Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Somewhere Only We Know: Sequel to Becoming Trunks ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3

Once he departed Miyuki's hotel, Trunks headed straight back to his office. By the time he returned, it was well past quitting time for most of the staff, so he didn't get nearly as many of the usual, big-eyed looks when he made his way through the main work area. He purposely avoided making eye contact with anyone, no longer feeling quite like the cocky CEO that had strutted out of this building prior to his lunch with Miyuki. As he got off his private elevator, he saw his secretary still sitting at her desk, busily fielding his phone calls. She looked up from her desk at the sound of the elevator doors, shocked that her boss had returned. "Mr. Briefs! I didn't expect you back today."

"Ms. Cho? Get something to write on and come into my office in about five minutes. We have a fire to put out."

With a wide-eyed expression, she watched Trunks enter his office and slam the door behind him. She quickly called her husband and told him not to expect her for dinner. Judging from her boss' serious expression, she got a gut feeling something major was about to hit the fan, and figured she should be here for it.

Trunks quickly shoved the stack of unsigned invoices to a far corner of his desk and spread out the materials Miyuki had given to him onto the cleared surface. Settling himself into his office chair, he reached first for the day planner and began thumbing through it. Most of the pages were covered with notations written in her neat hand and every available blank space had been filled with appointments and messages. He turned to the current month and, seeing that no commitments were listed past the current week, surmised that Miyuki had made up her mind to resign well before her vacation that last week. On the date square before her vacation, she had written the word "Freedom" in large, bold letters. He then flipped through the remaining blank date pages to the "Notes" section in the back of the planner. There he found several pictures of himself inserted between the pages; a couple of which he recognized as corporate publicity shots but a few of them were less than flattering. One in particular had a knife drawn through his chest with blood splattering in every direction-he could tell that she had used red felt-tip pen for maximum gory effect. Wincing slightly, Trunks scrunched up his features, remembering a certain meeting from a few months prior in which Miyuki had unhappily reacted to an off-the-cuff decision that he carelessly made. After she'd voiced her protest to his decision, he recalled seeing her retreat into her day planner to take more notes, or so he'd thought. "So, that's what she was really doing while I was speaking," he stated out loud, and stuffed the picture in his pocket. He closed the planner before putting it down and began looking into the other folders, each filled with information about the North American branch.

Trunks looked up from the pile on his desk the second he heard the door open. Ms. Cho walked briskly into the office with steno pad and pen in hand, all set to take down the information that Trunks was going to pass on to her. "Are you ready for me, Mr. Briefs?"

"Yes, come in and sit down." Ms. Cho did as she was told and Trunks began. "Ms. Cho? Would you happen to know if I have one of these calendar, planner, things somewhere?"

Ms. Cho attempted to hold back a smile, but it was obvious she was amused at his question. "Actually, Mr. Briefs, I keep a laptop with all your important appointments at my desk for your use anytime you need it. Would you like me to show it to you?"

"You do?" Trunks looked at her with confusion on his face. "Yeah, go get it, please," he said and Ms. Cho scurried off to get the laptop. When she returned, she showed Trunks his appointment calendar for the current year. Scanning through the entries, he realized that he had frequently missed important meetings. "Ms. Cho? What is your first name?"

Ms. Cho had another look of surprise on her face as she answered the question. "Akemi," she answered.

"Would you mind if I address you by your first name? And please, call me Trunks." If he were really going to make a difference from this point forward, he would have to begin tapping into all of his resources, beginning with the very efficient Ms. Cho. "Akemi, I could really use your help right now because I need to figure out how to run this company responsibly. You seem to know a lot more than I about how things ought to be done around here."

Upon hearing that admission, she smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Briefs…I mean Trunks. I will do all that I can to help you."

He took a quick breath and plunged forward. "Alright, the first thing I would like to do is call an emergency meeting of all the board members from both sides of the globe. Earlier today, Miyuki He, the vice-president of the North American division, gave me her resignation. Our lunch together was spent with me trying to talk her out of her decision, but she was just as determined not to take it back." He waved his hands over the folders strewn about his desk. "In parting, she released these documents to me, which she had compiled over the past seven years. I understand that they contain important information about not only the North American branch, but also about the company in general. We need to go through them and find out what they contain before the emergency meeting takes place. Can you help me?"

"Certainly! I will contact all the officers right now and then we can get started on going over this information."

