Chapter 8

What was that?! Misa stood with her back against her front door as she remembered the kiss. He's a superstar; he probably did it without thinking. There's no meaning to it. Calm down. She took a deep breath and put the leftovers away before sitting on her bed with the baggie of cookies.

Maybe he's still worried about me backing out of the collab. What better way than to leave an intimate impression? Maybe... This is Ren, though; would that really be the meaning behind it?

Misaki shook off her thoughts, set the cookies aside, and pulled out her phone to find a contract from Daichi already sent to her. "Now for a lawyer to read it over..." She stared at the name in her phone. Akane Izumi.

I haven't contacted you since the fallout with Akihiro and Eclipse... Would you still be my lawyer?

"It's too late at night to bug you now."

Misaki sighed and cuddled up to big bunny plush and drifted off to sleep.

Ring, ring, ring. Misaki's phone went off.

She blindly reached over to her nightstand for it. "Hello?" she answered without looking.

"Misa!" Ren greeted her. "Were you asleep again? What time do you wake up? I don't want to keep disturbing you."

"It's fine." She yawned, rubbed her eyes, and looked at the clock. 8 A.M. "I probably should've been up an hour ago, at least. What's up? I still haven't gone over the contract, if that's what you're calling about." I might as well ask Akane about it.

"I know, but I was wondering if you wanted to get started, anyway."

A line of clicks went off in the background and chatter she couldn't comprehend. "Honestly, sounds busy wherever you are..."

"I'm at a photo shoot right now, and we have an interview after this, but I'm free this afternoon. We can get together and talk about any ideas we might have."

"Okay, sure." Still gives me the morning to work with.

"One thing, though; Shun is going to have company this afternoon at home, so I was thinking we could go to a nearby cafe."

"Did you forget how famous you are again?"

"No... but I'm less noticeable with my hair down and a good hat, and if we sit in the back away from the windows, we shouldn't attract too much attention."

"All it takes is one person noticing, and it could explode."

Ren sighed. "Was hoping to use this as a chance to check out the cafe as well. I don't get to go out too often, and they have booths to block it a bit..."

"At least wear a mask while you're making your order. Your face is recognizable even without your hair done up."

"Is that a yes? I can swoop by and pick you up—"

Misaki thought about the kiss last night, and her face burned bright red. "I'll meet you there. And going forward, I'm not sure you picking me up in that car is a good idea."

"I see... Maybe I should buy a clunker, so no one will notice it."

Someone called out to Ren in the background.

"Oh, I have to go. I'll text you the address. See you later, Misa."

"Okay, bye." She hung up and took a deep breath. "Onto other pressing matters." Misaki sat at her computer to read over the contract. Seems fine, but I need another pair of eyes. Hopefully, she can help. Misaki called Akane.

"Hello?" Akane answered.

"H-hey, Akane, it's Misaki Minase." Could I sound any more awkward?

"It's been a long time, Miss Minase. What can I do for you?"

"I wasn't sure if you're still working just for Eclipse or if you're open to outside clients—"

"Eclipse is my main employment, but I'm allowed to work outside as long as there's no conflict of interest."

"Oh..."

"Why, what's wrong?" Akane asked. "Are you in trouble? I can try to help you out."

"No, no trouble. I'm actually looking to sign a contract..." Am I allowed to say with who beforehand?

"Oh, is that so? I can probably find sometime today, and because you're an old client, I'll even give you a discount."

"I..." Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Accept it. She cleared her throat. "That would be great. Thank you."

"Do you still have my email?"

"Yes."

"Send it over, and I'll look it over as soon as possible."

"Alright, thank you!"

"And Miss Minase, thank you for remembering me. I'm glad the business with Mr. Kurosawa didn't ruin our relationship."

"Of course not. That's all on him." Everyone in the industry will mention him, won't they? Her shoulders drooped. If only all of us could forget him.

"I have another call, so I have to go. Goodbye."

"Bye." She hung up and sat on her bed staring at the cookies. If I use it for breakfast, then it's not extra calories.

Unable to resist, she nibbled on a cookie. Gosh, it's a good thing he only sent a few.

Before she knew what had happened, the baggie was empty.

"Dammit. Knew this would happen."

Without another thought, she went into workout mode.

Gotta burn off the cookies.

Misaki started the routine Akihiro drilled into her for whenever she ate anything extra. Sit-ups, push-ups, lunges, and running on the treadmill until she tapped out.

This used to be easier. Sweat dripped down her neck as she ran. I need to go longer.

"Ah!" She stumbled and jumped off the treadmill before she could faceplant into it. "Geez." She collapsed on the ground, her legs burning and breathing heavy.

"I better get up before I leave a sweat print on the floor." She groaned and dragged herself into the shower.

All of this over a couple of cookies.

Her legs shook as she stood in the shower, so she braced herself on the wall.

Why'd I even do that? Who am I staying in shape for? I don't need to stay tiny anymore.

"Get outta my head, Aki!" Misaki growled and slammed her fist on the wet wall in front of her. "You're not even here, and you still can't leave me alone..." She dropped to her knees as she fought off her tears.