“The way that you are thinking has rubbed off on me. I look at things differently than I did before. Guys like you were a dime a dozen, but you were that hidden gem that I had to uncover. I think in some small way that you were hiding from your feelings. Rejection is never easy and you never let anybody close enough to break your heart. I’m glad that you were willing to open up to me. It wasn’t easy and it was like pulling teeth.” I opened the door and Michael was standing there with a tray and a smile on his face. It appeared that their business trip had been cut short and he decided to stop in on his newest acquisition.
“My father is downstairs and he will be up here shortly. I know that this is shorter notice that I had given you previously, but I can’t help that. I can only hope that you have come to your senses. Fall in line and you’ll be fed like fat pigs. Don’t and you’ll find yourself under litigation for breach of contract.” It was obvious that Michael had been sent ahead to smooth the troubled waters.
I was about to say something, but August interjected before I could get a word out. I was about to tell him that we were willing to work with him under certain conditions. It was his smug attitude that made me want to wipe that look off of his face.
“I think that it might be a little premature for us to talk about these things without your father present. I see that you brought us breakfast. We are famished and we appreciate the way that you have bent over backward to please us.” August was playing the game, but I could see the suspicion in Michael’s eyes like he was afraid that he was not seeing something that he should.
“Why is it that I get this feeling in the pit of my stomach? You are being way too kind and I expected more resistance than this. Tell me what has changed from the time that I saw you the other day to now. You must feel pretty damn cocky to stand in front of me not shaking in your boots. I don’t like being blindsided. My father’s not going to be very happy and you really don’t want to see his bad side.” August looked at Michael and didn’t give him the courtesy of saying anything more.
“I would say that you have gone above and beyond. This all looks very delicious. If I don’t miss my guess, I believe that you got this from the place across the street. I can never remember its name, but the owner is very rigid and his wife caters to those that enter.” Michael was fuming and August was enjoying playing with that Damocles sword over his head.
“I don’t like being ignored. I hope that you don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Trust me; my father is not one to be made a fool of.” Michael was pacing, wringing his hands and looking like a bit of the bluster had been blown out of him.
“You’re right, August and everything looks absolutely sumptuous.” I sat down and we both talked to each other leaving him out of the conversation altogether.
“I do like the way that they treat us. I’m not sure that I enjoy the way that they think that they have the upper hand. It’s interesting about what happens when you push an animal too far. They don’t just sit in the corner and lick their wounds. They find a way to fight back and use whatever is at their disposal to give their enemy something to think about. You would think that somebody with that kind of business acumen would know that there are several ways to skin a cat.” He was alluding to the information that we had that was going to change everything.
“I don’t know what you’re getting at. Stop this before it goes any further. I’m pleading with you not to get into this with my father.” It was too late for that and Michael was now backpedaling like his life depended on it.
“That is more than enough groveling, Michael.” We were under the impression that his father didn’t speak English, but that was just another one of his lies. “Let these people eat their breakfast in peace. We can always discuss business afterward. It’s not like they’re going anywhere.” He had this self-important attitude that really did grate on my last nerve.
He grabbed a chair from nearby and sat down wit
h a smirk on his face. He was looking back and forth between me and August. It was a very uncomfortable silence. He was waiting for us to say something.
We continued to talk about the weather or anything else that came to mind. It was our way of sticking it to him. It was a dangerous game and could easily blow up in our faces. I could see that Michael’s father was a time bomb ready to go off.
“I have to give my compliments to the chef. I think that we will be making that place a regular haunt for some time to come. That is if we can get past this pesky business of you wanting things your way. Your son was very forthright, but I believe that the words that he spoke come from you. He was just a puppet and you didn’t want to dirty your hands with this kind of business. I’m sure that you weren’t very happy when he came back and told you of the way that we reacted.” The plates were pushed aside and now they were both facing off like adversaries.
“I will not allow you to talk to my…” Michael was cut off by a hand gesture that had him cowering and bowing his head in servitude to his father.
“I don’t know why we are arguing about this. You either do what we say, or all of this will disappear and you can expect a battle that will stretch years in court. We take breach of contract very seriously in my culture.” He was laying down the law like he was the sheriff and we were lonely peasants.
“I have something to show you. It gives me great pleasure to do so.” He retrieved the portion of the contract that was going to leave him speechless and stunned. “If you would look at section five, paragraph seven, I think that you’ll find that everything is in order. This contract supersedes the one that I signed to come here to work. You really should know your enemy before you go casting stones at glass houses.” His facial expression changed from mild amusement to outright contempt.
