi said as she exited his office.
Ulrich sighed. No more distractions. It seemed that the long break from work gave him the energy and inspiration to finish his novel. He just didn't know how long it would take. He was sure that it would take him a few days to finish typing, revise, and then proofread it, but he was willing to put in the time in order to get it finished. He wasn't moving from this spot until it was done. And that's exactly what he did. He continued working on it all night, the next day, and even the next day.
He was hungry, tired, stinky, and disoriented, but Ulrich was almost done. He was now proofreading it, and was only about halfway done with that. He yawned and scrolled down to the next page. Ulrich could hear Yumi enter the office and settle down at her desk. That meant it was 9:30. He silently cursed. Yumi was going to throw a royal fit if she saw how Ulrich looked. He tried to be as quiet as possible so she wouldn't think he had come in yet.
Yumi was glad to be back at work again, with Ulrich seeming to be better. She was sure he was probably back to completely normal self now. She just wondered why he seemed to be running a little late. Or maybe he was already here? It didn't sound like he was, but she had to hurry and put the finishing touches on the speech Ulrich would say to the British Committee. Once they signed on British Gaming Co. they were sure to get the rest of the European countries to agree to allowing Stern Co. to expand in their regions. Nowadays, they were concerned with trying to get other countries to set up meetings. France and Italy were next. Germany would be a cinch for the simple fact that a lot of the German businesses were actually owned by the Stern family—Ulrich's grandfather and a few uncles and aunts in particular. Yumi was amazed by the wealth that Ulrich came from. They weren't just Old Money, they were Ancient Money. Ulrich's family had a lot of power in German businesses and even government, and that power was spreading slowly throughout Europe. Not to mention to the vast power Ulrich's father had in America and Canada. If Ulrich could achieve his expansion of the business, he'd have power stretching from America, to Europe, and maybe even in Asia.
Yumi was instantly brought out of her train of thought when she heard a bump in Ulrich's office. Was he in there? Yumi stood up and knocked on the door . . . Silence. "Hey, Ulrich, are you in there?" she strained to hear just a peep . . . but there was nothing. She shrugged and went back to her work.
Ulrich was as still as a statue. He had nodded off, and his head landed on the desk with the thud, the noise—and the pain—woke him up, and upon hearing Yumi's knocks, he remained quiet. He went back to proofreading after waiting a few minutes.
Ulrich managed to make to lunch break, but unbeknownst to him, Yumi was quite worried that he wasn't okay. She decided to call him. *Ring*Ring—Crap, he forgot to shut his cell phone off. Now he was going to get it.
Yumi heard his ringtone and slowly turned her head towards his office—the source of the noise. That idiot was here the whole time. She banged on the door. "Ulrich come out here!" she yelled.
"Uh, I can't. I'm busy." Ulrich said trying to get in a few more pages of proofreading.
"Ulrich! Why didn't you answer the first time? You're not still sad are you?" Ulrich could feel the worry in her words, and it really hurt him to realize that she was more worried than angry with him. He didn't mean to make her fret over him. He wasn't really used to it come to think of it. Even Sissi wasn't this worried over him. But his wellbeing seemed to be on Yumi's mind constantly. Maybe she just felt guilty about lying to him, and wanted to make sure he was alright.
"I'm fine, Yumi. I just didn't want to be disturbed." Ulrich said. Yumi opened the door and stuck her head through. When she saw his condition, she gasped and opened it wide and practically ran towards him.
"Ulrich, look at you!" she exclaimed.
"Yumi, please." He begged. She could worry over him later, but not when he was almost done with the novel.
"Ulrich, you're a mess." This was a great under exaggeration. Ulrich's hair was all over the place, his coat was on the floor, the first two buttons were undone, his shirt untucked, his shoes weren't even on his feet (loafers can be quite uncomfortable after the second day of continuous wearing). Yumi then put her hands on her hips, realizing something. "You didn't go home Last Friday, did you?"
Ulrich frowned as he scrolled through a few lines of text. "Ulrich you're going to end up dying due to self-neglection."
"Then so be it, but I have to finish this novel."
"Well at least eat something."
"I don't have time to eat."
"Do you have time live?"
"Yumi, not now." He whined.
"Well I'll go get you something." With that she left for the cafeteria.
Ulrich sighed. Why did she have to be so freaking worrisome? She came back with a burger, fries, and a drink. "Ulrich please eat." She asked. Maybe it was the innocent, worried way she said it, but first time in days, Ulrich glanced from the computer to look at Yumi. She was frowning, and he could see the sadness in her eyes. She was scared for him.
