Get It Out Of The Way

"How much?" Ed all but whispers.

"50 million."

"That's like… $500K… are you out of your mind? And how come you didn't tell me about this when I dropped you off last night?"

Sam shrugs. "It's for a good cause anyway."

"That is not the issue here, Sam." Ed sighs. "Have you forgotten that you are dealing with a divorce and Andrew is coming after your money?"

"You said it, it's my money."

Ed wants to argue more, but there is no point. "I'll call the lawyer to let her know so she can deal with it."

"Thanks."

"Not that you are running out of money, but maybe it would be a good idea to start working on some pieces for the exhibit."

Sam is silent for a moment. She hasn't painted in a while. Since her last miscarriage, and the divorce only made things worse. She did not have the drive to paint anymore. She still doesn't.

"I need a bit more time," she utters. "I'm sorry."

"There is no reason to apologize, these things take time. There is no rush." Ed pats her shoulder. "I know some materials were delivered the other day, but I don't want you to feel any pressure to paint, okay?"

Sam smiles at his sweet words. "Thank you, Ed."

"So, when is this 500-thousand-dollar lunch happening?" he teases.

"Kei said his assistant will contact me."

"I still can't wrap my head around this. Usually, you are not impulsive."

'He's right, every time Kei is involved in a situation, I act weird.'

"I'll be leaving then. They said the TV will be delivered tomorrow morning, so make sure you're home."

"Yes, sir."

Ed shakes his head before heading to the door.

After he leaves, Sam is not sure what to do with herself. She walks around the apartment aimlessly, appreciating that everything had finally taken its place.

The apartment is on the twenty-seventh floor of a luxurious building in Roppongi. It has two floors, and beautiful views of the city through the floor to ceiling windows. The upstairs is her private space with her master bedroom and a study that she is going to use as her studio.

The materials that Ed mentioned earlier were placed in one corner of the room. Sam doesn't even feel like organizing them. So, the studio is the only room yet to be completed and organized.

She decides to make some tea, but as she walks by the dining table where a vase of withering flowers stands, she stops and stares at them. The late afternoon sun makes the browning white roses look even more pathetic.

'I should have thrown them away days ago. Actually, I should have just left them in the hotel when I moved.'

She picks up the vase but hesitates. "Ugh, get a hold of yourself, Samantha." She stomps to the kitchen and throws the old bouquet in the trash.

Sam turns on the kettle and grabs a bag of berry tea. But as soon as she pours the boiled water into her mug, her phone rings. She rushes to the living room and picks it up.

"Hello?"

"I am calling for Ms Martin," a soothing female voice comes from the other side. She spoke perfect English.

"This is she."

"Ms Martin, this is Jessica calling from Mr Ichihara's office."

"Oh." Sam did not expect to hear from her so soon.

"Mr Ichihara is free tomorrow and wanted to know if it is convenient for you as well," the assistant asks.

'Tomorrow?'

Sam has nothing to do, but it is too soon. She had just met Kei the day before, and meeting him again tomorrow goes against her plan of staying away from him.

"Is there a possibility to leave it till next week?"

"I am afraid tomorrow is the only opening Mr Ichihara has for the next few weeks, and he wanted to get the lunch out of the way."

'Get it out of the way?'

"Fine, I can do it tomorrow."

"Great, I will send you the information about the time and place via text message in a few minutes."

"Thank you," Samantha utters, exasperated.

"Thank you, Ms Martin. Have a great evening," Jessica adds before hanging up.

"Get it out of the way," she repeats as the spoon repeatedly hits the inside of her mug. "Yeah, let's get it over with."

The next morning, Samantha is woken up earlier than she had hoped. She had a hard time sleeping the night before, so she is already in a cranky mood.

The delivery guys bring in the huge TV and mount it on the wall. It takes them less than an hour to finish. Sam tries to go back to sleep after they leave, but she can't.

"Might as well get this day started," she mumbles, annoyed.

Sam makes an oatmeal bowl for breakfast. She has no appetite, but forces herself to eat in order to take her pills. After Kei's birthday party, she decided to go back to taking her medication religiously.

Lunch is going to be at 1:00, so she has a few hours before she has to leave for the restaurant. For some reason, Sam is feeling anxious about meeting Kei today. She had hoped that the pills would help, but when they don't, she decides to take a relaxing bath with some Himalayan bath salt.

She takes her time in the bath, then slowly gets ready. She puts on some lounge Jazz music that resonates through the whole apartment. She has a new appreciation for the sound system feature that the agent kept mentioning when she visited the place for the first time.

'For $12.000 a month, I should take advantage of all the features.' Sam thinks to herself with a chuckle.

When she finally leaves her apartment building, she is in a much better mood. It is a sunny summer day, a bit too hot outside, but she will soon be inside the air conditioned car.

"Ms Martin," the driver greets before opening the door for her.

"Thank you."

Sam gives him the address that Kei's assistant sent her the day before, and off they go.