Ren slumped onto his swiveling chair. He closed his eyes, relaxing all his nerves in order to get a much needed rest. Clasping both of his hands, he rested them on his crossed legs.
He had just came back from an emergency inspection. Before he took Tsubaki home after their dinner last night, he got a call from his assistant. He was urgently required to fly to City M as soon as possible. A problem had occurred that needed his immediate attention since billions of investments were at stake. He came straight to his office after landed here.
"President, I'm coming in."
The sound of Assistant Matsuzaki's voice and knocking on the door could be heard even in his relax state. Ren didn't open his eyes even when he heard familiar footsteps approaching him.
"President, this is the follow up report on the matter in City M."
"Leave them." Ren grunted his reply.
Matsuzaki assesed his boss' weary features. Even when the man was exhausted he still exuded regal aura around him, making others bowed in respect. He was afraid he would disturb the man's rest but he still wanted to voice out his opinion.
"President, why don't you head home? You don't have anything major scheduled for today."
After working as President Fuse's chief assistant for almost five years, Matsuzaki was the one closest with the head of the company. He had witnessed by himself how his boss often overworked himself to the point of exhaustion. Only he and the president's doctor friend knew that President Fuse had almost collapsed for several times already.
"Later."
Noticing the finality in his boss' voice, Assistant Matsuzaki could only comply. He retreated from the office silently.
Ren knitted his eyebrows. He pinched the bridge of his nose. A headache was threatening to disturb his focus. He knew he had nearly pushed his body over the limits again despite Toshiro's constant nagging. He looked healthy from his outer appearance but only he knew how much indifferent act was ingrained in his body in order to not let others notice his weakness.
Besides Toshiro and Akashi, only Chief Assistant Matsuzaki knew hot to spot his tired signs. They were his trusted people. The ones he could truly count on when he had no choice but to reveal his weaknesses.
A notification chimed in his personal phone. Ren quickly opened his eyes. His exhaustion had faded marginally when he heard the tone. It was specially set for Tsubaki's number. He frantically reached inside his jacket pockets. His thin lips curled up into a smile. A message from Tsubaki appeared on the screen.
Hello, Mr. Fuse. It's me, Hanada Tsubaki. I'm sorry for disturbing you but could I meet you in person?
The message was formal and typed carefully. Seemed like the lady was afraid she would interfere with his time. Without hesitation, Ren dialed the number. She picked up after two rings.
"Hello, Miss Hanada." Ren instantly went into his acting mode, hiding his exhaustion well. He didn't want her to notice it.
"Hello, Mr. Fuse." She sounded baffled, as if surprised with his call. "Aren't you busy? You said you're not in the city today."
"I just came back. Do you want to meet now?" Ren cheered up with the prospect of seeing Tsubaki after a tiring workload. "I could go to your bakery now."
"No... there's no need." Tsubaki rejected. "We could meet later. You must be tired."
Ren grinned. "Do you think I'm tired just because I just got back from another city?"
"Yes." Her replied was clear, concerns lingered behind. "You want to hide it, right? Judging from your tone."
His eyelids flickered. His mouth gaped opened slightly. Ren went speechless from a moment before a gentle smile crossed his face.
How could he forget? He could never hide his weak state or tiredness from Tsubaki? She only heard his voice over the phone but she still managed to catch something was off.
"Yes." Ren admitted. "I hope you could just brush it aside since I don't want you to be worried."
"I'll contact you later. You should rest, Mr. Fuse. Health is not something you could take lightly."
Ren sighed inwardly. Could I not see you? He swallowed down the words and asked her questions. "Do you have something important to tell me? It is about the birthday celebration?"
"Em... no. I have something else to ask you." Her voice went quieter, quite hesitant to bring up the subject.
"Where are you?"
There was longing in his voice. Judging from the noise he heard, she must be somewhere near the main roads.
"I'm at the block five, District B."
Ren's eyes immediately lit up. "You're just one block away from my office. Do you want to come here or do you want me to meet you somewhere else?"
Tsubaki didn't reply in an instant. She didn't want to impose on him when he was resting but it would be rude to continuously turn down his offer or make him coming to her when she was the one who had requested to meet him. Taking a deep breath, she made a decision.
"I'll go to your office."
"I'll send someone to pick you up at the lobby. Tell the receptionist you've a meeting with me."
"Thank you, Mr. Fuse."
Tsubaki hung up. Ren chuckled, couldn't hide how pleased he was with her choice to come here. He instructed Assistant Matsuzaki to go downstairs and wait for his special guest. Then he frantically tidied up his already neat office. He was like a teenage girl anticipating her crush's visit to her home.