episode 12: Nothing There to Wear
Breakfast was finally beginning to wind down.
Somehow, in the span of one morning, Newton and Sherry had managed to coerce Nari into coming in for dinner later in the week;
Thomas still kept sneaking glances at her when he thought no one noticed.
Except…
Everyone noticed;
And Kai….well he was somehow both ridiculously proud and personally offended at the same time.
“Dinner will be at seven,” Lakshmi said warmly. “Cocktails start at six-thirty.”
As she spoke, she quietly slid a small piece of paper across the table.
Nari looked down.
An address.
She glanced up at Lakshmi, who simply smiled.
“I’ll pick you up at six, Nari—”
“I’ll pick you up at six, Nari—”
The table went silent.
Kai and Ryú slowly turned toward each other.
Their eyes narrowed.
The entire table watched.
Nari looked between the two grown men currently having a silent territorial argument over who was driving her to dinner.
She picked up the address.
Smiled.
“Well…”
Both men immediately looked back at her.
Hopeful.
Far too hopeful.
“I’ll…”
Two backs straightened.
“…take myself.”
Silence.
“Thank you.”
The devastation was immediate.
Kai looked betrayed.
Ryú looked like someone had just cancelled a major international merger.
Arjun stared at both of them.
Then lost his battle for composure.
A laugh escaped.
Then another.
Soon he was nearly folded over in his chair, wiping his eyes.
“You two…”
He pointed between them, barely able to breathe.
“Oh my gosh.”
Another laugh.
“You two are absolutely ridiculous.”
Ryú frowned.
Kai looked offended.
Which didn’t helped neither of their case.
Which only made Arjun laugh harder.
Ryú frowned.
Kai looked offended.
Neither of them realized they were only proving Arjun’s point.
Which made him laugh harder, almost falling out his chair.
Nari looked around the table.
The powerful CEO.
The brilliant Marketing Director.
The successful businessman.
All of them behaving like children fighting over who got the last cookie.
She slowly shook her head.
“You know…”
Everyone looked at her.
“For a group of extremely intelligent men…”
She picked up her purse.
“You are all incredibly ridiculous.”
Lakshmi immediately covered her mouth, trying and failing to hide her smile.
Arjun pointed toward Nari.
“That.”
He looked at Ryú and Kai.
“That is exactly what I’ve been saying.”
Ryú opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Kai looked betrayed.
“Nari…”
“Nope.”
She stood.
“I have food to put away, paperwork, and now apparently, a dinner where I need to supervise several adults.”
Arjun laughed again.
“See? I told you I’d like her.”
Nari hugged Sherry goodbye, promised Newton she would come hungry, and thanked Lakshmi again for the invitation.
Thomas stood quickly.
“It was really nice meeting you, Nari.”
His sincerity caught her attention.
Her smile softened.
“It was nice meeting you too, Thomas,” she calls to him. “ Don’t let them intimidate you.”
“You have good instincts. Trust them.”
Thomas froze for half a second.
Then smiled.
A real one.
“Thank you.”
Ryú noticed.
Of course he noticed.
Kai did not.
Of course he did not, it didn’t cross his mind that someone he didn’t pick would be interested in his sister.
He was too busy mentally planning dinner.
And possibly Nari’s entire future with Ryú.
Nari simply shook her head one last time.
“Six-thirty, cocktails. Seven, dinner.”
Lakshmi nodded.
“I’ll see you tonight?”
“You will.”
She glanced at Kai.
Then Ryú.
“And no one is picking me up.”
Two disappointed faces.
One perfectly satisfied woman.
Ryú frowned.
Kai looked offended.
Neither of them realized they were only making it worse.
Arjun took one look at their faces and chuckled again.
Ryú looked at him.
Kai crossed his arms.
Both equally insulted.
Which only made it worse.
Nari looked from Ryú…
To Kai…
Then back again.
Two brilliant, successful, powerful men.
Sulking.
Over a ride.
She simply shook her head.
There really were no words.
“You are exhausting,” she said, pointing directly at Kai.
Kai opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Then she turned toward Ryú.
“And you…”
She paused.
“I don’t even know what your problem is.”
Ryú blinked.
She picked up her purse.
“I’ll see everyone tonight.”
Lakshmi looked up.
Their eyes met.
Two women sharing a silent understanding.
Nari simply waved.
Lakshmi smiled and waved back.
And with that…
Nari walked out.
Leaving two stunned men behind.
And one very entertained table.
For several seconds, neither man moved.
Ryú stared at the door, his expression suggesting he was reconsidering every negotiation strategy he’d ever learned.
Kai stared at the same door, looking personally betrayed by a woman who had obviously been making her own decisions for decades.
Then, almost simultaneously, they turned toward each other.
“You could have let me pick her up,” Kai muttered.
Ryú raised one eyebrow.
“And you could have done the same.”
“I’m her brother.”
“I’m aware.”
“Then why—”
Arjun made a strangled sound.
Both men turned toward him.
