“Of course, Miss Mercedes.”
Emi’s eyes widened. “You don’t have to do that.”
Mercedes held up a finger as she listened to the phone ring. C’mon, you should be having dinner about now and not playing hard-to-get with your two boyfriends.
Luckily, Shira picked up. “Hey, Cede, what’s up?”
“How involved are you with your parents’ agency?”
“Uh, that’s a weird question from you, but fairly involved. I sometimes field them designers when I come across them in web searches. Why?”
“Could you look at some designs for me?”
Shira chuckled. “What, did you get into fashion design behind my back?”
“No, of course not. I’m pretty sure mechanic jumpsuits will never be a fashion trend.”
Shira laughed, as did several other people in the Moreno household. “Fair. So where did you find a designer that you want me to look at?”
“We met through a friend.” She glanced at Emi, who looked excited and freaked out. “I’ll send over three designs. Give me a moment to transfer.”
“Sure.”
Mercedes put her call on mute and addressed Emi. “Pick your favorite three and send them to me.”
“You don’t have to do this!”
“Three images transferring now,” came a male voice from Emi’s phone. “I’ve selected three Miss Emi has revealed to me as her favorites.”
“Arken!” Emi shouted.
“I understand your reservations, Miss Emi, but this is too perfect of an opportunity for you to pass up.”
Emi stared at her rebellious phone until Tasha spoke from Mercedes’. “Images received, transferring now.”
Mercedes unmuted her phone. “You should have the images soon.”
“Transfer complete,” Tasha called out.
“She’s right, I just got them,” Shira said. “And damn. Where did you find this designer again?”
“I’m having dinner with her, actually. She mentioned she sent some designs through the application system but hadn’t heard back yet.”
There was a long pause. “When did she do that?”
“About two weeks ago.”
“Are you sure? I was the one going through applications this month since my mom is out of the country. I never saw these designs. And these are amazing enough where I know I would have remembered seeing them.”
Mercedes’ brow creased. “Are you sure?”
Emi became visibly nervous with the one sided conversation she could hear.
“Oh yeah.”
“Okay, then talk to her now.”
Without waiting for Shira’s okay, Mercedes handed Emi the phone. Emi reached out with shaky hands and accepted the device.
“Hello?” She managed to not show her nervousness in her voice. “Yeah, I’m the designer. My name is Emi. Emi Tanaka.” Emi chuckled. “Yes, that same one.”
Mercedes glanced at Takashi, who was watching her and not Emi. He had a genuine smile on his face and she couldn’t help but smile back. She appreciated his approval.
“Yes, I did submit an application two weeks ago.” Emi’s brow furrowed. “You don’t have it? That’s strange. I got a confirmation and everything in my email. Oh, well. I could resubmit it.”
Emi swallowed, concerning Mercedes. “Could you elaborate on what you mean by ‘don’t worry about it?’”
Takashi and Mercedes exchanged worried glances. She was sure Shira was interested in the designs.
“One hour?” Emi’s back straightened. “You really want to meet with me in one hour? No, no, that’s a perfect amount of time. Yes, I can meet you there. Thank you. Thank you very much.”
Emi hung up the phone and stared at it. Everyone in the room waited for her to process what just went down.
Mercedes was taken aback when Emi squealed and then threw her arms around Mercedes’ neck. “Thank you!”
She got to her feet. “I’m sorry to eat and run, but I have to go get ready for this meeting. Rei, I know we had plans, and I’d like to still do something after this meeting.”
Rei smiled at her friend. “Focus on this. Tell me how it went.”
Emi looked to Takashi. “Do you mind walking me out? I have something to ask you.”
“Uh, sure.”
Mercedes tried not to frown, and pushed away the irritation bubbling up. She had no right to act so negatively. Emi even said during the meal that she was seeing someone new. It’s not like Takashi and I are dating anyway. She couldn’t compete with a gorgeous fashion designer who volunteered all the time, had an active social life, and didn’t have any robotic parts.
“Who’s up for a game of Uno, when we finish our meal?” Miguel asked.
Mia’s hand flew up. “Me!”
Mercedes smiled. She liked the idea.
“I’ll pass,” Rei said, getting up and leaving.
Mercedes frowned. She had really wished she could have gotten Rei to open up and be more okay with her being around. She didn’t want to be a cause for discord in the family, but at the same time she didn’t do more than exist. How do you combat someone who just hates you for being you?
CHAPTER SEVEN
Takashi followed Emi to the door. He heard Rei say she was going to pass on something their father offered, and soon she had joined them. She and Emi had a pleasant goodbye, Emi promising to call after the impromptu meeting. Rei took it well, understanding this was a good opportunity for her friend, though Takashi could tell she was irritated. He suspected it was because Mercedes had been the only reason this was happening.
Rei then headed for her room, leaving Takashi and Emi to talk. Emi smiled at him, but he got an uneasy feeling from it for some reason. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”
“You know what I want to talk about.”
His brow rose. He did?
