4. Chapter Four – Adam
Adam
My phone dings with a new message from my brothers as I step into the hotel room. I stop for a moment, freezing with my hand already lifted to unbutton my shirt and get ready for a shower. It’s not only hot in Tokyo, it’s also very humid and my hair is sticking to my neck.
When did their message alarm start filling me with dread?
Gulping, I lay my head back and sigh before I shake the anxiety off, throw my bag onto the bed, roll my suitcase into the room and close the door before I unlock my phone to see what they want.
Tanner : You up for a stream? Or dead asleep?
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I take a deep breath, knowing that they’re going to give me shit about never seeing me if I say no. Never mind the fact that I’ve just gotten off a flight that lasted longer than half a day.
Adam : Give me 10 minutes for a shower, and I'm all yours.
Rolling my eyes, I ignore the barrage of suggestive gifs the guys are spamming me with and plug my phone into the charger before undressing and checking out the shower.
I’m just glad I got a somewhat spacious room and that the air-conditioning works. It’s on the fancy side, with marbled tiles in the bathroom, golden faucet and an abundance of towels.
It’s also spacious as fuck. Behind the entrance lies a room with a couch and armchairs, a big shelf housing the TV separating the sitting area from the bedroom behind it. While I’m not a fan of the open concept, I’ve definitely slept in worse hotel rooms.
Speaking of sleep. I really shouldn't have slept on the plane. It seemed like a good idea in the moment, but I hadn’t considered the time difference. Now it's almost midnight, and I'm not tired at all. I just know the next days are going to suck as my body is getting used to it.
Knowing very well that a shower is only going to wake me up more, I jump under the hot water quickly and rinse off in record time. It only takes me ten minutes until I’m dry again, apart from my hair, and walking back into the bedroom to get my shirt and jogging pants.
I grin as I remember Lily's crestfallen face when she realized that her bag was missing. The poor woman. It seems like everything that could, has gone wrong for her. It’s almost making me pity her. In the taxi, she almost fell asleep several times, her head dropping, before she startled awake again until we finally arrived.
At least she’s not going to have to fight with the time difference. And clothes are replaceable. I’m not even sure what the big issue is.
I don't get the big deal. It's just clothes. Our hotel is in the middle of the city, it can’t be that hard to find a store.
Anyways. I hope they find her suitcase soon and that she didn’t put anything important in there. An airline once lost my suitcase containing Reed’s favorite plush he gave me to take along on a trip. It took a lot of time to track another one down and come up with excuses in the meantime.
My phone is blinking with more messages when I pull up the chat and start my laptop.
Adam : Did I mention I hate you guys for hogging the jet yet?
Jackson : *laughing emoji*
Adam : Seriously, why the hell do all of them have to be in Europe right now?
Reed : You’re the one doing our schedules. Pat yourself on the shoulder for that.
I curse under my breath as I pull up the racing game we’ve played together since I was a teenager and they were kids. Before I know it, their voices echo through the hotel room and I reach for my bag to search for my headphones. I can clearly hear the TV from next door and snoring from the other side. It’s faint, but if the walls of this hotel are that thin, I’d rather not disturb my neighbors.
"Hope you don't mind we already started without you," Jackson says before he breaks into curses and I hear him crashing his digital car, the changing lights of the screen reflecting in his face.
"Hello to you too," I say and roll my eyes when only now they mumble greetings, clearly distracted by the game. A look at the present members reveals that Zoey didn’t make it tonight.
I know being a helicopter parent is not going to help my case but it’s weird. Once she went to college, I’ve barely heard from her – enough to know that she’s alright and enjoying her time, but she doesn’t volunteer much about her life there at all. A part of me was hoping to catch up with her tonight; another part of me was not prepared for dealing with teenage petulance .
Gaming night is a set time once a week that Jackson made all of us promise to do our best to keep.
So far, I only had to cancel three times, and two of them were because the internet where I was didn’t work. The third one was because I overslept when I took a nap after a particularly draining day.
