BY CHANCE NOT CHOICE: Marco's Choice - Moretti Brothers Series Book Two (6 page)

“Please don’t involve her just yet, we need to make sure our plan is in place.  If either my father or Mr. Yamada finds out about her existence before she is fully prepared, it will cause a major disruption in her life and possibility put her life in danger.  If our plan is executed, we may all be able to walk away unscathed and I get to meet my twin sister,” she said smiling as a tear slid down her cheek. 

Monica instantly felt a connection with her and stood to give her a hug.  Takeo walked in as the two began to embrace and quickly closed the door. “It’s important that no one suspects that you two have a connection,” he said with a low stern voice prompting both women to pull back while looking at him.  He gave them a slight smile indicating that he understood, but he needed them to know that they were in a dangerous situation and needed to be very careful.  “We need to also be careful of what we say and where we say it, there are monitors and recording devices throughout this building and the Takahashi’s Towers.  I make sure that this office is swept every morning for any devices so you can talk freely in this office and this office only.”  He turned to Monica. “Ms. Thomas, if you are ready, I can escort you to the conference room.” 

“I know where it is.  I just need a few minutes to clear my head before presenting.  I will meet both of you there.” 

              Takeo gave her a quick nod and directed his attention to Kiyomi.  “We should go.”  Kiyomi gave Monica a faint smile and a tight squeeze of her hand before whispering, “We will talk tonight.”  She released Monica’s hand and walked out the door with Takeo.  Once in the office alone, Monica began to suffer from a panic attack.  She sat in the seat behind the desk and tried to regulate her breathing.  She put her head between her legs when her assistant walked in.  “Ms. Thomas, are you okay?” she asked as she rushed to pour her a glass of water.  Monica couldn’t speak.  She grabbed the glass and tried to drink.  After a few seconds, she was able to drink the water but the assistant could see that she was visibly upset.  She noticed Monica’s hands trembling.  “Can I get anything else for you? Should I call someone?”  she asked concerned.

“No, I’m fine.”  She took a few more deep breaths and stood.  She drank the remainder of the water.  “I’m sorry if frightened you, Lin. On very rare occasions, I suffer from panic attacks, but they pass.  I’m okay now.”  Monica took a few more deep breaths. “Did you make sure the copies of the presentation were delivered to the conference room?”  Monica asked trying to change the subject. 

“Yes, just as you instructed.”  Her assistant was still looking perplexed.  “Are you sure you don’t need me to get you anything else?”

“No, I’m going to head to the conference room.  I will see you in a few hours.”  Monica took couple of deep breaths; she needed to calm down and get to her presentation.  She retrieved her paperwork off the desk.   Monica turned to leave the office when she followed the eyes of the assistant and noticed that she was staring at the broken coffee cup.  “I’m sorry about that, it slipped out my hand.” 

“I will make sure it’s cleaned up right away,” the assistant said as she turned her attention to the broken glass. 

CHAPTER EIGHT

Monica walked out of the office and headed towards the conference room.  After being introduced to everyone including Mr. Yamada and his son, Jun, Monica was able to give the
presentation flawlessly, even impressing Mr. Yamada with her knowledge.  After she answered all questions, lunch was served and Monica headed back to her office.  With all the craziness she was learning, she picked up her cell phone, deciding not to use the phone in the office to call Marco.  

“Hello beautiful how did your presentation go?”  Marco sexy voice boomed through the receiver.

“Hi baby, it is so nice to hear your voice.  The presentation was amazing but that wasn’t the most amazing thing that happened to me this morning.  I can’t wait to see you. You are not going to believe what happened to me this morning.” 

“Now you have my curiosity peaked.  Please explain,” he amused.

“Well, when I came in this morning I….” 

Just as Monica was about to go into detail about meeting Victoria’s twin sister there was a knock at the door.  “Baby I’ll explain everything to you when I see you; someone’s at my door.  I will see you later at the condominium?” 

“I’ll see you then,” was Marco’s last words before Monica hung up. 

Takeo walked in the door.  “Are you ready to go?  Kiyomi is waiting in the car.” 

“Yes, give me a few minutes and I will meet you in the lobby. 

Takeo nodded and exited the door.  Monica gather her belongs when she felt her phone vibrate, she looked at the caller ID “Victoria” she whispered.  “So how is my beautiful pregnant bestie?”  “Don’t try and sweet talk me, Mo.  Why didn’t you call me to let me know you arrived safely?  I had to hear it from Nick who just talked to Marco.  So while you were getting your freak on in Tokyo, you couldn’t stop for a second to call me?” 

