“You’re serious?”
Sakiko nodded. “He was crazy obsessed. We were sure that one day we’d get some phone call telling us something terrible had happened to him. Anyway, thank God he doesn’t do that anymore. I think he’d like that you ask him for info, though. All he does is work. It would help him loosen up a little.”
Savannah held her breath. Okay, she supposed she could try to ask.
* * *
It was nine forty-five. Hiroshi had just finished up with the accounts reports for last month and was pleased that Washington continued to do well. Profits were up from the month before by twenty percent. That was down to the brilliant marketing plan he’d devised with his team for the release of the new Bluetooth headphones. As a result, share prices had also risen nicely.
In comparison to the other Fujita Tech branches, he was once again exceeding. Sometimes that was all he cared about, just doing better than everyone else so he could show them what he was made of.
He closed the reports file on the computer and shut it down. Time to hang out with his friends, and more importantly take care of his cars. He’d had some new hubs delivered for the Honda and couldn’t wait to fix it up. He knew it would be worth its beauty when he sold it. He was also doing up the steering links on a Porsche for his friend, Sadu. He’d be coming by with the guys. Hiroshi hadn’t seen them in a while so it would be good to catch up.
He was in the study, the room they also used as a home office. He and Jake worked mostly from here when they were in Japan. Even though they both had an office each at the Tokyo branch, it was always nicer to work from here. More comfortable, and more relaxed. And, he didn’t have his father or uncle looking over his shoulder every minute to see what he was doing.
His father also used the study occasionally, because for some reason the signal was better on this side of the house. He did, however, have his own private office in the northern wing, in which no one was allowed.
Hiroshi tidied up the desk and neatened up the stack of folders that sat next to computer. Today he and Jake met with the team of architects and contractors at the old factory in Tokyo. The place looked absolutely dreadful and derelict, with rats running around in it, but the space was perfect for the training center. The architects showed him recent designs they’d completed, which were very impressive. They’d managed to capture the exact vision he’d had when he first envisaged the center and even added some cooler aspects to it. There was also enough land around it to extend. So that gave them more flexibility with design for the future.
It was definitely exciting doing all the planning for something that was actually his. It got him thinking that if everything went well, he’d be in Japan a lot more, and he would love to finally get his own place here. The only reason why he didn’t get it before was that he was never here long enough.
He enjoyed living in the U.S., and had a great penthouse in Washington, but he’d always seen Japan as home. Maybe because of his grandfather, who had decided to keep himself settled in Japan once he’d handed over the company to Hiroshi. When Hiroshi was here, he always felt closer to him.
Today he was thinking that he could probably, eventually, arrange something similar to what his father and cousins did. Live in Japan, and travel back to the States as needed. His father was based in Tokyo and only went to the U.S. for important events and meetings. His cousins, however, were based in L.A. and New York, and he knew for a fact that they both spent more time in Japan than they did there. As with everything else, they didn’t need approval. Like them, Hiroshi didn’t need to have so much presence in Washington for it to run as required. Aside from being well known, it was the same size as New York and L.A. The only exception was it had an additional research and development facility, which at the moment was developing the new operating system, and a new age anti-virus software called the Z-chip. The facility was essential to Washington and the organization as a whole but could run smoothly without him. He had an excellent team, which included Jake. Once Jake got back, Hiroshi could have even more reassurance that the company would be in capable hands. If everything worked out, getting his own place in Japan was definitely on his to-do list.
He sighed as he thought about his plans for tomorrow. It was Saturday, but he was going to be crazy busy. He had a teleconference with the chief finance officer and the accounts manager in Washington. He also had to arrange a meeting with a liaison from the Board of Education here in Tokyo to discuss the curriculum he had planned for the center. So far, he’d only put together a very basic one that had the core elements required for accreditation. A better one was definitely needed.
A slight movement at the door drew his attention away from stacking the pens in the holder. He lifted his head to see Savannah standing there. He straightened up immediately and gazed at her, surprised by her presence. Had she come to see him? Or was she lost again like the other night?
“Hi, I hope I didn’t disturb you,” she began, bringing her delicate fingers together as she entered the room.
“No, I’m just finishing up here,” he replied with a smile. His awareness of her beauty increased as she got closer. She had that fishtail braid again and wore a black jumpsuit that showed off her slender body and slim hips, giving a subtle hint at the nubile curves beneath the soft fabric.
“Oh, um, do you have a second?” A hopeful look crossed over her face but then it was replaced by cautiousness. “Or, if you don’t I could come back since you’re probably busy finishing up what you’re doing.”
Perhaps it was simply her own uneasiness, but he wished she wasn’t so nervous around him. Although, to be fair, he undoubtedly hadn’t helped much in that area. Like last night. It was probably time to give that pig joke a rest, and he should come clean about the whole ghost stuff.
“Or I could meet you someplace else, or—”
“Savannah.” He had to stop her. “I’m done here. What’s up?”
