My Perfect Lady

The father and son stared darkly at each other, through the mirror. And yet, somehow, the one most nervous was Miya. Albeit Senior Hunter had dropped the issue of a wedding ring for now, and just concentrated on glaring at Jim, Miya was still uncomfortable.

She didn"t understand what these men were doing.

They were trying to outdo each other for some reason, of course, and they were each insulting the other. Why they were doing it though, she didn"t get.

The only one present there besides themselves, was her.

And why in the world would they show off before her?

She was also surprised by Simon Hunter"s behaviour today. He had been kind and caring, attentive to the point that she had almost forgotten that he was the Chairman. He had even given her tips on not being afraid of big stores! What was his actual purpose though?

She hadn"t really forgiven him for Mochi right now, but really, she wasn"t sure he was exactly apologetic about the matter either. Also, there was the bigger question: Had he really found out about her past enough to know about Mochi?

Or was it simply a coincidence?

And her brain lashed out at her in chiding.

"Of course its not a coincidence!" It yelled, "Remember the slingshot? He found about your background before you even met!"

Miya sighed, her head suddenly aching now.

She wasn"t one to play games. She would ask Senior Hunter directly what he wanted from her, and why he was being so nice. Once they got back to the hotel, though.

The rest of the drive was silent.

When they had finally got to the hotel though, Jim"s face steeled further as he saw Simon Hunter walk out of the elevator on the same floor as theirs. But then, he gave the man the benefit of the doubt, still annoyed at the possibility that he could be living on the same floor. The old man exceeded expectations though, for he not only followed them out of the lift, but also into their room.

This man… he was too shameless!

Once they had got back to the room, Miya was relieved to see that Ben had fallen asleep once again, hugging Jimmy"s novel. Beside the bed, the man from last night, who had been placed at the library, was sitting alertly, watching the child.

Miya automatically felt guilty, and thankful as well.

Jim was too reliable.

She walked before the two Hunter men, to go thank the person taking care of her son, when the man suddenly stood up, looking nervous. He bowed to both Senior Hunter and Jim, and looked visibly uncomfortable. Miya glanced back at the Hunters, who were still glaring murderously at each other and sighed.

Then paying them no further heed, she said, "Thank you for taking care of my son."

Chenric, who was one of the trustworthy men from security that Jim valued, was disoriented. He was also one of the very few people who had figured out who this little woman was. She was the boss"s wife. And the boss cared about her very much.

So when she thanked him personally, the man flushed. He nodded rigorously, muttered a "Yes, ma"am," awkwardly and then took his leave. Miya looked back at him, amused.

Meanwhile Simon Hunter stomped to the daughter-in-law, and then glanced at the sleeping boy. Casually, he asked, "Ben?"

Miya was surprised, even though she shouldn"t have been. Of course the Chairman knew her son"s name, even though he was seeing the child for the first time. Somehow, Miya"s protective instinct sprang up. She walked to the bed, and nodded silently.

"My son."

She couldn"t read Simon"s gaze as he studied the boy. They were sharp, scrutinizing, but she couldn"t sense any immediate disapproval. Within another second, though, the old man sighed and then looked at her.

"Sit." He said.

Miya looked back at the man, and saw the hint of an emotion she did not recognize. She sat down at one corner of the bed, and stared at her thigh.

Somehow, she was afraid again.

Chairman Hunter seemed to scare her more than his son ever did. Their tone of talking though, she noted, were very similar.

Miya was lost in her thoughts, when the old man suddenly dropped down on one knee. That knocked the air out of the girl"s lungs, and she immediately looked up at him, horrified.

What was he doing?!

Simon held both her hands in his.

Miya froze, her face paling further. The old man cleared his throat, almost looking nervous.

"Dear," he then said with utmost sincerity, "Let me apologize to you for what happened back at the Hunter estate. I shouldn"t have given you another boy"s pet."

Miya frowned, but her face regained some colour.

"The truth is," the old man continued, "There was a meeting that day, and we had been heading it till the evening. Your husband was there too. And I only found out about your pet Mochi when it was already dinner time. The idea just struck me. And I wanted to apologize to you as soon as possible. You had saved my life after all, and I had sent someone to attack you.

I needed some kind of gesture for friendship, dear. And Mochi seemed so appropriate. I was already at dinner, so all I could do was remember the head maid"s boy and the possum he owned. If its any consolation, I compensated the parents for the animal when I got it fetched for you. Their boy created the fuss though."

Miya"s jaw had drawn into a thin line.

She heard the old Hunter"s words, processed them, and didn"t really care in that moment. What worried her was the man himself.

He was the Chairman of Hunter Corporation. The Chairman. And he was on his knees!

Why?! Why would he do that before her?!

Numbly, Miya pulled out her hands from his grasp, and said nervously, "Chairman, please get up."

Simon Hunter didn"t budge.

"Do you forgive me?" he asked adamantly, "Are we friends again?"

Miya exhaled, and then looked into his eyes.

"Please, Chairman Hunter. Please get up."