She shook her head. “You’re as clueless as ever. I want to talk about you and Mercedes.” He opened his mouth to say something, but she continued. “I know you like her, Takashi. It’s stupidly obvious. It’s why your mother went right into questioning her in the only way we both know she knows how.”
His lips pressed into a line. He didn’t think it was that obvious yet. Least, not when his assistant was ratting him out. His mother didn’t count either, usually. It was common for her to get a little over excited. “Okay, so what did you want to say about that topic?”
Emi regarded him for a moment. “I wanted to advise you to be careful with her.” Irritated flared up in him and he went to say something, but she held up her hand. “Hold on, let me finish. I meant that in a kind way. If you’re going to pursue something with her, and I sincerely hope you do, you need to be conscious of Mercedes’ self-esteem issue.”
Takashi’s brow rose. “What are you talking about? She doesn’t have a self-esteem issue.”
“It may not be obvious to you, but I see it. Any woman even half paying attention could see it. She’s confident in many ways, but when it comes to feeling adequate, that confidence crumbles.”
Takashi crossed his arms, his brow knitting. “That doesn’t make sense. She has no reason to think—”
“If I had to guess, she’s been treated poorly by enough people to make her second-guess her worth.”
Those words hit Takashi hard. He found himself almost unable to breathe. Mercedes had said something that should have thrown up more red flags. All these guys that had stood her up had made her believe there was something wrong with her, and not them.
Emi continued. “And, I also saw through that lie of hers about hugs. She was trying really hard, but I do make her uncomfortable. And really, I can’t blame her. I know I’m beautiful. But so is she! If the roles were reversed, and she was the ex, I’d feel inadequate, too
.”
Takashi licked his lips, trying to figure out how to fix this. What am I supposed to do?
Emi smiled at him. “I’ll let you figure this out on your own, but if you get stuck, and I mean legitimately stuck, let me know and I’ll see what I can do to help.”
Takashi smiled back at her. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
She shrugged. “Just because we didn’t work out, doesn’t mean I don’t care. We’re friends. And I want to see you happy.”
Emi threw her arms around him and he returned the hug. She pulled away and opened the door. “Well, I have to go. Don’t want to be late for this important meet-up.”
“Good luck.” He smiled more. “And some advice, just be yourself with Shira. She hates people who are fake or try too hard. Sell your designs, but don’t over-try.”
“Thanks for the tip.” Emi grinned. “And enjoy the rest of your evening with Mercedes. I’m sure some alone time with her would do you both some good.”
She winked and then dashed off. Heat rose into his face as a mix of emotions buzzed about him. Why did her teasing mess with him like that? It wasn’t like he was ashamed of his feelings for Mercedes. Maybe it’s because of how my mother was acting earlier.
As embarrassing as her targeted questions were to Mercedes, he’d only wanted her to stop for the sake of not scaring Mercedes away. A part of him… no, all of him, wanted to know why they were still “only” friends, and he needed to hear it from her mouth. He wanted to hear her say she didn’t want things to stay this way. But how to approach it? If Emi was right, and Mercedes was hiding a major issue such as low self-esteem, then he really needed to be careful.
Takashi walked back into the kitchen to find his mother and father cleaning up. Mercedes was still eating, Mia asking her more questions. Luckily, they weren’t as invasive as the ones she’d asked earlier. These questions happened to be about her friend’s line of work.
Mercedes had done well with putting up a front for the first few questions, but no one missed how hard a few of them hit her. And Takashi was sure to jump on changing the topic when Mia went a little too far. As much as he, too, would like to know what had happened, it wasn’t a question you just up and asked someone.
Takashi went about helping clean up. He wasn’t hungry at the moment, and he could grab leftovers when he was. His mother had made enough for an army, not that he didn’t expect that. She usually cooked too much when guests were expected.
Once Mercedes finished, she attempted to help with the cleanup, but his mother wouldn’t allow it. Mercedes relented, and went about with Mia, setting up the game his father had suggested the family play together—Uno. Takashi wasn’t surprised in the least with that game. It was a popular choice for his family.
He settled down across from Mercedes when he’d finished cleaning up, and played with the hologram screen he used for his card hand. His parents settled in as well, and the game commenced.
Ten minutes into the first game, both Mercedes and Mia had pulled some crafty card maneuvers. The two ladies giggled together as the rest of the family tried to figure out how to pull out on top. Takashi enjoyed the fact that the two of them got along so well. He liked that Mercedes had tried her best with Emi, and even Rei.
Her attempt with Rei hit him deep. She had genuinely been interested in engaging Rei about her career choice, but his sister wanted nothing to do with his friend. His sister’s actions disappointed him, especially since he could see her growing confusion over Mercedes’ and Emi’s pleasant interactions.
It seemed that Rei just couldn’t wrap it around her head how he and Emi could be friends still. It was one of the reasons she was convinced the two could have made it work. She’ll understand one day. He just hoped it’d be sooner rather than later.
Mercedes’ question to him earlier about her presence causing him issues hadn’t settled well with him. He didn’t want her to feel unwelcomed. And if he was going to work on getting her to give him a chance, he didn’t want her to say no because of his sister’s issues.
