Chapter 5. What Lies in Power
Part 1. Deep Within Every Man, There Is a Secret Power
'sorry, can't go home yet. but will come home for your birthday next week. promise. xxx.'
Arata's text makes me sigh. I can count with the fingers on my single hand how many times he comes home since our dinner with my parents more than two weeks a go. And when he did come home, it would only be for a few hours; leaving him just enough time to take a quick shower, change his clothes, and then go back to his office.
It seems there is a problem with his project with Asami so that Arata and his team needs to focus all their time and energy to fix it. Knowing this issue, I don't pay much attention when there is no news from Asami as well. He must be busy with the problem with his business. Besides, it is good to have a bit of distance when I need to make a decision about my relationships (yes, it is in plural form now!). Being around Asami with my brain clouded with pure lust definitely will not help me to make any.
The first thing I decided is that I need to be honest with Arata as soon as he has time to talk more than just a few words. I don't plan to tell him every little detail. There is no need to hurt him more than what I have done. But I can't be with him when my heart is with someone else. He deserves better than that. I know it will definitely mean the end of our relationship. Or maybe our relationship has died long time a go when we become more like a roommate and less of a couple as we both get more and more busy with our own work and life. Whichever the case is, I don't want to keep any more secrets from him.
To be honest, there is a part of me that is afraid to face the truth. Arata has been my touchstone for the last two years. What we have gone through may not be as heart throbbing as what Asami and I have experienced together. However, we have supported and cared for each other for quite a long time that I have almost forgotten how life without him is. But I know it is time to stop running away from reality. That is the least thing I can do for Arata at this moment.
What I will do with Asami is a much more difficult question. I know if I decided to be with him, I have to change. And I am not sure what I am going to be once that happens. But there is just no way I stay with him and still remain unaffected. In one way or another, his way of life will change me. Just like my way of life will also somehow change him.
His world is not one with a guarantee that everything will be fine or that we will always be together happily ever after. As soon as people notices that I am with him, his enemies will look for me, just like before. And Asami will do everything in his power to protect me, again. Doesn't it mean I am just going around and around in the same old problem? Will I wake up again one day, realizing what a mistake it is to stay stubbornly by his side and to watch him hurt or even die because of me? Then what is the point of all those miserable days and nights after breaking up with him if I am just going to repeat it all over again?
In the end, letting him go will do good looks like the better option for both Asami and I. Just like Arata deserves someone who loves him completely, Asami deserves someone strong who can stand and support him by his side instead of being a burden.
As for me? I will be fine by myself. Really. Bouncing back from whatever things life throws at me is my specialty anyway. I will just focus in my career. I am going to be a famous photographer and live my life to the fullest. Yeah, it is decided. Who needs an arrogant and control freak crime lord, anyway, when fame has been waiting for me all along? Right? I chant the silent argument inside my head a few times a day like a mantra.
But when Kirishima sends me a text message on the first Thursday night since my parents' visit, informing that Asami will not be able to make it for our regular Friday dinner, I start to feel unsure about my own decision to leave Asami. My determination wavers more as Asami also cancels our next dinner a week after that. Suddenly, being alone at home doesn't give me the peaceful time needed to think. Instead, it makes me feel restless. The silence in my apartment pressures me in a way that makes me unable to sleep. Eating alone doesn't improve my appetite. Being unable to settle things with Arata due to his long work hours doesn't help to improve my mood. And knowing I may lose Asami again and for good this time (if I haven't lost him already considering how he keeps avoiding me!) makes everything worse.
I think I am going to lose my mind if I don't talk to someone soon. So, as I leave for work, I text Kou and tell him to call me as soon as possible.
"Takaba, Sato, get your lazy ass here! NOW!"
I slowly bang my head to my desk. My other teammates look at Sato-san and I with pity. I don't remember why exactly I decided to take a short-term contract for this photography collection project sponsored by a local clothing brand. I don't usually take a full time project no matter how short, preferring to be a freelancer. But the vision of the project is very inspiring and the payment is quite good. So I thought, why not? It may be nice to have a stable income for a couple of months, especially since Arata pointed out how unstable my freelance job is when I asked him to stop his project with Asami. During my first few days working in the project, I already regret my decision.
