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Chapter 17: Business Trip

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Takumi asked, zipping up his suitcase.

Misaki snorted. "I'm not five...I can take care of myself," she reminded him. "Besides you'll only be gone for two weeks."

"That's a long time to be away from you," Takumi said, stroking her face.

"It'll fly by," Misaki promised. "You won't even miss me."

"I'll call you every night," Takumi said, getting his things together. "Also I'll get a taxi back Sunday night. Don't wait up for me. I'll be back really late."

"Yes yes," Misaki said, getting into the car.

"I wish I didn't have to go but this is a business trip," Takumi said, pulling out of the driveway. "But its an emergency."

"Takumi, I think you're overthinking it. You have work. I have work. We got to do what we got to do."

Takumi smiled. "You're the sweetest woman I have ever met."

Misaki blushed. "Whatever..." she said, looking out the window.

"I made a lot of food," Takumi reminded her...again. "Just microwave it. It should last you or you can just go out to eat. Also don't drink any alcohol when I'm gone."

"You sound like my mother...not my husband," Misaki grumbled. "When's bedtime?" she joked.

"8:00 sharp," Takumi said with a wink.

Misaki rolled her eyes. "Funny..." she said.

They drove to the airport and went inside. Takumi pulled his suitcase and Misaki insisted on holding his smaller bag.

"Just be safe," Takumi said.

"You too," Misaki said.

"Alright, give me a hug," Takumi said, pulling Misaki into his arms.

Misaki wrapped her arms around him and sighed. She'd never admit it but she just might miss him. It's lonely being in such a big house alone.

"Bye Takumi," Misaki said.

"Bye sweetheart," Takumi said, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Do you suppose I could have a kiss too?"

Misaki laughed and gave him a soft kiss on the mouth.

"I love you..." she said, blushing.

"You are my world," Takumi said, letting her go. "I love you!" he called.

Misaki waved and watched Takumi get ready to board his plane. He turned around and blew her a kiss. Misaki smiled and waved again.

"Misaki, I'm sorry to ask this of you," her boss said.

Fre was a bald man with glasses. He called Misaki over to ask for some help. Since Misaki was new, this was a great time for her to put her best foot forward.

"No, it's fine," Misaki said. "I'll stay until every single thing is done."

"You're amazing Misaki!" he said.

Misaki smiled and returned to her work.

"Working overtime again?" Julian asked when Misaki was getting herself tea.

"Yeah..." Misaki said, stirring her tea. "It's not like I have to get home."

"Why not?"

"Takumi is away on a business trip," Misaki explained. "He won't be back till Sunday."

"Ah..." Julian said, nodding. "Well, don't overwork yourself," he said, running his hand through his hair.

"I won't," Misaki said. "You take care too,"

Julian nodded and they parted ways. Misaki returned to her desk and pulled up her important files. Misaki drafted, edited and finalized until her eyes hurt.

Most people had left at this hour. Misaki's office was one of the few that was still lit. She rubbed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.

Man...she was beat.

Misaki saved all her work and emailed them to her boss. She grabbed her purse and went to go lock up her office.

It was dark outside as she walked through the almost empty parking lot. Misaki slid into her car and inserted her key. When she turned, the engine wouldn't start.

"You're kidding me!" Misaki exclaimed, trying to start the engine again. Nothing.

Misaki undid her seatbelt and got out. She was no mechanic. Misaki studied the car wondering what could be wrong with it. Misaki looked around. She could probably go get a taxi.

"Misaki!" a voice called.

"Julian...?" Misaki asked, squinting through the darkness.

"You shouldn't stand around here in the dark," Julian said.

"Why are you still here?"

"I had to work over time too," Julian told her. "I saw you come out and decided to wait for you."

"My car won't start," Misaki said.

"That's because you choose to drive this crappy car instead of your beautiful Lamborghini."

"My Lamborghini stands out way too much," Misaki said. "I don't want people to know I'm Misaki Walker. To them, I'm just plain Misaki Ayuzawa who got everything through hard work."

"This car still sucks though," Julian said, lifting up the hood. "I'm surprised your super protective husband lets you drive it."

"Hey..." Misaki said, patting the car that she chose herself. "It's a good car. This is the first time it has acted up."

