Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Card Captor Sakura. I sadly just own the plot although if the owner wishes to give me Syaoran as a gift I would take him in a heartbeat.
"You can't really begin to appreciate life until it has knocked you down a few times. You can't really begin to appreciate love until your heart has been broken. And you can't really begin to appreciate happiness until you've known sadness. Once you've walked through these valleys, the view from the mountain top is breathtaking." – Susan Gale
Chapter 2
Seven Years Later
"No, I want the ballroom primary colors to be red and white. I want the black luxury tablecloth for each table, and for the centerpiece I want the roses in form of a soccer ball inside the squared crystal vase you showed me in the picture. Make me a sample and let Suri know when you have it so I can see it before approving anything."
"Very well Ms. Kinomoto."
After hearing the answer from the woman on the other side of the line, she hanged up the phone and put a note on her Ipad. One more thing down of all the many she still had to do. Her coffee was already cold halfway down and forgotten on the corner of her glass desk while she shuffled through some other pages that were on her desk before filing them on the side drawer. She could still remember the day everything started to become so hectic for her.
2 years ago...
"Has your mother already spoken to you about this meeting?" A woman looking very professional in her black suit and matching pencil skirt walked along side Xiefa to the conference room. Her light brown hair had grown throughout the years and her wavy curls flowed all the way to her mid back. The sound of her heels could be heard throughout the hall and on her hand there was an Ipad where she kept everything related to her job.
"I already told you Sakura, I have no idea. You know how mom is..."
"Yes, well you know, something tells me you know what this meeting is about but for some reason you want to keep it from me."
Xiefa laughed. "Oh, nonsense! Why would I do that?"
Sakura stopped and watched her go inside the room. Something was off and she knew it.
During the years she had become really close with Xiefa. Aside from been workaholics, they both shared the same passion for working at Li Corporation. They were both perfectionist in what they did. This was the fourth year Xiefa had been working as a project manager inside the company, but in fact she was far more than that. She had become Yelan's eyes inside and outside of the company. You could say she took her family roots to heart as she had become sort of like Yelan's shadow in a good way. She watched step by step her mother's movements inside the company and was attentive of almost every matter concerning the company, which was why Sakura knew she was lying about not knowing what this meeting was all about.
'Oh well, I'll just have to find out.' Sakura thought before walking inside the room as well. The conference room was situated on the top floor at one of the corners. Two of its walls were made of glass while the other two faced the inside of the 53rd floor. When she walked inside there was a cherry wooden table in the middle with seven people seated on their seats waiting for the meeting to start. She took a seat right next to Xiefa, as usual, and took a deep breath to mentally prepare herself for whatever was coming.
Several minutes later, the doors closed, which only signaled that the last four people had arrived and the meeting could finally commence. After all the directors were seated, a power point presentation began on the huge conference LED TV and the blinds from the glass windows automatically scrolled down so that only the presentation could be seen.
Yelan stood up and started the meeting, "After several meetings with the FIFA committee we have reached an agreement. Li Corporation will take care of all the promotional events for the World Cup here in China."
It was all Sakura heard. After hearing the words "FIFA" along with "all the promotional events" she finally put two and two together and understood why Xiefa didn't wanted to say anything... She would have to see him again after seven years.
Needless to say, it was about that time already. She was going over the checklist for this event on her Ipad when suddenly her office door swung open. In came a girl about 5'9 with red glasses, her black smooth silky hair in a pony tail, and her hands full of folders. She put the folders down on Sakura's desk and tried to catch her breath.
Sakura stopped going over the list and looked up from her desk, "What is this Suri?"
"These are all the entertainment groups you asked for. They have quoted for both events on separate documents like you requested. They have also included their pictures and schedules for you to see them between this week and the next. I've already put all their information on the system just in case you need it. Also, Xiefa has scheduled lunch with you today. She wants you to try one of the chefs she wants to use for the welcome night."
She sighed. "What time is the lunch?"
"At noon."
She looked at her office clock which read 11:42am. "Hoe! Why didn't you tell me sooner...?" She grabbed her white leather coat from the seat. "Before I leave, these are the photo shoot agreements. I need you to get them signed by the players before the photo shoot. I already have a compromise tonight so I won't be able to do it."
She nodded. "I pin pointed the location of the restaurant and sent it to your phone. Happy lunching!" Suri said loudly as Sakura was rapidly putting her coat on and getting out of the office in a hurry. She had so much work still pending it was a miracle she was still sane or so she liked to think.
