Café Lov

by Samantha Lau

  He turned on his computer to pull up his projection graphics. There was nothing indicating that this area would be the new center of either business or commerce. Was Higa planning to start a trend? Trying to capitalize on the first buildings in the area in the hopes others would follow? He was fairly sure that little coffee shop would be no problem. If Higa wanted a building in the area they could place themselves next door, or even across the street. It wasn’t like it could ‘cramp their style’ or anything, even if it was an ugly, old shop.

  Tatsuya sighed and drummed his fingers on his desk. He might have been fairly sure that having the coffee shop around wouldn’t be an issue... but he was just as certain that this was going to be one hell of a job to accomplish. If he couldn’t get Orlov to sell he was going to have to try to convince Higa to move... and that could be even more difficult. But it was that or his job, and Tatsuya liked his job. He was good at it. It paid well. He wanted to keep it. And like Higa said, he would have to do anything in his power to make sure he kept it, no matter the cost...

  3

  Vanya had spent most of that first day distracted, thinking of the businessman’s proposal to purchase his café. He was conflicted. He was annoyed at the man and his forceful ways, and yet... something. Something he couldn’t quite place told him he shouldn’t just write him off as an annoying prick just yet. The thought of the generous offers, of the ways the money could be taken advantage of to find a better place for his business, to make it bigger, plagued him day in and day out, to the point where Sasha had to call him out on his spacing out more than once.

  But he couldn’t sell.

  Every day, when he first walked into the coffee shop, he looked around and he saw memories. He could see it just as it was the first time he’d walked into it, many years ago, holding to his father’s hand and with little baby Sasha fussing in his mother’s arms. He could still smell the sweet scent of freshly made coffee. He could feel the same kind of awe and amazement the old building had caused him. The way the warmth of the place had made him feel welcomed, safe, happy. He could taste the delicious slice of chocolate cake his parents had indulged him with, and hear the way the foreign tongue sounded to his ears. It was one of his strongest earlier life memories, and the one he held dearest to him. Those same feelings were what he hoped to create with his shop for everyone that came through the doors.

  But through the day those memories were clouded with doubt. With the generous offer Tobe’s company was making. With doubts on whether he was accomplishing what he wanted. On whether it’d be best to sell. On whether it was fair to his sister and his workers. He kept expecting the businessman to come in once again, to insist once more, and he wasn’t entirely sure if he would refuse him this time, or even if he should. It wasn’t like things were going swell with the shop... but they weren’t going badly, either. Six months was too soon to tell if your business still had a chance or not. Could he risk missing this offer? Was his dream enough to keep this place afloat?

  By the end of the week and with no new appearance from the business man, his doubts had lessened and Vanya had almost been able to forget about the whole thing.

  ***

  It was late and Vanya had already sent his sister and Tom home. As he always did, he was getting ready to close up. The doors had already been locked, the register checked, and Vanya had turned off the lights a few minutes ago, but he’d delayed a bit at the front of the shop, turning some chairs over that Tom seemed to have forgotten.

  It was then when he heard it. It was a strange metallic click followed by the sound of a door creaking open. He recognized it easily. You couldn’t hear the creaking when the shop was open, but in the silence of the night, when one of them would take out the trash, the creaking was crystal clear. Someone had just opened the back door, and Vanya was almost certain it wouldn’t be any of his workers.

  He hesitated, looking out the front door, then deciding he couldn’t afford to be robbed, or worse, when his shop was still this new. He pulled out his cell to call the police, whispering that someone had broken in and the address, then grabbed for the nearest thing he could use as a weapon –a tray– and headed as quietly as he could towards the back.

  The door was ajar, but it looked empty at first, and everything was quiet once more. Against the better judgment of anyone who’s ever seen a horror movie, Vanya called out: “Who’s there?! I’ve called the police!”

  A shadow moved in the corner; a darker shape in the already dark room. Vanya fixed his hold on the tray with a hand and tried to reach for the light switch. The shadow seemed to reach for something within itself. Instinct told Vanya he wouldn’t have time for lights, that if the person was reaching for a weapon then he would be done for. So he lunged for him, thinking it was safe to say since the shadow hadn’t identified themselves when he’d asked who was there, it was definitely not one of his people.

  He crashed into the man just as a gun was pulled, swung the tray in a wide arch and smacked him hard with it. The other grunted, stumbled, but was not easily brought down. He attacked in turn, Vanya dropping the tray as he could do nothing more with it. They struggled and the man pushed him against a counter. Vanya gasped as the edge hit hard on his lower back and his back hit something – something that didn’t feel nice at all. Something else clattered, something shattered, then came the deafening sound of the gun going off, even as they struggled for it.

  Bang, it went off once. Bang, it went once again.

  Vanya pushed the intruder off himself and fell back panting heavily, reaching to use the nearby counter for balance. The other stumbled once more too, then lunged to Vanya one last time, hitting him hard in the back of the head before he could do anything about it.

