There’s been something off about Iris ever since I told her we needed to cancel our safari for the day. I thought she would get over her mood by noon, but I was wrong. She only speaks to me through email, despite being a quick walk away from my bedroom, and she avoids all the common areas of the bungalow. The way she ignores me makes me far more frustrated than I would ever care to admit.
I consider checking in on her a few times but think better of it. Whenever she’s gotten irritated at work, I’ve found it best to leave her alone to sort out her feelings. She knows the stakes here, and she of all people knows how much this deal means to me. It would be ridiculous for her to think I would tell Yakura no after the struggle I went through to get him on the phone.
Our meeting time closes in, and Iris still hasn’t come to set up the computer. I grab my phone to call her, but it turns out that I don’t need to. She walks into the living room with her laptop tucked beneath her arm.
The ever-present tightness in my chest whenever she is around intensifies as I scan her from head to toe. Gone are her usual high heels and dresses, replaced by an all-black outfit that accentuates every dip and curve of her body.
I stand taller in her presence if only to make her notice me. Except she doesn’t as she busies herself with setting up the computer for our video call without sparing me a glance.
I somehow resist the temptation to grab her chin and force her to look up at me, instead settling on stepping in her way. “Ready?”
Her hand clutching the charging cable tightens around the cord like a chokehold. “Yup.”
Still, her gaze doesn’t meet mine. Her lack of acknowledgment shouldn’t be a concern for me when I have more pressing issues to handle, yet I am acutely aware of the tension building between us.
I don’t like it. Not one bit.
“Iris.”
“Yes?” She assesses the login screen like it’s written in Morse code.
“Tell me what’s wrong so we can get on with our day.”
She seems to not like my command based on the way she smashes her fingers against the keyboard. “Why would anything be wrong?”
“Quit the passive-aggressive attitude and talk to me.” I cover her hand with my palm, stopping her typing.
“You’re the last person I want to speak to right now.” Her eyes finally slice into me as she steals her hand away.
What I find reflecting in them is not what I expected. She might as well wave a red flag above her head, warning me to stay away. Yet I find it impossible to ignore the way her eyes glisten.
I have come to realize that, while her smile might be my weakness, her damp lashes clinging together will surely be my downfall.
“Were you crying?” My next breath is pinched, the oxygen fighting its way into my strained lungs.
“No.”
“You’re a pathetic liar.”
Her nostrils flare. She stands tall, barely reaching my chin. “You want me to be honest?” Her voice drops dangerously low.
“Yes.”
“Even if you hate what I have to say?”
“I can assure you I’ve heard worse.”
For a brief moment, her iciness melts away as her gaze softens. “Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what exactly?”
“Don’t remind me that there’s a human being locked up inside of you somewhere.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Her gaze shifts away from me as she focuses on a far corner of the room. “I—” The chiming notification on the computer screen cuts her off. Her bitter laugh fills the room. “I’ll leave you to it then.”
Fuck the meeting.
The thought acts like a punch to the throat. My ragged inhale does little to calm me, and my thoughts spiral out of control.
You’re losing sight of what’s important.
I shake my head, sobering up as I unbutton the front of my jacket and settle onto the couch in front of the laptop. “We’ll continue this conversation after.” I leave no room for opposition.
“Of course, sir.” Her snide remark bounces off me. She accepts the call and steps out of the frame.
“Hello, hello!” Mr. Yakura grins into the camera. I try to return the gesture, but the forced smile only makes him laugh.
I don’t understand how he can be so damn happy all the time. He reminds me of a golden retriever—all smiles and good times. It’s mind-boggling how someone like him, with all the power on his side of the hemisphere, can act the way he does.
Not everyone is a miserable fuck like you.
“No need to smile on my account.” Yakura laughs.
“Good. It’s not natural.” And it requires using one too many facial muscles for my taste.
His chuckle eases some of the tension from my shoulders.
“Where’s Iris?” Yakura asks as he scans the room for her.
“Here!” Iris steps behind me, using the back of the couch as a barrier between us. The scent of her, like a warm day at the beach, washes over me. I breathe through my mouth to spare my lungs another deep inhale.
“How are you?” Yakura asks, and some of the tension in my body disappears. Iris thrives under these kinds of circumstances given my aversion to them. Small talk happens to be my least favorite form of communication, right up there with smoke signals and group texts.
Her smile seems far less forced than mine. “Everything is great. Same old, same old over here. Just busy working my life away one day at a time.”
Our eyes meet through the camera, and mine narrow in silent warning.
“Sounds like you need a vacation. Perhaps even a honeymoon from what I hear.” He raises a brow.
Iris’s smile drops a fraction before she bounces back. “I see you heard about our news.”
“I’m a bit offended I found out the big news from my wife. I thought we were friends.” He frowns.
Somehow that word seems to be haunting me regardless of the person. I’m not sure why people are so infatuated with becoming my friend. They would find me lacking in every way, from never remembering their birthday to always leaving their messages unread.
“I sent a wedding e-invitation to your assistant since everything was such a whirlwind, but it must have not made it to you.” Iris pouts on command, like the idea of Yakura missing our wedding tears her up inside.
“She must have missed it. I get so many emails each day, I practically take up a whole cloud of storage space.”
