Shinsuke gritted his teeth a little, before leaning heavily on the back of his seat.
His arm still hurt, and the day had not improved his mood. Especially since that jerk Kubo had come in the morning, just to piss him off even more.
He really couldn't stand that guy and his disrespectful attitude.
Saizo pointed to the break room behind them, to invite him to come and have a coffee with him, and Shinsuke accepted purely out of habit.
If he had thought about it before getting up, he would probably have preferred to sit quietly at his desk, even if it meant going on with his work, or listening to some music. But here he had acted by automatism, without second thoughts.
And a few minutes later, he was in the noisy break room where several employees had already gathered in small discussion circles - or in a shapeless mass in front of the drink dispensers - with a cup of coffee in hand.
"You seem more upset than usual..." Saizo observed aloud.
"Ha!" Shinsuke exclaimed defiantly. "You have a gift for stating the obvious."
Saizo merely smiled, but the Chief of the Financial Section sensed that his oldest friend must surely be laughing inside. It had been a long time since the man with the delicate face had paid any attention to the unpleasant tone used by the man with the icy temperament.
"Let me guess... Kubo-san is the one who pissed you off the most today, right?" Saizo asked.
"Humpf!" Shinsuke sighed.
Saizo had been right the first time.
This guy from the Vehicle Department had pissed him off in particular. More than usual, even. For this wasn't the first time - and it certainly wouldn't be the last - that Kubo Touma had invited himself unannounced to floors other than his own.
Of course, employees were free to move from one floor to another. But as long as they did not disturb the other employees, and their own work was done on time.
However, Shinsuke couldn't understand why this time had been so much worse than the previous times.
What had made him so angry in the end?
The more he thought about it, the more it didn't match his usual behavior.
It wasn't because of...?
"Is something bothering you?" Saizo asked, curious to see his friend visibly troubled.
"Not really..." Shinsuke answered quickly.
Saizo then just smiled again, as if he knew something the other man did not.
But the more he thought about it, the more a certain fact became clear to his mind.
He was upset because Kubo had spoken to 'her'.
Was it because he wanted to be the one to embarrass her? To make her pay for her deplorable behavior towards him?
Maybe it was a bit of an exaggeration, thinking about it.
Maybe it was just his instinct that made him react this way. This creep had approached someone from 'his' section, after all.
Yes, that was probably it. It was as a Section Chief that he had gotten angry. And that he was still angry, even now.
After all, Kubo had always had a reputation as a troublemaker, and only his excellent work performance had so far prevented his eventual dismissal. This guy was just too good at his job, much to Shinsuke's despair.
With that thought, he took a quick sip of coffee, and looked through the glass walls of the room at the rest of the floor. Many people were still at their posts, busy working, despite the fact that it was a favored time of the day to take a break from the tasks at hand, and take some quality time for oneself.
And inevitably, his eyes landed on the area where the other disturbing element of his entourage was. The so-called Shinohara Hana.
She seemed to be absorbed in her work, staring at her computer screen without even looking up once.
Shinsuke smiled mischievously.
She was surely overwhelmed by the task he had given her earlier. So much the better.
He even hoped that she would be late, or make mistakes, so that he would have an excuse to yell at her in front of everyone. It would probably be a good revenge. Maybe he'd even make her cry. Whatever. As long as he could humiliate her as much as she had humiliated him that night.
And with any luck, maybe she would want to quit. That's what he hoped, at least.
The only problem was that if she could do the assignment successfully, it would mean she was performing well. And then he would have qualms about making her quit. Because he honestly respected people who did their work properly.
He shook his head quickly, before turning his attention back to what was going on in the break room. It seemed that one of the groups was having a somewhat agitated discussion.
And among them was Ito Ren. Shinsuke knew perfectly well that this guy was always at the center of everything important that happened on the floor, or even, in the company in general. And it seemed that right now, this man was in the center of a whirlwind of new information that employees from this floor and from other departments were bringing to him.
Shinsuke found himself envying him for a moment, but then he pulled himself together.
No. He didn't need to be so close to the other employees. Things were fine as they were, after all.
However, he had no idea that things would change in a short time. For several floors above the one he was on and at the same time, an important discussion was taking place; one that would directly impact the Natural Disasters Department.
Two men, one in his fifties, the other in his twenties, were facing each other; seated on either side of a coffee table in comfortable, opulent upholstered chairs.
"I've already given you a list of candidates, so you're free to choose from that list," said the older man.
He nodded at several files on the coffee table.
The young man nodded, before taking one of them to leaf through it quickly.
"And since you're finally back from your studies in the States, I'd like you to take your first steps in the business," the older man continued to explain. "It will be a very rewarding experience for you, and I have just the right job for you."
The young man frowned, clearly wary.
"A position? In Marline Insurance?" He asked doubtfully. "You know I don't want to take over the company, right?"
The old man, who was none other than the President of Marline Insurance, Utagawa Tetsu, merely smiled slightly, before answering.
"Don't worry, I won't force you to succeed me," he said while massaging his beard. "Consider it work experience for your future business or job; and I myself will consider your participation as a service to me."
"What exactly do you mean by service?" Inquired the young man.
President Utagawa seemed to think for a moment, as if judging what would be the ideal way to present his offer, and then said:
"There is a certain Department in the company, which never manages to have a Director in the long run... To the point where it's troublesome for the management of the company..."