(AN: Banker hours in Japan is from 9 AM to 3 PM.)

-Reiji's POV-

Reiji let out a huge sigh and repeated his earlier words with a tinge of frustration, "He says no, Takamiya."

The B&B owner immediately removed the receiver a few inches from his ear as the caller pleaded his case more urgently as expected. Aoe Reiji closed his eyes in exasperation then briefly raises a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. He turns his head to stare holes at that stubborn back of his young lover.

He had thought all was well and fine between the two when Naoya volunteered some helpful hints to help his friend four nights ago. But then now that he'd thought about it, it was strange when Naoya continued to remain distant towards the translator the very next day when they were at the airport to send Takamiya and Kuroda off.

Distracted by his own musings, Reiji turned his attention back to the caller on the phone. Despite having missed about half of what was said, the B&B owner briskly replied with confidence, "I'll see what I can do. Bye."

Without even bothering to listen to his friend's parting words, Reiji lowered the phone and placed it back in its holder. He then released another long drawn out sigh and reached a hand up to loosen his tie.

He'd never seen Naoya this stubborn before.

This is definitely going to take some coaxing on my part, he thought as he walked towards the figure standing outside on the balcony.

-Izumi's POV-

"…then I told him to shove off. You should've seen his face. My old section chief was livid, I tell ya!" His friend, Konno, let out a loud hoot of laughter when he finished retelling his story. The man laughed so hard that he had to raise a hand to wipe the tears that was leaking from the corner of his eyes.

But then as if remembering something bad, he sobered up the next instant and made a face. "Then that old coot signed the paperwork the next morning. So I ended here, stuck in this dead end desk job, advertising through the phone lines. It sucks I tell ya!"

Konno finished his rant with a loud hiccup and his demeanor immediately changed from irate to mirthful as he let out a low chuckle when the group surrounding the low table burst out laughing at the sound he made in his drunkenness.

Izumi joined in. He didn't fare any better than his friend it seems. The entire upper half of his body was collapsed atop that same table. His cheeks were tinged bright pink and he wore a stupid lopsided grin on his face. With his head laid out on one side and his blurry eyes settling on a pair of well-endowed breasts that looked like it was ready to pop out any time, Izumi really hadn't had much to complain. Not that he really cared to look at them in the first place nor does he have anything to complain about. He was only listening half-heartedly to his friend's ranting about his demotion from a promising marketing salesman to a phone telemarketer. It really wasn't all that funny, but in the state that his mind was currently in, everything seemed funny to him somehow.

Izumi briefly remembered he had a drunken experience once before. A very long time ago when he had drank only one glass and was already passed out. But his palate since then had been refined throughout the seven years. Thus his toleration for strong spirits has increase significantly. Despite this fact though, it didn't help him any when the group he's with was determined to get themselves and everyone else brainlessly drunk.

Moments later, Konno excused himself and left the private gathering room.

Izumi was in the middle of reminiscing the past when he briefly heard someone mentioned his name. He raised his eyes to level with said speaker. "Hm?"

Kae was it? Izumi couldn't quite remember. The three girls that Konno brought with him all looked the same to him somehow. Even more so, now that he's drunk; everything became a blur of colors and lines.

Thinking that Izumi was blatantly ogling her, Kae giggled then repeated her question. "So what do you do, Sakashita-san?"

Izumi had to take a moment to shake his head of the haze before he could respond clearly to the question thrown his way. "I'm ah…Foreign Exchange Analyst for the Shinsei Bank Corporation."

As if on cue, the other two women present pounced on this new information with interest. One of them— Izumi couldn't remember even if his life depended upon it— immediately 'ooh' while the other—Izumi just as equally clueless of her name—'ah' at him. Fortunately, Izumi was tipsy enough to not realize the dangerous glint in their eyes. Thus, he happily replied to the questions that were fired at him in rapid succession.

"Is that like a stock broker? I could use some investing advice on the Nikkei Index," one of them said.

Izumi raised a hand to scratch the back of his head before he replied, "No, not really."

The same woman scrunched up her face with distaste when she guessed mockingly, "Is it like those clerks who work at the airport? You know, those guys who exchange your money for foreign currency?"

A picture of his self in a grey suit standing behind a counter at the airport came to mind and Izumi broke into a wide grin. "No."

That same woman peered her nose down at him and remarked sarcastically, "Oh, then what is it really? It sounds so sophisticated."

At this point, Kae flashed a warning glare at her friend. She then turned to Izumi and smiled warmly. "Don't mind Reiko-chan. You don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

Izumi wasn't aware of their exchange and the meaning behind Reiko's remark. Thus he replied with a shrug. "Hmm... oh no, it's nothing like that at all. I mean, not really. All I do each day is to make the purchases for the bank's local and foreign investors."

As if Izumi somehow redeemed his self in the woman's eyes, Reiko chose that moment to lean closer to him and remarked flirtatiously, "Still, it sounds exciting."

Kae merely rolled her eyes at her friend before she remarked with a smile, "Sakashita-san, you must know many languages to deal with all those foreign investors."

Izumi returned her smile and replied, "I guess. Knowing several languages did help land the job."

"Oh, what languages do you know, Sakashita-kun?" The other girl chimed into the conversation, her interest in him piqued as well.

Despite the attention that he was currently receiving from all three women, Izumi still had no idea that they were flirting with him. At first, he was unsure of how he would be received by this group. Now though, with their easy rapport, Izumi was actually enjoying their company. Thus he continued to answer their questions without pretense. "I'm fluent in English and am literate in both French and Italian."

"Ooh! Say something in English!" One of them said. Thus at this point, the trio was taking turns to vie for Izumi's interest.

"Okay…" Izumi couldn't think of a single thing. So, he lamely said, 'I can speak English.'

"That sounded wonderful! Oh please say I love your eyes in French. I've heard that once in a film."

"Okay…" Izumi took a moment to rack his memory. When he remembered, he flashed Kae—who happened to have made that request— a wide grin and said, 'J'aime vos yeux.'

"Ooh, that sounds so sexy coming from you," she remarked with a giggle.

Reiko, who wasn't to be outdone, decided to redirect the conversation to her liking. "So working on banker's hours must be nice. What do you do with all that free time?"

Izumi again raised a hand to scratch the back of his head before he replied "Yeah, it is kind of nice, I guess. I usually go to the gym or the aquatic center when I have the time."

At this point, three pair of eyes lit up and they simultaneously pounced on Izumi. In the next moment, he found himself flat on his back with three women hovering over him. Somehow they've managed to remove his suit jacket and pulled the shirttails up from his pants. Six pairs of hands pawed at his biceps, upper torso and abdomen. Compliments on his body were crooned left and right, but Izumi heard nothing of it. He quickly sobered up and tried to sit back up, but the trio prevented that from happening.

Just when he'd felt a hand incidentally pawing very close to his groin, Izumi let out a loud yelp and felt a pair of strong arms lifting him up and away from the women.

He looked over his shoulder and was never more thankful for Konno to return and come to his rescue. His friend set him on his feet and placed himself in front of the trio.

"Now ladies, let's behave ourselves. I think my friend here needs a breather. So, we'll be right back."

Konno smiled at the three women and bent down to grab Izumi's jacket off the floor. He waved the trio goodbye and pushed Izumi out the room. About several meters away, he took a hold of Izumi's hand and ran for it.