~ o ~
"To the right. Yes!" The sound of a camera flicking each time a picture was taken could be heard mixed in with the sounds of waves breaking on the shore. The photographer took several picks as he encouraged the girl modeling by saying, "That's it! One more! Perfect! That's it folks. We're done!"
Meiling sighed, "Finally."
A young red headed girl went over to her and brought her a purple robe to cover herself after the bikini shoot. "Here." She gave her the robe before going over her schedule with her. "Remember you have your hair appointment at Sasha's this afternoon and then later tonight you have Xin's party."
"I thought you had cancelled that..." she muttered while putting on the robe.
"Nope. You know you at least have to make an appearance. Tomorrow you're doing the perfume commercial in the morning before heading to the airport. Although I spoke with Xin today to confirm the party attendance and he requested to have lunch with you tomorrow. He said he wants to talk to you about some business."
"Carli!"
"Yes?" The read headed fixed her black glasses and nodded expecting Meiling's answer already.
"Do you know how much time I have spent away from my boyfriend already?" she calmly asked.
"Two weeks with three days and-" she looked at the watch she was wearing on her left hand before saying, "thirty seven minutes and still counting."
"That long... Don't you think it's long enough?" at this Meiling looked at her manager and smiled.
Carli knew that smile too well. The definition of it been 'cross me and your dead' so she just nodded before saying, "Which is why I told him that he could travel with us and discuss this business proposal on the plane back to China."
Meiling started to walk towards the dressers. "Fine! I'll talk with him on the plane." She suddenly turned towards her. "But, I'm not discussing business in China. Carli... make this clear to him. My time in China is mine and mine alone."
"Perfectly understood." Carli nodded nervously.
Meiling got into the dresser to change to normal clothes. She had graduated from college with a business degree but she had never liked it enough to pursue working in a business after that. When an opportunity presented itself where she had to model for one of her best friends Tomoyo, she took it and became a model ever since.
At first she signed with a modeling company to start meeting people inside the industry besides Tomoyo. This is where she came to know Carli. Her straight forward and sarcastic personality made them become friends real fast. As it resulted at the time, Carli was an agent that was looking to start working on her own. Even though Meiling could be a little, well... let's face it, very intimidating, it was easier to work with Carli since she already knew her. So, Meiling decided to leave the modeling company and work directly with Carli. And the move had been positive so far, by now Meiling had become one of the most acclaimed models in the fashion industry.
She changed to a long sleeve gray shirt and white skinny jeans before she started to get all her makeup off. It was amazing how many products these makeup artists used to put on models just for a shoot. She heard a knock on her door. "Yes...?"
"It's lover boy."
She quickly opened the dresser door and grabbed the phone from Carli's hands.
"Hi baby!" she sweetly greeted. His voice was all she needed to hear to switch from moody Meiling to all girly-girly Meiling. She heard him chuckled on the other side of the phone. She had been dating Kyu since they met in high school. One could think they had a real long time relationship but in fact since she started her modeling career they had been on and off when it came to been a couple.
"Hey babe! We just landed here. Are you done with your shoot?"
"Yes finally!"
"How did it go?"
"I think it went really well. I don't know... maybe you can tell me when it comes out in two weeks."
"Well... it's you baby. I'm sure it's perfect."
"Mmm... I can't wait till I see you tomorrow. Sucks that I have to stay one more day here..." she said the last part a little louder so that Carli could hear her too. Carli just looked at her and shrugged.
He chuckled again, "Well, don't worry. We probably won't be able to do anything today here besides practice. Babe, I'll call you when we get to the hotel. We're getting out of the airplane now."
"Okay... I love you!"
"I love you too!" she heard him say before hanging up. She was so ready for this modeling trip to be over. It would definitely be a change in scenery as she was in one of the islands for the photo shoot and she would be going back home where it was freezing cold but she didn't care. All she wanted to do was to see Kyu again.
~ o ~
A whistle was heard inside the soccer field and a group of soccer players started sprinting to the finish line. They had arrived in China around noon, and before heading for the hotel, their coach had already scheduled a practice for them. It was four in the afternoon and they were almost done with the practice.
"I don't understand why we have to have practice the same day we arrive." Xiun, one of their teammates said. He was a rookie that had started with the team last year. He had his hands on his knee trying to catch his breath as he watched his other teammates sprinting to the finish line as well. They were doing sprints in lines of five.
