It was to the brothers’ surprise that Mr. Tachibana appeared at their doorstep, along, of course, with Ms. Ruka. Beth ushered them in. As he requested, the brothers all made their appearances.
Mr. Tachibana couldn’t help himself and counted them.
“One, two, three, four,” he said, now looking at Conrad. Then, “Five, six, and seven.” He ended with Darcy, standing farther away from them with a dark scowl on his face.
“What’s this about?” Darcy asked the designer, coming down the few steps that separated the dining from the living area.
Mr. Tachibana shuffled himself in his seat to make himself comfortable, of course. Then he cleared his throat and began. “Did you call me earlier today, Nicolas-kun?”
At Nicolas’s nod, Mr. Tachibana asked, “What did you want me for?”
“I was
