"You acted like a fool, Airi."

Airi clenched her jaw when she heard the harsh words, her violet gaze narrowing on the tall male in front of her.

"Well I'm sorry I wasn't as levelheaded as you would have been when my father was burning alive in a building, Daisuke," she hissed in reply.

Daisuke scoffed, shaking his head as he moved out from behind his desk. "If you hadn't just panicked then maybe he wouldn't have burned alive. And I'm still skeptical as to whether Rin Nakamura would let himself die that easily, since he's not as pathetic as his daughter is," he snapped, dark eyes flashing as he stood in front of Airi.

"I'm so glad that you've found enough time to insult me when the rest of my family is mourning the supposed loss of my father. And yet you have the audacity to call me a fool," Airi replied, her pulse quickening with anger as she broke off his gaze, starting to turn away.

Before Airi could take a step away, she felt slender fingers angle themselves under her chin, pulling it right back up to meet Daisuke's blistering gaze as his grip tightened on her jaw.

"You will look at me when I speak to you, Airi," he said lowly, dark eyes boring into hers. Airi reached up to wrap her hand around his wrist to try and pull it away from her face, red lips curved into a deep scowl.

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want when you speak to me," she shot back, squeezing his wrist instinctively. Their bodies were close, much closer than they should have been, but she wasn't going to be the first to back down. Not when Daisuke was glaring at her with this much intensity, and she was close enough to feel the steam rolling off of him.

"Like I said, fool," he muttered, and Airi couldn't help but drop her gaze down to his lips for a brief moment. They hadn't always been that soft looking, had they? No, no, why was she thinking about that at a time like this?

"Shut the fuck up, Daisuke," she murmured in reply, lifting her gaze back up to his eyes.

Daisuke knew his feelings right now were incredibly inappropriate, for not only his sons best friend, but his coworkers daughter. He shouldn't even be looking at the woman in front of him in a sexual way, and yet he couldn't stop his thoughts from wandering, even at a time like this.

"Why don't you make me?"

Airi didn't even hesitate before she leaned up and pressed her lips to his in a passionate kiss, gripping his shirt in her free hand and yanking him down to her level. Daisuke was quick to respond, gripping her waist in his free hand as he leaned down to deepen the kiss. He knew as well as she did that all of this was incredibly wrong, but there was no denying how good it felt.

Daisuke let out a soft groan as Airi pressed her body up against his, slowly starting to move his hand along her side before his eyes snapped open and he yanked his head back. "You- what the fuck did we just do?" He asked bluntly, his eyes narrowing down at her.

Airi looked just as flustered when he pulled away, shaking her head wordlessly as she tried to process what she had done. Had she truly just kissed her best friends father, who she hated, at a time like his, when her father was presumed dead? What was wrong with her?

"You kissed me, I wouldn't have ever-" 

"But you kissed me back."

Daisuke stared at Airi once she cut him off, shaking his head slowly as he took a step away from her. "I- I wouldn't-"

"But you did, Daisuke. We did. We just did that," Airi whispered in reply, biting her lower lip as she looked up at him. And she couldn't deny that she had liked it too.

The door to Daisuke's burst open in that moment, Kaito stepping inside and immediately taking in the tense situation. "Ai, I heard what happened, are you alright? Are you already yelling at her, dad?" He asked sternly, moving to his best friends side and resting a hand on her shoulder.

All Airi could do was nod, moving her gaze up to her best friends face and praying that she didn't look as guilty as she felt. "Yes, yeah, I'm fine. Well, as fine as I can be, I just...If my father doesn't reappear in the next forty eight hours then you know what happens," she said nervously, her gaze drifting back over to Daisuke.

The older male had schooled his features to be as cold as indifferent as usual, irritation visible in his gaze. "If two days pass and no sign of Rin, we push up the Board meeting date, pick one of them to fill his spot, and then you two will be tested early, within the month. It's most likely that the President position would go to Meili, and she would want her daughter in her spot. But based off of tonight and your history, it's not looking good for you, Airi. I'd talk to Jurou about getting some of the other Board members on your side otherwise there's no way you'll survive the vote," Daisuke explained bluntly.

"So if my father is dead and I don't end up winning the Board's favor..." Airi started, hesitance clear in her gaze.

"Then you would no longer be a part of this company unless you married someone in it. And even then, you'd never be one of us again. Your family name means nothing if you have nothing to contribute," Daisuke said coldly, eyes narrowing as he glared at the two young adults in front of him.

Kaito huffed when he heard his father, giving Airi's shoulder a light squeeze. "Plenty of people like you, Ai, it won't be hard for you to win them over," he said reassuringly, though his own mind was clearly racing. If Airi didn't get the spot, then it was almost guaranteed that it would go to him. He loved his best friend, he really did, but this was his life, his legacy, what his whole life had been built towards. And if she wasn't going to get the spot...

"I'm going to go talk to Jurou," Airi finally announced, both men focusing their gaze back on her. "If my father is dead, then we all have work to do. And dad always hated wasting time," she said firmly, meeting Daisuke's gaze once more before she broke away from Kaito and stepped out of the office.

Once the door had closed behind her, Daisuke met his son's gaze evenly. "You realize that if she doesn't become a Board member, I would never let you associate with her again. It wouldn't be good for our status and it wouldn't look good for you as the newest Board member."

Kaito scoffed when he heard his father, though that was the verbal confirmation he needed to know that the position truly was within his grasp. "It's Airi, she would do whatever it took to get that spot."

"Do you think she'd kill for it?"

Kaito was silent as he pondered that, would his best friend kill him if she thought he was a threat? More importantly, would he kill her if she was a threat? He couldn't do that, he couldn't kill his own best friend. He'd never do that, he was better than killing those closest to him for power.

"I don't know. I don't think she would kill me, but maybe you," he finally answered, being as honest as he could.

Daisuke merely hummed in reply, moving back behind his desk and taking a seat in his chair once more. "At the end of the day, a life is a life. We all are born and we all die, but killing her would mean the population would decrease the same way that it would if a homeless man died of starvation."

"Are you telling me to kill my best friend?" Kaito asked, his voice quieter than he had intended it to be as he watched his father's every movement. His father was by no means a good man, but to insinuate that he take Airi's life when her father had presumably just passed...

"I'm telling you to do what you think is most beneficial to the life you are living, and would like to continue to live," Daisuke said flatly, before he waved a dismissive hand in the air. "Now let me get to work planning the funeral for my former business partner."

Kaito nodded wordlessly, he didn't know why he expected anything different from his emotionally distant father. He turned to leave his father's office, before he hesitated with a hand on the doorknob.

"Did you cry the night you and mom divorced?" He asked, keeping his back towards his father.

It was completely silent for a few, long moments, before he finally got a reply.

"I cried the day you were born."

~~~
it has been three months since i have updated. i am so sorry. i will do my best to not do that to you again from here on out :')