Author's Note: I know the plot's getting thicker and thicker so I'm trying to post everything I wrote. I'm getting a bit busy so I'm gonna stick to making this story until the first week of December. I also have a pending story (I actually adopted it from another writer) but I feel that I can't do two stories at the same time. My mind's already stuffed with this, so yeah.
It's the 1st of December here in the Philippines and 24 days to go!
Chapter 11: Lies, Secrets and Deceits (LSD)
The next day, Alice was trying to maintain her calm attitude as she was in the main hall of the hotel ballroom once again. Why? She had been seeing her boss' "girlfriend" as well as Hanako and Nina. Genji needed to safeguard the manners of everyone inside the press conference and was worried regarding Tamiko's sudden change in personality whenever she was around.
Ryo and Tamiko were located in a long table wherein they looked like presidentiables. Their long table was draped in red cloth wherein they had pleats all over them. The ceiling was also draped with red fabric and it was fit for a formal press conference. But of course, Ryo had to wear his trademark black and white semi-formal suit while Tamiko had to wear a black dress with black high heels. Supposedly, she was supposed to wear red but Hanako informed her employer that she would end up like the table cloth if she wore red.
Keep yourself calm, Alice McCoy! Alice thought as she saw the two models getting ready for the press conference. Imagine, believe and achieve and nothing will go wrong!
But then again, Hanako was watching her employer when she was with her friend, Alice. The two assistants were eyeing the two models with such scrutiny for Tamiko while admiration for Ryo. It was actually a jam-packed event since the two were considered the famous pair in the world of Japanese fashion. But deep inside their hearts that Tamiko was actually a bitch in disguise. If only Japan knew how wicked Tamiko could be whenever she was present in photoshoots.
"So, Mr. Akiyama," the reporter began. "How long are you going to continue being the god of all models here?"
Ryo only let out a victorious smirk because of the title that was given to him. On the other hand, Alice felt disgusted with the fact that he was getting full of himself.
Oh brother! Alice thought. I wonder what he's gonna say!
Meanwhile, Genji went towards Alice so he could notice the blonde's reaction now that they were in a press conference.
"I know what you're feeling, Alice!" Genji replied with a grin.
"It's so surreal, you know?" Alice asked the manager ruefully.
"Just watch! Maybe he'll change because you're here already!" Genji joked. "Maybe you're his source of confidence, Alice!"
"Wow, Genji! I totally can't believe what you just said!" Alice said and laughed. "You're really out of your mind!"
"Why? Is it bad for me to pair you with him?" Genji smirked, implying to Alice a somehow-not-good impression.
But when they returned their gaze towards the models, they noticed something. Something odd and fishy was over there.
Meanwhile, Rika was on her way with her boyfriend Henry and her fellow comrades in Vanity Shinjuku. Fortunately, Henry was on a leave since he spent the rest of the days working overtime and he promised to his girlfriend that he would be with her on her big break for her magazine.
"Looks like the royal couple is here!" Rika said to Henry as she saw Ryo and Tamiko being seated together.
"Where?" Henry asked her.
Rika only used her lips to point where the model was. Henry laughed in amazement.
"Boy… I think he enjoys being with Tamiko far enough!" Henry teased. "
"But I still can't believe that you got flirted by the most flirtatious bitch in the planet!" Rika said, feeling grossed at the memory. "I just can't get it off my mind, you know?!"
Henry only draped his arm around her and kissed her temple.
"Don't worry, Ri! I promise that I'll let my guard up!" Henry assured her. "And you know that I won't look at other girls!"
"Of course you won't. You're a nice guy!" Rika replied and snorted as well. She could not help but feel jealous sometimes after what happened between Tamiko and Henry. It was totally unbearable for her.
Mimi noticed her employer's unusual love affair with the blue-haired young man so she only laughed at them.
"Ma'am Rika? Jealous?" Mimi snorted as she saw the two in an attempt to beat each other playfully. "That's hard to believe!"
"You won't believe it, Mimi!" Henry replied proudly as he pulled Rika closely. "My girlfriend will kill all the girls who flirt with me unnecessarily!"
