I Just Can't Stop Loving You

by Imari Jade

  The elevator opened and Damien stepped out of the door after his father and into the administrative office of KiNii Publishing.

  “Welcome back, Mr. Kehoe,” a young woman behind a big secretarial desk said.

  “Thanks, Barbara,” Harper said. “It’s good to be back.”

  “How was New York?”

  “Cold and crowded.” He nudged Damien forward. “Barbara, this is my son, Damien. He’s going to be working here part-time.”

  Barbara rose from her seat and walked around to meet him. She appeared to be in her early twenties and an America, which Damien thought odd in a basically Japanese company. Barbara extended her hand to him. “Nice to meet you, Damien.”

  She was pretty with short red hair and hazel eyes. Damien accepted the hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Barbara works part-time too,” Harper explained. “She’s a student at the university you’ll be attending. She’s journalism major.”

  “What will you be taking?” Barbara asked Damien.

  “Damien is getting his Master’s degree in Business,” Harper answered for him. “He just needs to finish up a couple of classes and then he’ll be working here full-time. But for now, he’ll be Mrs. Gentry’s assistant.”

  Barbara smirked. “Does she know that?”

  “Yes,” Harper answered. “She’s been crying for an assistant for months now. I’ll introduce them when she returns from Europe in a couple of weeks. But right now, he’ll be working with the junior editors getting to know the business from the floor up.”

  “What my father is trying to explain is that I’m the company’s new go-fer.”

  Barbara smiled a wicked little I have a father who gets on my nerves too smile. “Good, you have a sense of humor. You’re going to need one around here.”

  Damien raised an eyebrow at her. “Huh?”

  “And you’re cute, which means I’m going to love working here.”

  Damien smirked. Definitely an American female. “Thanks again.”

  Harper chuckled and led him through the administrative office while Barbara went back to work. He introduced him to most of the personnel. The office environment was pretty much what he expected…huge and elaborate like his father's office back in New York. There was a mixture of Japanese and Korean with a couple of Americans sprinkled here and there. And everyone seemed happy like back at Kehoe Publishing in New York.

  “What’s this Ms. Gentry like?” Damien asked after he and his father stopped at the snack room for coffee and pastries.

  “Who, Cristal? Oh, you’ll like her. The two of you have a lot in common. She’s about twenty-six, tall, pretty, and is a very good publicist.”

  A twenty-six-year-old female supervisor? She wasn’t much older than him.

  “You’ll get to meet her when she returns with Aomori,” Harper told him.

  “She works for them?”

  “Yes, in an administrative capacity. Cristal handles their publicity.”

  “Oh,” Damien said. He didn’t think he’d have to deal with the competition so soon.

  “You’ll get to meet Aomori too since she has a close relationship with them.”

  “And I would want to meet them why?” Damien asked sarcastically.

  “Because they are the hottest pop group in Asia.”

  “And because the love of your life is married to one of them,” Damien said.

  Harper scowled at him. “Mrs. Yoshida and I are just friends.”

  “Um hmm. Tell that to someone who hasn’t seen that living shrine you have in our New York condo.”

  “You don’t have a New York condo,” Harper said sarcastically. “She’s my best friend and my best client.”

  “And my best friend’s mother.”

  Harper nodded. “Yes, well, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. You two seem to be getting pretty serious.”

  He knew this was bound to come up. “Tricia is a nice young woman,” Damien said. “And we’ve been friends since we were kids.”

  “Are you’re in love with her?”

  “Yes,” Damien answered, hesitating.

  Harper chuckled. “Then be prepared for many sleepless nights, frantic phone calls, and a lot of cold showers.”

  “Been there,” Damien said. “She wants to wait until we get married.”

  “Smart girl,” Harper replied. “That would make your life much easier if the two of you would just remain friends until you both graduate and get married.”

  Damien shook his head. Pathetic. His father still hadn’t given up the hope of getting with Shaundra. “How is Shaundra doing?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her since I left for America. I suppose she’s still recovering from childbirth.”

