Everyone was slow to get up in the morning. They had busted ass last night to get things put away and organized. The hydroponics kits that had been delivered, would be set up later. Ismael was really loving walking downstairs and into the main living area. She noticed that they had forgotten to plug their garmins in so she did that then started on breakfast. Omelet sandwiches were all they were having. Chopping the meat and veggies wouldn't take long. Before cooking anything, she wanted to call Mrs. T. It was about 7pm their time in the states so they should be available.

"Well hello hon! Do you guys get settled in?"

"Yes, we did. Are you busy Mommo?"

"Nope, I'm all yours."

Ishmael went to sit in the doorway of the patio to enjoy the fresh morning air. "Soooo, remember that 'hot' guy in the photo?"

"Of course! What about him."

"He took me to meet his parents yesterday."

"HE DID!! Oh that's awesome hon! So you two are dating now?"

"I don't know what we're doing. He's really nice mom, his parents remind me of you and poppo. So Monday and Tuesday the entire office is spending those two days at his parents house for like a team bonding/relaxing thing."

"Really! That Sneaky sneak, a round about way of spending time with you."

"Ha ha ha haa."

"So what did his parents have to think of you two?"

"I'm pretty sure they like me. Tuesday is his birthday so I'm cooking something special and making cheesecakes. His parents are coming back to join us to wish him a happy birthday."

"Ohhhh! Ishmael, they say a way to a man's heart is through his stomach!"

"He's mom said something similar. Actually she said he'd marry me on the spot."

"Ah, but are you going to give him a chance though? That's the big question."

"Yes, after he introduced me to his parents like that. I figured he can't be all that bad. Plus it would be nice to have someone special."

"Oh I'm so happy for you dear!"

"Thanks moms. Maybe I can get him to facetime you two so you can faux meet him."

"Does he speak english!?"

"Yes, his english is fine."

"Well that's good news dear! Oh, your dad wants to talk to you, hang on."

Sean and Haru came down, the smell of fresh coffee drawing them out of bed.

"Hey kiddo!"

"Hey Poppo!"

"Did you guys get everything put away?"

"Yes, we only had to work half a day yesterday so we came home and worked until it was all done."

"Good, good. Is your power still flickering?"

"Yes, it's getting more frequent now."

"I see, it's doing the same here. Is your brother around?"

"Yup! Here is he."

Ishmael got off the floor and went over to the kitchen table. "Dad wants to talk to you." She handed him the phone and got started on breakfast.

"Hey Pops!"

"Hey kiddo! How are things going out there?"

"Good! Yesterday was payday and we are wanting to get some cash to keep at the house. Plus me and Haru need some new work clothes."

"Sounds good, am I on speaker?"

"Yeah?"

"Morning Haru!"

"Morning sir!"

"You guys have anything else you need to get?"

"No pops, I think we pretty much got everything we could think of. We replaced one of the glass doors with a metal one."

"Ok, well I think you guys are as prepared as you can be. Just keep in touch and we'll do the same. I guess we're supposed to facetime your sis's new boyfriend!"

"Good! Well he passed the big brother test!"

"Well, well that says a lot! Okay I'm going to let you guys go, I need to finish up our solar batteries. Love you guys."

"Love you too!"

"Love you Poppo/Mommo!"

"Talk to you soon!"

Ishmael returned to the table with the sandwiches. Breakfast done, kitchen cleaned, they all helped fold laundry.

"So what are we doing today?" Ishmael was resting her head on the table.

"You said you wanted to get some cash to keep at the house, so we're going to the 7-eleven. Then we want to go to H&M."

"Okay, sounds good. Ah! I need to check if there's a steamer out at the house."

Ishmael sent Seo a private message asking if they had a steamer. He promptly replied that he would ask his mom. If not, he would get one. Ishmael replied with a smiley face and let him know that her folks wanted to meet him via facetime. He was excited and told her they could do that on Monday.

"Joon is talking to moms and pops on Monday."

"Ooohhh, meeting the parents before the first date! That's so Asian little sis."

"Oh hush! So how are you two getting along?"

"Great!" The two gave each other a quick kiss. Everyone went to get dressed to go out. Ishmael decided to bake some cookies for both days, peanut butter and chocolate chip since the house actually had a real oven. Something that wasn't common in Japan but his grandmother loved to bake so she had one installed. Baking would go quicker with an oven. She needed to stop at Daiso to get some cookie scoops, baking trays and silicon mats.

