Wulf took the folder from her and skimmed through its contents. Then he glanced back at her.
“I swear, this entire business would fall apart if I ever lost you,” he sighed. She shrugged.
“That's why I make the big bucks.”
“Good point. Now it's time to earn it. We have a Skype with Tokyo – hope you're prepared to be here for a while.”
She wasn't, really. Of course she always kept fresh clothes in her office, and there was a bathroom with a shower, so in a way she was always prepared. But Wulf hadn't told her about the Skype. It was always last minute with him.
Not like you have anything to go home to, anyway – that's why he does this last minute shit. He knows it won't interrupt any plans.
Ayumi had been living in San Francisco for the last three years, but she really didn't have any friends. She interacted with most of the staff of the Stone Agency, and a lot of the realtors, but her professional nature and close association with Wulf tended to scare people off. Her long hours kept her from having a social life outside of work, so really, all she had at home was her tv dinner collection and her cat.
Twenty-seven and already on my way to becoming a crazy cat lady.
“Can we call Katya and see if she'll feed Boppo?” she asked, pulling her hair up into a pony tail.
“That thing is still alive?” Wulf sounded shocked.
“Of course. I mean, he only had a broken leg when I found him,” she said.
“That's it? He'd looked like road kill.”
“It was a pretty bad hit. A broken leg and a ruptured bladder,” she said. “I think a collapsed lung. Some damage to his jaw.”
“Jesus, what did that cost to fix?”
“A lot. But he's a pretty okay cat, so I think it was worth it,” she replied.
Wulf stared at her for a long moment. She hated it when he did that – he had a very direct, intense stare. A power move, for sure, but one he wasn't always aware of doing. He also had very bright blue eyes, so sometimes she felt like she was being stared down by a demon. She wanted to crawl under his desk.
“You know what? Screw Tokyo. Go home to your cat,” he waved her away.
“I'm ... wait, what?” she stammered, glancing around.
“I can handle this call on my own. Go home, feed Boppo the wonder cat. Or if you're bored, Katya's doing a pub crawl thing with Tori. You could go keep them out of trouble,” he suggest casually.
Ayumi willed away the blush she felt coming on. It was a very sweet suggestion, and she was glad to be going home on time, but she knew what he was doing. He thought she was lonely, and he was trying to help her out. He was pitying her.
And I can't stand that.
“Thank you,” she said, standing up. “It'll be nice to go home and get some things done. But I don't think I'm really Katya and Tori's type.”
“Eh, I guess you're right. Tori is crazy at the best of times, and she rubs off on Katya when they get together. It wouldn't be your scene.”
Forget blushing, now she felt like she wanted to burst into flames. So now not only was she some lonely loser, but now she was a boring lonely loser. Well, fuck that. Ayumi actually liked Katya, a lot, but had always kept her distance out of respect for her professional relationship with Wulf. Keeping Katya at arm's length also meant keeping Tori away, too. But she would rectify that immediately.
“Probably not. I'll be going now,” she said, hurrying out of his office, her heels clicking loudly against the tiled floors.
“Have a nice night!” his voice followed after her.
She collected her belongings and made her way into the elevator. All the way downstairs, and while driving her car home, she thought about calling Katya. She'd interacted with the woman plenty of times – why did this feel so weird? Ayumi was actually nervous, it was ridiculous.
“I can do this, Boppo,” she breathed after she'd gotten home and was pacing around her apartment, clutching her cell phone between her hands.
“Mrowr,” he answered non-committally.
“Don't judge me! I partied in college!” she snapped at the judgemental feline. He stared at her, of course knowing she was lying, then proceeded to clean his front paw.
Screw it. It's one night. Prove to yourself that you're not some lonely loser.
Before she could lose momentum, she hit Katya's contact, then pressed the phone to her ear. She stood stock still in her dark living room, actually holding her breath while she waited.
“Hey, Ayumi!” Katya's cheerful voice came over the line. “Wulf already called me, I know he's staying late tonight.”
