CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: DISCOVERY

The minutes seemed to fade away and before long I was pulling into our hotel, giving the valet my keys. They should be here already but seeing that it's already after eight, I'm pretty sure they've already eaten and gone to their separate rooms. Or not, they're teenagers. Sigh, and I really wanted to see her tonight. Can't believe I didn't realize my tank was low and had to stop at the station on my way here. Sighing again I enter the hotel before finding our room, letting myself in.

"Someone's tired." Through my yawn, I see Jon sitting in front of the TV in our suits living room.

"Isn't this a homey sight." He laughs and I move to sit opposite him.

"How was the drive here?"

"Quiet. Had to stop for gas. How'd it go with everyone?"

"Somehow we got here in one piece and they all settled into their rooms without any problems."

"That's good then."

"What about you? I have a feeling Monroe didn't call you to his office just to ask about the competition." Sinking further into the sofa, I sigh removing my hair from the bun.

"Remember I told you about that little punk her dad has following us?"

"Yeah." He sits up and leans forward barely on the chair.

"Looks like Monroe's also got someone on her… well, on our tail."

"No surprise there. He treats her as he would his own daughter," his eyes widen, "wait, he knows about you two?!"

"He does."

"Please don't tell me he threatened you or, or... Jason?"

"Don't worry. Everything's alright. I'm not in trouble. If anything I feel like the old man gave me his blessing." I smile and although he seems to have relaxed, he continues to stare at me.

"I suppose you just got dad's blessing." Without warning, he starts laughing and I throw a cushion at his head.

"You knew I was worried about their relationship but you let me believe stupid things! God, you're an asshole."

"Can't blame a guy. Jealousy looks good on you." He winks and goes over to the tray picking up a bottle of whiskey. Pouring two glasses he hands me one and downs the other. Rolling my eyes I throw mines back and settle even further into the sofa.

"God, I'm hungry."

"Want me to order you something?"

"Sure. I'll go take a shower real quick."

"I already put your stuff in there since you made me your slave."

"I mean why would I be carrying my suitcase when I've got you." Getting up, I head to the bathroom. I wonder what she's up too right now. Thoughts of her flash through my head and as though on cue my crotch tightens.

"No. No, you fucking don't." Groaning I set the shower to cold and step in. God, what the fuck man? True, we haven't slept together since the first time but we've both been preoccupied. Fuck, I'm horny. I want her. Groaning again I shift in the shower. This isn't working. Since when do cold showers not work? Taking my shaft in one hand, I use the other to brace myself against the shower wall. Every stroke seems to invoke memories of her. Dressed. Naked. Oh, God. Her moans echo throughout my head, lightness taking over. Fuck. Gritting my teeth, I let myself go to her memory.

The ghost of her fingertips traces their way along my body as though she was the one touching me and I fall. This won't do. It's not enough. Coating my hair and body with soap, I finish my shower, stepping out to brush my teeth. As though I was timed the door knocks.

"Jon! Get the damn door!" Silence. "Jon!" Exiting the bathroom, I look for him. Where the hell did he go? I pick up the note on the table: enjoy your meal. What's this idiot up to?

"Where'd he go?" Please don't tell me that's him. Didn't that idiot take his card? The knocking gets more impatient and I pull it open ready to swear at him.

"Where's your..." I could tell my eyes were wide, and so were those of the girl standing before me "…key." The word left my mouth a whisper, my eyes still locked on her. My unfinished problem from earlier barely hidden under the towel stirs.

"Atlas? Wha..." She visibly shakes her head, she clears her throat looking away.

"Uh, Mr. Wilson told me to bring, uh..." coughing she looks at me again, "Sensei please put some clothes on, I'm trying to form sentences." Without warning I laugh, coughing as I catch my breath.

"Only you A-Chan can say such a sentence with a straight face." She looks away again, her lips pouting slightly at my teasing and I can't help but chuckle. Too cute.

"Where's Jon?"

"Not here. Come in." She hesitates and I take her arm pulling her into the room, a small gasp escaping her and before she could protest I place her between myself and the door, my lips finding hers. A soft moan leaves her throat and her breath hitches causing her mouth to open. Taking the opportunity full-on, I slide my tongue into her mouth and she deepens the kiss. Dropping the folder, her arms snake their way up my back, her fingertips leaving that all too familiar trail of heat and need. If only we were someplace else she'd be naked already. Her hands rake through my damp hair pulling my lips closer to hers as she stands on her tiptoes, before holding onto my shoulders for support. Stepping closer to her, my hands find the curve of her ass lifting her against the door.

