Chapter 25: Offer

Narumi blinked a couple times, trying to adjust to the bright sunlight. It took her a few minutes until her eyesight adjusted. She groaned when her stomach started growling.

"My head hurts. Is this how a hangover feels like?" she grumbled.   Her throat was sore from all the vodka last night, and it felt like something had lodged itself there. 

'What happened last night?' She thought. She remembered drinking with Daiki and...

'Oh no. I kissed Daiki last night.'  

Narumi froze for a moment. She remembered kissing him, pushing him to the ground, and straddling his chest. After that, her mind blanked out, and then everything went hazy. 

'Did we do anything?'  she asked herself, then looked to her side to see if Daiki was there. 

'He's not here.'  

She turned to look around, but he wasn't anywhere to be found. 'Damn it.' 

"Good morning, Mrs Narumi." 

A voice interrupted her thoughts. 

Narumi whipped back around to find Daiki behind her with a tray of food. 

"Where did you come from?!" she asked.

"I woke up before you and went downstairs to fetch food for you since you may be having a hangover." He answered, sitting down on the opposite side of the bed; his hair was wet from an early morning shower. 

"Listen to me, Daiki, about the kiss...." She started, but Daiki completed her statement.

"The kiss was a mistake, and I know that already, ma'am." His tone was serious, and he was staring at the floor, not making eye contact. 

'Ma'am, he hasn't called me by my name at all. Does he feel uncomfortable around me?' She frowned. 

"Ma'am, we have to meet Akashi by 11:00 am so that our measurements will be taken for the photo shoot." Daiki said, standing up from the bed. "I'll leave you alone now." With that, he walked out of the room, leaving a stunned Narumi behind. 

'He's behaving like a personal assistant, not a friend.'  Narumi thought. 'It must be because of what we were doing last night.'

Narumi sighed and headed on to take a shower; she couldn't understand why Daiki was trying to distance himself from her, even though it was probably the best thing to do.

'This marriage won't last, so I don't think we should be so close to each other, but why do I keep remembering the last night's kiss? Why do I want to remember it so badly?' Narumi asked herself as she washed her face and ran her fingers through her hair. She tried her best to forget the events that occurred last night, but it was hard.

Relax, Narumi, let's focus on the photoshoot with Akashi.'  She told herself this and finally stepped out of the bathroom ten minutes later. She dried herself off, dressed in a simple black dress, and slipped on her shoes.

She made her way into the hallway, where she saw Daiki waiting for her. 

"I can see that you are ready, ma'am." Daiki stated with a small smile.

"Let's go."   Narumi replied and followed him out of the guest house. They went to the main company, Apex Reviews, where they would take their measurements for their outfits.

"I want these outfits to be amazing." Akashi ordered.  "No mistakes at all." His expression was fierce, almost predatory. "I need perfection." 

"Yes sir."   The two stylists responded in unison.

"Narumi and Daiki must look amazing during the photoshoot." Akashi commanded. 

The stylist simply nodded and left to make preparations; they knew that when their boss says he wants perfection, he means it.

"Narumi, thank you for agreeing to do this." Akashi spoke, looking over at her.

"It's okay," she shrugged.

"Daiki  I also want to thank you as well." Akashi smiled a little. "You will go back to Tokyo, right?" 

"Yes  Akashi."  Daiki nodded.  "We will be leaving now." 

"Please allow one of my drivers to take you back to Tokyo." Akashi requested.

"Thank you very much." Narumi smiled at him. "But there's no need for that; I can drive Daiki and I back just like I did when we were coming here."

Akashi shook his head. "If you insist. Please let me know when you arrive at your home." 

"Okay," Narumi replied. She and Daiki exited the building and went to the car that was waiting outside for them. As they drove away, she looked at her surroundings; they seemed familiar somehow. 

She racked her brain, trying to figure out what they could be related to. Eventually, she gave up on it.

Silence filled the air as the car drove through the quiet streets. Daiki's gaze was fixed ahead, and his eyes were dark with emotion. Narumi was feeling awkward because of how quiet he was being.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He didn't reply; he only kept his gaze on the road. Then slowly, his eyes drifted towards her face and locked onto hers. She instantly felt self-conscious under his intense stare. 

"It's nothing, ma'am." He mumbled, then broke his gaze, breaking the tension as well.

"Daiki  I know that our relationship is complicated. A contract marriage between a CEO and her personal assistant." Narumi began slowly. "I was really selfish when I came up with this contract stuff, but there's no need for us to behave like strangers. We could be friends and have a boss-and-worker relationship at the office." 

Daiki remained silent, and when she 

spoke about friendship, the corner of his mouth quirked upward.

'He's smiling.'   She thought.  'That's good. Maybe he's warming up to me again, or maybe he finds it funny.'

"Being friends is not a bad idea." He agreed.

"Really!"  Narumi smiled widely. 

"Yes ma'am."  Daiki smiled back.

"Please only call me ma'am when we are at the office or in front of the other workers; otherwise, you can address me as Naru or Narumi." Narumi insisted.

"Of course, Naru-"  Daiki cut himself off and stared at her for a moment before he continued speaking. "Naru." 

'She gave me permission to use a nickname.' Daiki realized this, and a warm feeling spread through him. Then he looked at her and smiled. 'Cute, sexy, and beautiful at the same time.'