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  Jack picked up his guitar case and walked out.

  Chapter 7. Hannah

  “So you had a good time with Tamaki?”

  I knew Dad wanted something when he knocked on my door holding a massive coffee. Real latte. It hadn't taken me long to realise that even though this hotel was swish as, they did NOT have decent coffee. Some muddy swill with little plastic containers of fake milk did not count for coffee.

  “Do they realise that this brings down the tone of the whole place,” I'd said the day before when we had breakfast.

  “This is not a country that values coffee,” Dad had replied.

  He'd obviously gone out and found a proper coffee shop. I appreciated the gesture. This is why my father is so good at business, I thought. He knows how to find people's weak spots. I didn’t want him to find my weak spot though. I opened the door and took the coffee container from his hands then pushed the door shut but he was too fast for me and put his foot in the doorway before I could get the door closed.

  “Come on, Hannah. No need to be snarky. I just want to talk to you.”

  “I'm not talking. I know you want something and you are trying to butter me up. And lately, when you've wanted something, it's meant no good for me.”

  “I have donuts. They are fresh from the oven.”

  I opened the door. The smell of the freshly cooked donuts wafted in, a trail of sweet, yeasty goodness heading straight for my nose. It entered my body and wrapped itself around my willpower, crushing it like a python crushes a mouse.

  “Okay. You can talk but it doesn't mean I'm going to listen. I will eat donuts though.”

  Dad walked in and stood in front of the window.

  “I think you got a better room than me. Your view is fantastic. I reckon on a clear you could see Mount Fuji.” Dad shook his head, distracted for a moment like he was trying to see the outline of the mountain through the haze in the air. “Amazing mountain, that. It's so symmetrical. We should go out there one day while you are here.”

  “Where are the donuts?”

  I put out my hand.

  “You didn't answer. How was the date with Tamaki?” Dad took a donut then handed me the bag.

  “It was okay. Was it a date? I thought we were just hanging out. Is he gay?”

  “Not that I know of.” Dad shrugged. “But does that matter? It's not like you'd have to get jiggy with him.”

  “Get jiggy with him? What era are we living in?” I rolled my eyes.

  Dad laughed then cleared his throat and sat forward. This was it. This was the hard sell. I should've remembered that technique too, that he says something goofy and disarming before he launches in. I think it's meant to make you feel a bit superior to him and get your defenses down. I noticed though that even with him working it, he twirled the ring on his left hand. That was his tell, he was nervous. And the fact that Dad was nervous about asking me something, made me nervous.

  I sipped my coffee. For some reason, the words of the song Jack Colt had been working on when we were at the beach house echoed through my head. Lyrics about how love will redeem you. It was only a week ago that I'd been there with him, thinking that love would indeed redeem us. But there was no redemption with him, just betrayal. I was wondering if I'd get the same thing from Dad. Lately, I didn't know who I could trust.

  “Just spend some time with Tamaki. He's a great guy.”

  “Yeah, you said.”

  I set my mouth in a way that showed I had no intention of trying to get to know anyone at my father's request. Was I in a Jane Austen novel? I could date who I wanted and I did think Tamaki was a great guy but I wasn't even going to ask Dad why he was asking me to do this. I took a bite from my donut while I considered what I wanted to do. I needed a delaying tactic. Then I remembered the message I'd sent to Angie. I grabbed my phone and checked for a reply.

  “You should be careful about using your phone,” Dad said.

  “Huh?”

  “International roaming charges. They are a killer. You can rack up hundreds of dollars without even realising it.”

  I looked at the bags of clothes sitting in the corner. Dad had literally spent thousands of dollars without blinking an eye and yet he worried about data roaming charges?

  “Clothes are an investment, Hannah. You can't get people to take you seriously if you look like a bum. But it's just a waste to spend money texting your friends.”

  I ignored him and checked the message.

  “Is he hot?” is what Angie had replied.

