BY CHANCE NOT CHOICE: Marco's Choice - Moretti Brothers Series Book Two (5 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

The next morning Kiyomi tried to get off the floor of her bathroom.  She had been in that same spot with her face over the toilet for the last 10 minutes as she continued to throw up. “You can do this, stand up and get in the shower,” she encouraged herself.  She was already running late for work, which was unusual for her because she was always early.  As Vice President of International Affairs, she was constantly proving herself.  As she tried to lift herself from the floor, she heard Takeo call for her from the living room.  “I’m in the bathroom, Takeo,” she yelled back.  He knocked on the bathroom door, “Are you okay?  Your car has been waiting for 45 minutes.”  She was about to speak when she felt the urge to vomit again.  Takeo heard her heaving from the other side of the door and rushed in.  Panic set in seeing her on the floor; he rushed to her side and grabbed her hair as she continued to throw up.  “Are you okay baby, what can I do for you?” He said as he grabbed a hand towel, wet it with warm water, and began to wipe her face.  She looked into the eyes of the man she loved and saw nothing but love in return.  “I’m okay, but this morning sickness is a bitch,” she said as he helped her off the floor.  “Give me about a half-hour, Takeo, and I’ll be ready.”  Once he was sure she was okay to stand on her own, he released her and kissed her gently on her forehead.  “Take your time.  We will wait as long as it takes.”  He kissed her again before exiting the bathroom. 

Takeo walked back into the living room. He was pleased with himself for strategically placing the cameras in her apartment
so that whoever was monitoring would not have access to the hallways leading to her bedroom or bathroom.  He knew that his uncle had ordered cameras in every living space owned by Takahashi including all the condominiums.  And while cameras were only in the common areas, you were able to see who was going in and out of the bedrooms and how long they stayed.  The problem was people living in those condominiums were unaware they were being videotaped.  He walked to the kitchen, poured a glass of juice, and called the driver to let him know that Kiyomi would be late. 

Kiyomi wanted to arrive at the office early in an attempt to get there before Monica.  Although she succeeded in getting there before Monica, she now sat in the office and tried to calm her nerves; between the morning sickness and meeting Monica, her nerves were frayed.  After today, her life would change forever.  She had been looking forward to this day since Takeo found that very important information about her sister.   She stood from her desk and walked over to look out the floor-to-ceiling window in her office.   Today had to go as planned because her life, Takeo’s life, and the life of her unborn child depended on it. She looked down at her stomach and rubbed it in a circular motion and smiled.   The buzzing of her phone interrupted her thoughts.   Her assistant wanted to inform her that Ms. Thomas had arrived and the meeting was in one hour.  

Kiyomi took a deep breath and sat back at her desk to review the file before the meeting.  Ideally she would’ve preferred to meet Ms. Thomas under different circumstances but it had to be today and before the meeting.  Takeo knocked on her door before entering her office.   He closed the door behind him and quickly pulled her into an embrace.

“She’s here and actually seems a little nervous about her presentation today.  I have already informed her that you would like to meet with her prior to her presentation.   I hope that she’s able to complete the presentation after she meets with you.”

“We have to make her understand how important it is for her not only to complete a presentation but to make sure that Mr. Takahashi is sold on her company.”   She took a deep breath and thought about how her life was about to change as a tear slid down her face.  “Hey baby, you have to stay strong, this will work.”  Takeo kissed her softly on the lips.   She took another deep breath.  “I’m ready.”  Kiyomi stood, grabbed her portfolio and walked towards the door with Takeo in tow. 

*****

Monica sat at the desk, in the plush office that was her temporary home for the next couple of weeks and took deep breaths to calm herself before her presentation.  “What are you so nervous about, you’ve done this presentation hundreds of times,” she chastised herself.   She smiled as she looked over her notes before her meeting that was going to start in two hours.   There was a knock at the door as it opened and her assistant stood there with a tray that contained coffee and breakfast pastries.  “I wasn’t sure if you had breakfast so I ordered something just in case.”  “Thank you,” she said as she smiled at her assistant.  She set the tray on the table and began to walk out the door. “Wait, I need to make sure that these copies are put into folders and placed in the conference room before the presentation.  Can you do that for me?”  “Sure Ms. Thomas, right away.”  The assistant picked up the copies off the desk and exited.  