Rika's cheeks only turned red at his statement. "Meet the Japanese Amazon bitch," she replied with a chuckle and Henry followed suit.
Then the couple and their friends went towards the area near the models since their job was also to cover today's event.
On the other hand, Ryo was glancing over Genji, Alice, Hanako and Nina who were standing a few meters away from their seats. When he saw the blonde, he felt his heart leap in inspiration for him to answer the reporter's question.
"Thank you for that wonderful question," Ryo started as he motioned towards the microphone to make his voice even louder. "As you can see, I don't see myself as a god of all models here. But thanks for the name, anyway."
I don't get it, Genji thought as he pondered his employer's statement. There must be a contrapositive inside Ryo's statement, anyway.
Then another yell followed from the back of their area. Alice now had to cover her ears because of the dynamic of the ladies' voice.
"But," Ryo went on as he tried to slow his fans down, just like what he used to do during the Digimon era. "I would like to thank all of fans, friends, and the supporters of me and Tamiko."
Tamiko only gave a victorious smirk as Ryo mentioned her name. She suddenly felt proud of herself for what she did during the past months as Ryo's co-worker and partner at the newest fashion line. However, as she saw the blonde talking to her personal assistant, her blood boiled in anger.
Ugh! That blonde is such a sweet-talker and clingy towards my assistant! Tamiko thought. I need to get rid of her once and for all!
"And, I am thankful because without them I won't become who I am. The Ryo Akiyama standing in front of you won't be here if it isn't for you guys! But to answer the question about how long will I be going to be the god of all models here? I will be here as always because I really love my job here as a model," Ryo answered with confidence.
Then Ryo's answer was followed by a big loud yell. The reporters from different magazines had to go with the flow since they were part of the event as well.
At that moment, Rika and Henry were documenting the entire sentence. Rika was writing on a notebook while Henry had to bring his recorder since it would be hard for them to catch up. And being the ever-loving boyfriend, Henry still gave his support towards Rika's work since the auburn-haired woman was also supportive whenever his breaks came along. If somebody noticed that they were clingy towards each other, that was because being with each other was their definition of love. Even Tamiko could not break through their shell-hard relationship.
"Rika, I'm glad that I didn't accept the opportunity of being a model," Henry remarked with amusement. "I'd rather be with you and cover events like this with you rather than be in a spotlight and be only loved because of your looks."
Rika only smiled because she remembered that Henry got offered to work as a model three years ago. However, it was the strong-willed Henry who turned down the offer because his passion was actually his girlfriend and his computers along with his family and friends. He wanted to stay low just like Rika.
"Even if you're not a model, girls around would flock over you because of your looks!" Rika replied as she took note of Ryo's complete statement. This was her actual job, covering big events such as this one. "Come on."
Mimi was with Rika and urged Cody to take photos as much as possible. It was similar to the way they interviewed Ryo for Vanity Shinjuku last Monday.
"Come on, Cody!" Mimi urged him as they made way through the thick crowd of people.
Rika and Henry only looked at each other with a smirk on their faces as they saw the potential spark inside Mimi and Cody.
When the press conference continued, it was Tamiko's turn to answer the reporters as well.
"Okay. Now that we had Ryo's answer, how about we ask Tamiko?" the reporter declared.
"Yes?" Tamiko replied with a change of tone in her voice. Yes, she was still the flirtatious model the entire modeling world has known.
"Alright," the reporter replied. "So what about you? You're the goddess of the females! You've got the some sort of femme fatale as they would say."
Tamiko only waited for the question that she longed to hear.
"So, with you and Ryo as the 'it-couple' of the moment, can we hear it from you once and for all?" the reporter started. "Are you and Ryo Akiyama an item?"
This startled everybody, including Ryo himself. Genji only face-palmed himself as Alice placed her two fingers on her temples. After all, the minions of Ryo had exerted so much in surviving the patience of the female model. Hanako wished for the opposite while Nina only had to cross her fingers as well.