"Hah, Yu..." I thrust into her. Her warm body pressed against my naked chest. I see I'm not the only one feeling deprived. Breaking the kiss my lips find her neck; tongue tracing along her nape, teeth lightly catching her ear between them.

"When we get home, believe I won't stop until every inch of you begs for me." I could feel her shudder in my arms and let her down, holding onto her as she catches her footing and breath.

"I've missed you." I say kissing her forehead, my finger running across her now moist, slightly swollen lips.

"Me too." Her bright eyes holding mine, a warm smile curving along her lips. God, she's beautiful when she smiles. She seems brighter. Monroe's' voice echoes through my head and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"He was right." Her brows arch and I realize I said that out loud.

"Who was right?"

"Just this wise old man I met recently." Stepping away, I pick up the folder and head into the living room.

"Jon's probably gone to have a smoke, he should be back soon." Lie. I point to the sofa and she sits as I head to the bedroom to change. The door knocks again and as I step out, the young boy with the service tray stares from her to me. Great.

"Thank you." She takes out a paper note from what I realize is my wallet and hands it to him. I can't help but smile at how normal the entire thing looks.

"Ouch." A cushion hits me behind the head and I turn to see Jon smiling up at me.

"I'm here to sweetheart." He winks and I retrieve the pillow throwing it back at him.

"You idiot." And he laughs as he blocks his face the pillow bouncing off his hands.

"I swear, alone you two are the friendliest yet distant men but put together in the same room and you somehow become teenagers." We both stare at her and she rolls her eyes setting the tray down on the centre table before moving to sit next to Jon. Traitor.

"So what happened while I tactically left the room." I stare at him, halfway in uncovering my food and she pinches his ear.

"We kissed, now focus." My eyes dart to her and I couldn't help the smile that formed. Before she would evade the question or not react at all when he teased us, I guess she really has changed.

"Why'd you call me here?" Pouting, he sinks into the sofa.

"Party poopers. Anyways, it seems that we'll have to do an interview tomorrow?"

"An interview?"

"Yes."

"What's wrong with that, don't the schools normally have to do those."

"Yes, but..." he looks from Atlas to me and sighs, "They want to interview you individually, Jason."

"Me? What? Why?"

"Someone recognized your name on our registration form and put two and two together."

"Great!" I sigh running my hands through my hair, "I guess it can't be helped, but I will only do it if all the kids are part of it also. This is their day, not mine."

"Got it."

"Who's the reporter though?"

"I was told it's some rookie from Genius." I look at him and he shakes his head.

"It sucks having such a well-known surname I suppose." We both laugh, looking up and my eyes meet hers. She isn't laughing. She looks worried.

"Yu, do you actually think this is a coincidence?" I put my fork down, sitting back in my chair.

"You mean, you think your father's hand is at work again?" Her eyes move from mine to her locked fingers on her thighs.

"Hey Jon, can you...?"

"Sure." Smiling he gets up, patting her shoulder before heading into the bedroom closing the door behind him.

"You know I spoke to Monroe today." Her shoulders slumped slightly and a small smile creeps her lips.

"I know."

"He seems to genuinely admire you A-Kun."

"Well, he's been by my side for a long time. He's more of a dad than my own."

"I could tell. Did you know that he has someone..."

"Yes. He also knows about us. I told him."

"I see." So she even talks about these things with him. He wasn't joking about their relationship.

"Why did you mention him?"

"See, he mentioned something about the Academy while we were talking and I couldn't get it out of my head. And, well, the drive here is a pretty lengthy one you see." At this she looks up, her eyes slightly wider than before. Hmmm, I guess I was right.

"I asked you about this game before, and about the Chairman's part in it. Do you remember?"

"Yes."

"I've got two questions." She studies me for a moment before smiling.

"And I'll answer them honestly." I smile back and sit back in my chair.

"This game you play, this business you have to protect, is it the Academy?" A soft smile forms at the corner of her mouth and she exhales loudly. Almost as though she'd been holding it for a while. Maybe she has been.