To be fair, the work itself is quite interesting. It will be a good experience if it is not for Takamiya Yamada, the jerk who is in charge of the project. I stand slowly from my seat where I edit my latest photos. Sato-san, my partner in this project, sends me a nervous grin as she stands from her own seat. She is a cheerful young photographer in her mid twenties with such an incredible talent. But in the last few weeks, her smile every time Yamada calls us looks more like she is having constipation. Not that I can blame her since I feel exactly the same way.
Vowing that I will never ever for any kind of reasons take a full time project again, I walk towards Yamada's office with Sato-san. Yamada sits behind his desk as he glares at our slowness. When we approach his desk, he throws a pile of photos towards us before we can say any word. One sharp edge of the photo paper cuts the skin on my cheek, right below my right eye. Luckily, I stand slightly in front of Sato-san so I can cover her from any damage, but I can still hear her shock gasp behind me.
"You both are useless! What kind of crap is this? You spent three full days, three full days, and this is the result?! I can pay someone cheaper for a much better quality than this!"
Having lack of sleep for days, I lose my patience quickly. I glare at that shitty Yamada in anger and it is obviously a mistake. He notices my irritation and instantly points his fat finger at me.
"What? Do you think one award make you so great, huh?! You are just a dumb photographer who has to do whatever I said! I am your boss in this project! If I said it is crap, you agree with it! Do you understand?!"
I have had my photos thrown into the trash bin in my early days as photojournalist. I have been shouted at in a much harsher way. I have been shot. Kidnapped. Raped. Even sold to some old geezer in Russia by that stupid Yuri. But for some unknown reason, being told that my work are crap by someone who doesn't know one fucking bit about photography, upsets me more that any of those things. So, I slam his desk as hard as I can. Silence fills the whole office as everyone -myself included- freezes with my abrupt anger.
"Sato-san, you are a talented photographer, you deserve something better than this," I tell her calmly before I walk away.
I quickly gather my stuffs into my backpack and leave the building without looking back. As I walk randomly through the heavy streets full of people, I bump into a man who immediately curses at me. In my annoyance, I yell back at him, ignoring the fact that I am the one at fault, until I hear someone calling me from behind.
"Takaba-sama?"
I turn around to face Kirishima and Suoh, each standing a few feet from me holding a cup of coffee as they stare in shock. Maybe it is days and nights of thinking about Asami and Arata that finally takes its effect on me or it is simply due to my anger towards the idiot that claims himself as my boss or a mix of both, but I find myself snapping at Kirishima and Suoh.
"What? Now, I also can't shout at someone? And who dare to order me so? Of course, your boss! He will ask you to jump and you will ask him how high! Don't you see how absurd it is?! Can't you tell him to fuck off whenever he order you to do some kind of ridiculously fucking tasks?! Don't you have your own opinion in any fucking thing?!"
I need to stop my sudden outcry because I run out of breath. As I struggle to take deep breaths as fast as possible, Kirishima and Suoh just stand there in silence.
"Does this man cause problem to you, Takaba-sama?" Suoh ask coolly as if I haven't said anything rude to him before he carefully moves forward towards me. He slowly passes his coffee into Kirishima, who receives it without any other word behind him.
The man I shouted at instantly sees danger as he looks at the giant bodyguard. Both Suoh and Kirishima do have that kind of intimidating effect on people. "Wait, it is him who bumps into me first," he tries to argue as he raises his hand in a surrender gesture.
But I am already at my end of rationality. The rush of adrenaline infused by my anger suddenly leaves me. My knees give away and I fall into Suoh's ready hands. My poor victim sees this as an opportunity to run away from this crazy man and his two bulky bodyguards. And I let him be. I feel so tired. The last thing I remember is Kirishima's voice ordering the doctor to come.
"So, basically, he is just collapsed due to lack of sleep?"
I hear Asami's cool voice. I am not ready to face him yet so I pretend to sleep.
Another voice, it must the doctor, answers, "And lack of vitamins and nutrition, yes. Once he has enough rest and some proper meals, he will be fine in no time. I will prescribe some medicine that will help him to rest well today."
