Out of The Picture

. . .

When Andrei walked out of the building, his assistant followed him tongue-tied. The deafening silence engulfing them both, broke into pieces when his phone's theme echoed in the open.

An unknown number flashed on the screen.

"Hello, who is this?" he answered the call with a sinister vibe clawing out of his throat.

"Ahhh... Mr. Argenti. This is Miura Takumi."

His eyebrows furrowed. The caller who introduced himself as the infamous Miura Takumi went on without hassle. "I wasn't able to reach you all day, but now it's seems to me that you're finally picking up."

His jaw popped with a tight clench. He gritted his teeth before answering, "What do you need?"

"I'd like to invite you for a small talk..." Miura Takumi added, "You can bring a date with you. I won't mind."

Date?

His hand provided enough friction to make his knuckles pop. He was retraining himself from letting any word out.

"I'll send you the address."

With a beep, their call ended. He received a text, a plain text that indicated Miura Takumi's location. Without the encryption or codex.

"You can go home now, Perry." He told his assistant. Perry bowed his respect as his CEO drifted into the highway.

After an hour of revolution, he arrived in front of a French Villa lined with cypress and shrubs. The place brought too much pleasantries. Any person would doubt seeing a cold-blooded syndicate ganging up inside.

He went out of his car, walking towards the big gate with psychedelic bends along the ridges. There were golden streams that accented the flowery curves.

"This way please, Mr. Argenti." A well mannered butler greeted him, making him feel like a welcomed guest. But he knew better.

After a few paintings around the wall, they arrived in front of an open hall with a couple of seats facing the window. There, he saw Miura Takumi and the silhouette of the steam from his midnight tea.

"You've arrived." Miura Takumi beckoned him with a raspy voice. "Please have a seat."

"What do you need?" he immediately queried before settling himself down.

When their eyes met, a familiar expression peeked out of Miura's sea green eyes, "He is a real bastard indeed," Andrei thought to himself.

Miura Takumi made him feel like seeing his past self in a mirror. This man gave off the same amount of evil he used to succumb the world into.

"I just wanted to have a chat," Miura Takumi mumbled as he took one sip from his chamomile tea before placing it back on its vintage saucer.

"Go on. I'm all ears."

"Where is she?" Miura Takumi pointed blunt, filling Andrei's features with amusement. This man is not someone who beats around the bush. He knew and fully anticipated that. But still, he was surprised by such a direct assault.

"May I know who this particular SHE is? Mr. Miura Takumi?"

"The girl with the diamond-studded mask. That one fling you took as a date for the party."

"Fling?" Andrei rubbed his chin while crossing his legs, "Sorry... let me try to remember who she is."

A slight nudge curved Miura Takumi's eyebrow.

"Oh. I have a picture, if it can help you remember," he took a tablet from his side, zooming on a picture for Andrei to see.

"Ahh...that lady," Andrei marveled with a nod. "What was her name again? Let me just..."

Miura Takumi brought his gaze up, with its intensity escalating as well. "Don't waste my time, Mr. Argenti."

The atmosphere froze. Only the grandfather's clock that chimed its 12 o'clock alarm filled the room with sound.

"If you're offering to chat, you should have enough time in your hands, Mr. Miura."

They measured each other up before Andrei fixed himself on the couch. "Going back to the topic... I think she is indeed one of my flings."

He prevented himself from gagging. The last time he checked, he still found girls loath some, but now, he was basically admitting into having his own harem.

"Well... I see you have a wonderful collection. But if you brought her into such an elegant occasion, that makes her one of your priced mannequins. Is she not?"

"She really is a priced thing," he gritted his teeth. He hated girls but never found them as mere collections. If he was more interested in girls, his past self would have thought likely. But this Miura Takumi gave off more stench.

"But that's her charm...she can't be held down in one place. I always find myself looking for her as well."

"So you don't know her whereabouts all the time?" Miura Takumi contested before pouring more tea for himself, stirring the concentrate with his pinkie.

"Yes. I am ashamed to admit. But yes. I don't even know where she is as of this moment."

"I can find her for you."

The world stopped and Andrei found himself in a staring competition. "Tell me her name."

Andrei forced a sardonic laugh out.

"For a priced collection... I'm sorry if you're that interested... cause I never share," he told him.

The moon revealed too much of their auras, as if foreshadowing a storm at its first point.

"Well if that's how you want things to go, then I'd gladly respect your decision."

After their one on one talk, Andrei was led out of the majestic villa. Miura Takumi watched his window as Andrei's car rolled away into the darkness.

"Follow him," he commanded Willy.

"As you wish, Miura-dono."

After a minute, Willy was still standing on that same position without moving a muscle. Miura Takumi raised an eyebrow to this. "What is it?"

"I think you have to see this, Miura-dono."

He spilled some gaze towards Willy who was gripping a tablet at hand. As he reached out for it, a news page full of silly commentaries greeted his uninterested leg.

"And what am I supposed to do with this?"

Willy zoomed in on a photo from the comments. "These are the three CEOs involved in the summit. Eventually, Mr. Argenti is in the middle of a controversy. I thought you might as well see."

He was about to brush it off. He attacks everyone with their weakness, but he didn't have the time to bother himself with petty stuff. But then a tickling thought crossed his mind.

Willy who was about to walk away, froze in place with a dreary "Stop," from his Miura-dono.

Miura surveyed the article once again. As he scrolled down, he saw a clear image. He had to zoom in on the picture, making some time for himself as he surveyed the Female CEO at topic.

"Have the three of them followed," he commanded Willy before taking his nightgown off.

His naked figure basked in the coldness of the moonlight before being soaked inside his marble bathtub. Rose petals floated above the water as it sparkled into a bright red color resembling the wine in the goblet he had in his hand.

"Zhi Lin... "

. . .