“It’s that simple?” He thought back to months ago when he told Savannah that all they needed to do was to take one day at a time and go from there. He thought it was simple then, but as time went on he saw the full reasoning behind her worries.
“Hiroshi, I’ve watched you with Savannah. You are my son, and I think the world of you. And she’s absolutely wonderful in every way. She’s definitely the kind of girl you want to hold onto.”
He did want to hold onto her. Tightly. He just wanted to be careful not to hinder her from accomplishing her dreams.
“What do I do?”
She smiled a heartwarming smile. “That, I can’t help you with. Only you can decide that.” She brought the tea cup to her lips and drank from it.
* * *
Over the next few days, an idea came to him. An idea he thought would work well for them both, and it would hopefully show Savannah how he felt about her.
He was going to ask her to move in with him.
Now that the work on the training center was complete, it was the perfect opportunity to get his own place in Japan. Savannah loved being in Japan, and if he managed to sort things out with his father for Washington, then he would like to be here, too.
Having their own place made a statement. He just hoped she wouldn’t think he was pressuring her in any way, or that it was too soon for her.
He just felt that in light of everything it was a decent idea. So, in a few weeks when she came back from visiting her family and friends in San Francisco they could look for a nice place together.
It sounded great in his head. All he had to do was pluck up the courage to ask.
As it was so important, he thought he’d take her somewhere special, and since she loved everything about Mt. Fuji he arranged a romantic weekend at the Hoshinoya Fuji the following week. It was one of the best hotels in Fuji that offered a stunning view of the mountain.
He’d picked the best room they had, one that offered a direct view of the mountain in the distance.
As soon as they entered the room, she ran outside onto the balcony, bouncing with excitement at the view.
“This room is perfect. Look at it all,” she squealed, her ponytail bobbing up and down against the collar of her blazer as she moved around. She ran back inside with vibrant excitement and stopped before him to look around the room.
Everything had been decorated in cream and gold. The four-poster bed in the center, the bedside tables and lamps sitting on them, the wardrobes and other furniture that complemented the design.
“Thank you so much for getting this room. It’s amazing.” She bounced to him and pulled him down for a kiss.
Now. Now was a good time. It was the right mood. She was happy. He was happy. No distractions or people around. He wanted to ask her at lunch an hour ago, but then the waiter came up to ask if they’d wanted to try the chili hot chocolate. With the sweet tooth that Savannah had she was unable to resist, especially when she heard it was made from luxury Swiss chocolate.
“Savannah.”
Her eyes drifted towards the bed and she jumped on him, wrapping her legs around him and kissing him mindless to the point where he nearly forgot what he wanted to ask.
“Should we test out the bed?” she cooed, seductively nibbling on his ear. The break from her lips gave him a chance to reclaim his thoughts.
He had to ask her now, or it would drive him insane.
“Yes,” he told her. She jumped off him and started undoing the buttons on her blouse. “But no, wait.” He stretched out his hands and brushed them against her shoulders.
He stared at her and tried to compose his mind. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other and teased him as she continued to undo the buttons, slowly. He couldn’t help but think that he’d been a bad influence on the sweet, shy girl she was a year ago.
“Stop, or you’ll drive me crazy,” he warned.
“That’s the idea,” she taunted in a seductive voice that ate him up from the inside out. And the way that she looked at him under those long thick lashes teased him even more.
He took hold of her hands to keep her still. The motion made her laugh.
“Savannah, I have something important to ask you.”
“Yes,” she replied with a nod.
He smirked playfully at her. “You don’t know what I’m going to ask.”
“I can’t imagine you asking me anything I’ll say no to. Oh, except eel.” She wrinkled her pretty face in distaste. “I don’t want to try that again, ever.”
“It’s not eel. This is more important than that.”
“Okay, ask me. Could you take your shirt off at the same time?”
Oh, Lord. This is what he meant. Maybe he should have taken his time with her and not just turned her into the sexy, demanding woman that stood before him. “Savannah.”
“Okay. I’m listening.” She shrugged sheepishly and stared at him with wide innocent eyes.
Okay, he could do this. He could. This was just like his business meetings with the company investors. But not.
“Sa—” The minute he began to speak her phone started ringing.
“Let it ring,” she waved her hand dismissively. And ring it did.
He geared up to start again, but the ringing phone threw him off. It even stopped and started again.
“Answer it. Could be important.” Because the constant interruption was going to drive him crazy.
“I’ll be super quick.” She retrieved her phone from her bag and looked at it. Her face brightened. “It’s Brian.”
She answered it and started talking.
“Brian, hey.” Savannah was always happy to hear from him. They mostly corresponded by email, but he’d sometimes call when he wanted to tell her something good about the website. She wondered what he had to tell her this time.
“My dear girl, I have exciting news for you,” he began in his usual chipper way.
