Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 161615 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 539(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 161615 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 539(@300wpm)
Kenji turned to me. "Can you do that? Keep this from them for an entire day?"
“Yeah.”
“How do you feel about this plan?”
“I feel safe. Claws will be in the room. The Fangs will be hidden and near. Reo and you will be barely three minutes away. This will work.”
Kenji still didn’t appear pleased at all, but he knew the stakes were high. If he wanted the war won, he had to get rid of the snakes.
Hiro interrupted my thoughts. "The stylist won't suspect anything?"
"She'll be completely focused on my head. When she's in the zone, she doesn't notice anything else. There could be a bomb going off and she'd just ask people to be quiet so she can concentrate."
A few people smiled at that.
Reo looked satisfied. "Good. We announce the movie event tonight. Make it seem spontaneous—'Island Morale Day' or something similar. Sign-ups open immediately. "
"What movies are we showing?" Toma asked.
Kenji's voice was sharp. "Does it matter?"
"Just curious, boss."
"We'll pick popular films," Reo turned off his tablet. "Action, thriller, maybe one comedy. Things that would naturally draw different crowds."
Everything was falling into place.
The trap was being set.
Now we just had to wait for the spies to walk into it.
But. . .just as the tension began to settle into focused determination, Hiro spoke, "And after we catch the spies. . .we celebrate. With the dinner and cocktail party Nyomi promised the Claws."
Everyone blinked.
Wow. . .
Hiro's timing was either impeccable or terrible.
I couldn't decide which but judging at the look of rage on Kenji’s face. . .we would all know his opinion on this soon.
Chapter thirty
The Hierarchy of Gestures
Nyomi
This uncomfortable silence crashed down around us, leaving my nerves frayed and exposed.
My pulse hammered in my throat as I watched Hiro.
Are you completely insane? Bringing up food and party planning now, with Kenji's rage practically crackling in the air?
We’d barely got the Dragon to agree to my being bait in the trap.
Now with the mention of the cocktail party, I could already see the storm building behind Kenji's eyes, a hurricane gathering force, and Hiro was throwing gasoline on the fire.
I gave everyone a nervous smile. “Thank you, Hiro, but we can discuss this later.”
"We can bring up some points now. For example, everyone's invited to the dinner," Hiro continued matter-of-factly. "Roar, Fangs, Claws, the Dragon. Full meal, multiple courses. But before dinner, there's a cocktail hour. Exclusive. Just for the Claws."
The Fangs reacted immediately.
Kaoru, the pink-haired playboy's beautiful face registered shock. "Wait. Just the Claws?!"
Yoichi set down his cup with a sharp click. "An exclusive cocktail party?"
Rin's usual bored composure cracked. "Why only them?"
Satoshi's military bearing couldn't hide his annoyance. "That doesn't seem fair."
Wow. Thanks a fucking lot, Hiro.
I tried to soften the news. “We’re not talking a big cocktail party—”
“It would be big to us. Signature cocktails and special hors d’oeuvres.” Hiro winked at me. “Right, Tiger?”
I frowned. “Yes.”
“Signature drinks?” Kaoru held out his hands. “What the fuck?”
Reo rubbed his forehead.
Hiro shrugged. "It's because of the bento boxes."
The Fangs exploded.
"The bento boxes?" Kaoru pointed at the table. "That was days ago! Are you all still on that?!"
"We were just THERE!" Yoichi's voice rose. "She offered them to us!"
To my shock, Rin—the royal Fang—definitely did not look bored anymore. In fact, he was absolutely animated. "You can't hold that against us forever! It’s bullshit and beneath you all!"
Satoshi looked genuinely upset. "We didn't even ask for the bento boxes. She gave them to us because we were at the club."
The twins spoke in unison, “Bullshit.”
I blinked.
Then, Aki spoke, "She gave them to you, but you ate them."
"With great enjoyment." Yuki shook his head.
Aki scowled. “Very disrespectful.”
Kaoru gestured wildly. "Of course we ate them! They were delicious! What were we supposed to do, refuse food?"
“Yes!” Toma bobbed his head. "Refuse it—”
“This is bullshit.” Kaoru hit the table. “Now I’m getting pissed off.”
“Good. Now you know how we feel.” Toma touched his chest. “But, I like the idea of the cocktail party. I think this is fair. You all got bento boxes, so we get cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Fair trade."
"That's not equivalent at all!" Yoichi protested and that wolf charm swung against his chest.
Kaede adjusted his leather gloves. "It's perfectly equivalent in the hierarchy of gestures."
Rin blinked. "The hierarchy of gestures?! What the hell does that even mean?"
Daisuke smirked. "It means that hierarchy matters."
The Fangs turned on him.
"Hierarchy?!" Kaoru's handsome face flushed. "We're FANGS! We're in the Dragon's MOUTH! Of course we got food from her first."
"The mouth attacks first!" Yoichi added.
"Fangs come before Claws in the anatomy!" Rin was actually standing now in a deadly stance, and I was now hoping he would go back to being pompous and bored.
Satoshi nodded firmly. "This is organizational discrimination based on arbitrary food distribution! I will not allow this to go on."
Kenji looked at me. "See what Hiro and you started?"