"Yes," Tamiko replied, obviously lying to benefit herself. "Ryo Akiyama and I are currently dating."
Even the model's daughter and her boyfriend did not even believe what they just heard. Rika was surprised that even models could lie at a short notice. Eventually, they sentence was followed with an "Aww" sound.
Why would you believe in what Tamiko would say anyway? Rika thought with superficiality. Oh well. Karma's actually digital, baby girl Tamiko-slash-slutty girl Tamiko.
Well, shocked was an understatement for Ryo. It was because he was disturbed by what Tamiko replied just now. Him? Dating Tamiko?
Oh come on, Tamiko! Ryo thought in disgust. What kind of fib did you just say today?
"Looks like Ryo himself was shocked! Well, that's good news because love can totally bring shock waves to a mind!" the reporter smirked as he noticed Ryo's facial expression.
Then a loud laughter filled the air except for the audience composed of Genji, Alice, Rika, Henry, Mimi, Cody, Nina and Hanako.
I can't believe this! To think that she really is a bitch in disguise! Alice thought as she recorded everything that she just heard.
Way to go, Tamiko! Feel free to dream! Because Ryo already is taken! Genji thought as well.
On the other hand, the couple from Vanity Shinjuku became agape. Rika was definitely pissed off at Tamiko's attitude while only Henry shook his head.
"How am I gonna publish this lie?" Rika asked as she massaged her temples as well.
"Why don't you ask Ryo?" Henry suggested. "After all, he himself knows the truth that they're not exactly dating."
"We have Ryo but the entire Japan has Tamiko AND Ryo. if we hear Ryo's story and publish it, then Tamiko's fan will accuse us of libel," Rika answered after thinking too hard. "If we publish what we heard today, then Ryo might sue us for publishing a lie! Why is everything revolving into contrapositives?"
"You're right. But what can we do either?" Henry asked. "We're only just reflecting into paper what we just heard."
"I don't know. I'm glad I'm the editorial consultant, not the editor-in-chief!" Rika answered with a shrug.
At the same moment, Alice and Hanako as well as Genji with Nina were currently debating Tamiko's statement.
"I should've known that Tamiko wouldn't be up to any good!" Nina replied, concluding that it was hopeless for her ward to change her ways. "She only told herself a lie!"
"Unless Dara returns from her sabbatical this month, she'll be living prima donna here!" Hanako added. "Dara was the only one whom Tamiko could not defeat."
Alice was somehow confused with the Dara that Hanako mentioned.
"Excuse me but who was Dara anyway?" Alice asked with genuine confusion.
"Oh? Dara? She's the supermodel of Japan who shared the same rank as Rumiko Nonaka. She only took a break after her boyfriend cheated on her with another model," Genji explained. "Eventually, Tamiko took over and became the living drama queen all over Japan and declared that Dara was completely gone."
"I heard Rika also got a bad encounter with Tamiko before. If Rika wasn't the daughter of Rumiko, she would have had the same embarrassment with the people Tamiko bullied," Alice explained.
Nina and Hanako only looked at Alice with wide eyes. Alice somehow noticed this.
"Did I say something?" Alice asked after she saw Tamiko's minions looking at her.
"You know Rumiko and Rika Nonaka?!" the two chorused while Genji laughed in amusement.
Alice snorted. "Of course I do! Rika's my other best friend and her mother was a close friend of our family!" she added.
"So you really have a connection with some showbiz people!" Nina concluded with a smile.
"Yeah. But sad to say that Tamiko has been added to my list recently," Alice replied.
Then the press conference continued for a while until they were finished.
When the press conference was finished, all of the people had sauntered off except for him, Tamiko and his crewmen who were located at the other side of the hallway. When he felt that everything was fine for now and he was alone with Tamiko anyway, he decided to confront her once and for all.
"What did you just say earlier?" Ryo asked Tamiko, trying his best not to let his anger consume him.
"About what?" Tamiko asked with an obvious tinge of denial in her voice.
"You know that, Tamiko?" Ryo pointed out. "You already told it!"
Tamiko thought for a moment and suddenly found the idea.
