Corporate Plaything

by Lizzie Lynn Lee

  Anna’s first impression of Tokyo was that the Japanese folks were nuts about sakura, cherry blossoms. As their car slowly cruised to the hotel, Anna saw people strolling and having picnics in the city gardens. The ground was covered with blue tarp where people, dressed in warm clothes, were lounging and enjoying themselves under the gorgeous pink clouds of sakura trees.

  New Yorkers weren’t as adventurous as the Japanese in early April. They’d had a snowstorm a day before their departure, and she recalled seeing the miserable faces of people bundled up in thick coats, struggling to wade through ice and dirty snow. Over here, Anna witnessed nothing but serene and happy faces. It must be wonderful living a Zen life.

  “Ah. I forgot, it’s hanami time of the year,” Justin noted, checking the calendar app on his smart phone.

  “Hanami?”

  “Flower viewing party. If we’re lucky, we might be able to catch the end of it by the time we conclude our meeting.”

  Flower-viewing party. Moon-viewing party. She thought Matt’s fixation with the moon was a rich-people thing. Usually, rich people did pretentious stuff. Now, she guessed that maybe, her new bosses simply adored Japanese culture. Matt with his dojo and sake. Justin with sakura blossoms.

  “You seem to know a lot about Japan, sir.”

  One of Justin’s lush eyebrows arched. “You didn’t know? Our mother is half-Japanese.”

  Her eyes widened. “You and your brothers don’t look like you could be quarter-Japanese.”

  “Our father’s genes. The only thing we inherited from our mother is the colour of our hair.”

  Anna’s eyes drifted to Justin’s clean-cut hair. Even though he wore it short, his hair thick and lustrous with shine. “So your father is Dutch?”

  “Dutch? Where did you get that from?”

  “Matt said you came from Netherland.”

  “Netherworld.”

  Funny. She had checked the world map and she couldn’t find a country called such. “I’ve never heard of a country called Netherworld, sir. I thought you were French.”

  Justin gestured carelessly. “We changed our names once we arrived in America. Our birth names are too hard to pronounce in the human tongue.”

  Wait, did he just say human tongue?

  “Kidding.” Justin pinched her chin. “You look too cute when you frown like that.”

  Ah. Another part of Justin she didn’t expect to see. He had a refreshing sense of humour, besides being the gentlest man she had ever met in person. Behind his business-like facade, Justin was tender and attentive.

  If his brother Matt awakened her inner submissive and made her eager to please his every whim, Justin made her feel comfortable and secure. She’d spent the last three nights with him, and the one thing that amazed her the most was that Justin liked to cuddle. Men didn’t usually like to cuddle. After they got what they wanted, men usually snored themselves asleep. At least, that had been her experience with Ned.

  But Justin, he was different. He held her in his arms for hours after their lovemaking each night. And kissed her. Touched her. Told her stories about his childhood that were too farfetched to be true. Like he and his brothers lived in a place so big, they had their own armoury, and their father commanded an army of men who practiced sword-fighting every sunrise. But then again, maybe Netherworld was a neighbouring country of Netherland, where people there still followed the old customs. Justin Martel was a wonderful man to be with, despite his odd childhood remembrances.

  Guilt gnawed at the pit of her stomach each time she thought of the past few days she’d spent with Matt and Justin. They’d given her pleasure, comfort and luxury she had never thought of tasting in her life, and she was going to repay them by stealing their secret formula. Anna felt low and dejected. Living a lie was harder than she thought.

  “What’s wrong?” Justin noticed she had been frowning even more.

  Anna shook the guilt away. “Nothing, sir.”

  “You can tell me anything. Your well-being is important to us.”

  Anna mourned in silence. How was she supposed to tell him that a syndicate was blackmailing her and her father? Just a few hours ago after they landed in the airport, she checked her inbox and saw a nasty email from Koleniskov, telling her that the head honcho of Beautycor wasn’t pleased with the slow progress she was making. They wanted that secret formula now, especially since the syndicate had found out that Justin had discontinued Surrender from future production. The price of existing Surrender had soared like wildfire on Internet auction sites. Many of the Martels’ competitors were itching to fill in the retail gap. And whoever got their hands on the Martels’ secret formula would be guaranteed set for life.

