The Affection Multiplier - Ch. 167 & Ch. 168. (Patreon)

Father-son showdown. 

When you find your father in his office and tell him you need to have a serious conversation with him, he tells you to come back in an hour. Considering how busy the man is, you guess it says something that he’s willing to make time for you.

He does say that time is something you make, not something you have.

You use that time to get your thoughts in order. What is your main goal here? Convince your father that marrying Fujiwara-san is a bad idea? No, that’s not it. Your goal is to tell him that you’re not going through with the deal, and that he’ll lose nothing because of it. You need to make it clear that Jonathan buying the company is better than you inheriting it.

You already spoke about this with your brother. You don’t need your dad’s approval to pursue your goals. You’ll do that regardless of what he thinks. Screwing over his business and already established deals is a more personal attack, however. You need to frame this as something that can only benefit his company, while also proving that you’re not just winging it or ‘throwing a tantrum’.

That’s what this little red folder you have in your hands is for. Inside is all the proof you’ve collected during these days working with Jonathan. It’s been good to have his opinion on some topics, but mostly he’s left you to decide on things for yourself.

You go back to his office when one exact hour passes. He allows you in, and it’s good to see that his eyes aren’t on his computer screen for once. This is time made for you, so he’ll give you his full attention. You’ve always appreciated that, at least.

You sit in front of your father and put your folder on the desk, close to you.

“Tell me, son. What is this about?”

“I want us to properly address the issue of my marriage to Fujiwara Anzu and the inheritance of the Fujiwara Electronics Company.” You tell him.

“Good. You said you’d think about it, and I’ve been waiting for your answer.” Your father nods.

“Let’s save ourselves some time and get to the point. I have no intentions of inheriting the Fujiwara business.”

Your old man lets out a soft sigh, as if holding back his disappointment. “Your reasons?”

“I have my own plans.” Before he can interrupt, you open your folder and hand him a sheet of paper. “These are the several universities at the highest level around what I consider acceptable areas to study. If I push through the most challenging courses, I’ll be able to get my bachelor’s degree in three years. After that, I’ll enter any one of these law schools to become a generalist lawyer.” You say, handing him another sheet.

“Generalist?” He asks. “You come here to show me you have a plan you haven’t even decided on you area of expertise?”

“This is a conscious choice. I plan to try different areas and scour the market before specializing. My eyes are on areas of intellectual property and criminalistics, but I want to see which of these is in more dire need of professionals.”

“That’s sound, but you’re still leaving too much to chance. Why so many options? Some of these are clearly better than others, not to mention there are even better choices outside these areas.”

“Think what you will of this, but I have people in my life now that I’m not willing to let go of. These choices were considered with those people in mind.”

“…” You father doesn’t react to that. He simply keeps studying the documents you offered before answering. “I don’t like this. You’ve thought this out, but I still believe there’s too much room for failure. You’re taking too many shortcuts that will leave you in a difficult position in comparison to your peers when you finish your studies.”

“I believe I have the skills to pull through. I believe my performance during high school and the academy this year have both proven and solidified them.”

He nods. “Yes, that is true. But there are still too many variables out of your control.”

“I’m willing to take my chances.”

“And if I’m not?” 

“For one, I’m not above flipping burgers at McDonald's if that’s what it takes to get the money I need. But even then, I have Jonathan’s support. He said he’d pay for my studies if you didn’t.”

“Did he now?” Your dad raises an eyebrow in surprise. “That’s a surprise. He’s always been so tight-fisted…”

Has he? Sure, your brother is not one to throw money around, but he’s never been a cheapskate with you.

“That’s a good segue, anyway.” You tell him. “In order to prevent the company from losing a deal with the Fujiwaras, Jonathan and I worked on an offer to buy their company.” You hand him a third document, which is a copy of the offer you handed Anzu-san’s father. “We spoke to Fujiwara Arata-san earlier today, and he insisted we have your approval for that deal.”

“…” You dad examines the document thoroughly. “He’s offering way too much. If either of you agreed to marry the daughter we’d get the business with less than ¼ of the money.”

“Jonathan believes in the investment. He sees potential to both reduce cost for the company and increase profits, but you’ll have to talk more about that with him. I know the new company would become a subsector of yours, so you’d be immediately gaining full control of new assets instead of waiting 5 years at a minimum.”

Just let it go, David. That’s just who he is. You won’t change his view of the world at this point. Better to work around it. Saves you and everyone else a headache.

“What will both of you do if your plans fail? What’s your plan B?” Your father asks, eyeing you carefully.

“I don’t know about Jonathan, but he’s capable. Not only is he unlikely to fail here, but we both now he’ll get up if he does. As for myself, well…” You sigh. “All I can say is that I’m willing to take some risks because I have people to help me. I’m not some genius like you, Jonathan or even Martha. I can only do things if I push myself to the extreme, and even then I need help. Thankfully, I’ve found people willing to support me. I’ll use everything I have to accomplish my goals. If I fail, I’ll just do whatever is necessary and try again.”

