CHAPTER 2

"See you later, Boss!"

Jin Takishima just looked at his loyal subordinate to acknowledge him before walking towards the hotel. Lester called him earlier saying they would be having an emergency meeting about the next auction. Jin is thinking of some possible things that they will discuss as he walks towards the entrance. He was pretty sure he had already secured all the things they needed for their next auction.

Lester's types of business are not normal. Lester Lim owns the largest resort branch in their city, and he is still expanding his business around the globe. Not only that, but Lester was also one of the first businessmen who had a legal casino that operated in this city. When it comes to business, Jin thinks no one can beat Lester. These are just his normal business because Lester also owns the largest black market auction.

During the auction, one can see a lot of stuff that they do not usually see in broad daylight. These kinds of stuff are either illegal, stolen, or the rarest items that you can ever find. When Jin asked Lester the reason why he decided to do this auction, Lester smugly told Jin at that time that these illegal things gave him a thrill and excitement in his life. Lester is Jin's friend, but he will never deny that Lester is also a twisted man.

As he waits for the elevator door to open, a child suddenly bumps into Jin's leg. The moment their eyes meet, the little boy suddenly shudders in fear. This is the most familiar thing that happens to Jin whenever kids see him. Before the little boy starts to cry, a woman suddenly approaches the child and talks to it in a soothing voice.

"Are you lost?" The woman asked the boy as she crouched down to see his face.

"No..." The boy timidly answers her.

Seeing that he was talking to a beautiful lady, the little boy suddenly blushed.

"They are in the reception area."

"Oh. Shall we go to them?" She asked the boy again before showing him a smile.

The boy energetically nods at her.

The woman gives her hand, which the boy happily accepts. When she stands up, their eyes meet for a moment before the woman fully gives her attention to the child and leaves with him. Jin looks at their retreating figures before he hears the sound of the elevator opening, which brings him back to his senses.

'Weird.'

Ignoring them, Jin entered the elevator. Arriving at the right floor, he could already hear the bickering of those talkative boys before he could open the door to the penthouse. They are being so loud, as usual. When Jin opens the door, Vincent is the one who greets Jin first.

"Jin is already here!" Vincent said with a smile.

"Great timing! Now we can settle this discussion with his answer." Dice said, as he also looked at Jin with a stupid grin on his face.

Jin suspiciously looks at them both. Vincent is an artist who sells his every creation for a million dollars, while Dice is the acting manager of Vincent. But the truth is, Dice is a private assassin hired by Lester. Looking at them, Jin is pretty sure that they are just bickering about something useless.

As Jin sits on the sofa, he can see Gael taking a nap again in his usual spot. Lester is sitting in his usual spot too. He is looking at his tablet while sipping a cup of coffee.

Jin hates to admit it, but these people are the chosen managers of Lester for the black market auction. As for him, Jin is Lester's business partner, since half of the ownership of the auction belongs to him.

"Jin, who do you think is the prettiest when cross-dressing? Me or Vincent?" Dice asked him while batting his eyelashes.

"The answer is pretty obvious. An old-looking man like you can't even do decent cross-dressing as a woman," Vincent said as he showed Dice a disgusting look.

"I know how handsome you are, Vincent. You are my best friend, after all. But you should be honest to yourself that I can also imitate a beautiful woman when needed. Most importantly, I am only a year older than you!"

"Eww. We are not best friends in the first place."

"Do not be like that. You are hurting my fragile feelings, buddy."

"You should be ashamed of yourself! I am sorry! We are both apologizing now! Can you keep your gun away from us?!"

Jin's patience for these two gets thinner every second. That is why Jin decided to silence these two by pointing his gun at them. When they settle down with their noises, Jin hears the penthouse door open. Lester looks at the door with a dissatisfied look on his face.

"You are late," Lester said.

The person who opened the door just gave Lester a playful smile.

When Jin turns his head to see who the person Lester is talking with, it is the same woman he met earlier in the lobby.

"Am I?" She answered Lester with a smile. "Then forgive me for being late, Your Majesty."

All of them, aside from Lester, literally look in her direction. Without being bothered by their interrogating gazes, the beautiful woman stands there looking at Lester with a smile. Lester told her to sit on the sofa, which she quickly obliged with a smile still plastered on her pretty face. She sits beside that slacker Gael and looks at them.

