Queen of Love

“I don’t remember what that word means, but I think I can figure it out.” Aya took a single step closer, still in sight of Okada out in the kitchen. “Very nice view, isn’t it?”

Genevieve snorted. “We both know I’m not buying this place.”

“What would it take to get me to make this sale in front of my junior today?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Assertiveness? Tell me why I can’t say no, Ms. Sugiya.”

God, I wish! Slamming Genevieve against the window and discovering the meaning of the words “no knickers“ would be a helluva way to make a sale. I’m tired of looking at her naked body. I can do that whenever I want now. Aya had a lovely selection downloaded locally to her phone, shoved into multiple password and fingerprint-protected photos. It became more important to lock those down when Genevieve told her about a Singaporean tabloid obtaining a photo of them kissing in front of the Shibuya hotel.

Honestly, Aya was flattered. The photographer got her good side, after all.

“When I find you the perfect place,” Aya said in a low voice, “I’ll make it known.”

That shimmy of Genevieve’s chest was more enchanting than the flash of skin she had offered a minute ago. “I’d say let’s cut this short so we can get to the good parts after you get off work, but that would mean not seeing you for another five minutes. What would I do?”

“Peruse any of the pictures you’ve accumulated of me over the past two weeks.”

“They’re beyond lovely, but you’re lovelier in person.”

Genevieve chuckled, picking at the hem of her dress as if it could cover up what her lack of underwear did not. “That’s nice to hear because that picture of me in the paper was not flattering to me. To you, maybe…”

”As long as it doesn’t happen again.”

“I can’t believe my publicist said I only paid them for no gay pictures of me. I would think such an amount of money would ensure no pictures of me ever, outside of when I give advanced permission at a public event.” Before Genevieve got too riled up, she wiped her forehead and fixed the hair that had come out of place. “It’s ridiculous the hoops we have to jump through now to have some privacy. In my youth, digital cameras were a big problem. In my parents’ day… ha! According to my mom, so many of her friends partied out in the streets without fear as long as security kept the cameras away.”

“Times sure have changed.”

“It will only get more difficult. How about we discuss our immediate future later? Say, over dinner? There’s this place in Shibuya I’ve been dying to check out since I first got here, but it requires having a date. Otherwise, it’s not the same.”

“Will it conflict with my job if we get caught?”

“I’ve had my assistant back home already look into it and secure us a reservation for tonight. We’re assured they take privacy incredibly seriously. Celebrities and local politicians dine there.” Genevieve opened her arms to the room, her entire form taking up the window. “Like they live in this fine building, I presume.”

Aya only glommed on to one part of that statement. “You have an assistant?”

“Yes. Two, actually. One who runs the affairs of my estate and household, and one who manages my personal life, when necessary. She comes in handy when I need to research unfamiliar neighborhoods for a place to eat with my new girlfriend I’d like to keep under the radar for now. We can discuss that more later, though.”

Aya exhaled the breath she had trapped in her lungs. “Sounds like a date. I’ll try to get out of the office on time.” She backed up toward the door. “If we leave now, I might make that happen. I have some paperwork to fill out when I get back, regardless of whether you buy this place. Oh, and when we go back out there…” She jerked her head toward the hallway. “My junior will put on a small presentation. Humor him. I have to report how he did later.”

Genevieve slid off the bench and brushed her shoulder against Aya’s. “Anything for you.”

“You sure about that?”

That caused Genevieve to double-take. “Absolutely,” she whispered.

Work was a blur. Dinner was a blur. So was the slightly tipsy walk from the restaurant back to Genevieve’s hotel. The only thing that wasn’t a singular blur was the otherworldly passion that erupted the moment the two of them were alone in Genevieve’s room.

In a way, wasn’t that what Aya wanted all along?

She didn’t get off work as early as she hoped. As soon as the clock struck five, she sniffed out the most opportune time to say goodnight to her superiors – ideally, that would be when they left. Sometimes, Ishida and Takatani’s personal family lives called them away. Not that day, though. As long as Takatani was still in the office, Ishida stayed behind. As long as they were both around, Aya was compelled to find some busy work as well.

Finally, at 5:45, Takatani made a grand show of going home early to have dinner with his teenagers and in-laws, a last-minute decision on his wife’s account. Aya glanced at Ishida, who nodded that he wouldn’t hold it against her if she left as well. After all, she had mentioned that an old friend was in town and this was her chance to catch up.

Really, what Aya wanted was the chance to rush home and change into something more comfortable (and nice) for dinner at a snazzy Shibuya hotspot where she might spot a celebrity like Tomomi Itano or the Matsutoyas, who were rumored to be dining much in Shibuya those days. Do I ever see celebrities at business dinners? No.

There were no celebrities Aya recognized in the restaurant, which inconspicuously lurked on the seventh floor of a Shibuya high-rise. Then again, she only had eyes for Genevieve, who waited for her in a black dress with a plunging neckline and a slit on the side. When asked if she had worn that on purpose, Genevieve had said, “I packed it on purpose if that’s what you’re really asking.”

The place was private enough to warrant them letting loose, but still public enough they had to mind their manners. Aya allowed herself the occasional leering at Genevieve’s prominent cleavage, but there was no under-the-table handholding or foolish games of footsie. And no matter how low they kept their voices, Aya wasn’t in a hurry to announce her romantic intentions for the woman who ordered them oysters for dinner and chocolate for dessert.