  ***

  When he came to again, the first thing Vanya saw was white lights. One, two blinks later, and the sight was replaced with his sister’s face. There they were, those lovely blue eyes looking down at him, brow wrinkling in that way it did whenever she was worried about him, or about something he’d done. It never failed to make Vanya feel overprotective of her and want to cuddle her and tell her everything would be alright. This time, however, he wasn’t yet sure if everything would be alright. He wasn’t really sure what had happened.

  In an attempt to lighten the mood, he said “You’ll get wrinkles.”

  His voice was a little hoarse, and he had to clear his throat to make it sound a little closer to normal. It helped a bit when she gently brought a small plastic cup with water to his lips, helping him lift his head a bit to drink even as she snorted at the call.

  “And it’ll be your fault, idiot.”

  Vanya sighed. “What happened?” he asked patiently, having a look around at what was clearly a hospital room.

  “I should be asking you that,” she said, angry, but not really at him. He figured she was likely just frustrated at the situation. “The police said there was a break in. You were shot.”

  He stared at her dumbly. “I was shot?”

  He remembered the break in, of course. He remembered the struggle, the sound of gunshots. Had there been any pain? He didn’t think so. The only pain he remembered was from being pushed against the counter and that was before the shots. He thought he’d felt some slight, sharp pain... had that been the gunshot? He wouldn’t have been able to tell for sure if he’d been asked. Everything was a bit of a blur after the sound of the shots. Everything had just happened too fast.

  He looked around the room again, as if it would be able to provide some sort of answer, then down at himself as he tried to sit up.

  “You should stay put,” Sasha complained, but as he insisted on sitting up, she ended up helping him.

  It was the movement that made him finally realize that there was a dull pain in his shoulder... though now it was no longer dull as he’d just pulled at the wound. There was a bit of blood seeping through the bandage there. Vanya still couldn’t remember being shot... but it was clear that he really had been.

  “I
think you’re still in shock.” Sasha said, and the crease on her brow was back once again, soft gaze observing him carefully.

  Vanya opened his mouth, closed it, then sighed. “Might be a little,” he said, not sure if shock was like drunkenness. Were you in shock if you could admit you were in shock? He tried to assess himself. His shoulder was starting to hurt some, but he could still move his hand and arm. His head hurt... had he blacked out because of the shot or had he been hit? Maybe he’d hit his head on the way down...

  “They said you have a mild concussion... ” Sasha was saying, still worried.

  Vanya forced a small smile. “I’m fine,” he finally said, tone all reassurance. He reached for her hand. “Really, I’ll be fine, Sashenka.”

  The gentle touch, the smile, and the soft call of her name were enough to make her offer a weak smile of her own in turn.

  “What’s happening in the shop?” he asked, trying to slightly turn her attention away from worrying about him, and into what was starting to worry him, instead.

  “Well, the police are there. Tom and Sally are handling it. We’ll have to be closed at least for today, until they finish up.”

  “And the guy? The one that broke in? Did they catch him?”

  She shook her head. “I heard there’s a chance he was hurt too. They might be able to identify and find him if it was so.”

  Vanya nodded. “Nothing stolen or broken?”

  Now Sasha snorted again, and her frown was full of annoyance as well as worry.

  “Just your head!” She sighed deeply “Oh Vanya, Vanya... what were you thinking? I was so worried!”

  “I’m sorry,” Vanya said softly, squeezing her hand. “We just can’t afford this kind of thing right now... not until the loan is paid off.”

  “Oh, I know, but there was really no need for you to be so reckless... What if–”

  “But it didn’t,” he cut her off, smiled again. “And I’m fine. And tomorrow we’ll go back to business as usual.”

  ***

  They did go back to business as usual the following day, but not Vanya. He stayed in the hospital for observation for one more night, then was finally released. With his shoulder wounded and his arm in a sling to keep from moving it too much, Vanya couldn’t wait tables, but that didn’t stop him from manning the register or taking orders. And so he did, until the chime of the door opening made him look up, and he saw that man walk in once again.

  Wearing yet another fancy, expensive suit, Tatsuya Tobe waltzed into the café as if he owned the place already.

  During his entire stay at the hospital, all Vanya could think about was this guy, and how interesting it was that, almost a week after he’d issued his ‘threat’, they had had an attempt at robbery. They’d not had such in the six months before, and now all of a sudden they were targeted. In Vanya’s mind there was no doubt that this man had something to do with it, and so the sight of him made his blood boil.

  The smile that had been gracing his lips dropped and he rounded the counter at once, stalking towards the newcomer.

  Tastuya must have seen him, for the businessman pulled off his sunglasses and slipped them away in his breast pocket, stopping in his tracks and looking at him with a slightly arched eyebrow.

  “You’re not welcome here,” Vanya stated, barely containing his rage.

  Not intimidated despite the waves of anger radiating from Vanya, Tatsuya said, “I thought you might have reconsidered... ”

  “Reconsidered what? Selling?” Vanya asked, voice raising a little. “Never. I told you I wouldn’t sell and I won’t, no matter how many of your goons you send to scare me away.”

  This time Tatsuya frowned, seeming a bit unsure. Some of his formality left him as he asked, “‘Goons’? What are you talking about?”

  “The man you sent to rob us,” Vanya said, convinced this man was behind it. He pointed at his wounded shoulder. “The one who shot me. You think I’d do any kind of business with you after that?”

