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“It’s strange, isn’t it,” says Kiyomi idly after Lidner’s escorted her into the car. “That Amane didn’t show.”
“It is,” Lidner agrees carefully, not looking at her — as usual, she has one eye out the window. On the lookout for her safety, Kiyomi supposes. She tucks a sardonic smile behind her teeth.
“She wanted to announce her engagement so badly. As her friend, I’m worried.”
“That’s understandable, Miss Takada.”
“And as your employer,” Kiyomi continues, “I wonder why you left so suddenly just an hour before the show?”
Lidner doesn’t freeze, but something in her face sharpens. Kiyomi feels a stab of something like regret. She’s shown her hand too early. That’s always been her problem: she’s a damn show-off.
“I’m sorry for not informing you,” Lidner answers ever so smoothly. “I had a family obligation.”
Kiyomi startles. It’s the first time her bodyguard has ever mentioned anything about her personal life.
“I’m sorry,” she recovers quickly. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
Lidner smiles. There’s an edge to it, an inside joke Kiyomi isn’t getting, which at least is a reassurance that her suspicion isn’t wrong. “It won’t happen again, I promise.”
“See that it doesn’t.” This is a phrase she’s borrowed from television and she’s pleased with the way it rolls off her tongue.
Lidner dips her head in a nod, then turns away to monitor the scenery scrolling past again.
Kiyomi knows she jumps to conclusions, sometimes. Gets caught up in her own rhetoric, forgets the big picture. She’s too polite to be a journalist and too brash to be a politician and now that she’s transcended it, she can see that being a news anchor was killing more and more of her every day. She was born with too many questions and opinions and ideas for her own good.
She’s not wrong about this, though. She’s not.
There’s no point in asking Lidner anything more. Kiyomi knows she won’t get the truth. Kiyomi has always known what Lidner is here for.
Still —
“Miss Lidner.”
“Yes?”
“It’s past midnight,” Kiyomi says, inclining her head towards her bodyguard’s watch. “Happy new year.”
“Oh.” Lidner’s surprise melts into an only slightly crooked smile. Warm. Impossible to know if she’s faking or not. “Happy new year to you, too, Miss Takada.”
Keep your enemies closer, they say. Kiyomi can be forgiven for smiling back.