Sometimes we shoot demons, sometimes we build things, but today I guess it’s racing day. One of the games that definitely brings out the competitive streak of all of us.
"And of course you already started. Had to get a few rounds in before I crush you in this game?” I watch as all of them roll their eyes at the exact same time. "Can one of you at least share the screen so I can watch?"
"Wait a second," Reed says, and then a few seconds later, my screen fills with a cartoon scenery and Reed’s signature yellow car flying past it.
"Who's leading?" I ask, but all of them are too focused on the race to answer. Tanner even shushes me.
Online games are definitely a better outlet than crashing heads in real life, just like we did at that charity football match two years ago. Tensions were even higher than they are now, and all of us were younger, fitter and very motivated to work our anger out on the field.
It ended up being a lot of fun, but if there’s one thing I took away from it, it’s that I’m getting too old for it. I spend a lot of time at the gym, but after the match, I was so exhausted I barely moved for three days .
The time at training was a good thing, though. I got to hang out with my brothers, some friends from the industry, and I even managed to make new friends and do some networking.
While it wasn’t my intention for joining the match, I ended up signing two other actors from my team to Croney. During that time, Asher also got together with his girlfriend Kayla, and it would be a lie to say it hasn’t benefited me, be it knowing that they’d shake up the industry by creating their own label or knowing when certain news like engagements would break so we could coordinate our news accordingly.
I can’t believe it’s been two years already.
And only two years at the same time.
Hiring Lily was the best thing Millie and Kayla could have done to bring their company forward, even if their original intention wasn’t exactly hiring talent. From what Asher told me, they just wanted to make sure that nobody would have a say over their brand and actions anymore, which turned to helping other artists with the same issue.
Lily. I lean back in my seat and cross my arms in front of my chest, only offhandedly still listening to my brothers.
She's a character. She’s got a sharp eye for talent, and the fact that she's lived here in Japan for a while means she could be way ahead of me when it comes to a market entry.
Which might become worrisome.
It’s a step I’ve been contemplating for a while. Croney is doing great in the American market, and even in the European market .
But I miss the challenge. I still have more than enough work, but it’s running too smoothly. The occasional PR disaster about one of our artists aside, my job has gotten dull.
I miss the strategy meetings, feeling like a general on the battlefield, fighting for Croney’s spot on the market and defending it. Being successful is amazing, but it feels like I’ve reached a place where competitors don’t even dare to challenge Croney anymore.
Except Lily.
"Earth to Adam," Tanner says loudly, and I close my eyes for a hidden eye roll before I blink them open and look at my screen, clenching my jaw. They know exactly how to grind my gears and their condescending ‘Earth to Adam’ is definitely one of their tricks to annoy me. "What's going on?"
"Just thinking," I answer Tanner and unfold my arms, trying to not let it get to me.
Tanner is the only one finished with the race so far, Reed’s yellow car and Jackson’s blue monstrosity still fighting for second place on my screen.
"About what?" He wiggles his eyebrows.
"Lily," I admit, and even the two guys still racing look into the camera.
"What's that tone?" Reed asks with a chuckle before glancing back at his screen, and I shake my head. “You sound like you’ve bitten into a lemon, the way you said her name. ”
“Right?” Tanner chuckles and leans closer to the camera. “A woman’s name out of your mouth and then in such a tone? That’s new.”
"It’s nothing,” I tell them and pinch the bridge of my nose. I shouldn’t have mentioned her at all. “I just learned that she apparently lived in Japan for a time, so I'm a bit worried about our expansion plans."
"Really?" Jackson asks surprised, his eyebrows raised up to his hairline. "You? Worried about a competitor? Have you gotten sick?"
"That's new. Where's that usual confidence?" Reed continues the interrogation, and I shake my head at them.
"Oh, I'm still confident," I quickly clarify and raise my eyebrow at them. "That's got nothing to do with it. I'm just saying I might have to adjust some plans for the company."
"Sure," Jackson says menacingly, and the other two roll their eyes at me.
