Café Lov

by Samantha Lau

  As promised, Tatsuya drove him to his café. They arrived ten past eight, and the place was already opened. Vanya surmised either Tom or his sister had done the honors that day. He also guessed, for he’d not yet checked, that he would have either a few lost calls or texts from his sister, for he usually wasn’t late. All the same, he took the time to lean over and kiss Tatsuya’s lips one last time.

  “Thanks for the ride. See you tonight?”

  Tatsuya nodded, once more waiting until Vanya was inside to drive off.

  Vanya would not live down being late that morning.

  7

  Upon reaching his workplace, Tatsuya found his boss had once again called for him. Once more he rode the elevator to the man’s office, and once more he introduced himself and headed for his office, dreading what the man might want now.

  “There you are, Tobe–san,” Higa called as he looked briefly over his shoulder. That morning he was enjoying a game of virtual golf, the field vivid on the screen that was usually hidden behind cabinet doors, the little golfing area awaiting the user’s play to send the information to the game.

  “It’s been two weeks.” He lifted the golf club, hit the ball. It was stuck in place so it went nowhere in the real world, but it registered the strength and its virtual counterpart soared through the skies. “We’re starting demolition tomorrow and your time is running out. What do you have for me?”

  “I’m working on it, Shacho–sama.” Tatsuya said, trying not to look as nervous as he suddenly felt. Higa had always made him uneasy, but he had not been this nervous about talking to his boss since he’d first been introduced to the man.

  “Stop puttering about, Tobe–san, we need that building.”

  “I understand, sir, but Orlov–san refuses to sell and–”

  “And?” Higa asked impatiently, turning fully to him, resting his hands on the golf club.

  “And is there no way at all to move our build?” he inquired as politely as he could manage. “I’m certain Shacho–sama could–”

  “We are not moving the build. What a ridiculous idea!” Higa glared. “I want you to get me that contract. I want that coffee shop destroyed by the end of the month, Tobe, and if it’s not, then I’ll have you destroyed. Do you understand me?”

  Tatsuya pursed his lips, but bowed deeply. “Yes, Shacho–sama.”

  “Get out, then!” Higa turned away from him, and Tatsuya took his leave without more.

  Destroyed.

  Tatsuya’s hands opened and closed nervously the entire ride down to his office.

  I’ll have you destroyed.

  Tatsuya knew well that his boss meant with that. He didn’t just mean to fire him. He would literally ruin his entire career. He was quite capable of mudding a name enough that no one would want to hire you even as the lowest of the low. Not here, and not in Japan. He’d seen it happen once, when he’d only been a year under Higa. It’d been frightening. The man whose life had been destroyed had ended up committing suicide. Tatsuya definitely didn’t want to end up in that same position... But he also couldn’t betray Vanya. Damn it. For the last week it’d been so easy to forget he was seeing Vanya to try and coax a sale, and so easy to think he was doing it out of real interest. And the problem was that: there was real interest. Ivan had turned out to be this fun, energetic, absolutely lovable man and Tatsuya could not bear the thought of forcing him to sell. When had interest turned into something else?

  Tatsuya cursed his own weakness. He knew better than to get so involved.

  He passed his secretary like a storm, telling her to hold all calls and not to interrupt him. He paced a hole in his office trying to figure out what to do now. The thought of breaking up with Vanya somehow made his chest feel tight, made him feel a hole in his stomach. The thought of telling him the truth filled him with as much dread as the idea of failing his boss did. Ivan would just not understand. His boss would simply not give up.

  Tatsuya rubbed his palms to his face. No matter which scenario he played in his head, the outcome was never good. At best, he’d lose either Vanya or his job. At worst, he’d lose both. The ‘best’ scenario was definitely not perfect either. Ideally, he would lose neither Vanya nor work. How to get away with it? How to avoid losing his life and his heart both?

  8

  “I’m sorry, something has come up at work, I just can’t make it tonight. Can we meet tomorrow morning?”

