She grimaced slightly, clearly not at all comfortable with the prospect. “Because I mean, I’ll try, but I’ve never done anything like that before. And in the interest of being as up front as possible, it will probably be a lot less sexy and a lot more awkward than you think. Just putting that out there so you don’t get your hopes up for a really hot good time. At least not with me.”
She had no idea, he realized then. No idea of the affect she had on him. Or how much effort it was taking for him to stay on this side of the desk while she sat on the other.
“No, I’m not interested in a threesome,” he answered, realizing in that moment he didn’t wish to share her. Even with another woman. At least not yet. There would probably come a time, as there had with Carina and others before her, when novelty would be required to sustain his interest. But right now he could feel himself pulsing in his pants. Wanting her, and only her.
Which spawned another question, “Do you have a boyfriend?”
Patent surprise once again flashed across her face. “Who me? No,” she answered. “Why would I be at Osaka Charm if I had a boyfriend? Wouldn’t that be… weird?”
He lifted his chin, once again struck by her seeming naiveté. “Not necessarily. At least not for some. But you should understand my rule is no boyfriends.”
“Yeah—I mean yes, I understand,” she quickly assured him. “And I have no problem with that rule because I totally don’t have a boyfriend.”
He should have left it at that. She’d been made aware of his rule and probably wouldn’t risk the money she’d be getting paid to disobey him. But jealousy flared inside his chest and he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “The baseball player…?”
“The baseball player,” she repeated.
“The one who fought over you at the club.”
“Oh! You mean Doug? Well, he may be a hot-head, but he definitely isn’t my boyfriend. No.”
He looked at her for a long time, liking her answer, but not liking how familiar she seemed with Tucker. They might not currently be in a relationship, but clearly she had some history with the baseball player that preceded that night at the club.
Of course she did. It wasn’t like she’d said this was her first time with a man. Rather, it was her first time interviewing for a long-term assignment.
Deciding to move on from the increasingly uncomfortable subject, he asked, “Do you understand the terms of this assignment?”
“Yeah…yes, I think so. No sex with anyone else for six months, be at your beck and call. Is that pretty much it?”
And how was it that yet another smile tugged at his lips? “Hai, that is pretty much it,” he answered.
She nodded. Then after a few moments, shifted as she seemed to realize…“Wait, so does this mean I got the job?”
His family, as famously proclaimed in all the company’s literature, was descended from samurais. As such, he usually had no difficulty maintaining the reserve expected of a man of his station, even while interviewing a series of nude young women. But sitting here across from this girl, he once again felt his lips twitch, and he could not keep the amusement out of his tone as he replied, “Hai, you have the job.”
Her eyes flared. “Seriously?”
“You seem surprised.”
“Yes, well, that’s because I am. I mean, I’m not exactly Miss Universe over here. Definitely not like those other women you interviewed or the Australian girl you were with the other night. I figured there would be some kind of test. Like a kiss or something, so you’d know if we had chemistry.”
He didn’t need a kiss to gauge whether they had chemistry. And iie, she wasn’t Miss Universe material, but in this case that meant nothing to him, nor did it take away from her attractiveness. Not when No could feel their chemistry pulsing between his legs at that very moment. Hard and insistent.
“A test. I can arrange this for you.”
The woman’s expression went from surprised to uncertain. “Wait, I didn’t mean—“
“Hai,” he said, cutting off her protests. “The door is closed, so you may kiss me now to prove we have chemistry.”
“What? Like, right now?” Her mouth opened. Closed.
No watched, amused, as several thoughts flashed across her face. Watched and waited. Patient as a hawk, until she finally grabbed a hold of the thin arms of the chair she was sitting in and pushed herself out of it.
Do not look, he’d told himself that night at the club. The night he’d felt magnetized by the sight of her on the dance floor below.
But now he allowed himself to look to his heart’s content as she came around the desk. He even swiveled his chair to face her when she came to a stop directly in front of him. Her body soft and naked beneath his gaze.
“Um, so I guess…”
She seemed to be waiting for some sort of encouragement. She received none. No simply watched, curious to see what she would do next.
His answer came when she bent down towards him, heavy breasts swaying. She placed both her hands next to his on his desk chair arms. Close, but not quite touching.
Her large brown eyes scanned his face. Looking for, but not receiving, any additional information from his neutral expression. But she was brave. Or desperate. Perhaps both? Because faster than expected, she leaned forward, tentatively pressing her lips to his. And then…
Fire. A blow torch aimed at ice. He was descended from samurais, hai, but this kiss…it melted him. Melted time and space. For eons on end, there were only her lips, her warmth, her softness…
And when he came to, he found she was completely in his lap. Her legs on either side of his, her heels tucked under her full thighs, her fingers curled around the lapels of his suit. In this seemingly contorted position, she somehow fit against him perfectly. Like a small, curvy puzzle piece connected to his long, lean frame.
She apparently felt the same. Despite the fabric barrier separating his groin from hers, he could feel her center burning hot against his rock hard erection. And as for his hands…
They had somehow found their way to her luscious bottom, and were now squeezing the soft flesh with minds of their own as she ground herself against him.