Her warm chocolate eyes widened slightly. “Oh, okay, well I’m just getting the first issue for my web page ready, and I wanted to include something interesting on sports. Sakiko said you were into car racing and thought it was a good idea to include something exciting like that. So, I was wondering if I could ask you some questions.” She said the words tentatively as if testing the idea. “She said no one knew more than you.”
“Did she?” Sakiko wasn’t wrong about that. Unless if you were competing, or had been a former competitor, then you didn’t know more than him. He probably knew more than competitors, too, and had more skill, because he used to be a downright daredevil. Drifting and drag racing was more his thing, but he did everything that could be considered within the sphere of motorsport. Or…he used to. The thought of racing stirred up some bad memories for him. And the whole scene reminded him of the guy he used to be.
“Yeah, and she insisted that I ask you.” Interest sparkled within her eyes.
That Sakiko. His sister really had her ways sometimes. She knew that anything to do with any form of race car driving would interest him and that he would never say no. He wondered if she also knew he would never say no to Savannah.
“I know you’re super busy so I would probably need like five minutes of your time.”
For a moment he studied her intently as she gazed up at him with anticipation, the fringe of her long thick lashes casting a hint of a shadow on her cheeks.
He had an idea.
“No,” he replied, not seriously meaning no, but as an attempt to get her to loosen up around him.
Her face clouded with awkwardness and the color drained slightly from her cheeks. “Oh. Okay. Bye then.”
She turned quickly to flee, but he stopped her with his next words. “Five minutes isn’t long enough to tell you anything.”
She turned back to him slowly with that hopeful expression on her face. “It’s not?”
He walked around the desk and sat on the edge. “Nope. Far too much to tell.”
“Oh. Well is there a time that’s be
st for you to meet with me?”
“There is, but this can’t be some kind of interview.” His idea may not be the best if he was trying to pull away from his former lifestyle, but it was an idea. “If you want to know about car racing in Japan, you have to experience it with your own eyes. Then you can take what you want from it.” He wouldn’t do the sport any justice by just talking about it.
A thoughtful smile curved her delicate mouth, which had that glossy pink he’d liked so much. It made her lips sparkle. “I have to watch a race?” Her smile widened, reaching her eyes.
“Yeah, or two. Do you want to?”
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “With…you?”
“Yeah. It’ll be late, though, eight o’clock late. So I don’t know how that’ll measure with your bedtime,” he couldn’t resist, and teasing her seemed to help balance out her nerves.
She grimaced. “Eight o’clock is fine.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want you to get wrinkles.”
Her gentle laughter rippled through the air. “Your mom’s changed my whole beauty regime, so I think I’ll be fine.”
That was so typical of his mother. “Cool, how’s tomorrow at eight then. I’ll meet you out front.” Saturday was a big night for the circles he used to travel in. They raced and partied every night they could, but Saturdays were best because everyone came out, and there would be all sorts of races taking place. It was the best night to give her a full picture of the sport.
He watched in satisfaction as her features lit up. “That’ll be great. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Oh Savannah.” He thought it was best to give her a heads up on what to expect. “Think of where we’re going as a big car racing party.”
“Oh, like in…” She thought for a moment, and her face brightened. “Fast Cars and Tokyo Drift.” Fast Cars was just a film that tried to depict what happened in the real world. This was beyond that.
“Yes, a little. So you may want to lay off the pink, or anything with Piglet on it.” Again he couldn’t resist.
Her cheeks flushed, and she frowned. “They were pajamas. Okay, it may be true that if I want to live down the Piglet story my crazy brother feels he should share with everyone, then maybe I should avoid all Piglet-related items. I just wasn’t thinking about that when I bought them.”
He couldn’t help but laugh.
“Believe me I will dress up,” she promised, and then sauntered out of the room with one last glance over her shoulder before she went through the door.
This would be interesting. He already thought she was stylish, and he liked whatever she wore, but wondered what her idea of dressing up was. So far he’d seen her in nothing but cute, adorable, girly clothes.
He continued to wonder the same the next night as he waited for her at the top of the driveway.
He’d chosen the red Porsche. It was one of his best cars, but not one of his racing cars. His friends would know that straight away if they saw it and, hopefully, wouldn’t try to get him to race. Not that he would give in. He was firm in his decision to leave that life behind him. He hadn’t been to the tracks in probably close to eight months. Before that, he’d pop by every now and again to watch his friends race, but wouldn’t make a habit out of it. Last night he purposely didn’t tell them he was going. It would surprise them to see him.
He adjusted the collar of his black leather biker jacket and rested on the hood of the car, thinking about how the night would flair out.
“How’s this?” Savannah’s smooth voice brought him out of his thoughts. He looked to where she stood at the top of the steps leading from the house and was so stunned he froze.
A low-cut, maple-colored, long-sleeved top fitted her delicate frame as if it had been painted on her. It enunciated her fully rounded, high-perched breasts, and the seductive curve of her tiny waist. The black mini-skirt she wore had a slit on the left side that showed off even more of her slender legs, making his heart quicken the more he looked.