"Yes. The Academy is at the centre of the game."

"And that's why Price made the deal on this quiz. Not only to test you but to ensure his investment is secure?"

"Yes." I smile and get up moving to sit next to her, taking her chin between my fingers and angling her face towards mine.

"Seems like I really did underestimate you, my dear. You've got way more going on than I wanted to believe." She smiles wider now, sticking out her tongue and winking.

"If I wasn't always underestimated I wouldn't have gotten this far."

"That's true. And now, do you remember what I said to you the day I took you to the train station? About coming to me whenever?"

"I do."

"Good. Because I mean it more than ever now." Pulling her lightly I bring my lips to hers for a short kiss, catching her bottom lip between my teeth.

"Please don't tease me." She whispers and I chuckle, pulling away.

"Alright Ms. Winters," I kiss her again, "I won't ask you what your relationship with the Chairman is. I'll wait for you to tell me? I believe in you, A-Kun."

"Thank you. For staying." Getting up she brackets my legs between her thighs taking my lips with hers. Deeper. Demanding. My hands nestle at her hips and we just kiss.

"I should get to bed. We've got a long two days ahead of us." She says smiling.

"I wish we were at home." I nuzzle the base of her neck, holding her tighter.

"In due time, Yu-San, and then I'm all yours. So keep that promise of yours from earlier." She kisses my forehead before getting up and heading to the door, a wide cheeky grin painted on her face.

"Goodnight Atlas."

"Goodnight Yuzuki." One last kiss and I'm left staring at the door. A hand lands on my shoulder and I let out a sigh of relief.

"She's the Chairman's daughter, isn't she? She's Nolan Ingram isn't she?" His sigh gives me all the answers I needed.

"That's how she knew about my paper? She was the only person apart from family members and you who knew me by that name." His other hand hooks around my other shoulder, leading me to the sofa.

"Trust me she didn't realise it was you until you came here. She didn't..."

"I know. That sweet girl isn't that cunning." I smile and sink into the sofa, my hand forming a ball in my hair.

"How exactly do you two know each other? Apart from myself and your family knowing, I thought you didn't tell anyone your last name." I smile at the memory.

"She was nine or ten when we first met I believe. A little withdrawn thing, with jet black hair in puffy ponytails and a dress even blacker." I still remember her as though it was yesterday. She'd made me feel comfortable and before I knew it, I'd told her not only my traditional name but where I was from. How could I not recognize her? She hasn't changed that much now that I look at her. Though I suppose she has become a rather beautiful woman.

"Ah."

"Somehow her mother and Fairchild were close but they'd drifted before she died so he didn't know. It was years before he found out when we moved back from America. We went to pay respects on her death anniversary and she was there with an older woman. Now that I think about it, that must've been her grandmother."

"I see."

"She was the cutest thing, yet so distant. While everyone seemed sad and in tears, she was just there, sat with a book bigger than herself."

"A science book I presume?"

"Yeah. Biology." We both chuckled at the imagery.

"Ah, I see. That's when you told her you were going to write a paper on Pathology?"

"Yes. She said she didn't have any memory of the woman to claim to be sad enough to cry. She thought the body must still tell stories even after death, so if she could read them and tell what the woman was like before. Imagine hearing this from a nine-year-old."

"So that's why she's so into Medical and Forensic Science."

"I didn't think she'd actually remember what I said since I wrote the paper almost four years after that. To have met her mother and grandmother, I can't help this overwhelming feeling, Jon," I look up to find him staring at me a soft smile on his face,

"What is this feeling?" Anger surges through my body and I stare at Jon. The sympathy in his eyes shoot me through my chest and I grasp at my shirt feeling the invisible bullet tear apart my skin.

"Sh-She was... that bastard...!"

"A father's unfair hatred turns even the purest, cold."

"But why?"

"You know her mother died giving birth to her right?"

"She mentioned it when we first met."

"Well, apparently the marriage was solely for business advantages. And the Chairman had another woman he loved."

"Are you trying to tell me that old piece of shit is doing all of this as some sort of revenge."

"Supposedly, she's a spitting image of her mother."

"But isn't trying to ruin the Academy a bit of an amateur move?" Our eyes meet and she shrugs.