  What Angie had NOT mentioned was Jack Colt. Did he miss me? He hadn't messaged me at all.

  “Think about it, Han. If you married him, you'd be rich. You'd be able to finish your degree. Get a start in business. You'd never have to worry about money again. No running around with sleazy rock stars.”

  “Hey, they are my friends.” My voice had an edge. No one was going to call my rock stars sleazy. Well, except for Spud. They could call him sleazy all they liked.

  “Whatever.”

  “What was the deal with that anyway? You left me with the management company, for what reason?”

  “Funny story that.” Dad laughed but he kept looking out the window, searching for the elusive mountain, instead of looking at me and he still kept twisting that ring.

  “Yeah, hilarious. Really, Dad, what did you think would happen?”

  Other people had normal families. Families where their father didn't think dumping them in the middle of a scandal with no money was a good joke. I wondered how I'd ended up with the crazy father. Sometimes Angie told me about her crazy family but it was warm and caring crazy. I envied her.

  “Well, I was intending to sign over more assets into your name but it all happened so quickly. One minute everything was fine, the next it all came crashing down. I'm still in a lot of debt, Han. I'll probably never do business back home unless I get this sorted soon. It's no laughing matter. Anyway, I thought Frank would look after you. Why weren't you living with him? And, Han, you are stronger than anyone. I knew you'd survive.”

  “Maybe I don't want to be stronger than anyone. Maybe I want to be NOT strong. Did you ever think about that, Dad?”

  I didn't want to tell him that the thought of living with Frank creeped me out not a small bit. Sure he'd helped me out in the past but I always felt that chill on the back of my neck when I was alone with him.

  “Hey, you got on okay. It's probably been good for you. Character building. Anyway, it's not like there is nothing in this for you. You don't want to go back to that rat hole do you? With those crazy neighbours and the weird noises in the walls.”

  I screwed up my face. Sure, I'd been living in a rat hole but I didn't like anyone else saying that about the place. It wasn't that bad and it had its own kind of charm. A rough charm, really rough and… yeah, I had to admit, it was a rat hole.

  “And now you have a chance to end all that. It's not like I'm asking you do anything I wouldn't do myself.” Dad turned from the window and sat down on the sofa.

  “Well, do it yourself. Date Tamaki, since he's gay anyway.” The whole idea of dating Tamaki seemed wrong now that Dad was pushing it so hard. It made him seem like a secondhand car that they wanted to get off the lot. The whole situation had become sleazy and gross.

  “He's not gay. He's interested in you and Ichiro is definitely interested in seeing the two of you together.”

  “Why would he care about someone his son has hung out with ― not dated, hung out with? That's just creepy.” I took a bite of my donut. “And, to be honest, I thought he was a bit creepy too.”

  “He has a certain image he wants for a daughter-in-law and you fit it. It’d also ease things for him, as far as international business goes if say, for instance, you and Tamaki hit it off.”

  “What?” My donut feel on the floor.

  “Just give it a go. This could save us.”

  “Are you my pimp now? It's easy to say give it a go when you don't even have the possibility. You have
to start looking at other alternatives, Dad. It's not the only way out of this situation. We can survive. You could get a job, a regular job, and I can keep working too. We don't need to have fancy cars and all that stuff. We just need to get along.”

  “You think we don't need it all but you're forgetting there's a kind of protection that comes from being rich. If I go home now, I'll end up in jail. They'll put me on trial and I won't even be able to afford a lawyer to defend myself.”

  “What about Frank?”

  “Frank's a friend but do you think he's going to devote a major chunk of his time to defending someone for free? People don't work like that.”

  I stared out the window, at all the people rushing to work and scurrying about. The traffic below me had come to a halt and only the people moved. I watched them and wondered if anyone else had a life as fucked up as mine.

  Chapter 8. Hannah

  Dad wanted me to spend the day at Tamaki's office. He said I'd learn more about the company but I thought it was just a ploy. Why would I want to know about their company? Still, I couldn't think of a way to refuse without making it a big deal, so I agreed to go along. I'd get bored at the hotel by myself. I sure as hell didn’t want to spend any more of Dad’s money either.