When the old Hunter didn"t listen to her, Miya held her head in her hands. She was ready to sob.

"I forgive you, Chairman. It"s okay," she said in utter distress, muttering to herself, "Just please get up. It doesn"t matter. Why would you kneel before me? Don"t you realize who you are?"

Simon Hunter"s face lightened up, and he folded his hand in her lap.

"Really?" the man sounded excited.

Miya removed her hands from her face, looked at Senior Hunter, and would have burst into tears.

"Get up, Chairman get up!"

Her voice was hoa.r.s.e. Simon Hunter panicked and immediately stood up, whereas Miya visibly calmed down. He was indignant though.

"Why am I Chairman again, dear?" he said with a frown, "Was I not father?"

"That was for the store! Chairman, I –"

"I meant it. Do you want me to kneel again?"

"No! No, father. Father it is. Yes! Really, don"t you know who you are at all? Why are you bothering me?"

Simon Hunter smiled satisfactorily, and was thoroughly amused by now. Behind him, he glanced at his son, his clenched fists and brooding mouth, and his amus.e.m.e.nt grew tenfold.

This boy was so easy to annoy!

Grinning, Simon Hunter said, "Hm. Okay, I won"t do it again. But, Miya… Why are you so upset about me doing it? I bet you wouldn"t mind if it was Jimmy. He"s the C.E.O. too you know, even if he doesn"t look like it."

Miya positively sulked.

"That"s because we"re friends!" she defended unhappily, whereas the old man chuckled. Then turning around, he walked towards the door, not forgetting to whisper to his son, "You"re welcome," as he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked out.

Jimmy, who had earlier been ready to explode in anger, now looked aghast. He stole a glance at his wife, who still looked distraught, and despite himself, he blushed.

Evening came.

Jimmy Hunter had left for work, not forgetting to remind Miya to change into something more comfortable and change her bandages. Miya, of course, was happy to oblige, since the dress was ripped anyway.

Throughout the day, Jim was overloaded with work, and yet, he couldn"t concentrate. He watched the clippings from the cameras too, giving every detail a closer look, and finally ordered all places to be untapped, debugged.

He had also wanted to confront Miya regarding their past, but then had decided he was in too sour a mood to do it right then. Work could help him destress.

When it was late at night, he came back to the hotel, and instead of going to the wife, he went to the floor above, and into his father"s room.

Simon Hunter didn"t frequent the offices anymore, so he could barely be met there.

When Jim entered his room, the old man was sitting smartly in a chair, going through a file, and smoking a cigar. His eyes shot up at the sight of his son.

"Ah, welcome," he greeted pleasantly.

Jim chose to stop at the door, and leaned against the frame casually.

They both stared at each other for a second, and then the Chairman sighed.

"What is it?" he asked. His voice was sharp.

Jim had gone through all the clippings today, and thanks to the camera on Miya"s dress, he was aware of what exactly had pa.s.sed between him and Miya.

Relaxing, Jim said in his most patient voice, "You say. What was that, about pride, impression and power? The stuff you were telling Miya. Why?"

Simon looked at Jim carefully. Then, he smirked.

"Of course," he said in realization, "You bugged the girl"s clothes."

Jim flinched internally, but his face was straight as a lace.

"No, Miya told me. What are you trying to do? And how did you find out where she was?"

The old man had come to her directly after landing.

Simon almost rolled his eyes.

"David of course. My chauffeur called him. It isn"t exactly hard to deduce who you"ll put up at the service of whom, Jimmy.

And the answer to you "why" is simple. I like the girl."

Jim scoffed.

"You don"t like anyone from that cla.s.s."

"I"m making an exception."

"Why?"

"She saved my life."

"Lies."

Simon Hunter shut up at that, but he looked at the boy in challenge. Since the very beginning, a sort of feud had always existed between the two men. They had never been able to see eye to eye. And so, the only way they had found to co-exist was through competing, and they did it in almost everything.

It gave them a reason to tolerate the other. Some days, they lived for just the thrill of outwitting the other party. Though they had never admitted it to each other, they both secretly kept scores.

Currently, Simon Hunter had won against the brat exactly 2,285 times.

Jimmy had made it to 2,284.

And the battle had started 25 years ago, when Jimmy was six years old.

Simon decided to change the topic, and so he said, "Tell me about Rebecca. How is she?"

Jimmy shrugged.

"Does it matter?" he asked.

"No," Simon"s reply was short, "You might be interested to know though. The Toby-Freeman Publications have just launched a financial magazine. Two months before."

Jim was immediately distracted.

He nodded at the news.

"Are they involved in trafficking too?" he asked, "I haven"t received information to that end."

"I haven"t too." Simon took in a deep breath.

Then deciding to meet tomorrow, and discuss the matter with Rebecca Storm herself, Jimmy took his leave. Before going though, he couldn"t resist asking his old man for the last time.

"Father… towards Miya. What do you really want from her?"

Simon Hunter gave Jim an impossible look, and then chuckled deeply.

Then in a very low voice, he said:

"You think I"d tell you?"