Monica turned her attention towards the tray on the table.  The aroma from the coffee infiltrated her nose as she inhaled deeply.   It was what you needed at that moment.   She walked over to the tray with her back to the door and began to pour a cup of coffee when she heard a knock at the door.  “Come in,” she said as she continued pouring the coffee.   Takeo and Kiyomi entered the office and Takeo closed the door behind them. “Was there a problem with the copies?”  Monica asked with her back still to the door as she reached for a pastry.  When she did not get a response, Monica, with coffee and pastry in hand, turned to face the door. 

              When she saw that it was not her assistant but was Takeo and a woman, she started to speak… and… then noticed the familiar face of the woman standing next to him.  The shock of seeing her best friend standing next to him caused her to drop the cup of coffee and pastry she was holding. The cup shattered into several pieces.  After a few speechless seconds she realized that the woman standing there was not her best friend but had her exact face.  She looked exactly like Victoria.  She put her hand over her mouth still unable to speak.  Takeo approached her and she immediately backed away still unable to speak.  “What the hell is going on?”  Monica finally said softly still unable to comprehend what she was seeing.  “Please Ms. Thomas, let us explain,” Kiyomi said as she approached Monica.  Monica did not back away from her, but instead reached for her face and ran her hand softly over her cheek.  Kiyomi welcomed the touch and closed her eyes as Monica continued.  After a few seconds, Monica dropped her hand.  “Someone needs to explain to me what the hell is going on and why does this woman has my best friend’s face.” 

Takeo placed his arm around Kiyomi’s waist and gently pulled her close to him.  This gesture was not lost on Monica. “Ms. Thomas, please have a seat and we can explain everything.” Monica continued to focus her attention on Kiyomi refusing to break eye contact as she sat at the table.  Kiyomi walked over and sat in the seat next to Monica.  “I know this must be an incredible surprise to you, but I assure you, once I have explained everything you will understand and I hope you will be willing to help us.”  She looked over at Takeo with softened eyes, then redirected her attention to Monica.  “I know seeing me is a tremendous shock to you, so you can understand how surprised I was to learn just recently that I had an identical twin.” 

Monica, hearing what Kiyomi said, had already silently surmised which caused her to place her hand over her mouth again as a single tear slid down her cheek.  “We are not trying to upset you, but we do need your help.  I just found out three months ago that I have a twin sister.  We were separated at birth.  When we were born and our mother realized that she was dying and did not want our father, who at that time was not the most honorable man, to get custody of us.  Our mother made a pact with her two best friends and they both agreed to take one of us but they were sworn to secrecy.  If our father knew that he
had twins
,
he would’ve taken both of us.    My father threatened my adoptive mother with jail time for knowingly and fraudulently signing adoption documents.  He threatened to sue her personally and do bodily harm if she did not turn over his daughter to him.  Once
the adoption was final, my sister’s adoptive mother immediately moved away
. 
I am not sure how it is that my father never knew I had a twin.  We stumbled upon the information just a few weeks ago.” 

Kiyomi turned to look at Takeo giving him a slight smile.  She redirected her attention back to Monica.  “In a perfect world, Ms. Thomas, I would have contacted my sister and flown to the states for a happy reunion.  But I don’t live in a perfect world. Ms. Thomas, may I call you Monica?”  Monica sat in the chair numb from everything that was going on but she could not take her eyes off of the woman who owned the same face as her best friend. 

“Uhh, yes, please call me Monica.” 