"Yeah, I mean... can't he at least gives us a day off? It's just a friendly match." Gee asked.
"And then in this cold weather..."
Another whistle was heard and in came sprinting Syaoran, Eriol, Kyu, Mark and another one of their teammates Lui.
"You're getting slow Syaoran..." Mark chuckled as he tried to catch his breath as well. "I almost catch you there."
Syaoran smirked. "What you almost catch was my dust."
"I can't believe you guys enjoy this?" Xiun asked.
Kyu and Eriol looked at each other waiting for the inevitable to happen. It didn't take Syaoran three seconds to react to his question. He looked at Xiun, "If you were to train the same way you like to whine about working hard perhaps you'd be worthy of playing and feel proud whenever you represent your country. The jersey we wear in each game comes with a heavy burden. If you're not willing to accept the responsibility you know where the door is."
"Syaoran!" Mark said in a warning tone.
He looked at Mark, "It's the truth. He needs to pick it up."
Mark sighed, "Don't mind him Xiun, he's just being an idiot. But really, we need to train. The more we train the better are our chances of winning that cup this year. Four years ago we were close to getting in to those finals, this year will be different. This is why we must use all the time we can to get ready."
Xiun nodded and got ready in line for the next sprint. The whistle was heard and his group started running.
"You know... you shouldn't treat the rookies so hard. We were once rookies too." Mark turned and said to him.
Syaoran scoffed. "I don't remember whining that much when I was a rookie."
Mark sternly stared at him. "It's different Syaoran."
He smirked, "Whenever you're ready 'mother', I'm ready to beat you again." He said while preparing himself for the next sprint.
Mark looked at Eriol and Kyu for some help but at the sight of them shrugging he sighed. They all got in line for their next sprint. Syaoran had always been competitive, he knew that much. He was always looking for ways to improve himself. Since they had met, he had always admired Syaoran's work ethic when it came to his training. It was part of the reason why he was the player he was today.
Several minutes later, practice was over and Syaoran was still in the field kicking the ball towards the net from the penalty kick zone. He would kick five balls, picked them up again and set them to start kicking them again. He was used to doing this after every practice for at least thirty more minutes before heading to the locker room to shower like the rest of his teammates.
"One day, I will be like him." One of them said.
The rookies where standing in the fence looking at him. "Are you sure he's not a machine?"
Eriol heard the same rookie Syaoran had snapped at ask on his way to the locker room and chuckled. "Don't take it to heart man. Syaoran can be an asshole sometimes but it's just because he loves this game too much. He knows where he wants to be and what it will take to get there."
Xiun nodded and headed towards the locker room.
Kyu sighed. "You know... we might have to come up with something to hold him off from snapping at every rookie that comes into the team or else we won't have a team for the next four years."
Erio chuckled. "I know." He said before heading towards the locker room to take a shower.
~ o ~
"Li, you have been called by many a genius inside the field. What can you say about that?" a blonde reporter placed a microphone in front of him.
He shrugged her question by answering "I appreciate the names but it's all just about teamwork and having fun on the field what it comes down to."
"There's been talk about you having been in negotiations to play in the European League. Is there any truth to that?"
"Honestly, my agent is the one that has that responsibility. I know he has met with some owners but other than that I still don't have anything for certain. For now, I'd like to focus on the World Cup this year. After that, I'll sit down with him and talk about my future."
"Coming back to China must have felt refreshing after so many years in Japan. How do you feel about playing at home?"
"It's always an honor to represent my country."
"Li, thank you for your time and good luck on the tournament. We'll all be rooting for China!" She said with a small cheer at the end.
He gave a small bow and smiled at the camera before walking towards the bus and joining his teammates on it.
"Back to you, Yuri."
"Such an amazing guy. To be so young and already be seen as if he carried the whole China team on his shoulders for this tournament. The bright young man of 25 years of age is set to play the Kahi Charity friendly match in a week followed by the World Cup Tournament on July here in China. We'll definitely be cheering for you and your teammates next week at the coliseum!"
Yelan turned her TV off with a satisfied smile on her face. To watch all of her son's achievements was something to be proud off and more so after being able to convince her husband to let Syaoran be an athlete as he had always dreamt of being. It hadn't been easy but an opportunity presented itself and she gladly took it.