"What?!" Tamiko asked again. "I just confirmed that we're an item! What's wrong with it?!"
Ryo only let a huffed breath. "You know what's wrong?!" he added.
"What?!" Tamiko repeated.
"That answer! It's actually wrong!" Ryo retorted. "We're never an item, okay?"
Tamiko was speechless for the moment.
"We're never an item and we will never be one!" Ryo finished. "You just embarrassed ourselves during the conference earlier! Now the entire people will be expecting that we'll end up having a movie together and it's your entire fault!"
"So what if that's a fallacy?" Tamiko asked demandingly. "It will eventually come true anyway!"
At that point, Alice only saw the two models somehow arguing. She was confused because of what they were talking about. She decided to barge in for now because Genji told her that they need to get home before the sun sets.
"Uhm… Sir Ryo?" Alice asked courteously. "Genji wants to tell you that we need to go immediately."
Ryo felt relieved now that Alice had come to him and stop all the nonsense.
"Okay. I'll be right with you, guys," Ryo answered very much.
This angered Tamiko somehow because she and Ryo were arguing about her answer and now Ryo was smiling because of the blonde.
"Okay, Sir," Alice answered and turned her heels so she could walk away.
Ryo then turned to face Tamiko one last time before he left.
"I'm sorry, Tamiko," Ryo said. "But I'm not going to let this issue pass."
Then he left the angering model. Tamiko gritted her teeth and blamed the blonde for what happened to them.
I swear that you, Alice McCoy, be eliminated in Ryo's life completely! Tamiko thought angrily.
As she was walking, Alice was done encoding all of Ryo's schedules in a tablet when she saw a familiar brunette walking towards her.
Shimei Takeda? Alice thought as she guessed correctly.
Shimei Takeda was a short-haired brunette who was currently wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans along with black wedged shoes with open toes. Alice remembered that her friend used to be an accountant for Shinjuku Publishing but now she was taken by a company in Shinjuku and she was one of her other friends as well.
When the brunette saw the young blonde, her eyes twinkled and ran towards her.
"Alice!" the brunette said and hugged her tightly. "I missed you so much!"
Alice noticed that her friend's eyes were tainted with sadness as they broke up for a split second. She could see that the girl was undergoing some kind of depression because of her eyes and the condition of her face.
"Shimei? What's wrong?" Alice asked because she cared about her best friend a lot since they started working. "Are you alright?"
Shimei only shrugged and took a deep breath. She felt a little pain as she tried her best to continue.
"I broke up with him," came the young woman's sad reply.
"Pardon me?" Alice asked, very startled with what she just heard.
"I broke up with him," Shimei repeated. "Ryushin and I were finally over."
Alice's eyes widened as plates as she heard the news. She did not see this coming. She first thought that her friend Shimei would end up marrying Ryushin because he was totally serious regarding her. She was even a witness to their love story during the times she worked at her former company.
"What? Why? How? What happened? You two were just engaged this year, right?" Alice asked with full of consequent questions because she could not believe what she had just heard.
Shimei could not take it anymore. She threw herself into Alice's arms once again.
"Yes, we were. But I couldn't take the guilt anymore," Shimei answered in a depressed tone.
Alice felt that the young woman's words were as bold as she was. She decided to learn the truth.
"What do you mean, Shimei?" Alice asked. Enough of the surprises, okay?
Shimei sat down on the café seat while Alice followed suit. She eventually released a handkerchief from her pocket.
"Ryushin told me that he had a one-night stand with someone when he was in vacation. He thought it was just nothing but lately, he was contacted because the woman got pregnant and it was because of him," Shimei started yet felt pain as she went on. "It was so awful!"
Alice turned pale but she nodded to let the young woman continue. She was surprised because Ryushin could do such thing towards Shimei.
"When Ryushin told me, he told me that the woman had the plans to let somebody adopt the child. Ryushin talked to me about raising a family and he was alright with it," Shimei continued.
Alice did not speak after that. She was too absorbed with the facts that she just learned.