"Thank you," said Trunks, relieved. As he watched her rush back out to her desk to make the phone calls, he reclined back in his chair and took in a deep breath. Picking up his desk phone, he called the one person in whose judgment about company matters he trusted more than any other. "Hi, Mom. I need your help. Big time."

"What's wrong, honey?" asked Bulma of her firstborn.

"Miyuki came to my office today to personally hand me her resignation," replied Trunks with desperation growing in his voice. "I don't know how I am going to replace her."

"Are you in the office now?"

"Yes, I am. But, Mom…"

"I'm on my way, Trunks. You stay right there," her voice said smartly, right before he heard a click in his ear.

+++

Soon after Trunks had left her hotel room, Miyuki called her best friend. "Doesn't sound like he was terribly happy with your decision to resign," commented Sayuri, after Miyuki told her what had just taken place.

"No, he wasn't happy at all," sighed Miyuki. In her mind she knew she shouldn't care how he reacted, but in her heart, she hated to cause him any pain. "Can I come over to your place for a short visit? I really feel the need to get out of here and regain my composure."

"I do have a spare bedroom, you know. You could stay here with me till you find your own apartment."

"I think I will take you up on that, as long as your husband doesn't mind," replied Miyuki. She so admired her best friend for finding love and happiness. These were the things she also wanted so desperately, but had eluded her so far.

"Then pack up your things and check out of that place right now. "And don't worry. Nori will be fine with it. He likes you a lot. He told me so."

A relieved and grateful Miyuki agreed and quickly packed up her belongings. She phoned the front desk to make arrangements to have her luggage brought down from the room and to call her a taxi. After her bags were packed, she quickly ran around the room picking up as many of the flower petals as she could before the bell-cap knocked on her door. She also decided not to leave any forwarding information with the front desk, as she did not want to make it easy for Trunks to find her. She figured he would eventually locate her, but she'd make him work for it.

Arriving at Sayuri's house, Miyuki exited the taxi and got her luggage out of the trunk. Nori, Sayuri's new husband, emerged from the house and helped her carry her things in. "You really don't mind if I stay here, Nori?" asked Miyuki, a bit anxious.

"Not at all. You are my wife's best friend. I wouldn't have it any other way," replied Nori, giving her a ready grin.

Miyuki followed Nori into the house to find her best friend sitting at the kitchen table feeding their little daughter, Hana. "Hi there little angel!" said Miyuki as she greeted the beautiful baby in the high chair. Hana tilted her head up at the cheery voice and gave Miyuki a bright, four-toothed smile while little puddles of drool dripped off the corners of her mouth. The baby was almost a year old and, because she had been half a world away, Miyuki had missed out on all of Hana's first milestones. "You are so lucky to have this wonderful family. I envy you."

"You envy me?" Sayuri stopped the napkin halfway towards Hana's slobbery mouth and chuckled. "You who have lived overseas was a powerful, glamorous, business executive, envy me?"

"It's not all it's cracked up to be. I am just now starting to realize that fact." Miyuki gazed at the precious little bundle of joy as she tried to pick up cereal in her stubby little fingers and put it in her mouth. Hana had pieces of food all over her face, but didn't have a care in the world except getting the next piece into her mouth. Miyuki felt an ache deep inside in a place that she never felt before. She wanted a child, desperately. "So, are you excited about meeting Miya?" she asked Sayuri.

"You mean your mom? Of course! I still can't believe you found her so easily. She was right here in the city all this time and we never knew."

Miyuki still couldn't manage to use the words "mom" or "mother" whenever she referred to her long-lost parent. For now, she preferred to call her by her first name, Miya, and let it go. "I am surprised we didn't bump into each other on the street and do a double-take. She and I look so much alike. It is weird."

Feeling ignored, Hana suddenly let out a baby scream to get her mommy's attention. Sayuri smiled before turning to her and started making "coochie-coochie" sounds, which made the baby giggle and kick in delight. At that moment, Miyuki would have traded places with her friend in a millisecond. Sayuri met her future husband at a recovery meeting, not long after Miyuki got her promotion and moved away. They were friends for a while and then their friendship blossomed into a full-blown romance, despite the fact that Nori was ten years older than Sayuri and had more clean time than she did. Also, he had been married before, but never had children. The two of them decided to move in together and after a couple years got married. As the next several years passed, they tried repeatedly to have a child, but it wasn't easy for them. Upon finally resigning themselves to the idea that they would never conceive, they both gave up trying. At that point, Sayuri got pregnant. The pregnancy wasn't the easiest one to bear and, by the time the last trimester rolled around, she had been given strict orders by her doctor to stay off her feet. After Hana's delivery by Cesarean section, the doctor told Sayuri she shouldn't try to have any more children.

