Hidden Secrets

Chapter 73

Mamoru and Taiki stepped out of the large conference room one after the other. It had been an exhausting session discussing the annual budget and its allocation. Everyone tried to push their interests, but the smaller parties knew that ultimately, only the Chibas, Kous, and Tsukinos made the decisions, the absence of the latter surprising everyone. Naturally, he had sent a deputy to make their lives difficult, but Kenji's absence still raised questions.

Taiki and Mamoru exchanged a brief glance in the conference room and understood each other without words, even across the massive table. It was time for a brief conversation once they were done here. With some distance between them, they each made their way to the small café on the ground floor. Inconspicuously, they stood side by side while waiting for their orders. Taiki glanced briefly at his phone and felt relieved reading Yaten's message. At least he didn't have to worry about that particular issue.

"What do you think about your father-in-law not being present?" Mamoru initiated the conversation after checking the surroundings for potential eavesdroppers. Taiki briefly closed his eyes. Since they had stormed his villa, he hadn't had any contact with Kenji. He didn't even know where he was currently, and if he was honest with himself, he didn't want to know. He was glad to have avoided contact with Kenji lately. "Maybe he's sick. He's not getting any younger," Taiki replied evasively, trying to sound indifferent, but he couldn't deny the suspicion that Kenji might be up to something. This suspicion had already crept into his thoughts.

Mamoru gave Taiki a skeptical look. "You don't really believe that, and even if he were sick, why would he delegate his voting rights to an employee and not to you, his son-in-law?" he asked, slightly provocatively.

Taiki received his coffee and took a sip, just to avoid having to answer immediately. "Let's just say that the relationship between him and me is currently much more difficult than I ever imagined... we have some personal differences, and it doesn't seem like that's going to change in the next few months," he finally admitted.

Mamoru furrowed his eyebrows skeptically. Instead of getting answers, more questions kept popping up before him. He was starting to get impatient, and Taiki just wasn't giving away any useful information. As the café slowly filled up, he decided to take a different approach. "Kou, I think we should discuss this in peace over dinner. My wife was already interested in inviting you. How about it? I still have some appointments, but we could receive you around 6 p.m.," he suggested to his counterpart.

Taiki could imagine much nicer ways to end this stressful day than spending it at the Chibas', but he knew the importance of this conversation. Mamoru wanted to lay all the cards on the table, and he needed to seize this opportunity. He nodded curtly. "I'll discuss it with Serena and get back to you." "Good, then see you later." With these words, Mamoru left Taiki alone.

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Yaten sat in his car, tapping anxiously on the steering wheel with his fingers. He was gradually approaching the moment of decision, whether to follow Rei's invitation or not. He never trusted her, not one bit, and yet, there it was again, that damn curiosity deep within him urging him to go. Why had Rei invited him? This question had been gnawing at him ever since he read her email. Why did she want to talk to him of all people? If it was about business matters, she always turned to Taiki. So it had to be about something else. For a split second, his thoughts wavered to Minako, but he quickly dismissed that idea. The notion of Rei wanting to discuss Minako with him would border on betrayal of their friendship. So, it was absolutely implausible for him to consider that as the reason. Rei would never risk her friendship with Minako so frivolously by giving him information. But then, why did she want to see him? He had been racking his brain for a while now, but he just couldn't come up with a plausible reason.