  Besides, it wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to look where the brothers could be hiding that secret formula. Since Matt had granted her access to their internal SAS programme, she’d been scouring all confidential info that could lead her to what she was looking for. She even installed a little Trojan programme in Justin’s computer to spy on his virtual activity. If the Trojan found anything related to Surrender, the programme sent a streaming report to her own laptop.

  After spying on their network for a while, Anna had found out that Surrender was produced in small batches in their factory in New Jersey. Just before it was bottled, Matt or Justin would come to the factory and add the secret ingredients into the concoction—the key ingredients that would make Surrender’s wearer temporarily irresistible. She tried to trace the suppliers of Surrender and so far she had hit a brick wall. It looked like Matt or Justin didn’t even list those secret ingredients in their all-in-one accounting programme, or any file in their network. The trade secret remained secret and she was undoubtedly the worst corporate spy in history.

  I just need more time. Maybe, I can get Justin or Matt to slip something out. Anna shook her head. “It’s nothing, sir. It’s just jet lag.”

  “You poor thing.” Justin pulled her into his arms. “Take a rest. It will be another half hour before we get to our hotel. Did I wring you out with all those bunny fucks?”

  Hardly. She enjoyed the wild sex but couldn’t take the guilt. She rested her head on Justin’s chest and fingered her slave collar. She loved being his plaything. Their plaything. If she’d got this job under different circumstances, she would have the best job in the world.

  “I’m just a bit tired, that’s all.”

  Justin kissed the top of her head. “Try a little nap, sharime. I think you’ll love the hotel we’re going to. Kanagawa isn’t far.”

  Anna closed her eyes, clutching Justin’s jacket. She wished she could tell him everything. The guilt had turned into full-blown remorse. God, she hated lying.

  Hated it. Hated it. Hated it.

  * * * *

  Anna looked pleasantly surprised with the hotel they were going to stay in over the weekend. “How neat,” she exclaimed.

  “It called ryokan, the traditional Japanese inn. I thought you might enjoy something outside of the box.”

  “I do.”

  The driver unloaded their baggage from the trunk and hauled them in front of the ryokan’s main entrance.

  Seto, the matronly woman clad in a dark kimono, greeted them. “Justin-sama. O-genki desu ka? How are you?”

  “Genki desu, I’m fine. Seto-chan.” Justin motioned to Anna. “This is Anna Vincent, the girl I’ve been telling you about.”

  “Konnichiwa, Anna-san. You’re more beautiful than Justin-sama told me.” Seto, the inn’s head caretaker bowed fluidly.

  Justin had purchased the ryokan from Seto and her husband a couple of years back when the couple were struggling with financial problems. He then had Seto run the inn.

  He had no interest in running a hospitality business. He’d bought the ryokan because he wanted to know more about his mother’s side of the family. Seto was actually his mother’s younger sister. Since his father kidnapped his mother over fifty years ago, his mother never went to the surface world anymore. Nymph laws forbade any huma
n who had been claimed as a mate to step on the surface world ever again. It would undo the nymph magic that had been bestowed on their human mate, such as their prolonged lifespan. Justin’s mother still looked as she did the day his father had kidnapped her, while Seto had aged gracefully.

  Anna blushed from the compliment. She nudged Justin’s elbow and asked, “How do you say thank you in Japanese?”

  “Arigato gozaimasu.”

  Anna repeated it shyly to Seto.

  “Dō itashi mashite. You’re welcome.” Seto laughed heartily and gave them an ojigi, a deep bow at the waist. “We’ve prepared your room, Justin-sama. Do you wish your lunch to be served right away?”

  “Please. We’re starving.”

  “Hai. Wakarimashita. Understood.”

  After they traded their shoes for slippers, Seto led them to their room. Anna looked unsure when she saw where they were going to sleep. The square room was furnished with only a straw-mat floor and a short dresser by the corner.

