The Affection Multiplier - Chapter 166: Confessions and business. (Patreon)

“Truth is… I like you too, Walker-san. But… my heart’s a mess.” She grimaces. “It’s complicated. I want to be able to trust you and… be with you, but I’m scared I’ll be hurt again.”

“I don’t think anything I can say right now will help with that.” You smile wryly. “Just know that, despite me keeping Emma and Mia a secret, I’ve been completely honest with you."

She presses her lips together tightly.

“…I don’t know how to start.” She grimaces. “It wouldn’t be right to just throw my insecurities at you out of nowhere.”

“When I said I wanted to know you better, I meant it.”

“…” She bites her lip before blowing air out of her nose. “I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. I’ve been thinking about what my parents expect of me, what I should do about it. I’ve been thinking about… us, about what it is that we’re doing. You’ve been very supportive during all this, and because of that I’ve been thinking… about you and that interesting relationship you have with thr- five women.”

“…” You remain quiet, letting her get everything out.

“I’ve been scared of relationships for so long now.” She admits, closing her eyes as if in shame. “I don’t want a normal relationship, but I’m also scared of what I know I really want.”

“What is that?”

“I want… a relationship where I can watch my boyfriend… have sex with other women.”

“Oh. So, like Emma.” You nod.

The shame and hesitance are completely blown away from Ms. Fujiwara’s face and replaced immediately by bafflement. “E-Excuse me?”

“Yeah. Emma likes that, too.” You confirm nonchalantly. “She likes watching me be with the others. It was… kind of why she pushed for Mia and me to get together.” You start getting bashful as you reveal more, realizing you’re suddenly talking about your sex life. Also, Ms. Fujiwara doesn’t need to know you’re the one who made Emma like that. Not yet, anyway.

“So that’s… something you do?”

“Yeah.” You nod. “Not as much as we’d like to, since school and work get in the way, but we try.”

“…And everyone’s okay with it?”

“Pretty much. I think we all like to watch, to some extent. I… couldn’t accept them being with another man, truthfully, but I like watching them fool around with each other. It’s why they sent me that picture.”

“…” Ms. Fujiwara closes her half-opened mouth and licks her dry lips. She looks from you to your phone on top of the table as a proxy for the other girls.

“You’re saying it’s not awkward or that anyone feels guilty about it?”

“I think I’m the only one feeling guilty for being such a lucky guy.” You chuckle. “But, yeah, it was a bit awkward at first. We were exploring what we were comfortable with, but it was always consensual. That’s how it should be, right? So long as we accept each other’s kinks and limits, we can find more ways to make each other happy.”

“…” The nurse’s eyes start getting teary, but she doesn’t cry. “When I was in university, I caught my boyfriend cheating on me. I felt pathetic for letting it happen, but even more so because it excited me. It was a mix of such a big thrill with such a horrible feeling that it made me scared of myself.”

Ah. So that’s it. You should skip on passing judgment, but to you that sounds like simple lack of communication.

“But when I think of you… when I think of dating you and sharing you with others, I don’t…” She swallows. “I don’t feel bad. It just sounds exciting.”

That’s more than likely because of the normalized polyamory trait. She must feel that, if she dates you, sharing you would be normal, so she can just feel the excitement from it without feeling bad about it.

“But there’s more, right?”

Ms. Fujiwara nods slowly. “If we could just try dating with no strings attached, I wouldn’t have a problem. I’d welcome it. But our parents…”

Yeah, there’s that. You don’t want to dance to your father’s tune, either.

“Let me ask you something. If I manage to get us out of this deal, would you still considered going out with me?” You ask. “And let me be clear. This isn’t a condition. I’m getting out of this whether it leads to us getting together or not. I told you, I have my own plans. I’m not following my dad’s path anymore.”

“I… I think so.” She answers, trying to look at you directly. “I realized I like you too, but everything is too… complicated. Could you… give a bit more time?”

You sigh. Why does her asking more time annoy you? But no, that's fair. She seems to only now be accepting her own feelings. “Very well. Still, since you said you wouldn’t tell anyone about me and the teachers, let me pay you by getting you out of this deal as well, regardless of your final choice. Whatever we do then can wait. I like you, Ms. Fujiwara, but I can’t say I just brushed aside what you said before. I’m sorry. I’m not one to hold a grudge, but…”

“No, I understand.” She shakes her head. “It’s fine.” She grimaces and looks down at her knees.

