The day came and went while Tanaka was busy learning the rope.
Only now he realized how hard it was to be in his brother's shoes. From the very morning to late at night, he was busy, and he was so busy he had no such time even to let out a breath.
He was massaging the back of his neck while he leaned on the back of his chair. He closed his eyes and tried his best to relax after finally getting to have a short break for a bit when someone knocked at the door.
"Come in!" He shouted, loud enough for the person on the other side to hear him.
It was then he heard the door open, and a voice resonate.
"If you haven't had dinner yet, why not have dinner with me? We could go to that Filipino restaurant owned by President Sanches's family. What do you think?" Someone asked.
Tanaka opened his eyes and stretched his two arms, realizing it was Koji who just came in.
"I'm exhausted! I don't know how Tanaga could do all this without going crazy," he mumbled while getting up, preparing to leave. He turned off his computer, picked up all the doc.u.ments on the table, and stacked them up neatly on the side of the desk.
Once all was organized and perfectly placed, he grabbed his cellphone before reaching for his jacket.
"Let's go! I'm famished. At this rate, I could eat a whole cow," he said jokingly while walking towards Koji. Once he reached Koji, he placed his arms on Koji's shoulders before ushering him out the door.
Right before they exited the room, Koji spoke up.
"Let's go, buddy! Feed this poor ol' soul before I pass out from starvation," Koji said as both he and Tanaka left the room. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #'s-contracted-wife-%5Benglish%5D_13713194705932805/ohani-yamaguchi-1_49586242014212349 for visiting.
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They arrived at their destination in no time, and when the restaurant's hostess saw two good-looking men, a sweet smile propped up on her lips.
"Welcome, CEO Jones, President Hanada, this way, please!" She greeted as she guided the two to the private room reserved for THJ Group.
Once the two were seated, a waiter came with a pitcher of water and poured a generous amount in each glass.
"Good evening, CEO Jones, President Hanada. Would you like the usual family specials?" the waiter asked, still holding the pitcher.
Tanaka looked at Koji, wondering what the family special was. On the other hand, Koji didn't seem to notice Tanaka; with his attention to the waiter, he didn't notice Tanaka's gaze.
"Yes, of course! And bring us a bottle of red. We could use something to relax right now," he said before turning his attention to Tanaka.
"So how is it so far? Are you getting the hang of everything? I know it's difficult at the beginning, but this was how I felt when he disappeared for over a year, which left me to take care of everything. Don't worry. You will get used to it after a while. Soon enough, it will be nothing to you," he assured the man in deep thought.
"CEO Jones, is everything alright? Penny for your thoughts?" Koji asked the staring Tanaka.
Tanaka regained his senses, snapping out of his short trance right after hearing Koji's words. He slowly raised the wine glass that had already been prepared for them, taking a small sip.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Tanaka asked guiltily, now giving Koji his full undivided attention.
"I was asking if everything is alright with you. You seem preoccupied with something, and if there's anything I could help you with, I really wouldn't mind," he said as he also took a sip from his wine glass. He played with the wine glass while waiting for Tanaka to speak, which only took a while, as Tanaka took a deep breath right before he spoke up.
"I was thinking about Troship Navigation and what I should do with the company. As you already know, it's my mother's legacy, and even if she died doing evil deeds just because of it, it makes me even more curious as to what's my brother planning to do with it," he admitted, his eyes sad and dejected as he poured out his heart.
Before coming to Japan to play the role of CEO, he had initially planned to take over Troship Navigation and do it justice, as it was the least he could do for his actually deceased mother who did raise him, even if she had played dead while doing so and hadn't been the best mother.
"Well, at the moment, I wouldn't worry about it so much. CEO Jones let them continue their operations as if it was never acquired. Once he's finished with his treatment, you could ask him to give it to you. I'm sure he trusts you, and will with no hesitation let you run it," Koji assured, ready to continue giving Tanaka advice until a waiter came with their much-awaited dinner.
One by one, waiters laid plates and plates of food on the table.
Tanaka's eyes widened when he saw how many dishes were there when only two people were eating it after all.
"Wow! Those are a lot of dishes! There's only the two of us, and I'm not much of a big eater, so I don't think we'd be able to finish it all," he said while picking up a pair of chopsticks to try the mouth-watering dishes.
Koji only smiled at Tanaka's comment.
Knowing he wouldn't finish everything he ordered, like always, he had the rest of the food packed to take home since he didn't have anyone to cook for him. He also figured that Tanaka would also be able to eat some of the leftovers of their current meal as a midnight snack, that being one of the main reasons he ordered the family special in the first place.
Tanaka didn't wait for an invitation, swiftly digging in without any hesitation. He had started to love Filipino food ever since he met his sister-in-law's family. Mrs. Gusman was one hell of a talented cook, and it was as clear as day that she always poured her heart out whenever she cooked. Tanaka could feel it while eating whatever she had made.
The two continued eating in silence, thoroughly enjoying their dinner. They decided to go to a nightclub to relax since the weekends would be arriving soon after they were done.
But what the Tanaka didn't know would be that it'd be the exact same place where he'd run into Ohani Yamaguchi and trouble would begin...