“No, I know,” Ayumi replied, then winced at how snappish she sounded. “I was calling to talk to you about something else.”
“Oh, I'm sorry. What's up?” Wulf's girlfriend asked. Ayumi chewed on her lips, wishing she'd thought this through a little more. She didn't want to admit she was calling to basically spite Wulf and his assumptions about her.
“Um ... oh! Last week you had invited me to the gallery showing. I was looking for the address,” she prattled off.
“Sure, just a second, I have to find it ...”
Ayumi could hear shuffling noises as Katya moved around.
“I hope it's not too far,” she kept going. “But traffic is actually really good right now.”
“Oh! It's not tonight!” Katya exclaimed.
Of course, Ayumi knew it wasn't tonight. She never forgot dates or anything of that nature.
“It's not? I must have gotten mixed up. Pity, I got all dressed up,” she sighed, looking down at herself. She was still wearing her suit from the office.
“I'm so, so sorry, it's probably my fault,” Katya gushed. “I never pay attention, my brain is everywhere with the business right now. I hate that you got dressed up!”
“It's really not a big deal.”
“No, that's the worst – putting on a hot outfit and then not getting to show it off. Screw that, you're coming out tonight.”
“I am?”
“Yes. Tori and I are bar hopping. You're coming with us.”
“I couldn't impose like that,” Ayumi said while at the same time giving a fist pump towards Boppo. He continued staring at her like he was embarrassed to know her.
“Of course you can! We want you to come, don't we, Tori?” Katya asked. There was a banging sound in the background.
“You're coming! Get slutted up!” Tori's voice shouted.
Ayumi rolled her eyes. She'd asked for this, she was going to have to deal with it now.
“Well, alright, if you insist. Where should we meet?” she asked.
“Come down to my old apartment, we're getting ready and drinking bath tub vodka at Tori's,” Katya explained
“Okay, I can – wait, did you say bath tub?”
“It's awesome. See you in a bit, text when you're downstairs!”
Ayumi was not at all sure she wanted to drink anything with the word “bath tub” in it, but she'd dug the hole. She'd damn well lay in it.
She stared at her wardrobes. She lived in the upstairs portion of an old, renovated Victorian. Original floors, amazing crown molding, huge bay windows in the front. But unfortunately, no walk-in closets. She'd had several very large wardrobes installed in the guest bedroom, and that's where she kept most of her clothing, except for the every day stuff that hung in her own closet.
One of the wardrobes was all business attire. Tailored and custom made pants, blazers, skirts, and shirts. She wrinkled her nose and shut those doors. Then she stared at the other wardrobe. Surely, it wasn't normal for one woman to own an entire closet full of yoga pants, running pants, and other assorted work out gear. Those doors were shut, too.
That left the last wardrobe in the row – the one she hardly used anymore. Clothing left over from college and the early days of working with Wulf. A couple new pieces, usually bought when they were traveling and she needed a certain kind of look, but that was it. Normally it was business outfits at work, then work out clothin
g at home. She just rotated between the two.
She shuffled hangers around, waiting for something to jump out at her. She frowned at almost everything, then decided she couldn't go wrong with black. She pulled out a gauzy black pussy bow blouse, then stumbled upon a flared black skirt. She hung them both over her arm, then grabbed some tights out of a drawer before heading back to her room.
She skipped the shower – she didn't need to look perfect for bath tub liquor. She raked a brush through her hair, trying to muss up the straightness just a little, then did quick makeup. Winged eyeliner and soft, peachy lipstick. She blinked at herself in the mirror, wondering how long it had been since she'd gotten dressed up. Some corporate event, maybe a year ago?
Definitely time to shake things up.
After she finished getting dressed, she ordered an Uber, then gave herself one last look in the mirror. She frowned at what she saw in the reflection. She looked good, she knew – her shirt was semi-sheer, showing off a lithe body she worked hard for, and her full breasts looked amazing and perky in their black push up bra. She was only average height, about five-foot-four, but her tights had a stripey pattern on them – combined with her skirt, they made her trim legs look much longer than they really were. She'd capped everything off with a pair of thick heeled black booties.
