Breaking the Ice

Close for comfort

Toma and his concierge, Anji Nyugumo came to a pottery town in Toyama Prefecture, which was MILES away from the hotel. They traveled overnight to reach the town by morning in search for a man name Ukyo Tono, who's known for his works in ceramics and pottery worldwide. Toma hoped to find Tono and create a business contract with him in order to use some of his works for his hotel.

At first, they didn't have any luck finding him in the pottery stores in town. But after having a lunch break in a high class restaurant, Anji was able to spot one of his works on one of the soup bowls, so they called the chef to ask for directions to Tono's place.

Toma was thrilled when Tono happily agreed to sign a contract with him allowing him to use his dishware and pottery in his hotel. The man even offered free ceramic lessons to the two not only as a thank you gift from him, but to understand the quality of the ceramics and how it's made. But Toma was even more grateful to Anji, for if she hadn't spot his works back at the restaurant, they'd still be searching for him until nightfall with no luck.

Tired and famished, they both arrived at a nearby Inn to rest for the night... however; they were only able to book one room for tonight, so they had to share. But what made Anji even more nervous was that fact that this room only had one bedroom... which meant that she'll actually be staying in the SAME ROOM as her boss!

"Well... are you going to stand at the doorway all night or are you going to come in?" Toma snapped her out of her daze just when her mind was starting to think dirty thoughts on her and her boss.

"Ah, c-coming..." Anji scurried inside with her belongings as Toma sighed and shook his head at his concierge's anxiousness.

"This is the only room they can offer on such short notice, so deal with it. The rest of the rooms are all booked solid" Toma said as he began unpacking his cloths and laptop. "And don't worry; I won't do anything untoward to you during our stay. As I said before: I have no interest in you whatsoever"

"Of course, sir" Anji sighed in relief as she began unpacking her things as well. However, she felt a small twinge in her heart when he told her that he wasn't interested in her. Anji had no idea why she felt that way but for now, she decided to just ignore it.

"Well, I'm going to go take a bath. Is there anything else you need before I go, sir?"

"Nope, that'll be all" Toma waved off at her before opening his laptop to do some work. "Go ahead and take your bath"

"Very well, sir; I'll be in the bath house if you need me" Anji bowed before exiting the room.

Inside the bath house, Anji was soaking quietly in the tub; enjoying the warmth of the mineral water relaxing her body. Soon her thoughts began to drift towards her boss, Toma; starting from the first night she became his private concierge. Anji remembered how frightened she was when Toma tried to make a pass at her (she can still feel the after-effects of how he groped her derrière) just to see if she's the kind of woman who goes after men with money. Not only that, the man was unforgivingly strict about her work performance and her appearance. At one point, Toma almost fired her for not handling a dispute among his brothers! And let's not forget her coffee-making skills (or lack of); that alone seemed to be the very thing that sets Toma off faster than anything.

But today, Toma's been a lot less harsh around her. If anything, he seems nicer and less guarded around her today. Definitely not like yesterday when he cracked the whip on her about her job performance! Not only that, he's even more attentive to her as well. Why, the man bought her a drink despite him being tired from no sleep when they drove here and he treated her to lunch at an expensive restaurant!

Of course, Anji isn't complaining about it! And why would she? If anything, it felt really nice—refreshing, even... to see a softer, gentler side of her boss. Truthfully, that side of him made him a lot more attractive than when he was being strict with her.