Quietly watching the mother and baby, Miyuki felt a quick pang of regret. She missed all these things that had happened in Sayuri's life. Too busy running her division, she never found the time to come home to see her best friend; not for the wedding, not for the baby's birth, not for anything. All because the obligations that had taken priority as one of the vice president of Capsule Corp., had made her lose sight of what was really important.

Nori returned to the kitchen after depositing all of Miyuki's things in the spare bedroom. "Would you like to see your room?" he asked Miyuki.

"Sure," she replied and followed him out of the kitchen as Sayuri attempted to clean up her daughters snack covered face. Nori took her up to the spare bedroom and then made his exit. Miyuki stretched out on the bed and took a deep breath. She was feeling rather unsettled, as her mind had been occupied for so many years with constant turmoil over how Capsule Corp. could be more successful. She rolled toward the side of the bed and picked up her purse to rummage through it, searching for her cell phone. When she found it, she dialed Miya's number-her mom's number.

"Hello," said the voice at the other end of the line.

"Hi, it's Miyuki. Just calling to let you know I am not staying at the hotel anymore. I am staying with Sayuri at her house."

"Oh, okay. Thank you for letting me know. Can I still reach you at the same number?"

"Yes, I still have my cell phone." The first thing Miyuki had done when she returned to her homeland was to reactivate her personal cell phone. She still had a company cell phone in her possession, but didn't want to use it. She had meant to surrender it to Trunks when she returned her other belongings. "Do you still want to have dinner later?"

"Of course I do. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Good. I'll meet you at the restaurant at 7:00 then?"

"I will be there." Miya presumed that Miyuki was still very uncomfortable around her and didn't want to push her into anything too soon. There was so much she wanted to know about her only daughter.

They hung up the phone and Miyuki again lay back on the bed. I wonder what he is doing right now, she thought.

+++

Ms. Cho and Trunks were poring over the files with a fine-tooth comb when the former president of Capsule Corporation burst into his office. "Tell me everything. How did she look? Why did she quit? Does she want her old job back?"

"Mom, please!" interrupted Trunks. "We have real work to do here! I need to find an immediate replacement for the North American vice president's position fast! Remind me again why you gave Mitsu the president's job over Miyuki?"

"Well, he seemed like the right choice at the time. He had all his credentials in line and appeared to be pretty motivated when he was vice-president," replied Bulma to her son.

"Do you have any idea how many ideas he stole from Miyuki and claimed were his own?"

"No, I don't because I am not the president of this company anymore," replied Bulma in a stern tone, before pointing her finger in his face. "You are. And as the acting president, a big part of your job is to be aware of what your subordinates are up to."

Trunks slumped back in his chair and folded his arms as if he had just been scolded. He glared at his mother, who returned his look with crossed arms and a raised blue eyebrow. He felt like sticking out his tongue at her, but figured it would not have been appropriate, especially in front of his secretary.

"Excuse me?" said Ms. Cho. "If you two don't mind, I am just going to go over to the conference room to see how many people have arrived for the meeting with you, Mr. Briefs."

Trunks tipped his head towards her as if acknowledging her statement, but did not take the pouting look off his face. He hated being here, in this position! This was the last place he wanted to be at the moment, in this office, dealing with his mother and a bunch of pissed-off executives.

Bulma sat down in the chair opposite her son and gave him an apologetic smile. "Honey, I am sorry if I embarrassed you. Is there something you want to tell me?"

He looked at her and his features softened. Miyuki-she was here in Satan City. He had been so close to her just that afternoon, and he had kissed her. How he had craved the feel of her lips and the touch of her skin. He uncrossed his arms and tilted his chair towards his desk far enough so that he could rest his chin in his hand. "I still can't believe that she came to my office this afternoon and gave me her resignation," he said softly.

Bulma leaned forward from the opposite side of the desk and placed her head in her hands. "And did anything else happen?" Curiosity had gotten the best of Bulma as she asked the question. She knew her son had never gotten over his love for her favorite employee. The first year when Trunks took over, Bulma kept her hand in the running of the company, but slowly she weaned her son from her influence and decided to just let him figure it out on his own, as the senior Dr. Briefs had done with her. Bulma also knew that Miyuki was very capable of "telling it like it is" to her son, president or not.