"I can't see anything in the dark," Julian said, closing the hood. "Come on, I'll give you a lift."

"I can just call a taxi-"

"It's really late. I don't feel comfortable letting you go home alone," Julian explained.

"Is this a 'women can't defend themselves' thing?" Misaki demanded, crossing her arms.

"Oh, I know you can defend yourself. I taught you myself. Think of this as a friend to friend thing. I got your back."

Misaki smiled. "Alright then," she said, following Julian to his car. "I'll call someone to tow it back to my place."

Misaki made a quick phone call. Mrs. Walker was assured that it would be there in the morning.

"Everything all set?" Julian asked.

Misaki nodded and buckled her seat belt. The car was definitely a bachelor's car. Old empty coffee cups filled the cup holders and various sports equipment was scattered in the back seat. The car itself was well maintained but not so much the interior…

"Where do you live?" Julian asked, driving out of the parking lot.

Misaki gave him the directions.

"Wow..." Julian marveled, pulling into their neighborhood. "You live in a mansion too?"

Misaki shrugged. "It's not as big as some others..."

"This one?" Julian asked, pointing to a familiar house.

"Yeah," Misaki said.

Julian pulled into the driveway. "Nice..." he said.

"Thanks for the ride," Misaki said, getting out.

Julian got out too and walked Misaki to the door. "If you ever need help, I got your back," he said with a boyish grin.

"Thanks Julian," Misaki said, digging her keys out. "Good night."

"Bye," Julian said waving.

Misaki went inside and saw Julian head back to his car. She waved to him from the window and then got ready to go to bed. A hard day's work meant a good night's sleep.

Someone knocked on Misaki's door. Misaki dumped her dishes in the sink and went to go answer the door.

"Julian?" Misaki asked, surprised.

She felt a bit awkward standing in her pajamas which was a pale orange silk tunic with short white shorts. Misaki ran her hand through her hair which was in a messy bun.

"Hey," Julian said. "I wanted to take a look at your car," he explained.

Misaki smiled. "You didn't have to," she told him. "I can always send it to the shop."

"That's a hassle," Julian said. "If its a small problem, I can just fix it. If its a big one, I'll let you take it to the shop, sound good?"

"I guess," Misaki said. "Come in," she said, stepping aside.

Julian's eyes were wide as he took in the house. "I can't believe you actually live here," he marveled. "Being rich much be great…"

Misaki elbowed him. "You know I could care less if it was a small house or a big one."

"You'd really be okay with a small crappy house?"

Misaki smirked. "I use to be really poor. Takumi use to fix the floor boards for my family because we had no money," she informed him. "I've been there done that and I've lived just fine."

"Really?" Julian asked. Misaki could tell he was surprised.

"Yup," she said. "Single mom with two girls. We made it through though."

Julian nodded. "You're pretty cool for a millionaire," he said.

Misaki rolled her eyes and showed him to the garage. She watched him lift the car hood and do a bunch of things with tools.

"I'm going to go get ready," Misaki said.

"Okay," Julian said, doing a bunch of things that Misaki didn't understand.

Misaki casually walked back inside and went back to her bedroom. She brushed her hair as she flipped through her racks of clothes. Misaki decided on a white pantsuit with a lavender blouse and lavender pumps. She pinned her hair up and walked downstairs. She returned to the garage where Julian seemed to be finishing up.

"Try it now," Julian said, tossing a wrench back into the tool box.

Misaki got into her car and started it. The engine roared to life.

"It works!" Misaki exclaimed. Julian actually fixed her car! "Thank you so much!"

"It's what friends are for," Julian said. "May I borrow your sink?" he asked, holding out his dirty hands.

Misaki nodded and held the door open for him. As Julian washed his hands, Misaki microwaved him some food. It was the least she could do since he did fix her car.

"Wow, its good," Julian said, taking a bite. "I see why you need to always come to the gym… you dine like kings."

"Oh Julian…" Misaki sighed.

Julian set his empty plate in the sink. "I'll see you at work," he said, waving. "Thanks for the food!"

"Thanks for fixing my car," Misaki said, waving back.

That night Misaki settled down on the couch to do some work. Her phone buzzed and Misaki looked at the screen.

Takumi: Hey, whatcha doing?