“I see that we have come to an impasse. How do you suppose that we get past this? I’m open to ideas, but don’t think that you have me where you want me. I could easily just rip up the contract. I don’t want to and that is going to be my last resort.” Michael’s father was dressed impeccably with not a hair out of place. His fingers were manicured and I had no doubt that the rest of his body was summarily taken care of.
“You think that it’s a threat that you can tear up the contract but it’s not. You came to us and not the other way around. With that being said, you and your son have not even mentioned my partner’s name. That stops now. I don’t care how you feel about women in general and I won’t have you treating her like she’s nothing. I have more than enough money. Losing this contract would be unfortunate, but not life changing” It was time that I said something or they would just continue to use me as a doormat.
“August isn’t the only one in this room that has something to say. You can either agree to our terms to get the best from us or you can turn your attention to somebody else that you can have your thumb on. The one thing that I do know is that you will never have a design for a building that will have people in awe of the Nakamura enterprise. We’ve already proven ourselves time and time again. One client, in particular, is the measuring stick that you should be using.” I felt his glaring eyes, but I stood strong and did not cower like his son did.
“I know that things are changing. I won’t be conducting day to day business with you. That role will fall on my son. I will instruct him to make every allowance. I won’t dignify what you say with a response. As long as you both stay out of my way then maybe we can work together. I do find myself curious to find out what you will come up with. I doubt that I’m going to like it and that’s just a risk that the three of us are going to have to take.” He got up with a refined gesture and then he stepped towards the front door like he was still the master of all things.
“I almost forgot to mention an old friend of yours that wanted to say hello. Tanner Young is a name that I know that you know all too well. He was very talkative about certain things. If they were to come to light then I don’t think that I have to tell you what would happen.” August had found out that there was a skeleton in the Nakamura closet. Tanner only alluded to something that would be a black eye to the Nakamura image. He didn’t say anything concrete, but the only thing that August needed was something to keep these people from breaking their word.
Michael’s father turned swiftly and he pointed at the both of us like he was chastising a little child after he had broken something of great value to his family. “Well played. I won’t forget about this. I’m just glad that I don’t have to see either one of you ever again. Any conversation will go through my son first. I might have underestimated you and I don’t think that I’ll be doing that again. You can tell Tanner from me that I won’t be causing any more problems. That’s not to say that I will automatically agree with any design that you come up with.” He walked out with Michael standing there not believing what he was seeing with his own eyes.
“I don’t know what that was about, but you actually scared him. Let me shake your hand. I’ve been trying to get his respect all of my life. I’m sorry that I gave you a hard time. I was just following orders like a good soldier. You don’t know how much I want this to work out. Working with the both of you is going to be my pleasure. Anybody that can take my father down a peg is OK in my books.” He bowed politely and then followed his father like a dutiful son.
“You know that bluffing at cards only leads to trouble. We don’t know anything about that skeleton in his closet. It’s a good thing that he thinks that we do. I think that we have a reason to celebrate. We’re going to have a good time tonight. You said all of that with a straight face. I’m not sure that I should be impressed or scared that you can lie through your teeth so easily.” I did enjoy the way that they had no choice but acknowledge my existence. I could see that it was easier for Michael than it was for his father. That was a man that had a certain way about him. He was used to using intimidation tactics like fine print in a contract.
“I’ve never been so turned on in my life. That was great, but what fueled my sexual appetite, even more, was putting that old man in his place. There was a crack in his stoic façade that I couldn’t stop smiling about.” He lifted me from the chair and placed my ample posterior on the table. He sat down and placed his head in my lap with my fingers moving through his short hair.
“It was interesting to see that switch turn on and off. This is not going to be easy, but in life, anything that is worth doing is worth doing the right way. I can only speak for myself, but I have this hunger that needs to be fed. Breakfast was good, but I’m sure that there is something that you can give me to wet my appetite.” I was alluding to the long and packed sausage in his pants. “We don’t have to be to work until tomorrow. We have all day and I think that we can make good use of that time in a constructive way.” He raised his head and lifted me once again into his arms.
“I think that you are a dirty girl in need of a good scrubbing. Let’s go see what we can do about using that sunken tub.” I had a feeling that there was going to be water everywhere.
I found out later that I was pregnant with his child. I was going to keep that to myself until there was a more advantageous time to spring this on him. We had spoken about children in the past and I knew that he wanted a big family. That was one thing that we had in common amongst others.