“Slow down and breathe, Vic.  I was going to call you when I arrived but so much craziness has happened that I didn’t get a chance, but I was going to call you this evening.” 

She looked at her watch and it was 5:00 pm Tokyo time. 

“Wait, it‘s 3 o’clock in the morning in Philly.  Why are you up?  Are you alright?”  Monica asked concerned.

“I’m fine.  This morning sickness is turning into morning, noon, and night sickness.  But don’t try and change the subject, I’m still angry that you didn’t call.” 

“I’m sorry Vic, I will make it up to you.  I will bring you one of those beautiful pieces of art work from here.” 

Monica knew her friend could not stay mad at her; she could practically feel her smile through the phone. 

“Okay you are forgiven, and I don’t care if Marco is there, I still want to hear from you.  I want to know that you are okay.” 

“Yes, Mom.”  Monica joked. 

They continued their conversation as Monica left the office and headed to the elevators.  “Hey Vic, I have been meaning to ask you for a while now if you had a chance to get any additional information on your biological mother and whether she had any other family?” she asked as she tried to balance her cell phone, briefcase, and purse.   “No, I didn’t.  What made you think about that, of all things?”  Victoria asked a little baffled.  “I don’t know.  The family structures are a big deal here and it got me to thinking about you and me and how, for a long time, we only had each other.” Monica paused for fear that she might let something slip.  “Forget about it.  I have to go.  I’m about to get on the elevator and I may lose the call.  I will call you later, I promise.  Give my god-kids a big kiss for me and tell them I love them.”  “I will.  Take care of yourself and you better call me.” 

They disconnected the call as Monica got on the elevator and thought about the events of the day.  She knew that if everything she heard today was true, her best friend’s life will change forever; she hoped for the better.   She was so deep in thought that she hadn’t realized that the elevator reached the lobby.   Takeo was standing there when the elevator doors opened. “Is everything okay Ms. Thomas?” he asked when she didn’t step out of the elevator right away. “Huhh?”  She looked around and realized she was in the lobby.  “Everything’s fine, Takeo, as you can imagine, I have a lot on my mind, and please call me Monica.”
“I think its best that while we’re in public I should call you Ms. Thomas.  Now if you come this way, the car is waiting right outside the door.”  Monica looked at Takeo; he was so handsome and so serious.  She couldn’t imagine what he has to go through every day protecting the woman he loves and unable to let anyone know how strong his love is for her.  

Monica got in the car and Kiyomi was already sitting in the back.  Monica and Kiyomi sat in the back alone as Takeo got in the front with the driver.   “I thought it would be nice if we could have dinner together then I can explain everything to you.   I don’t trust talking on any property that’s owned by Takahashi Corporation,” Kiyomi said as they drove down the highway.  “You think our office spaces are bugged?”  Monica asked.  Kiyomi gave her a knowing look, but did not respond.  When they arrived at the restaurant Monica instantly recognized it as the restaurant that she and Marco had just eaten the night before.  “The food here is amazing. I was just here for dinner with my boyfr...” she smiled as she looked at her finger.  “My fiancé surprised me by flying into Tokyo to be with me.”  Kiyomi smiled. “I hope I get to meet your gentleman friend before you leave.” 

At that moment, it dawned on Monica that she told Marco that she would meet him for dinner.   “Speaking of my fiancé, I told him I would meet him for dinner. I was unaware that our conversation was going to take place at a restaurant.  I need to call him,” Monica said as she reached for her cell phone.  “Should I ask him to join us for dinner?”  “Monica, I don’t know if that’s such a great idea. The information that I need to discuss with you is highly confidential,” Kiyomi cautioned.  “Whatever you have to say to me you can say in front of my man; I trust him with my life and he is your sister’s brother-in-law,” she said without waiting for a response as she dialed Marco.

Kiyomi smiled.  She knew exactly who Marco was as well as the rest of his family.  Takeo had done an extensive background check on Victoria
,
and their entire families.  He was extremely uneasy with Kiyomi’s plan when she first told him about it.  “By all means, invite him to dinner,” Kiyomi said with a smile.  Takeo, who was able to hear the entire conversation, turned to look at Kiyomi.  She recognized that look; he was not pleased.  She gave him a faint smile and nodded.  He turned to look straight ahead and she knew that this would be a serious conversation when they were alone.  She smiled inwardly; he was fiercely protective of her and she knew he would lay his life down for her and their unborn child.  She knew their love was strong, that’s why their plan had to work. 

