"Your offer should entice me, if not I'd drop this conversation," said Takuma, eyes gleaming with mischief.
Ren smirked. He stood up from his swivel chair, walking over to the wine cabinet at a corner of the room. Taking out a bottle of wine and two glasses, he gestured for Takuma to join him at the small bar. Takuma lazily sat up and took a seat before Ren.
Ren poured him a glass of wine before doing so for himself. He leaned against the cabinet behind him, his eyes were trained on the surface of the deep red wine. While swirling the glass in his hands, he raised his eyes and stared at his cousin.
"I'll be straightforward with you."
"Yes, Your Highness. Tell me your orders," responded Takuma, still feeling playful. He took a sip of the wine. His eyes didn't divert from Ren's face.
Ren smiled. His smile contained a meaning behind it. Looking back at Takuma, he spoke, "I want to train you as my successor for Fuse Corporation."
"What? You... Cough! Cough!"
Takuma coughed a few times, he was so shocked til he chocked on the wine. Ren casually patted his back and handed him a tissue, as if Takuma was just coughing because of a simple matter. Takuma took the tissue and wiped his mouth. He stared at Ren in disbelief.
"What joke you're trying to pull me into?" Takuma asked loudly. "I know you want to avenge me for the pranks I did to you before but this isn't it man!"
Ren put down his glass on the table. He crossed his arms. When he stared at Takuma, his eyes were clearly saying 'Are you an idiot?' Takuma pursed his lips, knowing Ren he knew there was truth behind his words earlier but...
"You built your own legacy since you took over the position 5 years ago! Why did you suddenly want me to be your successor? Isn't it supposed to be your child with Tsubaki to become the next head?"
"I just want you," replied Ren briefly. "The offer is to make you the next president of the company."
Takuma gasped. His eyes contained pity when he thought of a reason why Ren made such a ridiculous decision. "It is... Because you guys can't conceive? But you could always adopt... "
Pak!
"Ouch! Why did you hit me?" Takuma rubbed his head. All of a sudden Ren hit him hard using his hand.
"Are you cursing me to not have children?"
Ren sighed. He knew this conversation wasn't going to be easy. Even though they hadn't met properly for almost 10 years, this man' s behavior was still the same. Thank God Akashi wasn't here with him. If not, it would be total chaos.
"I'm being serious. I want you to work for me and I'd personally train you to be the next President of Fuse Corporation."
Takuma parted his lips. He couldn't comprehend why did Ren suddenly say something outrageous like that. Wasn't he afraid of being toppled by his subordinates?
"Why me? And most importantly, why do you suddenly want to let go of your position? You still have a long way to go, cousin! If you're tired, you could still wait for your child to grow up before handing your position to him!"
"When I first became the head of the company 5 years ago, I knew it wouldn't be for long," said Ren calmly. He wanted to pour more wine for himself but he stopped as he reminded of the word 'conceive' by Takuma. He remembered that alcohol wasn't good if one's trying to get a child. Instead, he did it for Takuma's glass.
"You know I originally didn't want the position as the family head but the others forced me. I eradicated all the pests so that I could leave the company in peace."
Takuma sighed as he downed a couple of mouthfuls of wine. His brain was still processing what Ren had said. The news of him ousting Mr. Sagara and his cronies had already reached his ears. He was surprised because he didn't think there would be rats lurking inside Fuse Corporation.
"If you left the company, you need to hand over your position as the family head. Do you think Grandma would allow that?" Takuma understood Ren wasn't one to be attached to such a position so he didn't ask him about his decision. He only brought Grandma in their conversation.
Ren paused for a while. He was deep in thought as he lowered his eyes and looked at the bottom of his empty glass. Slowly, he closed his eyes.
"I'll persuade Grandma somehow."
Ren knew it wasn't easy for him to hand over his position as the family head to someone else, even though that someone was Takuma who had Fuse blood running inside his body. Even though mostly Grandma didn't care about the superficial matter, but there hadn't a case of a family head letting go of his title to another in their family history.
It would take him hard work if he wanted to succeed.
"Why are you doing this? I know you originally didn't want to lead the company but your achievements are real, cousin. Even when I was in Europe, I'd occasionally hear about you. Even during Uncle's time, his achievements couldn't be compared to yours," asked Takuma after Ren went silent. He was reminded of when Ren's late father took over the company before his immature death.
"I just want to live a simple life," replied Ren in honesty. "That's why I ran away once. If possible, I don't want to be tied to the weight of our family's name. Even though I could live in privileges thanks to our family's power and fortune, I actually long for a simple and ordinary life. With privilege, it comes responsibility. I couldn't choose either one."
"It is because of Tsubaki?"
Ren pursed his lips. Eventually, a smile formed on his face. "You could say so."
Takuma sighed loudly. He rested his chin on his hand, staring at Ren. "I have asked Hibiki about your story with her. I didn't expect you to have met her before. I thought you've just fallen in love with her."
Ren chuckled. Hibiki was being a good assistant to him. He should be nicer to him.
"Aren't you afraid she'd be reluctant to leave the life as the mistress of Fuse Household? If you left, she'd need to leave all this glory behind and return to be an ordinary woman," Takuma added, trying to test his cousin.
"She won't," answered Ren confidently. "If she longed for the riches, she would already marry the bastard Kitaoji Masaru."
"Okay, I won't ask you anymore." Takuma stood up from the seat, knowing it was useless to get Ren to back off from his plan. "I'll save the questions for some other time. About your deal, let me think about it first. After all, it isn't a trifling matter."
"Okay," Ren agreed. "Tell me about your choice later."
Takuma nodded. He turned around, preparing to leave the room. "I think I'll borrow your car tomorrow morning. Maybe I should stay here for tonight and roll around the bed thinking about your offer."
Ren shrugged his shoulders. "Up to you."
Once Takuma left the study, Ren returned to his working table. He pulled open a drawer, taking a file from it. Opening the file, his eyes landed on the words typed on the papers.