Chapter 18: Trip to Paris 1

"Our sales have been increasing for quite some time now, ma'am." Haruki said. "Velvet Desert might be our best-selling perfume."

Narumi wasn't listening to what Haruki was saying; her mind was on what happened during the Valentine's Day dance, the way Daiki's hands on her waist caused a jolt of electricity to run through every inch of her body, and when they were watching an anime together and he slept on her shoulder, she felt so happy.

'What is going on here? It's weird because I'm thinking about things that happened a week ago.' 

"Mrs Narumi!" 

"Huh?" Narumi blinked back into reality. 

"Are you alright?" Haruki asked. "You seem distracted." 

"Don't worry about it." Narumi waved him off with a dismissive hand gesture that seemed to snap him out of his concern. "I'm fine."

"That's good, ma'am." Haruki sighed in relief. 

"Haruki "I'm not going to be in Japan for three weeks." Narumi announced after a moment of silence. "I'm going on a short vacation with my mom, sister, and uh, husband."

She hesitated to say the word "husband," but if she doesn't, things could start looking suspicious. 

"That's great, ma'am. Where are you going to?" He asked eagerly.

"Paris," she replied.

Haruki smiled. "Don't worry, ma'am, because I will be sure your work can continue without you."

"Thank you." Narumi smiled genuinely at him. 

"It's alright, ma." Haruki said. He turned to leave but remembered to drop something for Daiki. 

"What's wrong?" Narumi asked, following his gaze.

"I forgot to drop something for Daiki." Haruki muttered with a smile. "It's a letter." 

"Letter?"  Narumi repeated this curiously.

"Yes." Haruki confirmed. "Daiki has been receiving love letters since this week." 

Narumi's eyes widened. "Love letters?" 

"I think it will be up to fifty by now." He said it with a slight grin.

"Let me see that." Narumi grabbed the letter from Haruki. Her eyes skimmed over the letter and read its content. 

"Good-looking guy, please marry me." She muttered. "What's all of this?" 

"Ladies declaring their love to Daiki." He replied.

"Why is he receiving such letters? It shouldn't be allowed." Narumi scowled as she tossed the letter aside. She felt offended by it, but why should she?

Haruki couldn't hide his laughter, while Narumi just glared at him.

"What's so funny?" Narumi snapped. 

"I have worked here for a year, and I have never seen you act like this before." Haruki chuckled. "You seem jealous." 

Narumi narrowed her eyes at him. "I am not."

"It's alright, he is your husband, so you may get jealous." He shrugged nonchalantly. 

"Just get back to work." Narumi spoke sharply. "And tell Daiki to come to my office immediately after he is done with his meeting."

"Alright." Haruki said with a grin and went back to his office.

'Why in the world should this bother me?' She frowned. 'Maybe because I don't want him to cheat while we're still married so that it doesn't create a scandal.' 

"I'm going to get myself another headache."

She mumbled and rubbed her temples, which only made her head hurt more. Daiki walked in shortly afterwards, a smile plastered on his face.

"The meeting was successful; all that remains is for you to give your final decision." He reported to her, the huge smile was still on his face.

"That's good," Narumi said.

There was a long pause, then Narumi brought out the letter that had been thrown aside earlier.

"I heard that you have started receiving love letters from different ladies," she began, keeping her voice low and even. "Oh yeah, it's just a few." He said. 

"Fifty letters?" Narumi raised an eyebrow. "That's a few to you, huh?" 

"Yeah." Daiki nodded. "They're pretty romantic too."

Her lips quirked upward. "How is the man who is supposed to be my husband receiving these love letters?" 

"Well, technically, I'm not cheating on you because I haven't replied to any of them." He pointed it out. "Besides, can I ask why you are bothered by it, ma'am?"

"I just want to ensure that you are not cheating on me because I don't want another scandal." She replied sternly.

Daiki looked surprised at first before shaking his head with a chuckle.

"I'm a loyal guy who keeps to his words." He replied confidently. 

"Whatever."  Narumi crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "I hope you are ready to leave." 

"Sure." Daiki grinned, walking towards the door. "Akiko was so excited about the trip that I had to pack my stuff earlier just to please her."

"That's good because we leave tonight." Narumi replied.

"I thought we were leaving tomorrow morning." Daiki furrowed his eyebrows.

"Nope, change of plans." Narumi shook her head. "We leave today by 6 p.m.." 

"If you say so." Daiki shrugged. "I'm going to get back to work."

"Mmhm." Narumi nodded curtly, not paying attention that much. Her headache had intensified tenfold when Daiki left.

She hated this feeling so much.

'At least I get a free vacation.'

~*~

"I'm so excited!" Akiko squeaked. "We are going on a vacation." 

"Stop behaving like a child," Yuki said.

They arrived at the hangar, where a private jet was waiting for them. It was one of those fancy black jets that looked so luxurious; it belonged to the Hinodes.

"Let's get going." Narumi said. She was wearing a white dress and had her hair styled into a ponytail. Akiko was sporting a blue floral print dress, and their mother wore a beautiful green floral print dress, her hair tied loosely into a bun. 

Daiki wore black trousers, a white shirt with a black vest, and a dark grey blazer; he also sported a tie. Although he was really nervous because he had never been on a plane before,

"Greetings ma'am." The pilot said with a polite smile. His hair color matched perfectly with his black uniform. 

"Hello."  Narumi replied with a small nod. "I hope the weather won't cause any problems with our flight."

"Don't worry, ma'am." He replied. "The weather reports have indicated no risk of storms or hurricanes occurring on this trip."

"That's a relief." Narumi sighed. "Everyone should get inside so we can take off."

Yuki and Akiko entered the plane first, followed by Narumi and Daiki.

After everyone got seated and everything was secured, the pilot shut the door.

"Takeoff is in 5 minutes." He spoke calmly over the intercom. 

"How many hours until we reach Paris?" Akiko asked.

"I think 12 hours, 36 minutes." Daiki responded.

"This is going to be a long flight." She murmured as her fingers twitched nervously. "I can't wait for us to land."