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— Intentions —
5# - Limited Distance
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"People waiting for you stand out far less clearly than people you are waiting for."
— J. Giraudoux
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— A. Misaki
I BLINKED.
Deep blue eyes curiously stared at me as I began to rationalize.
Jet black hair and dark sapphire eyes.
Not sandy blonde and emerald ones.
My business smile still in place, his palm firmly came into my outstretched one as he sealed the sempiternal attorney-client handshake.
"Walker, Gerald Walker." He introduced himself with a warm tone. The smile he had on his face could easily be mistaken for an earnest one, but I guessed he was only sporting the alternative-business-smile. It was the -I don't know you yet, so I am testing the water- kind of smile. No doubt I knew about it, since we both wore the same one to the meeting. Though his was much more attractive compared to mine.
"A pleasure," I smiled back before I motioned him to the seat. Stepping around to sit across from him, I barely noticed the tall man that stood next to him. "Take a seat if you please," I offered, peering up at him as I sat down. Ignoring my words, he stood there like a marble statue, his eyes not straying from the spot he fixated. Maybe even the thought of breathing didn't occur to him; he seemed to be frozen in place.
"Please, don't mind him. Mr. Morris,—" Gerald absent-mindedly pointed his thumb at the motionless man behind him, "—is my bodyguard."
"Alright," I voiced, before opening the file to check on the data. I spared one last glance at both of them, puzzled by the strange pair they made, before moving onto the main topic. "Then, gentlemen... Let's get started."
—
It was about an hour later when we had finally laid down the groundwork. Settling for this much after the first meeting was already a great progress. And so far, this case appeared to be a considerable deal. I had, by all means, the need to secure it.
"Let me walk you to the door," I prompted as I stood up, and opened the door with a swift swing.
"Please, don't bother," he declined, as he made his way through the open door. "I will schedule with the agency for a further meeting."
"Thank you for your consideration, the contact info are right in the card," I reminded before insisting, "please contact us whenever the need comes."
"Surely, I will," he said, as we shook hand, the telltale hint of the meeting ending. "Now, if you would excuse us," he finally concluded.
"Have a nice day." He nodded his approval before his departure, his bodyguard a second shadow to his path out.
And they were both gone with the wind.
I slumped back onto the chair, my mind messily rewinding the whole legal discussion.
The case was the typical libel charge, where a journalist published false claims that brought down one of their subsidiary branch. Whether the false information was intentional or not, it already had harmed the corporation, and thus, it was only legitimate to file a suit against the newspapers. Proving libel would not be a daunting task as the evidences spoke by themselves. What would be hard was the penalty he aimed for, which felt unreal and maybe overly cruel as the damage done to the corporation was, clearly significant, but not as dreadful as to make the penalty outcome be that harsh.
But then, the concerned parties were not your common plaintiffs.
The CEO of the giant Walker Corporation coming in person to deal with the issue? That was totally unheard of. And without a doubt, it was an undeniable sign of the value of the impending case. Working with such an influential personality could raise my legal career to the top, and there was no sane people in this world who would let this opportunity slip right under its nose, would there?
I just had to use it to its full potential.
"And get through it until the end," I vowed, as my eyes lingered on the blue folder that could possibly —if not surely— be the lead to a life-changing case. A case against a top journalist named Usui Takumi from the alleged newspapers The Community. Fighting against an acknowledged newspapers and a well liked journalist? That ensured a tough battle in court. But fair enough, I had never minded challenge.
"Usui Takumi..." I thoughtlessly murmured, the name rolling ever so gently on my tongue as I started reviewing the whole data.
"Indeed, you would've been better off without writing this article..."
—
— U. Takumi
THE MEETING WITH MY ATTORNEY was as boring as a morning meeting could be.
Thankfully enough, I didn't have much to say since the director made most of the work.
I sighed as I made my way down to the nearby coffee shop. This morning was every typical morning I managed to avoid, so far. The thing was: I disliked to head outside on week-days mornings. The whole population seemed to be out so early but still rushing as if they were late. And that was damn annoying, no matter the means of transportation you used. Take for instance walking: the mere action of walking in crowded avenues was simply hell. Everyone was so much in their damn hurried schedule that they did not even care to watch out for the others. I'm not even going to talk about driving to the office by car, since it is how I went there and how I got pissed off so early in the morning. Traffic jam on top of the busy morning toast. Excellent, really.
Cherry on top, a two hours meeting with your attorney, and the old man that was supposed to be your director. Sure, the said attorney had pretty good credentials, not that I was complaining about that, but I felt like he was just freshly out of his law-school. Which was not a good sign for the future of my case. At all.