She had been able to visit him from time to time and enjoyed spending time with him and his friends in Japan. While he had studied in Japan, he had also signed a contract to play professionally over there. It was his first contract and he had been able to sign along with his friends. During those visits she could understand why he liked to play over there. And now word on the streets was that he was finally going to be signing a big contract at the European League of his choice. She was indeed a proud mother.
~ o ~
"Are you sure you want to stay at the hotel man? Auntie must be expecting you to stay at home." Eriol asked entering the hotel with his dark sunglasses and team attire.
"She should understand by now Eriol, wherever the team goes... I go. Until coach releases us, we stay in the hotel." Syaoran responded wearing his sunglasses, the team jacket, jeans, and a baseball hat to prevent people from recognizing him too much, although no one really knew who he was trying to fool.
"Ooouuhh... And here I thought we could at least get away from all this publicity madness the reporters have whenever they see a player passing by..." Kyu protested.
"Not to mention the nasty restaurant food..." Eriol added as an afterthought.
"Both of you stop. We're staying at the hotel until coach releases us. End of discussion." He calmly said but in a tone that clearly said this conversation was finished.
"Fine." Eriol said.
They walked inside the hotel doors with their bags on hand and alongside their teammates. According to their coach, he wanted them all together staying at the hotel for the charity friendly game because this was the hotel they were going to be staying at during the FIFA World Cup tournament as well. It was better this way so they could get a feel of their surroundings for when the cup tournament came in July.
"Without a question, this is one of the best hotels I've ever stayed at." Gee, one of their teammates said. As he looked around, he saw many butlers attending their guests. The golden Chinese carvings that decorated the top of the walls along with the modern decoration gave the hotel a luxurious feeling once you walked into the lobby. "You own this hotel Li?"
Syaoran looked around at the hotel and proudly answered, "Yes." Although it was a five star hotel, he was thankful that his father finally saw some sense on his last year of high school and understood that dealing with the business was not in his heart to do so.
They put their bags down on the lobby and waited for their coach to come back with their room keys. While they were waiting, a few girls came over to take pictures with the team. Couple of minutes later, the whole lobby was full of people taking pictures with the entire team but mostly with Kyu, Eriol and Syaoran.
"I don't know why you wear that baseball hat you know... It never works." Eriol smirked his way.
"Whatever man..." he said while smiling for the next picture with some fan girl. It wasn't that he was too arrogant to take the picture, but sometimes fans were a little aggressive on them.
Suddenly the coach came back with some security guards to separate the team from the fans. After the situation was under control, the coach started handing them their keys.
"Remember, for the rest of the day you rest. And make sure you do fully rest tonight." He said this last part looking at Kyu. From the team, he was one of the guys who trouble always coincidentally found him. "Also, stay away from the reporters and if you want to go outside this hotel, you must ask someone from management for permission. Last thing... no girls in the rooms."At this last statement he turned his face to look directly at Syaoran. "Got it?"
Syaoran smirked and took his key from the coach's hand. Such a shame, he had spotted two or three that had caught his attention from the lobby already. He walked with his other two friends towards the elevator.
"Why do I have a feeling that last part was meant only for us?" Eriol sarcastically asked.
"Well, I guess with Syaoran's record he felt a need to specify that to us." Kyu added.
"Whatever. I'm not the only one that has gotten in trouble for having girls in his room. Besides, this is different. The World Cup is months away. He should know I won't do anything stupid."
When the elevator door opened before them, they got in and press the last button. His mother made sure that the entire team was staying in the best available rooms... the hotel suites.
~o~
She looked at herself in the mirror and carefully put some lipstick on herself. It was a red color but she hated to draw too much attention to herself so she tried to just pat it on her lips so that the color wouldn't be too dark on her lips. A short black haired man could be seen in the reflection of the mirror. She smiled when she saw his dark brown eyes impatiently looking at his watch as he waited for her to finish putting her makeup on.
"Sakura, we'll be late if you don't hurry."
She smiled at her boyfriend. "Okay, okay, I'm done. Let's go." She sweetly smiled at him and grabbed his hand as he led her out of their hotel room.
"I'm pretty sure they understand that it is not so easy for any woman to be on time to any date, even if it's just dinner." She said while making sure that her dress was perfect. She was wearing a long sleeve white dress. The dress accentuated her figure as it fit perfectly through her upper body and fell loosely on her lower body. The loose long skirt that fell from the dress gave her an elegant look that wasn't too fancy to have dinner with Jun's friends neither too casual for the evening.