  That was what Tatsuya had said over the phone at lunch time, but Vanya wasn’t so sure. The man sounded tense. Not tense in the I–just–slept–with–you–and–want–nothing–more–of–you dismissive way, but tense in a the–sky–is–falling kind of way. Tense like someone–is–holding–a–gun–to–my–head–please–send–help. It made Vanya nervous. Tatsuya had gone from annoying to likeable to a man he could definitely fall in love with, and quite possibly had. He’d forced his way into his life and then conquered his heart. And now something was wrong with the man he liked –loved, even–, and he had no idea what to do to help out.

  He supposed the first thing to do would be to find out just what was stressing him, and he couldn’t do that without talking to him. Thus, he decided, the first thing to do would actually be going to see him.

  That had been his thought as he sent his workers home and prepared to close up, but one of those fancy company cars had pulled up at the café just as he was about to turn off the lights. Thinking perhaps it would be Tatsuya, he lingered, but the short stout man that exited the car, although Japanese, was definitely not his lover.

  The man gave a look at the façade of Café Lov, then walked in like he owned the place.

  “Sorry. We’re closed,” Vanya called.

  “Ivan Orlov?” the man inquired, giving him an up–and–down look that made Vanya shiver, and not in a good way.

  “The one and only,” he forced a polite smile. “Can I help you?”

  “Higa Kenji,” the man automatically held out a business card.

  Vanya took it, eyeing it, noting the company and title, then looking back at the man. This had to be one of Tatsuya’s bosses. Why was he here? Had he perhaps found of his relationship with Tatsuya and disapproved? Could it be that was what had stressed his boyfriend?

  “What can I do for you?” he asked again.

  “You could sell, for a start,” Higa said, looking around at the place with a clear air of disgust.

  Predictably, Vanya glared. That was the quickest way the man could have chosen to get Ivan to dislike him.

  “I’m not selling.” He stated.

  “Yes, yes.” Higa said distractedly, “So has Tobe–san so... eloquently informed me.” He looked back at Vanya with eyes full of disgust. It was clear he disliked the little café.

  “I think I’d appreciate you leaving now, sir.” Vanya said, slowly backing up some to the counter again. Closer to the landline.

  “Oh, but I’ve only just arrived,” Higa said. “And we do have plenty to discuss. You understand I’m sure, I can’t have a nice modern building with this,” he waved his hand around at the shop “In the middle.”

  “That’s not my problem,” Vanya said, raising a brow. “I told your people from day one that I wouldn’t sell. I’m not the one who decided to go ahead and buy everything around my shop.”

  Higa snorted. “You have... ” he said, and paused in search for the word.

  “Balls?” Vanya suggested. It didn’t really look like this guy was often told ‘no’... to his face, anyway.

  The man raised a brow. “Crude, but effective.”

  “If you won’t leave, I’ll be forced to call the police.”

  “There is no need,” Higa said “As I said, I only wish to talk. How’s your shoulder, by the way?” The question was casual, but had a specific purpose.

  Vanya found himself slightly rattled by it, old doubts coming back.

  “It’s fine,” he said. He lifted the handset to visible height, ready to dial the police. “Now please leave.”

  �
��You’re one rude boy,” the man stated, still not seeming like he’d go anywhere. “It’s no wonder you got shot. It’d be a shame if it happened again, wouldn’t it? This is still such a dangerous neighborhood. You’d really do well to accept our offer and move somewhere safer.”

  Vanya’s eyes widened. He started dialing without another word.

  “By the way,” Higa said, this time indeed backing up to the door, making it look casual enough to make anyone wonder if it’d not really been his choice instead of the unspoken threat of the call, “I don’t think I will need Tobe–san to convince you anymore. I’ve asked him to stop seeing you; after all, he has no need to coax you into selling now. You’ll realize on your own what a mistake it can be not to sell when we made our first offer.”

  Vanya’s grip on the phone weakened, and he nearly dropped it. He stared at the man’s back as he exited the café with a call of “We’ll meet again soon, Orlov–san.”