  Tatsuya’s gaze followed to the sling, having already noticed it, but thinking it could have been anything, even just a sprain. Then he looked back up into Vanya’s gray-blue eyes, holding a hand up defensively.

  “Orlov-san,” he called, automatically switching to his Japanese ways in trying to placate him, not even noticing he’d done it. “I did not send anyone to rob nor hurt you.”

  “Like I should believe you?!” Vanya asked, again a bit louder.

  Once more they were starting to attract attention of the nearby patrons, and while Tatsuya might have wanted the man to fail in his business to be able to buy him out, he certainly didn’t want to be the center of a scene.

  “Look, please. Let’s sit down and discuss this calmly. I promise you I had nothing to do with any attempt at robbery.”

  Tatsuya had done his fair share of shady deals in the past, when people had gotten difficult. It’d not been beyond him to send someone to scare a person off, or even to purchase nearby buildings to sell to the competition in order to ruin businesses... but he would have never physically harmed anyone, nor done business with someone who would have. He’d been honest when he’d told Vanya he’d had nothing to do with this attempt, for really, he’d been considering other means to approach him if today did not go well. And none had involved intimidation, not yet.

  “Is this guy bothering you?” A third voice cut in. Tom had suddenly appeared there, having left his place behind the counter to come to Vanya’s aid. “Want me to see him out, Vanya?”

  Vanya looked from his friend to Tatsuya, hesitant.

  “Please,” Tatsuya called softly.

  Vanya sighed and shook his head to Tom. “It’s fine. We’ll just have a little chat here. Have Sasha bring us some coffee.”

  Tom gave them a lingering look, but finally nodded and left.

  Vanya slowly led the way towards a table in the back, one more or less secluded. He kept giving little glances at Tatsuya all the way there.

  “So, the break in, that really wasn’t you?”

  “I assure you, I had nothing to do with any break in,” Tatsuya stated “I know you have little reason to believe my word, but I was honestly unaware of such thing having happened.”

  As they sat, the businessman’s gaze fell on Vanya’s wounded shoulder again. “Are you well enough to be working?”

  “Just fine,” Vanya grumbled “I’m not sure yet I believe you, man. Last I saw you, you were a little–”

  “It was not a threat,” Tatsuya stated. “I don’t deny I might have said it in the spirit of intimidation, but I most certainly didn’t mean to send someone to hurt you or your business... ” and he certainly wouldn’t have announced it if he had meant to do it.

  Another long sigh escaped Vanya’s lips.

  “Fine. This doesn’t change anything though, I’m still not selling.”

  It was Tatsuya’s turn to sigh. “Why do you refuse? Our company has made more than generous offers; if you really wanted to you could use the money to start over–”

  “Stop. I have no interest in your offers. I won’t sell. It’s none of your business why I won’t.”

  “But you could start anew somewhere better than here. Surely you realize–”

  “God, you’re really persistent.” Vanya glared. “I said no. I like my business here well enough.”

  Tatsuya stood. “You may wish to reconsider. Both your neighbors have already sold out to us. Do you intend on being the only business left standing here?”

  Vanya stood in turn, frowning. “I do.”

  “Very well. We’re starting demolition in three days. Perhaps we’ll revisit this then.”

  Vanya looked on in surprise as the other man retreated. Demolition? Damn it. What did this guy’s company plan to do with the area? Another giant mall? Another way to break the city?

  4

  As Tatsuya left the shop, he couldn’t help but think he’d acted wrongly once again, letting his anger be fueled by the man’s own outrage. This was not t
he way to get Ivan Orlov to sell. The man clearly did not respond properly to intimidation or to bullying. If he could not convince him with simple words, he’d have to go with plan B.

  Had he not been so worried about losing his own job, Tatsuya might have considered Vanya to be... a bit irritable, but nonetheless pleasing to the eye. Personality wise he wasn’t really his type; normally Tatsuya’s interest laid more in the quieter type of man, while Ivan seemed to be more of a troublemaker; a hard worker, yes, but a troublemaker nonetheless. As far as looks went, though, Vanya was quite attractive. The blond hair was not quite... ‘different’, but certainly eye catching to him, and the man’s gray–blue eyes were so full of... he wasn’t sure what to call it. Passion, perhaps. Not the hot–for–you kind, but the kind that spoke of a creative intellect. Of passion for art, for living, for doing. He looked a bit younger than he was too. Tatsuya would have put him in mid to late twenties rather than early thirties.

  And Tatsuya had noticed well the manner in which Ivan had looked at him the first time he’d gone through the café doors. Ivan had been interested in him, and Tatsuya was going to take advantage of that.

  It didn’t exactly make him proud, but if you wanted to advance your career in business, then you had to be flexible with what means you used to get to an end. It wouldn’t be the first time Tatsuya tried to woo someone in order to make them sell their business. And it would probably not be the last, if he managed to keep his job. And this was precisely plan B. If intimidation didn’t work, then perhaps attraction did. At least he hoped so. Other business had prevented him from seeing to Vanya before that day, and now with the robbery attempt and his reaction, chances were he’d screwed up majorly. Now he was one week short.