He laughed, "No babe. I'm not even sure why you girls have to wear so much makeup."
"You like us that way, don't complain." She said in a matter of fact tone.
He put his arm around her waist and in a low voice said, "I like you in many other ways that don't require makeup, in fact if you ask me I'd say I could think of a lot other times I've like you better without makeup on. Mmm... I could even consider calling Fey to cancel dinner right now and just go back inside our room."
She smiled at his childish comment. "You don't really mean that do you...?" she sarcastically asked him.
"Well, I'm pretty sure you'd enjoy it..." he smirked while the elevator door opened in front of them.
Her smile slowly started to disappear and was replaced by a stunned reaction as she looked at the figures standing right in front of them. Hidden emotions started running all over the place as she stared at him.
In front of her she found Eriol, Kyu and none other than the cause for her haunted dreams for these past two years...Syaoran. He was wearing a black long sleeve turtleneck under his team jacket that accentuated his now muscular strong figure, dark jeans and his favorite footwear... sneakers. She couldn't miss admiring his body even if she tried to. On TV it looked pretty good but nothing beats seeing it in real life.
She quickly turned her face towards her boyfriend to avoid his gaze. Those piercing auburn eyes that she with such difficulty tried to forget over the course of seven years still held a strong pull on her. If time hadn't changed him much she was pretty certain if he caught her admiring his body he would try to make an arrogant comment that would probably get her in trouble with Jun for the rest of the night.
"Sakura!" Eriol surprisingly exclaimed.
'Great! Just my luck!' She felt Jun's hand tightened protectively around her waist after hearing Eriol. "Do you know these people, love?"
She looked at Eriol and tried to hide her shock behind a small smile. "They studied with me at Tomoeda High a long time ago."
"A long time ago has been indeed." Kyu said in a low voice enough so that just the three of them heard what he had said.
She slowly let the breath she had been holding since she saw them out before saying "You'll have to excuse us. We're already late to an engagement we have right now."
"Sure. Don't let us hold you up. Are you staying here?" Kyu asked her.
She quickly looked at Syaoran's face. His face gave her the answer she was looking for. 'I need to do something before it's too late.' But before she could answer, Jun was the one that spoke. "Yes, well, just for this weekend. Perhaps we can even meet some other time so you can have time to catch up."
"Baby, we're really late now." She quickly said without allowing them time to say anything to his request.
"Oh yes. Well, excuse us." He said before leading her out of their way and into the elevator. They waited for the doors to close before walking through the hallway.
"Interesting... in all my life I would've never guessed she would've been dating someone like him." Eriol carelessly said.
"Do you know him?" Kyu asked.
"That's Jun, Senator Eli's first son. People say he will probably follow his father into politics once he finishes school this year." Eriol answered.
Kyu whistled. "Really, how do you know this?"
"I read the newspaper aside from playing, you know..." Eriol said. He turned to look at his cousin's reaction. The entire time Syaoran just stood there watching. He hadn't said a word yet which only increased Eriol's worries. He could only hope that Syaoran wouldn't go back to being who he became right after losing her.
They continued on their way to their hotel rooms as Kyu opened Syaoran's door with the slide card. Each player had gotten a separate room, but they usually spend their time together on the trips until the girls would arrive or they each had to go to their room to sleep. So, they all walked into Syaoran's room and settled their bags down. Trying to lighten the mood, Eriol turned on the TV and searched for any soccer game that the hotel channels could offer. While he was searching through the cable guide, he saw one from the European League and put it there.
"I heard from Mark that his coach on England is looking to see if he can sign the three of us on his team this year." Kyu said.
"Can you imagine the three of us on the same team at the European League?" Eriol commented.
"I bet it's going to be better than in Japan. I heard England is very beautiful and parties are top of the line." Kyu said as he laid himself on Syaoran's bed and started to watch the game. He glanced at Syaoran. His face gave an indication that he was not watching the game in fact he was still inside the elevator looking at Sakura.
Syaoran sighed. He sat on the corner of his bed and started to watch the game. He still hadn't said a word even with the game on TV. Usually he would be immersed into watching the soccer game, make comments about it, and joke around but right now he just wanted to be alone.
A knock was heard on the door and Eriol went to see who it was. "Syaoran," he called from the door and smirked, "a lady here is asking for you."
