"Ready to begin the work, CHIEF!" A loud voice almost screamed.
Wah, he almost had a heart attack there. He had nearly jumped out of his chair with that sudden vocal explosion coming from the young woman who had her eyes fixed on him.
He just wished no one had seen the surprised look on his face. But he was pretty sure no one would dare look in his direction.
Pulling himself together, he looked up from his desk to look to her left, and of course, there she was: a young woman - maybe a young girl? She looked quite young - staring at him so intently that she could have drilled a hole in his head.
Maybe she thought she was intimidating because she was standing while he was sitting at her desk. Maybe that was where his confidence came from, to look at him so intently.
But… That face… Wait a minute…
"Hum… Y… You're...?" he asked troubled, but not the least impressed.
The young woman, probably in her twenties, had long black hair parted in the middle, and long enough to reach down to the middle of her back. Her gray eyes moved to him as if she was really trying to memorize his features. Or maybe curse him. That or she needed glasses.
But he couldn't forget such a face, could he? So where had he seen her before?
"I'm the new recruit under your management, Chief Kobayashi!" she beamed at him with a grin.
Ah, she's way too energetic for me, this one. And I already have twenty people under me, can't they cut me some slack there? He thought. And why does her face reminds me so much of…
"Are you sure you're not mistaken, Miss…?" he asked, returning her a severe look.
She's interrupting my work, not even introducing herself before doing so. He mentally complained.
"I'm Shinohara Hana, Chief," she said with a solemn voice. Then she looked at him again with furrowed brows, as if she didn't like seeing him. "I have been assigned to your section, starting today. I'm a new recruit, but I hope to be useful from now on. "
Erk, she looks at me too much. I'm not used to people making long eye contact with me. Is she perhaps trying to push me back? Or to establish its position? And what's that way she looks at me? He thought.
Wait… the way she looks at me?
"Then, Shinohara-san, you're disturbing the peace in this office, right now", he threatened, glaring back at her. "So you better find yourself a spot, or else I'll get rid of you right this instant".
He waved his hand at her, to chase her away with that gesture. The young woman's eyebrows seemed to furrow even more, as if he had really displeased her by doing what he had just said and done.
Hey, who cares. If you're not happy, just go away.
But eventually, she looked away, surveying the shared space that took up half the floor. There were a lot of offices, sometimes side by side, sometimes face to face. But all separated by light gray partition screens. Some of them were busy, some not. Sometimes there were pictures taped on the separator screen, sometimes small green potted plants. Or even a plush toy. Every small detail that said "someone works here", for when the computer screen wasn't displaying anything but black; or if there weren't any nameplate displayed.
She then spotted an empty desk without any personal effects.
Kobayashi Shinsuke's gaze followed the young woman's one, landing on a desk two rows away from his own seating position.
Ah yes, Shingo's desk. It's been a month since he resigned, huh?
He quickly ran his hand over his chin, feeling his almost permanent three-day-old beard under his fingers.
Yet, he couldn't shake off a feeling of impending dread, coming right from his guts. He knew her, but from where, and when?
The young woman then threw him another intense look, and Shinsuke felt a shiver. It looked like she would behead him right on the spot. Yet she didn't, and soon, she was seating at the desk she'd set her views upon, already switching on the computer in front of her.
That was a bit unsettling. The way she was looking at him froze his blood in his veins. Almost as if he was feeling threatened by the sudden attention on his person. He definitely didn't like it. So the faster she was focused on doing something rather than glaring at him at any chance she had, the better.
But he wasn't going to give her anything to do right now, since she had to get accustomed to her desk's position and all. He was a jerk and was known as such, but he had manners and shit.
"Manners"… The word echoed in his mind. He'd heard it not too long ago. Maybe he was still a bit feeling the hangover from yesterday… But, whatever.
Soon, Shinsuke refocused on the quote he was working on when a light and clear sound echoed multiple times within the floor. Like an echo spreading everywhere in the air, connecting by an invisible thread all workstations. Even coming from his own computer.
Wasn't that the email notification system?
He minimized the accounting program window and looked for the shortcut to open the email inbox. And there it was. A discreet email with star emoticons in the subject field.
What the heck was that?
Opening said email, he saw only three lines of text inside.
"From: shinohara.h@marline-insurance.co.jp
Subject: (star) (star) Hello!
Hi! I'm the newbie! Pleased to meet you all!
I'd like to celebrate by offering you all something to drink, so tell me if you'd like something for this morning's break!"
What a bold way to introduce yourself to your coworkers. But an inappropriate one. She even included him, her direct supervisor, in her mailing list. And what's with the cute emoticons?
He shuddered.
No way…
Looking up from his computer, and above the partitioning screen, there she was; glaring at him again with her gray eyes. All the way from the empty desk on which her slender figure now sat.
A clear and direct view from a higher place. He almost felt the daggers she mentally threw at him.
"Shinohara-san, you're not a fricking monkey, so get off there!" he yelled, angered and annoyed at the same time.
His angry voice startled a lot of people, especially those with their desks closest to his own. But not the intended target.
She wickedly smiled before getting off her newly acquired desk and seating correctly on her seat.
Ah, what the hell…
He grumbled to himself, then resumed his accounting work, not even answering her strange email. It had been only ten minutes or so, and he already had to scream after her. He was having the mother of all headaches, and that wasn't going at all to help with his work.
She's definitely going to be a handful, this one.
He heard some idle chat and a few repressed laughs, and couldn't help it but looked again above the partitioning screen anyway. She'd started to make small talk with the man and the woman who had their desk on each side of her own. And even with the dude right in front of her. A real chatterbox, spawning that unnerving smile of hers to whoever would answer her. That smile… It was bad news for him.
That… Smile?