“What is it?” she gasped, looking at Hiroshi. He smiled back and put both his thumbs up.
She wanted to know what his question was. She’d been so obsessed with the thought of getting his clothes off that she hadn’t taken note of how nervous he seemed.
But what exciting news did Brian have to tell her? Please God let it be the news she wanted to hear.
“The senior managers have a proposal for you. I worked on this myself with them because I know how hard you’ve worked.” As he spoke, her heart caught in her chest. “They want to give you an option of working for us as a fully fledged member of staff, in which case we would need you to go to the Caribbean in three weeks and spend three weeks on each island over a nine-month period. Then go to Indonesia for two months. Or you can continue as you are with the website and have free reign over what you do with your page. But we’d offer you a new freelance contract so you’d be exclusive to us. If you choose the first, and I know you will, you’ll still have the web page.”
Her knees buckled, and she could no longer stand. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Savannah moved over to the bed and sat, holding the phone so close to her ear her stud earrings dug into the skin behind.
Hiroshi came over to her, concerned.
“What is it?” he whispered.
She reached out and touched his face, steadying her breath.
This was it. It was happening. The opportunity she’d dreamed of for so long. And it came with a choice. It was even better than she thought.
It was all happening.
“Savannah, are you there, girl?”
“Yes, oh my gosh. And, thank you so much. Thank you.” Deep gratitude swelled within her.
“I’m so glad you’re happy. Look, have the week to think about which option works best for you, we’ll be happy with whatever you choose. I’ll email over everything and confirmation of the job options. We’ll just need to know what you decide by the end of the month. So you have a week and a couple of days. We’re looking forward to the last Japan special.” Brian sounded really happy.
“Thank you, Brian. I can’t thank you enough.”
With that, she hung up and focused her attention back to Hiroshi.
“I got the staff position,” she screamed, throwing herself into his arms with so much force they both fell to the floor.
He beamed with pride. “I told you.”
She filled him in quickly on her conversation with Brian, and it was as she was about to let him know that they wanted her in the Caribbean in three weeks that realization dawned on her.
Three weeks.
She’d planned to go back to San Francisco in two weeks and then come back to Japan to be with him.
He’d asked her to stay. To stay with him.
“That’s fantastic news. I couldn’t be more proud of you.” He looked happy like the news was his.
She stared at him as reality unfolded itself before her.
Hiroshi had become her world. If this was the path she chose, then realistically all she had with him was a handful of weeks. After that, they’d see each other if they could fit in a visit here and there.
Then what?
She could see it now, this beautiful relationship they had would just die.
Savannah didn’t realize how much she loved him until just now. Her heart turned over and ached at the thought of not seeing him, and the thought of not having him in her life. It tore at her insides and shattered her. She got up quickly and rushed outside to the balcony to get some air.
“Savannah.” He came after her and took hold of her arm. “What’s the matter?”
The languid air filled her lungs just like it did when she first came out here. It cleared her mind from the cloud that had clenched at it. She gazed at the concern that washed over his face and thought about it all.
She’d wanted this offer her whole life, and worked so hard to get it. Giving up a stable job, taking that risk to follow her dreams. What she didn’t add into the equation was meeting the one.
The one guy who would change her world, who had changed her world.
Looking at him now she saw it. Clearly, she saw the truth in its plainest sense. Working for the magazine was the best opportunity she’d ever had. And it would be a dream come true.
But her dream had changed.
Her dream was to be with him.
“I’m not going.” It didn’t even feel strange to hear the words coming out of her mouth.
“What?” His lips parted in surprise, and a muscle quivered at his jaw as his eyes widened.
She shook her head. “I’m not going.”
“That’s insane. You were just…you were just excited moments ago. What could change your mind so quickly?”
The soulful look she gave him answered his question.
“No.” The color drained from his face. “No. You can’t.”
“Hiroshi they want me in three weeks.”
“That’s fine. We said that you’d only come back to Japan if the magazine didn’t need you.”
“I’ll be in the Caribbean for nine months and then Indonesia. And then who knows where.”
“Savannah, I don’t care where you go. I will always come and visit.” He took hold of her shoulders and stared down at her with loving eyes. It meant everything to hear him say that. It really did, but she could picture all the problems they’d run into.
“Thank you for wanting to do that. I would visit, too, but think about it. How often would we see each other?”
“As often as we can.” His eyes brimmed with urgency.
“Which is what? Every two weeks? Once a month? Maybe not even that. It’s difficult enough as it is now. Hiroshi I would hardly see you, and then I would end up hating what I’m doing.”
“Savannah, think about this.”
She shook her head. There was nothing to think about. “I have.”
He sighed and looked overwhelmed as he released his grasp of her shoulders. “I can’t let you do this for me.”