Syaoran stood up from the bed and walked towards the door.
"Already getting into trouble..." he said in a low voice so that only Syaoran was able to hear as he passed through the small hallway to reach the door.
"Shut it Eriol." He said before looking at the girl outside the door. She was wearing a loose blue blouse with working white dress pants and heels. In one hand she had her phone while the other was holding a folder. He could see the nervousness in her eyes as she saw him.
"Li, Syaoran! Your coach told me I could possibly find you three together. " She excitedly said. "My name is Suri Hatashi and I work for Li Corporation. You have been chosen along with Hirragizawa, Eriol and Matsushi, Kyu to be in the World Cup posters. I need you and your teammates to read these agreements and sign at the bottom of each page." She said as she smiled at him.
Kyu stood up from the table after hearing his name and went to the door. "These papers?" he took the papers from her hands and gave Eriol his, "Do you need them signed now?"
She nodded. Eriol and Kyu got their papers and sat on the table at the corner of the room to fill them out. "I'm sorry, but I just feel like I'm the luckiest girl alive right now. I know this isn't very professional of me but, can I take a picture with you three?" she excitedly asked.
Eriol looked up from his papers, "Sure!"
They stopped for a minute from reading the agreements to take the picture with her. She took the picture and squealed happily. "Oh I can't believe it. My friends won't believe me when I tell them I had the chance of meeting you three. And more so when I tell them I took a picture with you three. And to think that if it wasn't because of Sakura I wouldn't even be this lucky..." she cheerfully said.
The mention of her name woke Syaoran's interest. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her, "Sakura? You work with Sakura Kinomoto?"
She happily nodded. "My boss. She was supposed to come and do this but she had a previous engagement so she had to send me. Not that I am complaining. Oh, this is so exciting."
He scoffed putting his pen down, "Tell your boss I am not signing any papers unless she comes herself."
She suddenly stopped smiling and looked confusingly at him. "What?"
"Syaoran! Just sign the papers man." Kyu said.
Her joy suddenly vanished. "Oh but, I need you to sign them. Please sign them. I don't want to get in any trouble." She nervously said.
"Tell your boss that if she wants those papers signed, she can come herself and ask for it." He gave the papers back to her and walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Kyu asked.
"Out! I need some air." was all he said before walking out the door.
She looked at Eriol and Kyu painfully, "Is he always like this?"
"Please excuse him. He's ah... not feeling very well right now." Eriol said.
She whined. "Mou... my boss will kill me if I don't get him to sign those papers."
"She won't. Trust me." Kyu said as he smiled back at the girl.
~ o ~
She walked outside of the hotel's restaurant followed by her boyfriend who was eagerly talking to his friends while guiding her out. She had barely touched her plate at the restaurant at all. After meeting Syaoran at the elevator, everything had changed. There was no doubt she still felt nervous when meeting him. 'Probably because it's been so long.', she thought.
To make it worse, the entire dinner conversation had bored her, yet she complied and accompanied her boyfriend loyally like she had agreed to. While getting out, she spotted Syaoran looking intently at her from the bar. She took a deep breath and sweetly turned towards her boyfriend, "Babe, can you get the car? I'll just go to the bar real quick while you get it."
"Sure." He said to her before turning again to his friends and re-taking their conversation. They had agreed to take his friends around the city on a night stroll, but before that she wanted a much needed drink.
His stare followed her every step without missing her body's movement. She was conscious that when they dated back then he had been able to read her like a book. She had to put an end to this before it was too late. She approached the bar and stood next to him while ordering her drink "Can I have a glass of whiskey on the rocks with coconut water please? Thank you."
The bartender served her drink in front of her. She took money out of her clutch to pay for her drink then set her clutch on the side. After having dinner with Jun's political friends she was craving one of these badly. Politics had always been a subject she hated even if for her Jun was a little different than other politicians. The fact that Syaoran was at the bar was an added bonus as she could finally put an end to his ridiculous stalking before it could even start to get worst while also having her much needed drink. It was like killing two birds with one stone. She tasted the hard liquor on her lips and relaxed.
"Isn't that a little too much alcohol for a lady?" He asked while taking a sip of his drink.
"I thought I made my statement very clear to you when I left." She told him without turning towards him. That elevator image of him still fresh on her mind as she had to acknowledge the power his stare still held over her.
"Must have missed it like your goodbye." He coldly answered her.
