Golden Star Dreams

Chapter 4: First Day pt 2

After the success at the park, I was instantly told to go take care of things at Mr. Kenji's apartment. When I asked Kendra where she and the actor were going, she simply told me 'a place that's not for little brats.' It took me a while to figure out that she was referring to Rin, but when the feisty nine-year-old stuck out her tongue gave Kendra a nice raspberry; my brain pieced two and two together. Rin quickly gave Mr. Kenji an enormous hug and her father spun her around briefly before whispering in her ear. Rin ran over to my side and grinned at me (which kind of surprised me).

"Dad says for me to be on my best behavior while he's away. He also said that he left you a note on the inside of his door to the penthouse."

We waved 'goodbye' to the business duo and we both climbed into the limo going to the apartment. Rin was staring at me again, and for the life of me I thought I had something on my face and she wasn't telling me. Trying to focus my attention to other things, I looked out the window and fiddled the old to-do list in my hands; crinkling and crunching up the paper. Regrettably, I cut my eyes over to her where her haunting, big brown eyes continued their intense focus on me. Finally, I turned around and stared at her back.

Soshi Logic: Maybe if I stare at her back… she'll get creeped out and stop her incessant looks.

It was a showdown. Me vs. Rin; who will win?

A few minutes later, my eyes were in agonizing pain while this girl hadn't even broken a sweat. A grin was present on her face which shocked me to the point where I blinked to see if it was still there. And it was!

"Ok, ok, you win! Now tell me why are you staring at me?"

The child giggled, blinking for the first time since we settled in the car, and hugged me tightly. My shirt felt a little moist and I had to wonder if it was my sweat. But lo and behold, 'Twas not my nasty body water, it was in fact Rin crying softly in my stomach sniffling and wiping the tears from her eyes. With wide eyes, I cupped her face in my hands and scrunched my brows with confusion.

"Rin honey, why are you crying?" I asked sweetly.

"Th-thank you!" She sobbed out tackling me in another embrace.

I nervously reached up to pat her on the head and darted my eyes around trying to think of what it was I had done to make her feel such gratitude towards me. Nothing came to mind, so I sat up and asked.

"Thank me for what?"

"For what you did at the park…" She said still sobbing.

After I let her cry into my shirt a little longer, the child sat up and took her seat; apologizing for the tackle she planted against me.

"That was the first time I actually got to spend any sort of time with my father…"

I looked at her with intent eyes as I, too, climbed on my seat and crossed my legs comfortably. She continued to tell me that Kendra was constantly taking away Mr. Kenji's free time and filling it with numerous jobs, justifying it with money-making that keeps a roof over her head. A part of me was quite disgusted with Ms. O'Conner, but it was understandable if one would see things from both sides; Rin wanted more time with Mr. Kenji, but Kendra wanted to make sure he had bookings to fill both of their pockets. Show business was a cruel industry sometimes.

Rin sent a huge smile my way and crawled over to sit in my lap. "I'm glad you're working for my dad… the other assistants never gave me the time of day. They just came to work, did their work (poorly) then leave work… Never once asking me about my day. They were like mindless robots; upset that they were bound to work for daddy and have nothing to gain if they quit… "She sighed and ran a hand through her thick brown hair. "Don't quit Ariko-chan… you're the first one who actually cared for my happieness."

Don't quit huh? What exactly does he do to his assistants?

Upon arriving at the penthouse, I had taken Rin upstairs and opened the door to go inside, making sure to grab the note on the other side. The girl disappeared in the hallway and came out shortly after carrying her pack and an apple. Looking up at me, she point to the note I had in my hand.

"Before we left today, I saw Dad write down that I needed to go to Ms. Kaede's house and stay for the rest of the night. He's probably throwing another publicity party or something…" Rin said rather bitterly. Nodding her head in a slight bow, she excused herself from the penthouse and trotted to the elevator with a skip in her step. She must have really liked this Kaede woman for her to skip to her home.

Looking at the new document in my hands, I scanned over my new tasks, which were surprisingly not that much.

To-Do List:

Make sure Rin goes to Ms. Kaede's apartment down below.

She left herself…

Sprinkle the package of petals (lying on the counter) along the hallway to the room at the end of the hallway

… Am I prepping his own damn date for him! Jeez… lazy ASS!

Make dinner reservations for two at the local Italian restaurant scheduled for 8:30 pm

Thank you Miss Ariko.

With a shrug, I tossed the paper to the side and began making calls and putting the room together the way Mr. Kenji wanted it.

Time passed and I looked up at the clock to discover that it was about twenty-five minutes to eight. Mr. Kenji should have been arriving home by now. I heard my phone ring in my pocket and I quickly answered it seeing that it was my boss calling me.

"Hello?"

"Soshi! Thank goodness you answered! Listen, one of our waitresses called in sick at last minute and I'm in desperate need of an extra set of helping hands do you think you can come in and work tonight?"

"Oh I don't know… I'm still busy with Mr. Kenji. But… there really isn't much for me to do anymore. I'll be there ASAP."

"Oh thank you Ariko, I'll even give you an additional amount of money in your paycheck."

"Great thanks!" I hung up the phone with a smile on my face. Gathering my things, I figured Mr. Kenji would be able to handle his own date from here on out. As I went to the door, it suddenly opened to reveal Sesshoumaru Kenji himself carrying a bottle of what looked to be a really good brand of wine. He gave me a questioning look seeing that I had my bag in one hand and my jacket in the other and I nodded my head toward the door.

"I was called in to work tonight. I figured you wouldn't need me from this point on so… have fun on your date Mr. Kenji!"

"They called you in on Sunday?"

"You have me working on Sunday so it really shouldn't be much of a surprise."

"Touche…"

I walked around him, rushing down the hall feeling that I would be late for work. I turned from the elevator door to look at a smirking Mr. Kenji leaning against the door frame. His hair was carefully draped over his face. Before I stepped in the elevator, he called out to me.

"I'll let you get away from me this time Miss Ariko, but rest assured; that hot tail of yours will be mine…"

My eyes widened at the statement and with a squeak, I threw myself in the elevator and frantically pushed the 'door close' button.

'Hot tail…'

That phrase… it seems so familiar…

I suddenly thrust my head against the wall of the elevator with a loud bang coming to the realization that I've just met the man who degraded me at Neon Heights…

And I'm working for him…

What a great first day…

~~~(^^)^ Kirby says see ya!~~~

Just about to set up for the good stuff in the next chapter! I hope you all are liking the story so far. Is it funny enough (or at least... humorous?)

Well keep on the lookout for the next installment and thanks for reading!