  “No bed?”

  “We’ll sleep on a futon. Seto will arrange it when we’re ready to rest.”

  “I see.”

  “You haven’t seen the best part of this inn yet.”

  “Oh?”

  Justin slid open the shoji door to the terrace. “This area is famous for its onsen, and lucky us, we’ve got a private bathing pool just outside our room.”

  “Onsen?” Anna’s mouth fell open. “Oh, hot spring? This feels like a spa.”

  “Even better.”

  Moments later, Seto and her helpers came in and set a table for lunch. Trays of mouth-watering food were served before their eyes. Grilled sweet fish, catch of the day sashimi, grilled prawns, steamed rice, pickles, miso soup, green tea and dessert rice cakes stuffed with red bean paste filled the table.

  “Domo. You spoil us,” Justin complimented Seto.

  “Iie. My pleasure.” Seto and her helpers gave them a bow before retreating to give them privacy.

  “I don’t see how we’re going to eat all of this. This is a lot of food.” Anna studied each of the dishes that were arranged neatly on the glazed earthenware. “And I’m not good using chopsticks either.”

  “Do you want me to feed you?”

  Anna blushed. He loved it when she did that. They’d barely dug into their lunch when his cell rang. It was Matt.

  Justin excused himself and went to the terrace. “Yes?” He spoke in their native Azurian.

  “Where are you?” Matt asked.

  “At the ryokan. We’re having lunch.”

  “I see. Thought you might want to know I found spyware in our system.”

  “Our internal SAS?”

  “Yes. Originating from your laptop. I was going to run a sweep, then I thought it might be from her.”

  “She planted it?”

  “Who else? We have a very secure firewall.”

  Justin thought hard for a moment. “Leave it,” he decided.

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. We don’t want to alarm her.”

  Matt went quiet at the other end. “Did she crack yet?”

  “She’s desperate. She looked as if she almost cried when I asked her what’s wrong.”

  “I think this charade has gone on long enough. We should bring her to Azura and claim her. I’m tired of New York.”

  “Patience is a virtue, brother of mine. She almost trusts us.”

  Matt growled with impatience. “Two more weeks. Then we’ll bring her home whether she likes it or not.”

  “We’ll see.” Justin ended the connection. When he came back inside, he found Anna staring at their food. Her gaze looked faraway as if she was dreading something. “What’s wrong?” he asked her.

  Anna startled. “Nothing. I was waiting for you.”

  Such a bad liar. “Well, let’s eat then. Later, I want to you show you something fun we can do while we’re taking a hot bath.”

  “Oh? What’s that?”

  He grinned mischievously. “You’ll see.”

  * * * *

  Anna straightened her legs and drew a relieved breath in secret. She closed her notepad programme while Justin wrapped up the meeting with his Japanese business partners. As Justin’s personal assistant, her job was to take minutes. Most of the time, she didn’t know what the hell Justin and the others were talking about. She didn’t understand Japanese other than Iie and Hai. But Anna suspected that Justin didn’t actually need a PA anyway. Her presence was nothing but a showpiece. It seemed Japanese men had a thing for a genuinely blonde chick.

  After spending the weekend in onsen in Kanagawa, on Monday morning they’d driven to Tokyo for Justin’s business meeting. They were staying at the Ritz-Carlton since the hotel was close to where the meeting was being held.

  A giant department store chain that dominated the Asian market was interested in carrying the Martels’ line and they were eager to stock Surrender. During the meeting, she’d noticed the reps from Takaya pressed over and over for Justin to sell them Surrender. Even though she didn’t know Japanese, if somebody constantly mentioned something with sheer desperation, she became aware of what was going on.

  Justin had politely refused to continue the Surrender production. It made her wonder as well. Why would Justin decide to discontinue their best-selling product when they made an obscene profit from it? She didn’t get that.

  When Surrender was first launched, Justin had retailed it for fifty dollars for a one-ounce bottle. And when it became a global sensation, Justin cut productions in half and retailed it for seven hundred dollars. Now that Surrender was being withdrawn from the retail market, the price on eBay had skyrocketed to ten grand a bottle. According to the SAS programme, the cost of producing Surrender was twelve bucks and nine cents. An obscene profit margin, indeed.