She waves him off. “No worries. It was spur of the moment anyway.” Iris lays her diamond-clad hand on my shoulder, and Yakura’s eyes track the movement. I remain stiff in my seat as a burning sensation in my gut surges to life.
“I’d say. I never knew you two were together, although my wife had her suspicions. Part of me is annoyed she was right this entire time.”
“Your wife is a smart woman,” Iris says.
“How did you two keep it a secret for this long?”
“You know Declan. He always keeps his business and personal life separate.”
“Don’t I know it. He wouldn’t even tell me his favorite color when I asked him.”
“Green like a crisp hundred-dollar bill,” she responds with a grin.
The urge to roll my eyes nearly overtakes me.
“Is that right?” Yakura’s eyes brighten as he looks at me.
“Yes.” No.
Iris gives my shoulder a pat of approval. Years ago, when Iris asked me about my favorite color, I told her I didn’t have one. Naturally, given her frequent bouts of insanity, she adopted one for me. It’s become a running joke on her end where every gift-giving occasion includes something green, as if oversaturating me with the color will make me like it.
It doesn’t. If anything, it always reminds me of her.
“Well, I won’t take up too much of your time. But while I have both of you here, I would like to discuss a unique opportunity regarding the Dreamland Tokyo proposal.”
This is what you’ve been waiting for. My breath stalls in my lungs as I wait for him to continue.
“I would like to move forward with the project on a few conditions.”
I don’t blink. I don’t smile. I don’t do anything but stare into the camera, wondering how this proposal won him over compared to the others.
What changed?
Who gives a shit? All that matters is he wants to work together. “Fantastic. The Kane Company would be excited to work with you and turn Dreamland Tokyo into a reality.”
He nods. “I am excited as well. But I would like you to iron out a few last details before I present the deal to the board.”
“Of course. Whatever you need,” I reply despite the tiny tic in Iris’s jaw through the camera.
Yakura claps his hands together as he reviews the changes he would like me to address, including Japanese sponsors he wants brought on to the project. “Great. Will it be too much trouble to ask for an updated proposal with a project timeline so I can share it with the company board this Friday?”
The hand on my shoulder tightens around the tendons, but Iris remains quiet.
“No trouble at all.”
“Fantastic. I knew you would be up to the challenge.”
I’d be an idiot not to. This project is supposed to be my first big move as the future CEO, and I didn’t spend the last two years of my life working weeknights and weekends to squander it.
Iris’s nails dig into the fabric of my suit. I look up at the computer screen to find her face devoid of any kind of emotion, which is a warning sign.
Her anger is warranted but some things take precedence. Opportunities aren’t a matter of luck, but rather hard work and sacrifices. A few more days on the clock won’t kill her. She will have plenty of chances to watch animals shit, fuck, and sleep, as long as we accomplish Yakura’s request first.
Yakura nods. “I look forward to hearing from you soon.”
The moment he hangs up, Iris rips her hand away from me.
“You find me that abhorrent?” I glare at her from over my shoulder.
Her eyes narrow. “You don’t want my hands anywhere near your neck right now.”
“I didn’t know that was your thing.”
“Murder?”
“Kinks.”
Her eyes widen. “You’re breaking a rule.”
“Which one?”
“No flirting.”
“Interesting. Are we just adding rules as we go now?”
“Yes, seeing as there is no how-to manual on faking a marriage.”
“Does that make you feel better?” I ask in a bored voice.
Her brows pull together. “What?”
“Putting up a wall between us when things get too real for you.”
She laughs, in a deep and wheezy way that borders on obnoxious. “I find it fascinating how you can say that with a straight face given how you treat everyone.”
I shoot her a blank look. “I don’t treat you like everyone else.”
She knows more about me than my own brothers. For her to discount that…it raises my blood pressure.
“You’re right.”
The tense breath I was holding releases from my lungs. She finally gets it.
She continues, “There are moments you treat me great. I’d be stupid to deny that. But there are plenty of times when I feel like I don’t matter. That my needs are merely collateral damage in your pursuit of whatever you think will make you happy.”
I want to grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she starts making sense. Instead, I keep my hands to myself as I nod. “I see.”
“You really don’t.” She offers me a tight smile that seems all wrong. “I planned this trip thinking we could have fun together. I thought…” She laughs, but it sounds off. “I don’t know what I thought honestly, but I’m mad at myself for being surprised that all this even happened. I’m even more disappointed that I thought your work would only be kept to one day.”
The victory I felt from Yakura’s meeting disappears at her expression. Something about it raises every alarm in my head. “Iris…”
She holds up a hand. “It’s fine. I’m going to take a walk.”
“No, you’re not.” We are in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by wild animals and darkness. I don’t give a shit how angry she is. I’ll be damned if I let her walk out.
She raises her chin with defiance. “I didn’t ask for your permission.”
The back of my neck heats. “Then as your boss, I’m ordering you to get started on the updates Yakura wants. Time is of the essence.”
Her entire body tenses. “Of course. I’ll get right on that as soon as I submit my two weeks’ notice, asshole.”
Oh, fuck. She takes advantage of my stunned state and leaves the suite before I have a chance to stop her. The front door rattles as she slams it behind her.
Good luck trying to undo this mess.