“Wait.” Arjun held up one hand, struggling to contain himself. “Let me understand something.”
He looked from Kai to Ryú.
“She just told BOTH of you no.”
Neither responded.
“And now you’re arguing over which one of you should have had the privilege of being rejected?”
Silence.
Then, in perfect unison—
“THAT’S NOT THE POINT!”
Both men froze.
Slowly, they turned toward each other.
Ryú frowned.
Kai looked offended.
Their expressions were so remarkably similar that Arjun simply couldn’t take it anymore.
He exploded.
The laughter came so suddenly and violently that his chair rocked backward. He grabbed the edge of the table, barely saving himself from landing on the floor.
Lakshmi reached for his arm, laughing herself.
“Oh, Arjun!”
But he couldn’t stop.
“You TWO!”
He pointed helplessly between them.
“Oh, my GOD!”
Another wave of laughter took him.
“One of the most powerful businessmen in the country and one of the brightest marketing minds I’ve ever met…”
He bent forward, wiping tears from his eyes.
“Reduced to a pair of sulking schoolboys because a woman wants to DRIVE HER OWN CAR!”
Lakshmi was laughing now, too.
But beneath her amusement was something warmer.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her husband laugh quite so freely.
And somehow, that made the entire ridiculous spectacle even sweeter.
Unfortunately, neither Ryú nor Kai appreciated the entertainment they were providing.
And neither was quite ready to concede the argument.
A few moments later, Thomas quietly stood.
“Excuse me.”
No one noticed.
Except Lakshmi.
She watched him leave.
Then calmly lifted her cup.
Interesting, she thought.
She glanced toward Ryú.
And started counting silently.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
“And another thing,” Ryú began, turning toward Kai. “I don’t see why you think—”
He stopped mid-sentence.
His eyes shifted.
Empty.
Nari’s chair.
It was empty.
His expression changed.
Then he noticed another empty chair.
Thomas.
Slowly, Ryú turned toward the window.
Outside, just a few feet away, Nari stood beside her car.
With Thomas.
Talking.
Thomas said something that made Nari smile.
Ryú’s jaw tightened.
Then, just as she turned toward her car, Thomas reached out and lightly touched her sleeve.
An innocent gesture.
Barely a touch.
But Ryú’s eyes immediately dropped to the young man’s hand.
A low, unmistakable growl rumbled from deep in his chest.
Kai looked over.
Followed his gaze.
Then smiled.
“Oh.”
Ryú’s eyes narrowed.
“Oh?”
Kai nodded proudly.
“Thomas probably wanted to ask her something else about the slogan.”
Silence.
“He has a good head on his shoulders. Smart kid.”
Ryú slowly turned his head.
And stared at him.
“Kid?”
Kai looked back.
“What?”
Lakshmi quietly hid her smile behind her teacup.
Arjun saw Ryú’s face.
Then Kai’s.
Then Thomas outside.
And completely lost it.
Ryú pushed his chair back.
Lakshmi’s eyebrow rose.
“Mm-hmm,” she murmured.
But before Ryú could even stand—
Nari smiled.
She gave Thomas a small wave.
Then got into her car.
A second later, she was gone.
Ryú froze.
The chair remained halfway pushed out.
The confrontation he hadn’t even admitted he was about to have disappeared with her taillights.
Kai looked at him.
Then the chair.
Then the empty parking spot.
“What were you doing?”
Ryú sat back down.
“Nothing.”
Kai frowned.
“That did not look like nothing.”
“It was nothing.”
Across the table, Lakshmi took a slow sip of tea and said,
“Of course it was.”
Arjun had only just managed to regain his composure.
Then he looked at Ryú.
At the chair.
At Lakshmi’s perfectly innocent expression.
And that was it.
He lost it all over again.
The laughter started quietly.
Then built.
Ryú glared.
Kai looked completely confused.
“What?”
Arjun only laughed harder.
Just then, Arjun’s phone rang.
The laughter slowly died down as he pulled it from his pocket.
He glanced at the screen.
Then frowned slightly.
Not in irritation.
In surprise.
“Well, well.”
He answered.
“Winston! How are you?”
Ryú immediately looked over.
The name caught his attention.
Kai finally stopped trying to figure out what everyone else found so funny.
“Yes, yes,” Arjun continued. “We were just wrapping up here.”
He leaned back comfortably in his chair.
“No, nothing serious. Lakshmi and I just had a small breakfast with Ryú.”
A pause.
Arjun’s eyes moved toward Ryú.
The smallest smile appeared.
“Yes. That Ryú.”
Ryú stared at him.
Suspicious.
He knew that look.
“Arjun.”
Arjun ignored him.
Expertly.
“Yes, actually your timing is interesting. We were discussing Stone’s Throw.”
Kai’s attention snapped back.
“Oh no,” Ryú muttered.
Lakshmi smiled into her cup.
“Yes,” Arjun said. “That project.”
He glanced toward Kai.
“The Marketing Director is here as well.”
Kai straightened.
Then looked around.