And it was with such an irate mindset that I glanced through the glazed window of the coffee shop, ready to shove aside anyone that would stand between me and my cup of plain black coffee.
However, I was greeted with a sight that I never thought I would see again.
Finally a positive outcome out of this fucking day, I rejoiced.
I stilled in front of the glass, my eyes set on her for a foretaste. Her raven hair was spilled on one side, falling softly onto the fabric of her suit. A suit which was of a charcoal grey color and contrasted with the elegant white blouse she wore. It all fitted her too perfectly and when she slowly crossed and uncrossed her bare legs, making the pencil skirt hitch slightly higher, all I could think about was... I could indulge in office play anytime, my lady. God bless her, she was facing the wall and paid no attention to the side; she seemed to be totally immersed in the content of her smartphone. Savoring one last glance, I finally walked to the glass door of the shop and quickly entered, the welcoming bell warmly ringing at my entrance.
Ordering my well deserved coffee, I curtly thanked the employee before making my way to her table.
"Do you come here much, Lady?"
Apparently interrupted in her thoughts, she glared at the presumptuous owner of the voice, which happened to be... Me.
Her eyes blinked several times when she recognized me. And incredibly enough, she simply turned back to her phone, brushing me off.
The silent treatment, huh?
"Let me guess... By the purest coincidence, would you happen to be... Misaki?"
She flinched at the sound of her name, and I couldn't help but grin, because teasing her brought out such a cute side out of her. With a bright smile, I carried on as I casually settled in the seat across from hers, "Let's consider it is only sheer luck, right?"
"Calling someone by their first name on first basis..." Her voice was only a soft murmur when she first spoke, "isn't that rude?"
Seriously? She was so adorable when upset. I couldn't help but want to push her further.
"Then... To make it fair," I leant on the table, slightly reducing the gap between us. "Should I introduce myself?"
"No need to. I'm not interested in you." Her eyes flickered back to her phone, not even bothering to look at me in the eyes.
"I am interested though..." I said, before taking a sip of coffee.
A frown creased between her brows when she returned with that bittersweet voice of hers, "I have no intention of being in any relationship with you."
"The odds will turn against you if you think so little of me." I raised my eyebrow as I produced her ID card from my trousers' pocket. Don't ask me how I had gotten my hands on it, because I won't be sharing my secrets. "Ayuzawa Misaki," I eyed her as I spoke. Her face became a mixture of confusion and displeasure. I kept on reading: "born in September 29th, Kyoto," the sound of her chair raking against the wooden floor made my smile widen slightly... She was starting to stand up. "Address is..." Her hand came in, snatching the card from my light grasp.
"Listen, stupid womanizer..." She called me, infuriated. She was looming over the table as high as her height could permit her. "I should warn you beforehand," she was so close to me that I could smell her scent. Spicy, yet sweet. I already loved it. "I'm engaged and you shouldn—..."
My pulse quickened. She was about to continue her ranting but I didn't want to listen. So I did what I do best. A sheepish grin on my face, I glanced at the dull ring encircling her dainty finger.
"So, this lovely kitten already has a master, huh?"
A choked gasp escaped her mouth as she looked at me, wide eyed and clearly bewildered by what I had just said. I guess it was not very gentlemanly of me, but I fancied her, and that news pissed me off. She clicked her tongue as she briskly grabbed her handbag and stormed out of the café. I followed after her in large strides as she was run-walking.
"Let me drive you home?" I hastily came up with. The speed in which we both paced down the road was all too fast to be considered as natural, thus, some curious eyes were following us on our way.
She laughed, an ironic burst before she retorted, "Not a chance." Sliding inside a taxi, she closed the door way too forcefully for me to attempt anything. Not as if I would, anyway. And without even a last glance, they pulled out on the road, disappearing from my viewpoint.
After a few seconds which seemed like hours to me, I quickly ran to my convertible sport car that was parked not far behind, and drove through the city's shortcuts. She wanted war, she would get it.
Several minutes later, I finally pulled in front of the well kept condo residence, and parked in the nearest lot. Pacing to the hall, I made my way to the elevators and saw her waiting, albeit passively, in front of the left one. Eventually, it opened. She stepped in without second thoughts, pushing the button to her floor in a sluggish motion when her gaze straightened in front of her.
On me.
Her eyes grew wider as she took me in. As for me, I think I couldn't help but let my victorious grin show itself. Because I was so fucking happy, and I was sure of one thing:
I had finally caught her.
—
Author note: Did I succeed in trapping you guys with Misa's meeting? ;p
I like to think that Takumi, even though he seems to be so much in control is just anxious on the inside.
It's kind of fun to picture him freaking out inside while acting out confident, don't you think? xD