Here is the next chapter for your enjoyment. Thank you for your support.
Note: I do not own Skip Beat!
By 8 o'clock the group was ready to leave; Ren had to be on set soon and was going to drop Catherine and Kyoko off at LME before heading over. The seating arrangement in the car was the same as last night. Yashiro insisted that Kyoko sit in the front with Ren claiming that he has some work to do, and Catherine just went to the back driver's side without saying a word leaving Kyoko with no one to argue with. It only took a moment for them all to settle in for the short ride to the office.
"Thank you for your hospitality and the ride Tsuruga-san," Catherine bowed to their driver from the sidewalk in front of LME when Ren had deposited them. "We should do this again sometime." Ren nodded his agreement before Catherine turned and started inside. Kyoko bowed to the departing men and followed her manager into the main building. Since Kyoko had LoveMe work to do today, Catherine dropped her off at the locker room and headed to the president's office. She needed to talk to him some more about what they were going to do. When Catherine arrived she found Lory dressed as a pirate captain, complete with parrot.
"Good afternoon Captain." She called up to the fake ship on wheels, "Permission to come aboard?" Lory grinned down at her, happy that someone would play along with him.
"Permission granted," he called as he tossed a rope ladder down the side of the ship. Catherine caught it and climbed up. It was an interesting feat in heals, but doable. He helped the woman over the railing and looked up at her wound. She turned her face so he could see it better. "You could have covered that with the bandages I sent." He reached up and pushed the hair back to get a better view. He observed the tinny stiches that were lined up neatly. 'That should not leave much of a scar.' She went to sit on the bench when he was done with his inspection.
"Have we found out who is spreading these rumors?" She looked up with concern on her face. "I would like to avoid another situation like this." She waved towards the cut on her head. Lory sighed in disappointment.
"We have a few leads, but nothing is panning out." Lory produced a file from somewhere. "This is all of the information that I have at the moment." He handed the thin file to Catherine. She flipped through it before giving it back to him.
"Well, that is not much to go on." She commented as Lory stowed the file way. Lory watched with concern as she raised her hand to her head and let the pain contorted her face for a moment before taking a deep cleansing breath and letting it out. She shook her head lightly and settling back behind her mask before changing the topic slightly. "So what is going on in the news about this incident?" An attack on a star would definitely make the presses but she had not been able to check out the rag mags yet. Lory had done his best to try to keep the story out of the papers, but there were images of the assault. The paper he handed to Catherine had a very touching picture of Yashiro clutching Catherine to his chest and running from the scene as the girls around them scattered. It had been taking with a telescopic lens from a raised location and framed the couple splendidly.
"There are rumors going around, even here in LME. We have done our best, but you know how this industry works." Lory sighed. "You will probably get a lot of attention for the next few days, especially if you show that off." Lory pointed to the stiches on her face. Catherine smiled at him and raised her hand to the wound.
"I left Kyoko alone to do her work here, but I should be getting back to her." Catherine stood up and let Lory take her arm and lead her to the railing. "You have a beautiful ship, Captain." They laughed and she left down the ladder to find her charger.
Throughout the day, Catherine heard whispers as she and Kyoko ran errands. Kyoko was used to it due to the LoveMe overalls, but Catherine paid close attention to what was being said and found that most people were talking about the attack two days before. She quickly found that flashed a menacing glare and her wound usually sent the gawkers on their way. Otherwise the day went well. At the end of the day when Catherine took Kyoko home to the Darumaya, the Okami pulled the manager inside before she could leave.
"Thank you for your hard work," the Okami said, "We were really worried when Kyoko came home without you." The Taisho grunted his agreement as he continued his work. "Are you felling alright?" Catherine smiled to the older couple.
"I feel much better today. Thank you for your concern. I assure you this will not prevent me from doing my job properly." Catherine reassured them.
"Oh no, don't get the wrong idea. We were worried for your health!" The Okami pressed their concern to Catherine. Catherine nodded.
"Thank you. I appreciate it." Catherine soothed the worried hostess. "I am much better and I don't think this will even leave much of a scar." Catherine turned to leave. "I do really need to get going now; there is something I must do before I go home tonight. Good night." She bowed to the group and left.
"She is such a nice woman." The Okami smiled as she left. Kyoko wondered what Catherine could be doing as she climbed to her room for the night.
Catherine sat down in the car and set her mind to her next task. This assignment was turning out to be more troubling then she first had thought. It was time to leave the business look behind and go shopping!