I look like I'm going to a sexy funeral, jesus.
Her phone dinged to let her know her ride had arrived, so there was no time to change her mind. Ayumi scooped up a black purse, patted Boppo on the head, then hurried outside and into the waiting car. She stayed glued to her phone for the entire ride. She began answering work emails and didn't even notice when they finally pulled up to their destination.
She stood outside for a long time, staring straight up. She'd been to the Twin Estates buildings several times. Wulf had lived on the top floor in building one, she'd delivered lots of paperwork and worked late nights there. Then he'd given the apartment to his little sister Brie, and Ayumi'd had to drop stuff off for that Stone, too.
She glanced to her right, over at building two. Liam – one of the owners of the Twin Estates – lived over there. His twin brother lived with him – the other own. Hence the name of the complex. Ayumi had never been over there, and had only seen the other Edenhoff twin at a distance.
Maybe I could just go over there and pretend I forgot something at his office. Or tell the truth. Liam would laugh at me, but he'd let me hide out.
She shook her head. No. No psyching herself out! It was just one girl's night out. She could handle this – Katya wasn't that wild. And Ayumi was confident she'd be able to handle Tori. It would be a couple drinks, a few laughs, just to prove she could go out and do something. Then she could go home and never, ever do it again.
With that new found play in her head, Ayumi walked through the doors with a lot of confidence. She rode the elevator up a couple floors, then got off at Tori's apartment. One quick sweep of the hand over her hair, checking that everything was in place, then she knocked sharply on the door.
“You're heeeeeere!”
Katya was actually squealing as she opened the front door. She practically fell on Ayumi, wrapping her in a tight hug. Not sure what to do, Ayumi just stood there for a second, then awkwardly patted the other woman on the back.
“Yes ... I'm here,” she finally replied.
“Sorry,” Katya laughed. “We've been hitting the sauce pretty hard. We're celebrating!”
Ayumi smiled and followed her though the doorway into a newly remodeled kitchen. Tori was bent at the waist, her top half entirely in the fridge.
“What are we celebrating?” Ayumi asked, setting her purse on the island and glancing around. There were plastic shot glasses littered about, and an empty bottle of sour mix sat by the sink.
“I've officially become the assistant manager of The Garden,” Tori's muffled voice replied.
The Garden was Liam's night club-slash-sex club. It always baffled Ayumi that the man could be so flighty, yet so successful. A thriving business and prime San Francisco real estate? She'd always guessed it had more to do with luck than actual skill.
“Congratulations,” she said quickly. “That's very exciting for you.”
“Thanks. Aha!” Tori exclaimed, and she finally stood upright. “I knew this was in here!”
She was holding a cheap bottle of Prosecco in her hands.
“Oh, if you guys would rather, The Stone Agency has an account at several restaurants and liquor establishments. I could go get us Dom Perignon if you'd like to celebrate ...” Ayumi let her voice trail off after Tori popped the cork and started chugging down the bubbly.
“Maybe later we'll move up to the fancier stuff,” Katya laughed, taking the bottle from her friend and drinking out of it, as well.
“But probably not,” Tori added, then burped.
She stared between the two girls. Katya was twenty-four, Tori was twenty-five. Ayumi was twenty-seven, only months away from her birthday. She felt silly, drinking cheap champagne straight from the bottle. Such college-like behavior.
Then again, she'd never behaved like that when she'd been in college. Or before it, even. So when Katya held out the bottle, Ayumi took a deep breath and grabbed it. As she raised it to her lips and closed her eyes against the bitter taste, she resigned herself to an evening of not acting her age.
Here goes nothing ...
