S C A N D A L

Chapter Three

"You're only meeting him, you're not marrying him right away," Yoshihiro reminded him.

Shiro was seated near the window of his room upstairs the following day and witnessed the arrival of a black Cadillac Escalade in front of the house. His mother's maid who was sweeping the front porch hurried to open the gate and let the vehicle inside the rather small and shabby parking space, almost knocking down one of Okasan's potted plants.

He tried to gaze outside with Yoshi beside him, but the proximity wouldn't allow him to make out his features. But he could tell by the easy grace he moved and how he gently assisted a woman out of the vehicle, that he must be highly educated and his manners were impeccable.

There was another man with them, who was a few inches shorter than the younger. This must be Takeo Matsumoto. How special he must be that the billionaire had to grace him with his presence. Even Kumiko didn't expect Takeo to accompany the mother and son to their house.

Judging by their expensive ride, Shiro could tell that they probably owned more than one and his "fiancé" must have a fine selection of luxury cars. Perhaps, there would be one for him too.

Cars had been his passion for as long as he could remember, but he had never had a good one of his own. By the time he graduated from his father's old truck and second-hand sedan, there had been no money to buy a luxury brand for the son of the house. Some of his friends back in Ehime owned one and whenever Shiro was allowed to ride one, he would drive alongside the mountains where he had learned how to drift.

A smile touched his lips. As he had been told, there were advantages to being married to a billionaire. He wondered how surprised his mother would be if he told her that he would marry the man for his cars!

Then, his humor swiftly faded. Marry him? How could he even think of it as a joke? His mother's harangues must be rubbing on him. Turning around, he went to face the mirror and studied his appearance. "Damn it, he's here!" he muttered under his breath. "How do I look?"

Yoshihiro studied him for a while. "Good. You look pretty. You always do."

Shiro couldn't help wincing. "I don't want to look pretty; I want to look more handsome than he is! By the way, why does this shirt feel tight? Has it shrunk?"

His cousin chuckled. "Maybe because your chest is getting bigger? Leave it alone, you're filling it out nicely."

"I don't seem like overweight, right?" For some reason, he was anxious.

"No, you're slender. Lithe muscles but they are not fat, just curves. Trust me, your curves are in the right places."

Shiro grimaced. "Stop making it sound like I'm a girl!"

"Well, you're acting like a girl!"

Shiro looked at the softly rounded tops of his chest and shook his head. "This shirt exposes too much of me. Let me borrow your pullover."

"You have one on your dresser!"

"Yours look nicer and bigger. Why do you wear bigger clothes when you're so small?"

"A 168 cm is not small, you're just too tall!" Yoshi snapped and pushed the pullover to his chest.

Grinning, Shiro mouthed the word 'thanks' and wore it. As they were finishing the task, Kumiko entered the room and paused to survey her son from head to toe. "The Matsumoto's are in the living room. Are you ready?"

Shiro was biting the inside of his lip as he took a final glance at himself from the mirror. His hair was shiny and neatly done, and his lips were naturally pink but his cheeks were too pale making his eyes a lot narrower than intended. All in all, he looked like a country bumpkin, pretty but perhaps not the type to catch the eye of the man in town. Well, wasn't that what he wanted? He certainly didn't want to attract him! In fact, he should do the opposite. His appearance was simply just a matter of pride.