Owned by the Yakuza: A Japanese Mafia Bad Boy Romance (3 page)

“I’m coming!” I shouted. The clock in the kitchen had just rolled over to midnight. Who could be coming to pay their respects at this hour?

I peeked into the peephole. There was a man standing there, dressed in a crisp white shirt and black blazer. He had a slim metal briefcase in one hand. His black hair was styled to the side. He was a standing in the middle of the hall, a respectable distance from my door, but staring dead at the peephole.

“Um, sorry, who are you?”

“I’m here about Mr. McMillian,” The man said.

Whoever he was, he certainly wasn’t from the life insurance company – I couldn’t get them on the phone even during business hours. How did I handle this? I had no idea who this guy was, and most normal people didn’t come to pay their respects in the middle of the night.

“Listen, is McMillian-san home? I have something that I need to talk to him about.” The man was getting impatient.

He didn’t know my father was dead. Oh, boy this was going to be awkward.

I braced myself and opened the door a crack, keeping the chain on. “I’m sorry, but Gregory McMillian passed away two weeks ago.”

The man frowned. “I see. Do you mind if I come inside for a moment?” He looked me up and down through the crack briefly, noting that I was dressed in a robe. “Just a moment,” He promised. “I had business with him, but I guess things have changed.”

I hesitated. He seemed nice enough if he knew my father I was sure that he was no threat to me. Besides, anyone as handsome as him should probably be out on the town tonight instead of taking care of business obligations. Maybe he was some young overworked salaryman from an investment firm or something. A successful one, judging by his clothes.

“Uh, sure,” I said. I let the chain loose and opened the door. “Please, come in.”

“Thank you,” The man didn’t take off his shoes, standing in the genkan. “I only need a minute of your time.”

I made sure my robe was tied tightly and crossed my arms over my chest. I stayed a few feet away from him, making sure my iPhone was in reach in case he tried to start something. I had taken a few self-defense courses in my lifetime.

“Is Mrs. McMillian home by any chance?”

I choked back a lump in my throat. “Um, no, she died as well.”

The man looked at the ground. “I’m sorry,” He said, bowing his head to me. “Well, then I guess my business is with you then, Miss…” He trailed off.

“Oriana McMillian,” I said. “Gregory was my father.”

“I see. I’m very sorry for your loss,” He said. “And I wish I didn’t have to come to you with this news right now during your time of grief, but it is very urgent.”

“What kind of news?”

“My name is Himura Tadao, and your father owed the Himura-gumi some money. It was due a few years ago, but it seems that the debt was never paid.”

My mouth went dry. Dread prickled through my skin as the shock worked itself to my brain. Himura-gumi? My father owed money to the Yakuza? He would never deal with those criminals. He was a University professor; he didn’t have any trouble with money.

Tadao continued. “A sum of one million yen is the total of his debts.”

“A million yen?! That’s like ten thousand dollars!” I shrieked.

The man shrugged. “Yeah, I understand it’s not very much, but it’s been a while and we do need to collect.”

“Not that much?” My voice failed me. I stuttered and took a step back, dragging my hands through my wet hair. “Maybe a million yen isn’t a lot to you, but for us normal people, that’s not easy to come by.” I edged away further. I was an idiot. I had just let a yakuza member into my house.

“Unfortunately, the debt is now transferred to you.”

I set my jaw, trying to look braver than I was feeling. “And if I refuse?”

Tadao smirked and raised his eyebrows. “Do you really want to find out?”

A chill shot down my spine. I was no fool. I watched the news. I knew what happened to people who crossed these gangs. “A million yen,” I sighed and buried my face in my hands.

Tadao let the minutes tick by in silence before speaking again. “Listen, Oriana. How about we make a deal?”

I looked up, wiping my eyes. “What kind of deal?”

“I am feeling generous today because I also lost my father recently, you see,” Tadao said. “I understand that a million yen is a lot of money to someone in your situation, so I could help you out. If you work for us, you can pay back your father’s debt that way.”

I was a full-time student with no job and it would be weeks before the life insurance got settled. I had only a few thousand’s worth of savings to live off of until that. As much as I hated to admit it, working for the yakuza might be the only way to pay back this money.

“Alright, what kind of work?” I asked, dreading to find out.

“We own many hostess clubs in Shibuya,” The man said. “I’m sure that a beautiful foreigner like yourself could make money fast.”

I blushed, first from the compliment, then from the slur. “I’m not a Gaijin!” I was tired of defending myself to these sorts of people. “I was born here. My parents are English. I’m just as Japanese as you are.” This was where the arguments usually got interesting.

Tadao raised his eyebrows. “Well, your accent is perfect,” He muttered under his breath.

“Damn right it is,” I grabbed my wallet off of the kitchen counter. “Do you want to see my birth certificate? I can prove it.”

Tadao raised his hands. “No, thank you. I’m sorry I offended you.” He smiled, pausing for a moment. “A redhead who can speak perfect Japanese. That debt will be paid off in a week.” He stretched his hand out to me. “So, do we have a deal?”

CHAPTER THREE

Tadao
忠夫

When I went to collect this debt, the last thing that I imagined was being greeted at the door by a pretty University girl dripping wet and dressed in nothing but a pink bathrobe. I was pretty sure these were things that only happened in movies. Plus, that beauty had bite. I was intrigued.

Normally, when someone couldn’t or wouldn’t pay up a debt like this, Tatsuya would be sent out to persuade them. But I couldn’t let him get his hands on this beautiful girl, not when I had her here all to myself.

I had planned to go out and collect this money on my own – no enforcer needed. I had a knife tucked in my pocket and a briefcase containing the files that I needed to prove that the debt wasn’t a fraud. My hand tightened on the handle of the briefcase.