  His heart was racing, but Vanya still waited until the man was out of sight to leave. He hung up the phone, turned off the lights, and hurried out. He made it to Tatsuya’s apartment in record time and rang his floor. Tatsuya must have seen him through a surveillance camera, for he buzzed him in without asking who it was.

  As soon as the door opened, Vanya pushed Tatsuya hard inside the apartment, slamming the door closed. He ignored the look of surprise in Tatsuya’s face, and advanced on him only to push him once again. He fought even harder to do so when this time, prepared, Tatsuya grasped his arms and frowned.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “What’s wrong?!” Vanya demanded “You! You liar! You traitor!”

  Tatsuya let go when Vanya stopped trying to push him, but he still backed away as if every accusation had been a blow.

  “Some guy paid me a visit,” Vanya hissed, lifting the card Higa had left him. He could tell Tatsuya knew him by the way his eyes widened and his lips parted. “Pretty sure you know him,” he said before the other could speak, throwing the card at him. Tatsuya let it fall. “You know, seeing as he told me you were just fucking me to get me to sell.”

  Vanya glared at him, waiting, hoping, that Tatsuya would deny it.

  ... And he didn’t. Tatsuya looked... hurt, but accepting. Vanya might have not believed his denial, but in a way he had still hoped Tatsuya to tell him he was wrong. He wanted to be wrong. He was praying the man had just been trying to get him to fight with Tatsuya, just trying to ruin what they had, as some sort of messed up get–back for not selling. To have his quiet admittance was somehow worse.

  “You don’t deny it?” Vanya asked, frown deepening. “You– you’re just going to stand there and say nothing?!”

  “No,” Tatsuya finally said. “No. I’m going to stand here and tell you the truth.”

  Vanya crossed his arms over his chest. “Well?”

  “I was. I was seeing you with the intent of coaxing you to sell–”

  Vanya took a deeper breath, uncrossed his arms and turned to leave. He suddenly didn’t want to hear it.

  Tatsuya hurriedly reached for him, grasping at his arm. Vanya felt the firm grip, hesitating on fighting it, but finally turning back to Tatsuya.

  “I was doing it, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask. I wasn’t going to ask you to sell.” Tatsuya said, brows furrowing in worry. “I know you have no reason to believe me, Ivan, but it’s the truth. I just... At some point I started liking you and I kept seeing you because of that, and not because I wanted you to sell.”

  Vanya pulled his arm away this time, shaking his head. “How could you even think of doing that to someone? How could you do that to me?”

  “Vanya, I’ve worked over 10 years for them, and that bastard was threatening to ruin my entire career if I didn’t get the sale.” Tatsuya said. He was going to continue, but Vanya pushed him again.

  “I don’t care!” he said “You were willing to use me! Who do you think you are?”

  “I didn’t know you then!” Tatsuya called, and Vanya thought he heard a bit of desperation in his tone, but it was too late.

  He headed for the door again.

  “Don’t come back by my shop, do you understand?”

  And with that, Vanya left.

  ***

  Tatsuya was lost. He paced around the room restlessly, mind racing with thoughts. When he’d cancelled his date with Ivan that morning he’d hoped to stall, to have enough time to think things through. He’d already decided that, while he might make a few more inquiries as to why he wouldn’t sell, they were only out of curiosity for his unbreakable decision, and he would not have pushed him to sell his café after all. He’d made up his mind to be upfront about everything, to tell Vanya how he’d had other motives at first for seeing him but fallen for him. He’d just hoped to use this time to find the right words to tell him without causing precisely this... and he’d hoped he’d have time to find a workaround to not losing his job too.

  He’d hoped and hoped and wished, but now all that was for nothing.

  Tatsuya picked up the card his boss had left, the card Vanya had tossed at him, and plopped down on the nearest chair. He still had two weeks left, why had Higa felt the need to ruin it? Moreover, why had Higa gone personally to see Ivan? Higa was the head of the company but there was still a board behind him, and if they decided on something by majority, he would have to comply. Could it be he was seen as competition? Tatsuya had been approached the past few months by a few of those board members, but he’d not thought much of it. Perhaps Higa had? Perhaps he knew more than he let on? Was this it? Did he just want to ruin his entire life, relationship, career...?