              “Monica, as you are aware, I am the Vice President of International Affairs for this company.  My father, who is a silent partner, owns the majority of the shares only second to his business partner and lifelong friend, Yoshi Yamada.  My father has been diagnosed with cancer and does not have long to live.  We received information,” she said as she turned to Takeo. “Once my father passes, that Mr. Yamada plans to gain full control over this company, at all cost.  Both my father and Mr. Yamada are powerful dangerous men and their relationship has been strained over the last several years.  I believe if I tell my father and he confirms my suspicions, he will have Mr. Yamada and anyone involved killed.  I also believe, if Mr. Yamada finds out that we know of his plan, he may feel cornered into killing not only my father but my half sister and me as well.  My sister has been very sheltered throughout her life and while she works for the company, she is not aware of our family’s dealings and just how powerful and dangerous our father is and would not understand how this situation could become volatile.”  Kiyomi stood and walked over to the window then continued.  “If an all-out war is started between my father and Mr. Yamada it will be detrimental to the stability of our company.  We need to handle this situation as delicately as possible and we need your help to do that.” 

              Monica heard every word but was confused as to how she could help, she didn’t know anyone involved in the situation.  “I’m confused. How can I help?”  Monica asked as she continued to stare at Kiyomi.  “My father’s will states that when he dies, all of his company shares are to be distributed equally among his heirs but if at the time of his death, if he has no heirs, the stock will revert back to Mr. Yamada.  I’m afraid if it is known that there is another heir that she may also be in danger.  This is where your help is needed.   You see, Monica, we just found out that we are expecting.” She looked over at Takeo and smiled again.   “While my father is very sick, he’s still a very powerful man and may take issue to me having an affair and getting pregnant out of wedlock with the man he asked to protect me.  Now I know this may seem old fashioned but that is how my father thinks and he is protective of his daughters and would do anything he thought was best to protect our honor even if it was antiquated.  As you probably already know, Takeo is head of security here at Takahashi and is an extremely honorable man, but if my father found out that I was pregnant, I’m afraid he may order someone to do harm to him.” 

Takeo turned to Kiyomi and began to speak Japanese in a very aggressive tone.  She also began to speak Japanese.  Monica stared at Kiyomi as she spoke fluent Japanese and still could not believe what she was seeing.  Her attention was brought back to the couple standing in front of her as Kiyomi stood and walked over to Takeo and softly placing her hands on his face and began to gently caress it as she continue to speak in Japanese.  His expression and body language instantly relaxed.  He kissed her softly on the lips before turning his attention to Monica.  “I will leave you two to continue your conversation.  I will be back shortly to escort you both to the conference room.”  He immediately exited the office closing the door behind him. 

“I apologize for Takeo’s behavior, Monica, he is a very proud man and would prefer to confront my father and deal with the fallout of his actions, and while I know he is very strong and very capable of taking care of this situation physically, I don’t want him hurt. My father was given six months to live a year ago and he is currently in extremely poor health. If he were healthy, I would have told him about me and Takeo and also told him that if he harmed Takeo he would lose me forever, but his poor health is also affecting his thinking.  As you can see we are trying to balance a delicate situation.  Then there is Mr. Yamada.  I am concerned that if something happened to my father, Mr. Yamada will do whatever he has to do to gain control of the corporation.   There’s nothing he can do as long as my father is alive. He knows my father has dangerous and powerful friends. Some so loyal that they would die for my father.  As you can see we are dealing with some tremendous obstacles.  I would love to meet with you later this evening to explain our entire plan, but I needed to meet you this morning before our business meeting so that you could get over the initial shock of seeing me.   Because I hired your company, Mr. Yamada will expect me to be at this meeting.   I need you to hold your presentation without any distractions.” 

“I don’t understand any of this and I definitely don’t understand how I would be able to help,” Monica said, still in disbelief.

“I can explain everything this evening, I just need you to get through the presentation.  If Mr. Yamada thinks that there’s anything suspicious going on he will want to use another US company.” 

“I will conduct my presentation, don’t worry about that, but I need to call Victoria, she doesn’t know she has a sister,” Monica said concerned.