Queen of Love

Chapter 8

“Lookalive,Sugiya.”Mr. Ishida sat at the desk adjacent to Aya’s, his creaking knees and his heavy sigh that marked him as a middle-aged man refusing to play any games in their cramped but clean office. “You’ve been daydreaming all day. Just because we closed the deal in Shinjuku last week doesn’t mean we get to rest!”

“I wasn’t daydreaming.” Yet Aya pried her eyes away from her computer, which had gone to sleep from disuse. As she tapped the spacebar and watched Excel spreadsheets reappear, she attempted to wake herself up with a sigh to match Mr. Ishida’s. “Although I think I need some more coffee. Anyway…” She gave her supervisor all of the undivided attention he clearly craved. “What was that again?”

He motioned to an email he had forwarded to her. “Great news. Ms. Liu was so impressed with our services, that she’s asked us to help her with another project. I’ve forwarded you the details from the boss. Hope you’re as hip with residential properties in Roppongi and Shibuya because our Singaporean heiress wants to add a manshon to her collection of properties. This could be the start of our post-pandemic boom, you know.”

At the mention of Genevieve’s name, Aya had to actively lock down every expression, every emotion threatening to burst from within. Only two hours into Monday, and she’s already tracking me down. Not that it was a bad thing. Aya’s “problem” wasn’t Genevieve, exactly, but how they had parted early Sunday morning. As soon as Aya had woken up to the dawn breaking in Shibuya, she had slipped into the master bath, where she cleaned herself up and put her clothes back on. It was her intention to quietly slip out while Genevieve slept, but the woman had been so ephemerally beautiful as she lay half-exposed to the daylight that Aya lingered long enough for Genevieve to wake up and already miss her.

“Will I see you again?” Genevieve had groggily asked as Aya was compelled to kiss her goodbye. “Last night was amazing.”

Although Aya didn’t disagree, her compulsion to leave was deep. I had to leave before things get weird. She had slept with a client. Regardless of how this affected her job, it was best to cut it short here. After all, the last thing she wanted was Genevieve thinking Aya wanted something else from her. Like money. Or professional favors.

Aya couldn’t recall what she had told Genevieve. Not when Mr. Ishida was beaming at her as if he had found out he was about to be a grandfather for the first time.

“A manshon, huh?” When speaking Japanese, Aya couldn’t help but say “mansion” with the same heavy accent as the loan word commanded. Only in Japan, a manshon meant an apartment. Preferably one with more than one room. It was a distinction she had to learn quickly when living abroad and describing what life was like in Japan. Nothing like a bunch of Americans being agog that every Japanese person wants to live in a “mansion.” More like a studio apartment away from their parents. Maybe that’s what made it so funny.

”As soon as I finish up some of the Shinjuku Ni-chome paperwork, I’m going to look at some of the listings. Liu-san will want the best. I’ve already looked up some of her other properties. The one in Taiwan is still publicly available to view online. Absolutely gorgeous views and top-notch amenities. We can’t let her down.”

“I think you’re excited to peep into some of the penthouses around Shibuya.”

“And Roppongi. Ah, I can’t wait. I’m going to see if anything is available in the Roppongi Hills right now. Or do you think she’d find that too passe?”

Aya shrugged. “Perhaps so.” She said that, yet what she knew of Genevieve so far suggested the woman was old-fashioned enough to want a classic view of Tokyo Tower in her backyard. Is she old enough to remember Sailor Moon like I do? Azabu-juuban was a ten-minute walk away from the Roppongi Hills. What a classic selling point for older Millennial clients! The real estate prices in the area alone… Those superheroines were loaded as hell.

“Start with Shibuya,” Aya said, staring at her spreadsheets. “If she starts going traditional, find something upscale in Asakusa or Ueno. I’d bet on that over Roppongi.′

“That’s why it’s great to work with you, Sugiya-san. You know these female clients like nobody else.”

It doesn’t take much. Granted, sleeping with the client had probably helped.

Great. Now her imagination had taken off, remembering those perky nipples and those relentless thrusts that had commanded Aya’s movements all night long.

“Will I see you again?” Those hopeful words echoed in her mind as she tabbed her way through separate cells full of numbers and Chinese characters. Although Aya was supposed to be tallying her sales from the past quarter, she was so focused on that amazing moan that still echoed in her head. Complete with the warm skin that had been on Aya’s face when it happened.

Life was either really unfair or perfectly balanced. Aya didn’t know which one was worse for her job right now.

“Watashi wa Shin-ga-poh-ru kara kimashita.” Genevieve’s mouth wrapped around the syllables that were still somewhat unfamiliar to her. “Do I really have to say Singapore like that?” she asked the bilingual woman before her in English. “It sounds so strange.”

“You get used to it.” Paulina, the German woman who was fluent in English and had lived in Japan for over half of her life, explained. “It took me a while to get used to saying ‘Frankfurt’ the Japanese way. After a while, it sounds more natural when you’re speaking Japanese. Anyway, you’re already catching on to the grammar pretty well. You sure you haven’t studied Japanese before?”

Genevieve slightly blushed. Around them, a crowded Shibuya café buzzed with life. To her left, on the same bench as her body, were couples on dates, friends catching up, a mother and child having a moment of quiet, students poring over books, and workers clicking on laptops. Genevieve couldn’t flex her elbow without smacking a child in the head.

Yet she loved the buzz of life following her from city to city. As long as people respected the small amount of space they were allotted, who cared? That’s why I’ve always liked Tokyo. Even compared to Taipei and Singapore, Tokyo’s personal boundaries were on another level. It helped that fewer people here spoke English than in the other cities where Genevieve was likely to be found.

“I’m good with languages.” Genevieve attempted to be humble when she said that, but it was hard to decode how that came across to a Westerner like Paulina. They were either cool with some bragging or thought it worse than a war crime. “Always have been, but it’s also very common to be a polyglot in Singapore.”

“Bet it helped to have all of those tutors,” Paulina blasely said. “I mean… sorry.”

“No, it’s all right. You’re correct. I’m very privileged to have enjoyed the best tutors and education my country could provide. Turns out I’m both naturally inclined to languages and enjoy learning them. I don’t know how much time I’ll spend in Japan, but it seems pertinent to learn the language… especially since… well…”

“The English here is less than reliable?”

“I didn’t want to be the one to say it.”

“Imagine being German!” Paulina laughed, hand smacking against the table. It roused the curiosity of the girl sitting three feet away from Genevieve. Now she’s staring at my hat. It had been one of those spring days oscillating between slightly rainy and sunny. A big, wide-brimmed hat was the perfect antidote when strolling through Shibuya in such weather. “English is truly a global language. Until you get here.”

“Help me learn Japanese,” Genevieve said, hoping to God she didn’t sound like she was begging. “I want to converse with strangers on the street and maybe conduct business. I can’t always rely on companies with English-speaking staff. Some of them are less than what they advertised.” She thought about the tax professionals she had consulted when she said that. “Some are amazing.” That went to Atsukatta Real Estate and their star agent. The woman Genevieve kept imagining walking through the coffee shop doors. “If I wanted to hire a Chinese-speaking firm here in Tokyo, I’d fly in my usual crew from Singapore, and that defeats the whole purpose of working locally.”