"Now that we are all here, we can start the meeting." Lester started as he put the tablet he was holding on the table before calling his girlfriend.

They heard Lester telling his woman to come to the penthouse before gazing at them.

Jin is not the only one who is lost in his statement. They are now starting their meeting about the auction with a stranger. Lester knows what he is doing for sure, but Jin does wish that he should start explaining everything first to them before doing something like that.

"She is our new auction manager."

Starting today, she will be a part of our group." Lester simply said as he looked at them one by one.

'A new auction manager? And a woman? What is Lester's thinking?'

Jin knows that he is not the only one who is thinking about these questions. Jin could clearly see from the other's expressions that they also wanted to ask him these questions. And why did Lester decide about it without asking for his opinion?

"So this is the job you are telling me on the phone?" Jin heard the woman ask Lester.

"Yes. I am planning to make you take care of the casino at my hotel since I will be busy for the next five months and I want someone to take good care of it. I also intend to use your bilingual abilities, so I can make a deal with some of my business partners."

"Really? Do you want me to handle the management of your casino? What if it goes bankrupt because of me? And you want me to be your personal translator because you want to make sure that the details you will be discussing with your 'business partners' will never leak. Not only that, but you also want me to participate in your auctions. Such a difficult job for a newbie like me, don't you think? You are such a slave driver, Ace." The woman said with a smirk on her face.

"Oh, please. We both know your abilities. I expect to see great results from you."

"My... I am particularly flattered that the famous Lester Lim is complimenting me."

The two of them looked at each other with a smirk on their faces. Somehow, looking at both of them makes Jin think that they know what each other is thinking. It is really bothering Jin for some reason. Breaking her eye contact with Lester, the woman looks at them and finally formally introduces herself.

"I am Himari Fujimoto. Just like what Ace said, I will be the newest auction manager. I hope we can get along well."

"Ace?" Vincent asked.

"Oh. That is what I called him." She said.

Himari tells Vincent that she randomly thinks of something that could describe Lester's personality and attitude. She also explained that the 'Ace' is the highest rank in playing cards, so she chose it as Lester's nickname.

Jin didn't utter a word, but he was silently observing Himari. She seems shady to Jin. Both his logic and instincts tell him that Himari is not the usual woman you always see at typical business parties. And if Lester himself chooses her to be an auction manager, then it proves that Himari is not an ordinary woman.

Just then, Dice joined Vincent and that woman's conversation.

"Wait. Are you the one who started a restaurant chain in Finrel City? That restaurant is always on the trending news because of its unique ambiance. To think that the beautiful owner of a famous restaurant is now right in front of my eyes."

Then Dice flirtatiously introduced himself to Himari which she just simply accepted with a smile. Next is Vincent, who reveals his famous smile, and then Gael who has just said his name before returning to his nap. When Himari turns her head towards Jin, their eyes meet again.

"My name is Jin Takishima," he said as he maintained his usual expression.

"I know," Himari said before letting out a soft chuckle. "I already know who you are."

Jin scowls a little when he hears what she says.

"Please do not give me that look, Mr. Takishima. I just simply know your existence because you are quite famous for being the young boss of the White Dragons."

She knows a lot about a simple businesswoman. Before Jin can ask her more questions, the door opens, revealing Lester's beloved woman, who is obviously in a bad mood.

"Do you need something?" Lily, Lester's girlfriend, asked.

"Coffee."

"I am not your personal maid, you know? I also have my own business to take care of!" Lily complains, yet she still starts collecting Lester's cup on the table. In fact, Lily is just too weak for Lester's requests. "I should also make a cup of coffee for?"

"You must be Ace's girlfriend," Himari said as she looked up at Lily. "I am impressed that Ace found a woman who is willing to follow his every scheme and whim."

When Lester glares at Himari, she only laughs and shakes her head. Himari is not only shady, but she is also strangely brave. It is rare for Jin to see a woman who is not scared or intimidated by their presence. Even Lily was very scared when she first met them.

"Sorry. That was rude of me. I am Himari Fujimoto."

"Hello. I am Lily Crue."

"Nice to meet you, Lily. I hope we can get along."

When Himari smiles at her, Lily seems to relax and smiles back at her. When Lily turns around and goes to the kitchen to prepare some coffee for them, Lester looks at each one of them before speaking.

"Good. Let us start this meeting now."