After dropping Tsubaki off at the bakery, Ren drove straight to Fuse Corporation. A phone call came the moment he stopped at a red light. It was an unfamiliar number calling his personal phone. Ren fiddled with the b.u.t.tons on the dashboard, connecting the call with the speaker."h.e.l.lo?"
"I"m sorry for disturbing you, Mr. Fuse. This is me, Nagao Yuuto."
Ren cast a glance at the phone number appeared on the screen. When they met before, he was the one who gave Nagao Yuuto his personal number, thus he didn"t save his. Once the light changed to the green one, he steadily drove the car on the second lane.
"I didn"t expect to get your call so early in the morning, Mr. Nagao," He calmly maneuvered his way on the road, the traffic was slightly congested during the morning rush. Most of the city folks were heading to their workplaces. Without beating around a bush, he added, "Do you find something regarding your wife?"
"Yes," Nagao Yuuto"s voice was clear as he answered. "I went through my wife"s belongings and found a strange letter. It was dated back to when we were still in high school. I haven"t read the letter as I want to just give it to you."
"It is hard?" An indescribable feeling crept inside his heart as he asked the question. His gaze dimmed in the bright summer morning.
"Yes," Nagao Yuuto replied, he didn"t mind to hide what he was feeling. "I might be a coward, Mr. Fuse but I"d leave the important matter to you. If Hinata was in danger years ago, I"m afraid it would come back and haunt us. I have a family to protect, Mr. Fuse."
Ren hummed in agreement. He understood what the younger man wanted to convey to him.
He was the only one supporting his little family. His mother was frail, so did his young son. Both of them depended on him.
"You don"t have to worry," Ren was determined as he gave him his promise. "Nothing untoward would happen to your family. We"re the same. I also have a wife to protect."
"Thank you, Mr. Fuse. I"ll contact you again to schedule our meeting."
"Okay."
The call was hung up shortly.
When Nagao Yuuto talked about the strange letter, Ren was reminded of the stack of unread postcards on his working table. Tsubaki wouldn"t touch them within this time so it was up to him to uncover any clue left by Nakamura Sumire in her writings. He could get Akashi to help but since it was something personal to his wife, he didn"t dare to make any rash decision.
Ren"s Audi swiftly entered his personal parking s.p.a.ce in the bas.e.m.e.nt. The bodyguards who stood at the sides of the door greeted him once he walked over to the lobby. Ren acknowledged them with a slight nod. He immediately went to his floor.
Once Matsuzaki saw him, he quickly went to his Master"s side.
"Master, I"ve finalized the preparations before you and Madam go to Summer City Hotel," Matsuzaki flipped open a thin file in his hands as he continued to add, "As per your instruction, you"d head there tomorrow morning and the meeting between the managers and supervisors would be held at 12 PM. They"ve already compiled everything we need to take note of after they resumed construction, everything has been printed in the file I"ve placed on the table. For today"s meeting, I"ve..."
Even after Matsuzaki"s continuous babbling, Ren just answered him with a slow grunt and a slight nod, much to the former"s dismay. He could only sigh inwardly when his Boss left him in front of his office"s doors, closing them right in front of him.
Sigh... It"s so hard to be a competent a.s.sistant.
Matsuzaki returned to his desk with a dejected face.
Ren hung his jacket at the back of his chair. He opened his laptop, getting ready to start working. As he didn"t want to let his mind wander around, he deeply immersed himself in the piling files on his table. Some of the matters needed his urgent attention so he had a good excuse to be productive today.
It was close to 1 PM when Hibiki knocked on the door, bringing a familiar two-tier lunch box wrapped in a black cloth inside. He had also brought in a small thermos in his other hand. Ren rubbed his temple as he tried to chase away his fatigue. Hibiki placed the lunch box on the coffee table before he respectfully walked over to his Master"s side.
"Madam said she has prepared more than usual and asked you to finish them all," Hibiki conveyed the words Tsubaki had told him one by one. His Madam had countlessly reminded him to make sure his Master ate them all.