So innocent, yet…she had a way of kissing him in time to the roll of her hips, as if a sexy song was playing somewhere in the background providing a beat for her to follow…a source of rhythm. The word floated into his mind. Yes, she possessed an underlying sense of timing that set her apart from the other escorts he’d been with. Enraptured him, made him feel weak with need…
Rasping out a quiet “chigau”—the polite Japanese word for “no”— he forced himself to do the impossible: end the kiss, pulling his face away from hers.
She jerked back, as if coming out of a daze. “Oh, I…I guess I got carried away. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I’ll just…”
She seemed embarrassed by her behavior, as if she, too, was surprised by how the kiss had made her feel. She shifted in his lap, trying to move away.
But his hands remained firmly planted on her bottom. Keeping her in the chair with him. “Did Osaka Charm not inform you that you are not to leave until dismissed?”
Due to their height difference, even though she was crouched on her knees in his lap, they were eye to eye. So he had an up close view of her face as a faint expression of defiance flashed across it. He saw it and responded to it, his cock pulsing, even as she dipped her head away.
“Yes, they did mention that. I apologize. Um, I guess I’ll wait here until you tell me to go…?”
Indeed, that was exactly what she would do, No thought. Wait. Until he told her she could go. Because he was in charge here. In charge of her and of himself. He wasn’t weak.
Which meant he would let her go now. And he would not, he assured himself, do the opposite and tell her to continue kissing him. Tell her to take the hard thing out of his pants and…
Pushing the dangerous fantasy from his head, No said, “You have the job. We will not go any further until you
have been…prepared. Also, typically there is a second vetting process. But I think we can safely say I have answered your question about chemistry, hai?”
Answered it so well, it felt like a feat of the utmost strength when he finally forced himself to say, “You may go now…Ana.”
Chapter Six
So yeah, all previous questions about chemistry? Totally answered. Only to be followed up by a whole lot of awkwardness.
You may go now…Ana.
Lilli didn’t have to be dismissed twice. She scrambled off his lap. And ran, not walked, out of his office. Her crotch dripping wet and her legs wobbling.
She would have probably continued running…through the adjoining waiting room and beyond, had she not come face to face with Norio Nakamura’s friendly young assistant.
“Irashaimase, Ana-san!” Miyuki said cheerily as she held up an intricately stitched swing dress with a bold bird pattern.
“This one is better for you, hai?” the young woman continued with the composure of a plastic surgeon who’d seen it all as she pulled the dress over Lilli’s naked body. “So pretty! And maybe keep the shoes, dozo.”
There was no discussion of what had happened to the denim dress Lilli had worn to the appointment. Just, “We have car for you downstairs,” as Miyuki escorted her to the main door. And, “Mr. Nakamura will see you in few days maybe. Before maybe I come your flat and we prepare you. Okay?”
Uh, Okay…
Less than fifteen minutes and a lot of bowing later, Lilli’s hands twisted in her lap as a dark car ferried her out of the Kita ward, the buildings becoming shorter and less modern until they finally reached her apartment in the relatively dull Joto ward.
Oddly enough, her personal phone rang just as she was about to climb the four flights of metal stairs to Ana Granger’s shared apartment. She pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. It was her brother.
“Doug,” she said, her voice breathless as she began the trek up to the apartment.
“Where are you?”
“I’m just outside my place. On the staircase. Why?”
“You got the job,” Doug replied, as if that answered her question. He sounded just as grim as she felt.
“Yeah, it looks like I did,” she answered hesitantly.
“I got a call from our contact,” he said. “Look, I don’t know who this guy is, but he’s keeping his promise. He told me to come into the Hawk’s office and sign a one-year contract on Monday.”
Lilli breathed an audible sigh of relief, even as her heart constricted. It appeared Norio Nakamura really was going to take her on as his mistress. And he clearly had no idea just how far someone in his company would go to get more detailed info on him.
“Get hired as his next mistress and get as close as possible to him,” the voice had said when giving her the details of the assignment. “That is all we want for now.”
The last two words were the kicker. Lilli had to wonder what came after “for now.”
But for Doug’s sake, she kept her voice light. “Great! That’s great, Doug. I’m glad you got the contract extension you wanted.”
“Yeah, I’m so happy, sis, and I know I owe it all to you.”
Yes, he did. And he had no idea just how far she’d gone to help him keep the job he loved and desperately needed.
Still, she said, “It’s okay,” completely ignoring the voice in her head telling her no, it wasn’t okay. In fact no part of this situation was remotely okay. “Anything for you and Ruby,” she continued in her overly cheerful tone, trying to shut out the other voice.
There was a moment of silence, during which she could hear Doug’s breath catching. An uncomfortable hesitation before he said, “I’ve got some bad news. It looks like Ruby and me can’t have any contact with you during the next six months.”
Lilli stopped cold at the top of the stairs.
“What?” She said on a whisper. She couldn’t imagine going six days without talking to Doug or her niece, much less six months.
“Our contact thinks it’s for the best. Apparently this guy you’re working for is pretty paranoid. Somebody put out a hit on his family a few years ago. Turned out to be a couple of the family’s employees—some Koreans. So now the Nakamuras take zero chances when it comes to new hires, especially foreign ones. You know how racist the Japanese can be sometimes.”