"And when we had our engagement party, it was the time that woman gave birth. Ryushin and I stayed to help her throughout the delivery. But the plans had changed… She could not bear to make somebody else adopt the baby and she promised not to disturb us. Then we settled for that. Days after, I couldn't stop thinking about it. But even if I have the consolation that she won't disturb us, I feel guilty because I think I stole an innocent child's father. That was why I had let Ryushin go."
Alice extended her arms to comfort the girl. She realized that someone had a much bigger heartache than she had previously. She did not even know what to say further.
"I realized that Ryushin and I were never meant to be. So, I decided to forget him for good. In fact, I really envy you, Alice. Even if you don't have a boyfriend, your problems seem to be only how to live your life," Shimei replied in a wistful tone. Even if she felt so much pain caused by her boyfriend, the pain of having to lose her boyfriend was better than having to carry the guilt of stealing a child's father.
"One can only hope." Alice shrugged. "But I'm still trying my best since I only live once."
"I wish I could find my happiness once again," Shimei replied in a wistful tone. "Why do I have to lose the ones I love?"
Shimei was orphaned by her parents when she was twelve and she got adopted by an aunt and uncle. Even if she was adopted by her relatives, she still felt depressed for losing the important persons behind her existence. And now, she just lost her supposed significant other recently. It pained for her too much.
"Don't worry, Shi. But we're both on the same side now. I lost my house, my job and the source of my earnings," Alice pacified her friend as her friend started tearing up once again. "There's more to life than just love."
"I sure hope so, Alice." Shimei sighed as she dried her eyes once again.
"It'll be okay. You'll see," Alice replied with optimism.
Shimei only nodded. "So how are you and where do you stay now, Alice?" she asked.
"I'm living with my high school friend because I'm his personal assistant," Alice replied dully.
Shimei became intrigued with her friend's statement. "Personal assistant? What's his work? Does he own a business?"
Alice raised her hands in surrender since she could not answer them all at once.
"Whoa, Shimei! Hold the phone!" Alice said, waving her hands. "Anyway, he's a model."
Shimei's eyes brightened at the word "model". She felt herself get excited at that word.
"Model?!" Shimei exclaimed. "What's his name?"
Alice snorted. What would she expect if she told her friend that Ryo Akiyama was her boss and the model she was talking about?
"Ryo Akiyama," Alice replied and braced for the impact of her having said Ryo's name. Oh no…
Shimei's eyes widened as plates as she heard the name. "Ryo? As in Ryo Akiyama, the former Digimon Guy?"
"Correction, it's Digimon King," Alice replied as a matter-of-factly. "And yes, I'm working for him."
"Wow, Alice! You're getting awesome! You may have lost your job because you got laid off but now, you're working for a big time celebrity!" Shimei exclaimed as she heard her friend's big news. "Lucky you!"
This surprised Alice very much. For a moment, Shimei was sad and now she was happy. Was her friend mentally deranged or something?
"Are you bipolar, Shimei?" Alice asked her friend suspiciously. "For a moment, you're depressed when you told me about your boyfriend and now you're happy? Are you okay?"
"Of course! I'm happy because your boss is one of the hottest guys in Shinjuku and you're his personal assistant! It must be wonderful!" Shimei added.
Oh, Shimei… If only you knew… Alice thought in disdain. You're telling me the wrong words.
Alice only smiled ruefully. Actually, It was just Day Four of her job but it seemed to be Month Number Four for her. But the only thing keeping her in the job was her deal with Ryo because without him, she would be still homeless and penniless. But her conversation with her mother yesterday struck her mind.
How am I gonna tell that I'm going to leave for America someday? Alice thought after remembering what Mrs. McCoy told her. I think it's hard already.
You wanted to leave your job in the first place, right? Alice's first half of her mind thought.
Yeah I'm not forgetting that! It's just… I can't make it seem right for now, the other thought. He trusted me enough to be his assistant and I don't want that effort to be put to waste already. It's not good!
That night in the dining room, Alice was computing how much money she would spend for the renewal of her visa. Ryo was right behind her.