Grabbing their packs and getting into the car, they started their day. Driving to the 7-eleven, they each got $200 in cash to keep at the house for emergencies. As Sean drove by some office buildings; which was rare as Haru usually drove, Ishmael saw one for sale that had wonderfully large windows.

"Hey stop ge!"

Sean whipped into a parking spot. "What are we stopping here for?"

"I want to look at this building!" The space was perfect. Peeking in the windows, the space was open with finished cement floors and exposed brick walls and hvac ducts on the ceiling. Next door was a coffee/shop cafe and on the other side a salon. "Come here and look at this!" She was waving for the guys to get out and see what she was looking at.

The three of them were standing there, faces plastered against the glass.

"So what do you guys think?!"

"Uhhh...you're buying an office building now?"

"No dork! Do you think this would be nice for us to use as an office? We could put the cubbies in the middle, Joon and Hideki can have their offices off to the left, our break area can go on the right, bathrooms in the back and Min's desk could go up front! There's even a rooftop area with stuff growing!"

"You know what little sis...This place is pretty awesome!"

"Oooooo Ishmael?   What are you cooking up?!"

"The office we're in now, they are raising the rent to a ridiculous level. I'm trying to talk Joon into getting his own space. I'm going to call the realtor!"

"Why you?"

"Cause I'm his assistant!" She gave Sean one of her, 'I'm being serious here' faces.

Dialing, a man answered on the second ring. Ishmael asked him a slew of questions. How soon could they look inside, If the price was negotiable and what all it included, if there was a cash discount, how long it had been on the market and what the previous tenant was and who was the seller. The call lasted for about 15 minutes and the guys were getting restless. Hanging up Ishmael started doing a little dance on the sidewalk. People walking by were pointing and laughing at her. She ran over and shook both Sean and Haru by the arm.

"Aghghghg!  You're not going to believe who owns the building!" Now she was on a whole 'nother level as she began bouncing around.

"Who!?"

"Aikaba! I'm calling Joon right now!" He picked before the first ring ended.

"Ishmael?"

"What are you doing!? Are you busy?"

"Uhh..no, I forgot something at the office. I'm walking to my car, do you need something?"

"I need you to come to?....I don't even know where I'm at. Where are we ge?"

"What are you doing Ishmael?"

"Hold on!"

Sean told her the address and she relayed it to Seo, asking him to stop by as she had something important. She didn't tell him that he was meeting with a realtor or Aikaba. Seo agreed and would be there in 10 minutes. Aikaba and the realtor were down the street at another one of his properties and would be there shortly.

Ishmael was now beaming.

"What the hell are you doing xiao mei mei?"

"Okay. So. Maybe, if Aikaba gets here before Joon, I can talk to him and negotiate a better price because this has been sitting empty for almost 7 months. Ehhhh! I can't talk, we need to research real quick!"

"WE?!"

"Yes! This could be our new office dorks! Come on and see how many offers have been made, why it's still sitting here, and more about the structure!"

The guys relented as Ishmael was all fired up about it. Luckily they had their tablets and quickly took up spots on the window ledge. Each researching one of the key points she mentioned.

[Sean]: Okay, there have been 4 offers made in the last 5 months but the potential buyers had to back out at the last minute, not enough funds.

[Haru]: Checking out other purchases in the area, this building is listed at more than triple for what it was purchased for. That includes all three units. The only work done was a new roof, 3 years ago by the previous owner but that was just for the salon section. The floor was recently done for the empty portion.

[Ishmael]: Okay. Aikaba purchased this 9 months ago at a killer price, but that was for the entire structure and it was just an empty warehouse. Somehow he managed to have the separate units appraised individually. This unit has a slightly higher value as it's bigger than the two on the end but the listed value is almost 3 times the appraised value. No bank will give a loan for more than what a property is worth. Which is why it's still sitting here! The two end units are being rented, but the....Ah! So you can either rent this unit or purchase the entire building." Ishmael did a quick check of property values in the area and they have increased by 20% as the area is attracting more residential units.

"So what do you think sis?"

"Hmm, rent is at $2200/month. A little more than what other commercial rentals this size are going for in the area. But this is on a main street with lots of foot traffic and it's just a single story and not a high-rise, that's rare to find in Tokyo. Sale price for the entire building is $350k, BUT it was only purchased for $95k and the appraised value is...$127k. Aikaba is trying to bank over $200k on this!"

"Wow! No one is going to pay that price!"

"Only if they are desperate!" Haru was shocked at the amount that was being asked.

"Sorry guys I know you had plans today."

"Nope, you're fine sis! If Seo can get this space we can ride bikes to work!"