The room is silent for a few long minutes. Then Asami calmly says, "I have to say I don't believe it, Sensei. I want a complete body check right here right now. Please make sure every nook, cranny, hole, and-"
"What the hell, bastard?!" I instantly open my eyes as I yell at him.
Asami stands in front of me with a smirk plastered on his face. The poor doctor seems nervous beside him. Kirishima is a few feet behind them with Haruka who holds a bowl of water and a towel on her arm. And everyone looks at me.
"It seems we don't need full body check after all, Sensei. My boy just wakes up and he looks well," he teases me. I scowl at his dirty trick before I finally check my surrounding. I find myself lying on the huge sofa in Asami's spacious office room. Someone has put a blanket on my lower body and a pillow under my head.
Asami moves to sit at the single chair nearby as the doctor hastily does a quick final check on me. Concluding that I am okay, he reminds me again to have plenty of rest and proper meals. I just nod at whatever he said, too busy trying to avoid Asami's penetrating gaze. As soon as the doctor leaves the room with Haruka leading the way, I start fidgeting.
"How do you get that scratch on your cheek, Akihito?" Asami asks lightly as he takes his cigarettes box from his pocket. Putting one in his mouth, he turns his face towards Kirishima who readily lights his cigarette. I watch Asami slowly take a deep breath from his deadly stick.
"None of your business, bastard," I mumbles stubbornly. After days worrying about him and suddenly finding him behaves like nothing is wrong, I don't feel the need to act all friendly with the man.
For the next few minutes, Asami just silently smokes without saying anything else. Kirishima brings a glass of Asami's absurdly expensive whiskey. I snort. The man can survive without anything else in life as long as he can smoke, drink, and have sex like crazy rabbit. Why do I need to worry so much about his life and safety anyway? He will certainly die early from his bad habits long before anyone can put a bullet in his head.
When he realizes that I will keep my silence no matter how long he waits, Asami calls me with a sharp edge of warning in his voice, "Akihito."
"It is nothing, okay!? Why do you care anyway? I am just a dumb useless photographer! Oh, and you are mad at me!" I sulk.
I know I am acting like a kid, blaming him for my bad day. But if I am hoping to fuse his feathers with my words, his reaction is totally disappointing. Asami doesn't even blink. He tilts his head slightly with his fingers rubbing his chin as if he is trying to decide whether I indeed made him angry or I am indeed a dumb useless photographer or both. Each option just makes me angrier.
"Oh, really? And may I know who said that you are 'just a dumb useless photographer'?" he finally asks, tapping his cigarette at the ashtray on the side table.
I feel a bit upset that he doesn't deny the idea that he is mad at me. So, just to make his life difficult, I shrug dramatically for effect, "Everyone did."
"I see," he said evenly as he takes another drag of his smoke, "And who is this 'everyone'?"
My patience wears unreasonably thin for him and practically for everything else in this world, so I yell again, "Everyone is everyone! Like that stupid Yamada and you and everyone else!"
But he just smirks sarcastically at my explosion. The amusement that usually comes with his signature smirk doesn't appear in his icy golden eyes this time. I can see his slightly stiffened jaw as he considers his next reply. I gulp. Whatever the reason is, the man must be really mad at me. "Oh, did I ever say it? Please pardon me. It must be my old age catching up with me that I can't seem to remember. I am not sure about the dumb part, but you are obviously not useless, in my opinion. Actually, in the opposite, I always think that you are very useful, brat," he says, putting much more meaning into what 'useful' truly means than what is written in any dictionary on earth.
I blush. Not because I feel fluttered, but because I feel insulted. Being called useful because I am such a convenient lover doesn't exactly help to boost my shattered ego at this moment. But I have learnt enough not to take the bait. Instead I glower at him, silently praying that I suddenly have developed some kind of superpower that allows me to kill someone simply by looking at him. It will definitely solve all of my problems.
He looks back at me with a thoughtful gaze and I find that I don't like it. Asami never seems thoughtful whenever he looks at me. Lustful? Yes. Entertained? Most of the times. Thoughtful? Definitely no. Finally, when I almost say anything just to break the uncomfortable silence, he stands and says, "Kirishima will send you back to your apartment. You need to take a rest and proper meals."
His cold attitude makes me feel even more dejected and before my brain can process what happen, I find myself asking him desperately, "Can't I stay here? I will keep quite you won't even notice me. I just don't want to go home and being alone right now."
