25 Women 1 Wife. (A Skip Beat! Fanfic)

Julie's Challenge

When the remaining four worked their way down to the breakfast table the next morning after seeing their two friends and Tama safely off, they were surprised to find that Julie was already sitting there waiting for them.

"Good morning ladies." her smile was warm and welcoming as they all bowed and greeted the woman called the most beautiful in the world. The normally oversize table had now been swapped for a small intimate table. Kyoko allowed Maemi and Sachi to take the seats next to Julie as she sat down next to Seina, who offered her a tentative smile and greeting of her own. Kyoko sat and began eating while the others ate and chatted. She kept glancing around every few minutes.

"What's wrong Kyoko-chan?" Julie asked. She had been talking with the other girls all the time she had wanted to smile at her adoptive 'sons' behaviour. She was the one who noticed...She would always notice Julie realised as Kyoko turned her attention back to Julie.

"Kuon normally eats with us in the mornings unless he is out on a date. I was just wondering if he was well as he hasn't come down yet." Julie tried to hide the smile that came to her lips, but she couldn't help it as the other women suddenly realised the main man was missing too. They had been so wrapped up in the beautiful woman before them they had hardly realised that Kuon wasn't present. Maemi clenched her fists below the table in agitation. Yet again Kyoko had shown just how much she thought about Kuon in her simple words.

"And why does that bother you so much? Am I not good enough company?" Julie pasted on her fake pout as she raised her cup to her lips, faking hurt as Kyoko literally jumped up from the table bowing and muttering.

"No! No! Of course not Julie-sama... It's just.." Kyoko looked away embarrassed as all eyes turned to the now blushing actress. "He doesn't eat very well when left to his own devices, normally just snack food onigiri so I just thought..." But Kyoko never told them what she thought as she sat down again blushing profusely.

"Kuon is a grown man Kyoko-chan. I'm sure he can look after himself." Maemi added not looking at anyone as she continued to eat. Julie never showed it but her feelings towards the girl beside her shifted slightly as she looked between Kyoko and the girl who had just made her adoptive 'son' squirm.

"If it makes you feel better Kyoko-chan, Kuon has gone out for breakfast with the boss and his farther. For male bonding time." Julie added air quotes to the last few words as the twins chuckled.

"I bet Kuon will be enjoying that." Sachi added as Seina tried not to spit out the mouthful of juice she had just taken.

Julie smiled a wicked smile. "Well what other choice did I have when I will be the one naming the challenge this week. And one of the main points of this challenge is that Kuon must not know."

All eyes turned to Julie as she smiled. "So who can tell me why this week is special?" she asked looking around at each girl.

Kyoko looked right at Julie as she swallowed dryly, looking between the other girls who looked perplexed. "It's Kuon's birthday on Sunday." Kyoko stated barely louder than a whisper as all eyes now snapped from Julie to her.

"Precisely." the 3 other women at the table appeared shocked.

"It had completely slipped my mind!" Sachi was the first to speak honestly, as Julie nodded understandingly.

"Now ladies your task this week will be a difficult one. In your lines of work you have to work not only with the public, but also with each other. Even when the person you may be asked to work with is your greatest rival, you must always work professionally to reach a joined goal. You have just these two days to plan and execute a birthday party for my son. I will be there every step of the way. You will be working as a team, and the dates this week will be planned by you as your birthday gift to my son. Any questions?"