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It doesn’t take long.
She’s working the floor, weaving through tables with a tray of drinks in hand. Her eyes meet mine from across the room, and I see the flicker of confused recognition followed by a sharp jolt of panic right away.
Yeah, she knows why I’m here.
She swallows, glancing around nervously as I approach.
“Ms. Holm,” Mia says, her voice quiet. “I don’t want any trouble?—”
“We need to talk,” I say icily.
Mia shifts uneasily, her eyes darting around. “I’m working?—”
“It won’t take long,” I snap, stepping closer.
She hesitates, then sighs, swallowing nervously as she sets her tray down. “Look, I didn’t follow you or Annika to Kyoto, okay?”
“Nowwhywould you assume I’d think that?” I say pointedly.
Mia gives me a look, suddenly dropping all pretenses. “Okay, I get that you don’t like me. I hit on Kir, and you’re like, I don’t know, jealous about that?”
I make a face. “Hardly. I just don’t like seeing gold diggers trying to hook their claws into him. He’s like a father to me.”
She nods glumly, looking away. “Well, first of all, I’m not a fucking gold digger.” She shrugs. “I thought he was hot, sue me.”
“He was yourboss.”
She sighs, giving me a look. “Is there another reason besides me taking a shot with Kir that you don’t like me? If you’re curious why I’m here, my cousin is in Kyoto for a study abroad semester and I wanted to come visit her. Japan makes itreallyhard to get a work visa, but this place…” She clears her throat, lowering her voice and glancing around. “Well, there’s a market in hostess bars for blonde Americangaijin. And this place is willing to pay under the table to satisfy it.”
Mia sighs heavily, shooting me a look.
“Can I please get back to work now? I’m not trying to steal your daddy, okay? I’m just working, and I need to?—”
“What’s going on between you and Mal?”
Her brows knit. “Who?”
“Mal Ulstäd.”
Mia gives me a look. “Freya, not gonna lie, I have no fucking idea who that is.”
My anger surges as I open my phone to the saved screenshot of Takeshi’s post and shove it under her nose. “Ring any fucking bells?”
She stares at the picture briefly before slowly raising her eyes to me.
“Freya, you understand how these placeswork, right? Guys come in, they spend money, they buy bottles, they get pretty girls to sit with them and laugh at their dumb jokes and tell them how fascinating they are, andthat’s it. The next night, a whole new crowd of lonely guys with money comes in. Rinse, repeat?—”
“You’re actually going to tell me you have no idea who the guy is who came in with his cousin Takeshi Mori, of the Mori-kai Yakuza? The same Takeshi Mori who happens to own a controlling interest inthis very bar?”
Mia’s face falls.
“Thesame Takeshi Mori, actually,” I smile, batting my eyelashes, “who’sthe very guypaying you under the table to work here? That still not ringing any?—”
“Okay, okay!Jesus!” Mia blurts, flustered. “Seriously, I don’t want anything to do with any of this shit, okay? I just want to make some spending money, hang with my cousin for a semester in a hella cool foreign city, and go home. That’sit, Freya.” She frowns and glances at the picture again. “Fine, you want to know what’s going on with him and I?” Mia sighs. “It’s not what you think. Like, at all.”
“Then enlighten me, Mia.”
She looks away, shoving her hand through her blonde hair before sighing and turning back to me. “He wanted information about Kir.”