He stills. I look up at him slowly as I realize my stupidity. 'Me and my traitorous mouth,' I curse silently. But Asami roughly messes my hair before whispering softly, "Such a brat."
Then he calls Kirishima and orders the man to somehow find a temporary room divider so that I can sleep on his office sofa and he can works without worrying that any of his business partners will see me and wonder what this brat doing on his expensive leather sofa.
I grin at Kirishima while the other man scowls back at me.
Kirishima has checked the brat a handful times today. But when he enters Asami-sama's office to pass some more documents for his boss' approval, he can't help but take a quick look behind the room divider to check the boy one more time. The brat is sleeping peacefully now. Thanks to all Gods and the strong medicines.
The boy almost gave Kirishima and Suoh a heart attack when he collapsed in the middle of the road after his crazy antics with that man. Though Kirishima would rather die than admitting the truth out loud, he actually feel worry for the outrageous brat.
He shakes his head slowly. How one innocent brat can cause so many troubles, headaches and deaths in this world, he will never understand. Takaba-sama just has the natural talent to do so, but Kirishima will make sure that the boy will never know that he can give someone a glance and that person will be death before the next morning comes. He knows such a power will change people, and the last thing he wants is for the boy to lose his innocence.
He gently removes a stubborn bang from that boy's face, noticing the short scratch below the photographer's right eye. Kirishima smiles when he remembers the inhuman screams that shitty Yamada gave away when Suoh broke a few of his bones. The instruction from their boss was clear. Asami-sama told them to find this Yamada that Takaba-sama talked about and to give him a friendly visit. From their brief introduction, it is quite obvious this Yamada was the one who caused unnecessary stress to the boy. Kirishima and Suoh have made sure that Asami-sama's message was delivered clearly to that jerk. No one can insult, moreover, to damage their boss' property. That asshole is lucky that the boy's eye is not hurt. Otherwise, a few broken bones and a tongue won't be enough to save his pathetic life.
Kirishima attentively makes sure that the boy's glass on the coffee table is still full of warm water when Asami-sama calls him from his desk.
"Is he still sleeping?"
He answers truthfully, "Like a baby. He must be very tired. He looks thinner."
Asami-sama doesn't make any comment on that so Kirishima just waits for order patiently. His boss spends a few more minutes reading his paper works before looking at him and giving him instruction in a low voice so that there is no way the boy will hear even if he is not truly sleeping.
"Give that Takagi dog a little break. It is enough for now. As always, loneliness makes my Akihito craving for company and soon or later, he will learn that it is up to me to give it to him or take it from him. I assume the dog and his team are working like madmen by now to accomplish what I ask them to do for the past two weeks, aren't they?"
Truthfully speaking, that dog and his team almost work themselves to death, but Kirishima just nods at the understatement. There is no need to bother Asami-sama with such a minor detail.
"Stop their current project for now. Pay a huge amount of bonus for their hard work. Let them relax for a week or two."
"Yes, Asami-sama," Kirishima replies respectfully as he bows low. Concluding that Asami-sama doesn't need him anymore for now, he walks to leave the room.
Part 2. A Man Knows His Own Power
I sleep like the dead, as Asami's baritone voice lulls me into a dreamless slumber while he discusses mundane matters like Japan's financial needs, his shares in Google, and billions of dollars of profits from his businesses at South East Asia. I remember Haruka came a few times to give me more medicines after she spoon-fed me a small amount of chicken porridge. She has become much more familiar with me by now that she started to joke with me as she forced me to eat more. After that she would leave me alone to sleep again. I think I even saw a glimpse of Kirishima and Suoh every now and then, fixing my blanket or checking my temperature. Not that I understand why they have to check my temperature since I don't even have a fever. But it still feels nice knowing that someone cares about you when you aren't well.
When I finally wake up, I already feel much better and the world doesn't look so harsh anymore. It is dark outside. From Asami's floor-to-ceiling window, I can see the silhouette of Tokyo shimmering like a box full of diamonds. Asami's office is so high that everything looks so small below. I wonder whether he thinks of himself as a king or even a god every time he looks down on all the common people down there struggling with their every day life, trying to work on problems that he will never experience in his superior existence.