"Okay," Ren capped his fountain pen, he placed the sleek black pen inside a metal holder. "How about the task I"ve given you?"
"It"s still in progress, Master," Hibiki reported briefly.
Ren nodded in understanding. He dismissed Hibiki with a wave of his hand. The younger man immediately left the office after he gave a respectful bow to his Boss.
Ren stood up from the swivel chair, he stretched up his long limbs before he went to the couch opposite the coffee table. Once he sat, he reached out for the black thermos. A delicious smell of chicken soup and herbs filled the entire office. The cold in his eyes dispelled when he thought of how his dainty wife had prepared his lunch with extra efforts.
It was true that he couldn"t hide his fatigue from her.
Ren arranged the lunch box neatly on the table. Besides the usual dishes, Tsubaki made sweet potato cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for him too. He smiled, suddenly missing her.
Without a second thought, he called her.
"Ren! h.e.l.lo!" Her excited voice sounded melodious to him.
Ren smiled, his sharp facial features softened when he imagined her smiling to him. "h.e.l.lo, sweetheart. It is a good time to make a call?"
"Yes, the lunch rush is quite bearable today," Tsubaki muttered a quiet instruction to the employee handling the counter before leaving to a much quieter place. "Have you eaten? Hibiki has brought your lunch, right?"
"I called you before I start eating," Ren picked the thermos, he poured some of the hot soup into a small white bowl. "The soup smells delicious. I think the taste would be even greater."
Tsubaki laughed freely, the sound of it widened Ren"s smile. "Enough with your sweet talk and just eat it. I know that you"d have a meeting after this."
"Alright, I"ll hang up now. Call me if you need anything, sweetheart," Ren could only reluctantly listen to his wife"s request. If possible, he wanted to talk to her longer.
Tsubaki hummed sweetly before the call ended as she added, "Darling, I know you"re worried about me."
"I don"t make you feel uncomfortable, right?" Ren smiled in defeat, he knew how he had been acting these past few days. Sometimes, he was afraid his worry and care would scare her off if he was being too excessive.
"No, you"re great," Tsubaki softly comforted his fear. "You"ve been a great support for me and I am really thankful for that."
A laugh escaped Ren"s thin lips. He nodded in understanding, his worry subsided in his heart. "Thank you for saying so, sweetheart."
"I need to return to the front soon," Tsubaki said, her eyes wandered to the door of the restroom. She heard the sound of new customers entering the bakery, probably the office workers from nearby. "Eat your lunch, darling. See you at home."
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"Alright. See you at home."
A layer of tenderness enveloped his face when he looked at the wallpaper of the two of them on his phone screen. That was great, at least she was happy even though he knew it was hard for her to completely tear herself from the sorrow in her heart.
Ren indulged himself with his lunch. The soup was rich and flavorful, the herbs brewed together with the soup blended together perfectly, creating an exquisite taste. Ren felt energized just by having it alone. Tsubaki was really thoughtful of his condition, he should really be grateful for her care.
As he was enjoying his lunch, a new e-mail arrived in his personal Inbox. Ren cast a look at the screen of his phone, it was Tak.u.ma. He tapped on the screen, the content of the e-mail was fully displayed before his eyes.
> I"m coming home, right now! I expect a grand celebration the moment I land, okay? I will call you ASAP!
Ren"s brows knitted together. This man was so unpredictable. It was just the other day he said he would still need to finish his current jobs and maybe it would take him a few more weeks and now, he said he was on his way home?
Knowing Tak.u.ma, Ren knew he sent this e-mail the moment before he needed to switch off his phone before boarding the plane.
But, this was good. This meant he could slowly introduce Tak.u.ma to his position. The sooner Tak.u.ma would take over, the better.
Another message came just at the time Ren finished his lunch. This time it came from Nagao Yuuto. He had already finalized the time and where they should meet. Ren typed on the screen, sending him a reply.
They would meet tonight.