He was left momentarily speechless, and his breath caught in his lungs as he watched her float down the steps towards him as if she’d just materialized from a dream. The cool night breeze only enhanced the vision of her as it lifted her straight, shiny hair, moving it across her shoulders and elbows. She smiled as she got up to him, displaying an air of confidence he liked. His eyes zoned in on her burgundy lips and dreamy eyes that were enhanced with smoky eye makeup that made her eyes look larger.
“Perfect,” he managed, although the look on his face probably said it all.
“Nice car,” she cooed with an alluring smile he hadn’t seen before.
Car. Oh yeah, the car.
He straightened and looked at his car. “Thanks.”
Looking her over with approval, he thought this was going to be a very interesting night indeed.
So much for staying away from distractions.
Chapter 7
“Your turn to choose the music,” Hiroshi said. Glancing quickly at Savannah, a smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
They’d been driving for just over two hours now. She’d been telling him about her adventures this week in Tokyo and the time she spent with Yumi and Sakiko while they listened to the radio. She leaned forward and selected the oldies rock ‘n’ roll and soul station on the touch screen display. The name of the station escaped her, but she knew it was one hundred and five. She was thrilled to find it the other night when she’d been trawling for some chill-out music. It was what she listened to at home when she needed to relax.
Savannah had never been in any kind of sports car before, let alone a Porsche. She had to admit that this car was definitely fancy, to say the least, with its impressive white leather interior and touch screen features that allowed you to operate the music, sat-nav, telephone, radio and climate settings. In her beat up car in San Francisco, if she wanted to control the climate she’d have to open and close the windows, and it had a barely functional CD player. She had additional sat-nav but didn’t bother with it because it had an annoying squeaky voice.
“What kind of music is that?” Hiroshi smirked. Savannah laughed at the tentative look that wrinkled his face.
The Righteous Brothers were just finishing the last verse of Unchained Melody, one of Savannah’s favorites. She loved anything from the nineteen-sixties. He looked even more put out when the Beach Boys came on and started singing California Girls. She laughed at the wide-eyed look he gave her. The previous station had pop songs.
She felt more comfortable with him now. Maybe it was because of the obvious look of approval he’d given her when he’d first seen her tonight. She’d played it cool and pretended not to notice, but really she felt good and thanked her wholesome fashion senses for giving her the idea to wear this outfit tonight.
“Savannah, you’re like an eighty-year-old trapped in a young person’s body.” He shook his head.
“Am not. This is the real deal. They don’t make music like they used to.”
“There’s a reason for that.” He chuckled lightly. “Also, that’s exactly what my eighty-six-year-old great aunt would say. Come on, it’s just a load of twang twang, guitar twang and oh la la California Girls.”
“I’m a California girl.” She giggled and smiled widely at him.
He looked from the open road ahead of them to her and laughed. “Yes, you most definitely are.”
She was excited about tonight, and excited to hang out with him. She’d even told her friends and probably babbled on about him far too much.
As she got ready earlier, she had to remind herself that this was purely for work purposes and she needed to focus on that. She had to refresh the reminder when she’d seen him resting against his car, dressed in his usual mouthwatering wear, and the leather jacket that made him look off-the-charts cool.
When she looked back at him again, a thought suddenly occurred to her.
“Hiroshi, how many great aunts do you have?”
His eyes widened slightly and he chuckled.
“Just…the one.”
“The yūrei?” Just saying that word gave her the creeps, and except for her tour with Mr. Fujita she hadn’t ventured back to the display hall.
A sly glint flickered in his eyes and he started to laugh. “About that whole yūrei thing, I was just messing with you.”
Her mouth dropped. “What?” Sure, she had a suspicion, but she never believed he would do that to her. “Hiroshi, I was so scared I had to sleep with the lights on. Why would you make me think your house was haunted?”
“I don’t know. It seemed like a good idea at the time.” He grimaced with a sheepish shrug.
She shook her head at him. “And what about the death mask?”
“Oh, yeah that too.”
“My God. I scrubbed my face so hard I could barely touch it the next day.”
“I’m sorry. But come on, Savannah, why would we have such a thing in the house?”
She simply stared at him deadpan. “You sounded like you were telling me the truth. It was my first night, and I didn’t know you were a joker.”
He laughed at that. “Don’t take me so seriously.”
“Right, are we even going to watch the cars race? For all I know, we could be going to an ant farm.” It was her distant thought of Ben and his ants that made her say that.
“Do you want me to take you to an ant farm?” He narrowed his eyes and looked back to the road.
“No, I was kidding. Do you…like ants?” Again just a thought. She didn’t want to offend him if he did.
He glanced over at her. “I don’t know. I’ve never given much thought to them. Busy little guys aren’t they? Gathering food and lifting stuff. And they bite. I don’t know much more than that.” He chuckled and placed both hands on the stirring wheel. “Savannah, why are we talking about ants?”
“We aren’t. We’re still talking about the yūrei and your great aunt, and the death mask, which was not. It was an Okame wasn’t it?”
“Uh-huh.” He feigned innocence.
“And your aunt?” She tilted her head and watched him look even more guilty.
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