My One and Only | BrightWin | 2gether AU

213 - Depositions

Earth's POV

"It's good to see you again, Ms Nakamura" I said, smiling at her.

"Wish I could say the same, Mr Pirapat" she said in a bored voice.

I liked her. She was tough and smart.

"Now that we have the right names in the warrant and everything else seems to be in order, shall we begin Mr Fujimoto's deposition?" I asked.

It was a nice, sunny day outside.

Inside the board room of Firefly Motors, the air was chilly, the atmosphere thick with tension.

Fong shifted slightly where he stood behind me, one hand reassuringly against the gun in the holster at his hip.

Sarawat, or Akito as he was named, sat silently before me. His bodyguards from the last time were standing at their positions.

"You will address your questions to me, Mr Pirapat. I will decide whether my client needs to answer them" said Katsumi coolly.

"In that case, my first question would be, are you free for dinner tonight?" I asked, leaning back in my chair.

She cocked an eyebrow at me. "My client does not need to answer that question."

"That one was for you" I said, smirking.

"Next question. And please bear in mind that if you're going to waste your time and ours in today's deposition, you will find it very difficult to get a second date" she said in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

"Does that mean I have a first date? I promise I'll make it worth your while" I replied, a small smile playing on my lips.

Katsumi gave me a freezing look but I could see the corners of her lips trembling.

Sarawat and his bodyguards hid their smiles. The four of them seemed to be close.

"Counselor, unless you have any real questions to ask, I will assume we are done for the day" she said.

I held up my hands in submission.

For the next fifty-five minutes, I grilled them about the business - their balance sheets, revenue streams, taxes, money trails in and out, financial audits.

They had all the necessary paperwork ready to share.

Everything seemed to be in order, going back five years. Sarawat knew the numbers backwards and front.

I realized I had to dig further back. And in a different direction.

I pulled out a photo and placed it on the table before them.

"Do you recognize this man?" I asked, watching Sarawat's face for a reaction.

He shook his head. His eyes were clear and there was no flicker of recognition in them.

I was about to put the picture back, when I saw a certain look flitting across the face of one of the bodyguards.

He had seen the man in the picture before.

I left the photo on the table.

"May I know who this might be, counselor?" asked Katsumi.

"ADA Fern, the District Attorney in charge of this investigation before me.

He died five years ago, right before he was about to file charges against the senior Mr Fujimoto" I said calmly, looking directly at the taller of the two bodyguards, who had reacted to the photo earlier.

His face was stony and expressionless.

"I'm sorry for your loss, however I fail to understand what exactly you are asking my client" said Katsumi.