I throw my blanket away and walk to peek into Asami's side of the room (yes, I consider the side behind the temporary room divider as my side already!). He is sitting in his chair behind the huge wooden desk. His broad back halfway faces the glorious Tokyo landscape and I. The three pieces suit that he wears shows off his perfectly sculpted body. I can't fully see his face from my position, but his posture looks serious as he reads some documents that seem to come from the high piles of papers towering on his desk. Occasionally, he will examine some files on his computer screen before signing certain documents.
Standing there quietly, I savor the rare chance that allows me to observe him as he works. I have been in his office a few times, mostly waiting for him. But I have never seen him work before. He prefers to keep me away from his business and I have never got the interest to poke on his affairs. Well, unless you consider taking photos of his illegal activities as poking on his business affairs. But you get what I mean, right? I am just not interested to take any part in his loaded business, both legal and illegal.
Giving a quick glance at the clock on the wall, I am sure he must have worked for more than 12 hours by now. But his body doesn't slouch, his posture looks as elegant as ever, his hair is still perfect, and none of his clothes are out of place. Hell, where does he get his stamina to work long hours and still come home and do rounds and rounds of sex afterwards? Has the man ever feel tired in his life like any other normal human? Because I have never seen him genuinely tired before.
And he looks even sexier being all serious like this. Even I can feel the power that radiates from him as he works inside this room, most probably deciding the fate of those commoners that are living in the real world hundreds of meters below him. His choices may affect millions of other people and businesses and maybe even countries. And that much power must have some kind of effect on someone. For Asami, it makes him looks crazily hot.
The man is incredibly sexy I feel like licking his body all over. I stare at his well-defined jaw and the shape of his masculine shoulder and his-
"Enjoying the view, Akihito?" he disturbs my train of thought without looking away from the paper he reviews. Does the man also have another set of eyes at his back that I don't know about?
But I don't take my eyes away from the tempting skin on his neck when I answers, "Yes, I am. The view from here is quite stunning."
I expect him to mock my lame answer, but his cold reply sends another pang of disappointment to my shattered pride.
"It is late. Go find Kirishima so he can send you to your apartment. I still have work to do."
His stony order confirms my suspicion that he is indeed angry with me. Most probably due to the public display of affection Arata showed him during our last incidental meeting. God, has it been only a little more than two weeks since that night? I feel like it has been forever since then.
"That isn't fair, Asami! You are the one who forces this arrangement and now you are mad because you can't face the consequences?!" I yell at him without thinking. My voice raises its volume a few decibels higher with every words that come out of my mouth.
He stills before he slowly puts down his paper works and turns around to face me. I am so upset; I walk so fast towards him, thinking of shaking his shoulders or doing something as a proof of my irritation. But when I finally stand in front of him, hands shaking from annoyance, I can't think clearly and I just pour whatever thoughts passing my brain without filtering any of it first.
"You came to me out of nowhere, practically blackmailing me into accepting this arrangement we have, and suddenly you want an out because you can't stand your own decision?! Stop playing with my feelings, you old bastard!"
"And what do you actually feel, Akihito?" his calm question halts my next accuse.
His fingers are crossed in front of his stomach as he relaxes into his chair. He tilts his head and continues, "Come on, Akihito. You fight me yet you enjoy my touch. You always think you are the victim, don't you? You act like I threaten you to do everything that we do. But that door into my office isn't even locked right now. And here you are, still standing in front of me even when I am willing to send you away. Why do you think is that?"
And I don't have any reply to his simple question. My mouth hangs open as I tried to find the right response. What can I say?
'Because I still love you even if you are such an annoying bastard'?
'Because every time I find out that you are still alive, I feel so much relief even though I have promised over and over again not to think or care about you anymore'?
'Because I want so much to grow old with you but it is better to see you growing old without me if it means you can stay alive longer'?
In the end, I know I act so selfishly. Somewhere during our relationship years a go, I realized that the most important thing for me was Asami. I just wanted him to be well and happy. I told myself that it eas enough for me and that I wouldn't ask for anything more. Yet, here I stand in the middle of this mess between us, dragging even Arata into the chaos.