  The card crumpled in his fist as he closed it tight, then he tossed the paper aside again and reached for his phone. He dialed Vanya’s number, and then he dialed it again and again. The first few times the call was refused, the last, it went straight to voicemail. Tatsuya stopped trying. He considered going after him, but thought better of it. He would give Ivan time to cool off. He would go back to work in the morning and see his boss. And then, with all the information, he would return to Vanya and beg his forgiveness, because he couldn’t just let him go without trying. Ivan was the best thing that had happened to him in a very long time.

  The night held no comfort for Tatsuya, who ended up tossing, turning, and finally getting up to pace some more. He found no sleep and the hours dragged on and on. He showered, dressed, and when the time was right at last, headed into work.

  He was still as decided as before to face Higa as he crossed the doors of the lobby. Two security men were waiting, and they approached him slowly.

  “Sir.”

  Tatsuya showed them the company’s ID badge.

  “Sir,” one repeated, and held his hands up to stop his advance “I’m afraid you can’t come in.”

  Raising a brow, Tatsuya asked “What’s going on here?”

  “Tatsuya Tobe, you are no longer welcomed in this building. We’ve been instructed to relieve you of your badge. Your personal belongings will be delivered to your home, from now on–”

  “This is preposterous!”

  “Please turn in your badge,” the other man said, holding out a hand. They were watching him a little more warily now. This was the point most people lost their heads at, Tatsuya supposed.

  He pursed his lips, looked from one to the other, then slowly handed his badge back.

  Politely, he requested, “I need to see Higa–Shacho, please call him.”

  “I’m afraid Higa–sama is not available right now,” the first guard said.

  They were approaching him again, this time crowding him towards the exit. Tatsuya held his ground. “I have a right to at least know why I’m being fired for, don’t I?” he demanded, trying to keep a cool head. “If not Higa-Shacho then I will speak with one of the board members.”

  “Please sir, leave the building. Your things will be delivered to you.”

  Tatsuya might have given up. He might have left the building, had not backing up towards t
he door given him a better look of a side corridor. There, Higa stood guarded by two other guards and with his personal secretary trailing along, watching, smiling. It was the smile that finally made Tatsuya snap. The bastard had just ruined his life, fired him, come down to watch him be kicked out, and he was now smiling about it.

  The rational part of Tatsuya’s mind, deep buried under the surging anger, told him a scene was exactly what Higa wanted to see. But it was too late. It was like his body was moving itself when he pushed on the first guard and tried to run in towards Higa. He wanted to get to his ex-boss. He wanted to shake him up, to punch his face in, and to demand to know why he’d done this. Why he’d decided to ruin everything. Why he’d sabotaged his job and destroyed his relationship and was now being further punished by being fired. He wanted to know. He wanted answers, and he wanted revenge.

  Under normal circumstances, he would have known this was stupid and futile, he would have known that the best thing to do was retreat and live to fight another day; but these weren’t normal circumstances. He had his doubts that Vanya would take him back at all, and if he didn’t have Ivan and didn’t have his work, what did he have?

  He was tackled, of course.

  The whole thing was a blur to Tatsuya. He thought he’d yelled out a demand and thought Higa had made some remark towards his attitude that only made his anger turn to outright rage, but that was about the time something hard connected to his head, and then he wasn’t thinking anymore.

  When he’d come to he found himself in jail. Not surprising, he thought, mind a bit foggy and face hurting. He had to wait a good couple of hours before he was allowed to call his lawyer, but after that the man came to bail him out. It seemed that, at the very least, Higa had decided not to present charges. He probably didn’t think it worth it, though Tatsuya was fairly sure the man would have enjoyed seeing him go to prison for a while. He was warned off returning to his previous workplace and left to return home.