Spring Blooms When I'm With You

When the group of guests entered the private room, they were clearly elated. They didn't expect that the unapproachable President Fuse would grant them permission to meet him. Four young men and three ladies who dressed in branded outfits were standing nervously near the door. One of them suppressed his nervous emotion and walked to Ren who sat further in the room.

"President Fuse, my name is Furuya Hiroki from Furuya Technology. It's a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you."

The young man in navy suit offered Ren his hand for a handshake yet Ren just coldly looked at him. Ren nodded slightly. The young man stiffly retracted his hand, he felt so awkward. He looked at the man who was sitting on the couch. He appeared so aloof and detached from the world, like a king who peasants couldn't meet on a whim.

"Forget about him, Mr. Furuya," Toshiro butted in when he saw the young man's complex expression. He wanted to laugh yet he tried hard to hold it in. "Come sit with us. We have a bottle of good wine here."

The seven of them didn't stand on ceremony. Even though Mr. Fuse was cold but this was a rare opportunity! They couldn't just let this chance to pass by. Each of them took a seat on the two long couches. The men were staring at the cold man with eyes of admiration and envy while the women's were filled with sultry looks.

"We're sorry if we're disturbing your free time, Mr. Fuse," the woman in pink dress spoke in gentle manner. She fluttered her eyelashes while she spoke. "But, we really want to meet you. After all, you're a dignified figure in our society."

Ren didn't return the woman's flirty gaze. He just looked inside his empty wine glass with a bored expression. He was wondering what his two friends wanted to play with these lot. Was is something simple? Or...

"Your glass is empty? Let me pour it for you, Mr. Fuse."

The woman dressed in yellow who sat near Toshiro quickly trying to seize her chance. As she wanted to hold the wine bottle, Ren himself grabbed it and poured the wine into his glass. The woman smiled awkwardly. She adjusted her sitting posture, trying to hide her embarrassed look.

Toshiro and Akashi sneered inwardly. Sensing the atmosphere inside the room had turned awkward, Akashi clapped his hands and said, "Let's break the ice! Don't worry about the ice block. He's always like that. We should spend some time playing to get to know each other."

"Sounds good!"

"I agree!"

"What should we play?"

The crowd actively enjoyed Akashi and Toshiro's game of chess while Ren was relaxing on the couch. He was leisurely enjoying his wine when the group of uninvited guests were forced to take off their precious limited edition watches, tie pin and jewelries for the game.

"President Fuse."

Ren nonchalantly glanced at his left when he caught a whiff of a lady's perfume beside him. He frowned in disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e. He had always hated it when people wearing their perfume as if they wanted to drown in the scent. Without paying the woman in red dress any attention, he threw his gaze on the ongoing chess game.

The woman in red dress wasn't easily discouraged by the man's indifferent attitude. Her bright eyes hid the d.e.s.i.r.e she felt for him, unlike the other women's eyes. She remained poised when she took a seat at the long couch next to his single one.

"I'm Ieda Aimei from Ieda Foods. Nice to met you, Mr. Fuse." The woman started introducing herself even though the man with the ice cold expression hadn't even looked at her. She looked m.a.t.u.r.ed with the way she carried herself. "I'm sorry for disturbing your time but I'd like to meet you for business."

Ren was still in his silence mode. He could just treat the Ieda woman as a parrot, talking non-stop beside him.

"What do you say if we from Ieda Foods want to have a collaboration with your company, Mr. Fuse?" Instead of flattering him, Aimei took another route to capture his attention. She crossed her leg over another, intentionally exposing her smooth white long legs beneath her short dress. "I know that Fuse Corporation has a plan to venture in food industry. It could be a win-win situation for us."

When she saw the man wasn't planning to give her any response, she pursed her lips. She couldn't afford to lose her composure here. As an heiress, she had been trained to keep her cool even when she was facing an unfavourable situation. Racking her brain, she tried to figure out how to make this man paying attention to him.

"Mr. Fuse..."

Ting!

A chimed came from the man's direction. He placed his glass of wine of the table and fished out a sleek smartphone from his pockets. His cold and bored expression changed. Aimei's eyes widened slightly when she noticed that the man was smiling warmly upon reading the message that had just arrived.

As if he was alone in the room, Ren read the new message he received from Tsubaki. The corners of his lips curled up as his mood gradually improved. The message was longer than the previous ones.

Camellia of the Spring: Hubby, I have prepared your soup. It's in the covered bowl on the counter. I'm going to bed early. I need to go to the bakery tomorrow morning. Here's my good night kiss 💋 Call for a designated driver if you're feeling tipsy!

Seeing at the little emoticon of a flying kiss, Ren couldn't help but chuckle. He pondered for a bit before he stood up and walked to a corner of the room. There was a small table beside large windows paneled in white. He wanted to hear her voice before she went to sleep.

Aimei wanted to interrupt Ren once she saw him leaving the single couch yet her eyes fell on his almost empty wine glass left alone on the table. She gripped her clutch tightly, eyeing the wine glass.