Misaki smiled at the text. She quickly typed back a reply.

Misaki: Doing some work, you?

Takumi: I'm in a meeting.

Misaki face palmed. Leave it to her husband to be texting during a meeting. He probably wasn't even listening to the important things.

Misaki: PAY ATTENTION THEN!

Takumi: Its so boring… I'd rather talk to you. :)

Misaki: I'm going to ignore you. Bye.

Takumi: How cruel…

Misaki set her phone back on the coffee table and ignored all the text messages. Her phone kept buzzing which aggravated Misaki. She got up from the couch and went upstairs to take a shower. When she came back downstairs, she had 112 text messages and 3 missed calls. Misaki sighed and decided to call Takumi back.

"Hello darling," Takumi picked up on the first ring.

"Hey," Misaki said. "Did you finish your meeting?"

"Yeah…" Takumi sighed. "Now I have to go out to dinner…"

"That sounds nice," Misaki said, trying to sound encouraging. "Where are you now?"

"Back in my hotel room. I wish you could be here with me. I hate not being with you," Takumi grumbled.

Misaki laughed. "You'll be fine," she told him. "What are you doing now?"

"Getting a change of clothes," Takumi explained. "What are you doing. Tell me exactly where you are, what you're wearing and what you're doing."

"Demanding much?" Misaki asked. "Well, I'm in the living room, sitting on the couch. I'm wearing a T shirt and sweatpants and I'm talking to you."

"What color's your underwear?"

Misaki hung up on him. Even if he was her husband, he wasn't allowed to ask that. Takumi being Takumi called again when she was about to go to bed.

"Are you going to sleep?" he asked.

"Yes," Misaki said. "I'm in bed right now."

"I can't sleep without you…"

"You did it all your life until you married me," Misaki pointed out. "Where are you?"

"Back in the hotel room. I just back from dinner. Food was okay. I like your shrimp lemon pasta better."

"Ew," Misaki said. "Don't even bring that up…" she muttered, pulling the blanket around her.

Takumi chuckled. "Everything's just overly complex here. I swear the tabloids are going to be at it again."

"Really…?" Misaki asked, innerly groaning.

When Takumi first came into the public view, the media was crazy. There was always something about him in some article. Of course, Misaki being his girlfriend and then his fiance was always worried about practically getting stalked. Their wedding was fully covered by the press which is why people like the owner of the Madame X boutique could pick them out simply by their wedding rings.

"You know better than to believe tabloids, right?" Takumi asked.

Misaki smirked. "Why? Have you been doing something naughty…?" she teased.

"The only naughty things I ever do is with you," Takumi teased right back. "But if someone so much stands a bit close to me, it could be a headline."

Misaki laughed. "I guess I could look the other way. Don't break too many hearts..."

"Mhm…" Takumi said. "You're the one I worry about," he said. "I'm always have to swat some annoying male away from you. Speaking of annoying males… What has that boy been up to?"

"Julian?"

"Yes… him."

"I don't know why both of you refer to each other as him. You both have names-"

"That is because, my sweet innocent wife, we don't want to acknowledge each other. I don't like the idea of him being your co worker and seeing you every day while I'm stuck in England. He on the other hand doesn't want to think about how I'm your lawful wedded husband that sleeps with you every night-"

"Ok ok ok!" Misaki said, pulling the phone away from her ear before Takumi started being explicit. "I get your point. Men are extremely possessive animals with no self control!"

Takumi chuckled. "I'm only like that around you," he reminded her. "If you weren't so cute, I wouldn't have to always worry."

"You're the only one that thinks that…" Misaki said, blushing.

"Uh huh…" Takumi said. "I'm the only one that has the right to think that."

"Whatever Takumi," Misaki said. "Good night."

"Goodnight, my love."

Misaki hugged her pillow like a highschool girl on the phone with her crush. "I guess I miss you."

Takumi's laugh was deep and heart warming. "I miss you too. I love you."

"Love you too."

"Bye,"

"Bye…"

Misaki hung up and plugged her phone in to charge. Even though Takumi wasn't there, Misaki still slept on her side of the bed. She hugged his pillow pretending it was him. Unfortunately, Takumi wasn't that soft to hug in real life which made it hard for Misaki to try and fool herself. (no pun intended)

Oh well…