She gave a small chuckled before asking him, "Where you honestly expecting one?"
"You look nice in that dress."
She tiredly sighed. "Stop." She took another sip of her drink.
"You haven't told him about us."
It wasn't a question but a statement and one she knew very well the answer to. "He doesn't care for unimportant events from my past. What's important to him is our present and future together."
He smirked before calmly saying "You should leave him. Even after seven years away from you I can see you don't love him."
The arrogance behind his words made her turn towards him with a sarcastic smile on her face to hide her irritation after hearing his words. It had always infuriated her whenever he acted all knowingly and he knew this as well. It was one of the reasons why she knew that finding him here was already trouble for her. She needed to stop this and she needed to do it now. "We were done seven years ago Syaoran. Do us both a favor and stop looking for me." She said before finishing her drink and walking away from him.
He watched her walk away with a smile on his face. She was still cute when she got mad. It was something he had terribly missed and something he still loved about her.
~ o ~
Sleep didn't find her last night. His eyes had invaded her dreams once more only this time it was different. He was finally here. She welcomed the morning anxiously. Even though it was cold outside, she got up at 4:30 in the morning as usual, run for an hour around town, and then headed to her sanctuary... the office.
She was discussing more event ideas with Xiefa already trying to find ways of getting as much charity money as possible from the Kahi friendly match without forgetting about the big World Cup tournament which was almost there as well. Since both events were so close to each other they had to be careful and plan everything ahead to make sure not to miss anything or make a mistake.
"So you liked the chef?" Xiefa asked from the chair in front of her desk.
She nodded. "I think he'll be perfect."
"I'm planning on having father come out and test his food this week. He needs to approve before we sign the contract. Perhaps we could have him do a combination of meat and seafood. I'm not sure if we should hire another chef for the dessert."
She nodded. "It will probably be better to hire another chef that only specializes in desserts. You can never miss like that. I think your mother should go to the tasting as well. She knows more about food than your father."
Xiefa nodded. "I'll do that. Did you get the photo shoot agreements signed?"
She started looking at some papers in her office and making sure things were going according to the plan. She touched the speaker button on her phone, "Suri, bring me the signed photo shoot agreements."
She heard the door opened and her assistant Suri walked in. She approached her cautiously with the folders on her hand and slowly put them down on her desk. "Well... almost all of them are signed."
Sakura stopped what she was doing and look sternly at her. "What? You know I don't accept almost all of them, I need them all signed. We're on a tight schedule as it is."
Suri started nervously fidgeting with her nails. "I...I...I know Sakura, but one of them didn't want to sign it. I did try to get him to sign it by any means but um... he only said to relay this message to you."
She narrowed her eyes at Suri and gesture her to continue. "Well?"
"Syaoran Li said that if you wanted something from him, you should go personally and ask for it yourself."
"What?" she asked not believing the message relayed by her assistant.
Xiefa chuckled and laughed. This was just getting interesting. Before Sakura could kill the poor girl she intervened between them. "Alright, Suri you can leave us." She followed Suri to the door and, once the girl was out of the office, closed the door.
Sakura closed her eyes slowly and rubbed her fingers through her temples. A headache was already on its way... she could feel it. She took a deep breath before turning around and walking towards her window. It was always soothing to see people walking by the streets from her view in the office.
"Well, I guess my brother will definitely not make this easy on you. You know my mother wants him there."
"I know what she wants Xiefa, there's no point in reminding me." She snapped but in a controlled tone. She didn't needed to be reminded that he had to be in the photo shoot. Aside from being a Li, he was also one of the most popular players fans had an eye for. There was no way he couldn't be in that photo shoot.
"Well, as an advice, just ask him professionally. If I know my brother, any bad temper from you will make things a lot harder than they already are."
She sighed. "Can you please leave me alone? I need to think."
"Sure." She walked towards the door but before she left she turned around to look at Sakura. "If you need anything, just let me know."
Sakura looked at her and nodded. "Thanks."
She knew she couldn't avoid this. There was absolutely no space for errors and they were short on time. 'Fine! I'll go and make you sign this stupid contract... but you will definitely not like it.' She thought narrowing her eyes and already planning her vengeance on his little request.
Author's note: Well, here is chapter two. I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed my first chapter. I love hearing feedback from people to keep learning when I'm writing each chapter. Also, it inspires me to keep going so many thanks! Well, hope you enjoyed it and please review the second chapter. You're the best!