  Damien sipped his coffee. “Any chances that they’re yours?”

  Harper shook his head. “Not a snowball’s chance in hell. I’m still taking a lot of cold showers too.”

  Damien smirked. “I guess it must be hard on her with her husband always on the road.”

  “I guess,” Harper said. “But Shaundra is a trooper and very capable of taking care of herself, despite what others think of her. She raised Tricia after her first husband died, and she didn’t turn out too bad.”

  No, in fact, his future bride was damn near perfect. “Is she still pretty?”

  “What’s with all the questions?” Harper asked.

  Damien shrugged. “I’m just making conversation.”

  Harper nodded. “Yes, she’s still the prettiest woman on earth. Tricia comes from a good gene pool.”

  “So what’s Aomori like? I’ve seen pictures of them and heard a couple of their songs, but what are they really like?”

  “Idiots,” Harper said. “They’re the hottest singing group in Asia, but they have a lot of issues. One being their penchant for getting into trouble. You should get along splendidly with them.”

  Damien curled his lip in snarl. “I don’t always get in trouble.”

  Harper nodded without hesitating. “But don’t go drinking with them unless you’re prepared to one, get into a fight, and two, go to jail.”

  Sounded like his type of friends. “Yeah, I’ve seen them on YouTube. Shaundra too. She packs a mean right punch.”

  Harper straightened his suit jacket. “Well, let’s hope motherhood has mellowed her. I don’t think she’ll be doing much clubbing with twins at home.”

  Damien smirked. “Well, let’s hope not.”

  “Would you like to see my office and yours?”

  “I have an office?” Damien asked. “I thought you were going to lock me away in a mail room or something.”

  Harper nodded. “Of course you have an office. It’s one of the perks of being the boss’s son.” He rose and Damien followed him out of the snack room.

  ****

  “This is very good,” Shaundra told Dae-Hyun, sampling the food he had prepared for her. The babies were asleep and she was famished. “What’s it called?”

  Dae-Hyun had prepared her Hanjoengsik, a full course meal with an array of side dishes.

  “It’s called Kongguksu. It’s a cold noodle dish with a broth made from ground soy beans.”

  “Umm,” Shaundra replied after sampling again. “I can grow to love this. Komawoyo. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, and you’re picking up Korean really well,” Dae-Hyun said as he ate his meal while seated across from her.

  “That’s because you are a great teacher and don’t make me feel like an idiot like some people I know.”

  “Japanese was hard for me to learn too. It just takes practice. And from what I’ve heard, you speak Japanese well too.”

  Shaundra put her hand to her lip. “It’s a secret. I’ve been practicing so I can speak to my babies.”

  “They are going to be the most sought after boys at parties since they’ll be able not only to speak Japanese, but Korean and English as well.”

  Shaundra went back to her food. “I’ll just be g
lad if they stay out of trouble, find nice young women to marry, and stay off the stage.”

  Dae-Hyun smiled. A rare and beautiful thing to see. In the short time they’d been together, she’d gotten to know him pretty well. He rose early in the morning and went to bed early too. He didn’t like chocolate and he knew how to handle babies. He was a bit shy around her at first, but had learned to relax. He took care of the boys during the day while she handled them at night. Then he’d retire to his little house on the property after he made sure she ate dinner with him. In between diapering babies, he taught her Korean and martial arts to help her get back into pre-baby shape. Unfortunately, she was growing very dependent on him. He saw to her every need made sure she ate three meals a day and took her medicine.

  “Do you regret moving out of the compound?” he asked.

  Shaundra shrugged. She had a pretty sweet setup now. The house wasn’t quite as large as the farmhouse, but it had plenty of land with cherry blossom trees and a smaller house on the property. And it was hidden away from the highway so there wouldn’t be much traffic. Dae- Hyun had also installed a state-of-the-art security system just in case they got any unwanted guests. “Sometimes you have to do what you have to for peace of mind. The farmhouse belongs to Aomori and I’ve never felt comfortable living there and taking it over from them.”

  “Won’t your husband be angry when you’re not there when he returns?”