  I waited in the foyer for Tamaki to come down and get me. As I waited, I wondered if they had a decent coffee shop in this office.

  I could tell the signs of a successful firm and the foyer was one of them. Of course, many businesses have a lush entry then a load of pokey offices behind the facade. All the windows rising up sky high from the foyer and thick carpet could mean nothing but display. The staff at reception and at the security doors wore crisp uniforms in a subtle olive green with white trim. That looked really classy, especially with those white gloves. It gave the impression of a luxury hotel.

  When I'd been directed to the couch to wait, I had picked up a magazine and leafed through it but I wasn't really interested in modern architecture. I was more interested in watching the staff coming and going through the doors. They looked well paid, that was for sure. Designer suits with clean lines and impressive footwear. Not many women working here that I could see though. Most of the female staff seemed to be on reception.

  The carpet absorbed the noise around me. The ringing of reception phones and the buzz of conversation faded into the background so that I didn't notice Tamaki until he stood beside me.

  “Ready for the company tour?” he asked.

  I nodded, pretty certain that it would be all PR fluff and nothing about the real side of the company at all. Still, he looked particularly hot in that suit. He was definitely a man who could wear a suit well. It gave him an aura of aloofness. I had to admit there was something alluring about the lean sleekness of Tamaki’s body.

  After what Dad had said though, I felt a bit ick about even looking at Tamaki.

  We entered the lift and Tamaki inserted a card then pressed a button for the top floor. We stepped out into another reception area. The girl sitting at the desk looked almost fake with her impeccable grooming. She smiled and nodded at Tamaki as he walked in, her gaze lingering on him a little too long. Oh yeah, she had designs on the boss's son. I bet she was checking the mirror every time she thought he was coming into the office.

  “Come through, Hannah. Do you want Sakurako to get you a drink?”

  I shook my head. With the looks she was giving me, I was sure she'd spit in it.

  Through the plate glass windows I could see the city below me, right out to the water. The sun sparkled off the water and the sky rose, blue and cloudless above it.

  “So, can you see Mount Fuji from here on a clear day?” I asked. It looked like a clear day but I still couldn’t see the mountain.

  He shook his head with a pout.

  “No, my father has the office with the Fuji-san view. I have the one with the bay.”

  “Bummer. So what do you actually do here?” I figured even the idiot son got a fancy office in their daddy's company. It didn't really mean anything. I wanted to find out if he had any real clout in the company. Not that I seriously cared or anything like that. I was just curious.

  “I'm in charge of the international division. For a long time, we have been developing our business in Japan but we need to expand and find new markets. Already, I've increased our market share by 50% in South East Asia. I can show you the reports, if you like.”

  I smiled and nodded my head. He thought I'd say no, I just knew it. But I'd read those damn reports.

  “I'll get Sakurako to print them off.”

  Then I asked him some really smart questions about the company to show that I wasn't an idiot and I really knew a lot about business.

  “I'll show you around, though really there's not much to see at HQ except people working diligently away at their desks. Then we can have lunch. Do you like Italian food?”

  “I'd prefer Japanese. I mean, if I'm going to be here, I might as well try the food. I can eat Italian food anywhere.”

  He took me around the office, starting at the executive floor.

  I had just been introduced to yet another employee who looked at me with unspoken questions on his face and shook hands but seemed puzzled about whether he should speak to me or not. The cubicles looked mostly soulless and bare. Few had personal touches like photos or knick-knacks. The occasional employee had some sports memorabilia on their desk or hanging from a shelf. One of the few female employees had a shelf covered with stuffed animals and toys. I privately thought that did little to enhance her credibility as a professional but I smiled all the same. I'd smiled so much, I was sure I had smile lines on my face.

  Before we could hit the IT department, Tamaki's phone rang.