Feeling defeated, I look at anywhere else so he can't see the guilt and uncertainty that must be shown on my eyes. But he seizes me on my waist and forces me to straddle him on his chair. He grabs my chin roughly so that I have to look at him in the eyes while he grounds our quickly hardened cocks together, "Why don't you push me away seriously instead of reacting so eagerly if this is only a blackmailing case, Akihito?"
As his other hand slowly moves down to the crease of my ass, I gasp nervously in anticipation. He presses his lips on me. Or at least, he moves closer towards me that I thought he is going to kiss me so I close my eyes. But he stops a few millimeters away from my face. His steady breaths warm my lips and after a few seconds without anything else happens, I open my right eye to peek. He smirks at me with a knowing look.
"Do you want me to kiss you so badly that you close your eyes, Akihito?" He doesn't even bother to hide the amusement in his voice.
I can feel warmth decorating my cheeks as I realize what he is doing. Embarrassed with my own behavior, I fight him back, wanting to get away. But he just holds me there, unmoved even slightly with my struggle, nuzzling my neck with butterfly kisses.
"Stop it, Asami! I am still mad at you, you know!" I shout at him while trying to avoid his sweet assaults.
He bursts into laugh at my fury, "And I thought you said I am the one who is mad at you. Enlighten me, Akihito, who is actually mad at who?"
I pout at his annoying comment. "Well, I don't care whoever it is that starts this in the beginning. Now I am the one who is mad at you, okay?!"
"Of course, my dear Akihito," he just dismissed my wrath lightly on purpose, "Whatever you want to believe."
It has been a long time since the last time I need to seriously exchange blows with my words and it seems my ability to make a quick sarcastic reply has decreased tremendously. Arata isn't one who likes to argue and we have never got a long quarrel before. One of us will usually give in so the other will cool down immediately. But of course, Asami won't do something like that. He will happily rile me until I am mad beyond words and then fuck me like there is no tomorrow. Forget about discussing it like two mature adults, sex is his solution for all problems in a relationship.
So, I am literally speechless when he releases me easily after taking a light kiss on my lips. If this is his newest idea of being mad, it is definitely infuriating. Instead of taking my leave like he obviously wants me to do, I throw my punch to smack him on the face. But he just catches my blow effortlessly and pulls me back roughly towards him. My chest rests on his. His breaths are warm on my skin.
"I let you go but you didn't do it. Don't complain later saying that I didn't give you the chance to escape this situation, Akihito," his whisper is low and heavy on my ear before he licks my earlobe seductively. I can feel his hard cock against the ring of my ass as my own cock hardens even more at the husky sound of his voice.
He kisses me hard and deep, sucking my tongue so expertly in a way that he knows I love so much. I feel hundreds of butterflies fluttering inside my stomach as my hands grope him wherever I can reach: his strong chest, his flat abs, his arms, his back, his thighs, and then rushly move toward his cock. Anger fuels our desperate touches and kisses and I think I can't get out of my clothes any faster as he slides my pants down. Once I am naked, I quickly grab his belts, rushing to get his cock out for me to enjoy. My mouth waters as I can already feel the wonderful taste of his cock on my tongue. But he slaps my hands away.
Instead, he holds my wrists together in front of me with one hand and opens his drawer with the other. Asami quickly takes a metal handcuffs from the drawer and before I can utter a word of protest, he puts it around my wrists. When he pushes me down so that I kneel between his knees in the space under his desk, I grumble at being manhandled. But trapped with wood in all three directions and his legs guarding my only way out, I decide to stop my struggle. Fine, if this will fix things between us, why not playing along?
He smiles smugly as I try my best to get his belt free with my bound hands. But before I can do much with his belt, the door opens and Haruka's smooth voice comes from a place that I can't see.
"Asami-sama, Honda-san and Takagi-san from Hayashi Consulting Group are here for your next meeting, Kirishima-san is keeping them company at this moment." she pauses, for sure noticing my scattered clothes all around, before she continues politely, "Should I ask them to wait for the next an hour or so until you are ready to receive them?"
The moment I hear her mentioning Arata and his company's name, my blood freeze. Warmth leaves my body and cold is the only thing I can feel as panic floods me. I have decided to talk honestly with Arata about everything, but I don't have a plan for him to find it out like this. It will be just too cruel.