“…” You father sighs. “I don’t think you’d be willing to hear a few suggestions? I believe there are better schools around these same areas you selected.”

…

Is that… acceptance? Did he really just accept this? Holy shit! No, no, no. Calm down. Calm down. Don’t get excited yet. Take a deep breath. Even if he did accept, he’s still trying to modify your plans.

Having his expertise is tempting, but accepting his help would miss the whole point.

“…Let me make my own mistakes. Please.”

Even if not all you’ve chosen is optimal, these are your decisions to make.

“…Very well.” Your father sighs again. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect you to prepare all this. You’ve really grown a lot in five months.”

“…”

“Fine. Go make your mistakes. God knows I made more than you have when I was 18.” He groans and rests his chin on his fist. “And here I thought you’d like the Fujiwara daughter. I’d heard from her mother she liked video games, so I thought you would hit it off.”

“…”

What the fuck is going on? Who is this man and what did he do to your father? He’s being way too weird! Too… casual!

“…her parents know she likes video games?” You ask, not having the energy to question this anymore.

“Of course they do, David.” He tells you like it’s a stupid question. “No child can hide things from any caring parent forever. Not even if they’re at the other side of the world. Your mother and I will find out what you’re hiding eventually, even if we pry into it or not.”

“I… I don’t have a problem with Anzu-san. It’s just that neither of us wanted to have things decided on for us.”

“I’d say this backfired on me, but if it got you to finally decide on your future I’ll still say it was worth it.” He nods to himself. “HOWEVER, I do not and will never approve of you and your brother making deals behind my back. Tell Jonathan he’s paying for your higher education, and you’re flying back on economy class.”

…

…

PETTY MOTHERFUCKER.

What's next?

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Intermission 13: Anzu Fujiwara (2)

She can’t believe he did it. He actually did it!

Anzu Fujiwara throws her whole weight on her hotel bed, yet for the first time in what feels like forever, she feels as light as a feather.

It’s midnight and she just finished talking to her parents. Her father explained that David and his older brother approached him with an extremely favorable proposal that would set them for life. Her mother wanted him to accept it, and even his desire to keep the business in the family didn’t seem so important anymore.

Then her father received a call. Only a few hours after the brothers talked to him, the older one called to say their own father supported the purchase proposal, meaning he was willing to call off the deal for her and David to get married.

What’s more, her father actually asked her what she thought of this. Of course, she didn’t hesitate and told him she didn’t want to marry someone for business or profit. To her surprise, they accepted that.

She still can’t believe it. David said he wanted to do it, but she honestly didn’t believe he could. Her chest swelled with deep appreciation and respect for him. He told her they shouldn’t see each other because he’d be busy dealing with this issue, but to get it done in only four days?

With the pressure from her parents finally off her shoulders, she can think clearly.

…

And her thoughts immediately go back to that Saturday at Karaoke.

It was a shock to see a picture of five naked women just casually hanging out clearly after sex and just waving hello like it was an everyday thing. Besides, Ms. Campbell and Ms. Owens were there. She can’t help but feel that’s… wrong in some way.

But she knows she has no right to judge. Especially since David was immediately accepting of her own, weird desires. He didn’t mock her, question her or even pitied her. He just casually reassured her that it was okay for her to want that in a relationship.

That… meant something.

Not to mention that she works with the literature and English teachers every day. The other teachers have commented on their recent change of attitude and even try to pry into it. They both smile, laugh and talk with others a lot more than they did before.

If they’re happy, is what they’re doing truly wrong?

… 

If it made her happy, is wanting to have a relationship where she can share her boyfriend truly wrong?

So long as everything is consensual, it should be okay, right?

…

…

She wants to see him again. She’s still not sure exactly how she feels about him, but she wants to see him again. Maybe she’ll know when he’s in front of her again, and with all this marriage business out of the way, they can actually pursue something… meaningful together.

…

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Here in Japan, Christmas Eve is more about couples than family or religion. Should she…? No, no she shouldn’t. They’re not a couple. They just went out on dates out of obligation. Sure, it was really fun, and she had a great time, but…

…

Maybe she should take this as a chance? She really does need to talk to him. She owes him that much, at least. But maybe they could try to make something real out of this forced relationship.

…

Yes. She’ll call him. She’ll call him and ask him to meet her tomorrow for Christmas Eve.

She picks up her phone and sees the time. It’s already past midnight! She can’t call him now! Who the hell calls at midnight to ask you out on a date the next day? Besides, he must be tired. He’s probably already asleep.

…

But if she doesn’t call him now, he may make plans for tomorrow. Does he have plans already? He probably does. But she doesn’t want to miss her chance! Christmas Eve only happens once a year, after all! And they’re in Japan! It could be so special!

…

JUST CALL HIM YOU INDECISIVE IDIOT.

She’ll just pick up her phone and…

…it starts ringing.

It’s him.