Ulrich sighed yet again. He couldn't take that look combined with that voice. He just couldn't deny her. "I promise I'll eat after I finish this. I'll be done by the time we leave." He said.
"Ulrich, you can't possibly work like this."
"I have for the past three days." He said.
Yumi grumbled. The next thing Ulrich knew, a cheeseburger was shoved into his mouth, and he was forced to take a bite out of it. He almost choked. After swallowing it, he glared at Yumi. "Yumi, don't force feed me."
"Well how else are you going to eat?" she asked, glaring back.
Ulrich blushed a little. "Fine." He said curtly. Ulrich continued proofreading as Yumi shoved the rest of the food down his throat. After he ate all of the food, he felt a napkin go across his mouth. He blushed redder. "Yumi, please don't do that."
"You're a mess." She said simply. Nothing seemed to perturb her.
"But that's embarrassing and kind of awkward." He said.
"Well I wouldn't have to do it, if you weren't so stubborn."
"You're one to talk."
"Whatever." Yumi said. After she finished wipe his mouth she took the seat next to him and watched him work.
"What, are you done?" he asked.
"For now. I just wanted to see how it was coming along."
Ulrich grew flustered. "Please to read it now. I want you to read it after it's complete." He said.
Yumi sighed. "Fine, I'm going back to work." She said.
Ulrich continued proofreading, and just as he said, he finished right when it was time to leave for work. He raised his arms in victory and then instantly fell asleep.
Yumi came in, and smiled, seeing him peacefully. He shook him gently, and he stirred.
"What?" he mumbled.
"Ulrich, I can take you home if you want." She offered.
"Okay." He said as he put his shoes back on. Yumi grabbed his suit jacket and helped him put it on.
"Tuck in your shirt, you need to look a little professional." He obeyed and then swayed on the spot.
Yumi grabbed his hand and let him out of the office, and down the hall. She had to keep him from leaning on her or falling in the elevator, making her laugh. She thanked God that Emily and most of the work force had already left. She led him through the car garage and then helped him settle in the back seat so he could lie down and sleep.
When they finally got to his house. She had to wake him up again, and practically lift him out of the car and carry him to his house. "Ulrich where's your key?" she asked.
"In my pocket." Ulrich said as he swayed. Yumi waited for him to pull it out, but he never did.
"Well get it out." Ulrich chuckled. "No, you get it." He said. Yumi rolled her eyes. He was disoriented and didn't know what he was saying or doing. She blushed as she fished in his pocket, realizing it was in the pocket near her. She then walked to his other and stuck her hand in his pocket.
"That tickles, Yumes." Ulrich said as he chuckled. Yumi blushed again. She pulled out the key and unlocked the door. Then she put on of his arms over her shoulder, so he could lean on her as he led him to his bedroom. Yumi opened his bedroom door and led him to the bed."
He did wait for Yumi to leave as he started undressing himself, stripping down to his underwear. "Ulrich! Let me leave first!" she said as she shielded her eyes. Ulrich laughed as he crawled into the bed.
"Love you, mom." He said.
"Mom?"
"You're like mommy. You cheer me up when I'm sad. You make breakfast for me. You worry over me. You feed me and clean me up when I make a mess, you even take the time to put me to bed. Just like mommy does." Ulrich mumbled. "You'll make a great mom someday." He said with a giant, sleepy grin plastered on his face. "Kiss me on the forehead, like mommy does." Ulrich mumbled. Yumi actually found herself leaning in to oblige, but stopped halfway and blushed.
"Ulrich I'm not your real mother. I can't kiss you on the forehead."
"You'd make a great wife too." Yumi's blush grew redder. "Thankssss, a loot." He slurred.
"You're welcome, Ulrich. Just take better care of yourself."
Ulrich sat up and grabbed Yumi into a hug, practically pulling her on top of him. Yumi struggled to break away from his strong embrace. "You give the best massages too." Ulrich mumbled, his eyes closed. Yumi was dumbfounded. When did she give Ulrich a massage? She shrugged it off. He was probably dreaming about some other girl.
"Goodnight, Ulrich." She whispered. She then laughed as she leaned in and kissed him on the forehead like the good "mother" she was. It took everything in her not to burst out laughing. She quietly closed the door behind and walked out of his house.
Well that's it. It took me quite a long time to finish, but it's done. It's nice and long too. I hope you enjoy it.
In the next chapter Yumi meets an even bigger jerk—heck this person's more of a jackass. The company starts expanding, and there's a surprise waiting to be announced.
All of this in the chapter. Chapter 12: Current Relationships and Past Relationships
Happy Holidays!