3
Liam blew into his hands, trying to generate some warmth. He was standing beside Twin Estates building one, peering around the edge of it, watching the door to building two. He frowned when no one came outside. Then he glanced at his watch. It was after one in the morning. He didn't want to be outside in the freezing cold anymore – he wanted to be in his comfy bed, eating day old tacos and watching tv.
Yet he kept standing out there and kept staring, and after five more minutes, what he'd been waiting for finally happened. A couple stumbled away from the revolving door, laughing loudly. He didn't recognize the woman at all, which wasn't a surprise, but of course he recognized the other person. The face was as familiar to him as his own – mainly because it was a carbon copy.
His twin brother, Landon Edenhoff, leaned down to wrap both arms around the woman and lift her off the ground. She laughed and squealed, playfully hitting him in the chest. She was laying the excitement on a little thick, trying too hard to convince Landon she was enjoying everything. But Liam was pretty sure his brother had paid her a lot to act like she was enjoying herself, so he supposed it didn't matter.
No, all that mattered was his brother and the prostitute were now out of his apartment, meaning Liam could finally go become the couch potato he'd always been meant to be.
When the happy couple had finally turned a corner, he made his move. He hurried down the sidewalk and was almost through the door when a voice stopped him.
“Edelwiesernanner!”
Liam inwardly groaned.
Just go inside. Act like you didn't hear. You don't owe anything to her. She made her choice.
But, of course, he turned around and smiled.
“Hey, Angel Cake, what's up?” he called out.
Katya Tocci was skipping down the street towards him. Behind her, he could see two other girls – Tori almost on her knees, looking halfway to passed out, with her arm around the other girl's shoulders. He didn't recognize their friend, her head was tilted down and she was struggling with Tori's weight.
“Hey!” Katya replied, laughing as she almost fell into him. Her cheeks were bright and rosy, her smile big. He squinted his eyes.
“Have you guys been getting silly without me?” he teased.
“Maybe a little. We were celebrating your generosity,” she explained, and he remembered that he'd promoted Tori a couple days ago.
“That's good, I hope you stopped by the club.”
“No, she hit the wall before we could make it,” Katya explained, gesturing back to her friends. Both the women were now on their knees, the strange dark haired girl clearly
losing the battle to hold Tori up.
“She gonna be okay? Need help getting her upstairs?” he asked.
“That's the thing – we can't find her keys,” Katya started laughing.
“Oh god.”
“C'mooooon, pal! Buddy! Three drunk girls are throwing themselves at your mercy. Isn't that, like, your ultimate fantasy?” she asked.
Liam knew he purposefully cultivated a certain image for himself, but he also liked to think Katya knew him better – that she saw more than just what he showed everyone else. Knew he wasn't just some carousing poon-hound. But then she said stuff like that, and he worried no one really knew him.
“Only if it ends with those three girls being naked,” he finally replied. She started to open her mouth, but he quickly cut her off. “Naked with me.”
“Oh, then yeah, no, not that kind of fantasy. Anyway, can she sleep it off at your place? Please?” Katya begged.
“Why can't she come to yours?”
“Uh, because I live forever away. Because we're already here. Because have you met Wulf?” she asked, then burped loudly. He laughed as she slapped her hands over her mouth.
“Alright, alright, crazy girl, let's bring the drunky upstairs,” he sighed.
“Yay! You're the best, Edenfoofer,” she squealed, hugging close to his side as he lead the way back towards the other women.
Tori was sitting on the ground, leaning back against the building, her legs outstretched in front of her. He was pretty sure she was lightly snoring. The other girl was finally climbing to her feet, and he actually gasped in shock when she shoved her hair away from her face.
“I couldn't hold her, I'm sorry,” she sighed.
He couldn't do anything but stare for a moment. Quiet, taciturn, prim-and-proper Ayumi Nakada was standing in front of him. Liam had never seen her outside of his club or Wulf's presence. He'd never really thought of her as existing in real life.
But there she was, in a sexy outfit, wearing night time makeup and hanging out with Katya Tocci and Tori Bellows.
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