Mercedes’ phone rang. She looked at it and sighed. “I’ll be right back.”
She answered the call while getting up from the table and heading to another room to talk. The game paused, as they didn’t want to be rude and play without her.
Mercedes returned a few minutes later. “I swear, they can’t go one day without nearly blowing the place up while I’m out.”
“I guess that means you have to leave, then.” He couldn’t hide the disappointment.
“Aww, but I want you to stay!” Mia said.
Mercedes smiled at her. “Sorry, but I have to go fix a big mistake my boys made at the shop. I’ll come by again though, how’s that?”
His sister smiled wide. “Yes!”
He stood up from his seat at the table. “I’ll walk you out.”
“Thanks.” She looked at his family and waved. “Thank you for having me. It was nice catching up.”
Takashi’s father leaned back in his chair. “Don’t be a stranger. Come by anytime. And tell your father we send our regards.”
“Of course.”
Takashi escorted Mercedes to her car; the late evening sun had cast hues of red and orange across the sky. He opened the door for her and she smiled her thanks.
But before she slipped in, she looked at him. “Hey, so, I’m going to be in L.A. next week for some experimental testing on my arm.”
Takashi took great interest in this. “Yeah? What kind of testing?”
“I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you this, but… I’m going to anyways, because it’s something cool. Narissa thinks she’s come up with a way to add artificial nerves to my prosthetics.”
He could see the excitement in her eyes and it rubbed off on him. He’d heard her mention a few times how sometimes she just wanted to live in-game to have that all back. It hurt to hear her talk like that.
“That’s great!”
She nodded and then her gaze went elsewhere. “I was thinking, since I’ll be down at the same time you’re going to be at that seminar, maybe we could meet up?”
Her shyness surprised him. Takashi didn’t expect such a response from her. Maybe she’s also… He had to take this chance. “When are you leaving?”
“Tuesday morning. I know you’ll be heading back to Korea late tomorrow, and the crazy time difference has me confused if you’ll be landing before I head out or not. I also wasn’t sure how long you’d be back stateside once you returned for the seminar.”
“I’ll be down there for three days, then returning here for a while. Why don’t we meet up for lunch one of those days?”
She looked up at him. “I thought maybe I could pick you up at the airport and we could have lunch then?” She looked away again. “Of course only if you want to.”
God, she’s cute. “I’d like that.”
She looked up at him. “Yeah?”
He leaned on the door and smirked. “Yeah.”
She smiled, her gaze lingering on his for a moment before she slipped into the car. “Then, if I don’t speak to you between now and then, I’ll meet you at the airport. I’ll have a sign that’s impossible for you to miss.”
“I’m sure we’ll speak before then. Good luck at the shop, and have a good night, Mercedes.”
She looked up at him with those gorgeous blue eyes that nearly begged him to not let her go. “You too.”
He watched her drive off before heading back inside. Rei stood on the stairs leading to the second floor, her face creased into a scowl, but Takashi ignored her. She’d caused him enough trouble earlier that he didn’t want to deal with her right now.
Mia ran up to him. “Niisan, when will your girlfriend be coming back?”
He sighed looked down at his little sister. “She’s not my girlfriend, Mia
.” Yet.
She squinted at him and placed her hands on her hips. “Why not? She’s pretty, and funny, and I like her. And you’re not getting any younger, Niisan.”
Takashi pinched his nose. Their mother was rubbing off on her. That was to be expected, though. While they were brought up in a culturally diverse home, his mother had the biggest influence on the family. “We’re not dating.”
Mia crossed her arms and let out a humph. “When will she be back?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Can she come back tomorrow?”
“Mercedes has to work tomorrow.” He wasn’t sure if that was the case, since she usually had Sunday off, but with her leaving for the week, he assumed she’d taken a shift to make up for her absence.
“Will you go visit her at work?”
“No, I’m going to be spending time with my family before I hop on the plane to head back to Korea.”
His sister pouted. Takashi couldn’t help but smile. At least one of his sisters liked Mercedes. His mother entered the room and smiled. “Keep her. She’s a good pick.”
Rei crossed her arms, her lip curling, and Takashi shook his head. “Okaasan, please. She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Well, why not?”
His father’s boisterous laugh reached them from the kitchen. “Leave the boy be, Dear. If it’s meant to be, it’ll come in time. Your meddling won’t help.”
His mother pointed at Takashi. “I see the way you look at her, Takashi. It’s love. Do not let that slip by with such a nice woman. You’re not getting any younger, and neither is she.”
“Emi is better,” Rei said, no longer staying quiet.
Great, here we go. Takashi faced his sister. “Emi and I are not getting back together.”
“Well if you hadn’t let that blonde whore into your life, it wouldn’t be the case.”
Takashi sucked in a tight breath, but he couldn’t stop himself from yelling. “That’s enough, Rei! I’ve had enough of this from you. Not only were Mercedes and I friends long before Emi and I got together, I will not allow you to insult her like that.”
Spellbinding His Ranger: A Sci-Fi Gamer Friends-to-Lovers Romance (Looking For Group Book 1) Page 10