"Hey…" Ryo greeted.
Alice turned around and saw Ryo. She gasped in surprise because she did not expect him to be still awake at this hour.
"Oh! Ryo! What are you doing here?" she asked as she held the money inside her hand.
"I can't sleep," Ryo replied, scratching his head. "Why are you still awake?"
"I'm still counting what I still needed to pay… You know damn well what I had gone through, you know?" Alice explained. "So, that…"
"I know…" Ryo said sheepishly.
Alice took a deep breath and decided to tell her employer what her plan would be. After all, she also told this to Genji already. It would not hurt if she also told her latest employer about her future plans.
"But after this, maybe I'm going to America…" Alice answered as casual as she could be. She expected the worst.
The thought of Alice going to America sent Ryo to pieces. He was surprised because she just told this when she was already getting used to being his assistant.
"Why?" Ryo inquired yet he felt his nerves slow down.
"Well… I've been staying here in Japan after high school and I finished college here. It's about time I follow my Mom there…" Alice replied with obvious uncertainty. "But it's just a maybe, you know?"
Ryo turned pale as he heard that. He wanted Alice to stay with him for long.
"You're going to stay there forever?" Ryo asked, very surprised.
"It depends… on the situation itself…" Alice shrugged. "I still need my visa to be renewed. But like I said, I'm still not sure."
Ryo was worried because he was already starting his plan yet the cause of his plan was going to disappear.
"Are you still mad at me for what happened before?" Ryo asked, trying to make sense of the situation right.
This sent Alice shivers in her spine but she only shook her head. "No, I'm not mad. In fact, I'm still trying to rebuild a piece of my life. It's not yet far from finished but I wanted everything to be nice and smooth."
"But it's only your fourth day," Ryo answered, straight to the point. "You can't just leave…"
"I know," Alice answered ruefully. "I should've not taken this chance. That's why I was not sure when you interviewed me last time."
Ryo now realized what the essence of Alice turning down the offer was. He did not want to upset her with his preference of her staying with him as his assistant. But he still wanted to be with her even as a friend.
"Though I'm still trying my best as your assistant, Ryo," Alice answered. "I guess the timing was never a good option."
However, she did her best and told everything to Ryo. She realized that she was right at an angle.
"But, Ryo… Don't be sad. I still want to work under you. It's just an alternative, you know?" Alice answered sincerely. "I don't know until when am I going to be your personal assistant but I'm trying my best. I love my job even if it means dealing with the Devil Woman every other day."
With this, Ryo threw his arms around the young blonde woman in gratefulness for staying with him.
"Thank you," Ryo answered with a smile on his face. "I promise that you won't regret staying here."
"Just make sure or I'll accept my mother's offer!" Alice warned her employer. "If you keep on hurting me or teasing me then I won't have any other choices!"
"Thank you!" Ryo answered with a smile.
Alice only smiled shyly. But in order to clear the air and satisfy her curiosity, she decided to ask why Ryo and Tamiko were in an almost argument earlier.
"So, what are you debating with Tamiko, Ryo?" Alice asked curiously.
Ryo shrugged but decided to get straight to the point.
"About her and me as an item," Ryo replied with a grunt.
Alice only laughed. "Should've known! But good thing you talked to her. Only in a mad manner somehow."
"I mean what kind of girl would lie in front of a camera anyway?" Ryo answered, verifying the reason why he had almost got mad. "That's why I confronted her."
Alice only nodded but she felt sorry for him.
"I guess being a Casanova has its own pros and cons!" she deduced.
"You have no idea!" Ryo grinned as he finally realized that the girl for him was really in front of him already.
"I have an idea, you dufus!" Alice pointed out as she stood up. "Come on, Ryo. You need to sleep because models need to sleep."
Ryo eventually smiled and went with Alice so they could go to their respective rooms already. Both seemed to have an odd love-hate relationship with one another. And yes, it was true that they are still under the love-hate relationships inside the Akiyama home. But Alice wished that she could suppress her feelings but it was too late already. The truth was she was already falling for him once again.