Lilli could almost hear Doug, whose dead wife’s family never acknowledged Ruby or even their own daughter after she ran off with the black American baseball player, glaring bitterly at his past.
Then he said, “In fact our contact’s pretty sure he had guys go into your apartment and put it under surveillance while you were at your second interview.”
“What?!?! Seriously? Oh my God, Doug…”
“I know this is kind of crazy. I don’t even deserve you doing any of this for me. I fucked up so bad, and now you’re having to work for some crazy Japanese businessman. I’ve been trying to figure out how to get you out of this.”
And here it was again. The Jekyll-and-Hyde act she’d become all too familiar with. The entitled baseball player who’d screw up, showing no remorse whatsoever until after Lilli cleaned up his mess. Only then would he morph into the caring brother she so rarely saw these days. Grateful and apologetic instead of bitter and insistent that life owed him an apology.
But this was her bottom where doing for Doug was concerned. She was prostituting herself to save his job.
No, he didn’t know what she was doing. Would never have let her go through with this if he knew the full story. She believed that, had to believe it in order to look him in the eye at the end of this six month assignment.
But why the hell did she keep falling into this cycle with him? She couldn’t answer that question when she first moved to Japan, against her better judgement and knowing what a train wreck her brother could be.
And she couldn’t answer that question now. Instead of ruminating, she sighed and said, “It’s okay, Doug. Seriously. The job…it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.”
Lilli thought of the kiss, hot and scorching. The squeeze of the younger Mr. Nakamura’s hands on her naked bottom. Pulling her in, making her want more than she’d ever thought she could from this type of encounter.
“So the job’s not too bad?” Doug repeated, his voice boyish and hopeful.
“No, it’s okay,” she answered, giving him a partial truth because she couldn’t tell him everything. How she hadn’t needed to use one bit of acting to pretend with Norio Nakamura. How that single kiss had aroused her more than anything else she’d ever done with any other man.
“Good. That’s good,” Doug was saying. “But I’m going to make it up to you as soon as the six months is over. You, me, and Ruby…we’ll go somewhere nice. To Bali, okay?”
“Okay,” Lilli said with a small smile. “I’ve heard nice things about Indonesia.”
“It’s beautiful. Ruby’s mom used to love going on vacation there,” he assured her. “I can’t wait to take you. But until then…”
Her heart sank with the realization. This was goodbye. She wouldn’t talk to Doug or Ruby for another six months.
“No contact. I get it. I’ll see you in six months.”
“Stay strong, and I’ll see you in six months.”
A moment later he was gone, leaving Lilli at the top of the stairs with her old phone in her hand. One that was not nearly as nice as the new one she’d found in her purse.
She’d need to hide her personal phone, she decided. At least until her six months were up. But if Norio Nakamura really had her new apartment under surveillance, she couldn’t risk hiding it there. But she also didn’t want to get rid of the phone. It was her lifeline to her real life and her family. And she’d need it again after her six months with Mr. Nakamura were done.
Lilli looked around until she spotted the fake ficus tree on the second floor landing below. The perfect hiding place! Since it was fake, no one would bother with it. And it was just far
enough under the landing to stay dry in the rain.
A few minutes later, she’d buried the phone beneath the polyester soil at the bottom of the tree’s basket, and she made her way back up the stairs and into her apartment with only the new phone in her purse.
“Hulloo, Ana!” one of her roommates, Helen, called out as Lilli entered the apartment. Her blond hair, rosy cheeks, and posh British accent always put Lilli in mind of Mary Poppins. So much so that she half expected the young woman to burst into song while offering her a cup of tea.
“Hey!” Lilli called back as she removed her heels in the narrow alcove between the door and the living room.
“Very nice,” Katya, a Russian Osaka Charm girl, said as she looked admiringly at Lilli’s new shoes. She moved in for a closer look, coming to stand in the alcove’s inner doorway. “Are they from same client who gift us new TV?”
“What TV?” Lilli started to ask.
But then Katya stepped aside and Lilli’s eyes widened. In front of the beige couch, an 85-inch 4K Naka LED TV now stood where the ancient Daewoo flat screen used to be.
“So who’s this new client,” Helen demanded as Lilli gaped at the TV. “Tell! Tell!”
“I’m not allowed to say,” Lilli answered truthfully, recalling the several tablet screens of translated NDA paperwork Miyuki had made her sign before she left the office after the first interview.
“Oooh, a big deal then, is he?” Helen answered with a mischievous smile. “I bet it’s an executive at Nakamura Worldwide, right?”
“Seriously not allowed to say,” Lilli answered, her eyes sliding over to the new TV. She was deeply aware that this whole conversation could most likely not only be heard, but also seen thanks to that Trojan Horse of a gift.
“Ooh, you don’t have to say anything, dearie! I just know I’m right!” Helen insisted. “And you know they got one for your room, too. Only a 50-inch, but still heaps better than that old Daewoo, you lucky tart. I am so jelly!”
His Revenge Baby: 50 Loving States, Washington Page 4
