Next chapter! It's so nice to have a day off… Please let me know if you see anything that need fixing.
Note: I do not own Skip Beat!
"You do look very nice tonight." Yashiro spoke softly to Catherine as they walked down the hall. He placed his free hand over her hand where she was touching his arm. She could feel the heat from his hand burning up her arm. She swallowed before responding to his comment.
"You had better like the way we are dressed." She teased the man next to her. "You picked out the dresses." He chuckled at her attempts to lighten the mood.
"This is true, but they say that it is the girl that makes the dress." Catherine blushed at his words and stammered a thank you. Yashiro smiled at the blushing woman and remembered the weight in his pocket. He pulled her to a stop and reached his hand into his pocket and withdrew the prepared item. "I have something for you." Catherine turned to look at him oddly; a present was the last thing she expected from this man she barely knew. He held the silver chain up so that she could see it. A small gasp escaped her as she recognized the bracelet that matched her necklace. He released the woman so that he could attach the row of flowers to her wrist.
"Yashiro-san, you really did not have to do that." She looked at the silver clinging to her wrist; it was still warm from his pocket.
"Well, I couldn't just leave it without its mates." Yashiro took Catherine's arm again and resumed walking down the hall. "Anyway, you did so much for the rest of us, someone needed to do something nice for you."
"Thank you. It's lovely." Catherine admired the bracelet where it laid against the sleeve of Yashiro's coat. She did not know what else to say to the man next to her. Her heart was beating strangely in his presence. It was not long until they joined Ren and Kyoko at the elevator. Yashiro's mind was starting to short circuit. He did not know if he should squee at the cute couple in front of them, or if he should put his full attention to the ravishing creature next to him. Her light blush made his heart beat harder. It was doubly hard for him when they all stepped into the elevator. The girls removed themselves from their date's arms to stand at the back together. He kept switching from Ren's face, to Kyoko, to Catherine, and back.
Kyoko was overwhelmed by Ren in his suit. It fit him perfectly and he smelled warm and inviting. That intoxicating scent had hit her when he first came up to her in Lory's office. She had not been able to shake it off since. She kept trying to put distance between them so she could think, but Ren never gave her an excuse to get away. Kyoko's grudges were running around screaming about bright lights while her angels were trying to rein them in. She was so confused that she took shelter by the older woman for the ride to the lower floor hoping to clear her head. Catherine smiled in amusement at the conflict she could read in the younger woman. She could tell that the tall man really did love her. He could not keep his eyes off her. Even here in the elevator, he kept watching her in the reflective surface of the door.
Heads turned when the elevator doors opened and the four occupants spilled out. It was still early in the evening and the lobby was filled with people going home. Just the sight of Ren, in his formal wear, leading the group was enough to send the girls around into frenzy. Yashiro automatically took up his position of protector on one side. It was worst when Kyoko stepped off and took Ren's offered arm. More people turned to see what was going on. Catherine took up her position on the opposite side of pair. The posture and glares from the two well-dressed managers was enough to keep the watchers back, but a crowd had formed to watch the celebrities walking out.
It wasn't long until they arrived at the long black limo the president had arranged for the group. Ren settled Kyoko into the large vehicle. He insisted on helping Catherine into the same side while Yashiro held off the onlookers. Yashiro shut the door behind her and followed Ren to the other side of the car to get in. The backseat could only seat three comfortable so Catherine had chosen to sit on the seat along the side of the car. Yashiro was disappointed that he was unable to sit next to the woman, so he took the seat opposite her, leaving Ren and Kyoko on the back seat together. Once settled, Catherine called to the driver that they were ready. Catherine sat with her ankles crossed under the seat and hands folded on her purse in her lap. The silver of the new bracelet against the dark material caught Kyoko's eye.
"What's that? " Kyoko leaned forwards to get a better view of the delicate item. Catherine raised her hand so that she could see it better. Kyoko reached out and gently rolled one of the small flowers between her fingers. "I don't remember you having a bracelet. It's beautiful." Kyoko relinquished the charm and leaned back into her seat.
"I didn't." Catherine confessed. "Yashiro-san gave it to me on the way down." Catherine blushed and tried to hide behind the loose strands of hair. Yashiro had been watching the exchange with gentle eyes. When his name was mentioned Ren and Kyoko looked to him. He coughed in nervousness and cleared his throat.
"Umm… Well, when Kat-san got the sets, she forgot that piece. I couldn't just let it go." He blushed a little and turned his attention to the ceiling for a good inspection. Catherine was still inspecting the floor. Both Ren and Kyoko looked between the blushing managers in surprise. Ren gave Kyoko a small mischievous smile that she returned. Ren was just about to say something to exasperate the situation, but was interrupted when the driver called back to them that they has arrived. Catherine and Yashiro pulled themselves together and got ready to go to work. The driver opened the door on the men's side and they got out. Yashiro led the way so that he could take care of any wayward fans. By the look of the onlookers, this was tuning out to be a high profile event with lots of press.
Cheers when up when the group recognized Japan's leading actor had turned out to support the cause. They were even more surprised when he opened the door to escort a lady out. Ren was known for going to events by himself so the reporters were in a frenzy to see who the lucky girl would be. The camera flashes were blinding as the auburn haired girl stepped out of the limo. The crowd quieted as they tried to identify the beauty on the tall man's arm. It only took a moment before someone yelled Kyoko's name. Yashiro had started to help Catherine out when things erupted behind him. His attention was dragged from the woman at his hands to the swarm pressing in on the actors.