  Shaundra nodded. “But he’ll get over it. I couldn’t continue living there, seeing him day after day after what he did.” She’d told Dae-Hyun everything, including the argument they had when Ichiro called her a whore.

  “Won’t he want to see the babies?”

  “Oh yeah. Probably more than he’ll want to see me,” Shaundra replied. “I have no intentions of keeping them from him. I’m just making myself unavailable.”

  “Are you afraid he might get violent? I mean, are you afraid he might hit you?”

  Shaundra stopped eating. “Ich? Hit me? No. He’d rather cut off his own arm.” She paused. “Why would you ask that?”

  “Because Mr. Kehoe seems to think that Mr. Yoshida could be a threat since he’s a martial artist.”

  “Is that why Harper hired you? To protect me from Ichiro?”

  Dae-Hyun nodded. “And to protect you from over-zealous fans.”

  “Oh, them. Well, I don’t really think they’d do anything to me or Ichiro either. But I am concerned about the boys.”

  “No one will get near them,” Dae-Hyun promised. “They will have to kill me first.”

  Ooh, Rambo with a Korean accent. Groovy. She stared at the handsome man and her heart did that funny little thumping thing. “Thank you, but as far as Ichiro, well, he’s one of the sweetest people I know. True, he does get angry on occasion, but everyone does. I don’t think he’d even hurt a fly.”

  “I will stop him too if I have to,” Dae-Hyun told her. “Despite what you think, your husband is capable of doing great harm. I’ve done a bit of research on him. Do you know that his family was once involved with the Yakazu?”

  “Yaka-what?” Shaundra asked.

  “The Japanese mafia. And his uncles were training Ichiro to become a full-fledged member since he was a small child.”

  Shaundra laughed. “Are you serious? I’ve meet his siblings. They are so nice and harmless.”

  “Yeah, well, they might be now, but the generation of Yoshida before them wasn’t. After their parents died, Ichiro’s older brother moved them from Kagawa to Osaka to get Ichiro away, but one of his uncles followed and continued to train him.”

  Shaundra thought about what Dae-Hyun told her. Her baby? A deadly killer? Well, he did slay her in the bedroom. But no, there must be some mistake.

  “I’m not telling you this to frighten you, but I think you should be aware of his family history since you’re now a part of that family.”

  “Is the mafia still active in Japan?”

  Dae-Hyun nodded. “But not as much as they used to be.”

  She’d never considered this before, but it would explain a lot of things. She supposed she could ask Daichi the next time she saw him. “Thanks for the information,” she replied as she watched him place a piece of meat into his mouth. Shaundra sighed. Why did all the men in her life have such great lips?

  A shrill cry radiated through the baby monitor and broke her fantasy. Shaundra pushed her plate back and attempted to rise.

  “Sit and finish your meal,” Dae-Hyun told her. “I’ll get Raiden.”

  “How do you know that’s Raiden?”

  “I know his cry,” Dae-Hyun explained as he walked out of the kitchen.

  Even she didn’t know that. “Wow!”

  ****

  Satoshi peered through the curtains, checking out the audience.

  “What does it look like?” Yori asked from behind him.

  “A vast sea of heads,” Satoshi replied. “The place is sold out, just like Mr. Niigata told us.”

  “Good,” Yori said. “I have a mortgage to pay.”

  Good old Yori, Satoshi thought. His mind was always on money and practical things now that he was married to Amaya. It must stem from the fact that his wife is a shop-a-holic.

  Ichiro was still in wardrobe getting fussed at because he was still gaining muscle after their designer told him to stop. Yori was starting to put on the weight he’d lost with the Amaya incident, and his skin had colored and cleared again. They walked back to the dressing room. A makeup artist worked on Kenshin, and their resident stylist, Hisao, was giving Takumijo a new do.

  “What does it look like out there?” Takumijo asked.

  “Another full house,” Yori answered.

  “Good, I like that. That means we’re still popular.”

  Satoshi smirked. Takumijo liked being the center of attention. “Nice do,” Satoshi said.