She offered a small smile, reached up and touched his face. “But I am. It’s simple. Don’t you remember? It all depends on what we want. I want you.” She searched his eyes and held his gaze. “I’ll figure something out,” she offered, thinking about the option of freelancing. “Hey, let’s just…push this all to the side for today and enjoy our trip here. You wanted to ask me something?”
He bit the inside of his lip.
She smiled up at him. “You said it was important.”
“Oh, um…it was nothing.” He stroked her face.
“You have to tell me.”
“It was just about plans for tomorrow. I…thought we could go to the beach or something.”
“That’s why you stopped me from tearing your shirt off?” she chuckled, gazing up at him.
“I just wanted everything to be perfect for you.”
“It is.”
His eyes overflowed with tenderness and concern. “Come here.” He pulled her into his arms where she sunk into his embrace.
As he ran his hands over her head holding her even closer, she closed her eyes and savored the rapid beat of his heart.
She locked herself into his hold thinking that he was the very best thing that had ever happened to her.
Chapter 22
He couldn’t do it. He just couldn’t do it.
Hiroshi held Savannah against him, loving the feel of her delicate frame against him, loving the floral-scented fragrance that came from her hair, loving every inch of her and wishing he could ask her to move in with him.
But he couldn’t. It wasn’t right.
“Thank you for choosing me,” he whispered against her hair. He had to say it, even though guilt weighed heavily on his whole body.
“You’re welcome.” She kissed the edge of his jaw then rested her head back on his chest.
So…his mother was right, like she usually was. Savannah must have really loved him to do something like this. To give up her dream so easily just to be with him.
And because he loved her, too, he wasn’t going to allow her to do it.
He couldn’t be more grateful to her, but he would never, ever stand in the way of her dreams.
She’d wanted nothing more than this opportunity with the magazine. Freelancing wouldn’t be the same thing if that’s what she chose.
Savannah had changed her life so that she could work hard to get this opportunity. For the whole time he’d known her she’d spoke of nothing else, and continuously expressed how badly she wanted to work for the magazine. She wanted to travel the world and write about her adventures and experiences.
He couldn’t forget the spark that blazed within her eyes when she talked about her ideas or her passion. She deserved the very best chance she could get for her extraordinary talent, and the proper recognition for her work. Freelancing would only take her so far, as it had done. Working for the magazine as a staff writer would open more doors for her. That was what she deserved.
She couldn’t give up that chance for him. Not when he’d done absolutely nothing for her.
This was one thing he had control over, and refused to live with the guilt he knew he would have if she didn’t do it. He would change things no later than Monday. He’d go see his father and explain what he wanted, the company in his full control. He’d appoint Jake as the CEO and give the guys currently running the show a chance to step up. Hiroshi wasn’t needed for the training center to run the way a company would so he would do that remotely too.
It would work. He’d go to her with that idea when he had it all sorted out.
* * *
Monday morning dawned bright and early. Hiroshi woke up feeling a little anxious, but positive and determined. He’d arranged to meet with his father at nine am sharp to discuss his ideas. His father would have sorted out his schedule for the day by then and Hiroshi would have his attention.
Before he got to the office, he got a message from Jake requesting that he see him immediately. The minute Hiroshi laid his eyes on him he knew something was wrong.
&nbs
p; “What’s up?” he asked.
Jake got up from his chair and rushed over to the door to check who was outside. He then closed it and shut the blinds.
“Don’t go see your dad. We need to go to Washington now, this very minute.”
“What’s going on?” This was strange behavior, even for Jake.
“Washington lost over a billion dollars on Friday.”
Hiroshi dropped his hands to his sides and grabbed onto the wall to keep from falling over. “How’d that happen, Jake?”
“The Z-chip never got released.”
The Z-chip was their latest antivirus software. It had been in development in Washington for years, and outdid any form of antivirus software that had ever existed. They had buyers from all over the world, including the government and armed forces.
It was scheduled to be released last Friday for months. What the hell could have happened?
“What do you mean it never got released?”
“Rosh, did you get an email from Pete last Monday?”
Email. Last Monday? His inbox had hundreds of emails. Several that he’d been saving up to work on today.
“I haven’t looked at my emails.” He made sure he organized himself, so he had a full day when he just went through emails. That day changed weekly depending on what he was doing. “I figured if there was something important I would get a call.”
“Pete would have called, but his wife was in a car accident.”
“My gosh, is she okay?”
“Yes, she was in a coma, but she’s out of it now. Sounds like she’ll be fine. Anyway, Pete said he sent the Z-chip release forms to you to look over, sign, and send on to the manufacturers. He said he couldn’t get ahold of Cory and his mind wasn’t in the right place to deal with it.” Jake bit the inside of his lip then said, “he called me last night when he saw that the chip hadn’t been released.”
God.
Hiroshi pulled in a sharp breath and brought his hand to his head. This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t.
To protect the rights and the design, any type of technology like this was supplied to the buyers a day or two before the official release date.
I Only Have Eyes For You Page 29