Queen of Love

“So… you’ll…”

Genevieve chuckled. “I’ll have my real estate lawyer call your office first thing tomorrow. You’ll get your commendations from your higher-ups, receive whatever your commission is on the sale, and have one very satisfied customer.”

Aya released the tension from her chest. “I hope it goes as you suggest.”

“I’d rather pick your brain about other things if it’s all right with you. As a friendly acquaintance, not a client. Don’t worry about offending me, Ms. Sugiya. I’ll buy the building through your agency even if you curse my mother. I don’t have the energy to deal with those interpersonal issues any longer. I’m too old for the games. Don’t know if you’ve peeped my profile, but I’m old enough to have grown children in college. That doesn’t mean I’m as bad as a mother with an axe to grind, though.”

Yes, Aya had a general idea that Genevieve was in her late thirties, but she didn’t know exactly how old the stunning heiress was.

“All right.” Aya entered this topic change with hopeful trepidation. “What do you want to know? I’m always willing to help someone new in town.”

“I’m assuming you have friends at your age, Ms. Sugiya.” Genevieve twirled the small straw in her drink when she said that. “Do they like to go out to the bars? Do you go out with them? I want to know what it is Japanese women of a certain way are looking for. Market research, I suppose you could call it.”

Genevieve’s words could have meant so many different things. Is she talking about going out to bars in general? Or lesbian bars, specifically? Genevieve continued to dance around asking the most personal question of all. While good form when conducting business or meeting someone new, Aya didn’t know what to think. Either Genevieve was genuinely flirting…

Aya had to tread carefully.

“I suppose it isn’t much different from elsewhere on the continent.” Aya sounded so sophisticated saying “on the continent,” as if she were a Londoner referring to the rest of Europe. “Women going out with each other want privacy and fun. They don’t want to be hit on by strange men. They want good but affordable drinks. A nice ambiance that isn’t too pretentious, but also doesn’t make them feel like they’re twenty in a dive. You know, Ladylike was a good mix of all those things. You could always find someone to talk to. They showed entertainment on the TV, but it didn’t dominate the atmosphere unless they were hosting an event.” Aya had some fun memories of going to Ladylike to watch the latest subtitled episodes of “The L Word.” It was one of the few times the queer girls of Tokyo all gathered together to watch something from America. Seeing ourselves, even if they were a different race, was like entering a new era. Aya always prided herself on understanding most of the English dialogue and didn’t hesitate to tell her girlfriend of the moment what the characters were really saying in the sex scenes. Made me popular enough to get a couple other girlfriends for a while. Shit, to be in her twenties again!

“Did you used to go to Ladylike? In its heyday?”

She’s got me cornered. This woman was like a police detective cornering Aya in an interrogation room. Only instead of attempting to find out who killed the nice old lady from down the block, Genevieve demanded to know the core part of Aya’s sexuality. “I had been there a time or two. With friends. It was a nice space. Shame it had to close.”

Genevieve received that answer without further questioning. Whatever Aya had said either satisfied the client’s curiosity or only made her angrier, but Genevieve wasn’t telling.

“May I ask how many bars and clubs you own at this juncture?” Aya was a bit full of herself for using a word like “juncture,” too. Probably because she used to spend many evenings practicing her Rs. Sitting in the bathtub, soaking my bones while staring at the English letters I had taped to the walls. Aya knew it was time to get out when the paper letters started peeling away from the steam.

“Oh, depends on your definition of ‘own.’ If you include the co-ownerships, then it’s around nine at this point. I own five by myself. Two are in Singapore, but they’re so straight-edge due to the local laws. The rest are throughout Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau… I own one bar in Beijing, but it’s honestly the one I know the least about. My favorite and the one I’m most proud of, though, is this slice of paradise in Taipei. In fact, that’s what I named it, much to the chagrin of my business partners. Paradise.”

Genevieve paused, staring off into the distance of the trendy Shibuya club as she sipped the rest of her drink. Aya attempted to follow the topic. That club came up when I was researching her as a client. Unlike Genevieve’s other properties, though, there was little to no description of Paradise beyond “Member’s Only Nightclub in Taipei, Taiwan.”

“It’s also my most profitable. We have quite a significant clientele. People come from all over the world to enjoy the events I put on there. I daresay, Tokyo would not be prepared for something like Paradise.”

Aya shook her head. “I wouldn’t know about that.”

That piqued Genevieve’s interest. “No?”

”As in, I wouldn’t know what Paradise is about.”

“Let’s say it’s a place for those of certain persuasions. It’s not LGBT-specific, though, although I ensure there are plenty of nights where different groups get the spotlight.”

Aya remained in the dark.

“Anyway…” Genevieve flagged down the waitress. “What say we get one more round of drinks, and you can tell me all about the legacy of Ladylike. I want to tap into that former clientele.”

Aya couldn’t say no to that. To the drink, that is. It was on her employer’s dime, after all. Unlike her personal life, which would remain covertly buried beneath metaphors and half-truths whenever she talked about the legacy of a lesbian institution that was now dead and gone, soon to be replaced with overseas interests.

No matter how darling – and how irresistibly sexy – those interests were.