Now he was sure. He'd seen that woman, yesterday.
She was trying so hard to make acquaintances with her coworkers. But he'd already forwarded a dozen of emails for her to work on. Not giving her anything to do? Screw that. If she was speaking there and then with everyone, she could as well already work on some stuff. And in the process forget about him altogether.
She'd better start working right away, or else...
Eventually, morning's break came by, and the newbie went out quickly, taking the elevator to leave the floor. No more small talk, or smiles being thrown at everyone at any time.
He sighed.
"She's really a bright one, heh?" said the tall man occupying the desk to his right.
Shinsuke glanced distractedly to him; Ogawa Saizo. Carefree and easygoing attitude, mid-length sand-colored hair, rectangular glasses framing green eyes. One of the very few, if not the only one, able to withstand his "bad temper", as the gossips liked to say about him.
But really, he was just enforcing work on everyone slacking off.
"What do you want, Saizo?" he spat, eyebrows knitted together, but rather in annoyance than confusion.
The man clad in a full light grey three-piece suit adorned by a dark green necktie, leaned back on his seat, enough so that his face protrudes from the partition between the two desks.
"I'm just saying," he smiled. "She's cute!"
At the same time, he brushed back with his hand loose strands of hair that had fallen before his eyes and glasses because of his leaned-back posture.
"Cute my ass", he said. "She's done nothing but chatter all morning."
And rudely staring back at me, thought Shinsuke.
Staring… back at me?
Then, everything came back to him.
The nightclub. The screams. And that glare. That woman… She was that crazy one from yesterday night!
How could he have forgotten that and only remembered it now?!
He gulped down, slowly.
"Well, you know, she's just started today, she's a fresh new hire, after all. Not someone transferred from another department", said Saizo, looking for his pack of cigarettes in his pockets.
Having found a pack in one of his pants' front pockets, he rose up from his seat and whispered one last thing before going for the elevator himself.
"You know, you can't fire someone on their first day, so you better keep your cool".
Keeping his cool? He was cool. So cool people spoke of him as being a cold-hearted bastard behind his back.
Yes. Keep your cool, Kobayashi Shinsuke.
Besides, he wouldn't fire her because she was smiling all the time and giving him hard glares. Or at least, that wouldn't be the official reason. He would fire her because she wasn't "up to the task".
No. More than her smiles, what was making him uneasy was the way she looked at him. As if he was trash. While smiling.
Maybe she was hiding her true intentions, acting as if nothing had happened yesterday.
Maybe she'd already heard about all the rumors about him; maybe she was trying to mess with him.
But, whatever…
At the end of the day, he was everyone's boss on this floor; and everyone's tyrant he would be; if that made the work be done by 6:00 pm.
His train of thoughts was cut down by a slender hand putting a big cardboard cup of beverage right in front of him, onto his desk.
"There you go, Kobayashi-san," said the unnerving voice.
She was already back. He didn't even need to look at her to know that she was again glaring at him with all her might.
He rose to his feet and eyed her. She was smaller than him; maybe one full head smaller, even. So he actually had to look down in order to lock eyes with hers. Gentle, but fiery eyes.
That was the worst part. He got to see that she was trying to be nice. And that made him so angry...
"What is that?" he asked, not even bothered to look at the drink.
In fact, he was taller than almost everyone on this floor; being 1,95m tall. That detail surely helped spread the menacing and towering image people had of him. But again, he didn't care.
This time, he was the one looking at her from higher.
She looked at him, right in the eyes. But then she glanced at his neck and his shoulders; as if she was looking for something. Eventually, her eyes looked at his arms and his hands, before going back to Shinsuke's face.
"Something for you to drink during your break, Kobayashi-san!" she beamed.
Ah, he didn't know anymore. Was she smiling on purpose? With a hidden agenda? Was her smile real, or all fake?
She didn't have the same makeup or hairstyle as yesterday, but it was definitely her. Messing with him.
"I didn't order anything," he said, frowning his eyebrows.
If she wanted so bad to play that game, two could play it as well.
"I know", she answered, not smiling anymore. But still glaring at him. Like he was some sort of peasant, and she was a feudal lord.
Almost as if she'd wanted to slap him. But that wasn't going to work. He had tough skin. He was shielded from anything thrown at him, be it petty remarks, swear words, mean looks, or harsh criticism. He already got it all in the past. So a few more wouldn't hurt him anymore.
"I don't need it," he flatly said, taking the cup in his hand and handing it to her in one swift motion.
A more than clear "leave me the hell alone and go back to work" gesture.
Reluctant, she took back the hot beverage and shot him one last dirty look before going back to her own desk.
Yeah, he wouldn't be hurt by that anymore...
"Aww, why are you so meaaan, Kobayashi-san?" pouted Saizo, back from his smoking break, and falling heavily on his seat.
"I'm not being mean, I'm being professional," he answered, not the least moved by his underling's whining.
Well, at least he tried to. But his hurt scalp was saying otherwise, pushing him to be an ass towards the young woman.
"But Shinohara-san was kind enough to bring you something," Saizo went on.
"Kindness will lead you nowhere in this world," Shinsuke dryly said, not even looking Saizo's way. "You're not paid for being kind, here".
Right.
Kindness…
Could also be that way, to people.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to be that rude, Kobayashi-san," Saizo retorted. "Not everything is necessarily done under pretense, you know".
That last sentence got him a dirty look from his superior, and he knew he'd said too much. That kind of menacing look, which could make you shut the hell up all at once.
No, never.
He'd never do that again.
And if she keeps on doing this, then he'll have no choice. She stepped right into his territory. He was the boss here, and she wouldn't get away with what she'd done to him yesterday.
"That crazy chick, I must make her quit," he muttered to himself; only for him to hear.