“I guess that’s it for karaoke, then.” You say. “I think it’s best if we part ways here. Also… I’ll be working with my brother, so I don’t think we’ll see each other for a few days. I’ll call you when everything is ready.”

She purses her lips and nods hesitantly.

You part ways outside the karaoke shop. By now you feel confident enough to use the subway on your own. When you have a quiet moment, you decide to check the AMA again.

-Fujiwara, Anzu-
Affection Score: 64 (-10) (+7)
Love Score: ??? (Previous: 5)
Lust Score: ??? (Previous: 10)

Oh wow. That’s the first time a score has gone down for you. She really didn’t like finding out you were dating your teachers. She seems to have found it more irresponsible than inappropriate, however.

Also… You know this thing is also tracking your own score with other people, and although you can’t see it, you can feel that your score with… Fujiwara-san went down a little after what she said. It’s irrational, but that’s how emotions are, aren’t they? You can’t really help it. You just hope you can get over it with time.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­____________________________________________________________________________

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were spent working with Jonathan on a pitch for the Fujiwara family. Obviously, you didn’t spend all day working with your brother, since he still had work to do at his usual job. But being the kind of guy he is, he still worked with you in the evenings, inviting you to his place to avoid your father’s eye.

“Are you sure you want to do this behind the old man’s back?” He asks you. “I mean, I think the plan is sound, but if we fail it could backfire.” He tells you as you work in his living room.

“Since when do you think of failure?” You retort.

“Fine, fine. I won’t say anything.” He throws his hands in the air, grinning.

“It’s like you said. If we do a good enough job, he’ll have no choice but to accept.”

Though you say you’re working with your brother, it’s mostly just the two of you deciding what the best approach would be. He’s the business savvy one.

You also take the time during these days to talk to the girls in the group chat.

Mia: Are you still not seeing Anzu?

You: Yeah. I’ve been busy with Jonathan.

Emma: I’m so sorry. I screwed up big time.

You: It’s not your fault. It’s common etiquette to not check your phone during a date. Besides, it’s true that it’s best for me to focus on the Fujiwara parents since it’s more important in the long run.

Emily: I just want to throw this out there. I’d still move to Japan with you.

Megan: Me too.

You: Thanks girls, but hopefully, if we ever do that it’d be because we want to, not because we need to.

Sophia: Are we already talking about the future? Heehee.

Mia: We’re being forced to, sadly. I guess I could teach English in Japan…

Emma: Japanese literature is really interesting, too. I guess I should start learning to read it.

You: Why are you all talking like I’ll fail at this?

Mia: Just thinking of a plan B, sweetie. No pressure.

Well, at least they’re taking this well.

________________________________________________________________

Your brother used his magic powers (though not really magic powers) to set up a meeting with the Fujiwara father that Wednesday during lunch, just the day before Christmas Eve. He works quickly.

Before you meet him, you make sure to check the AMA.

-Fujiwara, Arata-

Affection Score: 38

Dammit. That’s nowhere near as good as you’d hoped! Also, you didn’t know his name was Arata.

You’ll have to trust you and your brother did a good enough job working on your pitch.

You meet the man at a fairly fancy sushi restaurant. Jonathan tells you it’s full on tuna season, so it’s best to take advantage while you can. Your brother reserved a small private room for the three of you, a fully traditional one with tatami floor, sliding doors and all. Honestly, you half expect drums to start sounding and that door to suddenly open with a kabuki warrior appearing yelling “YOOOOO!”

Hey, you wouldn’t be disappointed.

Anzu-san’s father arrives and sits across from you two at the low table.

You greet each other with short, polite bows and Jonathan starts the conversation. He thanks him for coming and then leaves room for you to talk.

In slightly broken Japanese, you tell him you’re also thankful for his presence and that you hope you can make the best of this meeting.

The man is genuinely impressed. He seems to comment on this to your brother, who translates for you.

“He’s impressed that you learned the language in just two weeks here. Do you want me to tell him the truth?”