"GO HELP THEM!" Catherine yelled at the torn manager as she smacked his hand away. Yashiro looked at her for a second before abandoning her for the troubled actors behind him. When the crowd rushed in on them, Ren had swept his beloved kohai from his side into the circle of his arms and was doing his best to protect her from being crushed. The security had not expected the crowd to be so wild and had neglected to set up barricades. Seeing the tender way the tall actor held the young girl, the reporters pressed in harder on the pair yelling questions. Even Yashiro was having trouble subduing them. Catherine helped herself out of the car and sauntered into the group. After a few moments of pushing and glares, the two managers were able to free some space around the distressed actors and Catherine made a statement for the crowd.
"Excuse me." She started, but no one heard her. She got louder so that she could be heard. "Excuse me!" When this did not work, she switched to English. "EXCUSE ME!" This drew everyone's attention and they paused in their questions. "Thank you." She returned to Japanese. "We are here today as representative for LME to provide our support to the victims of the disaster. Any other questions should be addresses to the LME agency. I am sure they would be happy to give you the answers you are looking for." This put an end to most of the jostling and questions. It also gave the security a chance to make a way for the arriving actors. There was still the odd question about Ren escorting Kyoko, but these remained unanswered as Ren and Kyoko escaped to the safety of the building. Yashiro stepped over to where Catherine was still shaking off the press and place his hand on her lower back, pulling her attention to her.
"We need to be moving too." He indicated where the other pair had almost reached the door. He guided her along with only the hand on her back. She could feel the pressure of his hand on her bare skin. It was like every cell that he was touching danced under his warmth. As they approached the steps into the building, Yashiro held out his open hand for her. She took it in hers and let him help her up the steps. "That was a nice job back there." Yashiro leaned in to speak to her softly.
Kyoko and Ren paused at the top of the steps and turned to see where the rest of their party was. Catherine still had all the tickets with her. Now that they were safe, Kyoko extracted herself from the protective arms of the tall actors as they waited for the lagging managers to catch up. Ren was not happy about letting her go, but they were out of danger so he let her have her space. Ren found the missing pair and smiled at them as Yashiro propel Catherine with a well-placed hand. He watched Yashiro extend the other hand to help her up the steps. The position he took with the woman was very similar to the intimate hold he had just released Kyoko from, but the couple would not realize it until the pictures came out the next day. It was the slight blush that rose up her skin when Yashiro whispered to her that would cause them the most problems. Yashiro relinquished his grasp on the woman when they reached the waiting actors. Catherine stepped away from him to check to make sure Kyoko was ok.
"Thank you very much." Ren addressed the female manager. The blush rolled back up her skin.
"It was nothing." She made light of the achievement before turning to check on Kyoko. "Are you alright?" Kyoko's mind had frozen when the press has assaulted them. If it had not been for the reassuring words and warm arms of her beloved senpai, she would have been lost. Her heart had pounded uncontrollable while he was wrapped around her. Now that she was free, she had calmed and convinced herself that the rapid rate was due to the excitement in the crowd and not the warmth from the man that had pressed to her. Kyoko assured Catherine was fine before the manager continued. "I wish I had known about the relaxed security. I would have been better prepared."
"I think you did a wonderful job." Kyoko reassured her manager. Catherine smiled warmly at the young woman. She thanked her gracefully and turned to lead the way into the building. Kyoko walked with her and their dates fell into step behind the girls. They giggled and chatted as they walked. Ren glanced at his manager. Yashiro's eyes were on the back of the strong woman leading the way.
"Kat-san is an interesting person." Ren commented lightly to his manager. Yashiro watched the woman as she spoke to the young actress with her hand waving around to animate her words.
"Yes." Yashiro finally agreed with the actor. "But she is very hard to read." He puzzled on her for a moment. He had never met someone with such a fluid personality, soft and gentle one moment and hard as stone the next, with a touch of crazy added in for spice. Ren made a noise in agreement. He has seen Catherine change with the hat that she wore. She always stepped up and did her job properly with her own flare, no matter how challenging it was. Yashiro shook his head and sighed. "Maybe it's the American in her." Ren wanted to laugh and tell him that he was wrong about that, but then he would have to explain how he knew. He just nodded and left it alone. When they reached the doors to the banquet hall, Catherine presented the tickets and they were led into the room. A well-dressed man showed the group to a round table filled with other people. To the udder shock of the group, there were only three seats available at the table to which they were shown.
"Umm…" Catherine addressed their escort. "We were supposed to have four seats here." The man looked at the table and apologized for the error and went to find the event coordinator. Catherine turned to her companions. "Go ahead and sit here for the moment. I am going to go sort this out." Before anyone could disagree, she turned and followed the retreating man. They stood around the table and watched as she disappeared into the crowd. Ren pulled the middle chair out for Kyoko to sit down on. She was reluctant to get comfortable before the issue was resolved, but it may take a while so she settled herself on the seat. The men sat on either side of her waiting for the absent woman's return. It did not take long for a waiter to show up to fill the water glasses and place the starting salads on the table for the group. These went untouched as the time Catherine was gone grew longer.