"I think you"d look so handsome in this –"Miya stopped abruptly, as she turned around, her finger pointing at a suit. She looked at the fiery expression of the two men, and they looked back at her coaxingly. The temperature around them dropped further.
Miya swallowed.
Somehow, she had invited a dangerous situation.
Both the Hunter boys had turned around, responded to one call of hers, and now their pride hung on but one word from her own mouth. A sudden chill ran down Miya"s spine. Shrugging, she glanced back at her finger, and decided on a course of action.
"Mr. Hunter," she began again, "I think you would look very handsome in this." Her finger kept pointing at a dusky grey suit that had faint shades of pink in it. Her eyes were fixed on Jim.
Jimmy Hunter almost leapt in victory.
That was his wife!
He had won!
Simon Hunter"s eyes froze, but in the next moment, the tables turned. Miya walked along, and pointed at another three-piece suit, one that was somewhere between a deep maroon and brown in colour. She smiled happily.
"And father, I think this would suit you very much."
The Chairman visibly relaxed, and gave her a bright smile. Whereas Jimmy"s jaw could have dropped to the floor. He maintained his expression though.
Father?
When had the Chairman become "Father"?!
And why the f*** was he still "Mr. Hunter"?!
d.a.m.n it, he wanted to be "Darling" too! Or at least "Husband"!
Even, Jimmy would be fine too…
Miya sighed in relief, thinking that she had evaded a storm. Simon Hunter walked to her, and said, "Good choice. I"ll take it. Thank you."
It was then that Jimmy Hunter jumped into action again.
Ignoring his displeasing thoughts, he walked over to Miya as well, and smiled.
"Thanks," he muttered too.
To both the boy"s disappointment though, Miya smiled back politely at them both, the intensity of her grin same for both the father and son.
Simon Hunter was still pleased though, he had at least won the battle earlier. But then, an idea struck Jim. He held Miya"s hand, and said out loud, "Would there be a similar suit available for a child? 5 years old."
The store owner hurriedly said a "yes".
Jim ordered to take it, and then said to Miya, "Maybe I and Ben could twin dress again. We"d both let you fawn over us then!" He chuckled at his words.
It was then that Miya broke into the broadest smile ever.
"Awh," she quickly sighed, excited, "That would be so cute! Thank you! You"re the best."
With that, she went over to check out the kids" suit.
Jimmy was giddy with joy, whereas Simon Hunter"s ears twitched. The young master walked gallantly towards his father with his hands shoved into his pockets, and said, "And that, Chairman, is called "Knowing Your Wife"."
When all had been packed and done, and Miya had successfully convinced Jim to not buy the whole store, they moved out of the store.
Jim had obviously agreed to the wife, now that he had had a final say in the battle.
Simon Hunter, of course, was not pleased.
So he walked beside the daughter-in-law and Jimmy, and while the two were chatting merrily and Jim was about to say something, Simon cut him off.
"Earlier, Miya," he said in a voice commanding respect to an elder, "Before your husband came in, of course, I was going to tell you about the final lesson. Power."
Miya was immediately excited. She turned to look at the Chairman, and said, "Oh, yes!"
Simon smiled.
"As I was saying, dear, establishing power was the effect we wanted to achieve. That was the point of you calling me "father" aloud when the owner was within earshot. That way, they know who you are. And no matter what, they don"t mess with you."
Miya nodded obediently, carefully remembering what the Chairman himself was teaching to her.
Meanwhile, Jimmy was confused.
What?
Why was the Chairman in teaching mode?
He sounded just like when all those years ago, he was training Jim to behave like a "Hunter". What the h.e.l.l was he up to right now?
Miya"s sincerity pleased Simon, and he couldn"t resist the urge to ask politely, "Won"t be afraid of stores, now, right?"
Miya nodded enthusiastically, pumping her fists.
"No!"
"Promise?"
"Ah, hah! Promise!"
Jim didn"t like the situation at all.
He felt like an idiotic third wheel.
So he quickly went to his car, and was ready to drive his wife away. Horror filled his face, however, when he saw Simon Hunter open the car door and sit in the back seat too. Moreover, he didn"t even let Miya sit beside Jim. He called her to sit beside himself, saying he would like to talk.
Jim"s annoyance knew no bounds.
Infuriated, he barked, "Why are you coming with us?"
Simon"s reply was calm.
"I"m staying at Golden Compa.s.s too."
"Then where"s your car?"
"Oh. I took a cab here. Drop me, please?"
Liar!!
Jim"s eyes looked accusingly as his father as he ignited the car. He wasn"t their d.a.m.n chauffeur! And he wanted his wife back!
Why wouldn"t this old man leave them alone?
And today, of all days?
Jim glanced back at Miya, relieved to see that she was sitting at a considerable distance away from the Chairman. He then looked at those eyes, gulped in sorrow and self pity, and began to drive.
He couldn"t resist the urge though.
"Father," he called out, "those two dresses you bought for my wife. You paid for them right? I hope you didn"t do what you did with that possum."
Simon Hunter"s face paled, and he shot his son a filthy look. Jim grinned giddily.
Meanwhile Miya, who was now comfortable enough with the Chairman to actually feel annoyance, shot him a look. Now that she thought about it, Simon Hunter wasn"t a very nice man.
And yet, she was totally being entranced by him.
What a charmer!
When old Hunter saw the change in Miya"s face, he was immediately on alert. He quickly said, "Miya saw me pay. And Mochi was a terrible misunderstanding that I"ll explain at home." He shot Miya a worried look, and couldn"t find it in himself to forgive his son, "But really, Jimmy Hunter. I heard you asked Park to fix a meeting with a doctor. I wonder what happened to you?"
Jimmy"s face paled this time.
This old man!
How did he know about the matter?!
Well of course Jim had texted Park regarding seeing a doctor… he was hideously aroused every time he saw the little mouse after all!
All blood drained from Jimmy"s face, as Miya forgot all about Simon Hunter, and asked Jim worriedly, "Doctor? Why? What happened? I told you to be careful with your arm!"
Jim gave the wife a tight smile, and glared daggers at his father, through the mirror.
"I"m fine," he told her, and concentrated on driving silently.
The air had turned black once again, and Miya sat uncomfortably with the Senior Hunter. The Chairman, though, was not pleased with his move, and did not feel like he had won the battle still. So he made one more killer attack.
"Miya," he said suddenly, looking at her left hand with mild interest, "Where is your wedding ring, dear? Could we have dropped it at the store?"
Jimmy"s face paled again, his expression horrified.
Simon shot him a look that said, "There!". The young master swore.
This old b.a.s.t.a.r.d!
He had done it now!