  “You did what?” He hadn't raised his voice but the person on the other end of the line would surely get the message, like icicles being driven through his heart. That was one nasty, cold voice.

  The Tamaki standing in front of me seemed a world away from the fun-loving guy at the karaoke place. He had no fun in his face at all. He looked completely like the enemy of fun.

  He covered the phone. “Sorry, I'll just be a moment. I have to deal with this now.”

  I nodded. It would do me good to let my face rest for a moment.

  While I waited, I thought I should check my own phone. It looked like a whole backlog of messages had come through. I scanned through them. One from Eric from earlier saying his mother wanted me to go to Shin Okubo ― Korea town ― and buy snake venom face masks. They had to be snake venom. That didn't sound like it would be good for you but Eric Mama had great skin so she should know what she was talking about.

  Then another one. From Angie. Telling me to check my email. Urgent shit, it said.

  I flicked over to the web browser and read the email.

  Holy shit. This was big time. No wonder Angie had texted me. I noticed the ten or so other unread texts from Angie. I'd have to go home, immediately. There was no time for lolling around in Japan. Deep down, I felt a little relieved. It'd get me away from Dad, who could be very persuasive, even if he didn't talk sense.

  The tour people wanted to meet up ASAP. We couldn't hold them off much longer, not without a huge risk of losing the whole deal.

  My mind raced through the things I needed to do. First, book a flight home. It would take at least 16 hours, maybe more to get there. And ring the promotions company to organise a meeting for Friday afternoon. I could do that. I needed a power bitch suit. I had least two of those in the clothes Dad bought. And I needed some background on the whole thing. Angie could probably dig that up that and email it to me.

  I replied so that Angie would stop stressing then searched online for a flight.

  I walked out to the stairwell for some privacy and called the promotions company. Meeting arranged. Wow, ten minutes and I was on top of all this. Next, I needed to get back to the hotel and pack.

  I pressed the button for the lift. I pressed it again and again because everyone knows the more you pr
ess the button, the faster the lift gets there. Finally, it arrived and I squeezed my way in then realised it would stop on every floor. Sure, I had a few hours but it felt like every minute mattered.

  As I got to the foyer, my phone rang.

  “Hannah, where are you?”

  “I've got to go, Tamaki. Sorry, I…” I didn't want to say it but, in my excitement, I'd completely forgotten about him. This was far more important.

  “You are going back to the hotel?”

  “I'm going home. Something’s come up and I need to be there.”

  There was a pause on the other end of the phone. “Something personal? Nothing bad I hope.”

  “No, business. It's important.”

  “We are supposed to be having dinner tonight. That's important too.”

  This time the icy voice was directed at me.

  “Your father is very dependent on good relations with my father's firm. Maybe you should think about that.”

  His voice held a threat that made me shudder.

  Then, in an instant, his whole tone changed. It made me wonder if I'd just imagined the whole thing. I mean, this was Tamaki, crazy karaoke guy who'd done nothing but try to make me happy for the last few days.

  “I’d really, really appreciate it if you would wait until tomorrow to leave. I’m sure things aren’t that urgent.”

  He was a lot more reasonable than Dad was when I got back to the hotel. I’d hoped he wouldn’t be there but I had no such luck.

  “Hannah, you don't have to do this. The band isn't your problem anymore. You have an easy way to get back on top, why won't you just take it?”

  I paced around the hotel suite. I knew this wasn't going to be easy and, to be honest, I just wanted to pick up my bag and leave. I didn't want to have this conversation and I didn't have the time for it.

  “It's always about the easy way, isn't it? Maybe that's not what should matter. Maybe the important thing is making a commitment and sticking to it. Being reliable and following through. You always told me I had to be stronger than anyone, Dad. Well, that's what I'm doing. I'm being strong. Because being strong is the opposite of copping out and taking the easy path. There are a bunch of people who need me and they are the ones that were there for me when you dumped me in the shit, so don't even try to guilt me.”