Sakura Tanaka, Lady of Beauty – Part 1

It didn’t turn out right. It was supposed to be a dragon, but this piece of artwork looked more like a teddy bear gone seriously wrong than a dragon. Sakura Tanaka sighed with vexation as she put down the jug of hot milk. She’d just have to practice some more, she supposed.

She placed the two cups of coffee onto an antique silver tray and turned to her two guests, brother and sister Luke and Jane Hamilton, who were waiting patiently for their hot drinks.

“Sorry about that,” she said softly, placing the tray onto the coffee table before them. “My coffee art seems to have taken a turn for the worse recently.”

“No worries,” Jane said, gladly taking a cup. “I’m not here for the art. I’m here for the coffee. It’s totally worth waiting for.” She inhaled the lovely aroma as she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her thick glasses were already fogged up from the hot steam. Jane didn’t care, however, and took a quick sip. The hot liquid burned her tongue, and she quickly swallowed. Then she huffed and puffed, sticking her tongue out to let it cool.

Sakura laughed at her friend’s reaction. This attracted Luke’s attention.

The man couldn’t help but gaze at her, taking in her exotic beauty. To say she was beautiful was an understatement, as there was nothing he could think of that could compare to her uniqueness. Her long tresses, an ombre of pale blond and brown, were braided loosely and resting on the left side of her slender shoulders. The length reached all the way down to her waist. Her skin, smooth and porcelain white, begged to be caressed and touched. Then there were those eyes—the two different colors, one azure-blue and the other mauve-gray, so mysterious and intense, and they fascinated him so much he couldn’t stop staring. Those weren’t her real eye colors, and Luke knew for a fact they must be brown. Though how dark and how deep he wasn’t sure.

This new obsession of his was to Luke’s mind merely an observation and nothing more. Luke liked to observe—that was what he told himself he was doing—observing and not gawking at Sakura Tanaka, the gallery owner, painter, and freelance photographer.

Today she was wearing one of her long, flowing skirts and a peachy-white blouse she buttoned all the way up to her swanlike neck. The front of the pretty blouse also had frills, which added more femininity to her already elegant and feminine person.

To Luke, Sakura looked like a noble Victorian lady, refined and elegant and certainly to be valued like a precious diamond no commoner like himself could ever afford or touch. She should be put upon a pedestal to be marveled at with love and affection. That was what Sakura Tanaka was to Luke, and he was sure she gave the same impression to every other man who happened to catch a glimpse of her as well.

“Dear me, Jane,” Sakura said. “You should at least have waited until it cooled a bit. How’s your tongue?”

Jane pulled a face and nudged her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Blast it! It burns, Sakura! It burns.”

Sakura laughed again. “Who told you to hurry? No one’s going to steal your coffee.”

Luke said, “It’s a privilege to drink your coffee, Sakura. Those famous cafés up in Manhattan cannot compare. I’d gladly pay for mine if only you’d let me.”

“Don’t be silly!” She waved, frowning at him.

Gosh, Luke thought, she still looks pretty even with the frown on her face.

Sakura turned her attention to her friend Luke Hamilton, who happened to come into her gallery six months ago, looking to buy some paintings and photographs for his boss, who he’d never named. The boss liked to keep his identity anonymous, Luke had told her when she happened to ask him one day. Sakura didn’t mind, just as long as this boss liked her paintings and photographs and bought them regularly. That was all she asked for, to keep her business afloat.

Then she turned her attention to Jane Hamilton. Her friend was in her late twenties, though she didn’t know the exact number because Jane was very sensitive about the subject. Sakura, however, secretly knew she was still a virgin, as was she. To be honest, Sakura was rather surprised Jane was still single since she was quite pretty with pale-blond hair and bright-green eyes. In fact, her eyes were so like the emerald gemstone that if anyone were to look closer, they’d be surprised at how beautiful and lively they could be. If only Jane were to discard her thick, very unfashionable glasses and wear contact lenses instead, Sakura knew for certain men would fall at her feet.

Sakura watched as Jane sipped her coffee, this time very slowly, savoring the beautiful flavor.

“Now then, are you so very sure I’m allowed to come tomorrow?” Sakura asked suddenly. “I mean, I’m not bothering you or anything?”

“Of course,” Jane put in immediately. “I’m an assistant of an assistant of Mr. Tachibana. I help organize everything. I’m the third boss behind the scene.” Then she muttered to herself, “If only they recognized my talent.”

Sakura didn’t hear that last bit as she was too busy thinking about something else. She felt her heart do a somersault at the thought that tomorrow she’d be able to really see her mother, Haruka Tanaka. She licked her lip and said, “I promise I won’t get into any messes. I mean, I won’t interfere with anything because I know how hectic it is backstage before the show.”

Jane nodded. “But you have to know if, and I mean only if, things get out of hand, I’ll need your help?”

Sakura nodded. “I understand. Of course I’ll help you in any way I can. Not that I know much about the backstage stuff though.”

“The Princeton Hotel is quite big,” Jane said absentmindedly, cocking her head to one side.

Sakura’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of the Princeton Hotel. She knew the event would be taking place there. She also knew Nicolas Princeton was now the CEO of Princeton Group. It was hard to miss since it was all over the news for a couple of weeks.

Sakura wondered if Nicolas would be attending the fashion event tomorrow. What about the rest of the brothers? Would they be there, too? God! She hoped not. However, Sakura had already made up her mind that come hell or high water, she’d be there to meet her biological mother in person. Nothing was going to stop her, not even the presence of the Princeton brothers—her seven adoptive brothers.

“I would imagine there’d be lots of people there,” Jane continued. “Last I heard, there’s going to be at least two thousand guests there to see Mr. Tachibana’s spring-summer collections. Mind you, most of his collections are eveningwear, though there are some daywear and swimwear as well.”

“He designs for men, too,” Luke put in. “His taste is very top-notch. I was in his new department store a few weeks back with the boss.” By the boss, he meant Sebastian Princeton.

“Only the rich and famous can afford his brand,” Jane said matter-of-factly. “And we are certainly not the rich and famous.”

“Don’t you like Mr. Tachibana?” Sakura asked. “You’re working for him.”

Jane laughed. “Yes, of course.”

Sakura had the sudden urge to ask Jane about her biological mother. She really couldn’t help herself and blurted out, “Isn’t there a woman named Haruka Tanaka working for Mr. Tachibana as well?”

Jane glanced at her friend, her eyes large. She slowly nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “Though we all call her Ms. Ruka.” She leaned toward Sakura as she added, “She won’t tolerate anyone calling her anything else.”

Sakura cocked her head to one side. “Really?”

Jane nodded again. “She’s lovely but also very feisty. She likes men. The hotter, the better.”

Sakura frowned at that. “Why doesn’t she like anyone to call her by her real name?”

“Huh?” Then Jane laughed, wondering why her friend was so interested in Ms. Ruka, the famous Japanese stylist who had changed her name from Jiro Tanaka to Haruka Tanaka. Ms. Ruka was transgender after all, and why she’d decided to choose the exact same name as the well-known, wealthy Haruka Suzuki, the owner and designer of Jade Jewelry Co., was beyond her.