Page 14 of Summer Haze & Tokyo Craze

"I'll see you later, Adam," Lily says with a grin, and the two of them walk off. My gaze trails after them, watching as they whisper animatedly and bump each other’s arms with their elbows.

An uneasy feeling spreads in my stomach, and it’s not because I’m eating breakfast it isn’t used to.

He’s her assistant, right? They seem a lot closer than boss and assistant with the way they are leaning close to each other as they talk and giggle as they walk out of the room.

They look more like they've been friends for half their lives.

Such a different dynamic from Barbara, my assistant back in Philly, and me. The two of us have a firm professional boundary. I only know she’s got kids because she once had torush out during her workday when her daughter got into a, turns out thankfully minor, car accident.

She's a rock star, though, with eyes like a hawk and a mind like no other when it comes to paperwork. One thing she doesn’t do though is traveling. “I am not setting one foot into one of those hell machines,” she’d already said in her interview and that’s why I’m here by myself.

I’ve caught a few curious glances over the years because of it – seems like it’s expected of CEOs like me to always travel with a personal assistant, but I can still manage well by myself, thank you very much.

With a sigh, I give up on breakfast and get up. I’ve got a long day ahead of me and if I go now, I might make it to a convenience store as well to buy some food for later to get me through it. Maybe after a nap.

Lily

Oh, how I’ve missed Japanese convenience stores. I walk through the aisles slowly, a happy smile on my face as my basket gets fuller and fuller with food I’ve missed. I’ve got two weeks here, and I’m going to make the most of it.

The most being dry shampoo, drinks and trinkets I can’t get at home.

Like this eraser. I pick one up and throw it into the basket. Such a dumb thing to be excited about, but the last one I got from here lasted me for two years and I’ve truly never found a better one.

I make my way over to the coolers, grinning as I walk past packaging that hasn’t changed in ten years, and my heart warms with nostalgia. A deep sigh falls from my lips when I come to a stop in front of the green tea and I reach for my favorite brand.

"Oh, that looks great. Let me get one as well," a deep voice suddenly says behind me, and I startle, turning around with a pounding heart to see Adam standing right behind me.

"How are you everywhere?" I ask him exasperatedly, raising my eyebrow. Goddamn, he’s lucky I didn’t instinctively drive my elbow back into his gut.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he says with a smug grin. Oh, that annoyingly charismatic asshole knows exactly what I’m talking about.

Ever since the conference started, it seems like he’s everywhere. When Felix and I go out, he just happens to end up at the same restaurant. Even though there are a ton of different lectures and events, he always seems to appear at the same ones as we do.

That can’t be coincidence, right?

I roll my eyes and wordlessly walk past him to the checkout, only making a quick stop to add a few iced coffees to my basket to stock my rooms fridge with.

Not that I’m letting Adam ruin the nostalgia, but Felix is waiting for me outside. He just got a call when I went inside and I don’t want to keep him waiting in case he’s finished.

But when I step back outside, he’s still on his phone, talking about the view from his hotel room.

He gives me an apologetic look and motions to his phone, and I nod in understanding, mouthing ‘tell her hi from me’ when I hear his mother’s voice. She’s very loud when talking into her phone; I can even hear her from two meters away.

As we walk back to the hotel together, him on the phone, me wondering what’s up with Adam, I see him step out of the convenience store from the corner of my eye, twisting the cap of his green tea open. I stop Felix and nod towards Adam just as he places the rim of the bottle at his lips.

Adam takes a sip, then stills and slowly lowers the bottle, his face twisting into an unhappy grimace as he looks at it in disgust. Not a fan of bitter green tea, I take it.

I can't help the chuckle that breaks out of me. "You're mean," Felix mouths, covering the mic of his phone with his hand as we continue our walk to the hotel, and I shrug.

What can I say? I love the earthy, grassy taste of green tea. It’s not my fault Adam didn’t check what he bought. Trusting me blindly is a very bad idea, especially for a competitor.

Felix's call ends with several ‘I love you too, Mom’s’ as we reach the hotel, and he exhales a deep sigh once she hangs up.

“I love that woman to death, but I might as well livestream my stay here with all the questions she’s asked. Not that she’d get a livestream running,” he mutters, and I giggle. To be honest, I expect the same amount of questions from my sister in law. She and my brother didn’t even know each other yet when I was last here but she’s a huge fashion geek and adores Japanese fashion. I’m sure she’s got a catalogue of clothing related questions written down and ready to fire for once I’m back.

"Did you get me something?" Felix asks with a curious grin, tearing me away from speculating what those questions might look like. I lift up the plastic bag and nod.

"Of course."

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