Whole

Chapter 21

He is toooooo cuuuuttteee <3

Katsuko's POV

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please." Our big boss, Mr. Yamamoto, a middle-aged man with greying dark hair, smiled as he stood at the front of the entire floor.

Everyone stopped what they were doing. The sounds of laughter and chatter ceased, the sound of keyboards typing and phones going off stopped as their attention turned to him.

"I am incredibly pleased to announce, our next line in Sony cell phones is now complete. It is now in for mass production for the official release next month. Our beta testers have responded beyond our expectations, and I think this will path the way for future cell phone technology. For that, we have an extraordinary team to thank. Ms. Shimizu, may I borrow you up here, please?"

Atsumi gave me a wink, while Haru patted my shoulder and Katashi grinned. I took a deep breath and got up from my seat, walking over to him as he smiled.

"Ms. Shimizu, it was your team who was behind our next masterpiece. You've been here less than a year and achieved more than most do in their lifetime working here. We are very proud and grateful you accepted our job offer and uprooted your life from America to join us. As thanks, please take these envelopes. Inside, you will find all the details you will need for tomorrow, as we are sending all four of you off for a day of relaxation and enjoyment. You will also, of course, be recieving your very own personalized versions of the phones in the next few days. Would you like to say something?"

I turned myself to the crowd of people waiting intently for me to say something. I cleared my throat and began to speak, "Uh, I don't know what to say. Mr. Yamamoto, thank you for taking a chance on me and giving me this job, it's been a dream come true. My father once worked here, and I'm proud I can follow in his footsteps. To my team, Haru, Atsumi, Katashi, thank you for being the best kind of friends I could ask for. I really couldn't ask for a better group of people to work alongside. As for everyone else, thank you so much for your support during this project. It's meant the world to me, and I love you all. That's all I can say."

"Very well." Mr. Yamamoto nodded with a full smile, "Please enjoy your day off, and we look forward to future innovations from your team. Please, everyone, help yourselves to the celebratory food and drinks we've laid out in the staff room and take the rest of the day off. Thank you."

The whole floor erupted into cheers as my cheeks flushed, and I took the envelopes he held out to me before I made my way back to my team.

"We did it!" Haru beamed, wrapping his arms around me.

"Damn, just think, we can walk past a cell store, see this phone and know we created it. It's insane!" Katashi grinned, giddy with excitement.

"All thanks to our amazing team leader, Kat." Atsumi nodded in agreement.

"It was all your guys, honest; you're the best. Also, as a thank you, Masato got you all VIP tickets to their show in Taiwan next Saturday. I'll give you the details and tickets tomorrow. The boys pooled together to pay for your flights to join them."

"Your boyfriend is the best, Kat! I think I might be in love with him." Katashi joked.

"Hands off, the boy is mine." I chuckled, "Now, let's go eat that food before everyone else does!"

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"I'm so proud of you, baby." Masato sounded happily over the phone.

It had been a long two weeks without him since he left. I felt as if this massive part of me was missing, and no matter how happy I was, I wasn't entirely satisfied. The phone calls and skype dates helped a little, although they also made it worse at the same time.

I could hear his voice, I could see his smile, listen to the sound of his laughter, but I couldn't touch him. I couldn't hold him or kiss him, or feel his arms around me. I longed so badly to feel his lips against mine once more, or his arms tight as he held me close, wrapping me in the safety of them.

The first couple of days had been the worst, so much so, Atsumi decided to stay with me. She laid in bed with me at night, holding me, letting me cry after Masato, and I hung up. Being apart from him was so much harder than it had been the week he was in Seattle.

"I'm proud of you, too. Ryo said most of your shows have sold out now."

"Yeah, it's crazy! People really love this album, and honestly, I think it's our best, too. I really fucking miss you, though, Kat. Next Friday cannot come quick enough."

"I miss you, too. I can't wait until I can finally feel your arms around me again."

"Nor can I, baby. Is everything okay, though?"

"Yeah, besides missing you. Don't worry, Atsumi and the two boys have been keeping me plenty busy."

A pang of guilt struck me for the small lie. They had been keeping me busy, but the reality was, everything wasn't okay. All of this was far harder than I thought it was going to be. It had barely been two weeks and I felt the strain of the distance between us. It was like an invisble rope was between us, and the further away he got, the harder it pulled. As it pulled, it tugged against my heart, causing pain to grip at it.

"Good. Oh, hang on, Ryo is trying to hijack my pho-"

"Hi, cousin!"

I couldn't help but chuckle, "Hey, Ryo."

"Nice to know now you're shacking up with Masato, he gets that kind of news first! Just remember, when you're running that company, who is the best cousin ever, you hear me?"

"I'm sorry, next time I'll text you both at the same time."

"Damn right! Hang on; I'm going to put you on the loudspeaker, the boys want to say something." I heard a click, and suddenly I was tearing the phone away from my ear as they all screamed.

"We miss you, Kat!"

I fell back on my bed in a fit of laughter, I could tell by the way their words were slightly slurred, and how loud they were, they were drunk.

"I miss you guys, too. I'll see you next weekend."

"WOO! Party with the Kitty Kat!" Sugi cheered, "We can watch her rinse Masato at Mario Kart for the one-hundredth time!"

"All right, assholes, off you fuck." Masato laughed. A sound of ruffling came from the receiver along with footsteps.

"Drunk much?"

"They are, yes. I've escaped to the backroom for now, but I fear I may not be safe for long."

"Go, go join your friends, I'm kind of beat, and the limo is picking us up at six in the morning. The resort is over in Kanazawa, so we're leaving early."

"Damn, that company is spoiling you! Well, enjoy your relaxing day, and I'll call you on skype tomorrow once we're done with the show. We're in a hotel room tomorrow so that we won't have any rude interruptions."

"I can't wait. I love you, Masato."

"I love you, too, Katsuko, Koneko, baby." He made a kissing sound, which made me chuckle as I returned it. "Bye, baby."

"Bye." We stayed on the line for another minute, before we finally hung up. I quickly changed into one of his hoodies, dousing it in a fresh coating of his aftershave. I grabbed the Itachi plush he'd brought me a couple of months ago, pulling it close to me and drifted off to sleep.