Kiyomi was in such deep thought that she did not realize that Monica was on the phone and it actually ended her conversation at that moment.  “Marco said he would meet us there,” Monica volunteered.  Kiyomi nodded in response.  Monica looked out the window of the moving car as she thought about Marco.  There was no way she could explain over the phone what was going on, but you need to prepare him before he saw Kiyomi.  They pulled in front of the high-rise where the restaurant was located on the top floor.  The driver and Takeo got out simultaneously, both looking around before the driver opened the door, allowing both women to exit the vehicle.  Takeo’s eyes continued to search the parameter of the restaurant as both women went inside. He whispered something to the driver who nodded, then Takeo followed the women into the building.   “Kiyomi, I need to prepare Marco to see you.  I will wait for him in the lobby; he should be here shortly.” “Okay, let the hostess know that you’re with me and she will take you to our private room.”  Monica smiled at her as she and Takeo walked towards the elevator. 

Monica sat on one of the lounge chairs in the lobby as she thought about how she was going to explain it to Marco.  This entire situation was incredible.  She looked down in her purse to retrieve her lipstick when she heard a familiar voice.  “Hello beautiful.”  She looked up and saw Marco standing in front of her.   She jumped into his arms and held him tightly, initially causing him to take a step back before regaining his balance. “Wow!  You missed me that much since this morning?” he joked as he pulled her tighter into an embrace.  She inhaled deeply taking in his wonderful familiar scent.  “I love you so much baby.” She cooed.

Marco grabbed her by her waist, slightly pulling her away so that he could see her face.  “I love you too baby.  Is everything okay?” he asked as he looked into her eyes trying to see any hint of distress.   “I’m fine, Marco, but I need to talk to you about something very important.  Something really incredible happened to me today.”  She paused as she looked around and noticed a bench in the foyer.  Monica grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the seat.  “Please sit with me,” she said as she sat prompting him to also sit.  She began to explain the unbelievable story of how she met Victoria’s identical twin sister.  She also explained how Victoria’s sister brought her here because she needed her help and while she wasn’t completely sure how she could help, she wanted to do what she could to make sure that Victoria and her sister connected.  

              Marco sat there in silence as he listened to Monica explain this incredible story; his emotions went from shock to fear for Monica’s safety, then anger at the individuals who brought her here under false pretenses.  “Monica, this story is almost incomprehensible.  I don’t like the fact that they lied to get you here and potentially putting your life in danger.  This will end tonight. You need to finalize your business arrangements because we are leaving tomorrow. Whoever these people are, they are obviously holding most of the cards in this situation and I don’t like it.  If it means that you lose the account, then so be it.  I will not allow you to stay here another day knowing all that I know now.”  

Monica looked at Marco with utter astonishment.  “What are you talking about, Marco?   First, I am not a child and I am capable of making decisions for myself.   Second, you don’t order me to do anything and I am not leaving tomorrow, so either you stay and help me or you can leave on the next flight, but I will help Victoria’s sister connect with Victoria.   It is the least I can do.”   Monica could see the frustration in his face. “The least you can do?” he repeated irritated. “You don’t know these people, Monica, and they obviously don’t give a shit about you because they wouldn’t ask you to participate in their bullshit.”  Monica was disappointed but not surprised by Marco’s response.  He was fiercely protective of her and she knew that. She stood. “Okay, so we’re not going to resolve this issue right now so why don’t you meet me back at the hotel.  I should be done with dinner in about two hours,” Monica said not wanting to continue the discussion with Marco.  “Like hell I will.  If you’re having dinner with them, then I’m having dinner with them, and we can put an end to this nonsense once and for all.”   Monica started to protest but decided that it was best if Marco met them and maybe then he would understand why it was so important for her to help her best friend connect with her sister.  Marco did not like the stressed look on her face.  He grabbed her around her waist and pulled her into an embrace.   He looked into her eyes before kissing her softly on her lips.  “Let’s go meet your new friends so we can tell them, thanks, but no thanks.   He patted her on her backside before capturing her around her waist again and walking towards the elevator.