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“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because he hates me now.” I sniff. “He gave me a big job and I disappointed him. Even worse, I smeared the entire foundation. Everything he believed about me being young, impulsive and immature was proven true.”
“Is it true?”
“Am I young? Yeah. Am I impulsive, not usually.” I frown. “The thing is, he didn’t even ask me about my side. He took that reporter’s caption and ran with it. You should have seen the way he looked at me. I mean, he could barely make eye contact. If he’d just talked to me, I would have been able to tell him the truth.”
“You feel betrayed.”
“I feel like my head is about to explode,” I say with a tearful chuckle. “I can’t remember the last time I cried like this.”
She smiles sweetly at me. “Without realizing it, you had expectations of him. He might be disappointed in you and maybe you deserve it, but you’re disappointed in him too. And that’s something you should probably explore.”
“Disappointment? I’d rather not.”
“Not the disappointment.” She chuckles. “Where it comes from. Why did you expect so much of Sazuki even though you know how cold and ruthless he is? Why did you expect him to take your side against all odds? Why does your heart break because he didn’t?”
“Because I’m an idiot. Obviously. A monster never changes his spots.”
“Do you really think he’s a monster?” she prods.
I give her a dark look. “I thought your husband was the therapist?”
“I might have picked up a thing or two.” She lifts one shoulder in a casual shrug.
“You think… you think IlikeSazuki? After everything he’s done?”
“You’re the one who needs to answer that. Not me.” Sunny sips her tea.
I sit back and let the silence soak through me, working past the pain in my heart to the root of it. The truth must be wearing knuckle rings because when it punches me in the face, I see stars.
“Oh crap.”
Sunny arches a brow knowingly.
I give her a frightened look. “I think I have feelings for Sazuki.”
CHAPTER12
OFFICE TAKEOVER
SAZUKI
“You only formedthis board for appearance’s sake, Sazuki, but we still have a bit of sway here. I think you need to be very careful about dismissing our concerns.” Robert Cardinal’s threat is accompanied by a chorus of tight-lipped nods from the other men around the table.
I glance at each of them in turn.
They are all influential in their own right. Chosen by design—some because of their sway with official ASL organizations in the US and others with their ties to local politics.
A project as massive as The Sazuki Music Foundation could not have been accomplished alone. Especially when my responsibilities to my family in Japan and those to my daughter kept me occupied for most of the process.
Adam is the only member around the table who is not wearing a disdainful frown.
“Whether Miss Williams assaulted the reporter or not isn’t the real issue. The problem is that the foundation got dragged into it. Our response to this matter will either gain the trust of the people we’re trying to serve or it’ll drive them away,” Adam says.
“I have been working closely with the PR team to monitor the public’s response. We will put out an official apology soon.”