“Of course, the company,” Reed says under his breath. I’m not going to dignify that with a reply so I’m glad when he changes the topic. "On another note, has any of you heard from Zoey?"
Both Jackson and Tanner shake their heads, frowns appearing on their faces. So I chime up.
"She has settled in. Got a message with a picture from her dorm room a few days ago."
"Dorm room?" Jackson asks, his face scrunching together in a grimace. As the second oldest brother, he feels especially protective over her. "Couldn't we have gotten her an apartment?"
“Right,” Reed adds. “Dorms suck.”
"Of course we could have,” I say and click my tongue at them. "But she didn't want me to. Said something about wanting the ‘dorm experience.’"
"She’s so weird," Jackson says, shaking his head. "Well, whatever, pretty sure ‘weird’ runs in the family. I hope she's going to have fun in college."
“Not too much though,” Reed adds quickly. “I’m not ready to be an uncle yet.” He clutches his chest theatrically and Jackson shakes his head at him.
“Good thing you have a pretty face, because you’re definitely not a good actor.”
“Hey!”
"I'm sure she will have a good time," I say, then lean forward, closer to the screen as I pull up the game myself to join them. "Now, are you suckers ready to lose?"
Finally, the shit-talking commences as we race each other, fighting with every dirty trick in the book, until I actually win the race and laugh at all of their annoyed faces.
My head is pounding on my way to breakfast. I feel like a sledgehammer knocked on my skull, a pressuring pain behind my eyes as I walk down a neon-light lit hallway that’s not helping my case.
The guys and I continued to play until three in the morning and even then, I couldn’t quite fall asleep yet. I think I finally did around five, knowing fully well I’d have to get up by seven to be ready for the first conference meeting to start at nine.
So I’m operating on two hours of sleep and I can’t even comprehend what kind of food they have available for breakfast, and my brain is not in a state to read the signs so I just heave anything that looks or smells good onto my plate.
I can't say I ever had fish for breakfast, but as Dad always used to say, "Don't knock it till you try it." But God, where did the time go? It seems like just weeks ago I was pulling all-nighters at work, continuing at home after getting all my siblings settled and working until four in the morning.
It’s the small things that make me realize that I’m not getting any younger and remind me that the big four-oh is creeping closer and closer.
I turn around to find a table to sit on. Before I know it, I hear a familiar chuckle and my eyes gravitate to a table to my right. The one where Lily sits.
Even with her back facing me, I can hear her voice as she talks to the man sitting on the opposite side of her table.
Raising my eyebrow, I step closer. I pride myself in knowing most people in the industry, but I've never seen that man before, so my curiosity is piqued, pounding headache forgotten .
Well, I guess I'm about to find out who he is, because the only empty table in the room is the one right next to them.
"Morning," I grumble as I set down my plate and scoot back the chair.
"Good morning," Lily replies, sounding a lot more cheerful than yesterday.
Her whole mood seems to have improved. To be fair, I also wouldn't have been in a great mood if the airline had lost my luggage somewhere along the way.
"And you are?" I turn to the guy, not being subtle at all.
"I'm Felix," he introduces himself with a grin and extends his hand for a firm handshake. "Lily's assistant."
"Ah," I say and nod as he retracts his hand. "Good to meet you. I’m Adam Walker from Croney."
"Everyone knows who you are," he chuckles and digs right back into his food. Food that looks an awful lot different than what I got at the buffet.
"Where did you get a croissant?"
"I went to the convenience store this morning to get myself a stronger coffee and buy some snacks for the day," Lily chimes in, pointing at the assortment of pastries on the table. I hadn’t even realized they were there. "I used to love that chocolate croissant, and since I have a sweet tooth in the morning, I got myself breakfast while I was at it."
"I might steal your idea for tomorrow," I say and take the chopsticks to dig around in one of the bowls. I love an umami breakfast, but mine usually consists of an omelet or bacon. Having rice, fish and soup is definitely a new experience.