Then pointed at himself.
Lakshmi shook her head.
“Yes, Winston. I think you’ll really like the direction we came up with. The person behind it is Brilliant!”
Ryú narrowed his eyes.
“Arjun…”
Arjun continued as though he hadn’t heard him.
“As a matter of fact, she will be joining us for dinner this evening.”
Ryú’s eyes narrowed further.
Another pause.
Then Arjun’s smile widened.
“Oh.”
Ryú did not like that smile.
Not at all.
“Tonight?”
Kai looked at Ryú.
Ryú looked at Kai.
Both suddenly suspicious.
“Actually, that works perfectly.”
Arjun looked toward Lakshmi.
She immediately understood.
Because of course she did.
She knew her husband and that look very well.
“Cocktails are at six-thirty, my house.”
Ryú froze.
Kai froze.
Arjun smiled.
“Yes. Come by at six-thirty.”
A pause.
Then:
“And Elizabeth too, of course.”
Ryú closed his eyes.
Kai whispered:
“Winston and Elizabeth Stanton?”
“We will see you both there.”
Arjun ended the call.
Smiled at his best friend.
Silence.
Ryú stared at him.
“You invited them.”
Arjun shrugged.
“They invited themselves.”
“That has never stopped you from saying no before.”
Arjun smiled.
“Why would I?”
Ryú already knew the answer.
And he didn’t like how pleased Arjun looked about it.
Nari made it home and finished putting away the last of her groceries.
The quiet was nice.
Peaceful.
Normal.
She sighed.
She started the kettle and made herself a cup of tea, mentally going through the rest of her day.
She still needed to decide if she had enough time to stop by the butcher before dinner.
She took a slow sip.
Maybe if she left in the next hour—
The front door opened.
Again.
Nari closed her eyes.
Slowly.
“I am taking that key away from him,” she vowed quietly.
The next second, Kai appeared.
Not walked in.
Appeared.
Like a Category Five hurricane wearing designer clothes.
“We need to go.”
Nari blinked.
“What?”
“Right now.”
Before she could answer, Kai grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward the door.
“Kai!”
“No time.”
She dug her heels in.
“Kai!”
He kept moving.
She yanked her arm free.
“Just what in heaven’s name has gotten into you?”
Kai turned.
“And give me back my key!”
He ignored the request completely.
Which only irritated her more.
“You need a semi-formal dinner dress.”
She stared.
“What?”
“A dress.”
“I own dresses.”
Kai’s expression changed.
The silence was insulting.
“Kai.”
“Nari.”
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“I have seen your closet.”
“And?”
“And nothing in that place even remotely qualifies for tonight.”
Her eyebrows rose.
“My closet is not a crime scene.”
His face said he disagreed.
Strongly.
“Kai.”
“No.”
“Lakshmi didn’t say anything about dinner being semi-formal.”
Kai stared at her.
Then slowly blinked.
Like she had just grown two additional heads.
“Nari.”
“What?”
“The Stantons just invited themselves to dinner.”
Silence.
She waited.
Kai waited.
She continued waiting.
His eyes widened.
“You don’t know who the Stantons are.”
“Should I?”
Kai looked genuinely wounded.
“Oh, this is worse than I thought.”
Kai stared at her.
Actually stared.
Then he dragged a hand down his face.
“Oh, this is definitely worse than I thought it was.”
“Kai.”
“Nari.”
“They are people.”
“They are not JUST people.”
She crossed her arms.
“They eat food, breathe air, and put their shoes on like everyone else.”
“Yes, yes, very inspirational.”
“Kai.”
“They are only THE most elite couple in society.”
Nari just looked at him.
No reaction.
Of course she wouldn’t.
Kai groaned.
“Why did I think that would work on you?”
“Because apparently you forgot who you were talking to.”
He pointed at her.
“Fine.”
Then he delivered the one thing that actually mattered.
“They are also only THE major investors in RYÚARJUN Group.”
Nari froze.
The teasing expression faded.
Kai saw it immediately.
There it was.
Not fear.
Not intimidation.
Understanding.
“Ryú and Arjun?”
The people who had somehow worked their way into her life in less than a week.
Kai nodded.
“The Stantons believed in them from the beginning. They helped get the company started.”
The color drained slightly from her face.
“Oh.”
“Exactly. Oh.”
“Now you understand.”
Kai saw his opening.
He took it.
Immediately.
Before she could recover, he grabbed her arm again and started moving.
She looked toward the kitchen.
“My tea—”
Kai held onto her hand.
“No time.”
“Kai—”
“Tea can be remade.”
“My shoes—”
“You need new ones.”
“My purse—”
“Bring it.”
“My key—”
“Still mine.”
“I’m keeping it.”
“Kai!”
But this time she was too distracted to fight properly.
Which was exactly how Nari somehow found herself being pulled out of her own house by a very determined Kai, the Monkey King.
“Kai!”
But the protest came from somewhere halfway down the walkway as her brother successfully dragged her toward the car.