  Anna rose from her seat, following Justin’s suit when the meeting was concluded. They bowed deeply then exchanged pleasantries as they exited the boardroom. Judging from the look on the Takaya reps’ faces, they were dissatisfied with the result of the meeting.

  Justin motioned her to an unoccupied elevator. He drew a relieved breath when the door was closed. “Just watch, this is not over yet. Those pests will keep hounding me until I agree to sell them Surrender.”

  She jumped on it since Justin was on the topic. “Why won’t you, sir?”

  “Because we discontinued the line.”

  “Why? It’s our best-selling product.”

  “We’ve got what we wanted. I don’t see the point of keeping it in the retail market.”

  “I don’t understand, sir.”

  “You will.” Justin caressed her cheek. “Soon.”

  There it was again. He was being cryptic. Matt was the same too when they discussed a certain topic. She wondered what Justin and Matt had up their sleeves. Anna wished they would just tell her what this was all about. Or better yet, she wanted to be able to ask for Surrender’s secret formula and end this hanky-panky business this instant. She was tired of lying, pretending to be something she wasn’t.

  A cold chill ran through her spine when she thought what Justin and his brothers would do if they ever found out she was a corporate spy. When she signed up as the Martels’ plaything, she had also signed a non-disclosure agreement. The penalty for breaching the agreement was a hefty fine, one she could never afford even if she busted her ass off working until she was old.

  Her knees weakened. She’d never really thought about the consequences when she signed that contract. She was so afraid her father would go to jail she had jumped on any chance she had to get into the Martels’ lair in order to get that secret formula.

  “You’re frowning.” Justin noticed her distress. “Want to tell me why?”

  I screwed up big time, that’s why. Anna shook her head. “I forgot to call my dad today. Need to check on him from time to time. Sometimes, he forgets to take his medication if I don’t remind him.”

  “He’s sick?”

  “A bypass surgery last year. He
takes it easy nowadays.”

  Justin frowned in return. “Why didn’t you tell me your father needs a caretaker? I could’ve arranged one for him in your absence.”

  Anna dreaded it even more. Why do you have to be so nice to me? “He’s fine. I’ve talked to my next door neighbour to do his laundry and cook his meals. He’s taken care of.”

  “You sure? I could make a few phone calls and—”

  “No need, sir. I’m sure he’s fine.”

  Justin didn’t look convinced but he nodded anyway. “Well, if you change your mind, all I need to do is make a phone call.”

  “Thank you, sir. I really appreciate your concern.” Anna twisted her fingers. The guilt hurled back at her with full force. “Are we leaving for New York tomorrow morning, sir?”

  “Just me. You are needed somewhere else.”

  “Beg your pardon, sir?”

  “Raphael wants to take you to St. Croix. He’ll arrive tomorrow afternoon to pick you up with a private charter.”

  “St. Croix?”

  “We have a villa there. You’ll like it. It’s lovely at this time of year. “

  Her mouth fell open. “St. Croix? As in the Bahamas?”

  Justin nodded. “But tonight, we should have our own fun while we’re in Tokyo. I was thinking Kinjite.”

  “Kinjite?”

  “You’ll see.” He grinned again.

  * * * *

  Anna walked along the busy street of Shinjuku nervously. She shivered as the cold chill breeze surged past her. The skimpy dress Justin wanted her to wear was inadequate to cover her body. And what made her the most uncomfortable was that she wasn’t wearing any panties. Justin had insisted on it. Her black cocktail dress was so short, if she bent over a bit, people would see her naked ass. It was nerve-racking. She’d never done something this outrageous before. Had Justin even considered that walking around in public without panties could be seen as public indecency?

  Justin, on the other hand, looked like he was enjoying himself. He held her hand tightly as they strolled among the sea of night-goers in one of the busiest nightlife areas in Tokyo. After they had dinner, as he had promised, Justin took her out for a night of fun.