Page 27 of Toxic

The only thing saving the boy’s life is the fascination my brother has for his sister, the owner and head chef of The Camellia, admittedly the best restaurant in the state. In the weeks that have followed my alarm about his behavior has grown. Now we’re being threatened with a strike, a boycott by employees we’ve made every fucking accommodation for.

The atmosphere at the plant has been very toxic since our first failed meeting with the employee leaders. Each head of department has just given me their reports on each department’s outlook. There doesn’t look like there will be anyone crossing the picket lines. We have made every good faith effort to accommodate them. In our last meeting, there was no contention. We were very close to an agreement then and in less than twelve hours everything fell apart. We’ve had no contact or answers as to what changed. No one needs to tell me foul play is afoot. I relish what I’ll do once I find the culprits. Yet, none of the searches are turning up anything. We have the message boards monitored and eyes all over the plant—still nothing.

The network of players who are instigating this has learned from their last endeavors, which leads me back to Krie’s brother and his friends. I hope for his sake, I’m wrong because there will be no mercy this time. I don’t care how much his sister begs my brother or how well she pleases him. He’s got his one and only pass.

When silence falls, I knock briefly before letting myself in. Stepping before my brother’s desk, I bow briefly. He acknowledges me with a slight dip of his head. I can tell without him speaking and his face remaining a stoic mask that he’s still disappointed in my behavior from the meeting with department heads. I know my temper got away from me as we tried to negotiate with these knuckle draggers. I refuse to give face to people we’ve given a better quality of life than they’ve had in generations.

“As I said before, brother, the people here are ungrateful. They don’t want to work, and they will never accept us as leaders. They would rather work for the very people who were exploiting them and will continue to once we are gone. We should encourage the Carrington brothers to relocate their plantand let these people rot. They’ve shown what loyalty means to them—nothing,” I tell him watching his impassive face.

He nods then asks, “What will we do once they label us as failures? How quickly would we be demoted? Regulated to some third-rate factory in the middle of nowhere. Creative Chaos is the leading chip manufacturer in this country on the cusp of being number one in the world. The word will spread like wildfire, our reputations ruined. No brother, we will fix this.” He pins me with an unwavering stare. “We don’t quit.”

“We are only here because Akchiro is too weak to say no to his wife.” I scoff at him reminding him of how precarious his own position is if he allows the chef to continue to lead him.

“Need I remind you because of his weakness for his wife, he didn’t kill us?” He tilts his head to the side, looking at me squarely. He knows better than anyone what our father’s death cost us. Shame eats at me. Though he’s never blamed me, I know I left everything for him to handle. He didn’t have me at his back.

“Fuck him. He’s giving face. You would have peeled Akchiro’s face off and fed it to his wife.”Swallowing back the acid in my throat, I grit out, “And that’s why he’s unworthy. Now, I wonder if your chef is not having a similar effect.” Taking no quarter, I let him know the disdain I have for his weakness.

“Well, we can’t all capture and imprison our pets now, can we? How long are you planning to keep this one, brother? I hope you’re feeding her. You know you have a terrible habit of breaking things. This one will be missed. I would advise you to tread carefully and make sure no harm comes to her.”

My face clouds with fury. I can’t hide my reaction. The only indication he shows that he knows he’s gotten to me is the slight lift of one brow.

“She’s not being hurt. She’s free to go whenever she wants,” I grind out through clenched teeth.

“Liar. You’re never letting her go,” Monsterchuckles maliciously.

“Stockholm Syndrome doesn’t count, Hisashi,” he reminds me. All taunts aside, I know he’s serious. Fuck, I’m serious. My brother knows how obsessed I am. He knows better than to try to reason with me. This has been years in the making. Coming to the States is my perfect opportunity to get back into Taylor’s world. No more watching from afar. Trips back and forth from New York to Tokyo. No this proved perfect. Still, he has no room to judge.

“You’re one to talk. Using a minor infraction to bring a woman to heel? And you dare judge me. She has nothing to do with her brother and his friends. Yet, you saw the prime opportunity to get her to bend to your will. So, who is breaking people, brother? Not to mention this whole situation is going to blow up in our face the moment the Tatsumoto syndicate finds out that the princess is being usurped by a mere cook.” I can call him on his bullshit as well as the repercussions to the entire family. Shaking my head, I finally get to the reason I came into his office in the first place.

“Bubba T texted me saying he wants to open the line of communication. He said we are being done dirty — his words, and he wants no part of it because we’ve been more than fair.”

I continue telling him all the necessary details relayed by one of the few good actors in this entire situation. Bubba T has his hand on the pulse of this plant. Even in my highly critical assessment he’s proven to be an excellent manager. My brother listens impassively as I relay the information.

“Very well, we will meet and hear what he has to say and see if we can get any relevant information on those who seek to harm this company.” It goes without saying what the retribution will be. Thaddeus and his friends did something so brazen; headlines were blaring about it. This however is being orchestrated withstealth and will be handled just as silently. I can tell he is actually looking forward to it. I’m salivating.

Bowing I leave my brother’s office. Heading down the long expanse of hallway leading to my office opposite his, my mind pulls to the way I left Taylor this morning.

When I’d looked on her, she’d fallen into an exhausted slumber. Glancing at my watch, I hasten my steps. I have thirty minutes before my next meeting.

“Mr. Takeda.” My gaze tracks to my assistant, Siobhan.

“Yes.” The deep dimples in her face give her an adorable look reminding me of another dimpled beauty, she’s all seriousness though. “Bubba T called while you were out. Says he has new information.”

“Thank you, Siobhan.” I incline my head. She bows, making me bite back a smile at her effort. We don’t require our American employees to adopt our social norms, but when they make the effort, it shows a certain level of respect.

Walking over to my desk, I stand raising the hydraulics until they’re high enough. Pressing a button, I lock the door to my office. I prefer work standing. Entering my password, I watch the screen bloom with the image of Taylor.

She is looking out of the window. I notice the tray of food beside her has gone untouched. Switching to another camera, I can now see the pensive expression on her face. She’s been crying. That’s no surprise.

“Who gives a fuck? She’s lucky, you’re allowing her to live.”The monster inside scoffs fast, losing patience with the situation.

“Calm the fuck down,” I say out loud. We’re alone, the door is locked, so I don’t have to worry about anyone barging in and seeing me have a conversation with myself. “We expected this. We took her and threw her in a trunk.”

“It’s the least she deserves,” Hemutters.“Let me have her.”

“You almost killed her.” I shake my head. “No way.”

“That was because you tried to keep her all to yourself. Selfish motherfucker,” Hehisses.

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