  “He wanted something different,” Hisao replied.

  “It is most becoming.”

  “Bite me,” Takumijo replied back to him. “I know I look good.”

  “I wasn’t being sarcastic,” Satoshi explained. “I really like it. The color goes well with your complexion and makes your eyes appear more exotic.”

  “Next time I’ll freshen you up too,” Hisao told Satoshi. “You’re been wearing your hair the same old way since you were a teen. You can’t keep hiding behind those bangs.”

  What is wrong with my bangs?

  “You should let the world see that beautiful face.”

  Satoshi shook his head. “No, if you’re going to change my hair, I need something to draw attention away from me.”

  Yori nodded in agreement. “He needs a manly cut.”

  “What about you?” Hisao asked Yori.

  “I’m game if you are. I’m ready for a new look.”

  “Do you think Ichiro would let me do something with his?”

  “No,” all four singers answered.

  Hisao looked surprised.

  “The hair is Ichiro’s thing,” Satoshi explained. “It’s what makes Ichiro unique.”

  The stylist shook his head. “Those blue eyes make Ichiro unique. He’s a father now and he needs to look like one.”

  Ichiro entered the dressing room and everyone trained their eyes on him. “What?” he asked, sitting down in a seat.

  “Hisao wants to know if you’ll let him give you a new hairstyle.”

  “Sure,” Ichiro said. “Maybe it’s time to get rid of all this hair.”

  Satoshi gawked. “No,” he whined. “Don’t do it. Shaundra loves your hair.”

  Ichiro laughed. “You sound like she only likes me for my hair.”

  “No,” Satoshi said non-convincingly. “But it’s one of the things she does like about you.”

  “So you mean to tell me Shaundra would not like me as much without this hair?”

  Satoshi didn’t answer.

  “I’m going to prove it to you that you’re wrong,” Ichiro said. He turned to Hisao. “Pencil me in for a total body m
akeover.”

  Satoshi shook his head. “I think you’re making a big mistake.”

  “My mistake to make,” Ichiro replied.

  Someone knocked on the door. “Ten minutes to curtain.”

  “Come on, you guys,” Kenshin said. “Let’s get this party started.”

  ****

  Cristal looked down at her cell phone as it vibrated in her hand. Now who on earth could be calling me at a time like this? She ignored the call and let it go to voicemail. The house lights lowered and the curtains slid back.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer said. “Aomori.”

  Aomori appeared singing and dancing their way onto the stage in their new costumes.

  Masaaki leaned toward her. “Don’t they look great?”

  Cristal nodded. The costumes were so deliciously tight and the boys were rocking that song. The audience came alive, jumping to their feet singing and dancing with them. It had just been released a month ago and it already sat at the top of the charts. She didn’t care what anyone said, the losers knew how to rock a house. Her cell phone vibrated again and then the message beeped. Someone was definitely trying to get in touch with her, but all the noise made it difficult to communicate or hear. She looked down at the display. Tae. She wondered what he wanted. This was the first time she’d heard from him since she left Osaka.

  Aomori performed for about an hour and a half and then the curtain lowered for intermission. When it dimmed again, Aomori returned dressed casually in jeans and t-shirts. The females in the crowd went wild once they got a look at Ichiro and his new muscles. They did a few skits with the audience participating and then sang a couple of their old numbers before breaking out the newer ones. Ichiro saddled up to the lead mike and the women shouted his name from the rafters. He waved and then he spoke.

  Cristal pulled out her video camera and began filming.

  “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for coming to our show. The next song we’re about to perform is something new we recorded a couple of weeks ago to celebrate the birth of my twin sons Raiden and Ryoto. It’s called ‘A Father’s Pride.’”

  The music began slowly with Aomori singing the introduction of the song. Ichiro removed the mike from the stand and began walking the stage so he could sing to the entire audience. He stepped out on a partition and the spotlight followed him. He began singing the most beautiful song Cristal had ever heard. Satoshi walked over to the piano and another spotlight followed him. He sat down and began to play and then he sang the next verse.