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“What are you trying to say?” I ask pointedly.
“Whether he chooses you or not,” her eyes darken, “you will never be his priority. There will always be something or someone more important than you and this is a truth you will have to live with.”
Annoyance flares in my heart, but I say nothing.
Akira stands tall. “If you cannot handle this, it might be better to find someone of your own age who can grow with you, who bears less responsibility and has no commitment besides making you happy and following you around. If you seek this in Ryotaro, you will be harshly disappointed.”
“Mr. Sazuki and I are just a boss and employee.”
Her eyes remain on mine. “We both know that your relationship has ceased to be so simple.” Akira takes a step toward me. “Which is why I feel it is my duty, my highest obligation, to ask you to stop now. Before Niko is involved. Before Sazuki must face his family again. Before this,” she gestures to me, “gets any further.”
“Further than what?”
“Do not play coy, Miss Williams. If you close the door, he will not walk through it. He will respect your choice. So make the best choice for yourself and for him.”
“I think you’re crossing the line here, Akira. If Sazuki and I ever change our boss-employee relationship to something else, that will be between him and me. We don’t need your intervention. Second, I may be young, but I’m stubborn and I don’t run away from something because of the difficulties I might face. In fact, those difficulties excite me. Maybe that’s why the thought of finding someone my age, someone who can ‘follow me around’ as you said, bores me to death. So thank you for clarifying that I really might be into older men.”
Her bottom lip gets firm. “I have nothing more to say about that matter.”
“Great. Neither do I.”
She moves down the stairs and then turns back. “Sazuki will send a car to pick you up and take you to the foundation this evening.”
“A car? Why? I can get there on my own.”
Akira just gives me a wary look and stalks back to her SUV. I watch her, stunned by the visit and the conversation.Why does she seem so concerned about me and Sazuki getting together? Did Sazuki say something to her that sent her into defense mode?
The moment I step back inside the house, Yaya pounces on me. Excitement glitters in her eyes when she signs, “What was that about?”
“Nothing. We were just discussing work,” I lie.
She narrows her eyes because she knows me better than anyone.
Dad gestures, “Are all your co-workers so scary?”
“No, just her.” I pick up the box and take it to the living room.
The front door opens while I’m pulling out the tissue paper. Mom, who works as a teacher at the local middle school, enters. Dad pops up immediately and takes her bag from her.
“I’m sorry, my love.” He gives her a kiss. “I didn’t hear your car or I would have come out to help you.”
“It’s okay.” Mom smiles brightly. “Hi, girls.”
Yaya waves.
Mom sees the box and stops in the middle of the living room. “Who sent a present? Dejonae’s birthday isn’t until next year.”
“She got a gift from her boss,” Yaya signs. With a wicked grin, my sister picks up the card that came with the box. It says simply ‘From Sazuki’.
“It’s not a gift.” I snatch the card from her. “Sazuki is a control freak. He probably doesn’t want me looking shabby in the recording.”
“I don’t know.” Dad scrubs his chin. “A man won’t go around buying clothes for just any woman. And he certainly wouldn’t buy clothes for an employee.” Dad stabs a dark hand in his chest. “Imagine me gifting something like this to the women in the office. Your mother would have me sleeping on the couch.”
“No, I would have you out of the house immediately,” she says with a wry grin. Sinking into the sofa beside him, mom signs, “Do you think your boss had no ulterior motives in sending this?”
“I… don’t know.”
“Do you want it to mean something?” Yaya signs.