"He already has a multi-million dollar business, why waste his energy on fucking with a nineteen-year-old?"

"The school was established by her mother after the marriage, so..."

"So he's trying to make the daughter destroy what her mother built?"

That's what I've learnt, yes. But it seems like Atlas doesn't know that part. She believes he's doing it just to split her and Arthur's relationship. Ingram found out he was gay and sent him away. He was meant to inherit the Academy but the old man hadn't given it to him and put it in her hands..."

"Putting a rift between them."

"He's severed all ties with his sister for damn near three years."

"Doesn't he know what his fathers doing?"

"If he does, he's turning a blind eye. The man he was with is a worker at their main house and the Old Man has that man working under Atlas sometimes, so I believe he thinks both his sister and lover betrayed him?"

"Isn't that just his idiotic belief, why doesn't he reach out and talk to her? Better yet, why isn't her mother's family doing something?"

"Have you heard the saying; a jaded woman is a dangerous woman? I suppose it goes for men too. Plus there's only so much that Old Lady can do."

"Old Lady?"

"H. R Real Estates."

"I swear they own the building I live in. Didn't they sell it a couple of years ago to some..."

"They sold to Ingram. He owns her mothers' parents company now. There's little to nothing they can do from what I know."

"Ugh, all this bullshit's giving me a fucking headache. I mean, despite their financial status how can they just sit by and let him treat their daughters legacy like this? She worked so fucking hard to establish The Academy."

"That I don't know." Sighing in frustration, I run my hand across my face.

"Also, since her last name is Winters, does that mean that was her mother's name?"

"The opposite actually. It was her grandmothers' name. Her father's mother. After she divorced Ingram's father she got back her maiden name and when Atlas went to live with her she got her name changed too."

"Atlas has been through way too much."

"It explains why she rarely smiles and talks to people doesn't it?"

"It does."

"It also makes you wonder how such a damaged girl can have such a pure smile." He smiles at me, quirking his eyebrow.

"What?!"

"Nothing. I'm just thinking, maybe having a good person by your side no matter how damaged you are can still grant you the illusion of happiness."

"One. You and I both know I'm not good. Two. I can't deny the illusion. I'm under it too."

"Hmm. What if you genuinely fell for her? What then?"

"I don't know. I'd love her hard till she gets tired of me?" He sits opposite me, crossing his legs.

"You know, maybe you've never cared for anyone because you already had someone in your heart. Maybe, getting you to come here and you then meeting her again, maybe that was you keeping whatever promises you made to that little girl."

"Maybe."

"What are you going to do now?

"Now, I have to make a phone call. I have a bad feeling about this interview tomorrow."

"Me too. Do you think it's her father's doing?"

"I won't be surprised. If anything, it's about either revealing her age or our relationship."

"What about her identity? Doing that is sure to blow a hole big enough to bury the Academy. Once people find out, a lot of investors are going to pull out. Her negotiations with Price would've been in vain."

"I believe in my girl. I'm sure she's got it sorted. I just don't like that it's Genius mag."

"I get that, but, how are you still so confident and calm?"

"Apart from her grandmother, Atlas loves her brother no matter how much he hates her. She'll never let the Academy fail."

"I never thought you'd be this honest with your feelings, ever. Maybe I was wrong." He smiles, arching his brow.

"Huh?"

"Maybe it's not you changing her but the other way round."

"Shut up. I'm not some starry-eyed teenager, okay?"

"No, you're a man, who'll do anything to protect his woman."

"But?" I look up from my phone starring him in the eye.

"But is she worth revealing who you are? Is she worth all this?" He points to the phone and I sigh knowing exactly what he meant.

"I'm Jason Fairchild."

"You know what I meant. Are you willing to finally accept it… for her?"

"As Jason Fairchild, there's a lot I can do. But, if it means I have to also become him, then, I will." Nodding, he gets up and heads to one of the bedrooms.

"And I'll always have your back bro. I know I don't have much authority in my family, but I've got enough to have your back."

"Thanks, Jon." Tomorrow's going to be a long day.

"Say hello to William for me. Tell him I'm gonna kick his ass when we play poker again."

"Good luck beating that cheat." Laughing, he disappears in the dark of the room and silence falls over the room. Tomorrow looks like rain.