I try to get out, but Asami holds me in place. His hand pushes me back down as he answers Haruka, "No, tell them to come in now. Clean the office a bit, though, we don't want to be disrespectful towards them."
"Shit, Asami. Stop this, you bastard! What are you trying to do?!"
I can't see Haruka (or anything else but Asami who sits calmly in front of me, in fact), but I am sure she obediently bows as she replies, "Of course, Asami-sama."
I hear the soft rustles that must come from Haruka picking and folding my clothes neatly. The idea of her touching my underwear makes me blush. But considering it was Kirishima who trained her personally, she may as well remain stoic as she folds her boss' secret lover's underwear.
"Asami, release me. I will just leave. There is no need for me to be here if you have a meeting," I try to reason with him.
But he ruthlessly replies, "In case you forget, Akihito, I did give you a chance to leave earlier. But you didn't take it. And I told you not to complain later."
"You didn't tell me that you will have a meeting with Arata!" I whisper through my gritted teeth, afraid that Arata will somehow hear me through all the walls and doors.
"Trivial details," he waves his hand in a dismissing gesture. Just forget about the idea of him dying from smokes or drinks or vigorous sex. I will kill him faster than nicotine, alcohol and sex combined at this rate.
"Asami, please. I am sorry, okay? Whatever that makes you mad, I am sorry. Just, please, don't do this to him. He doesn't deserve this," I finally beg his mercy. My heart beats like crazy and I start to feel suffocated.
But Asami notices my distress. "Take a deep breath slowly, Akihito," he orders me.
He runs his hand through my hair, brushes his finger on my cheeks, and pets me softly. His rough palm feels warm on my cold skin and the reassuring pressure calms me down a bit. He keeps his movement constant and steady, careful not to stress me more with any sudden move. I struggle hard to take deep and slow breaths as he ordered me to do until my heart doesn't race a hundred miles per hour inside its cage anymore.
Noticing the changes, he praises me, "Good boy. That's it. Keep breathing slowly."
We stay like that for a moment longer until I manage to calm myself. Once the panic attack is over, I look up at him and try to bargain once again, "Asami, why do you want to do this anyway?"
He looks at me intensely but his hand keeps soothing me in a steady movement. When I think that he won't answer my question and I open my mouth to keep arguing, he simply says, "Because, Akihito, when I ask people to jump, they do ask, 'how high?' with no further question. You, however, are always a predictable exception."
I stare at him as he moves me closer to his legs, encouraging me to rest my head on his knee. His arrogance annoys me to no end. But what stops me to shot whatever argument that is already at the tip of my tongue is realizing that he repeats what I told Kirishima and Suoh this afternoon. So, is this all a trap because he believes he can predict whatever I do? My pride forces me not to do as he expects me to do at this moment. Besides, I don't think he will take anything I say seriously at this moment considering my condition. Let's leave it until later, when I am not kneeling naked at his feet with my hands bound by real handcuffs. For now, I grumbly lean to his strong thigh, finding what little comfort I can get from his body warmth.
A short moment later, I can hear the door opens and the sounds of Kirishima announcing the guests arrival with a clear voice, "Asami-sama, Honda-san and Takagi-san from Hayashi Consulting Group are here."
Asami doesn't stand from his seat to greet his guests. He merely waves towards them to allow them to take a seat. His other hand is hidden from his guests' eyes as he keeps soothing me with comforting caresses. And when they start a boring discussion about Asami's newest acquisition in the middle east and their latest success, I yawn and slowly close my eyes. I have no idea how Asami stays sane after discussing about these dreary stuffs day after day. If it were me, I must have gone crazy already.
That is when my phone rings loudly from behind the room divider. The ring tone is one I specially set for Kou and Takato, that eerie song from One Missed Call. It is a joke between us; one that Arata knows pretty well because Kou has repeated the story multiple times for him. Kou must have finished his work so he calls me as I asked him to do this morning. But once Arata hears the familiar yet uncommon ring tone, he immediately stops his sentence in the middle of his report to Asami. Just like how my breath stops as I hold onto Asami with newly awakened fear, hoping that I can somehow stop my phone from announcing my secret aloud.