“Damn straight.”
“Wiped the Sakamoto legacy right off the face of the earth.”
“Like a hard drive scrubbed clean.”
I laughed. “Well, Jiro helped.”
Miki raised an eyebrow. “Where is he, anyway?”
“You’re never gonna guess where he went.”
“You’re right, so just tell me.”
I set my glass down. “He went to visit his father. To see if he could help figure out this Reina thing.”
Miki froze mid-sip. “What can his father do?”
“Jiro thinks it could be someone pretending to be Reina. Maybe a family member or something.”
“Really? That’s actually plausible. Look at Jiro putting two and two together. Who knew.”
“His father is an ass.”
“I’ll keep my thoughts to myself on how far the apple falls from the tree.”
“Jiro’s different now, Miki. He’s really changed. You could cut him some slack.”
“I could, but it’s so fun to tease him.”
I gave her a look.
“Oh, all right. I admit, this is actually a decent idea. His father is powerful.”
“And dangerous. I’m worried.”
“About what?” Miki paused, her glass halfway to her lips.
“That he’ll rope Jiro into some messed-up contract or something. If he does help, it won’t be out of the kindness of his heart. He’ll want something in return.”
“You might be right about that. But look, let’s not get all doom and gloom right now. Let’s see if Jiro can work something out with his father. If it is someone from the Sakamoto family messing with you, he’ll figure it out. In the meantime, the only thing you need to focus on is Ono Omakase. You’re the heart and soul of that place. Only you can fill that role.
“I mean, I might have the beauty men would die a thousand times over, but I’m not the reason people come to the restaurant. I might have a thicc booty, but that’s not why people make reservations months in advance.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at Miki’s straight face while she made her case. “You’re right. I can’t let the restaurant slip away from me.”
“You won’t, because I’ll be there every step of the way. You’re not alone, Akiko.” She grabbed my hand and raised it. “You’re Rocky Balboa, the lovable underdog.”
“And who are you, the curmudgeonly coach?”
“Uh, no. I’m the spicy, fierce bitch coaching you in the remake.” Miki raised her glass. “Here’s to us and the comeback.”
6
I woke up in bed with a slight headache and brain fog. The clock read a little after 7:00 p.m. Miki was snoring beside me.
Blame the extra champagne. After we finished the one she brought, we’d had two more delivered. Champagne logic: Brunch wasn’t over until the third bottle said so.
Having her there helped more than I’d thought. It felt like old times, and for a while, I forgot about Reina.