This was my chance to prove that I didn’t need to live in my brother’s shadow. I was just as capable of closing accounts and representing the family as anyone else.

“Listen, Oriana. How about we make a deal?”

She looked up. “What kind of deal?”

“I am feeling generous today because I also lost my father recently, you see,” I said and sincerely meant it. “I understand that a million yen is a lot of money to someone in your situation, so I could help you out. If you work for us, you can pay back your father’s debt that way.”

“Alright, what kind of work?” She asked. I could tell that she was thinking terrible thoughts, but I wasn’t the sort of person to abuse innocent women who were being forced to pay debts that they didn’t accumulate.

“We own many hostess clubs in Shibuya. I’m sure that a beautiful foreigner like yourself could make money fast.”

Oriana’s face went red. “I’m not a Gaijin! I was born here. My parents are English. I’m just as Japanese as you are.”

“Well, your accent is perfect,” I muttered with a shrug. I wasn’t going to get into an argument with her over the difference between citizenship and descent. I tried to get the conversation on track again. “A redhead who can speak perfect Japanese. That debt will be paid off in a week. So, do we have a deal?” I offered my hand to her.

The girl hesitated. She kept one arm across her chest and shook my hand with the other. “Deal.”

I reached into my blazer pocket and pulled out a business card. “Great, you can start tomorrow night.” I tossed it to her and she caught it with surprising grace. “Do you have any outfits for this sort of thing?”

Oriana looked away, blushing deeply. “What kind of girl do you think I am? I’m not some deviant who dresses up like characters for fun.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “No, it’s not a themed bar. It’s a high-class place,” I nodded to the card in her hand and she looked at it closer. “It’s a black-tie only hostess club. Did you think I was going to put you in some maid café?” I chuckled.

Oriana tightened her hand around the business card. “No, I guess not,” She said softly. “I might have some stuff that’s appropriate.”

“Well, bring them tomorrow. When you get to the door, ask the bouncer for Tadao, and we can get you set up,” I looked her over. Her hair was still soaked and the nervousness was shining in her green eyes. I pitied her for a moment, but let the feeling pass. If I was to prove that I was just as effective as the other kyodai, I had to see this through.

“Ok, then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I didn’t miss her tone. She was politely asking me to leave. “Yes,” I said. My eyes lingered over her once more and then I bowed. “I look forward to working with you. Let’s get this taken care of so you can go back to your normal life again.”

#

RE: Our Trip to Washington

I scrolled through the email my brother had sent me. This was their fifth day on vacation. Tomorrow they were doing a small western-style marriage ceremony with Cassandra’s family and then going to go on a road trip to visit the wineries in California. In every picture, they looked so happy. Kenichi looked younger almost, having the stress of his daily life momentarily put on hold.

Not on hold, maybe, just transferred to me.

My mind wandered to Oriana.

Somehow, I highly doubted that a woman in her situation had anything nice enough to wear to be a hostess. Which should have been the least of my worries. What if she didn’t even show up? Then I would have to go after her – or send someone else to do the dirty work. She had just accepted everything too easily. Would she try to run for it? Or would she hold up her end of the deal?

“Himura-san, you’re here early.”

I looked up from my phone. “Sora-chan!” I stood up.

The hostess club didn’t open until nine o’clock but the staff started trickling in around seven-thirty to prepare for the night. It was Sunday, but that didn’t stop business from booming. Men who were willing to pay a hefty premium for beautiful, well-versed women’s company didn’t care what day of the week it was.

“It’s nice to see you, Himura-san,” Sora said with a smile. She was one of the most beautiful women who worked here and was very popular with the staff. She had acting as a hostess down to an art and brought the club in unbelievable amounts of money. I would miss her when she eventually retired – this was a very short-term job.

“Sora-chan, I was actually waiting here for you.”

“Ooh, what’s up?” She asked with a delightful twinkle in her eye.

“Just business,” I said. “We have a new girl starting today and I was wondering if I could get your help.”

Sora’s enthusiasm faded away. “Oh, I see. What’s the problem?”

“There’s a girl who’s going to start working her to pay off some debt,” I said quietly, so no one overheard us. “I just wanted to ask you to keep an eye on her, ok? She won’t be here too long, but she needs a friend while she is. She’s going through a bit of a… rough time.”

Sora considered my request and then shrugged. “Alright, I’ll do it for you.”

I knew the women who worked here were competitive. Never getting too close to one another, at risk of losing out on their trade secrets or most lucrative clients. But Oriana wasn’t here for that. A few weeks to pay off a debt and she’d be a memory.

“Thank you, Sora-chan. I’m going up to the office right now. Please send her in when she gets here.”

“Wait, what’s her name? How will I know who she is?”

I chuckled. “Oh, you’ll know.”

#

Shortly before nine o’clock, there was a knock on the office door.

I closed the files I had been going through. “Come in.”

Sora-chan swung open the door. She looked less than pleased. “Good evening Himura-san,” She said with a bow. “Your new girl is here.” She spat the words like acid.

I gave her a hard look, but she turned on her heel and left without another word. I would have to talk to her after, something had upset her. It was impossible to miss. My concern took a back seat when Oriana peeked around the doorframe.

“Come in,” I waved her inside.

Oriana stepped into my office timidly, carefully shutting the door behind her. She was dressed in a black cocktail dress. Her fiery red hair had been tamed into an elegant bun on the top of her head. She wore makeup, not too much not too little, a beautiful shimmering gold. She walked gracefully in towering high heel shoes.

My breath escaped my body. She was made for this. She looked like a goddess. I stood as she approached the desk. “Good evening, Oriana.”

Oriana bowed her head to hide a smirk.