But after a few tries to pick up rice with my chopsticks, I give up. Now that I’m sitting, the headache is back and my brain can’t seem to manage coordinating my fingers the way I want it to. Good thing they have forks as well, even though it gets me amused looks from the neighboring table.
"Anyways." Felix turns his head to Lily. "Did your suitcase arrive yet? Or do we need to go shopping this evening? I found some shops online that could work."
"It arrived." Lily's voice is painted with relief and her whole face lights up. "I collected it at the reception this morning. I’ve got to say, I didn’t believe in it.”
“Understandable.” Felix nods and takes a sip of his coffee. “America could never.”
“Maybe they would.” Lily chuckles.
“But it would have taken them a month or longer,” I can’t help but mutter under my breath, making the two of them glance over to me.
"I know, right?" Lily rolls her eyes. "Anyway, I’m glad they found it. I really wasn't sure what I'd do if it had gotten lost."
I raise my eyebrow, then quickly lower it when it sends a jolt of pain to the back of my eyes.
"Why? Was there something important in it?” She shakes her head. “Couldn’t you just have gotten new clothes here? What’s the big deal? "
Both of them exchange amused glances before Felix bursts into a giggle, which he tries to hide behind his coffee cup as he pretends to take a sip of his drink.
"Huh?” I narrow my eyes at them, feeling like I'm the butt of a joke. “What did I say wrong?"
"It's nothing," Lily assures me, but I see her cheeks darken with a blush as Felix starts coughing, a sip of coffee making its way down the wrong pipe I assume.
"Well, it must be something if Mr. Suits over here is about to choke on his coffee."
"It's just that getting new clothes here isn't as easy as you picture it." She shrugs. "Not for me and you’d likely struggle, too."
"Why’s that?" I raise my eyebrows. I’m a regular size, why the hell wouldn’t I find any clothes here?
Lily bites the inside of her cheek to keep a grin from showing, reaching for one of the pastries and gently opening the wrapping before she continues.
"Because, for one, both of us are tall. You're like, what, six foot six?"
"Six four."
She shrugs. "Close enough. You should take a walk through the station later. See how many people of your size you find and you’ll know."
I cock my head and think back. Now that she’s saying it and I look around in the room, I guess she’s right. A lot of the people here seem on the smaller side. Once I look back at her, she continues.
"Well, it’s the same for me. I’m taller than the average demographic and there are certain other reasons-" she rolls her eyes and points towards her chest. "That sometimes make me struggle to find clothes back home as well. So yeah, I'm glad they found it and sent it to me."
"Right," I say again, fighting very hard to not look where her index finger is still pointing. I guess dumb questions lead to dumb answers.
Both of them burst into another giggle at my dumbfounded face and then get up, taking the rest of their snacks and coffee’s along with them.
"I'll see you later, Adam," Lily says with a grin, and the two of them walk off. My gaze trails after them, watching as they whisper animatedly and bump each other’s arms with their elbows.
An uneasy feeling spreads in my stomach, and it’s not because I’m eating breakfast it isn’t used to.
He’s her assistant, right? They seem a lot closer than boss and assistant with the way they are leaning close to each other as they talk and giggle as they walk out of the room.
They look more like they've been friends for half their lives.
Such a different dynamic from Barbara, my assistant back in Philly, and me. The two of us have a firm professional boundary. I only know she’s got kids because she once had to rush out during her workday when her daughter got into a, turns out thankfully minor, car accident.
She's a rock star, though, with eyes like a hawk and a mind like no other when it comes to paperwork. One thing she doesn’t do though is traveling. “I am not setting one foot into one of those hell machines,” she’d already said in her interview and that’s why I’m here by myself.
I’ve caught a few curious glances over the years because of it – seems like it’s expected of CEOs like me to always travel with a personal assistant, but I can still manage well by myself, thank you very much.
With a sigh, I give up on breakfast and get up. I’ve got a long day ahead of me and if I go now, I might make it to a convenience store as well to buy some food for later to get me through it. Maybe after a nap.