“Yes.” You answer. Honesty above all.

He explains to Fujiwara-san that, although you’ve been practicing a lot, most of what you’ll be saying are memorized phrases and asks for his understanding if you make any mistakes.

The man chuckles, but nods heartily. He still seems impressed and thankful for the effort.

The food is served and you start the conversation with simple pleasantries.

“He’s asking how things have been with her daughter.” Jonathan tells you.

You clear your throat and try to answer in single words or broken sentences. You basically say something like “Complicated. Daughter very nice. But she has lot on her mind.” While smiling politely.

Here’s where Jonathan moves in. This is the approach you decided on. You’ll try to convince him things aren’t going very well between you and his daughter, but that there’s another choice for him company.

“I am not good at business,” You tell him in another one of your memorized lines. “Very difficult for me to understand. I am not a good choice. My brother, however, is extremely talented.”

If you got the man right, you know what he’ll ask next.

“He’s asking if we’re suggesting a change of suitors and have me marry the girl.”

Yep. Just like you thought.

You both grimace at the same time. It’s not a scripted reaction, and you both do it for different reasons. You do it simply because the idea feels weird after so many dates with Anzu-san. Jonathan does it because he doesn’t want to be tied down.

Your brother answers, saying that wouldn’t be a good idea. Instead, he offers to outright buy the company while saving another offer for if and when he refuses. The older man is obviously surprised at the offer, and more than a little apprehensive about it. Jonathan hands him a folder with everything needed to prove he can go through with it, even including a tentative purchase and sale agreement that favors Fujiwara-san. Jonathan only agreed to this because he truly sees potential in the business.

The older man silently looks through the papers, his expression shifting several times to surprise and contemplation. He seems to be seriously considering the proposal.

He then shakes his head and pushes the folder away, telling your brother something.

“Like we expected, he says he can’t do this so long as there’s the agreement with dad. Still, he seems tempted.”

“Fujiwara-san,” You grimace. “Your daughter. Very nice, but very… conflicted. Pressured. Sad. She not want marriage yet, but not want disappoint family.” 

Dammit, convening these things in another language is difficult, and only possible because you knew these were words you wanted to use and studied them beforehand. You could ask Jonathan to translate, but you want to tell him this yourself.

“I want be lawyer. Not business. But if this no work, you look for other man, correct?”

He seems to have a hard time understanding but gets the gist of it and nods.

“Then maybe talk to daughter? She is very conflicted.” You turn to Jonathan and ask him to add that you don’t want to overstep your boundaries.

He does, and in the middle of that, he sighs and tells you “I’m doing it.”

That means he’s adding the extra offer, which is to give him a monthly set amount of money on top of the purchase of the company to assure his economic stability.

Now it’s the older man’s turn to look conflicted. After some thinking, he answers. Since your brother smiles faintly, you guess this is good but not as good as you’d hoped.

“He says he’ll consider it, but that if we can’t convince dad to agree, there’s no deal. He doesn’t want to go back on his word.”

Yes. That was also expected.

“Let’s agree. I’ll talk to dad. I need to do that anyway. Might as well make it business related so he’ll listen.”

“You sure?” Jonathan asks.

“Yes. I’ll talk to him today, even. The sooner we get this over with, the better.”

Jonathan passes the message to Fujiwara-san, and he accepts. He says he hopes to hear from you soon, that he’ll speak to his wife and gives you a soft look when he says he’ll speak to his daughter also.

You finish your meal and part ways. On the ride back, you check Fujiwara-san’s score to see how things went.

-Fujiwara, Arata-

Affection Score: 45 (+7)

Regrettably, not a lot. 5 more points and you would’ve gotten a boost of friendship points.

Your brother also gives you his opinion of your results.

“This certainly didn’t go as well as it could’ve, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. He’s interested, and that last offer sealed it. Now you just need to convince the old man and hope Fujiwara-san’s wife agrees as well.”

“I ‘just’ need to convince dad?” You ask, rising an eyebrow.

“Hey, it was your idea. I told you to do what you wanted, Dave, but that also means dealing with the consequences. It’s do or die now.”

“Yeah…”

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What’s next?