Page 15 of Summer Haze & Tokyo Craze

"Thank you." He shoots me a grin and reaches for the bag, his face immediately lighting up when he sees the egg sandwiches I got him. "God, I love these things."

"I know."

We find a quiet spot in the lobby and go over our notes of today.

The third day of the conference has already ended and with it, three whole days of meetings and lectures. Some more, some less informative, all of them full of important people, though.

And it could have been an awesome networking opportunity, if Adam’s presence wouldn’t overshadow every single person. They flock around him like moths to the flame, which, fine, it’s not Adam I want to network with. But they’re all so entranced by that smug smile and charismatic façade that it’s killing every opportunity to talk toanyone.

Not that I can quite blame them. The guy is charismaticandinfluential after all. A dangerous combination.

"So," Felix finally says, pushing my laptop closed, almost catching my fingers between the screen and keyboard. I narrow my eyes at him and give him a disapproving headshake. "I know it’s still a few days until the weekend, but I need a few ideas." He puts his elbows on the table, leans his head into his hands, looking at me expectantly.

"What you can do in Tokyo?" I repeat, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms, biting back a smile. "Well, I mean, what do you want to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don’t roll your eyes at me,” I scold him playfully. “I mean, do you want to go anime merchandise shopping? Visit temples? Host clubs? People watching? Shopping?"

"Let's say culture," he says cautiously, reaching for the convenience store bag to take another sandwich out of it.

"For culture, I’d say the Imperial palace,” I tell him after a few moments of contemplating. “Then there’s Asakusa for a temple and shrine, or the Meiji Shrine in Harajuku. Still cute, still touristy but lovely forest path to the shrine."

"Which of these is going to make people more jealous when I post pictures of it to social media?" he asks with an eyebrow-wiggle, and I shake my head at him.

From the corner of my eye, I see someone sit down at the table next to us, but I don't pay them any mind. The hair standing up on my neck already reveals that it’s a certain dark-haired rival of mine, appearing like a ghost yet again.

"Probably Asakusa," I nod and demonstratively look away from Adam. "I think you can even rent kimonos there, for the ultimate tourist experience."

"Can rent kimonos where?" Adam suddenly asks to our left. “That sounds fun.” I hold my breath for a second, closing my eyes so he won’t see me roll them, before I turn to him.

Just why does hekeep popping up everywhere? It's not like he doesn't know any other people here.

While I'm seeing most of the attendees here for the first time, Adam seems to know all of them. Every time he walks into a meeting or lecture, everyone, and I meaneveryone, greets him with a handshake or half-hug as if they’re old friends and spend a few minutes catching up.

Until now, I left the networking to Millie and Kayla with Siren’s Talent being their company at all, but it looks like I really need to go to more of these industry functions to find my own footing in the community.

It's not easy to pave the way into this bubble if you're completely new. While I have worked in the entertainment industry before becoming the CEO of Siren's Talent, it was in lower positions. The kind of positions that get labeled as ‘secretary’ until you look at what they actually do.

I was the one who got shit done, not the one who showed their face for it, and my bosses were all too happy to take the credit. At one point, I couldn’t take it anymore, working my ass off just for someone else to receive all the recognition and praise for it. And my bosses were never shy about pocketing the credit.

So when I saw the opportunity at Siren’s Talent, I jumped at the chance, self-doubt gnawing on my mind for the whole interview, so I was shook to the core when they extended their offer. Now I finally get to take my own credit and it feels amazing.

Adam, though, he seems to be a person who does both as well. Getting shit done and rightfully getting the credit, I mean. He’s the face and the mind of Croney, while I’m sharing that position with two other women.

Which is amazing in terms of these networking events. I'm not very extroverted, and the past three days of meeting new people and taking in information are already bringing me to my limit. A girl can only do so much small talk within a day before she wants to puke in a corner. It’s me. I’m that girl.

"If I wanted to make my brothers jealous…" Adam’s chair squeaks as he turns it around to fully face us, “…where would I go?”

"You guys have got to be more specific." I sigh with an eye roll. "Again, that depends. What would make your brothers jealous?"

"Well, Jackson is really into Bo…Pob…” He tilts his head and tries to think of the name. Felix is biting his lips to contain a giggle and the corners of my mouth tug up. “You’ll know it, it was all the rage for a time. He used to watch the anime and wake me at six on the weekend so I’d catch these little animals with him in his game.”

“Pokémon?"

“Yes, that one.” He nods and Felix throws his hand in front of his mouth, his whole body shaking with laughter. "As for Reed and Jackson, let me think.” He tilts his head to the other side. “Reed and Zoey liked Sailor Moon. Talked about nothing else for two years.” He looks somewhere into the distance witha grin on his face. “Let me tell you, it was a fight over our TV on weekends. As for Tanner, there's that one anime with the guy in a red vest and straw hat…"

"One Piece," I confirm and nod. "Hmm, well, for Pokémon, if you'd really want to make him jealous, then probably Universal Studios in Osaka. But for One Piece and Sailor Moon…” I bite my lip as I wreck my brain, but I can’t remember ever seeing those around. “Honestly, I’m not sure, I’ve never paid attention. I’d say if you're looking for, like, anime merchandise to take pictures of to make them jealous, Akihabara is the place to go."

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