"You mean, like between us?" asked Trunks, knowing full well what his mother was talking about. "I don't have time to talk about this mom! I have a crisis on my hands!"

"Oh, stop. Your behaving like the world is coming to an end. I would think after all you have been through that a little thing like an executive giving her resignation wouldn't faze you in the least."

Trunks could handle fighting evil enemies, but this-this was much worse. "Who am I going to get to replace both Mitsu and Miyuki?"

"Mitsu? Why do you need to replace Mitsu?"

"Because he is worthless. I need someone in there like Miyuki, but she doesn't want the job anymore. What if the whole North American branch falls apart?"

"Well, I can assure you that it isn't going to fall apart tonight. Just march into that conference room, announce Miyuki's resignation, and let the initial panic run its course. Then, in a couple of days, you can concentrate on finding a suitable replacement. You can fire Mitsu another day."

Trunks made an annoyed face at his mother. "This isn't a little boo-boo that you can just kiss and make it better, Mom. This is a major corporation! The corporation founded by my grandfather!"

"Trunks, I ran this place for many years, I know how things are. Trust me on this. More than likely, you won't have to lift a finger to get rid of Mitsu. Without Miyuki's ideas to steal anymore, he will probably hang himself on his own."

All at once there was a tapping on the window behind them. Bulma looked over her son's shoulder to see Vegeta rapping on the window with a very pissed-off look on his face. Trunks followed his mother's gaze to see his father hovering outside the window. Since ignoring Vegeta was not an option, he arose from his chair and walked to the side window, opening it up for his father to enter. "Where is my meal, woman?" asked the hungry Prince of Saiyans.

"Vegeta!" snapped Bulma, in a not-so-nice manner. "I am a little busy here!"

"What could be more important then getting me my dinner?" stated Vegeta, as if the world would stop turning if he missed a meal.

"I'm kinda hungry too, Mom," added Trunks. Suddenly, his stomach growled loudly, reminding him that it had been denied lunch earlier that day.

"Good lord! Fine! I will go get the two of you something!" With that, an exasperated Bulma threw her hands up in the air, turned on her heel and exited the office, heading for the dining room.

Vegeta looked at his son, wondering what could possibly have been so important that he took his mate away from making his meal. "What is it, boy?"

"It's a long story," said Trunks, rubbing his weary eyes. After the kind of day he'd had, he really didn't want to talk about Miyuki or Capsule Corp., especially with Vegeta.

"Well, we have some time until your mother returns. Tell me."

"Miyuki quit and I saw her this afternoon and…I really miss her."

"The girl? The one that…hugged me?"

"That's the one."

"So, she has returned to you. Mark her as your own this time and don't let her get away from you."

Trunks shook his head. How easy in his father's mind it was to just take a woman as a mate and that was that. "I wish it was that easy."

"It is that easy," Vegeta said firmly. "You love the girl, and you obviously never got over her. Just take her."

Trunks raised a lavender eyebrow at his father. "Dad, you don't just tell a woman that you are taking her as a mate and expect her to comply."

Vegeta snorted. "Who said anything about telling her? If she is the one you wish to mate with, then just mate with her. Why do Earthlings have to make everything so convoluted and complicated? It is very simple. You are half-Saiyan, you know."

For a wild moment, Trunks thought this was a perfect idea. If he bonded with her, then she would have no choice but to spend the rest of her life with him! The notion quickly departed once sanity returned to his thinking. He did not want to trap her into anything that would later cause her to regret doing. "Is that what you did with Mom? You just… took her?"

The corner of Vegeta's mouth curled upward when he answered, "No, she was a very willing participant."

"Too much information, Dad!" groaned Trunks.

Vegeta continued rambling about being a Saiyan warrior for another ten minutes until Bulma returned with their meal. They ate in silence as Trunks prepared himself for the inevitable meeting he was facing with the board of directors.

When they were almost done with dinner, Ms. Cho returned to the office and told Trunks that everyone was in place and waiting for him. Trunks wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up. Then he buttoned his suit jacket and adjusted his tie. "Let's get this over with."

"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Bulma.

"Yeah, but don't hold my hand or anything," said Trunks with a smile.

"You'll be fine. You are a warrior, remember?" said Bulma returning his smile with one of her own.

I am a warrior he repeated to himself as he walked out of his office towards the conference room.

+++

Author's note: Thanks to Hollyberry for being my steadfast beta. I don't know what I would do without her. I finally have some ideas on where this story is going, so please keep reading and reviewing!!!!!!