That jarred him.
“I work too much; my friends are all in relationships and have children. They look at me with envy because I can hop on a plane and go anywhere in the world. I look at them and think if I had a husband and a baby, I’d never leave home.” She held up her hand. “Please don’t say I don’t seem like the maternal type.”
“Shiori, I don’t know you well enough anymore to make that kind of observation.”
“Thank you.” She took a sip of her drink and sighed. “That scotch really is worth every penny. The only other time I’ve had it is at Ojisan’s house.”
Just another reminder he had absorbed some of his grandfather’s habits without conscious effort.
“Anyway, I realized on the night of my thirty-fifth birthday—which I spent alone incidentally—I’ve been trying to prove that I deserve the CEO status at Okada, and I lost sight of everything else. Within a week after all my doubts surfaced, I came across an inner-office memo I wasn’t supposed to see. Okada is trying to hire Inichi Matso away from Satzu to name him interim CEO because Grandfather wants to step down.”
“You have got to be shitting me.”
Shiori shook her head. “No, and here’s the reality: he would be excellent for Okada.”
“But that position has always been yours. Or at least your dream.”
“I realized I’m not ready for the top spot. Just because I’m Nureki Okada’s granddaughter doesn’t mean I deserve to take control. So if he offered it to me right now, I don’t think I’d take it. More work for the next forty years?” Shiori leaned forward. “Ojisan will be eighty-six. I don’t want to look back at my life when I’m his age and wonder what I’d done with it besides work. Even without our inheritance, I have more money than I can possibly spend. So I quit and came here, hoping you’d have wisdom to guide me through this. But I didn’t have the guts to even tell you the truth.”
“You’re totally screwed.”
“Fantastic. Thank you.”
“All joking aside, on a business level, I’ve made some changes with the dojo, but I wouldn’t have done it if not for Amery.” He met his sister’s gaze. “But on a personal level, I’ve had that same epiphany, wanting a life outside of being Sensei Black. Even with the new projects that I’ve taken on, it’d be ideal if I could hand off some responsibilities and enjoy having found this amazing woman who gets everything about me.”
Tears pooled in Shiori’s eyes. “I’m happy for you. I mean that. Amery is just what you need in your life.” She sniffled and wiped her eyes. “Damn scotch.”
He hid his smile behind his glass.
“So does handing off some responsibilities mean I can keep teaching at Black Arts?”
“As long as you’re interested in taking on a supervisory role in training our advanced students too.”
“I noticed you’ve passed off all your upper-level classes to other instructors. The only reason you’d relinquish control was if you didn’t have a choice.” Her gaze sharpened. “What did the doctor say?”
Of course she’d pick up on that. Ronin was actually relieved to tell her everything. After he finished, he added, “Without coming across as self-serving, I’m glad you’re not gainfully employed, because I could use your help running the dojo.”
“What about Knox? He’s your second-in-command and general manager.”
“Knox is great with people—students, parents, all that glad-handing stuff I hate. Until I know if I’ll ever be able to return to contact training, I’ll need an advanced belt to teach my instructors and oversee their training methods. I trust you—not only because you’re my highest-ranking belt.”
“Then why?”
“Because we’re alike in many ways. Plus you do the hardass, dragon-lady bit so well.”
She snorted delicately.
“And it is a temporary position.” He studied her. “I don’t have to worry that you’ll implement a hostile takeover, do I?”
She laughed. “No.”
“So how did Grandfather react when you quit?”
“Not well, given her method of delivery,” their mother said as she slid into the booth next to Shiori. She raised her hand to the waiter and signaled for three more drinks. “She sent him a text message.”
“Okasan, we were just—”
“Do you remember how many times you said that when I caught you two doing something wrong?”
Ronin’s gaze winged between his mother and Shiori. They looked enough alike they could be sisters. “You’re mistaken. We never did anything wrong.”
She laughed—loudly for their mother, especially in a public place.
He exchanged a WTF? look with his sister.
“That’s right. I had perfect children,” she said, switching to Japanese. “Neither of you were criminals or psychopaths, and I’m immensely grateful for that.”
The waiter dropped off the drinks.
“I wanted to have this conversation tomorrow over lunch, but this is as good a time as any to tell you of the upcoming changes in my life.”
“Maybe we should just have the waiter leave the bottle,” Ronin muttered.
Shiori kicked him under the table.
Their mother held her glass aloft. “Raise your glasses to the new interim director of Okada Food Conglomerate.”
He looked at Shiori who was looking at him blankly. He managed to say, “Who is the new interim director?”
“Me,” their mother stated.
Ronin almost dropped his glass. He and Shiori said, “What?” simultaneously.
“Drink your toast.”
Shiori and Ronin drank.
“Okay. What the hell is going on? I feel as if I’ve stepped into an alternate universe. Shiori quits. And you’re taking over?”
“Yes. My father is ready to retire. I knew Shiori wasn’t ready for the CEO chair. I knew you didn’t want it,” she said to Ronin. “And some guy who looks good on paper doesn’t deserve it sight unseen. I’ve been around this food business my entire life. For close to thirty years, I’ve served as my father’s hostess for business events as well as his business confidante. As his only child, I am the first heir. Something many people have forgotten.”
“But you’ve never had any interest in taking the mantle,” Ronin said.
“Not publicly, no. So after your sister’s charming text message to your grandfather, giving the reasons why she’s stepping down, I’m stepping up.”
“You’re really taking over?” Shiori said with equal shock.
“Yes. Okada is hiring Inichi Matso, except he will answer to me. Even if he passes the probationary period, he will still answer to me. We’ve revised the legal documentation in the past few weeks for the board of directors. A member of the Okada family will always have oversight of the company and will always have at least one seat on the board. For now, that’s me. I have my own team to run checks on every aspect of the business anytime I deem it so.”
“And Inichi Matso agreed to this?”
“Of course. He wants to get control of a five-billion-dollar business and turn it into more.”
“But what about all your free time? You’re a few years from retirement.”
“I like to do things differently—get a job when most people retire. Your grandfather is feeling remorseful for some of the things he’s done.” She offered them a sad but surprisingly sneaky smile. “I played on that mercilessly. I did demand that he make both of your trust funds fully accessible—without strings.”
That seemed too good to be true, even when Ronin had no idea what he’d do with that much money. “No strings? At all? Ever?”
“Just the usual inheritance tax issues. But besides that? No. The only strings that should come with a gift are on the outside of the package when you open it.”