Seo got there before Aikaba and the realtor. Getting out of his car he quickly rushed over to them.

"Ishmael? You okay?"

"I'm fine. Uhhh..." she shook her head to get rid of the doubt that was creeping in. "Okay so, we saw this space for lease/sale and we did some research on it... just look in the window and tell me what you think?"

Ishmael, without thinking, grabbed Seo's hand and pulled him over to look in the window. She stood next to him and explained what she had to the guys. Finished looking, she quickly relayed all the details they had found out about the space. Sean and Haru filling him in on their part and Ishmael rounding it out. Seo stood there for a minute with a blank look on his face. Ishmael thought maybe he wasn't interested and considered this all a bother. He turned to Sean.

"Is she always like this?"

"Yeah, when she's passionate about something."

"I see. Ishmael do you still have the data pulled up on your tablet?"

She reluctantly handed it to him. He took a seat on the window ledge and scrolled through what she had found. She was glad that Aikaba was late. Seo handed the tablet back to her without saying anything and walked into the cafe.

"Maybe this was a bad idea guys, sorry."

"Hold on little sis, you don't know that yet." Haru was trying to keep the positive vibe going. After a few minutes, Seo came out and walked over to the salon. All three of them looked over to the doorway, wondering what was going on. Seo exited and made a phone call with his back to them. He was on the phone for awhile, long enough for Aikaba and the realtor to arrive. Again Ishmael had to think fast and stall for time as Seo was still on the phone.

"Shit...I got this." Ishmael took a deep breath and walked over to greet them.

Sean and Haru could see her bowing respectfully to both of them and shaking their hands. She was talking to them briefly. Sean and Haru were starting to worry. Sean went to get Seo when he got off the phone.

"Seo?"

"It's fine Sean, I'll take care of it."

"Ah! Seo. I see we get to meet again. Ms. Turner keeps bringing us together."

"That she does. Ishmael I will handle things from here, thank you."

"Yes sir." She bowed again and returned to her brothers. They could see the worry on her face, something that was rare. They stood off to the side, whispering.

"What's going on sis?"

"I don't know. God I hope this works out! If not I'm probably screwed."

"Just relax little sis. They're still talking so that's a plus."

Seo's expression returned to being cold and distant as the men approached the entrance to the vacant unit. Unlocking the door, the realtor ushered them in. The meeting was now over 30 minutes and still going. The trio was so tired of standing that they took a seat in the vehicle after Ishmael treated them to drinks from next door. 15 minutes later, laughter was heard as they neared the exit, the others stood.

"Seo, son. You are truly a lucky man. My previous threat of stealing her from you still stands and I will be keeping my eye on both of you!" Aikaba winked at Ishmael but she was still too worried to respond. Seo shook hands and Aikaba and the realtor left. Seo now turned his focus to the others. He walked over to them and captured Ishmael in a hug. Her body was stiff as a board. Seo pulled away and kissed her on the forehead.

"Thank you MelMel." She just started at him still in shock, right along with the other two. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"Uhh...I don't know what to say..."

"Your sister is a weirdo, you know that right?" Seo was standing with arms crossed looking at Sean.

"A total weirdo! But we love her."

"Understandable. Well, Since we're all here. Say hello to our new office!"

Ishmael broke as she suddenly squealed and jumped at Seo, hugging him back. Luckily he had good reaction time and caught her. Seo gently wrapped his arms around her to take the pressure off of his neck. People in the cafe and on the sidewalk were looking at them; Sean took a picture.

"People are looking at us Ms. Turner."

"I don't care Mr. Seo." She whispered back to him and slid out of his arms. Feet touching the ground she twirled around and hugged Sean and Haru. Standing on the sidewalk, she finally composed herself.

"This is really our new office?!"

"Yes, thanks to the three of you. Especially you Ishmael, Aikaba was once again impressed with your research skills. He was wanting to unload it since he couldn't turn it over quickly. The price was highly negotiable."

"I can't believe it! You have an excellent poker face."

"Yeah, my mom taught me that. So! Now that that is taken care of, I need to get going. You my wonderful little assistant. I will talk to you later. Thank you again." Seo gave her another kiss on the forehead and left.

Ishmael turned to her brothers. "We did it!!"

"You did it little sis."

"I agree with Haru! This was all you MelMel! And it seems your boyfriend is getting bolder. He kissed you!"

"I noticed that."

"Oh sis, you two need to have a talk!"

"I know, I know...I have a feeling that's going to happen Monday and Tuesday."

"Good. Now let's go shopping." Haru gave her a hug and kissed her on the head.